◇ ◇ ◇
(Sigh. As I thought, this atmosphere just doesn't suit me at all.)
I came to Daluane together with Her Highness Lucila—Lucy—and up until today I have been working as her aide.
The negotiations with the envoys from other countries who responded to Lucy's call have concluded successfully. Just a short while ago, it was decided that a coalition army would be formed.
Right now, a party is underway that doubles as a social gathering.
On the surface it looks light and airy, but underneath it is thick with murky undercurrents. I have never been comfortable with this kind of atmosphere, which is exactly why I became an explorer to distance myself from noble society.
That said, even after becoming an explorer I have attended parties on several occasions.
I understand that as the eldest daughter of the Clodel family, attending events like this is unavoidable. Even so, my mood inevitably sinks.
Lucy, who is technically my superior right now, stands at the center of the venue wearing a textbook-perfect smile while she chats and laughs with one person after another.
I suppressed my own feelings, put on the mask of a noble lady, and somehow managed to get through the party.
"Hehe. Selma at a party venue really is refreshing. I never get tired of it."
After the party ended, Lucy was teasing me with a light laugh while the three of us—Lucy, her bodyguard Loretta, and I—held a secret little gathering in my private room at the Clodel family estate.
The three of us have been close ever since our academy days. We were classmates in the noble academy and often hung out together back then, so we are still good friends even now.
"I am an explorer, after all. I only showed up this time to do you a favor, but it really doesn't suit me."
"Sorry for dragging you into something unpleasant. Still, having you there made a huge difference. After all, you are the beautiful explorer known across the neighboring countries as the Continent's Greatest Enchanter. There might even be marriage proposals from other nations after this incident."
"Marriage, huh. I suppose it will happen eventually, but right now I just want to keep living freely as an explorer for a while longer."
The three of us are twenty-three this year.
In other countries it would not be strange for nobles our age to already be married, but in this kingdom it is exactly the age when people start seriously looking for partners.
I would not mind falling into commoner status like this, but there is no way Father would ever allow it.
As a member of the nobility, I am prepared to marry for the sake of the house. I have no intention of being picky about my partner, but I do hope the person at least shares some common ground with me.
"Well, marriage is something we royals and nobles can never escape. Until recently I was getting all sorts of marriage talks even inside the royal castle. But after what happened with the Empire, no one is in the mood for that sort of thing anymore."
"Selma, did you know? If the Empire situation had never come up, Lucy was actually considering Orun as a marriage candidate."
"…What? Orun? As in the explorer from Night Sky's Silver Rabbit?"
Loretta suddenly dropped something outrageous.
It was so out of nowhere that my mind blanked for a second.
"Loretta!? What are you saying all of a sudden!?"
"What do you mean? It's what you yourself said, Lucy. 'As the Kingdom's Hero and the true key figure who prevented the Empire's first invasion, he has more than enough achievements to be granted a knight's peerage.'"
In the Nohitant Kingdom, noble ranks are divided into the five grades of duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
However, when a commoner accomplishes a feat so great that the kingdom cannot ignore it, they can be granted a one-generation knight peerage.
Throughout the kingdom's long history, such individuals can be counted on one hand. Even so, Orun is undoubtedly someone the kingdom wants to secure.
Since he is an explorer, there is no guarantee he will stay in Tsutorail or even this country forever.
As a member of Night Sky's Silver Rabbit, he might temporarily visit other countries, but the chances of him permanently settling elsewhere are low.
Still, I cannot imagine Orun actually wanting a peerage.
Anyone who has spent the last year around him—like I have—can easily picture that trying to force him into the fold would not end well.
"I did say that! But it was a joke!"
Loretta's words made Lucy far more flustered than even I was.
She is usually so good at toying with people and enjoying it, yet she is surprisingly weak to this kind of thing.
"Was it really? The look on your face when you said it seemed completely serious to me."
"You always tease your master like that! What about you, Loretta? Aren't you going to get married?"
"I have a fiancé, though?"
""Eh!?""
Both Lucy and I had assumed Loretta was just as uninterested in marriage as we were, so when she casually mentioned having a fiancé, we both let out surprised voices at the same time.
"I-I hadn't heard anything about this! When!? When did you get engaged!?"
"It was settled around last autumn. The country was in chaos at the time, and only the two families know about it so far. Oh, wait—His Highness the Crown Prince probably knows too."
"Why did you tell my brother but not me, your master!? That's not fair! I refuse to accept it! Tell me everything right now!"
After that the three of us spent time together just like we used to back in our student days.
Word has it that war between the kingdom and the Empire could break out any day now.
Or perhaps it has already begun, and the information simply has not reached Daluane yet.
For better or worse, the three of us are members of the royal and noble class.
We have to keep working for the kingdom's sake tomorrow too.
It looks like it will be a while longer before I can return to being an explorer.
◇
The next morning I woke up and was walking through the estate on my way to Lucy's quarters.
(…Hm?)
During the walk, an indescribable sense of wrongness washed over me.
I realized what it was almost immediately.
My unique ability had detected the presence of someone who should not be here.
"…Sophia?"
"Eh? Big… sister?"
Sophia's voice echoed inside my head.
My ability is Mental Sympathy.
