CHAPTER 21

The Treasonous Beast

The next day, the horse beastkin shows up at my room in the tower.

“Have you tried torturing her yet?”

“Uwoh.”

“So? How’d it go?”

“Uwohhh.”

The beastkin seems to understand when he sees my slouched shoulders.

“Don’t let it get to you. Nobody’s been able to make her suffer.”

After he leaves my room, I make my way to the top of the tower and head into Queen Carmilla’s cell. But when I offer her an apple, she quizzically tilts her head.

“…You’re not going to torture me today, either?”

“Uwoh!”

I put on a cheerful smile…or at least I try to. I have no idea if it actually looks like a smile, since I’m a fish-person.

“What could this fish possibly be scheming…?”

And yet, she bites into the apple before even checking for poison. She seems a lot more relaxed around me now compared to yesterday. As much as it aggravates me, I’m going to do as I was told and “stay put.” It would probably be in my best interest to just pretend I’m torturing the queen here until Seiya finishes the Hexagram Ritual of Retribution and defeats Grandleon.

“So, um…is there more?”

“Uwoh?”

“You know…more fruit?”

Hearing her bashfully ask makes me so happy, I pull out an orange and another apple from the shape-shifting fish’s mouth. But when I try to hand her the fruit…

“Uwoh?!”

I stumble over the chair leg and fall. To add insult to injury, I even hit my head on the table when I try to get back up.

“What are you doing? You’re quite the clumsy fish.”

The queen picks up the rolling fruit, roaring with laughter for the first time.

“Ha-ha-ha! You remind me of my daughter!”

Whaaaaaat?! A fish-person reminds her of her daughter?! B-but, well, I guess you could say her intuition is dead-on in a way!

“She was clumsy just like you. The only thing she was ever good at was healing magic, and she was hardly qualified to be the princess. But…she was always prepared with a quick-witted comeback. She was sharp in that way. The retainers and townspeople used to call her Princess Razor Blade.”

…Did everyone used to make fun of me?!

But the queen continues in a slightly melancholic tone:

“But that Princess Razor Blade went with the Hero to defeat the Demon Lord…and never came back. They say they lost to the Demon Lord and she died…”

“Uwoh…”

I glance at the queen’s face, expecting her to be on the verge of tears. But to my surprise, one corner of her mouth curls into a smirk.

“But I don’t believe that at all! She had the devil’s luck! I bet she’s still out there somewhere living a carefree life in the country!”

She cheerfully laughs once more.

Well…she got it half-right…

At any rate, I’m just happy to see her doing so well. I decide to give her a shoulder massage after she finishes her fruit. She doesn’t want me to at first, but she eventually gives in. I finish by giving her a full-body massage in bed until she falls asleep. After pulling the covers over her, I head back down to my room. And now that I’m alone, I can’t help but think about Seiya.

Seiya is okay…right? This is Seiya we’re talking about. Everything is going as planned. I’m sure of it.

The following day, I find myself fidgeting when I think about Seiya, but worrying isn’t going to change anything. I need to focus on my tasks. With that in mind, I grab today’s food ration and ascend the spiral staircase. After unlocking the door, I walk into the queen’s room and hand her some bread and fruit. When she’s done with her meal, she asks the same question again.

“…Are you going to torture me today?”

I shake my head and wave the idea away.

“Uwoh, uwoh.”

“I see.”

The queen seems to have opened up to me. She even tells me:

“This ability to feel no pain isn’t something I was born with. For some reason, I just stopped feeling pain when the Demon Lord conquered the world. Torture bores me, even. To tell you the truth, I feel like this was a gift from the gods.”

…Ixphoria fell into the clutches of evil only a year ago, and yet, Termine has already been thrown into such a state. Other than the queen, the rest of the royal family is dead. The retainers are toys, and the townspeople are food. I can’t even imagine how hellish this year must have been.

She sees it as a gift from the gods, but it was probably caused by some sort of emotional trauma. Perhaps the agony she suffered was so great that her sense of pain dulled. Even then, she speaks in such high spirits, contrary to her frail body.

“I bet this is the gods’ way of telling me not to give in to the torture—not to give up.”

But out of nowhere…

“And what lousy gods they turned out to be.”

I suddenly hear a deep voice. We jump in surprise and look in the direction of the voice.

Th-this can’t be happening!

Standing tall by the door is Grandleon himself!

“Those gods of yours didn’t give you the power to defeat the Demon Lord but gave you the strength to withstand torture? What kind of worthless gods are those? Well, it’s not like they even exist.”

“Grandleon…!”

The queen’s face changes color as she glares at the king of the beasts.

H-how long has he been there?! I didn’t even sense his presence!

A wicked aura thereupon begins filling the room. It looks like he can freely control his aura and cloak his presence. Grandleon begins to approach me but almost immediately stops with a slight frown. It’s just like the horse beastkin said. He seems to hate the smell of fish-people.

“Hey, fish, I’m sure you’ve been told, but you better not eat that old hag until I give you the okay.”

“U-uwoh.”

“I’ve decided not to kill her until I see her miserable, tear-stained face.”

