The Capital City of the Kingdom Part 3
Traslators: Frostfire10, Skythewood
Around six days later, Sebas opened the main door. He had just returned from the Magician's Guild after purchasing another scroll and recorded all the requests at the Adventurer's Guild, a day of information collection.
The day after he had picked up Tsuare, there had been a discussion, and it had been decided that she would work in this house.
They could have treated her as a guest, but Tsuare refused. She said that she felt uneasy about being treated as a guest on top of being rescued by Sebas. While it did not properly qualify as repaying his kindness, she hoped that she could do something to help around the house.
In other words, she understood that her position here was precarious—that she was a source of trouble for this home—and so she wanted to work as hard as she could to avoid being discarded.
However, he lacked the persuasive power to heal the wounds in Tsuare's heart.
"I'm back, Tsuare. Did work go well?"
Tsuare nodded.
"Is that so. That's good to hear."
She seemed as gloomy as always and her expression hardly changed, but being able to live as a human being had gradually eased the fear which gripped her, and she could speak much more clearly now.
Sebas walked, and Tsuare walked with him.
"What are we having today?"
"I see. I look forward to that, then. Your food is delicious, Tsuare."
She blushed and lowered her face as Sebas praised her with a smile. Her hands nervously grasped at her maid uniform's apron.
"You, you are too… kind…"
"That is not tr…."
Tsuare felt embarrassed and mumbled her words. However, Sebas indeed felt grateful to Tsuare.
Not having to bring back such prepared food erased one troublesome thing from the list and was a good thing.
"Do you have enough ingredients? Tell me if there's anything you'd like me to buy."
Tsuare's cooking was hardly a gourmet spread. She made simple, everyday dishes. Since these dishes did not require expensive ingredients, they were easily obtained at the markets. Sebas had also learned about said ingredients in the market and the food and beverage of this world, which he considered to be killing two birds with one stone.
In the past few days, she seemed to have recovered her spirit. However, it was far too fast. The worry of being abandoned by Sebas caused him to predict that she would overwork herself, but he had to adjust his predictions when faced with reality.
She had taken this house to be an absolute defense of sorts, in order to suppress the fear within her. In other words, she had drawn a line to tell herself that this place was different from the outside world, which had hurt her. That was the only way she could function normally.
Sebas understood that it was very cruel to expect Tsuare to walk amongst the masses given her mental condition. He should have spent more time to help her get used to being around others again, but that naturally required time.
If Ainz issued the order to withdraw—
"…….."
"…….."
As Tsuare hesitated, Sebas held her hands tightly. What he said next was terribly unfair to her.
"Are you willing to trust me, Tsuare?"
Silence filled the corridor, and time slowly passed them by. In the end, Tsuare's eyes grew moist, and her tender, pink lips parted to reveal her pearly white teeth.
"…Sebas-sama… you are too cunning… When you… put it like that… how could I refuse?"
She then threw herself into his bosom. Sebas gently hugged her quivering shoulders.
"Please be at ease. In all the world there are only 41 people stronger than me."
Tsuare made a lonely face and rubbed the shoulder Sebas was touching, but he acted as if he did not see it.
In addition, Sebas was an old man, and perhaps Tsuare had confused her sense of familial kinship with romantic love.
Even if Tsuare did feel genuine love for Sebas, he did not feel that he could adequately return it.
After all, he had been hiding so many things from her.
"Then I shall come to get you after discussing a few things with the Young Mistress."
Solution had hardly met with Tsuare before. At the very most she had glanced at her in passing and left without saying a word. Anyone would feel uneasy about being ignored like that, and in Tsuare's case she would probably be terrified.
"It's fine. The Young Mistress is like that to everyone. It isn't as though she has it out for you…. But Ojou-sama has quite the bad personality, but I did not tell you this."
Sebas smiled, and after finishing his half-joking words, the unease on Tsuare's face lightened somewhat.
