Volume 3: Chapter 006: Lepis – Black Twilight
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: Switching ‘Sir’ Raymond to ‘Lord’ Raymond. Technically, he should be His Highness… Gah! In Japanese, it’s all XX-sama. From now on, Raymond will be ‘Your Excellency’ or ‘His Excellency, Lord Raymond’ and be referred to as ‘Your Excellency’ to his face.
Tsk. Especially since Thor is ‘Sir’ and Makia is ‘Lady’
I am Lepis Twilight.
As Lady Makia, former Crimson Witch and Ruskia’s Magic Advisor, I am always by her side.
Many demons have already infiltrated the Royal Capital of Miradreed, feeding on those with magic powers and eagerly waiting for a ‘certain time’.
His Excellency, Lord Raymond, seemed to believe that the ‘certain time’ was during the Great Noble Council.
In short, it [1] made the most sense for the Hermedes Federation to launch an attack at that time.
“Noah, please stop.”
“Sister Lepis…”
I had grabbed Noah’s hand just before he launched an attack to finish off those masked men. I kept my voice firm, and though Noah looked a little displeased, he deactivated his Magic Fortress quickly enough, and the scythe disappeared from his hand.
The masked men were lying in a pool of their own blood.
[2] “Noah, you should know better than to use your Magic Fortress on people like this. You just end up hurting yourself.” [3] “So what if I do? That way, I could master the Magic Fortress even more.”“These are humans, not demons.”
“Humans are the same as demons. Humans are the ones manipulating the demons.”
“… …”
Noah was the youngest surviving child within the Twilight clan.
Though he was the youngest, his talent for spatial construction and imagination far surpassed everyone else. My elder brother, the head of the family, also respected him very much.
However, during the most important period of his growth as a child, his parents were killed by demons. That was when he became a little warped and started to immerse himself in learning all kinds of techniques to defeat demons.
“I escorted Lady Makia safely to Midgard. You have no complaints about that, right?”
“Indeed, I have no complaints, well done.”
Then, I gave in to the urge to pull him into a hug.
“Stop it, Sister. You always treat me like a child.”
“I am not treating you like a child; you should be more aware that you are a child.”
While I was speaking, Noah took the opportunity to pull away and put his hood over his head. Whenever he was angry, embarrassed or ashamed, he has a tendency to pull at his hood like this.
“Now, please come down, everyone…” I said as I looked up at the narrow strip of sky that was all that could be seen from the back alley.
Suddenly, several black-robed people came floating down. They were from the Twilight Clan, just like us.
In fact, several members of the Twilight Clan were secretly watching over Lady Makia, and more were scattered all over Miradreed.
“Sister Lepis, will we be moving these men to the Royal Place?” a girl with long black hair tied back in two ponytails and slanted eyes asked. Her name is Kikiruna Twilight.
“That’s right, Kiki. Send them to the Royal Palace basement. Skala, I shall leave the rest to you.”
The large bald man, Skala Twilight, nodded. He was the hulking, silent type. He said nothing as he trapped the men inside a space and compressed it into a small cube before tucking the cube away.
“Sister, sister, who’s that man there?! Kyahaha! What’s with that weird pose~”
[4] I looked at the direction Kiki was pointing at and saw a well-dressed young man lying in a slightly strange pose by the wall. He must be Lady Smirda Beigrates’ knight. [4] I sighed, “You can just leave him. I will take him with me.”“That was rather uneventful, wasn’t it? I was hoping that things would be more interesting in Ruskia,” Kiki grumbled.
“Do recall why the head of the family sent you to Ruskia. Sir Thor will be devising a few magic weapons utilising the energy from the remains of the Residual Magic Spaces. You are here to make this plan a reality as a Magic Circuit Engineer.”
“I know, sister…” Kiki narrowed her slanted eyes before tugging on Skala’s robe. “Let’s go back to the palace.”
The two of them disappeared into the thin air.
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When Noah and I reached Midgard, the door swung open by itself.
“Oh, it’s you, and there’s a little one too, eh?”
