3: A Small Secret Tale From Around the Story’s End

“Right, got it. Hold on a minute. That won’t do!” she boldly declared, slapping both hands down on the stone table.

“Rgh...” the young woman who ruled a nation replied, clearly discontent.

Due to differences in culture and a desire to gather information, the devil country of Vassilios had sent a group of envoys to their new ally, the nation of Laband.

This tale occurs just a bit before that.

Sylvia Fal had come to the nation of Vassilios to gather information, per the calling of an Akhdar priestess, about everything from social systems to customs, as well as the everyday lives of people there. It was a task that she both felt was worth doing and was in line with her personal desires, so she spent each and every day feeling greatly fulfilled.

One day, Sylvia received a summons from the Golden King who ruled the nation.

Sylvia was quite well informed. She already knew that Vassilios was in the process of selecting members for an envoy group, and that, though it would normally be unthinkable, the nation’s ruler intended to accompany them. And so, she assumed she was being specifically summoned for her knowledge on the state of things in Laband.

The place she was summoned to was the king’s personal office.

Devil culture favored simple furnishings, but the king’s office was still quite luxurious. Yet it remained far from gaudy, with the impression coming more from the carved stone pillars and the table made from a massive gemstone, showcasing both exceptional craftsmanship and high quality materials.

It was in this office that Sylvia made her loud proclamation.

When she was told to calm down, she brought her forefinger to her brow and sunk deep into thought. It looked a bit like she was trying to massage wrinkles out of her skin.

She had something of an aloof personality, and normally she would never get in a verbal argument with someone else like this. Plus due to Chrysos being her friend’s sister, she felt close to the girl, but she still had her limits.

Ultimately, those words that slipped out without thinking were from pure agitation.

“I know that you’re accompanying the envoys to Laband,” she said, counting down on her fingers as she confirmed the facts of the matter. “And I get that you want to stealthily travel around Laband.”

It was of course not standard at all for a nation’s ruler to accompany a group of envoys to a country with whom they were just in the preliminary steps of opening relations, and on top of that Chrysos had declared she would be acting in secret on her own.

It was an utterly impossible state of affairs to accept. And yet, Sylvia had no doubts about all that. Taking into account Chrysos’s personality and the fact that she was Latina’s sister, there seemed no point in questioning it. In fact, it totally sounded like something she would do.

After all, she was aloof on a level that defied normal measurements.

“But that just makes this all the more impossible.”

“Grr...”

“Even if you make that face, it won’t change anything.”

Chrysos’s annoyed expression lacked any of the dignity you would expect from the ruler of a nation. Still, it had a childlike simplicity matching her age, a look that both she and her sister found quite natural.

Chrysos was wearing a cat-eared hood at the moment.

It was all well and good to be eccentric. If that was all, Sylvia wouldn’t have been shaken in the least. And in fact, as she was an aloof beauty just like Sylvia’s good friend, the look actually suited Chrysos rather well.

No, what Sylvia had a problem with was the fact that Chrysos proposed this as suitable attire for blending in.

It would obviously draw attention. There was no way that Sylvia was wrong about that.

“The attire of Vassilios and Laband differ greatly.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“And there should be no issue with the members of a group of envoys wearing the clothing of their nation.”

“That’s also true.”

Understanding one another’s cultural differences was a key prerequisite for two nations opening relations. There was no need for one side to force themselves to follow along entirely with the other’s culture.

But that was different when the topic was stealth.

That was all about blending into where you were staying, attempting not to stand out any more than is necessary. And so, it was necessary to match your attire with that of the local culture.

With just personnel from Vassilios, it would be impossible to know what clothing would seem natural in Laband. That was precisely why Sylvia had been summoned, but the candidate presented to her was a cat-eared hood, which left her unable to give anything but a stern retort.

However, Chrysos’s face remained plastered with a confident look of triumph.

“This is the traditional, storied sneaking attire of Vassilios.”

Chrysos took the matter so seriously because her late mother, the highly talented priestess who she greatly respected, had once personally prepared such hoods for that purpose. Her high regard for her own mother was precisely why her expectations on the subject were so biased.

There was, of course, no tradition of cat-eared hoods being used for stealth in Vassilios, but there was a definite risk of Sylvia taking the claim seriously, considering how Chrysos had presented it.

Their mother Mov was one thing, but their father Smaragdi would have assuredly chimed in. He would have clarified that while Mov certainly chose that style of clothing, it was not at all due to some sort of tradition.

“And it holds great significance that they are cat ears, not bear ears.”

It was clear from her expression that Chrysos was being deadly serious. Sylvia, therefore, opted to change the subject, even if she was a little forceful in doing so. After all, if she let Chrysos head towards Kreuz dressed like that, she would have a lot of explaining to do.

She talked a lot about sneaking around, but ultimately if she made it to Latina’s place, there shouldn’t be any further issues. After all, there would be plenty of people to look after her at the Dancing Ocelot. So even if she stood out a bit after that point, it should be fine. The folks who gathered there would surely figure something out. And so, she could just wear the cat-eared hood then.

Having come to that conclusion, Sylvia then decided to make a clear strike at one of Chrysos’s weaknesses, which she had learned through her relationship with the king up until now.

“You see, Latina likes dresses like this...”

“Hmm?”

Just as expected, she took the bait. This demon lord really did have a serious sister complex.

In terms of clothing, Latina preferred lightly colored, feminine, well-coordinated outfits. When she was little she wore a lot of dresses with frills and ribbons fitting to her adorable appearance, and it seemed that was ultimately the sort of fashion she preferred.

Plus Latina’s aloof nature seeped out into her appearance, making such outfits really suit her.

