kscans

Chapter 172 - The Meeting

The place I arrived at after passing through the Gate was a small, stone-walled room. It was about four and a half tatami mats in size, with no windows or doors. Furthermore, there were no lights. But the room was bright. Just like in the underground ruins from before, the walls themselves were glowing.

In the center of the room, there was a desk and two chairs, and one of the chairs was occupied.

The person was human, with blond hair and blue eyes, and wore silver armor. They also looked quite young, and their face... was frighteningly perfect.

"Hello. Can you understand the words I’m speaking?"

The mysterious person spoke to me. Of course, I understood them perfectly. I had taken the precaution of drinking a Translation Potion.

"I understand you."

"Oh? Why is that? Hmm, do you have a translation skill?"

I had only drunk a potion, but he seemed to think it was a skill.

"You don’t think I’m a Frontier person?"

If I were, it wouldn't be strange for me to understand the language.

"From those words, I can tell you are not one of our brethren. We don’t have the term ‘Frontier person.’ In fact, we call you people ‘Feire people.’ It would be strange if I were to ask if I thought I was a Feire person, wouldn’t it?"

If he had asked me, "Don’t you think I’m a Feire person," I would know for sure he wasn’t from Earth. It was the same principle.

"Hmm. By the way, what do you call yourselves?"

"We don’t really have a name for that. So ‘Frontier person’ is fine."

"Is that so. Then ‘Feire person’ is fine for us as well. Please call us that officially."

"Are you sure you can decide that on your own?"

"It doesn’t matter, does it? Or does it have some derogatory meaning?"

Like Jap?

"It doesn’t. Then let’s do that. You’re quite a character."

"That doesn’t matter. Also, I think a person who doesn’t invite a lady to sit is the worst."

"Ah, sorry, please, have a seat."

I finally took a seat as invited. We were facing each other across the desk, and this kid’s face was seriously perfect.

"I’m sorry, but can I ask first? What is your gender?"

His hair was short for a woman, but his face was so perfect I couldn’t tell. On top of that, his armor hid his build.

"Ah, I’m a man. Would you have preferred a woman?"

"Either is fine. Your name?"

"It’s Arc. And you are Eleanor Ocean-san, correct?"

Well, of course he knows my name. There was an inquiry, after all.

"That’s right. I will permit you to call me by my first name."

"Hmm, you’re so bossy... Say, are you a witch? Or a princess? Which is it? We haven’t quite gotten the full picture ourselves."

"What did the inquiry say?"

"A lot of things. We got inquiries from many different countries. Some about a princess, some about a witch... It’s all so confusing."

So it wasn't just one country... No wonder the information leaked.

"Please ignore all of it."

"I can’t exactly do that. That’s why I first want to determine whether you are a Frontier person or not."

"How?"

"Do you have a Status Card? If you show me that, I’ll know."

A Status Card will tell him? My nationality, or rather, home planet isn’t written on it.

"No. Why should I have to show it to you?"

It has my precious skills written on it.

"That is the most certain way."

"In the first place, this has nothing to do with me."

Like I care.

"But if this continues, you’ll be identified as a Frontier person."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Well, we’d have to take you back with us."

"An unknown person? Are you an idiot?"

It would be a huge problem if I were a bad person.

"Hmm, then let me rephrase. We’d have to kill you."

"How would you kill me?"

"Huh? How...?"

Arc faltered.

"Let me tell you something. Someone of your level, and that invisible person over there, are no match for me. I’ll have your heads in three seconds."

I pointed to the space behind and to the right of the seated Arc. Of course, my eyes couldn’t see anything there.

"What!? You can tell!?"

Arc looked back and forth between me and the direction I was pointing, shocked.

"I have the Presence Detection skill, you see."

"Oh, man! Why would a mage have something like that!?"

Arc looked up at the ceiling and covered his eyes with his hand, but he immediately leaned forward and asked me.

"I’m sorry. I may be called a witch, but I am a swordswoman. My Swordsmanship is level 6."

