〈 Episode 53 〉Wild West 17

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[Then we're going to start the operation].

Everything that came out of my mouth was based on a number of assumptions, like, can you make it happen?

[Can you be sure of all of them?]

[No, I can't be sure. I'm not a fortune teller or a witch.]

[Even witches don't know how to read the future].

[I'm surprised.]

In my conversation with Ceredor, I was told that witches' ability to read the future is a possibility, nothing more than a form of magic. Feeling a little deflated, I take my time talking to her, discussing the possibilities and what I can do to prepare for them.

[I guess what I have to do is just be still, after all.]

[It will be the most important thing to do, eventually.]

No matter what happens, they will come to the conclusion I've told them, and that Ceredor's power was necessary for that.

[I can't believe you would use the witch of Chapter 13 in this way. You do realize that if I were to take action, it would be a risk that could reach far beyond the East or the West, to the people of the Empire, don't you?]

[Deckard and Sirtus could be the start of an all-out war between the East and West, and I wonder if it would be a problem for the Witch of Chapter Thirteen to be involved in that war]

[laughs] That's a different problem. The mere presence of a witch can be enough to change a group of people.］

You listen to Ceredor's experience.

[The mere mention of a witch as an ally can cause some to desert the battlefield, and it's not uncommon for them to grow distrustful of one another.]

[I... well, I guess it's a little late to be talking about that already?]

He glares at Elisa behind him.

[They say there's not much prejudice against witches in Sirtus, but that's just the Count speaking for himself, not everyone has a favorable opinion of them. There's a complacency to your plan that doesn't allow for the volatility of allies.］

[The number of cases for that].

I begin to formulate another case, based on her experience. Slowly, slowly...I assume a number, and then I plot the minimum number of their movements, their combat power, and the consequences of their successes and failures.

[Our enemy is the Millions].

[Million... Deckard's shadow, a man who has been alive long enough to be tired.]

[Yes, and I'm on a chessboard with the most sinister of them all.]

We must be clear about who is the enemy and who is the king. I definitely make moves with Million as the enemy.

"I didn't know that before.

If I hadn't known that Million was a pleurisy-or, more accurately, if I hadn't known that I was going to be stabbed in the back when I joined the servants, and if I had only known that Noel was the ultimate enemy, I could feel goosebumps on my skin right now.

"Millions.

The black hand that moved Deckard now was unmistakable.

"Heeey!

Jabbing the reins of his horse, Sergen was slowly ascending the mountain pass.

"There are rumors of bandits around here."

"I see."

Somewhere beside him, he nodded.

"Still thinking about becoming a chamberlain?"

Serghen asks casually, as he takes a moment to groom his horse Turezil and feed her water.

"I'm still considering it."

"What does Elisha say?"

"My doctor says it's important...but she's busy with the coven, for now."

She was busy with Ceredor, trying to unravel the clues to the chain reaction, the emotional magic link in the double overlap. If they could unlock it, they said, they would unlock a new emotional magic indicator, but for now, I was doing my own thing and following the bandits' trail with Serhen.

"I know I seem to be in a hurry, which is not a good look, but I am also short on time."

"Even if I weren't a Chamberlain, I'd still be by your side, Sergen."

"Then I don't see any problem with being a servant knight, do you?"

She sat down beside me under the stump of a sultry tree. She was not dressed in the soft dress of a woman, but in the full plate armor I had seen when I first met her, and I could feel the hardness of her armor against my side.

"It's... a sense of duty, I suppose, and I'm not sure I'm up to the task."

"There's no reason to feel obligated. It's just a change of title, and your job probably won't change much from what you do now."

That's not true. A chamberlain could almost be Sergen's spokesperson, or her chief of staff in her absence, meaning he would be the second-in-command of the troops.

'Even if it's the same old stuff.

If Sergen disappeared, or went off to do something else, all the cleanup would fall to me.

