by Aneko Yusagi
I wished she would find somewhere else to have a private freak out. She looked a little unstable. She must have really been harboring some intense emotions about them—her own husband and daughter.
I knew how she felt. Yup, I’d believe her—for now.
“I’ll do what you say.”
“Thank you, Mr. Iwatani.”
The queen smiled. As the corners of her mouth turned up, I could sense her willpower.
“Well, well! If it isn’t Malty and Melty! I’m so glad you were able to defeat the Shield and return to me safely. But why is Malty tied up? And is that a gag in her mouth?”
On our way to the castle, the queen ordered that Bitch and Melty lead the line, and the rest of us would follow well behind.
The other heroes were with us in the back. I didn’t like that I’d been ordered to be at the front of the heroes. The queen was insistent though, saying that I had done all the work and suffered the most. So I relented.
By the way, after all this was over, the remaining disciples from the Church filled me in on some of the stuff that was going on.
Word of the high priest’s death hadn’t yet reached the general population, and so the Church was still acting as though nothing had happened. Or at least that’s what it looked like. The truth was that members of the Church that had been complicit in the conspiracy had been arrested.
“Because she doesn’t know how to shut her mouth, that’s why.”
The queen’s footsteps echoed off the stone walls as she walked forward and approached the throne. Trash noticed that I was following her into the room also, and his face contorted in anger.
“What is HE doing here? Seize him! He must be put to death!”
“I will not allow it!”
The knights ignored the king’s orders—probably because the queen technically had more power than Trash. They still seemed a little confused though. The knights around the queen were glaring at me.
“She’s… That’s not the real queen! Arrest her!”
“You… you would mistake ME? I cannot tolerate this behavior any longer!”
“I am the queen and the source of all power….”
“That spell… Can it be?!”
“Hear the truth and heed it. Restrain him with a cage of ice!”
“Drifa Icicle Prison!”
A cage of ice appeared around Trash.
It seemed like Trash was shouting from inside it, but his voice didn’t make it out of the cage.
“I cannot believe how low you have sunk.”
The queen snapped her folding fan shut, and the cage vanished at the same time.
“Such powerful magic! Indeed, you are truly my wife! What has happened to you?!”
Trash was looking at her up and down like he couldn’t believe his own eyes.
“…And with the Shield!”
Seriously, any time something happened he didn’t like, he blamed it on me.
He needed to calm down. He was making it very clear why I never wanted to visit the castle again.
“You’re wrong. I swear. Do you really believe that the Shield Hero has the sort of powers you ascribed to him?”
She walked up to the throne and slapped him hard across the face.
Trash was knocked speechless. He was shaking as he stared at me.
“None of this is Mr. Iwatani’s fault! Have you been listening to me?!”
“Ugh!”
She slapped him again.
Trash opened his mouth to speak, but before he was able to get a word out she slapped him again.
“I told you that you were to have authority over Melromarc while I was in other lands. I told you, time and time again, not to treat the Heroes poorly. But you ignored me! Are you TRYING to start a war?”
“But I…”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses! The very world is threatened by the waves. And now… during this time when we all must band together… you… you!”
The queen continued to berate him, and he never got a word in.
Watching the scene unfold, I couldn’t ignore the distinct sense I got that she was doing all this so that the other heroes would understand that she was the one in charge.
“Now, with that out of the way, allow me to re-introduce myself. I am the ruling queen of this land, Mirellia Q. Melromarc. Aultcray may seem to carry authority, but he does not—not any longer. Do not believe what he says.”
“Um… Uh…”
“Pleased to… meet you?”
“Whoa…”
The other heroes all expressed their emotions in turn. They all had trouble finding the right words.
“Heroes, I would very much like a little of your time today.”
“What’s happening?”
“Let’s discuss it during the feast.”
“Um… Myne?”
Motoyasu seemed to be a little concerned for Bitch, since she was still gagged and couldn’t speak.
“She has no reason to speak, so I’ve silenced her for now. Understand?”
“Yes, but… Isn’t this a little much?”
“No, it isn’t. But if you’d like to hear her protests then I suppose I have no choice…”
The queen snapped her fingers and the ropes restraining Bitch loosened. Bitch immediately moved to pull the gag from her mouth.
“Sniffle…”
She must have been embarrassed to be seen so powerless. Trash seemed to sympathize. He looked on with sad eyes.
“What’s this ‘sniffle’ supposed to mean? We’re not done talking!”
“It’s not my fault! All of this is the Shield’s fault!”
“Yeah! He’s right!”
Bitch chimed in.
“Mama! This wretched demon tried to rape me!”
“And…?”
“What do you mean? Mama… I’ve never… What are you saying?!”
“It’s not like you were a virgin, were you? Did you think I didn’t know? I knew…”
“What?!”
Motoyasu shouted like he couldn’t believe his own ears.
“No… Mother… My first was Mr. Motoyasu!”
