"Fia?" (Green)
Green asked with a quizzical look on his face.
I could tell that he was worried about me when I suddenly stopped moving, so I tried to reassure him, but my throat was stuck, and it was difficult to make a sound.
As I bit my lip and remained silent, even Blue asked me curiously, probably wondering why I didn't get a response.
"Fia, what's wrong?" (Blue)
I gave up on replying and put both of my hands, which were still holding the glass, down on the table, and concentrated on peeling my tense fingers off the glass one by one.
I tried to calm my mind by focusing on the simple things in front of me.
As I slowly removed my finger, which had begun to tremble, Green and Blue noticed that my behavior was different from usual, and they watched me intently without asking any further questions.
...They're an adult who can read the atmosphere.
It might seem like a rough idea, but when it was necessary, they could grasp the situation properly and remained silent.
Of course, the same applies to Zavilia and Curtis, who were also quietly watching.
With that in mind, I took my time to remove all my fingers from the cup and let out a sigh of relief.
Then I let out a hoarse voice.
"...I'm scared of demons." (Fia)
As soon as I said it, I thought it sounded like a child, but no one laughed.
On the contrary, Green repeated it gravely, as if I were uttering an important principle of the world.
"...I see. Are you afraid of demons?" (Curtis)
Captain Curtis stood up without saying a word and wrapped his jacket around me.
Perhaps because of the height difference, my clothes were too big, and most of my body was covered, but this gave me the illusion of being hidden from the world, and I was relieved.
"It gets cold in the morning in the mountains." (Curtis)
Captain Curtis muttered something more, but it was hard to believe his words.
The coldness of the mountain probably wasn't the reason why the leader wrapped his clothes around my body as if to hide me from the rest of the world.
And the reason I feel cold was probably not because of the temperature but because of my nervousness.
I let out a sigh.
...It's no good if you start freaking out over a single word like this.
Yesterday, I was frightened by Captain Gai who called himself "Demon".
I put my hands together and was thinking back to 300 years ago.
——Sirius, the commander of my Royal Guards, never ran away.
Same went for Canopus. He didn't turn away from anything that was inconvenient.
Also, last night's story was that Castor, the child of my sister in a previous life, became the emperor of the empire and ruled the country splendidly.
Everyone was doing a great job, but if I was the only one running away, I wouldn't be able to show respect to any of them.
I looked up and looked straight at Green.
"I wonder how much longer the demons will remain in the world?" (Fia)
A simple and basic question.
However, I was so ignorant about demons that I had to start with such a question.
——A long time ago, when I was young, before I could even remember my past life, my older sister told me bedtime stories over and over again.
After the Great Saint subjugated the Demon King, the demons who lost their king were sealed away one after another.
My sister told me that even the last person was sealed away...
Having regained my memories of my previous life, I could hardly believe her words.
I couldn't believe that the cunning and powerful "Demon King's Right Hand" had been sealed away.
And, probably, his right hand would have taken back the beloved Demon King's box and broken its seal before my brothers in my previous life left the Demon King's Castle.
Therefore, my prediction was that "The Demon King's Right Hand" and "The Demon King of Thirteen Crests" remained in this world.
Thinking this, I looked at Green, and he slowly opened his mouth with a cautious expression on his face.
"...The Book of Beginnings says, 'There are demons with 33 crests in the world,' but..." (Green)
"What!?" (Fia)
What Green spun from his mouth was confidential information among confidential information, so I exclaimed in surprise.
What does he mean? I was wondering if Green's occupation was an adventurer...
No, I thought for a moment that he might come from a good family that runs a trading company, but...when it comes to "The Book of Beginnings", it was on a different level.
This was because it was supposed to be the highest level of secret information, kept only by the highest ranking members of each country's royal family.
"G, Green is an adventurer or something, right? I heard some gossip about demons from my sister, so I wanted to ask if that matched with the rumors circulating in the empire. If they match, then I think the rumors are close to reality..." (Fia)
I asked confused, and Green said, "Yeah," and frowned.
"That's right, you were in that position because you wanted to be. That's why Curtis and the others around you were hesitant to clearly state our position." (Green)
Captain Curtis nodded slightly at Green's cryptic words.
"I see, that's just an unnecessary hint to make sure I understand my role. It's completely unnecessary. Listen, Green, I'd like to give you a piece of advice: If you want to understand Lady Fi, the take Lady Fi’s words literally." (Curtis)
Green's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand what Captain Curtis was saying, but I interjected as if to hurry him up.
"So, Green, what do you mean?" (Fia)
Green looked at me as if thinking, then spoke slowly.
"I see...I don't know much about gossip in the kingdom, but the general rumor in the empire is that all demons have been sealed away." (Green)
Blue continued speaking as if to supplement it.
"That's right. Demons only appear when threatening small children to get them to do what they're told. They say, 'A demon will come to a bad child who doesn't listen.'" (Blue)
"I see……" (Fia)
As I looked at my folded hands, thinking that this was the same story I heard from my sister, Green continued speaking.
"Since I started saying this, I'll continue until the end, but...I have a somewhat important acquaintance. I heard about the "Book of Beginnings" from him. Of course, they said it was top secret, but Fia..., you're my benefactor. If you want to hear it, I'll tell you everything I know." (Green)
"What?" (Fia)
When I looked up, my eyes met with Green who was staring straight at me.
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
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