Interlude 27
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「Are you alright?」
「Ah, yes, I’m fine. Sorry about that.」
She is not fine.
Since that day when the Arcana Kingdom was buzzing with the conquest of the Blade Dungeon, Purume has been showing behavior that’s completely unimaginable from her usually intelligent self—spacing out or muttering to herself.
That’s not all. She has been frequently observed in clearly abnormal states, such as clutching her head, shaking her shoulders, and crouching down.
Not only the guild staff member who spoke to her out of concern, but almost all the staff have noticed Purume’s abnormal behavior and are worried about her.
A few days ago, at that moment, she coughed up blood in her office and collapsed.
She lost consciousness and was lying in a pool of blood when the vice master, who had come for a consultation, finally discovered and rescued her.
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Is the world strange, or is it oneself?
When such a question arises, it’s usually the latter that turns out to be correct.
However, even if there’s a one in a million—no, a one in a billion chance that the world is strange, to believe in it and insist on it relentlessly is—
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There was a meeting that had been inevitably postponed due to her undeniable poor condition. The other party was Chancellor Madison, who serves as an advisor to the king in the royal capital.
The scheduled date was urgent, set for two days after the Hero’s party conquered the Blade Dungeon, but it was postponed once after informing them of her poor condition. However, Madison, despite being a VIP, showed unexpectedly quick footwork and immediately visited Greeneyes alone.
The door to the Guildmaster’s room in Greeneyes is knocked twice.
Before Purume can answer 「Come in,」 the door opens with a click. Too impatient.
There’s only one person who would show such disrespect to Purume.
He’s a completely insensitive old man.
「I’ve come to check on you, you see.」
「Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve caused you trouble.」
「Aren’t you going to complain about my ‘lack of sensitivity’ like you usually do?」
「…………」
「My, this seems serious.」
Madison makes a puzzled face, then unceremoniously plops down in the chair at the guest desk. He takes out a fruit from the bag he brought as a get-well gift and casually hands it to Purume.
「At least peel it yourself.」
Seeing Purume silently staring at the orange in her hand without responding, Chancellor Madison lets out a sigh.
「Your letter said there was no problem with your health. But looking at you now, I’m not so sure about that. Well, let’s set that aside for now.」
「Hmph, you impatient fellow.」
「Impatience is my virtue. Let’s get to the point. If you’re ‘not in poor health’ as you claim, then why do you have such a pained expression?」
Madison fixes her with a piercing gaze.
「What are you so troubled about?」
Purume clasps her hands in front of her face and closes her eyes.
Chancellor Madison waits for Purume to speak, assuming she needs a little time to gather her thoughts.
「I appreciate your concern, Madison.
But I’m sorry. I can’t answer your question. And having refused, it’s very difficult for me to say this, but…」
「What is it?」
「Would you mind answering the questions I’m about to ask without saying anything?」
「If that’s what you want, then it must be necessary.
Yes, yes. That’s fine.
Ask me anything. I’ll answer to the best of my ability.」
Purume only says 「Thank you for your consideration」 to Madison, who agreed to her request without asking anything.
Perhaps as mental preparation, Purume lets out a sigh.
「I want to ask you frankly. The hero summoning ritual was performed, and two young boys were successfully summoned to this world.
You continued to monitor one of them.
Is this correct so far?」
Chancellor Madison nods silently.
「You were secretly cheering for him, captivated by this boy’s diligence and passion. You even thought highly enough of him to consider marrying him to your daughter.」
Here, Purume prompts, 「If there’s anything strange about what I’m saying, please don’t hesitate to tell me.」
「Eventually, through his efforts, he conquered the Mirror Dungeon along with Saint Mika. Not stopping there, through continued effort and training, he conquered multiple dungeons.」
Madison responds, 「There’s nothing incorrect so far.」
「And just the other day, he entered the infamous Blade Dungeon with Saint Mika, mage Angelica, and sword saint Eris, successfully conquered it, and returned safely.」
「That’s almost the same as the story I heard. There are no mistakes.」
To Madison’s words, she only mutters, 「I see.」
「I have more to ask.」
「Go ahead.」
「The boy I just talked about—
it is Yamada Ichiro, correct?」
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