***Arc 5 The One Who Obstructed, Chapter 96 Usa-chan***
Roland's mansion, in one of its rooms.
It was probably one of several parlor rooms.
There was a table in the middle, a sofa facing each other, and liquor on the shelves.
In the room were Kalua, Mia, and Elvena.
The other three were outside.
A short time after the raid, the city's patrolmen, hearing the commotion, are dispatched and arrive.
Since Eluga's secret agent had already spoken to Baron Cornal, who ruled the town, it did not turn out to be a big deal.
Baron Cornal, though a noble, was merely a city lord, an opportunistic noble who bow to the powerful.
This man, who was stationed in Kielzaran was deeply entrenched in corruption, and claimed to be neutral in politics------in short, he was a fool who was only wrapped up in the corruption that's already happened long ago.
Cornal, obsessed only with money and position, easily cut off Roland, with whom he had a long relationship, and as soon as he was shown Roland's letter, he immediately wagged his tail at Christand.
The patrol corps under his patronage carried out a perfunctory inspection of the scene------the cleaning of corpses in the garden, and never set foot inside the mansion.
It had been a while since Krische had taken Roland away.
The estate was quiet.
The other three had left the room, telling Mia and the others that they would check on the patrolmen and leave first.
In reality, however, that was just a pretext.
In truth, they left it to Mia, who was particularly close to Kalua.
And just in case something happens, they didn't go back and stay nearby.
In order to prevent Kahlua from being reckless------in other words, to prevent her from running away with Elvena.
In any case, Elvena was in debt, and that has to be dealt with.
However, the amount of money was not something that could be paid by a single individual, and there was a good chance that Kalua would take Elvena and run away with her.
The long-lost sister------they understood the situation when they heard the story from Mia
Such stories were not uncommon.
Even if it wasn't their relatives, there were people around them who were kidnapped like that, and Bagu who was originally involved in dirty works knew the dark side of the country very well.
They were as sympathetic to Kahlua as Mia and worried about her, their comrade.
In this country, there was no discrimination based on gender in work or any other matters.
This was due to the political structure of the country, in which the queen was crowned in some cases, though men were preferred in the hierarchy.
It is not unheard of for the head of a noble family to be a woman, and it is not unusual to find a woman among the soldiers.
Nonetheless, it was clear that it was harder and more difficult for a woman to search for her sibling alone throughout the country than for a man.
Especially if it was Kalua, a good-looking woman, the danger could not even be compared to what a man would face.
Kahlua's swordsmanship was unmatched by ordinary men ------Considering how it was cultivated, it's easy to imagine the harshness of her journey.
Then she happen to find her sister by chance.
It would have been nice if it had ended with a happy ending, but the circumstance as is, wouldn't be so simple.
------They were comrades, brothers in arms, who they entrusted their back to each other, ate the same meal, and went through live and dead together.
Exactly because they are in the same squad, their feelings for her were strong.
There are many who fall in love with her for her strength, and many who fall in love with her for her personality.
If push came to shove, they would cooperate to help her escape------They had enough feelings for Kahlua to feel that way, but at the same time they also had feelings for Krische.
There was no denying that Krische was distorted and abnormal.
But her purity and the kindness she possessed were known to everyone in the Century.
It was the same when they heard about her story some time ago, and so was the other day when she responded to Dagua's unreasonable request, she responded with pure goodwill and affection.
Although she is an extremely serious person who values rules and regulations, they also felt that she would save Kalua.
However, it was still a dilemma after all.
The moment Krische comes back and said no, and once Krische decided to do so, Kahlua can no longer run away.
That's why they were wondering if they should let Kalua go now.
"... I know that Usa-chan is a good girl, but the price being what it is. Do you think she would spend that amount in a war, right now, for a single soldier?"
"but......"
"And even if you help us, it'll end up causing trouble for Usa-chan. But if I go now, I think even Usa-chan won't chase after me... I think that's better after all."
