"...So, what exactly are you, 'Sacred Maiden'?" (Mile)
In response to Mile's question, the girl answered with a look on her face that said, "What an obvious thing to say."
"I'm Sacred Maiden, it means God's beloved child!" (Girl)
It seemed that the girl, Sacred Maiden, had grown tired of speaking in an arrogant and pretentious manner and had reverted to speaking normally.
…After all, she was just a child.
"Eh?" (Mile)
And Mile had only been saying "Eh" since then.
"So, a direct message from God?" (Mile)
When Mile asked a question that got to the heart of the matter...
"No. I don't speak directly to God, but to invisible angels, but angels are under God's command, which means they convey God's words. Therefore, I am the one who has received God's favor, in other words, a Sacred Maiden!" (Girl)
Hearing that, Mile was deep in thought.
(Hmm, certainly, considering the religious views on this continent, that interpretation is not wrong... Or rather, it would be natural to interpret it that way. If that person was truly an "Angel", then...) (Mile's mind)
Just as Mile had thought, there was a very high probability that it was not a real angel of God, but that.
(……Nano-chan?) (Mile)
[No comment. I cannot provide information on matters that are the responsibility of others.] (Nano)
(No, that's practically what you said!) (Mile)
Mile seemed shocked at Nanomachines's self-destructive behavior.
Of course, she knew that Nanomachines was doing it on purpose, but it was just a "retort to a joke." Mile was very conscientious about such things...
(Among the forbidden rules, 'You must not give any special treatment to any particular power' or 'You must not provide information on other powers without using means such as 'detection magic'...) (Mile)
Realizing that Nanomachines had avoided that and was subtly giving her the information, Mile quietly thanked him in her heart.
(I have no choice but to try to gather information myself.) (Mile)
[I am very sorry……] (Nano)
(No, I accidentally asked that question, but I really shouldn't have asked Nano-chan. Sorry, please don't mind.) (Mile)
Originally, Mile didn't intend to just ask Nanomachines everything she wanted to know. That's just too unfair and it made her life less fun.
When human life was at stake, she would use any means without hesitation, but when that wasn't the case, it was not at all strange for Mile to think that she would refrain from relying on Nanomachines in any way other than "magic exercise."
(Well, then, I guess I'll ask it myself. And that too, when it's just the two of us, without Reina-san and the other demons hearing... Okay!)
(Nano-chan, is it possible to communicate what I think by vibrating this child's eardrums?) (Mile)
Of course, she knew that it's technically possible. The question was whether it violated any of the "prohibited matters"...
[It's no problem. We don't speak to her, we just transmit the words of Mile-sama's thoughts by vibrating her eardrums. It's similar to amplified speech magic, or magic that creates a duct in the air to transmit voices over long distances. Well, just to be sure, if you could just call it magic exercise, it would be more perfect...] (Nano)
Apparently, there was no problem. Originally, with a level 3 authority, someone who was "Authorized to talk to Nanomachines," so she thought it would probably be okay, but...
(I understand. Well then, I'll go.... Activate the secret communication magic that transmits thought-based language by vibrating the target's eardrums!) (Mile)
"Sacred Maiden, there is something I would like to discuss with you, just the two of us, in secret from everyone else. Tonight, after everyone has gone to bed, could you please come out of the house? Cough once if you agree, twice if you don't. Ah, only you can hear this voice, so please don't reply out loud." (Mile)
"Eh……" (Girl)
Suddenly, Sacred Maiden opened her eyes wide and let out a cry.
"What's up?" (Girl)
A man who appeared to be the father asked the young girl, Sacred Maiden, with a puzzled look on the face, but the girl didn't respond.
The others also looked suspicious.
That's not surprising. Mile was the only one who had been asking the Sacred Maiden questions, but she hadn't said anything for a while now, and although she was facing the Sacred Maiden, she looked spaced out. That alone made everyone suspicious, so when the Sacred Maiden's behavior started to seem strange as well, it was only natural that they would become suspicious.
