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Queen’s Test
Drunk Queen Sisi was more dangerous than the one just before. She had her rationality intact before, yet abused the girl behind me. She lazily leaned on Veirya’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around Veirya’s neck intimately. She also kept on kissing Veirya’s face ceaselessly. But nevertheless, Veirya didn’t budge. Veirya calmly and vigilantly monitored me as if she thought I could become a threat to Queen Sisi. Perhaps she was just staying ready to kill me if I happened to cross Queen Sisi with something I’d blurt.
Queen Sisi lazily asked me, “You said you want to have the girl follow you, did you? Why? You said that you and she aren’t related at all. Moreover, you’re not an ally or friend of the Demon King. The demons captured you, so why? Why do you want to protect her? She’s the Demon King’s daughter and a succubus. Why are you so bent on protecting her? Could you have killed the wrong person, Veirya?”
Veirya shook her head: “Your Majesty. No matter how you look at this man. He is just an. Ordinary human. He is definitely not a demon. I slew. The Demon King.”
“Yeah?” Queen Sisi then looked at me and chuckled: “In that case, explain yourself to me, mysterious human. The demons captured you, yet are now trying to protect a young girl. What is your reason? I’m curious. Are you a human or not?”
“I am, without doubt, human…”
Sisi narrowed her eyes, looking at me as though she was waiting for her favourite puppy to respond to her. I knew that I didn’t have much a chance just as last time. If my response didn’t fit her mood, there was no way I’d be able to keep the girl with me.
Leah fearfully hid behind me and kept watch over Veirya. I didn’t understand why Leah feared Veirya so much. While Veirya did hold her sword up to our necks during out first encounter, I didn’t think she’d dare to harm us without Queen Sisi’s command.
I didn’t know what that was!! I met the woman for the first time today. How was I supposed to know what she wanted to hear!! I was proficient with words and cheering people up, but mind reading was out of my wheel house!! So, with my eyes on Queen Sisi, I took in a deep breath and threw out a question with the aim of testing her: “Can I ask you a question?”
Queen Sisi froze. She recomposed herself and stated, “Before that, though, I want to know why you want to know why you want to ask me a question.”
“Because if I want to make you happy with what I say, I need to know what you are thinking. I do not know how to read minds. I am a mere ordinary human. My attitude will determine my future. Thus, I should spend effort on understanding you.”
“Oh?” Queen Sisi laughed and nodded: “You want to understand me? You may need a very long time to understand me. Additionally, I’m not fond of having others asking me this and that. I am not a patient Queen. That is all that you need to know for now. It’s up to you to do your own thinking next. What will you have to say to obtain my permission to take her?”
“Understood.”
Queen Sisi took joy in the process of tormenting me. I dallied for a while. I didn’t find out what I wanted to find out. All I learnt was that she wasn’t patient. What good was that, though? I would only die more brutally.
I began my analysis: “Now, what do I know? Why did Sisi want to send Leah to the elves right from the beginning? Normally, the Demon King’s head wasn’t the only spoil of war; Leah could be considered one, as well. Leah would be more convincing evidence of her victory than the Demon King’s head. Why, though? Why does Queen Sisi not care about Leah whatsoever? She, as a matter of fact, wants to give her to the elves.
I’m not convinced that Queen Sisi is the type to care about her allies’ feelings. I doubt she’d be so kind as to share a spoil of war with the elves. Nobody would give up their returns from war; that applies for Queen Sisi, too. Why, then?
What if I think about this in reverse? Let’s reverse engineer this. Why does Sisi not plan to take Leah? Is it because the elves are forcing Sisi to hand her over? I’m sure the elves also want to take home some spoils of war. The Demon King’s head and corpse are with Queen Sisi. Not to mention that Veirya was the one who, personally, beheaded him. Slice it how you like it, it wouldn’t be easy for them to take those two, which means that Leah is their only option. She’s the Demon King’s daughter. Once they take her, she’ll become a spoil of war, too. So, the elves want to take Leah? If I was in Queen Sisi’s shoes, by human logic, would she genuinely want to give up Leah?”
I finally answered, “Your Majesty, it is not that I want to protect this child, but that she wishes to stay with me. You… know that, right?”
Queen Sisi took a moment before replying, “You’re saying that the girl wants to stay with you?”
“Exactly. Furthermore, I have nowhere to go. As such, I have to join you. In turn, Leah will choose to go with you.”
I didn’t respond confidently despite looking at Sisi. To be candid, I didn’t know if I was right or not. I merely came to that conclusion based on the current information that I had. Strictly speaking, it was just stuff I made up to protect myself. I had no idea if that was what Queen Sisi was thinking. She had countless ideas in her mind, but I could only think of one, not to mention the least likely one.
Sisi kept silent for a moment before flashing a smile. She patted my face then turned behind her to Veirya: “He is truly an interesting man, Veirya. I truly like him very much. I’m amazed he managed to guess what I wanted without any information. I really like you. Come join me. I think that you will be useful in my ranks.”
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