Kalua's words made Mia think.
Elvena's price is enough to feed tens of thousands of soldiers for one day.
Not only for individuals, it's something that can have a slight impact on military actions, and at least it's not an amount that Mia could easily believe Krische would pay.
It went beyond the realm of goodwill to a mere one soldier.
Mia had told Kalua to wait for Kalu, which Kalua rejected.
It was Elvena who opened her mouth, looking anxiously at her sister and Mia.
"...I've heard, Dagris-sama will prepare a job for us."
"Elvena, stop it."
Kalua lowered her eyes and put her hands on Elvena's head.
What Elvena wore was a revealing waiter's outfit.
It is the only proper outfit she has been given, and she wore herself in it with a look that show she's used to.
"... I feel like I've been saved just by meeting Nee-san again like this. It's what I've been doing until now, and I'm already used to it."
Elvena said so and smiled.
She had a beautiful smile that accepted many things.
The cleavage of her breasts peeked out, and the skirt too was short------she had completely grown accustomed to such a vulgar outfit and wore it as if it was her everyday clothes.
While she was far away, Elvena spent time in such a place, and she grew up and became an adult.
The kind of adulthood that embraced resignation.
Kalua bite her lip and shake her head.
"I understand what kind of person Krische-sama is. From what I have heard from everyone, and from the way we met the other day------though it was only for a short while. And Also, about everyone who was worried about Nee-san."
Elvena leaned closer to Kalua and smiled.
"I'm fine. Just as always, but now I have hope. That Nee-san will come to pick me up someday...if it's okay for me to be selfish like that, I'm fine with it. Rather than throwing away various things and running away, it would be much nicer to be able to live with Nee-san without any worries after a few years."
"Stop, Elvena. ...I don't want to make you do that anymore."
With her anguished expression, Kalua said so, and Elvena caressed her cheek.
"Even I, don't want to make Nee-san do painful things. That Nee-san never forgot me and worked hard all this time not at least I knew that."
Kalua's skin------old scars faintly remained there.
Kalua's once beautiful body had countless such scars, and her once soft palms were now those of a warrior holding a sword.
The blister had been crushed, bled and hardened many times, showing her how Kalua had spent her life over the years.
She would never have held a sword before.
If Kalua really wanted to run away with her, that's fine.
Of course, she did not want her older sister to go off to war.
Quietly in a place unrelated to that kind of place.
It seems like a wonderful life when she thinks back compared to today when so much has happened.
But after listening to her story so far, the answer is different.
Kalua had feelings for where he was now, and she knew deep down she cared for them.
She has a simple personality, and at first glance, she seems to be broadminded, but in reality, she was very compassionate and kind.
That's why Elvena loves her sister more than anyone------that's why she said.
"In the first place it was due to my stupid... reckless behavior. I don't want Nee-san to be shackled because of me anymore. After all the Nee-san I look up to is freer and cooler than anyone else."
Kahlua clenched her fist, unable to answer, and Elvena put her hand on top of hers.
After hearing that, Mia looked at Kalua and said.
"...No matter what happens, at that time I will cooperate as much as I can. Like I said. Even if we can't do anything about your debts, the corps commander might just find a way."
"Mia..."
"The corps commander, erm... she doesn't have common sense, she's a bit, or rather, really silly... but she's really kind------"
"...... who's silly and has no common sense?"
"Hie!?"
She noticed the voice and looked at the entrance door, standing there was Krische.
It was quite a quick return.
Krische decided to end Roland's interrogation when the Eruga spy arrived, leaving the rest to the spy and returning.
Roland had become so obedient and had divulged so many things on his own that no further threats or torture were necessary.
In Krische's mind, Kalua was more important than Rolando, who was already a dead man to her.
But as she hurried over, she suddenly heard Mia's words.
She furrowed her brows in a bad mood and put her hands on her hips.
Then she casually approached Mia and pinched her cheek.
