Part 2[edit]
— Rewinding time to a bit earlier.
At the corner of the spectator stands.
The large scale Game that is hosted annually had sent the crowd into a frenzy of cheers, but the atmosphere in this corner was a little different from its surroundings.
Upon sighting the white haired lad with golden irises, Laius’s eyes had narrowed with a tinge of nervousness creeping into his voice as he asked the question:
“You…. Have we met each other before somewhere?”
Laius continued to stare with a puzzled and surprised look on his face.
That must have been the reason for his staring at His Highness since a while ago. Just for an instant, His Highness had widened his eyes in surprise but his face immediately broke into a smile as he nodded his head.
“Well, yeah, maybe we’ve met each other before. After all, it’s possible that we have met each other during a trade with [Perseus]. Especially since my Community is focused on commerce.”
“Nn, Mhm. That does seem to jolt my memory. I recall seeing you from the corner of my eyes during one of the large scale negotiations about a trade……”
Laius had knitted his brows in deep thought as he had a look of being at the verge of remembering but yet failing to catch it tightly. Smiling bitterly, Jin decided to cut in then to stand between His Highness and Laius.
“Laius-san. ……Well, regarding that incident….”
“Ah…… what?”
Jin nonchalantly moved to position himself in front of Sandra while wiping the smile off his face in an instant.
“The incident you refer to—was it the one time that you were negotiating to buy Leticia-san?”
“!”
Because of the unexpected souring of the events, His Highness had an incredulous look of surprise on his face. The words that couldn’t have hit closer to the bull’s eye had stumped him for words and he turned to stare at Jin.
Percher who stood guard behind Jin had also found it difficult to believe her own ears as the train of thoughts in her mind suddenly came to a halt.
(Jin……when did he …)
“DO NOT MOVE!”
Kuro Usagi shouted as she stood behind His Highness.
The Spear of Indra was already held in her hand.
“Sandra-sama, please leave! Summon the military police squads over here immediately!”
“Wh…Why…?”
“This lad’s from the Demon Lord Alliance! The Community that sold Letica-sama can only be that one Community—that’s the reasoning right, Jin-bocchan?”
Jin nodded.
Seeing how readily the nod came had thrown Percher into further confusion for that would have meant that Jin managed to figure out the real identity behind His Highness without her rousing her notice.
It wasn’t clear if His Highness was also pondering over the same matter but he continued to stare at Jin with a sense of shock and surprise in his heart while blinking his eyes continuously. But he still hadn’t drop his guard to show any openings in the meantime.
This pale haired, golden iris lad was still acting casually. Even if he were to be pointed at with the Spear of Indra, he did not even take Kuro Usagi’s threat as something that should be noticed.
He stared straight at Jin while asking with a smile of curiosity and amusement:
“Jin, as a subject that I can reference to in the future, I would like to ask this. When was it that you actually realize about the organization that I belong to? I don’t get the feeling that Percher’s the one who told you about it.”
“……From the start. Percher had responded upon meeting you guys with a ‘it’s been a while’. But —WHEN could it be that you guys have met each other?”
Sandra drew a sharp intake of breath as realization struck her then.
When she had met Jin earlier that day, Jin had also said this:
“In the past two months, Percher had been together with us as a guard……”
“That’s right. In the two months that Percher had been contracted to me, she had been with me the whole time. That would mean that there’s no way for her to have acquainted herself to you guys without me knowing. If you guys really did know each other—the only possibility would have been the time that she had been called the [Black Death Demon Lord].”
“I see. You saw through the whole farce right from the start? Looks like I’ve really blundered badly…… No, I should say that Jin’s performance is too outstanding. To be honest, it really changes my opinion about you.”
“Then, you…. And Rin……?”
“Yes, that’s right. Sorry for having lied to you all these while, Sandra. We are whom you guys termed as the Demon Lord Alliance members.”
His Highness gave his usual grin at that.
It was then that Sandra finally accepted the fact that he’s truly a member of the Demon Lord Alliance.
However, in this sort of situation, Sandra wasn’t immature enough to wallow in the sorrows of a betrayal from whom she had thought of as friends.
“……! [Highborn of Little Garden]-sama. Please hold him here. I will be right back.”
“YES, leave it to me.”
Sandra painfully repressed the words that she wanted to say as she turned to leave.
Kuro Usagi raised her divine spear while giving a vigorous nod in response.
Noting that Sandra left the arena grounds, His Highness turned back his attention to focus on Jin as he asked:
“May I ask you another question?”
“……what?”
“Jin, at what stage have you figured it out? I guess you haven’t been misled by the words of mine about the [Kamikakushi]— Actually, you have already guessed the perpetrator right? The true face behind this whole [Kamikakushi] business.”
The golden irises of His Highness were filled with curiosity as he asked.
Jin returned his gaze squarely as he replied in a calm tone:
“……Mhm, yeah it’s wrong. That’s just another conjecture and another type of explanation. I fear that the one who caused the [Kamikakushi] this time is [Demon King of Confusion] who had been recorded in the annals of . This Demon lord harbors great resentment towards [Great Sage Equalling Heaven] and to speculate that he’s out to attack the sworn blood brother of [Great Sage Equalling Heaven]—Kouryuu-san, wouldn’t be too absurd. So, the real purpose of [Demon King of Confusion] —had been to target Kouryuu-san from the start.”
“……”