"What? I just think you're so great that I'm offering you a position to match?"

She says, flipping her hair back on the side of her face in a wild manner.

"What are you doing.

It's not even that hot, and she's flipping her hair back several times, trying to show off her neckline and sides.

'Is it... flirting? If it was, she wouldn't be flipping her hair back so wildly.

She flipped her hair back almost directly in front of her eyes, as if she wanted me to look at it.

'Hmm...charisma, are you trying to show your bossy majesty by displaying such a thing...'

Something makes her uncomfortable, and she lifts her hips slightly and steps to the side a bit more.

"I'm curious about something."

"...What is it?"

"I was hoping to ask you about things that guys your age like to do, or...crushes, or something like that."

"Do you have a crush?"

"Yeah. ..."

Sergen looks at me and quirks an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't say crush, but I'm an earl's girl, and I need to be socialized."

To think of such a thing, she seemed like someone who preferred swords and monster hunting to socializing... but then again, sudden changes in women her age can be expected, so I opened my mouth slowly.

"I...I think that...likes vary from person to person, don't you?"

"Isn't there a statistic? If you ask each person what they like, you can get an answer."

"I...I guess so."

Slowly, I thought of something I liked.

"I like raspberry juice."

"Is there a connection between that and romantic relationships?"

"...I don't think so, do you?"

"Then do you think you can win the other person's favor with it?"

"...Wouldn't they be wary if you gave it to them suddenly?"

"So, it's something...something that they'll be impressed with."

Wondering why she was so angry, I stared at her sinister silver gauntlets and shook my head. I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking about how she looked like she was about to punch me in the face.

"I'm impressed..."

Impressed by what?

"Suddenly decapitating a million people and presenting them to me? No... I think it would be worse if I felt like someone else was taking my revenge....

I felt like I had to think about it a bit.

"That...I don't know about popular, but if it touched me when I received it..."

Scratching his head, he recalls the scabbard for his short sword inside his brown suit and the two bisou hidden in his pockets and sleeves.

"A bisou and a bicollector? Wouldn't they be impressed to receive such things?"

"Impressed to receive such things?"

"Strange?"

"Of course it's weird."

Certainly no normal person would be impressed by a knife as a gift.

"I can't believe you'd be impressed by a small sword, not a fancy Bastard Sword or a Long Sword or something."

"Well...would you be impressed if you got a big sword?"

"Of course not. No, as a hermit, I'd be more impressed with a number of small swords."

"Isn't that right?"

By this point, I could tell that the conversation had completely strayed from the topic Sergen had asked about, which was how to win the favor of others in social circles.

"Do you think that will help me in the social scene?"

"Hmm, I suppose you can't be right that men like it when you give them a secret weapon rather than a surprisingly large knife, can you?"

"...Won't they think it's a fight for their life?"

If the gift was a secret weapon, the meaning could be misunderstood as a duel request.

"I see, each person is different in what they are moved by."

"Perhaps, or you could ask the knights and soldiers resting in the back."

He gestured to the resting men in formation. It was done out of a sense of not wanting to keep interrupting her questions and then get caught out later. To be honest, I had hoped they would know the right answer for her, having known Sergen for so long.

"Why are you shaking your head?

One of the knights slowly glares at me and shakes his head.

"...Does that mean don't pass it on?

I shook my head, taking advantage of the moment when Sergen wasn't looking, and now I was waving my hands to indicate that I didn't want him to do it.

"I doubt they'll give you a good answer."

"Of course not, they're soldiers, they wouldn't know about socializing and that sort of thing."

"That's why I'm asking you, not the soldier kind, but you, the one who's grown up in the outside world."

I felt I had said the wrong thing.

"How do you think you can impress someone, or curry their favor?"

She flicks her hair back wildly again. Honestly, it was frightening to watch her do it, almost in front of me, and though I couldn't see it, the knights and soldiers behind me were sighing heavily and shaking their heads.

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