“How presumptuous of you. You really thought I didn’t know? Now, if you really did have relations with the Shield Hero then there might have been a way to save you…”
The queen glanced at me.
ME? With Bitch?
“Don’t make me throw up!”
“Well, that’s the end of you. I suppose I’ll just have to hold out hope for Melty. It will be hard, but I’m sure there are plenty of reasons to remain hopeful.”
The queen was now making important pronouncements as if they were nothing.
“What are you saying? Melty is just a little girl!”
“Silence!”
I certainly never thought that I’d be on the same side of an argument with Trash, but why did I have to have a relationship with Melty?
Huh? What was that? Ren and Itsuki were both looking at me with strange expressions on their faces.
I didn’t need this. I didn’t have a Lolita complex. I wasn’t so perverted that a little girl turned me on!
“Yeah! What are you saying?!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing you need to worry about, Filo!”
I’d have to let this one go.
“I’m sorry! But it’s only natural that Melty should marry Mr. Iwatani.”
“What?!”
“Don’t you understand? There is no better way to defeat our old enemy.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah… We’re getting curious too.”
Trash was clearly upset, and Ren and Itsuki followed his questions with their own.
“Well…”
I understood though. The queen began to explain, and confirmed my suspicions.
Siltvelt worshiped the Shield Hero. And Siltvelt was also Melromarc’s enemy. If the royal family of Melromarc adopted
me into their lineage, that would make Melromarc into a holy nation from the perspective of Siltvelt. I wasn’t able to read much more into her plans, but at the very least the common people of Siltvelt would think more positively about Melromarc. It was a plan that would flatter the Shield Hero, and if they ended up giving birth, that would cement everything.
Then they would just have to maintain a friendly relationship. If they pulled that off, they’d be true allies.
“Have you no shame? You would use your own daughter that way?”
Itsuki stepped forward and shouted with rage.
“Use her? Very well… Are you saying that in your own world there are no politically arranged marriages?”
“I’ve heard that they used to happen, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t problematic.”
“There’s no problem. I see that Melty and Mr. Iwatani are already on good terms. Melty, do what you can to get along with Mr. Iwatani.”
“N…No!”
Melty’s face was bright red. She seemed to really hate the idea.
Which was only fair. Who would want to be used for political purposes, especially at that age?
And, of course, I didn’t feel like doing anything that would benefit Melromarc.
“Is that so? The shadows led me to believe that there was still hope for you.”
“Bummer.”
“What’s that? Are you saying I’m not attractive?! Wa…”
“What’s the problem? Are you saying I shouldn’t look at you as a child?!”
She was at that obnoxious age.
“Very well. If that’s all there is to it, then I suppose I cannot interfere.”
For some reason, Itsuki was satisfied and stepped back into line.
“Bow Hero! Why are you giving up?!”
“I see that she has a point, and that there is hope for you. What are you supposed to do? You’re going to be the queen.”
“I don’t plan on laying my bones to rest in this shitty world.”
“That won’t be necessary. As long as Melty becomes pregnant with your child.”
I didn’t like where this was going.
Basically, she meant that if I married into the Melromarc royal family and gave Melty a child, then I would be free to go back to my own world.
I guess it did make a little sense. I’d heard that the queen was an experienced diplomat—and she sure wasn’t pulling any punches.
Where did these ideas come from? Was she reading too much manga?
“All of this is because my foolish husband and daughter destroyed our other opportunities. Everything was fine when you left to be in Iwatani’s party. You could have brought more people into the party and domesticated him—kept him for yourself. Had you done so, the throne would be as good as yours.”
“Who would do that with someone as ugly as him? He tried to rape me!”
Ugh… there goes Bitch again.
I couldn’t let that one slide… I’d have to help her understand her position…
“He’s not ugly!”
Raphtalia, Filo, and for some reason Melty all shouted out in unison.
What’s that all about? Especially Melty.
“What’s the problem? I’m just telling the truth. If you get upset about it, that proves that you agree!”
“It does prove something. It proves that you no longer have even a drop of purity left in you.”
“What proof are you talking about? Ask Mr. Motoyasu. I was a virgin!”
“Malty, if you’re going to lie, you’d better be prepared to lie all the way until the end. You might be able to fool the Spear Hero, but you cannot fool me. I’ve known you for a long time, and you’ve always had the nasty habit of taking joy in the misery of others. Furthermore…”
The queen was really shouting at Bitch now. It was clear to everyone that Bitch wasn’t listening anymore though. She’d tuned out and was just waiting for her mother’s speech to end.
I wondered how many times she’d been lectured by her mother up until now.
“You heard that your sister had been swept up in the conspiracy, but instead of trying to protect her, you took advantage of the situation, going too far as to turn her over to the Church yourself!”
Huh? So Bitch had just taken advantage of the situation with the Church? I’d thought that she was working with them.
Could it be that the two of them were just really stupid?
“You probably thought that you’d be the next person to sit on the throne.”
“I… I did not!”
