Eternally Regressing in Another World

Chapter 21: Square 16: The Square of Dragon

I asked, wiping my mouth with the table napkin.

”First, the basic premise. Are you an enemy?”

”No.”

I answered immediately. There was no reason to lie about this, and no reason to hedge either.

”Understood.”

Elizabeth scooped up some soup without a sound. She sipped it slowly, savoring it, then continued with her questions.

”That answer just now, that you’re not my enemy, do you have any proof of that?”

”Yeah, I do.”

Or more accurately, I’d had plenty of time to come up with excuses.

”If I were your enemy, what do you think the purpose of approaching you would’ve been?”

”Assassination. That’s what I assumed at first, honestly.”

”Right... but you’re strong. Taking down someone that strong through assassination would require more than one person.”

”...That’s true.”

Elizabeth answered slowly, swirling her wine glass.

”But here’s the thing, when Nest got back up at the end of that fight, you could tell I was in serious danger, right?”

”You’re saying the fact that no allies came to help proves your point?”

”Exactly.”

Elizabeth, looking a little exasperated, drained the rest of her wine. I used the moment to take another bite of the dragon meat.

”That alone isn’t quite enough to convince me, and besides...”

I didn’t miss the way Elizabeth’s gaze drifted slightly downward from my face.

”The Canary Kingdom’s assassination unit, that’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”

Elizabeth dropped the spoon she’d been holding and lightly readied the parasol at her side. Inwardly terrified, breaking into a cold sweat as she looked ready to strike at any moment, I kept my composure as best I could.

”Whoa, hey, hold on a second. If I were actually an assassin, would I really be walking around in broad daylight dressed like this? I’d love to meet the idiot who’d pull something that dumb.”

The grip on Elizabeth’s parasol seemed to loosen just slightly. Without missing a beat, I pushed the excuse further.

”I found this.”

”...Found it?”

”Yeah, when I was on my way into this city, bandits stripped me of everything I had. I went into the forest looking for leaves to cover myself with, and I found a body. Got it off him. So yeah, found it.”

Elizabeth seemed to hesitate for a moment, but after a while, she quietly set the parasol down.

”You’ve got me there. You keep answering exactly what I was about to ask, before I even ask it.”

Well, of course. Everything I’d said had basically come straight from her own questions. But judging by her expression, one more push should do it.

”You don’t happen to have some kind of tool for measuring magic power, do you?”

If she didn’t, I’d just finish the meal and leave right after. If she did, this should clear up any remaining doubt completely.

”We do. Tender.”

Yes! I mentally pumped my fist in triumph. Tender showed up within ten seconds of being called, already carrying what looked like the right kind of device. Had he been keeping it ready somewhere nearby?

”Now then, come this way.”

What had been brought in was a large magical device mounted on a cart. Roughly the size of a bicycle, maybe.

”Please place your hand here.”

The device gave off a faint blue glow, with several rings crossing and rotating continuously around a round crystal at its center. The silver base was engraved with a beautiful design of two pegasi with their wings joined together. Looking toward the top of the crystal, about twenty smaller crystals traced a neat circular pattern as they spun. Elizabeth was pointing to the center of that spinning circle of crystals. It looked like nothing was there, but the moment I placed my hand on it, I could feel something like a clear barrier of light.

”Like this?”

”Yes, that’s right.”

”Whoa!”

A chill shot down my spine for just a moment, my legs trembling.

”Here it comes!”

The crystal began rippling like the surface of water. Then, from around the center, light gradually surfaced, like something being drawn out with heat. A firefly like glow, flickering weaker and stronger, swirled a few times inside the crystal before fading away.

”One light? ...Wait, is this the level?”

”...Y-yes... pfft.”

Elizabeth pressed her face down against the table, shaking uncontrollably. She was clearly fighting back laughter with everything she had.

”Um... so, is my innocence confirmed?”

Judging by her reaction, I’d apparently won a clean verdict of not guilty. Glancing down, I noticed Tender crouched over on the floor. Clutching his stomach, legs kicking, he looked plenty lively. But for some reason, Tender bursting out laughing bothered me a little more. I went back to my seat and, out of spite, took an aggressive bite of bread.

”I-I see, my apologies. Level 1 wouldn’t even beat a dog, would it... pfft.”

Honestly, it would’ve hurt less if she’d just laughed outright instead. Thinking that, I kept shoveling the incredibly delicious meat into my mouth.

”Well, as long as you understand now.”

”Right, and I happen to have a fine aged wine. Come now, Tender, stop laughing and go fetch it!”

”Y-yes, ma’am!”

Watching Tender hurry off, the moment he turned the corner, I heard him burst out laughing. He must have been holding it in the whole time, that guy.

”Well, once I finish that wine, I’ll get out of your hair. Still haven’t found a place to stay, after all.”

”Oh, in that case, you should just stay the night.” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

At Elizabeth’s unexpected offer, my fork stopped mid motion.

”You sure? Not only did you have me help out, now you’re offering me a place to stay too? That’s pretty generous of you.”

”Yes, consider it an apology for suspecting you. I would love to let you stay until you find a proper place to live, but things are about to get extremely busy for me very soon. So for tonight only, I’ll treat you properly as a guest.”

Elizabeth said it cheerfully. For me, it was an offer I couldn’t have hoped for more.

”Even just one night really helps a lot. Thanks, I owe you one.”

After that, we drank straight through the afternoon and talked long into the night. We swapped stories about neighborhood gossip and old embarrassing mistakes, laughing the whole way through.