It lets me converse with people within a radius of several kilometers around me without speaking aloud.
By extending that interpretation, I can also detect the presence of anyone inside the range of my ability.
However, I can only identify who the person is if I frequently talk to them through telepathy.
For example, members of the First Unit, Estella, the Guildmaster, and so on.
Unfortunately, even if I detect someone with my ability, I cannot pinpoint their exact location.
It really is a hard-to-use effect.
Naturally, among the people I can identify, Sophia—who I talk to the most—is included.
Impossible.
That was the thought that immediately came to mind.
Daluane is near the eastern border. Tsutorail is in the central part of the kingdom. There is no way telepathy could reach that far.
And yet, Mental Sympathy is letting me speak with Sophia.
That can only mean one thing: Sophia is currently inside the range of my ability.
"Sophia, where are you right now…?"
"…I'm… sorry, big sister. Please… just forget… about me…!"
"What are you saying…? Hey, Sophia! What is going on!?"
After those words, Sophia stopped responding to my telepathy.
Even now, Mental Sympathy is still detecting her presence.
The fact that she is not answering means she is deliberately refusing the connection.
Her last voice had been so faint and trembling that she sounded on the verge of tears.
What in the world happened to Sophia while I was away from Tsutorail…?
"Selma? What are you doing standing there blocking the way?"
A man's voice called out from behind me while I stood frozen from the unexpected situation.
When I turned around, there stood a man in his late twenties with the same scarlet hair as me and Sophia, looking at me suspiciously.
"…Brother."
His name is Marius Clodel.
My older brother and the next head of the Clodel count family.
"You look pale. I heard you invited Her Highness Lucila to your room last night. Did you stay up talking until you couldn't anymore? Keep it in moderation."
His blunt tone still carried a hint of concern for me.
When we were children, he was the person I respected the most.
He was talented, kind, beloved by the people of the territory—literally flawless.
He taught me so many things and always covered for me whenever I messed up. To me, he was the ideal older brother.
Even now, I still respect him.
But the same brother has always been completely indifferent toward our other sister, Sophia.
I once confronted him about it, only for him to dismiss me with, "I don't have time to deal with the family's disgrace."
After that, the emotional distance between us gradually grew wider.
"…Where is Sophia?"
I asked him in a voice so low it surprised even me.
"... Why is that name coming up right now?"
My brother furrowed his brow for only an instant before his expression smoothed over and he turned the question back on me.
"…So you're going to play dumb to the end."
"Hm..."
As I continued glaring at him, he placed a hand on his chin and appeared to think for a moment.
Then he looked straight into my eyes and spoke.
"I really don't have any memory of it. I have something to discuss with Father now, so I'll excuse myself. …Selma, you're exhausted, aren't you? Like I said earlier, your face looks terrible. Everyone will worry if they see you like that. It would be better if you stayed out of sight and rested for now."
After saying he had no memory of it, my brother left me with that piece of advice and walked past me.
◇ ◇ ◇
After hearing Sophia's name from Selma, her brother—Marius—visited the office of his father, Count Clodel.
Standing at the count's side was Ald, the count's right-hand man.
"Father, I have something I want to ask. Do you have a moment?"
"Young master, right now foreign delegations are visiting. Our policy is to secure as many deals with other countries as possible. Is this really the time to be wasting here?"
Marius called out to his father, but it was Ald who answered.
"You of all people have no right to lecture me about screwing up."
Marius brushed Ald's words aside.
"…What exactly did I screw up?"
Ald's voice trembled with anger after hearing Marius.
"There have been multiple sightings in town of a girl with scarlet hair tied in twin tails."
"「!」"
The moment Marius implied that the people had seen Sophia, both men's eyes widened.
"You're planning to use my little sister for something, aren't you? But your plan is far too sloppy. Like Ald said, right now Daluane is full of important figures from neighboring countries. Whatever you're scheming, spit it out already. If necessary, I'll fix the plan myself. When it comes to explaining things to the people of the territory, I'm the one they trust most, aren't I?"
"..."
The count glared at Marius with obvious irritation, but after a while he exhaled and said, "Fine."
"It was shortly after we received news of His Majesty's passing at the beginning of this year. An imperial noble secretly visited this territory—"
He began to speak in bits and pieces.
The imperial noble who came to Daluane informed them that he possessed a method to artificially cause a labyrinth overflow.
The labyrinth near Daluane currently contained a massive number of powerful magic beasts—creatures that would not be out of place even on the lower levels of a great labyrinth.
The imperial noble promised that if they handed over Sophia, he would ensure no overflow occurred.
On paper, it was agreed that Sophia would be transferred to the Empire in the form of a marriage.
"This is to save the people of the territory. If one girl can save all of them, that's a cheap price, isn't it?"
"…I understand the situation. Something this important—where the lives of the territory's people are at stake—cannot be left to you two. From here on, I will take charge of the matter. Letting Sophia be seen was already a failure. You have no objections, right?"
"…Understood. Marius, I will not tolerate any more mistakes."
After receiving his father's consent, Marius left the room.
"I wouldn't want to be lectured by a beast drowning in lust."
The words of contempt Marius muttered under his breath did not reach the ears of the other two.