abcnovels
Chapter 157: The Head of the Luclees Family
Chapter 157: The Head of the Luclees Family
Chapter 157: The Head of the Luclees Family
- The Head of the Luclees Family
* * *
“Wh-Who are you…? No, what!? A monster!? The Blood-Stained Furball Man!?”
Well, I, the lovely young lady Emi-chan, have currently barged into Sarelka’s room.
Seeing me enter without knocking or a word, the portly man with navy blue hair, Sarelka, was bewildered.
“………”
And this man also called me the Blood-Stained Furball Man, an extremely rude way to address such a beautiful young girl like myself. It’s very unpleasant, but for now I’ll ignore it since it would hinder progress.
I silently advanced into the room and took hold of the magic sword “Agzeliary” hung on the wall.
“Hih!? P-Please, spare my life at least!”
Just that caused the already cowering Sarelka to plop down, trembling.
I proceeded to snap “Agzeliary” in two using my knee, just like before.
Bakin!!
With that sound, sparks scattered as “Agzeliary” split into two pieces.
This time, I had knocked out Karashia and dumped her in the library, but there was a chance she could wake up again like before.
To prepare for such a situation, I broke the magic sword preemptively.
This way, no one would die.
Peace is best!
“Hih…Hieeeee……!?”
However, it seemed my benevolent true intentions did not reach the man Sarelka before me.
His face turned deathly pale as he dribbled cold sweat, letting out strange noises.
<Well, snapping a sword right in front of someone is clearly meant as a threat… But what will you do, Emi? You intend to hear him out, don’t you? At this rate, he may just faint like Karashia.>
Please don’t underestimate me, Extra-sama.
From knocking out Karashia repeatedly, I feel like I’ve improved at regulating how I leak my murderous aura… Controlling my use of ?Intimidation?, you see?
The proof is that I could converse extensively with Doj earlier, right?
I’ll manage it smoothly this time too.
The key to having a smooth conversation is constantly leaking just a slight murderous aura and maintaining a weakened ?Intimidation?!
<Is that really the key to conversation? Or is it more akin to the key for interrogation?>
“Hey Sarelka… I have a question. Answer it, okay?”
Ignoring Extra-sama’s incomprehensible remarks, I begin my questioning.
Eye contact is crucial for communication!
Since Sarelka is sitting on the floor, I squat down to match his eye level.
But for some reason, this man keeps trying to scoot away from me while sitting, so I grab his head and turn his face toward me, firmly meeting his gaze.
“Answer my question, okay?”
“Y-Yesss…”
Alright, conversation established.
<Is this really a conversation being established…?>
Now, I dislike beating around the bush.
I’ll ask directly and concisely.
“Nare Luclees is alive, isn’t she?”
“……!!!”
Hearing my words, the trembling Sarelka froze stiff.
Surprise caused his eyes to go wide open.
“H…How do you know that…!?”
And those were the hoarse words Sarelka uttered.
Yes, it’s confirmed.
Nare Luclees is alive.
<Mmm…! S-So she really was alive! Your hunch was correct, Emi!>
Yeah.
But there are still many things I don’t understand.
“Why did you lie? That Nare was dead.”
“B-Because… that was… uh…”
“Fateu is probably the latter wife. Nare’s mother, the former wife. That’s what I thought. Am I wrong?”
“N-No… that’s…”
“Nare is actually the true heir of this family, right? Or am I mistaken?”
“U-Umm… Uh…”
Sarelka faltered.
No matter what I asked, he averted his gaze and stuttered incoherently.
Was he…afraid of something?
What was he afraid of?
<The furball in front of him?>
Don’t tease, Extra-sama.
This Sarelka lied to Doj that “Nare is dead.”
No, not just Doj.
Karashia and Keranko both claimed to be the heir of this family without restraint.
And no one denied it, nor did anyone mention Nare, so everyone in this manor likely thinks Nare is dead.
Why did Sarelka want Nare to be considered dead?
What benefit did this man gain by doing so?
I want to get that clarified.
But this man.
He clearly wants to keep hiding it.
No matter how I ask, he just stutters without giving a clear answer.
It seems this man fears the truth being revealed.
