Collaborator from the Asur Family
After parting ways with Irisio and Redul, Tigaro met up with Kenna, who had released Mozu, and came to the center of the aristocratic district.
The two of them were wearing plain robes, with the hoods pulled over their heads.
Tigaro and Kenna, who had come on foot without using a horse-drawn carriage, stopped at the back entrance of a small mansion.
Tigaro and Kenna sneak into the mansion grounds.
Tigaro tapped the back door of the mansion lightly with the back of his hand.
After waiting for a while, the door suddenly unlocks.
Then, the person who peeked out from inside the door was a man with the blue hair typical of the Asur family.
Tigaro lightly lifts his hood to reveal his face.
When the man recognized Tigaro's exposed face, he narrowed his eyes and observed Tigaro with suspicion.
Without feeling bad about that, Tigaro said to the man with a smile.
"Let's pray for Lapeia-dono's favor."
"……Get in"
The man said softly as he led Tigaro and Kenna into the mansion with a grim look on his face.
With the man leading the way, they walk through the hallways of the mansion and arrive in front of a room.
When the man opened the door, there was a woman sitting on the sofa with wrinkles on her face.
Just like when Tigaro met her in front of the party venue the other day, she had a happy expression on her face.
Her name is Lapeia Ila Asur.
She is a healing mage who was few even in the magic kingdom of Shirsodi, and she is a woman in a fairly senior position within the Asur family.
When she recognized Tigaro, she smiled and opened her mouth with an evil expression on her face.
"You're late. Come the day after I sent you the letter."
"Haha, don't say that. There were various circumstances as well."
After Tigaro says that, Kenna quietly enters the room.
Lapeia raised her eyebrows when she saw Kenna, and her expression softened somewhat.
"Oh, Kenna is with you today. Come over here and let me touch your fur."
Lapeia's beckoning voice was a complete change from the one she used to Tigaro, and had a gentle tone.
Kenna, who was spoken to, glanced at Tigaro.
Kenna was Tigaro's slave, and even if the members of the Asur family said that, she never forgot to show respect to her master first.
Tigaro answered with a wry smile at Kenna, who was obedient and polite.
"Do whatever you like."
Kenna gave a slight nod, and her tail swayed as if in response.
After receiving permission from Tigaro, Kenna walked towards Lapeia without expression and sat down on the sofa between Lapeia's legs.
Kenna's supple black tail sways in front of Lapeia.
Lapeia placed her hand on it, lightly raised her fingertips, and let it flow.
Lapeia's slightly wrinkled fingers pass through Kenna's tail fur.
"Ahyahya, your fur is as nice as ever. I fixed that tail of yours, so don't forget to be grateful to me, Kenna."
"Yes, of course. Lapeia-sama."
To Lapeia's bossy words, Kenna replied calmly.
It's hard to tell what she's feeling from her expression, but her animal ears are twitching slightly, and Kenna doesn't seem to dislike Lapeia.
It was their usual skinship.
Kenna doesn't put any strange force on her body, and naturally entrusts her tail to Lapeia, and Lapeia looks happy as she touches it.
Tigaro, who was watching this, felt like she was a grandmother combing her grandchild's hair.
Looking sideways at the two of them, Tigaro placed a stack of papers on the table.
"This is the current report. As always, the contents are about my brothers and my father who is overseas."
"Ahyahya, thank you for your hard work every time. Leave them there."
Lapeia was stroking Kenna's tail while looking at Tigaro without any interest.
Tigaro, who was looking at the scenery, opened his mouth as Lapeia narrowed her eyes and was petting Kenna.
There was a slight sense of tension in his mind.
"By the way, Lapeia-dono, have you heard about the Empire person who went missing the other day?"
When Tigaro said that, Lapeia's hand movements slowed down a little.
Lapeia, who had been caring for Kenna, turned her gaze towards Tigaro, and her compassion faded.
"I love talking, but I don't like talking for free. Besides, I'd like to hear about your battle with the monster that appeared in the capital first."
"...You quickly got the information, Lapeia-dono, I'm sure you've heard my report from the Knights, right?"
"Ahyahya. If that's all, then that's the end of the story."
With that said, Lapeia took her gaze away from Tigaro.
"I fixed this child's tail. You regularly give me information about the inside of the Noros family. We both work for each other's benefit. That's how you and I originally had a relationship."
Lapeia and Tigaro, who meet in secret, are not particularly close.
In the first place, although the Noros family and the Asur family are the three major nobles of the same kingdom, they are not on good terms to the point where they can be said to be in conflict with each other.
If it were discovered that these two were meeting in secret, each other's position within the blood family would deteriorate.
However, even if they take such a risk, they meet regularly because they believe there is mutual benefit.
Tigaro smiled and nodded, not feeling offended by Lapeia's attitude of drawing the line.