I thought back on all we had been through. How many times had she referred to herself as “the future queen?” We’d all heard it come from her lips, time and time again. If she hadn’t thought that she really was going to be the future queen, she wouldn’t have said things like that—would she? Besides, she had stuttered when the queen pointed it out.
“Yeah! Myne’s not like that!”
Motoyasu shouted out in support, but the queen wasn’t listening.
“You’re lying!”
“No, it’s true!”
“If it’s true, then you’ll show us proof.”
The queen snapped her fingers, and knights clapped their hands down on Bitch’s shoulders. Some wizards appeared, carrying an item I was familiar with. It was the ink pot used in slave registration magic.
“What are you doing?!”
Motoyasu noticed that something was up, and he started to shout.
Soldiers came to control Motoyasu and Bitch. The wizards turned to Bitch and began a ceremony.
The queen produced a needle, pricked her own finger, and dropped a little of her blood into the ink pot.
I… I knew what she was doing.
“N… No! Release me!”
“I will release you once I’ve verified your innocence. I hope the Heroes understand.”
No, they wouldn’t. Or so I thought. Itsuki and Ren were watching on in silence.
Even dumb Bitch had figured out what was going on. She tried to wrestle herself free from the soldiers, but they wouldn’t let her escape. I was more concerned with how Motoyasu would react. Perhaps seeing that there was no way out, he readied his spear.
“Stop that!!”
I wouldn’t let him interfere.
“Shield Prison!”
I turned my shield into the Shield of Wrath and, repressing my anger—or should I say controlling it, I shut him inside a Shield Prison.
Ren and Itsuki nearly stepped in to stop me, but noticing the crowd of soldiers in the room, they held back.
“N…No! Stay back! Who do you think I am?!”
“The older princess. That is… if you can prove your innocence.”
The queen dropped a hand and gave an order.
They poured ink from the pot onto Bitch’s chest. The slave seal appeared there, burning into her.
“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Bitch screamed like that for a minute or so, but once she calmed down the seal disappeared as if nothing had happened.
It was different than what Raphtalia had gone through. Raphtalia’s seal remained like a tattoo, but Bitch’s disappeared completely.
“This is a powerful slave seal. It is normally invisible, but when certain conditions are met, it will return, punishing the subject.”
In that regard, it was more like Filo’s control magic.
“The condition is that you must not attack Mr. Iwatani. Do not raise your hand against him!”
Bitch glared at the queen. There were tears in her eyes.
“Now then, Malty. Here is the question: were you raped by Mr. Iwatani?”
It was a good plan to wring a confession out of her. I’d done the same thing to Raphtalia once.
Because she couldn’t lie if the slave seal was on her.
If she tried to lie, the seal would activate and punish her.
Of course it would only work if the queen and the seal were real.
“Yes!”
Bitch arched her eyebrows and n
odded.
At nearly the same time, the slave seal came burning back into view and exerted a powerful pressure on her chest.
“OUCH! It hurts!”
Bitch couldn’t handle the pain, and she fell to the floor.
“M…Myne!”
Motoyasu ran to her and helped her sit up, but the effects of the slave seal didn’t go away.
“The effects won’t go away until you tell the truth.”
“Fine… Fine! The Shield Hero didn’t rape me. It was all a lie!”
The second Bitch admitted her lie, the seal vanished.
“See? Everyone have a look. It was a lie.”
“How can you say that when YOU forced her to say it!?”
Motoyasu was furious with the queen. I could see where he was coming from. From his perspective, she was most definitely an enemy.
“I don’t know what kind of magic that was, but you forced her to lie!”
“If you think so, Spear Hero, then why not temporarily register Malty as your slave as well? If you do, then you’ll quickly understand how the slave seal works.”
“Yeah! Fine! I’ll prove her innocence!”
Just as the queen had done, Motoyasu let a drop of his blood fall into the ink pot. They spilled the ink over Bitch again, and she was registered as his slave.
“Now you can see for yourself how the slave magic works. Look at your status screens to see.”
Motoyasu’s eyes moved as though he were reading something. Then he nodded and turned to Bitch.
“Myne… You were almost raped by Naofumi, weren’t you?”
“Ye… Ouch! OW!”
She was about to lie again when the slave seal activated. She fell to the floor again.
“B…But…”
All the color left Motoyasu’s face.
“There’s more though, isn’t there? You stole all of Mr. Iwatani’s possessions, didn’t you?”
“I did NOT! OW! OOOOWWWW!”
The woman really couldn’t lie…
A little speechless, I stood there and watched Bitch roll around on the ground in pain. “And you were the one who set fire to the forest while you were chasing Mr. Iwatani, weren’t you?!”
She knew. Of course she knew. If she knew what kind of person Bitch was, it was an easy assumption to make.
“I didn’t, I… AAAAHHHHH!”
Her screams were growing panicked. If she didn’t start telling the truth, she’d die.
She must have known that, and yet she went on lying… What a woman.
