Seijo no Hazu ga, Douyara Nottoraremashita – Chapter 74

It seemed like she was making a simple greeting or making small talk at a glance, but then her words were full of malice. I was amazed at her admirable skill.

Of course, no one in the room except for me could understand her words.

They probably thought she said, “Oh my, you’ve come? It’s nice to finally be able to talk to you.”

There was a momentary pause.

At that moment, I heard Lector take out something from behind me and I looked back…

Huh? What’s that?

He had taken out a small container and had just opened the lid.

Then…

“Meow~!” 『Kya~! Sil~ver~Vine~!』 Lolo meowed loudly in joy. She left my feet and began climbing on Lector.

Huh!? Lolo, how can you be so easily manipulated!? Aren’t you always attached to me?!

Don’t you have any pride as a magic beast?!

But, Lector said, “Lolo, toy,” then he gave the contents in the containers to Lolo. Lolo took it in her mouth and climbed onto Lector’s head.

Huh?! Of all places, his head?!

Lector smiled wryly, but Lolo purred and got comfortable on his head… she began gnawing on the silver vine.

There’s silver vine in this world too…

And it’s quite effective on magic beasts too…

I looked at them in surprise, and Lector looked at me as if nothing had happened and said, “Ah, you two can continue. Anise, I would appreciate it if you spoke in a language that we can understand.”

He smiled. You… you’re saying something like that in this situation…?

“Lolo… you’ve gotten close to him…” I said.

“Oh my, how cute! I love cats too. Your name is Lolo? You’re very cute…!” Hime put her hands to her cheeks and said cutely.

I looked between Hime and Lector.

Hmm… So, she’s only speaking in this kingdom’s language at times like this.

I heard through Lolo that the maids, who were standing at the corner of the room, were whispering, “Ufufu, the Saint is cuter!”

Yes, Lolo and I are connected. Normally, we aren’t deeply connected, but I can feel that I’m connected to Lolo right now, probably because of the silver vine, therefore I can hear everything in this room no matter how quiet it is.

“Continue. You don’t have to mind us.”

A handsome man with an intoxicated cat on his head and messy hair makes a really big impact…

I can’t help but look at him.

I’ll try my best since it’s work, but it’s a secret that I had a hard time regaining my composure from staring at the disappointingly handsome man.

“Ah, well then… I heard you have something to tell me, Hime,” I said and Hime looked troubled, then she switched back to our previous world language.

『Ew… you’re acting prim… Why don’t you stop since it doesn’t suit you. And you know what I want to talk to you about. Give him back to me you thieving cat.』

Yeah, she uses a language that only I can understand when she wants to insult me. Clever.

But I’ll just reply to what she says. I can’t let her provoke me.

It’s alright, I’ve prepared myself for this…

“But he’s not mine, and he’s not yours either. I can’t give him back to you even if you tell me to―――,” but when I began speaking in this kingdom’s language, Hime immediately covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.

Then, she switched languages again and said, “You’re mean! I never said that! Why would you say that?! I was just asking you to send me back to my kingdom! I can’t speak this kingdom’s language very well… but I can’t believe you would think that I said that…!”

Ehh… What’s with you? Annoying.

How did you come up with something like that on the spot?

No matter what I say from now on, she’ll just say, “No way, I didn’t say that!”

Just as I thought that the maids in the back began whispering to each other, “Oh, poor Hime-sama. She’s easily misunderstood.”

That’s right~, that’s how it looks~…

But I can’t simply accept that.

“… I understand. You want to go back to your kingdom, right? But I don’t have the right to make that decision, so I’ll leave it to the General and Vice-General, who are listening to our conversation. So, I will give you a reply later. Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

Then, with her face covered with her hands while looking down, Hime switched languages again and said, 『That’s an annoying tone. You’re speaking so arrogantly. Anyway, you need to back off and give everything back to me. That’s all I wanted to say. I won’t get any angrier if you give him back to me right now. I’d really like you to apologise to me, but I don’t care about that anymore. I’ll forgive you right now. So, tell him that I’m his real Saint and not you. You know that you should have done this yourself, right?』

Hmm? What? What kind of reasoning is that? I don’t know anything.

I realised that I used to be timid when I thought that.

In the past, I always get shaken by her one-sided words like this, and I remembered that I thought that there might be something wrong with me even though it felt unnatural. She also kept pestering me until I finally gave in. I don’t understand it, but I’m always the one who gives in when she’s this persistent.

But you know what?

For the past six months, I haven’t been in a situation where I could say such kind things.

I’ve pondered and made choices to get to today, and now you want me to give you what I’ve worked so hard to get? Hah?

I refuse!

It was never Hime’s to begin with. It’s truly mine.

“… My Saint title was granted by General Lector and is not a result of me lying to him in any way, so there’s nothing I can do about that. Also, you have your own ‘Saint of Prophecy’ title, don’t you? I don’t think there’s any need for you to change places with me. However, if you do have some advice for us as the ‘Saint of Prophecy’ then we will happily listen to it. Do you know what will happen in the future and what will happen to the General and this kingdom?”

We discussed that I should ask her about this.

I’ll ask her this quickly and get it over with. I don’t think we’re on the same page.

Of course, she probably won’t give me an answer. But it would be great if I can get a clue, and if not, then I just want to see her reaction.

『… Hah? You want to know how he dies? And even if I do know how he dies, what makes you think I’ll tell you? Stop joking around. I’ve always been annoyed with how you always act like a good girl. Even now, I can’t stand the thought of you being around him for even a second longer. You know, that’s my place. Lector-sama is supposed to marry me. So, why are you cutting in? I made up my mind to save him and marry him the moment I knew that I had come to this world. That’s why I have been working so hard. So, why are you stealing him? Aren’t you being sneaky?』

I couldn’t see her face since she was covering it with her hands. But I could tell that she was seething with anger from the tone of her voice.

“… Why Lector? I thought you liked Prince Loire―――…”

『What? Stop calling him so intimately. He’s the coolest guy. Compared to Lector-sama, Loire can’t compete with him in terms of appearance, status and kindness. That’s why I decided from the beginning that I would get married to Lector. That’s why I conquered Loire’s route and desperately tried to unlock the hidden route. It was all so I could marry Lector-sama. So, why are you the one who married him? Why? I won’t allow it. It’s not fair that you’re stealing him from me. You’re really sneaky!』

“Excuse me?!”

『I’ll never let him be yours. I’d much rather he not belong to anyone if I have to see you with him. He can just die like in the scenario if he won’t marry me.』

Then, she raised her face and looked at me with a tragic expression as tears streamed down her face.