Chapter 191

"What if I treated your daughter's illness for you?"

It was a brief, unexpected remark.

Perhaps because it came out of nowhere, the old man beyond the bars looked doubtful.

"Treated her...?"

"That's right."

Lefil frowned.

Deep distrust flickered in his red eyes.

"What are you trying to pull?"

"Pull? I'm only making a proposal."

"Forget it. It's obviously some play on words. Aren't you trying to find a loophole in the contract so you don't have to release me?"

"Unfortunately, that's impossible. The contract is already bound to the Contract Scales, isn't it? If I harbored such wicked intentions, the scales would punish me. My heart would stop at once. But look. There's nothing wrong with the scales, is there? You've checked that several times yourself, Sir."

"......"

Each rebuttal landed squarely.

The old man looked at me with an even more complicated expression.

Still, he had no choice.

As long as the scales did not tip, Lefil had to cooperate with me.

"......Fine. I'll hear you out."

"An excellent decision."

I smiled.

The corners of my mask's mouth twitched upward.

"Ahem... First, how has your daughter's condition been lately?"

"Is that also a question under the contract?"

"Of course. Please answer faithfully."

"......The last time I saw her, she was sleeping soundly in bed."

"Sleeping? Doesn't the New Kingdom provide medicine for her treatment? Hasn't she been taking it?"

"That medicine only wakes her for a short time. Even when she wakes up, it's only for around thirty minutes. They said she'd need to receive the drug continuously to be fully cured. They also said that only the Current King could supply it."

"Their intentions are obvious. Aren't they just keeping a leash around your neck? Once your daughter is fully cured, they won't have any way to control you, Sir Lefil. They're keeping things in limbo so that only the hope of a cure remains."

"Do you think I don't know that? I had no choice but to comply, even knowing it. Even the continent's most renowned physicians eventually gave up when faced with Riel. No one found a way to reverse her condition. The Current King's medicine was what kept that child alive as she waited for death."

"So you accepted it even though you knew you were being deceived?"

"Because it was my only remaining hope. If Riel could live, nothing else mattered. Not even me."

"Ahem, good."

It was a satisfactory answer.

With desperation like that, he surely couldn't refuse my proposal.

"Then let's continue discussing the proposal I mentioned earlier. I'll be direct. I have a way to treat your daughter."

"......"

"This isn't a lie or a trick."

The Contract Scales watched over our conversation.

Only the truth could be spoken.

That had been the first rule we set before beginning this conversation.

The old man stared at the scales for a moment, as though he couldn't believe it.

Creeeak.

Yet the scales remained still.

The silver scales simply floated in the air.

That perfect balance left the old man confused.

"That's impossible. But how...?"

"Hehe, that's a trade secret from here on out."

"You've never even seen Riel. You don't even know what illness she has..."

His expression showed how much was running through his mind.

I made him a simple proposal.

"What do you say? If you bring your daughter here, I can treat her."

"......Absolutely not. I can't hand Riel over."

"Think carefully. Do you truly believe the New Kingdom will treat your daughter?"

"......"

"You'd be better off trusting me than them."

"Why should I trust anything about you?"

"We're talking with the scales right here, and you still can't trust me?"

"Who knows? Maybe you alone know a way to circumvent the scales."

"Hmm... You're certainly thorough. You aren't easy to convince."

Tap, tap.

I lightly tapped the bars.

"Then shall we confirm one thing first?"

"Confirm what?"

"Whether the New Kingdom kept its promise. You are currently presumed dead. Fewer than five people, including me, know you're alive. Even the princess doesn't know."

On the eve of the Blue Night, the old man said he had received an offer.

"You said the Current King promised to fully cure your daughter in exchange for your life during the Blue Night. Then let's see what happened now that you have disappeared."

"What are you trying to say...?"

"Let's check. Whether Miss Riel has really woken up."

"......"

Creeeak.

I threw open the barred door. Then I approached the old man and personally undid the restraints wrapped tightly around him, one by one.

"......What are you doing?"

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet?"

"I'll release you, as promised. You may return to the New Kingdom at once. But go secretly. No one must notice you. Make sure no one learns that you're alive."

"Why would I...?"

"When you return, if Miss Riel has been fully cured or is receiving treatment, you may remain in the New Kingdom. But if she hasn't even been treated and has simply been neglected..."

I smiled quietly.

It was a confident smile.

"Bring Miss Riel and return here. Then I'll treat her."

"......What a strange proposal."

"I think it's a bet that costs you nothing."

"I have a contract with the Current King. Since it has binding force, the promise will have been kept."

"Who knows? The Current King might have a loophole known only to them."

"......"

Click.

The old man's restraints came off. Lefil was completely free.

I opened the door as though to lead him out of the cell.

"Go on, then. The passage to the surface is this way."

"......"

The old man remained silent, but eventually staggered forward.

I called out a few parting words to his retreating back.

"Then I'll see you again soon."

There was no reply.

* * *

A week later.

I visited the Fifth Branch of the Border Knights once more.

I had been thinking it was about time, and the knights contacted me at just the right moment.

"Hello."

Before the familiar bars, I looked down at the old man sitting beyond them.

"It's been exactly one week."

"......You."

The scene was much the same as before.

But there was one clear difference.

A girl I had never met lay inside the cell.

She was a cute girl with a gentle appearance, nothing like Lefil.

"Your daughter."

The girl was sleeping soundly.

Despite all the noise I had made, she didn't even stir.

She looked less asleep than unconscious, as though her consciousness itself had shut down and would not turn back on.

The old man sat there with his daughter in his arms.

"So she had been neglected after all."

"......"

"Have you finally decided to make a deal with me?"

"......Is it true? What you said, that you could treat Riel's illness."

"Hehe."

I answered with a smile.

The old man's eyes wavered.

Before long, he dropped to his knees beyond the bars.

He carefully laid the girl down, then bowed his head as if prostrating himself.

"I'll do anything. If you tell me to die, I'll die. If you tell me to kill, I'll kill. I'll gladly become your sword. So... please, save my daughter's life."

"Good. If that's the problem, I can solve it right away."

Things were moving quickly. I liked that.

I received the unconscious girl through the bars.

After carefully examining her condition, I gave the old man my conclusion.

"For now, treatment is possible. If you wish, I can make your daughter open her eyes this very moment."

Of course, it wouldn't be free for me, either.

Her illness was too severe and too rare to brush aside with basic Status Effect-Parrying.

It seemed I would need to prepare for a certain amount of expense.

Still, combat power on par with two Javerts was worth the cost.

"You said you'd do anything, didn't you?"

I met the old man's eyes.

A war with the New Kingdom could come at any time.

'Good timing.'

Just when I thought things were about to become dangerous, the card known as the strongest person in this world had fallen into my hands.

I rummaged through my clothes and took out the Contract Scales once more.

Brilliant silver light illuminated the dark cell.

Within that brightness, I made the old man an offer he couldn't refuse.

"Sir, I need you to become a double agent."

Hey.

Come work with me on something.[1]

Footnotes:

[1] A quotation from New World, used when recruiting an undercover operative.