"She often throws tantrums when she sees cute girls."
Compared to Solution who had a beauty that would enrapture those of even the same gender, she thought that she could not even be compared. Tsuare indeed had a pretty face, but it was not much when faced with Solution's.
"What! How could…"
Tsuare's face was burning red as she lowered it. Sebas looked kindly upon her, and then he saw her expression change and her brows furrow.
"And I… I'm… filthy…"
Tsuare's attitude made a complete turn, and her faced turned dark. Sebas sighed. He looked straight ahead and spoke. As the volume of the footsteps had been lowered, the words of Sebas reached Tsuare very clearly.
"Indeed, that is the case with gems. Unmarked ones are worth more, and they are considered purer." Tsuare's face fell even further as she heard those words. "However—people are not gemstones."
Tsuare's face lifted and looked at Sebas' face. His serious face.
If he was right, her next words would be [embrace] or something along that line. (TL Note: She used the word "Daku" which can mean hug or to have sex.)
"How troubling."
"…Thank you, Sebas."
Solution, the false mistress of the manor, had a airheaded expression on her face as she lounged on the sofa in the center of the room. However, that was merely an act. That was because Tsuare the outsider was also in the house, so she had to put on the mask of a haughty heiress.
"So it would seem."
The two of them looked at each others' faces, and Solution spoke in a normal tone.
"When are you going to get rid of her?"
Solution always asked the same question whenever they met, and Sebas always gave her the same answer.
"When the time comes."
Under normal circumstances, that would be the end of it. Solution would sigh deliberately, and then drop the matter. However, Solution did not seem inclined to let it go today, and she continued asking:
"…Could you give me a clear indication on when 'the time' will be? For all we know, hiding that human might bring trouble upon us. Does that not violate Ainz-sama's orders?"
Sebas quietly exhaled.
The situation was very bad.
Solution had not made any move to harm Tsuare until now due to being forcibly restrained by Sebas. However, if things remained as they were, it might not endure for long.
"—She will be dealt with."
Sebas ended the sentence himself without giving Solution a chance to continue speaking. She turned an emotionless look on him, and then nodded to indicate that she understood.
"Then I will say no more. Sebas-sama, please do not forget the words you have just said."
"…Still."
Solution's hushed tone hid emotions so powerful that they made Sebas stop in his tracks.
"…Still, Sebas-sama. Should we not report Tsuare (that) to Ainz-sama?"
"…Entoma and the others regularly contact you with [Message] spells every day. Why not bring it up while you are in contact with them?"
"Is there something you wish to hide?"
"Then…." Solution realised her words would elicit the same response, and chose different ones—Ones that would blow him away. "….So due to a selfish decision, you are not reporting to Ainz-sama?"
The air between them grew tense.
That said, he still felt that it was wrong to abandon a pitiful being just because he was afraid of danger.
No, he only thought he understood. Solution's attitude from a few seconds ago had clearly informed him of the full extent of his naivete.
As she saw that smile, Solution's eyes filled with surprise.
"…Of course. It was not for personal gain that I did not report this to Ainz-sama."
"It is not all but, I highly praise her ability to cook."
"…Perhaps."
Solution had no choice but to agree with that point. Anyone would find it strange that such a large house was hardly occupied, for all the money spent on it.
"I feel that we need a few people around. Besides, would it not be bad if we could not serve a single dish if guests arrived?"
"Indeed."
"Tsuare is grateful to me. Even if there are strange occurrences, she would not leak the. If we hire a loose-lipped person, would they not speak of the strangeness of this mansion's occupants."
"Just so. This is merely a deception, so there is no need to specially seek Ainz-sama's permission to do so. For all we know, he might chastise us and say, 'Figure these small things out yourself'."
"Can you accept that?"
"Understood, Sebas-sama."
Sebas left the room. He did not look back at the sharp gaze Solution sent at him, and left as if escaping from it all.