<…This is going nowhere.>
Extra-sama sighed as Sarelka continued giving unsatisfactory answers no matter what I asked.
Then let me change the question.
“Where is Nare currently?”
“That is… uh…”
Just more stuttering as expected.
I was starting to get irritated.
I strengthened my ?Intimidation? slightly.
“Where are you keeping Nare confined?”
“N-No! I’m not confining her anywhere!”
Oh?
<That’s a somewhat different reaction from before.>
“Not confining her?”
“That’s right! She’s hiding of her own accord! Shut herself away! I’m not the guilty one!”
“You’re not the guilty one?”
“Yes! That’s right! I’m not guilty!”
“Then who is guilty? Is Nare guilty?”
“Yeah! Nare is guilty! The damned brat defied her own father! Isn’t that crazy!? Right!? When all she had to do was obediently hand over the ring…”
Sarelka, perhaps affected by my increased ?Intimidation? or elated at being affirmed, suddenly started babbling incessantly unlike before.
But wait a minute.
He just said something I can’t ignore.
“The ring? You mean… “The Ring of the Ranrananga White Lizard”?”
“Ah…Auh…”
When I questioned him, Sarelka’s flushed, excited face turned pale again.
It seemed that last comment was a slip of the tongue for this man.
In which case…
“You didn’t originally possess that ring, did you?”
“Ah…No…”
“That’s the signet ring proving the family head, right? But you didn’t have it?”
“N-No… I…”
“You’re not actually the head, are you?”
“No!!!”
At my words “You’re not the head,” Sarelka raged!
Despite drenched in cold sweat, veins bulged on his forehead as he frothed at the mouth refuting me!
“I am! I’m the head of the Luclees family now! No more cowering before that woman’s moods! I am! I am!! I am!!!”
Sarelka gripped the broken blade of the fallen “Agzeliary” and raised it high, swinging it down toward me!
Since he was gripping the blade directly, his palms were cut and bleeding, but Sarelka seemed oblivious to the pain in his excitement.
“I get it now! I understand your true nature! You’re a demon! A demonic furball released from the depths of hell by that woman to torment me!! What a woman she is! Even after death, she continues to make me suffer!! But I won’t yield! I am, I aaaaamm!!!!”
Shouting incomprehensible things, Sarelka swung the blade down at me!
In response, I…did nothing.
I didn’t even bother dodging.
For the blade swung at me in an attempt to cut me down had become slippery from Sarelka’s blood, causing it to slip out partway through the swing with a “Sput.”
It flew off somewhere.
“…………”
Silence fell between Sarelka and me.
“Ah…Aaaaaah!? It huuurts! My haaand! My hand is cuuuut!!!”
It was only after a delay that Sarelka finally registered the pain in his palm, rolling around on the floor!
<What…an utterly pathetic man…>
Extra-sama sighed in exasperation, but I felt like sighing too!
What is up with this man?
Just conversing with him is exhausting…
“That’s enough. Good night.”
I grabbed the rolling Sarelka’s head, lifted it to meet his gaze, and unleashed an intense ?Intimidation?.
Channeling my murderous aura into him.
“Hiyah!?”
Just that caused Sarelka to let out a strange noise like Karashia before rolling his eyes back and fainting.
Ah-, he was so noisy.
For now, since blood kept flowing from his palm, I tore some cloth from Sarelka’s clothes to tightly bind it as a makeshift bandage.
* * *
<So what will you do from here, Emi?>
Well, I think I’ve heard about as much as I can at this point.
I’m thinking of just going to meet this Nare Luclees person next.
<Eh? But in the end, Sarelka never revealed Nare’s whereabouts, did he?>
Yeah.
But you see, Extra-sama.
I actually already have an idea of where Nare might be located.
Gachari.
As I conversed with Extra-sama, I opened the door and exited Sarelka’s room.
“Kyah!?”
“……!!”
“Th-The Blood-Stained Furball Man!?”
“…………”
Three maids had been waiting outside the room.
The bobs-haired maid brandished a mop in a combat stance, while the twin-tailed and bob-cut maids cowered at my appearance.
It seemed Sarelka’s commotion had caused concern, leading them to stand watch outside.
