15-6
A Boy's Heart
Translator : PolterGlast
Having finished what
needed to be done, I discarded my dirty robe and hid myself in a tavern-inn.
There I ordered bread and a beef tendon stew, and killed time until the
promised evening.
「Whoa,
hold on a minute, Shinza. Of all the
people to meet up with, you chose that woman...? Hey there, Sigrun. Do me a favor and behave
yourself today, will ya.」
「You idiot! Cursing at a good
customer again! Sigrun-san, I am so, so sorry about him~!」
Come to think of it,
the owner here was the type who didn't mince words. He was cursing with a faint
smile at Sigrun, a repeat offender of brawls.
「Wahahaha,
don't worry! I have plans to rampage elsewhere later! Ooooi, Shinzaaaa!!」
「Wait a
minute Sigrun, yelling so loudly is embarrassing!」
I was desperate to
finish at least the beef tendons in the stew before they were snatched by Sigrun.
However, a refined woman's voice that I felt I had heard somewhere before
echoed.
「You've
got a cute girl with you, is she your woman, Sigrun?」
「Eh...
t-that means me?!」
「Wahahaha,
unfortunately I do not have those kinds of tastes!」
Turning around while
eating, the young lady Yumil was there. The woman with long Light Elf
ears, white skin, and shining beautiful blonde hair wore a light short-sleeved
jacket and an excessively short skirt.
And her appearance
said this: She was in a stance fully prepared to join this plan, to join the
villain's warehouse break-in.
「Owner,
rent me a room for about an hour.」
「Heeeh~?
You surprisingly play hard with women, don't you, Shinza~. They call
that being surprisingly depraved.」
With the plate of
beef stew in one hand, I paid the room fee to the inn owner with silver coins. Sigrun
has a large chest and is a beauty. Furthermore, with Yumil being a
beautiful elf, it's certainly possible to have such delusions.
「W-wait,
hold on! That—that’s not at all what I came here for!!」
「How boring! What we are about
to engage in from here on out is far more than some mere 'inappropriate
relationship'—it is something much more extreme! A high-stakes, burning-hot,
dangerous game of playing with fire! Oh my...!」
Telling her not to
say any more unnecessary things, I pulled Sigrun's wrist and went up to
the second floor. Perhaps feeling the same apprehension, Yumil also
obediently followed.
We entered the room
with the key received from the owner, sat at the table that caught my eye, and
brought the stew to my mouth. Sigrun sat in the seat opposite, and since
there weren't enough chairs, it seems Yumil sat on the bed.
『I
shall ask you one thing. What do you think of Yumil?』
Don't ask trivial
questions when we're busy, Zirant. Even if you ask me what I think, I
have no way to answer. Well, for a noble young lady, she has quite a good guts.
Including the point that she's trying to join this plan.
『Fumu...
Then what do you think of her as a woman?』
Don't suddenly ask
strange questions. I almost spat stew into Sigrun's face... Even if you
say as a woman. Well, I do think Yumil is quite a beauty, but...
『Hoh, And
is that after Wagahai, then?』
Yeah... Next to you
and Aneue.
『Then
between Wagahai and Atomina, who is more beautiful?』
That's Ane—you.
You are the most beautiful. The best in this world.
『Umu, I
see, I see♪ It's only natural; I knew long ago that you were in love with Wagahai...♪』
Zirant is
troublesome when she gets sulky. It's not a good idea to answer that Aneue
is more beautiful here. Even a blockhead like me somewhat understood that.
「Looks
delicious... Give me a little.」
「Yeah,
I thought you'd say that, so I finished only the meat first. Do as you please.」
「Wahahaha,
aren't you shrewd. Then I shall partake!」
Sacrificing the
meatless beef stew, I turned back to the unexpected person. It was no longer
necessary to ask, but I decided to ask the circumstances just in case.
「So,
why are you here? This kind of dirty work doesn't suit you.」
「That's
my line! Why are you doing this!? There's no need for a Prince to do this!」
「Wahahaha,
that's exactly the good point of this man! Besides, weren't you indignant too!
Saying Lord Codwall must die!」
At Sigrun's
words, Yumil on the bed awkwardly averted her eyes. He is indeed a
villain who makes you feel that way if you know the circumstances, but it's
amusing to think these are the words of a Duke's daughter.
「I-I
did say it, but I didn't go that far!」
「She's
a woman who arbitrarily exaggerates stories. Besides, assassination is not in
the plan.」
Surely men and women
perceive this incident differently in magnitude. From a female perspective, the
act of wife-killing is the worst kind of betrayal.
「But
it's strange, isn't it... It's strange that a guy like this is left at large...