The Sacred Maiden remained stiff and didn't move.
The voice that vibrated the eardrums was probably not the voice of an Angel like before. Its frequency and waveform were likely matched to Mile's voice, and it was clear from the content of the voice that it was not that of an Angel.
Then, Sacred Maiden's stiffness eased and she began to move.
"Huh." (Girl)
"...Huh?" (Mile)
Instead of coughing to signal, Sacred Maiden tried to say something.
"Huh..." (Girl)
What was she going to say?
Was that something that's okay for everyone here to hear?
Should she stop?
While Mile hesitated about what to do...
"Huaa~shhhiuu!" (Girl)
"That's not a cough, that's a sneeze!!" (Mile)
"Cough!" (Girl)
Apparently, her previous sneeze was unintentional, and Sacred Maiden's face turned a little red as she coughed again. Once. It was a sign of understanding.
Well, there's probably no other reply.
The conversation was in the same way that Sacred Maiden had always spoken to the Angel, but with a different voice and manner of speaking, and the content of the conversation clearly did not sound like it was coming from the Angel.
In the first place, judging from the quality of the voice and the current situation, it should be obvious that the sender of this voice... the message sent through the vibrations of his eardrums... was the silver-haired girl in front of her.
A mysterious girl who spoke to her in the same way as the Angel offered to talk to her in secret. There was no way she could ignore it. At least, not to the child who believed she was a Sacred Maiden.
There's not much more she could say now that there were so many others here. The rest was for the evening.
So, Mile told the elders that her business was finished and quickly left...
"...So, how was it?" (Reina)
Reina asked Mile as they returned to the tent that had been left outside the village and sipped tea.
Only Mile, who had a brief conversation with the girl called Sacred Maiden that Reina and the other two didn't understand, knew how it ended. So, it was only natural that Reina would ask Mile that question, but Mile thought for a moment before answering.
"...tonight. We'll check it out tonight, so please wait a little longer..." (Mile)
Of course, Mile intended to meet Sacred Maiden alone, but she had no intention of hiding this from everyone and meeting her secretly.
There's no way she wouldn't get caught if she sneaked out of the tent on her own, and she couldn't cast a sleep spell on everyone in enemy territory.
...No, even if you're not in enemy territory, and no matter how many barriers you have put up, it's still something you shouldn't do. Casting a sleep spell on an ally without permission was an act of aggression, or a sneak attack... In any case, unless you have a compelling reason to do so, it's not something you should do lightly.
Besides, it wouldn't be a problem if her companions found out about her one-on-one discussion with Sacred Maiden. On the contrary, if she hid it, there was a possibility that the conversation would become inconsistent later on, which would end up hurting her more.
So, the existence of the discussion itself should be honestly communicated, and when reporting the results later, it would be enough to simply omit some of the content or make significant additions or revisions. As few lies as possible....
The showdown was that night.
"So, let's go see the demon village and the surrounding area during the day!" (Mile)
Yes, it wasn't even the second bell in the morning (9:00 a.m.) yet. There was still a lot of time before nightfall. And since they had come all the way to a distant land, the demon village, it would be a shame not to see it.
"That's right, unless the ancient dragon carries us away, we will never come again..." (Reina)
"This is a story you can tell over and over again for the rest of your life, so let's explore every nook and cranny!" (Pauline)
"Yes, it will be a valuable experience. If we ever have the opportunity to meet demons in the future, I'm sure this experience will come in handy." (Mavis)
Everyone agreed with Mile's proposal.
"So, we’ll explore the village in the morning, and then outside the village and the surrounding area in the afternoon. Then, outside the village, if we find anything that looks like it might be worth something, we’ll hunt or gather it, is that okay?" (Mile)
"Ooohhh!" (Other 3)
And Mile was looking forward to the discussion that night.
(I wonder if Sacred Maiden will have anything useful to say...) (Mile's mind)
Author's Note
...
We look forward to your continued support next year.
Happy New Year to everyone! (^^)/