"So Mia thought about Krische like that huh."
"Uuu, n-no...it's, a figure of speech so..."
"Putting aside whether it's what Mia thought or not, what Mia said is an insult to her superiors. Do you understand? Krische, now understands well what Bals Eagle said about Mia's fault for speaking too much. Geez......"
"T-that's not it, corps commander..."
'Geez', Krische put her hands on her hips and sighed imitating Selene.
While saying that 'Krische sure had a troublesome subordinate', she looked at Kalua and Elvena.
The more you look at them, the more they look alike.
If one says that they are sisters, then that's enough to convince you.
She alone nodded her head, thinking that that was not enough reason to treat Krische as a fool.
"Kriche thought about it for a while. As a result, Christand cannot pay off Elvena's debt. It's a lot of money after all."
"...I see."
Kalua smiled resignedly, not even raising her voice.
Krische continued regardless.
"However, Kalua has been working hard and has been very nice to Krische. If even with that Krische doesn't do anything, then the scale doesn't match, so considering the amount of repayment for up until now. Krische decided to buy Elvena's bonds for now."
"...Huh?"
Krische smiled.
Then she raised her finger and said happily.
"The problem with paying the money back is the interest, so we're going to do something about that. If Krische buys the debt, Krische can reduce the interest rate to 10% of the current interest, a much lower level."
Kalua and Elvena were stunned.
Krische thought for a moment, realizing that they did not understand what was going on.
"Umm, let's see, specifically it's about a tenth the current interest."
'It's not a charity, okay', Krische said.
"To put it simply... the interest is about the same amount as returning a pumpkin per day. If you return about 11 pumpkins a day, you will be able to pay off the debt in less than ten years. Considering the rewards on top of the salary as a soldier, Kalua earns a decent amount, so if you do your best, you can pay it back."
Krische recalled her life in the village and told them.
"Krishe was a family of three in the village, but we usually lived on about one pumpkin a day. As long as you refrain from luxuries, you can live a decent life. Well, if you think about living in the city, you might have to pay two or three pumpkins for rent, but Kalua makes a decent amount of money, so it's okay."
The two were still dumbfounded.
Krische was 'Huh?' and continued.
"Um, and looking at what happened last time, Elvena is quite an excellent servant. Considering that Anne, who lives in Christand, earns about two pumpkins a day, even if Elvena doesn't have to do hard work, Elvena can earn about three or four pumpkins. If you two work really hard, you might be able to pay it off comfortably in about two or three years."
No matter how long she waited, there was no reaction.
Krische looked at Mia, troubled.
Mia smiled happily as she noticed Krische's gaze and bowed her head.
"...Is it okay?"
The voice belonged to Kalua.
Krische nodded.
"Yes. If we communicate in writing and wait for the payment for a while, Selene won't get angry for the time being......probably not that much. And the war will be over by then. It seems that there are creditors in this town, so after the execution tomorrow, let's go to the creditor's place."
'If you two accept that condition then Krische will agree', then she continued
From what she has heard from Roland------I knew that it's involved in some illegal transactions, and she's confident that he won't try to overcharge the purchase of the bonds.
"But it's not that the debt is gone, it's just that the owner of the bonds has changed to Krische. Krische is very strict with collections and won't allow you to get behind on your payments, okay? We are spending Christand's precious money, Krische won't allow not paying the bill allr------wah."
Kalua stood up and hugged Krische
Krische looked at Kahlua, surprised, and tilted her head.
"......thank you"
"Umm, the debt isn't gone yet, okay? For reminder, the minimum interest will be deducted from Kalua's salary, okay?"
"Fufu, it's not about that though... But I like that part of Usa-chan."
Kalua said honestly, and Krische smiles when she sees that she seems pleased.
She might get a little nagging from Selene, but she won't get so angry because the Christand will get some profit in the end as interest.
Even if she got angry, Krische thought, it shouldn't be that much.
