I Favor the Villainess
95. Resistance
The place was inside the slums on the outskirts of the king's capital.
At the entrance to that building, which also appears to be a miserable seemingly abandoned ruin, stand two men who are resilient.
Dear Claire, Lily, my three were observing the condition from a place away.
"... I knew you wouldn't stop?
"What are you talking about when you get here?"
"Oh, yeah. This is how I even disguised myself."
Master Lily is right, we are not in our usual college uniforms.
It's like telling me to assault you if you were walking through Slam Street like that.
Of course, where we were attacked, we wouldn't have to worry about getting hit unless we were, but we shouldn't be alarmed by the resistance by making a scene.
That's why we've come this far in civilian attire - and that's pretty lame too.
He also wears a hood at the depth of his eyes so that he doesn't know it's just women.
"Well, shall we go"
"Hey, Ray!... Already"
"Yes, let's go, Master Claire"
We never approached the building with our will.
"Excuse me."
When I spoke, the gatekeepers looked suspicious.
Nearby, one had a tall, sword-like waist and the other had a slender shape and an axe-like hand in one hand.
They are two people who seem to be in a rough spot to see.
"What. This is no place for kids."
"I'm here for the head of the office. Take care of him."
"So you're telling me that's not where the kid's coming from. Go home. Go home."
I told the taller one to intimidate me.
Hmm.
I knew I couldn't do it with the right method.
Then.
"How is Raster's sister and brother?
"!? wow... how did you get that name"
My word changed the complexion of the gatekeepers.
"May I see Master Ara?
……
"Hey, how did these guys get the names of their heads..."
"Shut up. You keep an eye on these guys so they don't run. I'll ask the chief."
With that said, the taller gatekeeper went inside the building.
"Hey Ray, what do you mean? Do you know anyone here?
"No, there isn't."
"Then how come you even got a name?"
"Dear Claire, women have secrets."
"Hey, if you're kidding..."
"Come on, let's go."
As I was whispering to Master Claire, the gatekeeper returned.
"The leader will see you. Get in."
A tall gatekeeper opened the door and urged it with his jaw.
"Thank you"
As we went inside, the door was locked.
"!? Hey!
"Dear Claire, it's okay."
"But!"
"Trust me, please"
"... I see."
Master Claire seemed dissatisfied, but for one second she seemed to listen to me.
Nevertheless, it's not strange when it explodes, and so on.
This has to be taken care of in many ways.
The building was unthinkable from the exterior and even clean.
Adjustments, etc. are only minimal, but they look about the standard of a civilian neighborhood.
We followed the gatekeeper down the hall and were put through to the deepest room.
"Chief, I've brought you in"
"Thank you"
Chief, it was a tall woman who was called.
I have dull blonde hair unmanipulatively tied behind me, and on my face - no, there are probably burn marks all over my body.
"Well, I've got a lot to ask, but first I need you to take that hood."
The burned woman - Ara-Raster - asked with a thin laugh on her mouth.
The only thing I'm laughing at is my mouth.
My eyes look at this one cold.
Even Master Claire, who was supposed to be strong, could see clouding her expression like she was quite and barely pressured.
The look on Ara's face only moved a little as we exposed ourselves to it.
"... do you understand what kind of place this is?
"The rightmost wing of the civilian movement. We recognize it as the headquarters of the Resistance."
"Hmm...... Who'd you ask?
With eyes like finding something interesting, Ara keeps asking.
"To no one. Don't worry, your people don't have traitors."
"You want me to believe those words?
"All you have to believe - Mr. Ara-Manuel."
The moment I mouthed that name, I felt a small pain in my neck muscle.
"Ray!?
"Mr. Ray!?
Stops the two of them from taking out the magic wand and putting it in place with their hands.
Soon a sword was stuck in my neck.
It was an unexpected early job.
I didn't see any knife pulling behavior.
"You……. How do you know that family name?"
Unlike earlier, upset could be seen on the head face.
The name Ara-Raster is a pseudonym.
Her real family name is Manuel.
What I know about it is, of course, the knowledge of the game.
"You can't seed it. But I know almost everything about you guys. What you're doing now, and what you're about to do."
"You think you're gonna give him back alive who knows that much? Is it also a suicide wish?
"No, we wanted to do business with you."
"... you say it's a deal?
"Could you put your sword down for now? I can't help but talk."
As I said, Ara stared at this one to be vigilant for a while, but eventually breathed out louder, lowering her sword.
"... I'll just ask you. I'll see if I can get you back alive."
"Thank you"
In the meantime, I succeeded in getting Arla to the negotiating table.
But the production starts here.
"You must be in financial strain right now. So I'm offering you two million gold."
"... Hmm? Where do you get all that money from?
"It doesn't matter where it comes from. In return for this funding, I'd like you to tell me where there is evidence of an unjust affair between Chancellor Sarace and former Queen Lulu."
"... who are you really...? How far do you know?
"So I said pretty much everything."
Ara still doesn't weaken the color of vigilance.
I can't help it.
Because we know all about Ara's bills.
"Oh, your father is secretly in touch with the former queen!? What are you talking about, Mr. Ray!?
Master Lily slipped her mouth as the upset became extreme.
"Well, is your daughter Cardinal Lily? And you're Ray-Taylor, aren't you?
Ara laughs.
The look on your face.
But...
"Please don't play badly. Since you took the hood, you must have known who we were."
Ara's. This is a bluff.
That hand tag was something this one has been exposing to since the beginning.
I'm not going to hide who I am.
Ara pounds her tongue in chips.
"And Master Lily. Sir Sarus was having an affair with the former queen. As a result, Lady Sein was born."
"Hey, dude!?
I mean, rumors about Master Sein were true.
Master Sein is not a fruitful child of His Majesty the current King Rosseille.
The sons of Sarus and the former Queen Lulu are Sain, and Sain and Lily are his half-brothers and sisters.
Silver hair and red eyes are common to Master Suras, Sain and Lily.
"Keeping track of that much, you don't have the evidence?
"Yes, Mr. Ara knows if there's any evidence of that, right?
"Why would you think that?"
"Rumors about Master Sein, now rumored in the alley, have been circulated by Mr. Ara"
"... you really seem to know everything"
Ara grinned bitterly, raising her hands as she had noticed.
"You know who I am, don't you?
"Yes."
"Say, look."
Arla said, as if we were going to answer each other.
"This is Arla-Manuel, the eldest daughter of the old Count Manuel family, who was near Master Suras".
When I said so, Arla grinned sarcastically.