Fufun!

"Six!? You’re a monster! You’re not a witch at all! The anti-magic barrier is useless!"

An anti-magic barrier? So he prepared that because he heard I was a witch.

"Anyway, how long is your invisible friend going to stay invisible?"

"Sorry, sorry. This is my guard. But she’s using an invisibility potion, so please wait a moment."

Oh! He said invisibility potion.

"Can’t she just drink another one?"

The duration of an invisibility potion is one hour, but if you drink one while already invisible, the effect is cancelled. It’s what I always do. It’s convenient, but the downside is it makes you have to use the restroom more often.

"I can’t waste a precious invisibility potion."

Precious?

"I’ll give you one, so have her show herself. I have a disease that makes me see invisible people as Hide Skeletons. I might end up cutting her down."

As I said that, I took an invisibility potion out of my bag and placed it on the desk.

"Huh? Is that real? And what kind of disease is that!?"

Arc retorted while looking at the invisibility potion I had placed on the desk.

"It’s real. Make her drink it. Otherwise, I’ll really cut her down."

"Alright, I get it. Mia, drink this. This witch seems like a murderer."

Arc said that and held out the invisibility potion behind him to his right. The invisibility potion in Arc’s hand then disappeared.

"Who are you calling a murderer?"

"You."

Arc pointed at me with a straight face.

"I am famous for my kindness."

"People who say things like that are never kind... Ah, it seems it was real."

As Arc looked behind him, a blond woman in a maid outfit appeared, standing with perfect posture.

"Did you think it was a fake?"

"Well, yes. Ah, this is my maid, Mia. You can basically treat her as if she’s not here."

Well, I couldn’t see her until just now, so.

"Hmm. Now we can finally talk calmly."

"Hey, aren’t you a little too calm? I mean, you’re too composed, or rather, too bossy. I would think most people would be a little more tense."

"Not if you weren’t a child."

He looks like he’s in middle school at best. A good match for Nanapon.

"I may look this way, but I’m thirteen."

Well, that’s just what I thought...

"A child."

"How old are you?"

"You should refrain from asking a woman her age. I’m feeling down because you’ve more than doubled my score."

"Huh? You’re twenty-six!? An old lady..."

Irritating...!

"Mia, kill this brat!"

"I refuse."

"Hey, why are you giving orders to Mia..."

Ugh... So I really am that old now. I can keenly feel the pain of a jaded Satsuki-san.

"Mia, what is your age?"

I asked the maid, just to be sure.

"I am seventeen... I’m sorry."

She apologized to me... Starting today, I’m going to be nicer to Satsuki-san.

"Well, whatever. I am just an old Feire person. Is that fine?"

"It’s not fine, onee-san."

Hmph. A kid who can read the room.

"Excuse me, Eleanor-sama. What color is your Status Card?"

"Color? It has a color? It’s black."

"Arc-sama, she is without a doubt a Feire person."

"It seems so."

Are the colors different?

"What color are yours?"

"It’s white. Here."

Arc said that and, like a magic trick, produced a white card from thin air and waved it at me. I took my Status Card out of my bag and looked at it, but it was black.

"It’s black."

Arc pointed at my Status Card with a straight face.

"That’s right."

"Then you’re a Feire person. Alright, that’s settled. You are not a Frontier person. Mia, tell His Majesty later."

His Majesty? So there’s a king.

"As you wish."

The maid, Mia, bowed respectfully.

"Are you going to report that to the countries that made the inquiry?"

"Of course. We have to respond to their inquiries."

"Then tell them what I said. Eleanor Ocean doesn’t seem to be a Frontier person, but she is a mysterious and scary witch."

"Huh? What’s that?"

Arc asked with an exasperated look.

"It’s a problem for me to be identified as a Frontier person, but it’s also a problem for it to be clearly denied."

"Isn’t that just for your own convenience?"

"It is."

Yes, yes.

"...Huh!? You just nod and that’s it!?"

That's just how it is. What else can I do?