You asked for it and I obliged. Since Common Sense of A Duke’s Daughter is finished this will be the female centric novel to replace it. I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!
Tilea’s Worries 119 – Part 1
Turf War 3-35 My Fears And Dryus’ Rage
I was so noisy that I ended up provoking Edim more than I needed to. It would be natural for a group of chuunibyou to make such an uproar after that kind of speech. But I’ve been careless as well.
After that racket was over, I cooled my head and looked around…
Wha… What is this!?
Those chuunibyous had made Edim on the floor, sitting on her own feet, with some kind of torture stones piled up on her lap. It’s just like ‘ishidaki’, a torture practice that was used during the Edo period.
That’s a bit too much, you guys! But Ortissio is like “Each stone for each sin!” and placing more and more of those flat stones on Edim’s lap.
Hey, hey, hey! Edim was being quietly obedient, so that should be enough… This is all misunderstanding that has somehow turned into a bloodbath…
Damn it, when it come to these guys, sometimes I don’t know if they can’t think properly or they’re just plain stupid…
Come on, this was something I talked about during some idle chat. Don’t go putting it into practice. I really couldn’t believe my eyes.
Well, for the time being, I’ll try to get everyone to calm down, and go somewhere else.
I headed for the staff room, where Dryus was taking a break.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
I had a sip of the tea that Dryus poured for me. A worn-out spirit can be relaxed by a cup of tea. If you take long sips, its mild taste would spread through your mouth.
“It’s delicious! You’re really good at this, Dryus.”
“You’re very kind.”
It’s no wonder. After all, handsome men always get things right. He promptly guided me to his room and poured delicious tea for me. All of this even after my shameful performance earlier, and he’s just smiling there, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Well, I can’t be this jealous of him. Anyway. I needed to explain my earlier words and actions. I felt like a stupid child.
“Umm, Dryus…?”
“What is it?”
“That was quite the poor show I put on earlier, huh?”
“Miss Tilea, you are as elegant and beautiful as ever.”
“You think too much of me, Dryus. I think I’m just the worst.”
“Miss Tilea, if you’re worried about anything, you can talk to me about it if you’d like…”
“Ah, that…”
“I would understand if you couldn’t trust someone like me…”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“In that case, feel free to rely on me.”
When I saw Dryus’ kind eyes looking at me like that, I could no longer hold my tongue. I could no longer keep these worries to myself.
“Okay then… Edim is a vampire, right?”
“Yes. According to the demons, she’s a half-demon turned into a vampire, to be exact.”
That’s Dryus for you, speaking about demons with such peace of mind. Not a single atom of his body seems to be scared of vampires. Well, he’s an elf, so he might be naturally resistant to fear.
“That’s right, a demon. One that sucks people’s blood. What’s more, Edim has an army of her own kind who would follow her until the ends of the earth.”
“Hoho, but it can’t compare to your Evil God’s Army, Miss Tilea.”
Well, I’m glad to have friends who trust me that much. But trust is not the same as strength. I see that Dryus is also a chuunibyou. Edim’s division is powerful enough to match it against the military of a small country. That’s something we can’t simply ignore.
It’s no use. Dryus is just like Tim and the others. Even if I said it with an euphemism, he would not get my fears that easily. Fortunately, Dryus listened to me with a gentle behavior. I should better conceal my shame and talk to him straightforwardly.
It’s okay if he gets angry at me. It’s okay if I’m despised. No matter how much I think about this, getting depressed won’t solve anything.
I resolved myself to talking to Dryus about my suspicions regarding Edim.
About how I defeated Edim’s master, Arcyune.
About how Edim might be holding a grudge towards me and might be waiting for the right time to exact her revenge.
Dryus didn’t get angry or hated me. He just listened quietly.
“So I’m the worst. I said I trusted Edim, but deep down I’m suspicious of her.”
“Miss Tilea, someone in your position is certainly prone to such worries. You don’t need to feel ashamed about them. Rather, the one at fault here is Edim, for acting so suspicious.”
“Eh!? But I wouldn’t go that far… Edim has done nothing wrong.”
“No. I’m welling up with rage. This Edim needs to be executed at once for troubling you so much!”
“Nononono, executed…?”
Dryus is very intelligent, but can be rather hot-headed, just like Tim. Though in Tim’s case, most of it is just make-believe.
“Well then, I’ll begin with the preparations for the execution.”
“W… Wait! Who are you going to ask to do the execution… No way! Do you plan on asking Mu?”
“Ah, that’s right, Muchen should do just fine.”
Dryus got up and started to head out of his room. There was no hesitation on him.
Did he really plan on talking to Mu about this?
Edim might be a demon, but Mu is a swordsman with a long military service. Neither of them would be defeated that easily. If those two were to fight, it would start a bloodbath in the Underground Empire.
“Ah, wait, wait! Stop! There’s no need for any of this!”
“You don’t have to worry about a thing, Miss Tilea. Please let me handle this.”
“Dryus, really, stop. My suspicions could very well be based on misunderstandings. I can’t destroy this trust that I went through so much trouble to build.”
“I understand. I’ll call off the execution then. But please let me handle things from here on.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll put Edim’s loyalty to the test.”
“I… I’m kind of worried about how you said that just now…”
“Please, leave it to me.”
Dryus left the room, still seemingly excited about something.
Aww, is my strategist really okay?
Dryus always seems to be calm, but he seemed rather anxious now.
He seemed uneasy as he ran. It was almost as if I was looking at Tim or Nielsen instead of Dryus.
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