“Hih!?”
“Uh!?”
“Ah!?”
“…………”
In any case, since I had no need for further conversation, I simply glanced at them intently while leaking an intense murderous aura to put them to sleep.
Confirming the three had collapsed, I began walking down the hallway.
Ah-, ?Intimidation? is so convenient.
Come to think of it, my master frequently unleashed ?Intimidation? too…
Back then, I only thought “What’s he getting so irritated over?” to that degree. But now, I can somewhat understand my master’s feelings.
?Intimidation? is addictively convenient, isn’t it?
You just want to keep using it over and over.
<Emi, Emi, let’s return to the topic. I understand from Sarelka’s reaction that Nare Luclees is alive. But why do you have an idea of where Nare might be located? Sarelka never said anything about that.>
Well you see, Extra-sama, it’s not some deduction or anything…
But before that, based on Sarelka’s reactions, let me try my hand at playing detective about this Luclees family.
Extra-sama, didn’t Sarelka react excessively to my words “You’re not the head”?
<Indeed. Until then he had been faltering, but he suddenly raged.>
I think that’s probably because I hit the bullseye, you know?
<Meaning Sarelka has been falsely claiming to be the head?>
Yeah.
And it seems that ring proving the family head was likely not originally in that man’s possession either.
<In that case, the true head is…>
Based on what we’ve seen in the previous loops, it’s not Karashia, and not Keranko either.
Fateu is out of the question, and the servants are unrelated.
At this point, doesn’t it become clear?
It’s Nare.
I don’t know the detailed rules about this family’s inheritance or anything.
But Nare Luclees should be the true legitimate head of this household.
<And because he didn’t want to acknowledge that, Sarelka claimed Nare was dead and confined her…?>
According to Sarelka’s words, it doesn’t seem like confinement.
It’s probably more accurate that Nare went into seclusion, sensing danger.
Fundamentally, if Nare was an obstacle within his reach, I don’t think he would bother confining her and would have just outright killed her instead.
<I see… But Emi, you seem to know where Nare is secluded, don’t you? Why is that? Sarelka never said anything about it.>
Well you see, Extra-sama.
Like I mentioned earlier, it’s not some deduction or anything.
……We’re almost there.
Tokotoko, tokotoko, tokotokotoko.
Proceeding down the hallway, I arrived before a particularly luxurious door.
The plate affixed to this door read: “Head’s Study Room.”
It was a room I didn’t investigate in previous loops since the door was locked.
<…Ah.>
You see, Extra-sama?
I didn’t need any deductions, did I?
There is someone we haven’t met hiding somewhere in this manor.
Where could they be?
The answer is simple.
They’re in the place we haven’t visited yet!
I gathered magic power in my right hand and activated ?Great Mantis?.
Without hesitation, I swung the extended magic power blades at the door, slashing it apart.
It didn’t matter if it was locked – by creating a hole, I can enter any room.
Once an opening just large enough for a child formed, I unceremoniously entered through it.
The interior wasn’t particularly luxurious compared to the other rooms I had seen.
Keranko and Fateu’s rooms gave more of an impression of having sparkly things placed everywhere.
There was a bookshelf with the necessary books, without excessive decoration.
Just the necessary tools for work arranged where needed.
A room meant for doing work, as one would expect of a study.
However, it wasn’t completely devoid of ornaments.
The first thing catching my eye upon entering was the row of portraits hung on the walls.
Some were men, some women.
The common point was all of them had pale purple hair.
And…
“Welcome to my room! I wholeheartedly welcome you, Irregular!”
Those words came from the woman with pale purple hair rising from the leather chair, an audacious smile on her face.
She appeared in her mid-teens.
Over a simple one-piece dress, she wore an oversized, baggy jacket.
Contrary to her childish features, her demeanor was quite composed, giving off an air of cunning experience.
Quite thin and frail-looking, yet her golden eyes glinted ominously.
“Oh, but you probably already know, so I’ll go ahead with the introductions anyway?”
The woman said that, then placed her right hand on her chest and left on her hip, straightening her back proudly as she declared her name:
“My name is Nare. The head of this Luclees family, Nare Luclees!”