Volume 1 – Following the Maze Drawn With Lines of Blood
After Mary devoured the corpses after Fidelis’s death, Mary and Calaria left the building.
They sneaked through Captis, a place rampant with soldiers.
(I should have gotten a device for communication.)
As they headed for the Liberta Liberation Front’s hideout, that’s what Mary was busy thinking about.
Well, there was a reason she did not feel like getting one without paying for it after that talk about ‘utilizing each other’.
“Is the terrorist hideout in this area? The atmosphere here is dubious.”
“Don’t worry. Thankfully, it’s quite difficult for the soldiers to enter this area as well.”
Still, perhaps because this area was known as a spot where those who oppose the Duke gather, the density of soldiers was higher than before Mary’s battle with Calaria.
In the first place, neither Mary nor Calaria possessed ordinary physical prowess.
They did not have to use roads in a naive and honest manner, they could just travel on rooftops.
Calaria held her gatling gun with one hand and nimbly lined up next to Mary.
“It got weaker, though.”
Calaria muttered while looking at the gun in her hand, mostly a blunt weapon.
“So what’s with this weapon?”
“Apparently, this gun is an experimental weapon from Majoram, and it was given to me by Fidelis.”
“Oh, so that sword is your original weapon, right?”
“That and my custom rifle. But I don’t know what happened to them after the explosion.”
Even this gatling gun was just something Calaria found on the ground nearby after leaving the ‘egg’ created by Mary.
She was supposed to have two of them, but she did not know where the other one was.
No matter how monstrous her physique was, she still felt uneasy without weapons.
She needed supplies if her fight against the arcana user was to continue.
But, seeing Calaria’s dejected expression, Mary thought that there must be more to it than that.
“It was Miss. Yueri, right?”
“Why do you say that name?”
“I just thought you might have some memories with the weapon you lost.”
“You’re a strangely sharp woman…… Well, I suppose. It was a birthday gift.”
“A weapon for your birthday?”
“Sorry for my weird sensibilities, but I asked for it.”
Mary frantically followed up after Calaria sulked.
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything bad by it!”
“No, it’s okay. I’m aware of how strange it is.”
“I think it’s nice!”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“B-But……”
Calaria definitely seemed downhearted and sad.
Mary couldn’t believe her when she said it was okay.
“I wanted to fight together with Yueri…… that’s why.”
“So it was a really important item full of memories, right? We have to get it back somehow!”
“There’s no need, weapons are always lost eventually after you use them a while. More importantly, I told you a lot, so what about you tell me your circumstances too? Why did a princess swear a vow of revenge against a duke?”
Calaria had probably guessed what Mary’s circumstances were.
The two did not know much about each other yet, but they did sympathize with each other.
They figured that the hearts of revenge within them were of the same kind.
Then, Mary started talking.
She knew it would be a little long, so they stopped for a while in a vacant spot.
Her engagement with Romeo, her imprisonment after the engagement was canceled, her escape, the death of her sister, her fight with Magrat – Calaria earnestly listened to Mary’s story.
“……I feel a mix of conviction and discomfort, it’s a strange sensation.”
Those were Calaria’s impressions after hearing the whole story.
“I understand, because a lot of incomprehensible things have happened. But the thing I must do is very clear.”
“Revenge?”
“Yes! I am sure I will reach the truth if I kill everyone related to this one by one.”
Mary brightly smiled, and Calaria’s expression clouded a little as she averted her eyes from Mary.
“Did I say something strange?”
“You looked like you were having fun when we killed Fidelis.”
“He’s an underling of Dugan, is he not? Of course I had fun killing him.”
“Your gentleness and the way you enjoy killing people contradict each other. They both exist in your heart simultaneously. I think it’s an extremely unstable situation.”
“But I think it’s convenient for me to become ‘that’ version of myself when I’m aiming for revenge.”
“But there’s no telling when that will collapse, is there?”
“It won’t. I won’t break. The voice of the dead I hear will push me on.”
Calaria quietly sighed after hearing those words.
Did deep-seated grudges like that actually exist?
Were these not auditory hallucinations? Pointing such things out probably would not stop Mary.
“If you really mean that, I won’t stop you. But you should rely on me if you ever feel that you’re at your limits.”
“Huh!?”
“Why do you look surprised?”
“I thought a mercenary would be more unemotional. Well, I would be glad to!”
“You saved my life.”
“It was a calculated move.”
“It was a kind calculation, then. A cruel human can’t do that. So…… I want to return that favor somehow.”
Mary couldn’t help but smile at Calaria’s faithful feelings.
“Hehe. Miss. Calaria, you’re a kind person.”
“You’re saying that after you tried to kill me?”
“Kindness is subjective. As long as I think you’re a kind maid, that’s who you are.”
“Let me say one thing, I’m not a maid.”
“Huh? But, that outfit…… You did say ‘it’s not my hobby’, so it’s a work uniform, isn’t it?”
She was hurt during the battle, but Calaria’s maid outfit was still unscathed.
