Ch.169169. Whose Apostle?

Being the second son of a Marquis and aiming for the family headship as a man comes with many disadvantages compared to women.

Tradition and legitimacy naturally favor Eunice Kallia, the eldest daughter, over himself. In the Kallia Marquisate, which is stricter about military matters than any other family, it’s no exaggeration to say that war and cold weapons are symbols of women. Naturally, the family’s main retainers are reluctant to have a man who suits flowers and pens better than swords and spears become the head of the family.

So there have been many twists and turns until now.

He made Chloe Anette, the commander of the 1st Army, his subordinate. He used various methods to persuade the knights of the 2nd Army under his sister. It was no easy task to draw in retainers who had sworn to support Eunice until death.

In the process, various strange nicknames and rumors became attached to him, but he ignored them. Though they were unpleasant, about half of them were true. Rather than worrying about such shabby rumors that might circulate in the marketplace, it was more important to genuinely guard against Eunice who was wary of him, and to secretly strengthen the foundation of the plans he had laid beneath the surface.

But today, a problem arose.

“Just when Eunice has entered the Great Forest, I need to make definite preparations.”

The appearance of Abel Kallia.

Until now, he had lived quietly without making even a sound. He never expected his younger brother, whom he had never been conscious of, to appear with such sudden news.

“This makes it difficult to control those women in the west.”

And with authority over the management of the western territory, which is the most important part of the Marquisate’s domain for him at this moment.

Until he securely brings the territory under his control, they must remain hidden beneath the surface and not reveal themselves. Otherwise, everything he has worked so hard to build up would be taken away by his mother and by Eunice, who always looks down on him.

“Urgh…!”

Allen grits his molars.

His expression gradually distorts, and the bright, cheerful boy’s face disappears, replaced by a face crumpled like a malevolent spirit.

“Hoo…”

Allen, calming his anger with a deep breath, bites his lip.

Drip.

As a drop of blood forms on the wound and trickles down, Allen wipes it with his sleeve and says:

“Chloe.”

At that call, Chloe, who had been quietly watching Allen from the entrance of the room in a fixed posture, steps forward.

“Yes, Lord Allen.”

“We need to send a message to those in the west. Tell them to stay quiet and observe the situation for a while without causing trouble.”

“I will arrange for a letter to be delivered to the administrator in the west through someone trustworthy.”

“Trustworthy, you say. Is that really true?”

“Yes, she is a woman who handles matters reliably for what she receives. She usually handles our messages, so you need not worry.”

“Chloe, if you say so, I suppose I can trust her.”

With those words, Allen places his right arm on the armrest of the comfortable chair with a small sigh.

After some time passes, Chloe carefully opens her mouth.

“Lord Allen. What will you do about the scheduled meeting?”

“Meeting… you mean the one in two days?”

“Yes.”

“…It would be good to meet after making plenty of preparations. Was that woman active in the west?”

“That’s right. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she leads almost all the underground operations in the west.”

“Then I should meet her after proper preparation. Send a message in advance to be careful, and I’ll tell her properly when we meet in person.”

“A wise decision.”

Allen slightly raises the corner of his mouth at Chloe’s words.

However, when he rests his chin on his right hand, that small smile disappears, and only a sullen expression appears on his face again.

“Still, that woman… she had horns on her head.”

“Since what we felt was clearly different from others, your guess is probably correct.”

“Half-human, half-demon—I always get an unpleasant feeling when meeting her. There was a reason for that. Ugh…”

Half-human, half-demon.

A being who is human yet not human, demon yet human.

As he recalls the half-demon with disgust,

Chloe, looking down at him, speaks in a chilling voice.

“Do not worry. If she tries anything, I will immediately cut off her head.”

“Would that be alright?”

“Yes. There are plenty who could replace her… and more importantly—”

Chloe’s eyes flash sharply.

“The safety of the apostle who serves the divine command is far more important.”

“Indeed. As you say.”

Allen finally begins to show satisfaction at being called the apostle of God.

Lifting his chin from where it rested, and leaning deep into the comfortable chair,

Allen looks up at the sky.

“I am… the apostle of God.”

He smiles and gazes into the void again.

In Allen’s pupils, the common language of the continent is reflected.

He was clearly receiving some kind of assistance and guidance.

“I was thinking of targeting the Sianella lady as well this time, but unfortunately that seems difficult.”

Allen’s eyes ripple with regret.

* * *

The Marquis’s garden wasn’t bad.

White and yellow flowers bloomed delicately, adorning the garden neatly.

In the pond surrounded by flowers, ornamental fish that looked like carp were swimming leisurely.

“Look at this. They’re gathering around us!”

Sione, who had shaken off the unpleasant feeling from the conversation with Allen by looking at flowers and regained her peace, peers into the pond with amusement.

Indeed, as Sione said, as we approached the pond,

all these carp were swimming toward us.

“I think they believe we’re here to feed them?”

Blub blub!

The carp, with only their mouths above the water’s surface, circling around Sione and me.

