70 Song Gods Theater (2/2)

I wonder if you'd be willing to accept the lead role of Commander Midas.

I say, and Shirone shakes her head.

'What?　Why?

'It's to keep Ainoe from getting suspicious. There's probably someone behind her. We'll have to let her swim and find out. And I think the best way to get close to her without being suspicious is for Miss Shirone to take the lead.

Ainoe had changed her appearance with magic. And perhaps she was not a magician.

Therefore, there must be someone who cast a spell on her.

We'll have to find that person.

If that's the case, it would be faster to use Reno-chan's magic: ......

Syrone is reluctant.

Indeed, Syrone would be right. It's faster to use Reno's mind-reading magic and so on.

But she might be magically connected to that person.

'It's certainly faster that way. But if the person who cast the spell on her finds out, there's a chance they can escape. For example, the messenger of the person who cast the spell could be on Ainoe's side. So I want to avoid Lino-san's magic as much as possible.

It reminds me of a rat that Nao had caught earlier. If anything happened to Ainoe, he would notice.

'Ugh~'

Cyrone snarls. He doesn't want to do it so badly.

'It's okay, Sirone. Reno will be here to support you...'

Reno says brightly.

'I'd love to see Shirone as a princess too. I'm sure you'd look great in it.

Rage chuckles and says and puts a hand on Sirone's shoulder.

Actually, I want to see it too.

Of course, I can't tell Cyrone about this.

'And then maybe they'll try something on us from the other side. So this is also meant to be a decoy. Instead of attacking their position, we should wait and see what happens. This is what I experienced when I fought the evil god Lavrus.

I continue quietly, hiding my true intentions.

''Huh~. I understand, Chiyuki-san. But it's only for the sake of the investigation!　I'll stop as soon as the case is over!

Silone reluctantly agrees after being persuaded by me, Reno and Rage.

'Sage Lord. I am curious about a man named Marcias.''

Decius says.

'Well then, it's settled then. Sirone, Reno and Reigi. And Sahoko-san, you can follow Sirone-san. Is that alright?

Yeah. All right, Chiyuki-san.

Sahoko comfortably agrees.

'I hope you'll be a stopper for Rage.

'And the rest of us, Nao-san and Lord Decius, will try to track down someone named Marcius.

Nao and Decius nodded.

I look over and see that Decius is pale. He seems to be worried about his sister, Shenna.

I also pray for Shenna's safety.

I hope she's alive.

Shenna the dancer

Shenna....... Shenna.......

I think I hear my brother's voice calling my name from beyond the darkness.

Perhaps he's worried about me.

I have to go back.

That's when I thought. I wake up in a room somewhere.

'Nope.'

Look around you in your sleep.

Where is this place?

It's a pretty good room. The walls of the room are patterned and the bunks are fluffy.

The furnishings also look expensive.

The setting sun is shining through a small window high up in the air. It seemed that the time was getting close to night.

But why am I sleeping here?

I work my head.

And then I remember. What happened in the basement of the tavern.

I was chasing after Marcias and I met a demon, and there was even my sister Ainoe there.

And I was chased by the white masked ones and fought the Dark Knight.

My head is confused. There's so much going on, I don't know why.

As I recall, I was defeated by the Dark Knight. But I'm alive.

I get up.

I don't know why I'm alive, but a demon lurks in this country.

I have to tell my brother this.

”Hm?　What is this?

Then I notice. Black spines are wrapped around my entire body. But it doesn't hurt at all. These thorns don't seem to hurt me.

It's probably some kind of magic. But it doesn't seem to interfere with my ability to move.

No wonder I can't stop thinking about it. I'm going to move.

I feel dizzy when I get down from my bunk. It's probably because of the effect of the elixir Asash. You're going to be able to find out if you're going to be able to get a good deal more than you think.

I forced my wobbly legs to move and went to the doorway of my room.

The door is constructed to open to the inside of the room. The bolt is also inside.

It seems that they don't intend to lock me in.

I leave the room and see the stairs.

I can hear people's voices from downstairs.

I manage to descend the stairs, propping myself up on the railing.

'Wait, Regena!　You don't have to do that!

I hear a man's panicked voice.

As I go towards the voice, I hear the sound of water. Apparently there is a bathroom up ahead.

I've been aware of it for a while, but it seems to be a very rich man's house.

Of course there is no bathroom in an apartment complex, and there is usually no bathroom in other houses either. That's why public bathrooms are so popular.

It is a given that whoever has a bathroom in a private residence is a rich person.

I approach the bathroom. Who are they? I'll at least see your face.

'Please, sir!　Just let me flush my back while I'm here!

'No, but that said, ....... And Kuna!　What are you doing!

'Mm. If Ligeena flushes Kroki's back, Kuna will flush her front.

Hey!　No!　Kuna!　Woo hoo!

What is he doing? The bathroom was blindfolded with a thin silky cloth that prevented me from seeing inside.

That was when I approached. My legs get tangled up and I fall down.

I pull on the blindfolded cloth and fall down as it is.

'What the hell!'

They've noticed. It will not be good if we don't escape.

But my legs are stuck.

Someone's coming for me.

Are you okay?

I look up as a voice calls out to me and I take the cloth that covers my head.

There's a man in front of my face.

And I look at him.

