Chapter 29: Chapter 29 – I Am… Wanted!?

“W-What!? R-Ryuuko is mine! I-I mean...!”

Lucrezia had shot up from her seat the moment Cyrus made his declaration. Her hood had fallen off due to the abruptness of the motion, but Cyrus didn’t seem to care that she was a shurai.

Odds are, he probably already knew.

“So I’m yours now, Lucrezia?” I smirked.

“T-T-That’s not what I meant!” 

Truly, Lucrezia’s blushing face offered me many shades of beauty to behold.

“Please do not tease My Lady, Ryuuko. You know very well the bond between the two of you.” Antenora interjected.

In fact, I really didn’t. I knew that it was something similar to the bond that Lucrezia and her sister possessed and that it marked us as family, but other than that, I didn’t really look into it much. 

Even the rulebook merely mentioned that the title I acquired only meant that I was a high-ranking noble in the Zaltsel Clan and could inherit it.

Of course, I had a sneaking suspicion that it meant a great deal more than that, but... It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss before saving Aurelia and meeting the rest of Lucrezia’s family.

Call me old fashioned, but I’m the type of woman who wants to do things right. Besides, I’m not even sure if I’m qualified to have this kind of emotion toward someone else. I mean, I’m just...

Yeah, worry about that shit later, Ryuuko. You’re zoning out again, dumbass.

I slapped myself on the cheeks to drag me back down to earth.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I’m sure he doesn’t mean what you’re thinkin’, Lucrezia.”

“I certainly do not,” Cyrus confirmed.

“See?”

Lucrezia puffed her cheeks out in annoyance before sitting down and crossing her arms with a cute “hmph.” Although she was trying to look angry, she couldn’t help but let a tiny smile grow on her face, so all she really accomplished was looking cute.

“So, why don’t you start by explaining what you really mean? And also, what’s a Ranger? Is that like a spy or somethin’?”

“I’m afraid that’s only partially correct. Officially, we are intelligence officers. We gather and compile information for our charge. Practically, we are responsible for not only that, but espionage, counter-espionage, internal politics, and diplomacy.”

“That’s a whole lotta jargon for the word ‘spy.’”

Cyrus merely grinned before continuing.

“As it stands, my loyalty is sworn to Princess Sella, the fifth princess of Ardene. Currently, she is the least favored amongst the princesses to inherit the throne. However, I believe that her ascension would benefit this country the most.”

Now it was really time to pay attention. The rulebook contained a shitton of information, but it definitely didn’t include information about current-day politics or even how the political system worked. 

Those weren’t rules. They were constructs created by the people of the realm after the system was established.

In any case, it now made sense why the paladin had actually backed off after Cyrus vouched for me.

So he was actually some kinda bigshot, huh...? Wait... Since we never went back to the town, how’d he know I killed the cultists!?

“I’m willing to hear you out, but first, answer me this. Have you been following us ever since we left Erdes?”

I stared him in the eye, and he met my gaze coolly. I considered beating his ass if he lied, but it didn’t look like he was going to.

“I apologize. I had to know if you could be trusted.”

Cyrus bowed his head, but I didn’t care. I needed to set the baseline for our interactions now before he started getting any funny ideas.

It was probably unfair to him, but I’d seen this shit happen before. Give them a little leeway to do weird shit without your permission, and you’d only find yourself in a world of hurt later. Really, I could remember his disgusting voice just like yesterday.

“Hey... Ryuuko... You’re really cool, you know that, haha...”

Back then, I hated everyone. I’d just come out of a fight too, so I hated everyone even more than usual. 

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I didn’t even spare the bespectacled boy a glance.

“C-Can I follow you...? Y-You’ll beat t-them up again, right?”

“Do whatever you want.”

Two weeks later, the fucker pounced on me and tried to pin me down, saying that “we were the same” and all sorts of insane bullshit. Obviously, I gave him an express ride to the hospital.

Hah... So much for letting go of the past...

I pushed the memory of my previous-life stalker aside and turned my attention back to the present.

The current situation was a lot different than before, so I decided to show a little mercy.

“In the future, let’s do face-to-face like this, yeah?”

Cyrus nodded, understanding my meaning.

“Since you’ve been following us, you know what we’ve been up to, and you know what my companions are. Even so, you choose to trust me?”

“It is exactly because of that, Ryuuko. Princess Sella wishes to see a world where the eastern tribes no longer need to fight with the western nations. While a difficult proposition, she refuses to budge on her stance, and so I will support it with all my might.

“That’s why I need your help, Ryuuko. You’re strong, on friendly terms with the east, and you’re capable of spending levels without the usage of an asceitheit from the regional lord. Hell, you’ve even made a massive dent in the Black Constellation’s plans! I can’t think of a better person to recruit into Princess Sella’s faction.”

Oh, so that’s what the device is called. An “asceitheit.” Fancy ass name for something that just lets you spend levels.

I raised an eyebrow. Things were starting to get interesting. We weren’t going to be able to chase after Aurelia until tomorrow, so I thought we might as well listen to what Cyrus had to say.

“I assume you have something to offer us?”

Cyrus nodded. 

“Of course. Safe passage to Juryez and within it. We’ll take the opportunity to crack down on slavery once and for all.”

“That paladin of yours didn’t look like he had much sympathy for those hailing from the east. Also, I wouldn’t call myself on ‘friendly terms with the east.’ My companions are the only ones I know.”

Cyrus made a dismissive gesture. “Briarhart is sworn to Princess Sella. He’ll carry out her orders, whether he likes it or not. As for diplomacy, we can sort that out after we’ve established some goodwill. I understand Ardene hasn’t exactly attempted any negotiations with the east in the past century.”

The more I listened to Cyrus speak, the more I was convinced that the man was a master negotiator. He really made it sound like he had everything under control and that all I needed to do was sign under the dotted line.

But it was never that simple.

“So what’s your goal in all of this? I don’t doubt your loyalty, but I refuse to believe that there exists a single human in this world who can act with complete selflessness.”

“I wish to become Her Highness’ most trusted attendant. There are goals of mine that I cannot speak of right now,  just as there are things you wish to hide as well. However, know that none of my goals oppose Princess Sella’s. I wish only to see her success.”

Bullshit. Don’t think I can’t see it in your eyes or hear it in your voice, buddy. Those are the words of a man in love.

I paused for a moment as I considered his proposition. It certainly wasn’t a bad one, and it seemed like a win-win scenario for everyone. Not only that, but if Princess Sella won this bid for the throne, it’d move the world closer to my goal as well.

With all the nations united and cooperating, there wouldn’t be a need for a demon lord. Even if a demon lord appeared, they wouldn’t be able to take advantage of conflict.

It wasn’t going to be perfect. There would be a transitionary period, but it was still better than a constant war across the Fissure.

“Well, this sounds great to me, honestly.”

“So you’ll help us?”

I shook my head. 

“Not so fast. We’ve yet to hear from the most important people in the room. Lucrezia, Antenora, Priya. What do y’all think of this?”

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