Camilla, perched on a chair that seemed too big for her like a little kid in her parents’ clothes, poked her tongue out.
“Wow… Can you stop staring so creepily?”
She felt genuinely disgusted for a moment but… she had to hold it in.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed that Camilla wasn’t a bad kid, just a little awkward in expressing herself. If she couldn’t hold her temper here, another disaster would probably happen, just like last time.
At that time, it really felt like I was the only one who suffered, and I still kick the blankets in my sleep, recalling those memories.
I didn’t want to create any more embarrassing history.
However, that was my rational mind speaking, and the fact was, I was feeling pretty annoyed, so I pouted my lips.
As I continued my internal battle, Lucius stepped into the reception room and announced, “I’m back.”
With a bow, he greeted.
Camilla smirked at Lucius’s posture and waved her hand lightly.
“I have eyes, you know? I can see!”
Seemingly familiar with Camilla’s attitude, Lucius didn’t pay much mind to her self-deprecating words and moved on.
“First, let’s talk about the demon I tracked.”
Lucius’s face turned serious. As the discussion was about to commence, Camilla let out a deep sigh and clapped her hands twice.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Get some tea; it looks like this conversation is going to be long, so sit down for now.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
With Lucius bowing first, everyone began to relocate themselves in the prepared chairs of the reception room.
But then…
“Isn’t there one chair missing?”
At my words, Elia stopped sitting and tilted her head.
“Uh… you’re right?”
All eyes turned to Camilla. However, Camilla tilted her head as if wondering what the problem was.
“What’s the issue?”
Like a cheeky little brat, her utterly shameless attitude made me furrow my brow and raise my voice in protest.
“What did you just hear! There’s a chair missing, right?!”
“What?”
Even at my words, Camilla wore a face of disbelief and pointed at one spot.
“Did you already forget your old age? It’s right there.”
“Where exactly…!”
Following the direction of Camilla’s finger…
“…”
“Ha! My bad, Master, I’m sorry….”
In the corner of the room sat a rocking chair made of wood, seeming like something meant for elderly people or very young children.
My fists started to tremble; it was getting hard to hold back.
“Are you messing with me?!”
So I shouted with all my might.
After that, there was a prolonged argument filled with shame between me and Camilla, with no clear winner in sight.
…
Lucius, looking utterly haggard, rested his chin on his hand and spoke.
“Now, let’s begin.”
“Get on with it.”
“Hmph, whether I say it or not…”
After he had a hard time figuring out how to express himself, Lucius let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
“Let’s start with the demon I encountered in the cave.”
Thus began the lengthy tale.
*
“… That’s it.”
The mood had mellowed compared to when the story began, and the sound of Camilla tapping on the desk echoed as she frowned, seemingly deep in thought.
After some time trying to organize her thoughts, or perhaps wanting to vent some of the headache, Camilla brushed back her hair and exhaled deeply.
“So are you saying you described everything without any exaggeration?”
“Indeed.”
Lucius nodded in affirmation.
“… Damn.”
Realizing how serious the matter was, Camilla rubbed her face.
“So you’re meaning that annoyingly troublesome brat has started moving again…”
“Yes.”
“That, uh, what was it—Demon King? Are you saying that a being possibly more dangerous than him is nearby?”
“Precisely.”
Camilla’s body began to tremble with tension, and then—
-BAM!
Along with the noise of the desk breaking, Camilla’s scream echoed.
“Ahh! Seriously!!!! Why is it rampaging here?!”
With her face flushed red, Camilla was fuming.
Feeling a pang of guilt, I subtly looked away.
…That kind of person doesn’t exist.
But saying so now would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?
Sweat began to drip from me.
Camilla, still simmering, suddenly turned her head toward me with fiery eyes.
“You had one! Why didn’t you catch that guy?!”
I quickly avoided her gaze again.
There was no way to deny that I had deliberately let him go.
Hmm, even if she gets mad, I have nothing to say, so I rolled my eyes around.
But a voice defending me came from the other side.
“…It was my fault.”