'Hee!　Monster!

I can't help myself.

I grew up in the Temple of Ishtia, the protector of prostitutes. If you were in the temple, you had plenty of opportunities to see men naked, even if you weren't with them.

Some of the men were of poor quality, showing off their crude caterpillars.

But the man in front of me was not a caterpillar. And it's not a snake either. It's a true evil dragon.

I look at the man's face. That face is familiar.

It's a dark knight.

Fear spreads through me.

”Your face is blue. Your body is wasting away. You must still be asleep.

The dark knight bends down and extends his hand as he says this. The dark knight's evil dragon looms in front of him as he bends down.

''Nuh-uh.''

And then I fainted.

Dark Knight Kroki.

You're lying!　I can't believe my sister Ainoe tried to kill me!　I don't believe anything the Dark Knight says!

Shenna says, glaring at me.

I let out a sigh to myself.

She passed out in the bathroom and began to freak out when she woke up again. It was hard to calm it down.

Then, once it had calmed down, I explained what had happened so far.

'Believe it or not, it's true,'

But she doesn't seem to believe it.

'I can't believe it: ....... My sister Ainoe was so nice to me.

Shenna says, looking down.

In fact, Ainoe was probably kind in the beginning.

But as Shenna came to a head, she seemed to hate him.

'Seems that was the case at first. But what about these days?'

............

Shenna is silent.

'Apparently I have an idea.

'And I wonder if there was an attempt on his life before Kalkinos? Do you have any idea?

I say to myself.

Shenna looks up.

'I'm sure ....... Suddenly there were things falling out of my head and foreign objects in my drink and food, but ....... Of course I was going to catch the culprit later. I didn't think it was sister Ainoe who did it. ......

Shenna ponders.

'Huh. ....... And then I'll give this back to you.

I put a certain object I was holding on the desk.

'My sword?　Will you give it back to me?

Yeah. It's your property to begin with. And I don't think you should take this medicine anymore.

I take out a small jar after the sword myself.

'Is that ......?　The jar that contained Asash.

I did a little research on this drug called asash and it's dangerous to humans.

It makes you stronger if you take it. But when the effects wear off, it can severely weaken the body.

It's a dangerous drug that can be fatal if it's taken badly.

She had been sleeping almost all day because of this drug.

Well, in the meantime, she and Kuna would be watching Ariadia, but that's another story.

'Why do you say that?　You look like you're worried about me.

Shenna asks curiously.

It's certainly strange that I'm the one worrying about her.

Why is that?

I'm not going to be a good person. So it's strange to help her.

”Kuroki~

Coona comes into the room as I'm distressed.

Kuna must have been drying her hair in the next room. Is it already dry?

The loungewear, made of thin, silky cloth, accentuates Kuna's stylized body.

'Goddess of Moonlight ......'

I hear Shenna muttering as she looks at Coona.

Coona comes to her side and sits down on her lap from the side.

Then she pulls her head to her chest and looks at Shenna and laughs, ”Hmmm.

It's as if she's showing Shenna how to do it.

'Kroki, you don't have to help a woman like that. You should kill her and dump her somewhere else.

Shenna's body jolts as Coona says with a laugh.

'No, Coona. You can't do that.'

He says as he strokes Coona's head.

It would be quicker to kill him, just like Kuna said. However, I couldn't bring myself to kill it.

Considering my position, I'm more on the demon side than the human side. However, I have killed demons in the past.

You can kill a demon, but you're hesitant when dealing with a human. Perhaps it's a matter of appearance.

I might not have saved her if her appearance was not human.

This is discrimination in a way.

''Mm~. What are we going to do with the woman then? Is Kuroki going to make more women?

Coona says, puffing out her cheeks.

'No!　No!　I wouldn't do that!

I shake my head.

Shenna is quite a beauty.

And even though she has a thin body, she was moderately comfortable to touch, as confirmed when I carried her.

But I don't think you should force it.

No matter how much it makes you want to lick your feet, you shouldn't do such a thing.

''Mmmmm~!

Coona pinches herself as she thinks about that.

Sheesh. I guess it was in my face.

Coona glares at me cutely.

'Ouch!　You're hurting me!　Kuna!

I manage to quiet Kuna.

I look at Shenna and she looks at me anxiously.

It's only natural. She must be anxious if you tell her you're going to kill her.

I'm not going to kill her, but I can't let her go either.

If we let Shenna go, Ainoe will kill Shenna.

Besides, Shenna could go to Rage and the others.

That would be the end of Ainoe.

I'm not going to side with Ainoe, but I'm not going to side with Shenna either.

That's why I'm not killing Shenna, I'm not letting her escape, I'm locking her up.

I've made sure that the black thorns I've wrapped around her will tighten up if she tries to leave this house.

Now she should not be able to leave this house.

If she doesn't run away, I'll guarantee her a reasonable life.

But I can't just leave her like this, like Kuna said.

Can't we do something about it?

The point is that Ainoe should not go after Shenna. If that happens, he can release her on the condition that she promises not to go to Rage and the others.

In order to do that, we'll have to convince Ainoe first.

But can we do that? Will I ever reconcile with the person who tried to kill me?

Yeah.

But I have no choice.

In the meantime, let's go check on Ainoe tomorrow. That's what I thought.