kscans

Chapter 56 - A Dinner Party and an Inherited Mission

"It really is curry. Just like the stuff I had at that Indian place,"

Mizuki said, tearing off a piece of naan and using it to scoop up some curry and other dishes laid out before us.

"If you're talking about the curry shops back in our country, apparently most of them aren't run by Indians."

"Really? Then who are they?"

"Mostly people from Nepal, I hear. You could taste the flavor of the Himalayas, couldn't you?"

I followed Mizuki's lead, piling some meat onto a piece of naan, drizzling it with curry, and taking a bite. This was, without a doubt, Indian curry.

"I couldn't tell at all... Can you, Mash?"

"Not a clue. And it's Mish. Don't you start getting it wrong, too."

"Oh, come on!"

Mizuki fell silent with a pout.
Myra, Cecily, and Aira were eating in the same manner. Myra was trying to get Aira to eat a piece of naan piled high with toppings, but Aira seemed reluctant.

"Mish-sama, are you enjoying yourself?"

Kalpana asked, approaching our table. Famu shot me a look that said, Are you using a fake name again? I started to feel uncomfortable.

"...Yes, I'm grateful for such a warm welcome. But I'm also a bit confused."

"I understand. Perhaps it would be best if you heard the story of our wandering people,"

Kalpana said with a nod.

"I'm Mish. You've got the wrong person, you know? Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Shall we speak as we continue our meal?"
It seemed there was no escaping this. Beside me, Famu was tearing off pieces of naan with a blissful expression. Myra, apparently interested in the wandering people, seemed to be waiting for me to agree, watching me with an expectant gaze. Cecily and Aira continued eating in silence, trying to gauge the flow of the conversation.

"Mizuki-san, is that alright with you as well?"

"Huh? Me? I don't know..."

Suddenly brought into the conversation, a bewildered Mizuki looked to me for help. I had no idea how they'd gotten their information, but it was clear they were specifically targeting otherworlders.

"I suppose so. If you could bring out some chai, perhaps we could relax and listen to your story."

"But of course. I will have it prepared immediately."

One of Kalpana's attendants exited the tent.

"It is said that the ancestors of our wandering people were soldiers who fought in service to Laciel-sama."
So it's about Laciel again. Had they heard the rumors of me summoning her in Richel and come looking? But why were they so certain that Mizuki and I were otherworlders?

"Is that so? And these descendants were punished by the gods, losing their homes and forced to wander?"

"...You know of our story?"

For some reason, she looked pleased.

"No, I just made a wild guess."

Not knowing the truth, I glanced at Myra.

"The church has records of similar legends,"

Myra confirmed with a nod.
So, just as Laciel was imprisoned, the soldiers who fought alongside her were also punished. I didn't know when the war of the gods took place, but it must have been thousands of years ago. Did they even have carriages back then? Cultures and customs must have changed completely. It was beyond my ability to imagine.

"When did this war of the gods happen?"

It seemed Mizuki was thinking the same thing.

"We do not know the exact time, but enough has passed for it to be a legend even among the elves,"

Kalpana replied just as a server entered with chai. A cup was placed in front of each of us. I took a sip and was met with the strong flavor of milk and cinnamon.

"I wonder what makes this different from regular tea..."

"Wait, you ordered chai without even knowing what it is?"

Mizuki's sharp ears had picked up my muttering.

"Well, you kept going on about 'Indian, Indian' so..."

"With black tea, you steep the leaves in boiling water. With chai, you boil the leaves right in the water from the start."

"I see."

I understood the difference in preparation, but I couldn't really tell the difference in taste, aside from the cinnamon.

"Can you tell, Famu?"

"It feels like it has a stronger flavor than the tea we got from the Mateo Trading Company,"

she said.
Was she serious? Or was she just making that up?

"Hmph. Master-sama, you're doubting me."
Why could she read my mind so easily?

"Um... may I continue?"

Kalpana asked.

"Ah, yes. You said you were punished, but couldn't you just settle in one place? It's not like anyone would know, right?"

"Everyone in our clan is branded with a mark of contract on our arms. From our perspective, it is a curse that prevents us from staying in one place."

Kalpana showed us her arm. A pattern similar to a Slave Mark was etched into her skin. Another curse. My eyes met Famu's.

"Myra, is there any way to break this curse?"

"Could you at least call me 'Myra' so it sounds like a name! If you won't, I'll go back to my coffin and sulk for a thousand years,"

Myra retorted. How did she know I was thinking of calling her 'Mummy'?

"The matter has been debated within the church, but no method has been found to break the mark of contract. It is of a completely different nature than the one placed on Famu-san."

"What about cutting off the arm?"

"The contract itself is engraved upon the soul. The mark that appears on the arm is merely a sign of it."

"I see. So that's how it is,"

I said, nodding to Myra.

"We do not mind our wandering life. We carry it as a point of pride. We came to this place for one reason: to meet Laciel-sama."

Kalpana steered the conversation back to its main course.

"You think you can meet Laciel if you come here?"

"Yes. My grandmother possesses a Divine Grace that allows her to receive prophecies. It is how we know which lands to travel to. This time, the prophecy stated that if we visited this land, we would meet a god. We have never received a prophecy like this before."

"A special skill like that exists?"

"Indeed. It is a special case, I believe. This Divine Grace is passed down through the women of our line. For now, my grandmother holds it. When she passes, it will be inherited by either my mother or myself."
So they weren't relying on rumors or an information network, but something that transcended human means. I didn't know the extent or accuracy of the information these prophecies provided, but at the very least, she was convinced that I could summon Laciel and knew that Mizuki was an otherworlder. I wondered which god was giving these prophecies. Considering her clan had served Laciel and had continued their bloodline for thousands of years, could it be one of the five goddesses?