No matter how good he is at making money, this is just a murderer... Why is
this being forgiven!?」
It seems that is Yumil's
motive for joining this plan. She deeply sympathized with the victims and,
together with Sigrun, was indignant at the unpunishable evil. Yumil
seems to be a much more passionate woman than I thought.
「Look
here Shinza, Yumil is an interesting one. That's why I decided to
let her help!」
「I see,
so you did fire her up after all...」
The Empire's number
one troublemaker floated a hearty smile, proud of her own judgment that it was a good idea.
It's certainly backwards for me to say... but what do you intend to do by making
a Duke's daughter help with a chivalrous thief business...
「What's
wrong...?」
However, it's
strange. Yumil's gaze won't leave me. As if she had something to say,
she stared intently at me without even a glance at Sigrun.
「I’m
just watching. Don’t mind me.」
「Even
if you say that...」
「I have
various things going on here too. Phew... I'm starting to understand a little
bit of what that grandpa was saying... When told that your heart remains that
of a boy, I wonder if it makes sense...」
Muttering to herself,
slightly cold eyes stared intently at me. That figure suddenly returned to
reality and hesitantly opened her mouth.
「Prince
Ashley-sama, did you hear anything from Gideon-san?」
「Hear
anything? No, I haven't heard anything.」
「...I
see. Then that's fine. Let's join our strength and bring down some divine
punishment on that piece-of-trash man!」
「Let's
do that! Then we'll feel refreshed, and our wallets will be enriched, it's the
best! Let's show hell to evil! Sluuuuurp」
「Sigrun,
your worldview is quite simple, huh...」
Having the stew I
was eating slurped up with a tremendous noise, I wonder what exactly this
psychology is that makes me feel embarrassed instead. It doesn't look like that
plate is ever coming back to me.
「Now
that I know, I cannot leave him at large. Besides, guys of this ilk will
eventually become unable to satisfy themselves with just their inner circle and
start randomly slashing people in the street. Dispose of him, Prince Ashley
of the Empire!」
「Yeah,
I already had him slash at me. But I didn't feel the kind of skill that would
allow him to randomly slash people in the street.」
In response, Sigrun's
plate and spoon were placed down. Then she laughed challengingly, saying
"Is that so." The other one, the young lady Yumil, had stood
up from the bed.
「Wait a
minute, you fought Codwall!?」
「Yeah,
I wanted to see if there was room for rehabilitation. But that's an
unsalvageable villain. I even felt madness.」
「No,
wait, wait, Shovel Boy. If you fight with that conspicuous Shovel, it'll
be dead obvious that you are you, won't it...?」
「I’m
not so reckless as to go in without a plan. It seemed I could win there, so I
repelled them with my fists.」
「Eh...
Eeeeehhh...?!」
Sigrun likes
this kind of manly talk. When I told her a bigger version of a child's heroic
tale, she laughed heartily and deliberately slapped my shoulder many times.
「Umu!
Now that's passionate!
I truly wish I could have joined in on a brawl like that myself!」
「Yumil
is glaring at you, you know.」
「Mu,
why make such a face at me?」
「Why,
you ask?! You've got some nerve saying that after messing up so much in Fimbul!
Because of you, even I was mobilized for the harvest that time!」
「I see,
I see! Umu... If I said I don't remember that story at all, would you get
angry...?」
「Of
course I'd get angry!!」
What a mess. Seeing
a perfect opportunity, I snatched the plate back from Sigrun and shoveled the last remaining bits of beef stew into my
mouth. It was gone in an instant. Well, Sigrun
is just that kind of woman—there’s not much use in complaining.
「Setting
that aside, what about that item?」
「That
item... Ooh, I properly received it from Glasses Boy!」
「Who on
earth is Glasses Boy...」
「Must
be Puis.」
Puis had said
he would arrange a floor plan. When I moved the stew plate, Sigrun laid
a single piece of paper on the table. It was a rough hand-drawing, but it
firmly captured the important points.
「Umu,
that black-glasses boy. And so, the valuables are apparently stored here, and
here.」
「Two
places...」
It seems he divides
and stores his personal wealth in an outside storehouse and an underground
warehouse. If even a little of the target's economic power is left, Lord Codwall
will probably bounce back. Therefore, we have no choice but to connect both
from underground and take everything.
「Apparently
he's soliciting investment talks, and it seems the Knight Order's money is also
mixed in this warehouse.」
「If
that is stolen, he is ruined. What about our transport convoy?」
「They
said they will come to the location we specify. I will contact them.」
Back when we broke into the corrupt merchant's warehouse in Naglfar, we didn't have such excellent backup. Joining forces isn't bad either; everything is well taken care of. Now, let's dig the underground tunnel. From now on, we will snatch the wealth of evil and turn it into our power.
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