As she looked at Chrysos once the girl tried on the dress in question, Sylvia thought to herself that if she had already gone and prepared clothing in the Labandese style, she should’ve just worn that to start with.

And also, she couldn’t help but think that the king in front of her now really did closely resemble her good friend.

The light-colored dress with flowing sleeves undoubtedly suited Chrysos well. It was the sort of look that would be fitting for the daughter of a well-off family.

“Hmm...” However, Sylvia tilted her head and crossed her arms. “Is it because your personalities are different...? It looks good, but still... Something’s off...”

And yet, she couldn’t put her finger on just what it was.

She couldn’t help but feel that if her other friend who specialized in such things were here, she would be able to point it out right away.

Is Chloe doing alright...? Well, I suppose there’s no need to worry about her, of all people.

She was surely back on her feet by now, considering Latina had returned safely and all her concerns were dealt with. She came to that optimistic conclusion because of the information she had obtained and the fact that her friend wasn’t the type to go about whining about things.

“If you’re talking about sneaking around, it may be good to prioritize clothing that’s easy to move in...”

That meant a sporty style with pants. Then, match that with a top that wasn’t overly flashy.

“Or since you just need to make it to Kreuz, you could dress like an adventurer...”

This time, Sylvia went with a robe that covered her whole body and was equipped with a large hood, making her look like a magic user. The hood definitely made sense as a way to hide her horns without having anyone question it.

With that, Sylvia clutched her head in her hands again.

Every last one of them suits her...!

She had had such thoughts regarding Latina in the past, too.

The twins had incredibly beautiful figures and long, pale hair, so every style imaginable looked good on them. That went for everything from sporty looks to everyday clothes from about town, to even elaborate dresses worn in the uppermost extremes of high society.

They all suited her, but something felt off about each of them. And that was why she hadn’t yet come to a decision.

“Hmm...” This type of stuff really was more Chloe’s field. “What would Chloe say at a time like this...?” she muttered, her friend’s face popping up in the back of her mind as she did so.

For Latina, bolder colors tended to suit her. They gave a stronger contrast that really let her platinum hair shine. She also tended to prefer flowing dresses, but something tighter that showed off her curves would obviously look good on her. But because of her childish tastes, pretty much all the stuff she wore had frills and ribbons and the like. Still, it wasn’t like it inherently made you more mature to choose outfits with a high level of exposure.

Well ultimately, when it came to fashion, it was also fine to just wear what you prefer however you like. The folks who made the clothing probably simply preferred that people wore clothing that suited them, and looked good in it.

She got the feeling that she had been told all that with a great deal of enthusiasm at some point in the past.

“Hmm...?”

Now that she thought of it, she recalled there being a time when Latina consulted with Chloe about wanting to try out mature, high-class designs different from her typical attire. That speech she was just remembering had come from back then. So that was it.

“Huh?”

Chic colors that made platinum hair stand out... Simple contours with frills and ribbons, making for a girlish outfit... Even setting aside Latina’s personal preferences, stuff like that looked good on her. And thinking back to Latina at that time, even though she was a bit less curvy than most, she was able to deal with that.

“Hmm?”

Chrysos and Latina were a lot alike.

So that’s it, Sylvia thought to herself as she looked at Chrysos.

A dress in a deep color with a simple design. And yet, one that was finely and delicately crafted, and had very feminine curves to it. Matched with that, a brilliant red bolero. It also had a simple design, but had a lustrous texture that displayed what wonderful material it was made of.

Wearing a hat to cover her horns was an effective defensive measure, so as not to draw unnecessary questioning gazes. The one for the outfit was made out of the same material as the bolero. It had a small brim and was actually initially meant for men to wear while hunting, but thanks to its rounded design it started to see use among female adventurers and then women in general. And so, it wouldn’t cause her to stand out in any sort of problematic manner.

From what her one friend had said, it also made sense for a woman to appeal to the fact that they were an adventurer and magic user when traveling alone, as a way to keep away any trouble. And so, Sylvia added a magic user’s staff to the ensemble.

“I think that does it...” Sylvia said with a sigh of relief, having finally decided on a direction.

When she saw Chrysos in the outfit she had entirely coordinated, Sylvia felt she had earned a passing mark. In the back of her mind, she could see Chloe giving her a thumbs-up and saying, “Good job!”

“You should be good to sneak around dressed like this.”

“I see.”

“You’re unlikely to stand out to an unusual degree in Laband.”

She was obviously sure to stand out somewhat due to her personal appearance and actions, but the folks at the Dancing Ocelot would figure out something to do about that. Or at least, Sylvia wrote it off as such and left the problem for them to deal with.

She had avoided the cat-eared hood. And so, she had done her part of the job. But she pleaded in her mind that if she decided to wear it anyway, they would handle it.

As that thought ran through her head, she suddenly wondered to herself just what would happen if her friend’s doting fiance found out about the existence of the cat-eared hood.

“...”

He was sure to have an annoying reaction.

The man may have been hailed as a champion by the world at large, and his accomplishments and overall character were fitting of that praise. And yet, Sylvia also knew that he had earned the nickname of “deplorable hero,” too. Ultimately, Dale’s words and deeds had just been far too awful here in Vassilios.

“Did I actually go and do an amazing job here...?” Sylvia muttered without thinking.

“Hmm?” Chrysos questioned with a tilt of her head, but paid it no heed in the end and soon set about giving orders for heading out to Kreuz as soon as possible.

In this way, Sylvia and Chloe managed to prevent an incident of a certain deplorable running wild before Vassilios and Laband could open official relations. It was a great service done that would surely never appear in the annals of history, and Chloe herself had utterly no idea of her involvement.