“It’s been a while, Madam Egressa.”
The owner of the shop opened the door [1], and we entered the shop.
[4] “Lepis, Noah! Glad you made it!”“Indeed, we took care of everything. The demons will be dealt with, and the humans will be taken to the royal prisons.”
“I see…” I said as I glanced over at Noah.
Noah nodded in response and rolled the cube in his hand, aiming at the floor. Then, Smirda’s knight, Elliot, appeared on the floor.
His eyes were hazy, and he was still in that same odd pose we saw him back at the alley. What could have happened to him?
What a pity that this happened to such a good-looking guy.
“Kyaa–, Elliot! Your eyes are all in spirals!”
Lady Smirda ran up to her knight, clutching his head and screeching.
Noah and I decided not to get involved in the situation and tried to leave, but-
[5] “H-hey, wait a bit, you two!”“……!?”
[1] Since it was Lady Makia who ordered us, we had no choice but to stop.Lady Makia ran up to us and said, “[5] Hey, thanks for saving us. I was in a bit of a pinch at that time.”
“No, it’s nothing…” I said.
“Especially you, Noah. [5] Your Magic Fortress is really great, you brought us safely and comfortably to our destination.”
“It’s fine…” Noah muttered as he tugged his hood down even further.
He must be embarrassed at being praised by such a famous person as Lady Makia.
“Then, we will be nearby. Please call us anytime.”
“Very well, I shall depend on you to escort us back as well.”
“O-of course.”
The one who replied was Noah. He must have said it on an impulse. After that little remark, he turned bright red as he tugged his hood down again.
I have never seen him like this.
“… …”
Lady Makia, who did not know much about Noah, patted him on the head and said, ‘’I shall depend on you~’
My eyes squinted with joy as I put my arm around Noah’s shoulder and guided him out with a short ‘We shall take our leave’ and disappeared from the store.
Later, Lady Makia’s friend, Lady Smirda, bought an amulet under Madam Egressa’s advice, and we escorted the ladies back to their residence safely.
The day ended without further incident.
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I am speaking to the small Lacrima crystal in a breezy part of the terrace connected to my room. The wind felt cool in my face.
“It’s been a while, brother… Yes, we encountered the Demon Race again today… Yes, Noah performed well. He was a little embarrassed when praised by Lady Makia… Yes, Lady Makia is quite the character to impact him with a single phrase… Yes, letting Noah escort her was the right decision… Noah is playing cards with Lady Makia right now.”
I made my weekly report to my brother, the Head of the Twilight Clan, who is now fighting a battle beside Princess Shatma of Fresir.
When my brother asked me what kind of person Lady Makia was…
“Lady Makia is… A great noble, so noble that while it showed in her every action, still treats us like equals… She is very considerate of us and trusts our abilities… Lately, I felt… like we could be friends. It is a great honour.”
As I spoke, my eyes lowered awkwardly as I tried to put into words the many feelings inside of me.
My brother was laughing.
“It is rare, but there were times when I looked at Lady Makia, I… Though she appears honest and shows her emotions freely, she never reveals the true depths of her heart. She often acts sweet and spoilt, but she never shows any true weakness…”
This was not limited to us.
She was the same with Sir Thor and His Highness Ulysses as well.
I believe that not even Sir Thor or His Highness truly understood everything about Lady Makia.
Perhaps, as a woman, I could sense that Lady Makia was hiding something. I nearly continued speaking, but then lost my words and stopped.
Finally, all I said was, “Good night, brother.”
Thus ends the conversation between myself and my dear brother.
It was all speculation on my part anyway.
Even so, even if Lady Makia was truly hiding something, it would be rude of me to try to dig around without permission.
[Gumihou: Tried to make the chapter NOT cliche and trite. Also, adjusted various dialogues so that they actually reflect the various characters’ personalities]
[1] Add details – because it just doesn’t make sense otherwise [2] Lepis-like dialogues [3] Noah-like dialogues [4] Adjusted details [5] Makia-like dialogues
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