“Hmph. So you’ll put me out of my misery if I pretend to cry?”

Grandleon grabs the queen by the lapel as if enraged by the smug look on her face. The monster then easily lifts her into the air.

“Silence, filth. That attitude of yours really pisses me off. You’re nothing but skin and bones, yet you still won’t beg for your life.”

He callously lets her go, allowing her to fall straight onto the hard floor.

“Fish, make her cry for me. If you can do that, I’ll reconsider how I view your people. I’ll allow you in the palace, put you in my combat unit, and keep you by my side.”

“Uwoh…”

“I’ll be back to check on her again.”

Grandleon leaves the room.

I-is he really gone?

I cautiously peek outside the door a few times to make sure just like Seiya would, but he’s nowhere in sight. Relieved, I turn back around, only for the queen to hand me a needle.

“Come on. You heard the boss. It’s about time you start taking this torture seriously. You’re going to be putting yourself in danger if you don’t.”

“Uwoh! Uwoh!”

But even then, I shake my head. The queen is surprised, as to be expected.

“Grandleon gave you orders! How can you still refuse?!”

She seems almost fed up as she brings her face closer to mine.

“You show a lot of promise, so let me fill you in. Grandleon may have made it sound nice, but whatever you do, do not join the Beast Emperor’s combat unit. You would only be shortening your life. “

“Uwoh?”

“Even though the Demon Lord conquered the world, Grandleon is still gathering elite warriors for his special forces. Why do you think that is? It’s because he’s ambitious. He plans on killing the Demon Lord Ultimaeus and becoming the true emperor of the world himself.”

What?! I—I can’t believe what I’m hearing!

“I can tell. Grandleon has the power to make it happen. You could say…he has the makings of a ruler. Ultimaeus thought he was creating a talented subordinate, but what he created was a wicked monster.”

I’m suddenly overcome with anxiety. The palace’s combat unit is the squad that Seiya’s in.

I-is Seiya going to be okay?!

Not only are Grandleon’s stats unbelievably high, but he has something that’s immeasurable as well. Just as Queen Carmilla said, he seems to have a certain power that rivals that of the Demon Lord Ultimaeus himself.

The day finally comes. Seiya and I promised to meet today. Seiya should have the final phase of the ritual prepared by the time we meet tonight. I end up heading to the garden slightly early. As always, the garden is virtually empty as I head to the bushes in the back.

Whoosh! I fall into a hole created with Cave Along.

“…Rista. You’re early.”

I’m relieved to see that nothing has changed about him.

“Seiya! Thank goodness! I was worried something happened to you!”

“What are you talking about? I placed the six barrier stones around the Dark God’s temple. I was able to get some of Grandleon’s fur without being caught as well. Everything is going perfectly. All I have to do now is hide underground beneath the palace and perform the Celestial Sword Dance for the next three hours. Once I do that, the Hexagram Ritual of Retribution will be complete, thus weakening Grandleon.”

“O-oh… But, Seiya…! Grandleon can control his aura and cloak his presence! I know the blade dance is all you have left to do, but don’t let your guard down no matter what.”

“You don’t need to tell me that. I’ve already factored that into the equation. Everything is fine.”

Seiya then looks at me like I’m stupid.

“As always, the only thing we have to worry about is you, Rista.”

“M-me?!”

“Yeah, you. To perform the blade dance, I’m going to use Cave Along to position myself ten meters underground. Now, normally, I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing…but unfortunately, there’s you.”

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ishtar said you wouldn’t be able to create a gate to return to the spirit world due to the evil energy here. However, you can create a gate to travel within Termine. In other words, you can create a gate to intrude upon my underground cavern.”

Seiya glares at me like a hawk.

“The reason I called you here at this critical moment was to remind you one more time not to do anything stupid at the last minute and ruin everything.”

“Hey!”

“I will only say this once more: The Hexagram Ritual of Retribution is the one and only way to kill Grandleon with absolute certainty. But if someone sees me perform the ritual, the holy energy will instantly diffuse. Furthermore, we will never be able to use the move on the same enemy again. Failure is not an option.”

“For the last time, I get it!”

“One last thing…”

“There’s more?! This is getting annoying!”

“I will be prioritizing the ritual over everything else this time. That is all.”

“Oh, you don’t say! By the way, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you! The fish in my body can’t see, right?! Just the thought of you watching every move I make pisses me off!”

“Their eyes are simply for appearance only. I have no interest in what you do in privacy. However…”

The instant Seiya snaps his fingers…

Plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop.

…around fifteen fish fall out of my crotch.

“…! How many fish did you put in here?!”

“If they bother you, I’ll take them back. Even you should be able to survive for three hours without me. But, well, I left one fish for protection just in case.”

“You can have them all back!”

“No, I’m leaving that one. It’s not for you. It’s for me.”

After leaving Seiya’s moving cavern, I briskly walk out of the palace garden without even looking back at him. I stomp up the tower stairs with fury in my step.

Ugh! He really pisses me off! The hell is his problem?! He even puts me down at a time like this! I’m not going to get in his way!

All I had to do was wait three hours and the ritual would have worked…