After much contemplation on how to write the report to Argantir, I ultimately decided to omit everything related to Eleadra.
“U-um… Is that really okay?”
“Yeah, this is right.”
If you’re clueless about what excuses to make, not bringing up the matter at all might actually be a wise decision, right?
There’s this saying I can’t quite remember where I heard it from: the secret to a life full of happiness is to be a clueless fool!
So really, I wasn’t deceiving Argantir, but rather giving him happiness.
“If he knew about Eleadra, he’d be worrying and losing sleep over it, but if he doesn’t know, he can sleep soundly, right? So he should actually thank me.”
I was saving him from the anxiety and fear of a disaster roaming his country, and the extreme stress that would ensue.
“……”
Friede stared at me silently. Her expression clearly reflected the exasperation of thinking, “What kind of nonsense is that?”
“…As long as I don’t cause any problems, that’s what matters, right? Just problems.”
I rolled my eyes away from her gaze, giving a forced smile that trembled at the corners.
I understood her frustration at wanting to say something, but honestly, this seemed like the best choice.
If Argantir learned the truth, he would most likely choose to either banish us or hunt down Eleadra, and I didn’t expect either outcome to be favorable.
Banishment to the Kingdom of Rhine or Burgund?
I could stomach that much, but it was bound to escalate beyond that.
Knowing Argantir, he wouldn’t miss the perfect opportunity to let the bomb named Eleadra loose in a foreign land.
He’d send assassins or spread rumors to provoke Eleadra into rampaging. It was a golden chance to decimate the neighboring country’s power without losing a single soldier.
It was truly a dirty, cruel, scummy thing to do, but that’s just how Argantir was when it came to his nation’s interests.
But what if he decided to hunt her down instead of banishing her?
‘That wouldn’t be much different. The difference would be whether the chaos erupts in the neighboring country or his own.’
There were clear limits to the forces Argantir could mobilize. He was still just a prince, not a king.
Plus, he was purposely acting overly kind and weak to avoid drawing his brother Heid’s ire.
In that situation, he couldn’t possibly control an army, so the best he could secretly mobilize would be a handful of royal knights and a few assassins from the underworld.
There was no way that could kill Eleadra. If it could’ve, Friede and I would have taken her out ages ago.
All those fools could do would be to provoke Eleadra’s wrath and trigger unnecessary bloodshed.
If they really wanted to subdue this monster, they’d need to announce it publicly and issue an official decree of eradication on a national level, but…
‘…That would be troublesome. If we did that, it would only lead to their downfall.’
That would only bring about the very thing I feared.
The core forces of the kingdom would desert their posts. The demons would recognize this and intensify their attacks. The ensuing collapse of the frontlines would lead to a domino effect of calamities.
Eleadra hadn’t even done anything yet, but the kingdom would be falling apart at its own feet.
If the frontlines fell apart due to fear, we’d just end up provoking Eleadra, leading to our complete extinction without accomplishing anything.
‘If Heid gets involved, it would be even worse.’
A confrontation with another hero party? That was something I absolutely needed to avoid.
If we faced them before I cleared my name, whether we died or they did, there would be no turning back.
‘And if that hero possesses the Holy Sword Tirving and still has activation counts left… in the worst-case scenario—no, surely one of us would be taken!’
The Holy Sword of the Kingdom of Hervor, Tirving, had the power to dominate enemies as their vassals.
The limitation was that it could only control three at a time and couldn’t dominate heroes or archdemons, but that still made it a weapon that could conquer the world.
Heid was using that power to satisfy his own desires, but that ability was meant to control powerful demons as spies or incite internal strife.
If he controlled Eleadra with that, he could wield her as a perfect follower without any uncertainties—unlike us!
‘So I should just keep my mouth shut.’
If I informed Argantir of the truth, only we would bear the responsibility. Even with my mediocre intellect, I could see that coming.
So I decided to stay silent. Even at the risk of Eleadra going berserk and us not being able to stop her.
◆◆
I sent a report containing only the extermination of the branch organization and information about the Doppleganger, along with key documents that proved my findings had been destroyed.
If it was good news, I wouldn’t need to do that. I could just bring it to the branch, and they’d pass it along to Argantir.
Unfortunately, it was bad news, so that wasn’t an option.
The branch head here was almost certain to be dismissed in the afterlife over responsibility issues.
In that situation, it was hard to believe they’d completely relay the report that could cost them their life.
If they just kept quiet and bolted out of here, that’d be the far more prudent action. If they were petty, they might even submit a false report, shifting all the blame onto us.
So, this report needed to reach Argantir directly without going through the branch.
Of course, that didn’t mean I’d pull some crazy stunt like sending a parcel to the royal family; I just utilized the direct contact network Argantir had previously told me about.
“I’ve replenished all the travel items, and with this report done… I can leave right away.”
“Are you going back to Bainen? I-I’m a little worried about how we’ll explain this to Lord Veloren…”
Friede sighed and complained, wondering how she’d make sense of the shocking fact of having a vampire granddaughter who was hundreds of years old to her mother.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”
How could I explain it?
“I don’t need to, and I don’t plan to.”
…I couldn’t explain it even if I wanted to.
How could I even begin to clarify this? It’s obvious what would happen. She’d pull out her sword at the mere sight of a demon.
Even if Eleadra was truly my daughter, it’d be hard to get her to pass that off, let alone the fact that she’s just someone with no connection to me apart from her being called my daughter.
She wouldn’t buy the idea that I adopted her. A fierce battle would erupt right in the peaceful front yard of our mansion between a high-ranking knight and a daywalker vampire.
And with our side likely facing overwhelming odds of losing in that tragic showdown.
No way I was letting that happen.
“No need to explain…?”
“Right. I’m not going back. That would be disastrous.”
That’s why I decided not to return to my mother. I worried she might get killed by this monster if I took her back.
“Is that because Lord Veloren might be in danger?”
“Well, yeah. You sort of have an idea of what could happen, right, Friede?”
There was another reason beyond that, but… it could be said that it all boiled down to Eleadra’s fault anyway.
“…I envy Lord Veloren. To be cared for so much by Hilde.”
“What? Are you jealous or something?”
“Yes.”
“Oh…uh, right.”
I nodded reluctantly. Being so quick to agree to a joke left me at a loss for words.
What on earth was there to envy? Jealous of someone who had been separated from their biological daughter only to now be separated from an adopted daughter as well?
While caring so much about her safety, why didn’t she show even a hint of the same concern for herself?
What can I say, it sounded like childish discontent.
A little child not able to distinguish between worry, trust, consideration, and affection.
‘…But you’re not a child.’
Isn’t that a bit childish, Friede? You’re 20 years old, not some jealous little kid upset that a mother’s attention has shifted to a sister.
You’re basically an adult by the standards of modern Earth as well.
Is it true what they say—people act according to how they appear? I doubt anyone embodies that saying better than Friede.
…Maybe I should treat her like a child?
“Are you feeling neglected, Friede?”
“N-no! That’s not it! I-I mean, it’s just…!”
Friede stuttered, fumbling over her words in surprise. I opened my arms and gently hugged her, bending down to whisper in her ear.
“I’m not neglecting you. It’s just that the levels of trust are different. Having more concern means you don’t trust as much, right? It just means I trust you even more. Friede.”
Friede, with her ears twitching, stared at me with a sulky expression, as if my words weren’t enough.
“T-that’s not fair… You don’t hug me as much nowadays…”
“……”
Was that really the issue?
I had no words.
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