Kahlua was a good subordinate and she wanted to maintain a good relationship with her, and Cliche would not want to see her relationship with her deteriorate and have her leave the Century.
Spinning her mind, ultimately Krische come up with a rationalized argument that she should help Kahlua after all, because it would be beneficial for Selene to maintain a good relationship with Kalua, who was moderately excellent.
'It's okay, it should be okay', Krische nodded.
To tell the truth, she wanted to discuss the matter after Selene's arrival and make a decision.
But if by some chance Selene said no, Krische would have no choice but to follow what she said.
It's because Krische's priority was Selene's interests.
For Krische, Selene's wishes should be fulfilled and obeyed without the need thinks over it.
She cannot go as far as to do something to/for another person on her own initiative if it means going against that.
That was why she decided to take the form of ex post facto consent.
Although it was a gray area for Krische, she acted on the vague judgment that Selene would probably forgive her.
Nevertheless, it was a decision that required a great deal of deliberation on Krische's part.
From now on, Kalua will have to work even harder than before to prove it to Selene.
"Listen okay? Krische is even prepared to apologize to Selene. So, Kalua needs to work a lot more from now on. As long as the debt remains, Krische needs Kalua to do her best under Krische, okay."
"......yes"
Kalua replied as if it was something natural then she smiled wryly then let go of Krische's body and kneeled.
She took Krische's hand and kissed it.
"As your command... I swear by this name and sword, I promise."
"Ehehe, then it's a promise."
Krische laughed and Elvena approached her.
Elvena said thank you and bowed her head with tears on the corners of her eyes.
"Hmm... well, what are we going to do with Elvena, who has become unemployed? Do you have a destination?"
"No..."
"According to what I heard, the place of work that Dagris mentioned seems to be a live-in. If Elvena is fine with it, it's good there too..."
"Huh? Eh, umm..."
"C-corps commander... that's no good..."
"...?"
Krische still didn't quite understand that what Dagris meant by a conscientious shop was simply a conscientious brothel.
With this kind of flow...
Krische ended up trying to get Elvena to sell her body again, albeit unwittingly, Mia forgot her excitement and held her head.
"Ah, um, Usa-chan...? Ummm... how do I say it, that job..."
From there, Kalua went to great pains to make her understand that the job description was not very good.
Despite Krische's knowledge of animal mating, she was dealing with Krische who had very different values from those of ordinary people------and a girl so mentally innocent that she would believe it if you told her that a stork brought a baby to you.
It took me quite some time to convey that it was a 'bad job' while avoiding a direct expression and in a round-bout way.
Then half a koku passed (~1 hour)
It was late at night when Krische began to doze off and the meeting was over.
There were many rooms in Roland's estate to entertain guests.
For the record, they had secured an inn in the city, but it seemed foolish to bother going there late at night, so Krische decided to use an empty room in the estate and went to bed.
Mia took the sleepy Krische with her, while Kalua looked up at the ceiling in the room assigned to Elvena.
"Fufu, she's really a strange one... I've thought about it since before but."
"Usa-chan is a little weird...but she's a really nice girl."
She caresses the giggling Elvena on her head and smiled.
"......Usa-chan"
"Ah, I wonder who said it. The current unit was created by that girl, but the training was incredibly strict. On top of that, she never smiled at all, and all she said was that we had no guts, and didn't try hard enough, that kind of demon instructor."
She narrowed her eyes and smiled wryly.
The training was to learn how to handle magic power------it was called that but she thought it was harsh and severe training.
Even Kahlua was so exhausted that she could not even eat properly for several days.
They were literally forced to train from morning until nightfall, to the limit of their ability, and some of them even collapsed.
After a short break, they were made to carry large barrels of stones.
It was still better for people like Kalua who could unconsciously use magic from the beginning, but for those who didn't, it was truly torture.
