Interlude 32
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「Why did you run away?」
Orphelia holds Milan by the scruff of her neck, like a mother cat carrying her kitten, and asks. But Milan turns her face away with a pout.
「You don’t have to say if you don’t want to, but I think it’s better to talk while we’re still being nice.」
As they continue this back-and-forth, the three of them put the girl in the carriage. Milan, who had been struggling to escape just moments ago, falls silent once inside the carriage. However, Orphelia senses that Milan is still looking for a chance to escape.
「Come on, Orphe, if you talk like that, she’ll be too scared to say anything even if she wants to.」
In the carriage, Sofia and Orphelia sit side by side, with Laura and Milan facing them.
「Orphe, Laura is right. What’s important is that we have an open and honest conversation. If Milan understands that we’re not suspicious people, I’m sure she’ll talk to us.」
Sofia turns to Milan with a smile, 「Right, Milan-san?」
「I have nothing to answer.」
The captive girl replies, turning her face away.
「Oh my,」 Sofia looks a bit troubled by this unexpected response. Laura puffs out her chest and says, 「Leave it to me.」
「Haha, Milan. We haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we? Sorry about that. My name is Laura Boldaf.」
The luxurious carriage.
The clothes that clearly set them apart from ordinary people.
The dignity and aura emanating from the three of them.
Come to think of it—Milan feels a chill run down her spine.
「I’m Sofia Goa. My father is Heinz Goa—the president of the Goa Trading Company.」
Milan barely manages to swallow a yelp. With jerky movements like a broken toy, she turns to face the girl with twin swords at her waist.
「Me? I don’t really need to. It’s uncool to intimidate someone with just a name.」
If these two are really the most important people in this region—
「It’s not like it’ll hurt to tell her. Come on, Orphe.」
「That’s right, Orphe.」
Pressing her temple, Orphelia says,
「Well, fine, I’m Orphelia Verite. An adventurer.」
Orphelia Verite.
There’s no way Milan wouldn’t know that name.
She glances at the twin swords at Orphelia’s waist, then raises her eyes to stare at Orphelia’s face—repeating this several times before—
「Low, help me…」
Milan bursts into tears.
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The three delinquent girls who made a young girl cry with their power and titles are now surprised and filled with remorse.
Milan, with a piece of candy stuffed in her mouth, continues to sniffle. It seems it will take a while for her to stop crying.
「First of all, I think you’re misunderstanding something. We’re not trying to hurt him or catch him.」
Orphelia says, scratching her head with a sigh for what feels like the umpteenth time.
「These two are looking for this ‘Low’ person because they want to thank him for helping them before.」
「It’s true,」 Orphelia nods to the other two.
「Ahaha, sorry for making you cry. But what Orphe is saying is true.」
「Right!」 Laura passes the baton to Sofia.
「It all started when—」
Sofia begins to tell Milan about how she was helped by the person called Low.
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「So, that’s how I was saved by him.」
「Wow! Low is so cool after all!」
「Yes, he was so cool… and above all, wonderful. Even now, when I close my eyes, I can still remember. That dazzling yet melancholic gray light in his eyes at that moment—」
The moment Sofia starts her monologue, Orphelia and Laura’s expressions change to 「Oh no!」 They had heard this episode enough times to make their ears grow calluses during their stakeout at the foot of Hidden Mountain not long ago. To prevent this, Laura begins to explain her own reasons for searching for Low.
「In my case, I was unconscious when he helped me, but if it weren’t for him, I might have been sold as a slave to some foreign country by now.」
「That must have been terrible… I’m really glad you’re safe.」
Milan says, sniffling.
From Orphelia’s perspective, knowing the true story behind Laura’s past, her opinion is 「What a silly and reckless girl.」 But this Milan, who seemed like a suspicious child when they first met, is now repeatedly saying 「I’m glad」 and 「I’m really glad」 with tears in her eyes, showing a surprisingly pure nature at her core, moved by Laura’s self-inflicted kidnapping story.
At this point, Orphelia glances at Milan and Laura sitting next to each other and narrows her eyes, letting out a mysterious groan, 「Hmm… hm-hm?」
「What’s wrong, Orphe?」
「Ah, um, it’s probably just my imagination. Don’t worry about it.」
「If you say so.」
「By the way, Milan. What’s your relationship with Low?」
Orphelia asks bluntly, addressing the question that all three older girls had been curious about.
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Milan, who they thought might be a commoner child with rough manners, turns out to be a girl capable of apologizing and showing consideration.
「I’m sorry for running away. I thought it might cause trouble for Low…」 she says apologetically, showing her thoughtful nature.
Sofia and Laura, who are quickly won over, and Orphelia, who maintains her usual demeanor, listen to Milan’s story.
She met him in town.
He helped her mother without asking for anything in return.
Not only that, but he still checks on her mother’s condition regularly.
Milan answers all the questions from the stubborn duo without hesitation.
「You know, lately I’ve been thinking that if I had a real big brother, he’d probably be someone like Low.」
Milan says, blushing shyly.
While Sofia is moved and dabs her eyes with a handkerchief, and Laura blows her nose loudly into hers, Orphelia’s mind is filled with questions.
Why would he put himself on the line for complete strangers?
If what Milan, Laura, and Sofia say is true, and if all this is the work of one person, then that guy must be an bottomless idiot with a hobby of volunteering—Orphelia, who has faced many malicious intentions in Seventh Blue, finds it hard to understand.
「So, I asked him. Why are you doing so much for us, complete strangers?’」
This was exactly what Orphelia wanted to know. Even the duo leaned in with uncharacteristically serious expressions, urging Milan to continue.
「And you know what Low said? He said that when I grow up, I should help people in trouble too. That’s how life goes around.」
Sofia and Laura seem to be lost in thought, as if Milan’s words had struck a chord with them.
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By a strange twist of fate, these four would come together many times after this.
This day marks the beginning of their encounters.
Orphelia, a one-woman army with the strength of a thousand.
Laura, the beloved daughter of a lord with overwhelming military and political power in the frontier.
Sofia, the heir apparent to the Goa Trading Company, whose name echoes even in the distant royal capital.
And Milan, who conveyed a fragment of the principles guiding the actions of a young man who came from another world to these three girls.
With their encounter, a seed is sown to resist the great calamity that is to come.
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