If it came out fine from that explosion, then it must have been made very strongly, just like Mary’s dress.
However, if it was not a work outfit, then why was Calaria wearing a maid uniform?
“Yueri liked it.”
“……She had a unique sense of fashion.”
“I can’t deny that.”
Calaria spoke with an exasperated expression.
However, she was still wearing it after Yueri’s passing, so……
(Maybe Miss. Calaria actually likes it too…..?)
Mary had to think so.
◇◇◇
After that, Mary safely returned to the hideout.
They went through the usual bar and walked through the secret passage.
Calaria was also surprised at the elegance of the facility.
Mary’s wave patterns were already registered on the mana identification device at the entrance, and the door automatically opened when she put her hand on the device.
I’m back, Mary said cheerfully, and a woman’s shouting was heard.
“Are you messing with me!? You tricked us, didn’t you!?”
Mary was startled.
Calaria sternly stared at the woman holding a gun.
“That’s a weird welcome.”
“W-What is this…..? Miss. Cutie!?”
The one being faced with stern eyes and guns by the members was Cutie standing right by the entrance.
She was wearing a formal skirt suit and playing with her curly twintails while seeming bored.
She noticed Mary and smiled at her with her back turned at the members without a worry.
“Oh, welcome back Mary. Looks like you picked up a stray dog.”
“What an unpleasant woman. Can I aim at her too?”
“Please wait Miss. Calaria! Miss. Cutie, why are you here?”
“It is as you can see. I revealed that I’m Mr. Q.”
“B-But!”
“Yes, you can see the results. I’m disappointed by these shoddy troops.”
Good grief, Cutie said as she shook her head.
Then, the woman glared at Mary.
“So you knew too? That the true identity of our sponsor was Majoram! You must also be connected to-”
“Calm down, you all!”
“Captain Jaysam, you knew about this, didn’t you!?”
“Yeah, that’s right. But we needed money to keep the resistance active!”
“You’re all caught up in your power!”
“We won’t be overtaken if we continue on our true mission!”
“We’re just being used, aren’t we!? We entered this organization because we were tired of being controlled by the aristocracy! So why is this… why is she..!”
The woman laid her feelings bare and shouted.
Other troops also seemed to be following suit with her.
(Miss. Cutie, why did you do something like this? Even if everyone guessed this already, you should have known that some of the troops would oppose you if you revealed yourself.)
Mary was also confused as she did not understand Cutie’s intent.
Calaria did not know much about this organization in the first place, so she slightly stepped in front to guard Mary.
“Now. Shall we enter the main subject?”
“I don’t care what your proposal is, the answer is ‘no’! You guys think so too, right!?”
Most of the troops surrounding Cutie shook their heads after the woman’s remark.
There were some who seemed calm, and some who averted their eyes.
“It is as you can see. Get lost, Dugan’s pet dog!”
“Aren’t you at least going to listen to me? In the first place, an organization like this will be destroyed right away if I abandon it.”
“Shut up and obey if you don’t want to be full of bullets!”
“Just try it.”
“Huh?”
“I’m telling you to shoot. If you can, that is.”
Cutie grinned after that provocation.
Naturally, the woman flew into a rage and pulled the trigger.
“You biiiiitch!”
Click, a faint noise was heard in the room.
The muzzle was quiet.
The woman pulled the trigger many times again after that, but there was no reaction.
Cutie approached her, elegantly slid her finger on the gun and sneered after getting her face closer.
“Hehe, it’s funny that you think you can shoot me with a gun made by my company. It’s the same with other weapons, I can turn them off any time if they were made using Majoram’s technology.”
“Ugh, ugggh…..!”
“So, will you hear me out?”
The woman’s face turned red and she grinded her teeth.
But, she couldn’t even say any insults.
She was completely defeated by this abominable aristocrat, and was definitely seething with anger.
Among the other troops also, the number of people who held favorable feelings towards Cutie was probably zero.
In such unfavorable conditions, almost as if giving a speech, she spread her arms and spoke.
“So, good work! We destroyed two bases belonging to Dugan, thanks to all your hard work! That man who made deals with King Henry behind closed doors and betrayed Majoram now has nowhere to run.”
Creating a friendly smile, she spoke as if she was with her comrades.
Mary put her hand on her chest and watched on with unease.
“All that’s left is to hit the hideout Dugan is in. Still, we don’t know the extent of their fighting power yet. It’s highly possible that there are still a few arcana users remaining. So, I’m here to give you the good news and to raise your fighting spirits.”
Cutie tilted her head and showed a tender but sly expression.
Not just Mary, but everyone had a bad feeling about this.
“From today on, officially, the Liberta Liberation Front will be a member of Majoram Technologies! You are all being promoted from simple terrorists to proper members of a top-class enterprise! Congratulations!”
Cutie started clapping by herself.
She was surrounded by cold gazes that reached absolute zero, but she did not act timid.
Calaria sighed and looked at Mary, asking for an explanation.
But Mary herself looked confused too and frowned.