Krische, who came to the place where they couldn't even eat properly, casually ate a cookie and said,
'Dagra, you're not pushing them hard enough, are you? They're still relying on their muscles. Krische thinks you should tire them out a little more.'
Because she would say things like that without any hesitation, at that time she was terribly resented.
"She was so cute on the outside, and yet she trained us to the point of spitting up blood without a care in the world------so someone started calling her a crazy rabbit."
But that was only the beginning.
The General's daughter Serene and her servant Bery were the most popular among the soldiers.
When she was around them, Krische was like a child, laughing and being spoiled, and to their surprise, she was in a good mood.
Seeing and hearing her like that, everyone gradually began to realize that she was a little younger than she looked.
Her rigorous training was just a matter of course for her, and it wasn't meant to be malicious.
As they became able to handle the harsh training more normally, the hatred toward her began to diminish, and the derogatory name 'Usagi (rabbit)' became a term of endearment.
Even so, there were those who said things like, 'I'm going to make that crazy rabbit pay someday', but in the five-on-one mock battle, they all had their spirit broken.
Bagu the one in the same squad used to be one of them.
At some point, even those guys fell for her Krische's pace------
"After that, everyone came to understand that she was just a serious and young girl, so it became something like a nickname. I'm the only one who's openly calling her that though. Fufu, isn't it cute, Usa-chan?"
"Heeh..."
Elvena brought her face closer and stroked Kalua's cheek.
"I was, thinking. It's fine if Nee-san speaks in a way that's easy to talk to, you know, like to Krische-sama or Mia-sama."
"Nn... it's kind of embarrassing."
"Because, in comparison, it seems like Nee-san is acting distant. It's nice to feel like we've become much closer to each other if Nee-san talk casually."
"That so, ...what a strange child"
'Either way is fine though', saying that, Kalua likewise stroked Elvena's cheeks as if to confirm it.
Elvena leaned closer and buried her face in Kalua's chest.
"... from now on, can we stay together forever?"
"Don't you have to go back home?"
"If Nee-san comes back... then I'll follow you."
"I can't go back. I've been disowned."
She hugged Elvena, saying that she'll do her best at Usa-chan's place for a while.
"Nee-sa------"
"Don't worry about it too much. I can't say I've never regretted it, but it's thanks to that that I was able to find Elvena like this now. Happy ending."
"......, yes"
She nodded happily and looked up.
She clingingly grabbed Kalua by her shoulder and peered into her eyes.
"Even if I go home, I'm sure I'll be treated like an outsider. I'm sure I won't have a place to belong... If Nee-san is like that, I won't go home either."
"...That so."
"So... if Nee-san doesn't mind me being selfish, this time I want Nee-san to take me with you. No matter where Nee-san goes, I'll be with Nee-san.... I'd like to stay with Nee-san forever."
Kalua nodded and pressed her forehead against hers.
"... If Elvena wants to, I promise."
"yes......"
"And......"
Kahlua's eyes wavered slightly hesitantly, and her long eyelashes slowly closed.
She opened her eyes again with her eyes slightly teary eye, she said.
"... I'm sorry. Next time, I'll properly take you with me."
Elvena squinted her eyes for a moment as if looking into the distance and smiled.
"I'm sorry too. For being a hopelessly selfish child. ...But it hasn't changed much even now."
She chuckled and stared at Kalua.
"I feel like I've been waiting for a long time... wanting to hear those words."
"... I see. Guess I made you wait."
"... Yes, I've been waiting."
------So I won't let you go.
She continued to hug her, then she closed her eyes and said good night.
In her smiling sister's arms, the girl truly fell asleep for the first time in years.
"Yeah... Good night, Elvena."
------next morning.
"I-I'm sorry, corps commander..."
"......This is the first time in Krische's life that she has been head-butted in her sleep. Krische forgave the last back fist as an accident, but this is now intentional. ......Do you have any grudge against Krische? "
Krische woke up in the worst way.