"Which god sends these prophecies?"

"That, we do not know,"

Kalpana said, shaking her head.

"It may not be one of the gods who appear in the myths,"

Myra added.
It might just be Laciel herself, I thought. She does seem to have a lot of free time.
Still, this meant there were special skills that weren't directly related to combat. An otherworlder could get a skill that reveals someone's location, appear before us out of nowhere, and launch a surprise attack.
As I was pondering this, Kalpana straightened her posture and sat formally on her knees. Then, she lowered her head until her forehead touched the ground in a deep bow. A full prostration.

"I beg of you. Please, allow us to meet Laciel-sama."
This was uncomfortable. I wish she had just asked normally. If she'd cooed at me, emphasizing her cleavage and purring, "Oh, pretty please~?" I would've summoned a piddling goddess like Laciel a hundred times over. But I was the one who'd tried to shut her down with a fake name first. Still, did they have dogeza in this world, too? No, it had to be one of the worst customs imported by an otherworlder.

"...Please raise your head. I'm Mish. I'm just listening to your story."
But Kalpana did not lift her head.

"What will you do if you meet her?"

"We wish to serve Laciel-sama once more. We wish to fulfill our clan's dearest wish."

"...The ones who served Laciel were your ancestors, not you, Kalpana. That was a long, long time ago. You speak of fulfilling a great wish, but what about all those children? Are you going to drag them into this?"

The children would have the mark of contract, too. They couldn't just be left in someone's care.

"That is not for you to consider, Mish-sama. We have carried on our bloodline for this very day."

"...Alright, fine. Goddess Summ—"

Mizuki clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Wh-What are you thinking? Don't just summon her so casually! Get a grip, Mish!"

Mizuki hissed. Did she really think summoning her here was a bad idea?

"I'm tired of this. The difference between the Laciel this world thinks it knows and the Laciel we've actually met is just too big. So let's just let everyone see her and close that gap. They can do what they want, and they can be disappointed for all I care. I don't give a damn."

"F-For now, just drink your chai and calm down."
Mizuki made me drink my chai. That alone was enough to cool my head a little.

"I want some kebab, too."
When I tried to sound pitiful, Famu got a skewer for me. It had cooled down a bit, but it was still delicious.

"Let's take a vote. I think we should summon her."

"I agree. I want you to do what you want to do, Master-sama,"

Famu replied. In one hand she held a grilled corn on the cob; in the other, a glass of ayran. A white foam mustache from the drink ringed her lips. She was completely in spectator mode. I reached out and wiped the foam away with my finger.

"I'm against it. For the same reason Mash—you—were saying before you got fed up. Laciel is absolutely not the goddess they think she is. What Kalpana and her people are trying to do feels like they're inviting disaster,"

Mizuki said. It seemed she had given genuine thought to Kalpana's situation. And she had given up on using our fake names. She was right; it was pointless to keep hiding things when they had a nearly supernatural way of getting information about us. And she was also right that we had no way of knowing if Laciel giving them some kind of revelation would be good or bad for this world. We were the ones who should make the decision first. Mizuki was right. But this explanation wouldn't get through to a prostrating Kalpana.

"Mizuki and Famu are being selfish. I wish to know what Laciel-sama herself thinks,"

Myra said. She really wanted to meet Laciel, didn't she? Her eyes were sparkling. She truly believed in Laciel's goodness. I guess that's what happens when you're raised by the church.

"I'm against it. Don't forget we're in the middle of a caravan guard quest. We don't know what might happen tomorrow."

Cecily's opinion was sound, but it felt a little cold. So that made it three in favor, and two against.

"I'm against it, too. Cecily and Mizuki are right."

Aira's voice joined the opposition. The mountain of toppings on her naan looked like it was about to collapse. I hadn't noticed until now, but was she a big eater? She had been piling her food up the same way and polishing it off in an instant every time.

"Hm? You want some?"

she asked, probably because I had been staring at the naan in her hand.

"Just a little."
I opened my mouth, and she shoved the entire thing inside.

"Mmph! ...Gnnf... gulp."
It took a while to chew, but I managed to swallow it all. My mouth was now a world of spicy, ethnic flavors.

"So it's three to three."

"What are you talking about? It's two to three. The opposition wins,"

Cecily said.

"What, so my vote doesn't count?!"

"It usually doesn't. But, just for today, if you really want to do it, Mash, then you can. You are the hero called upon by Laciel-sama."
So much for taking a vote.

"...Then I'm summoning her."
Everyone nodded. Mizuki looked like she wanted to protest until the very end, but seeing the other members agree, she seemed to give up. Myra's eyes were shining with fervent light.

"Kalpana, raise your head. I'm going to summon Laciel now."

"Truly?!"

Kalpana finally lifted her head.

"Yeah. But I'd appreciate it if you stopped asking like that. Next time, try using some sex appeal. If you let me touch your chest a little, I'll call someone like Laciel for you in a heartbeat."

"...And yet you won't listen to my requests at all..."

Myra muttered under her breath.
Next time, I said to her in my mind, since I couldn't say it aloud. In the city of Frucht. You'd better be ready to shake those breasts.

"Understood. Then please visit this tent alone tonight,"

Kalpana replied.

"...Huh?"
I was only joking. My attention had been on Myra, so her response caught me completely off guard.

"I will be waiting."
I was glared at by every member of my party.