That night, after everyone had finished dinner and bathing at the inn, we all gathered in a relatively large private room that Irene had reserved for herself.
The room was lit only by the light of a single lamp.
Even though it was a large private room, it was cramped with five people in it, and on top of that, all of the women had just finished bathing and were feeling s*xy, so I felt a bit disturbed, but I tried my best to keep my composure and started talking.
'Well, the question you wanted to ask was, "Why aren't you going to the hearing today?
I look around at the four girls, and Irene in particular shakes her head.
After confirming this, I explain the reason.
'First of all, to put it simply, the reason is because Alice was there.
'...... What do you mean? You're going to blow Alice up with you, aren't you?
When Satsuki said that, Cyril beside her squeezed her head.
It's the same old Satsuki.
'First of all, Satsuki, please put aside your idea of blowing it up. It may happen in the end, but that's not the way to think about it.
Everyone but Satsuki nodded their heads at my words.
One of them, Satsuki, looked unhappy.
Then, Mee interjected.
'But I don't understand why it's bad if Alice is there, either. Since Alice is also an important witness, wouldn't it be better to talk to her together?
Irene shook her head in agreement with Mee's question.
Cyril seemed to be alone in his thoughts.
I explain mainly to Mee and Irene.
'It's true that Mee is right, we should talk to Alice as well. But she's no idle child either. If they have something to hide, they are likely to think of some way to interfere and use it. I think we should take that into account when we move.
'Well, what do you mean by sabotage, ......, like using some kind of magic?
I nodded at Irene's words.
'Yeah, of course we should consider that possibility. And Alice is a mage class magician with the ability to graduate from the Academy of Magic. Alice's ability as a sorceress is probably not that different from mine. At the very least, I should assume that Alice can use at least 80% of the spells that I can use.
When I said that, all the girls in the room looked surprised.
Satsuki said something with that expression on her face.
'What ...... does that mean, it's like the enemy has Will ......?'
'Yes. I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who'd like to have a look at it.
'Well, ......, what does that mean?
Eileen tilted her head.
I turn to her and explain a little more carefully.
'For example, there's a spell I can use called Detect Try. With this spell, I can clearly see if the other person is lying or not.
'Yee! So, Will knows that I've been lying to him. ......?
Irene begins to sweat profusely from her forehead.
I sigh and poke Irene's forehead with my fingertips.
'How is that possible? I wouldn't use a spell like that on my neighbor unless I had to. The morals of using such spells are drilled into us mages in our first year at the academy. Don't confuse what's technically possible with what you actually do.
I'm not sure what to do, but I'm not sure what to do. It's nothing to be concerned about.
But that's where the problem lies. This spell can be used by any mage level magician. Of course Alice will use it. What will happen if she does...'
'Well, ......, can't we lie to each other?'
I nodded at Irene's answer.
Satsuki interrupts me from the side.
But that's not a problem, is it? We have nothing to be ashamed of. If we get into an honest argument, we'll be on our own.
'Yeah, Satsuki's right about that. And on that point, Alice would think so too.
'...... hmm?
Satsuki tilted her head.
'In other words, from Alice's point of view, she knows that if she goes head-to-head, she will lose. In that case, what would you do in Alice's position?
'Oh, what ......? You'll be able to find a lot more information on this topic at .......
I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you have.
Cyril, who was standing beside her, answered for her.
'Um, ...... do you want to run away or refuse the interview itself?
'Yes, that would be the sensible course of action. And as for insane measures...'
'...... lure them in and then launch a preemptive attack to bury the messenger in the dark?
It was Mee who answered.
I nodded to her and added.
'Well, if she's in a situation where she's cornered by any means, she might take such a step, though it's only a speculation. You can't predict what Alice will actually do.
They all nodded their heads at my explanation.
However, Satsuki was the only one who was pouting with smoke coming out of her head.
I continued on, not caring about Satsuki.
'But on the other hand, there is one thing I can say for sure. But on the other hand, there is one thing I can say with certainty, and that is that as long as Alice isn't around, we'll be fine.
After I explained that much, Irene seemed to be convinced and threw her body onto the bed.
'I see. So you're saying that we should visit the mansion when the court magician named Alice isn't there, and deal with Count Goldart for the time being.
'Yes. It's too risky to deal with Alice head-on. We should avoid avoidable risks as much as possible.
'So we'll deal with Alice separately after we've dealt with Count Goldart. It's true that it might be easier to deal with them if we destroy them individually.
I nodded at Cyril's words.
'I see. ....... I'm glad you're here, Will. If I had been the only one in command, I would have jumped right into the enemy's belly~. Thank you, Will.
Irene sits up on the bed and smiles at me.
'Yeah, but that's just the beginning. There's a lot of uncertainty, and we don't know what will happen until we try it. If it comes down to it, we may have to rely on Irene and the others. I'll be counting on you then.
'Yeah, I'll take care of this one. I'll knock out any enemy that comes along.
With that, Irene patted the sword on the side of the bed.
It's great that she's so reliable, but I'm a little worried about her becoming a commander in the future.