Seeing that sight reminded me of certain individuals I’ve been seeing in the carriage every day, so I nudged Sione and said:

“They remind me of you and Fluffball.”

“What…? Those?”

Apparently comparing her to a scaly fish didn’t sit well with her.

Sione begins to glare at me as if she can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“Hmm—”

As if asking what I meant by that, Sione starts to stare at me with a dignified expression.

“When I have a cookie pouch, don’t you and Fluffball gather around me just like this?”

“…Maybe Fluffball does, but I don’t go ‘blub blub’ like that.”

“Instead, you lick your lips.”

“Ugh…”

A slight blush begins to appear on Sione’s cheeks.

“…That was mean.”

She swings her arm with a prim expression.

Well, it was just a simple joke.

She seems a bit upset, so I should just take the hit.

It didn’t seem like she was hitting that hard, so I let her elbow hit me.

Thwack!

“…Ssip.”

Sione’s strength was fiercer than I expected.

Her elbow struck my arm, and quite strong pain rises from the spot.

“That was mean.”

“I hit you to make it hurt. You started it first, Ray.”

“Is it okay to hit a man like this?”

“Why not? You said you came from a reversed world too. Besides, you’re usually so impassive… you never show any sign of pain unless your bones are breaking.”

“…So if I acted cute like Allen, you wouldn’t have hit me so hard?”

“Huh?”

Sione suddenly drops her upset face and begins to look at me with slightly sparkling eyes.

No, why are you like that now?

It’s a bit burdensome when you suddenly look at me that way.

“If I say yes… will Ray act cute for me too?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Me, acting cute? Really?”

“Why… why not! You could try it once…”

I don’t understand what my master is saying.

Would it really be possible for a sane man to suddenly act coy and cute?

“…Would you like me to?”

Since I’m not someone like Allen,

I’m sorry, but I can’t show her aegyo.

* * *

After looking around briefly, Sione and I returned to our lodgings.

Fresh air enters through the open window, gently swaying the curtains.

The slanting sunlight warms Sione’s bed,

and she lies down weakly on the cozy bedding.

“…I act all cute for my brother whenever he wants, but he won’t do it for me—”

Sione mumbles, rolling just her blue eyes to look at me.

Though her whisper full of disappointment catches my ear, well.

If we move on to another topic soon enough, it should be fine.

I headed to Sione’s side as she lay there weakly.

Then, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking down at her, I asked:

“By the way, Sione. You mentioned earlier that you felt something suspicious about Allen when you met him.”

“Yes… I certainly did. But why?”

“Perhaps it wasn’t just a feeling, but he might actually be hiding something.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Earlier, when we shook hands, I felt a strong eeriness from him.”

Hearing those words, Sione’s expression instantly turns cold.

“You felt eeriness, you say. I didn’t feel anything.”

“Just as Friel Arielt—”

The other person who left a warning about the second son, Allen Kallia.

“It would be better to be wary of Allen, as Abel Kallia said.”

In today’s case, it was our first meeting.

Even if we were led by the atmosphere he created during that short time,

from the next time we meet him, it would be better to face him with a clear mind.

It’s certain that he’s hiding something…

and my intuition strongly suggests that it’s something suspicious.

Sione must have felt something else from this opportunity based on my words,

as she simply nodded quietly.

‘Come to think of it—’

According to Abel,

the security management of the west is Allen’s responsibility,

and coincidentally, creatures tainted with Magia were crawling around in the west.

Maybe it’s because I already dislike him, or perhaps I’ve become paranoid,

but what if he really is connected to that Magia?

So I asked Sione:

“…You said you couldn’t feel any Magia from Allen.”

“Right. Even though I felt a similar sharp sensation… I couldn’t sense any Magia.”

“And yesterday, he was hurrying somewhere with a priest.”

“That’s… right…”

Sione hesitated to answer, as if something had occurred to her.

“Then, this is just a hypothesis based on the curious circumstances… even if no Magia can be felt, if he is connected to demons—”

Sione is still lying on the bed.

Normally, she should be enjoying the comfort of such a warm blanket, looking as if she might fall asleep at any moment.

But right now, she stares at me with unusually clear and somewhat sharp eyes.

“What do you think we should do, Lady Sione?”

“……”

Sione seemed to find my question difficult to answer.

She didn’t immediately provide an answer, instead turning her head to stare blankly at the ceiling.

“Well— I just… hope everything passes quietly without any incidents until we leave the Marquisate.”

It wasn’t a clean-cut answer.

However, I could somewhat grasp her true feelings from the determination gradually revealed in her voice.

Sianella is a family of knights who slay demons.

Moreover, the knights of this generation have suffered great wounds from fighting a war with demons after hundreds or thousands of years, so their hatred for demons is quite strong.

As a proud member of the Count’s family and a knight who wields a bow,

if Allen is definitely a person related to demons, Sione would certainly take a clear opposing stance.

And that would surely lead to troublesome situations.

I simply nodded quietly at Sione’s words.

“I think so too.”