"I know. ――Kenna."
"Yes"
Kenna, who was being stroked by Lapeia, reached for the bag she had put down.
What she took out was a small drawstring bag.
Kenna lightly opens the drawstring bag and places it sideways on the desk in front of her.
There was a small sound of something hard scraping, and several spheres with many protrusions rolled out from the mouth of the drawstring bag.
Made in a variety of colors, it was a candy that was a feast for the eyes of those who saw it.
"It's a sugar confectionery called Konpeitou, which is located in a country further east than the Republic of Desambel."
The sweets he bought from Mikikonis Company the other day.
When Lapeia saw what Kenna had taken out, she grinned in a good mood.
"Ahyahya!! You should have brought that out from the beginning!"
---
Lapeia, who was in a good mood as she reached into the drawstring bag and ate sweets, finally spoke.
"――I thought for sure that the Noros family had kidnapped the girl from the Empire."
"...Didn't you say earlier that that night, I was fighting a monster that suddenly appeared in the capital?"
Lapeia's words were obvious, but Tigaro said it without showing even the slightest wavering in his heart.
The man standing behind Lapeia held out a damp cloth.
Lapeia received it and wiped her mouth and fingertips that had been touching the sweets.
"You're not the only member of the Noros family, right? There's a possibility that your brother or someone from Lemalgoas' slaves has kidnapped that empire's girl."
Lapeia throws the cloth onto the table.
Then, with a satisfied sigh, she patted Kenna's head.
"But since you're asking, that doesn't seem to be the case."
Lapeia's words were actually true, but Tigaro was a little unsure whether to say it or not.
Actually, he would like to hear about how people become monsters and the pattern engraved on Eul's magic core.
Not only does Lapeia have a lot of information about the kingdom, but she's also a healing mage, so she should also be knowledgeable about the bodies of living things.
However, at this timing, hearing about Eul and how humans can transform into monsters at the same time is like saying that Eul has become a monster.
Lapeia's wisdom is reliable, but due to her own personality, depending on the situation, he cannot completely deny the possibility that she will tell someone else what Tigaro said.
He doesn't think Lapeia will tell anyone that easily because if her secret relationship with Tigalo is found out, Lapeia herself will suffer, but the fact that it carries such a risk should be a cause for concern.
As Tigaro was worried, Lapeia turned around and spoke to the man who was standing behind her.
"I want this guy to see what I gave to the Knights yesterday."
The man nodded and took out several sheets of paper from one of the shelves surrounding the room.
Then, the man placed the paper on the corner of the table where the sweets were placed.
"It's a collection of random information about a girl named Eul."
Tigaro was a little surprised by Lapeia's words and couldn't help but stare at the paper.
Although they hadn't talked about anything beforehand, the paper that came out immediately contained some information about Eul that Tigaro wanted to know.
"You're pretty prepared."
Looking at Tigaro who was impressed, Lapeia let out a snort.
"Originally, a few days ago, a girl named Eul sent me a letter saying she wanted to meet with me. It's only natural to find out about the person you're talking to beforehand... Well. But before that, a girl named Eul seems to have gone somewhere.''
Tigaro showed interest in Lapeia's words.
"...Heh. From Eul-dono?"
"That's right. I heard that she was coming to discuss some matters, but... I don't know the details either."
Lapeia herself is one of the world's leading healing mages.
She was quite famous on the continent, as she could heal a simple wound in an instant, or repair missing limbs or internal organs in a reasonable amount of time.
There is no end to the number of people who ask her for treatment every day.
As long as you pay the price, she will properly heal any wound you have, so there is no shortage of people asking for treatment every day.
A user of such powerful recovery magic is precious.
Since Eul had also asked to see Lapeia, it was easy to imagine that Eul had also come to heal her own body.
From there, Tigaro guessed that Eul knew about the pattern attached to her magic core, and had come to consult Lapeia about it.
While thinking like this, Tigaro reaches for the materials.
"That's all there is to the material. Just read it here and memorize it."
Having said that, Tigaro picked up the materials placed there and began reading them.
Eul is an aristocrat born and raised in the empire, and although she belongs to one of the armies of the empire, she is currently studying abroad, so it seems that she is not clearly part of any unit.
"Eul-dono is the daughter of the [Flame General] among the [Four Generals] of the empire."
Tigaro was also vaguely aware that she used fire-attribute magic frequently, and that she was of the lineage of the flame generals who were skilled at powerful fire-attribute magic.
However, thanks to a little bit of blood from the other [Four Generals], the earth general, Eul seems to be able to use earth-attribute magic as well.
Tigaro has confirmed with his own eyes that she is a rare mage who can use two attribute magics.
As Tigaro read through the documents, comparing them with the facts he had seen with his own eyes, Lapeia, who was looking at him while stroking Kenna, opened her mouth as if remembering something.
