I waited for Rik, and then he fell asleep from tiredness.
That seems to be the same for Lisette, and she's getting some sleep too.
Apparently, the guard character is asleep, too, and I'm the only one awake in this dungeon right now.
That's when someone seems to come down to the dungeon, and the footsteps reach my ears.
And the person stopped in front of our dungeon before turning on the lantern.
"Hey, are you the intruders?
Bring a lantern fire closer to my face as I speak in a cute, rambling voice.
That's when I first realized the person was a woman.
As far as appearance was concerned, she was the girl with eyes who goggled on a brown connection, putting her blonde hair together behind her, a circle smaller than mine.
"... which is it?"
"He's the one in charge of weapons development in this country. You don't give a shit about names, do you?
She stands aside and answers my questions.
But only with her eyes won't let go of me, and I get the impression that I'm worth it somewhere.
"Ha, it's a joke, joke. I am 'Marialette - Crescent'. Feel free to call me Marie."
"... we won't be easy friends."
"That's up to you."
Marialette narrows her eyes and puts the lantern at her feet.
"We're going to ask you a quick question. Depending on the answer, you can miss it in the form of becoming one of my men"
"... so what does that gain you?
"You won't. This is like my hobby. But it's not a bad story for you, is it?
... Sure, it's not a bad story.
But I can't even think of a line that she would betray.
She's been cutting out questions, knowing or not about my anxiety like that.
"... how far do you know about the Sage Act?
"... ugh!?
"Like, that reaction. You seem quite relevant."
"Know that, what are you going to do?
"Huh, don't you think? If you answer me, I won't have to tell you."
She shrugs her shoulders with one eye down.
But here's where we stand now. I don't even think I can hide it through here.
"… the law of the wise is a cult that strives for equality"
"Well, so?
"Previously, a woman named Dahlia launched the Sage's Law and tried to rule Isel. But since his ambition was defeated by His Majesty King Isel, he has been lurking in shadows."
"By" there he is, "you mean he's gaining momentum again, right?
"Yes, it looks like they're planning to rebuild again"
"I see, I see..."
Mariarette nods over and over with interest.
"Um, how could you do that...?
"Because it's interesting. Isn't that right?
"... that's not true"
I swallow the words that were on my way out.
And I tried to stare into her eyes and answer her question again.
"No, I do. This should have nothing to do with your country."
"Irrelevant, irrelevant..."
Mariarette doesn't care about my words, she repeats the same words over and over in her mouth.
"If it's irrelevant, why don't you tell the wise man's law?" Peswen has nothing to do with it. "
"... what do you mean?
"I came to this country, too. A man wearing a mask named the Wise Men's Act."
As opposed to her telling me to calm down and say so, I get all sorts of words stuck in my head.
You were happy to see me like that, Mariarette opened her mouth.
"So, here's the point. Can you tell me more about the power that exists only in Isel? Similar powers were used by masked men."
"... what are you talking about?
"You're unexpectedly ill-founded, aren't you? It's settled, isn't it?
"It's a 'spell'." The Spell ""
As soon as I hear that word, I'm about to catch my breath.
There are unusually few books about spells. That's enough not to find a single book in the library.
So I was heartily surprised by her words.
"... how to gain strength at the expense of something important. That's the spell."
"I'm not. I'm not expecting an answer like that in a textbook. I want you to teach me how to use that power."
"... that, I don't know"
"... is that right? That's too bad."
This power is not something you can teach someone.
At least for people like her.
"Well, let's just say I'll accompany you to Isel to find out about it"
"... to?
"Look, what are you doing. Get ready to break out of jail."
What is she talking about?
You mean to go all the way to Isel for the spell?
"Why do you want to know so much?!?
"On the contrary, why do you think I don't want to know?
"... Huh?
"What do you think is most necessary in development? Technology or experience? None of them. There's only one thing you need."
She put her thoughtful face close to the iron lattice and had a mad grin.
"Curiosity." Dangerous beings who want to reach out to the unknown. That's us, the developers. "
……
"'Curiosity kills cats'? Not really! Much better than not even trying to find out!
Surprised by her attitude, she reaches out from the iron lattice to my face and cheeks.
"You're really good at that! You can give me a full score! It tickles my curiosity. You don't bore me!
"What..."
"Don't you see? As far as your outfit goes, I thought you were one of a kind?
She makes her hands crawl down from my face, pointing just at my heart.
"Coats all over the smell of ink. You wanted to know something, too, didn't you?
... undeniable.
I wanted to know about the Nucleus, too.
That's why I spent four years.
"Did you finally notice? Who I am and with whom I should join hands"
……
"Then let's go. We can be a good combination."
She releases her hand from my chest and takes the form of asking for a handshake as it is.
I got a little lost in that hand, and I shook it.
"Not really. Full score."
"... thank you, sir"
Really, can I take her hand?
If what she says and does is an act, that's a big actor.
So it's hard to think of betraying.
My anxiety is not there.
Can I keep it up to her taste? It was a vague anxiety.
That's when there was one voice, ringing in the dungeon.
"Marie! You, what are you doing there!?
"If you think it's someone, Rick. I liked him terribly. I'm going to go with him to Isel."
"... you think you can do whatever you want!?
"I can. Your Majesty already has permission."
"... damn!
Rick seems so sorry, he punches the dungeon walls out of his mind.
Marie seems to be in such a strange way about him that she opened the key to our cabin with a laugh.
"Well, shall we go? Yeah..."
"It's Lazareth. Lasalles-Mercures"
"... hey, Mercury."
Marie goes up the dungeon with a gesture of putting her hand on her chin and thinking something about how concerned she is with the name.
I glanced at her like that, and I held Lisette asleep and went after her.