If eating poison, finish up the plate.[1]
That's a saying.
If eating poison, don't forget to eat the plate.
That saying came about back when hard baked bread was used instead of a dish.
The hard bread would absorb flavor from the main dish, like meat, and then you could tear off pieces and dip it into soup to soften it up before eating.
So eating the plate means eating everything.
Swallowing everything despite the fear of poison.
It's the spirit of a feast.
... No, that's a lie.
The truth is, since he'll die anyway, he might as well keep looking forward and finish his meal, rather than die with an empty stomach.
I don't usually eat plates.
If the poison is going to kill me anyway, then there's no sense in eating porcelain and ripping apart my mouth.
But that's also a lie.
Well...
I'm currently sitting in the property that Aisha prepared for the new mercenary branch office.
It's in the commercial district, in the basement of an old tavern that went out of business.
Barrels of preserved food were littered about, and there was a row of half-finished black cloaks.
I used a teleport scroll to get here.
Bi-directional travel.
That's why I set up this magic formation.
And, there's a girl standing in front of me.
A usually cutesy girl with childish gestures.
But her actual age is over 20.
"Truly, this is a quaint office."
The Miko girl sat down.
I didn't do anything like tie her up.
She sat with a [plop] on the dusty stone floor.
In the end, that's what happened, I took the Miko with me.
"What is your intention?"
"Huh?"
"Coming out with such timing, you didn't even try to run away..."
Thinking about it, the Miko came out with perfect timing.
Her timing was so perfect, it was almost as if she was waiting to make her appearance.
And then she was obediently caught.
"... I came out by chance. I didn't know there would be a fight... I was surprised because the garden was suddenly covered by a fog."
That's an unexpectedly hasty decision.
"Are you lying?"
"Yes, it's a lie. I read the memories of my caretakers, and found out that Therese was going to do something to you, so I came out."
"Ho~o... so you came to help me?"
"Yes. So, I went out, and once I saw your eyes, I realized it."
The moment she met with my eyes, she read my memories.
She was able to see right through the MK-I.
The abilities of Mikos really are mysterious things...
I don't even really understand the principle behind Zanoba's superhuman strength.
"We are friends. I want to help."
"...."
I silently turned my fingertip towards the Miko.
That's the poison dish.
I've already kidnapped you, there's no going back.
There's no backup plan.
I have to make a move.
I have two cards here.
Myself, and this person.
That's it, I have to assume the worst case scenario.
The Pope, the Cardinal, Therese, and Claire are my enemies.
Cliff, Aisha, and Gisu are already in Hitogami's clutches.
Although only an hour has passed, the Temple Knights must have mobilized.
Even though I didn't think anyone saw me teleport, I have to assume that I was seen and that the Temple Knights will arrive here at any moment.
Since there's no time to reset the MK-I's summoning setup, I already used a bog to hide it underground.
That would be the worst case scenario.
Just thinking about it makes me feel helpless.
All I have on hand is my own power, and the Miko.
With these two cards, I have to overcome this situation.
"Miko, before I can trust you, please answer my questions."
"Of course."
I need to question the Miko.
She did say she wanted to help me.
But before I put my trust in her, I need information.
"Please describe your ability as a Miko."
"Don't you already know?"
"I would like to hear it again directly from you."
It may be different from Orsted's information.
I need to reconfirm it.
"I can see the surface of a person's memories."
"Surface?"
"Yes. I can see a little bit of what a person is thinking and the memories associated with it."
"Isn't that the same as being able to read minds?"
"No, I can only see the past, the longer I look into someone's eyes the farther back I can see..."
She can see a person's memories...
But she can only see memories related to a person's present thoughts.
That kind of thing.
"Can you only look?"
"Yes, I can only look."
"It's not possible for you to return a person who lost their mind to their original state?"
"I cannot. If I used my power in conjunction with healing magic, it might be possible to come up with some kind of way..."
She can't restore Zenith's memories.