"Ah, and I heard from the knights that the other people who came from the Empire are now provided with bodyguards."
Apparently, since Eul went missing, or because of the possibility of kidnapping, Machen and Brelin are being escorted by people from the Kingdom Knights.
Indeed, the Brelin he met yesterday was accompanied by Mofis of the Holy Wind Knights.
Mofis at that time was probably also playing the role of Brelin's bodyguard.
While echoing Lapeia's words, Tigaro looked over the documents.
Eul's mother seems to have already passed away, and apart from her father, who is the [Flame General], she seems to have only one older sister in her family.
After looking through that, Tigaro thought a little.
Eul is currently being captured by Tigaro, and if this becomes public, Tigaro's position will be greatly shaken.
Therefore, Tigaro's basic idea is to avoid telling anyone about this incident as much as possible.
However, from the way Lapeia, who provided this material to Tigaro, talks, he doesn't think she has anything to do with this case.
It would be a reassuring move for Tigaro to draw Lapeia to his side now.
After a little hesitation, Tigaro opened his mouth.
"...Lapeia-dono. I have a slightly complicated topic to discuss."
Pausing his words, Tigaro slowly turned his gaze towards the man standing quietly behind Lapeia.
The eyes of the man with a glint of caution in his eyes and Tigaro's smiling face intersect.
Tigaro knows that he has been acting as Lapeia's bodyguard for many years, and that he obediently follows Lapeia's orders.
He doesn't think he'll do anything that would put Lapeia at a disadvantage, but he should make sure to keep him quiet.
Thinking so, Tigaro returned his gaze to Lapeia.
"With him, you don't have to worry about leaking information to others, so it is quite safe.''
Tigaro nodded at Lapeia's words and continued speaking.
"Actually, it is――"
---
"...Heh. So, that Eul is the monster that appeared in the royal capital, and now you've captured her?"
"...Yeah. Although it may be hard to believe."
When Lapeia heard from Tigaro about the monster that appeared in the capital and that it had transformed into Eul, her demeanor was calm, but there was a look of surprise on her face.
If Tigaro hadn't seen the monster transform into Eul right before his eyes, he might have dismissed it as just a fabrication.
When Tigaro said that without expecting her to believe him, Lapeia let out a worried sigh.
"But, it makes sense."
After saying that, Lapeia took a breath and reached for the drawstring bag placed on the table.
However, the drawstring bag that had been bulging with sweets was completely crushed, and even when Lapeia looked inside, she couldn't grab anything.
"Oya, it's gone already?"
When Lapeia said that, Kenna, who was sitting in front of Lapeia, took out another drawstring bag from her bag.
Seeing this, Lapeia stroked Kenna with satisfaction and reached out for the sweets.
Tigaro smiled and spoke to Lapeia, who was picking at sweets in a good mood.
"That's why I would like to borrow Lapeia-dono's wisdom."
"Don't be so unreasonable. I'm not an expert in anything other than visible injuries. The only thing I can give you is those documents. ...And I have never heard of humans turning into monsters."
Tigaro is aware that Lapeia may not know.
However, since he wanted at least a little bit of information, he wanted to ask her just to confirm.
"In the first place, if you're talking about the magic core that has that strange pattern, you, the Noros family, should know more about it than me, right? What do you think about that?"
"Unfortunately, the only magic I know that directly affects the magic core is slave magic."
The Noros family is the only blood family that can sense the magic core inside another person's body.
However, even after sensing the magic core, the only things the Noros family, including Tigaro, can do is cast slave magic and exploit Odo from the enslaved slaves.
Tigaro had never heard of any other magic that directly involved magic cores.
"Hmm... Well, if you captured that girl named Eul, I'd understand if you turned her into a slave and made her tell you the information. That's what you had in mind from the beginning, right?"
"……Yeah."
Answering that, Tigaro returned his gaze to the materials in order to make Eul a slave.
Lapeia looked over at Tigaro, who was quietly absorbed in memorizing the material, and gently hugged Kenna and stroked her head and animal ears.
"Seriously, you have such a cute girl, but you keep chasing other women. Right, Kenna?"
Kenna stands up and her black tail sways gently, tickling Lapeia's nose.
Kenna's hair is combed and styled with Lapeia's hand comb.
Lapeia looked at it with satisfaction and continued speaking to Kenna.
"If you ever get tired of this kind of master, you can always leave him. I have plenty of ways to make this guy's situation worse.''
When Lapeia said that, Kenna's indifferent expression did not change.
However, the atmosphere seemed to be in a good mood.
"Thank you, Lapeia-sama. However, Kenna is Tigaro-sama's slave."
"Kah, so you're just on his side. Ahyahya, you're a good woman, Kenna."
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