It was Lucius.
He stood up, bowing with a look of genuine regret.
“I got too arrogant…”
“Are you joking?!”
Camilla immediately changed her target, turning to Lucius with an accusatory voice.
“Oh no! I wasn’t able to be of any help…”
That was interrupted by the Saint, who was blaming herself.
“…”
Camilla clenched her mouth shut.
Despite being the Duke of the North, it seemed she couldn’t utter harsh words against a Saint representing a religion.
“Hey, Impure Saint.”
…Or perhaps she could?
Everyone except Camilla and Elia had distorted expressions.
“Im-Impure Saint?”
Elia, now referred to as the impure saint, blushed like fire.
Camilla frowned, apparently displeased, and with a small sigh, she spoke.
“Should I call you the Lustful Saint instead?”
That statement was enough to turn the expressions of our party into something strange again.
“N-no….”
At Camilla’s words, Elia shook her head violently.
To me, it seemed like they both meant the same thing, but apparently, Elia felt differently.
“Tsk.”
After clicking her tongue at Elia’s reaction, Camilla sank back into the enormous chair and let out a small sigh.
“Sorry, I overreacted a bit.”
“Oh, it’s fine…”
Whether still shocked by what she heard or not, Elia shook her head timidly.
Camilla smiled slightly for just a moment, then quickly adopted a serious expression that seemed totally out of character for her.
“Do you have the location of the escaped ones?”
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Elia shook her head apologetically.
“Not yet… I’m sorry.”
Seeing Elia like that, Camilla furrowed her brows and tapped the desk a few more times.
“Hey, I’m asking if I should blame you right now for not locating them! I asked about their location.”
Oddly enough, her words were spot on.
I nodded in agreement, with Lucius answering in my stead.
“We have not located the Jackal, and the man has only been confirmed to be outside the Demon Realm; we don’t know more than that.”
“I see…”
Seemingly lost in thought, Camilla closed her eyes, stroking her chin.
After a brief moment, as if she had finished organizing her thoughts, she scratched her head and opened her mouth.
“Alright, so… what should I call that lady? What’s her name?”
Camilla’s gaze turned to Lucius.
However, Lucius seemed unsure of what to answer, mumbling.
“Hey, you’re asking for her name, aren’t you?”
“…She has no name.”
Camilla blinked in disbelief.
“Are you serious? You really don’t know her name?”
“…It’s Nameless.”
At Lucius’s words, Camilla’s mouth dropped open in shock.
I was just as astonished.
It was utterly coincidental that a name I had created for a character was now the same as my disciple’s.
…What a weird coincidence.
Feeling this ridiculous coincidence, I glanced back at Nameless, who appeared just as bewildered, blinking in surprise.
“No, it’s not me.”
Was it because he felt the gaze on him? Nameless shook his head vigorously.
“Ugh.”
I almost burst out laughing at the cute expression of my disciple.
Seeing the others share the same sentiment, despite the heavy atmosphere, their shoulders began to shake.
But only Nameless seemed to pout, feeling unfair about the situation.
That short but delightful atmosphere quickly faded away, and Camilla scratched her head lightly.
“Then what? Any distinguishing features?”
This time, Lucius seemed confident and nodded.
“He has very dark black hair.”
“Okay, black hair… Luckily, that’s not too common.”
Camilla scribbled down everything Lucius said on a small notepad beside her.
“And?”
“He has blood-red eyes reminiscent of blood.”
While transcribing Lucius’s words, Camilla tapped the desk with her pen and tilted her head.
“…Blood-like? That’s a bit vague. Don’t you have anything to compare it with?”
It seemed Camilla was determined to garner as much detail as possible.
In an attempt to be helpful, Lucius looked around his surroundings.
“That color, exactly.”
He gazed at Nameless.
“What?”
Black hair with red eyes?!
I looked at Nameless with a shocked expression.
Nameless, meanwhile, pouted his lips, looking offended.
“Why do you keep bringing me up?”
Indeed, he was a fun disciple to tease.
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