“Ah, that’s right. Master, do you have a geography book in your room?”
“……I do, but you aren’t going to say ‘Lend it to me?’, are you?”
“Why not? It’s not like it will wear out.”
“Sigh… I am astounded. To win against me, you ask me for help?”
“I’m not expecting help. I’m just saying it’s fine to lend it, aren’t I?”
There shouldn’t be any problem with the Contract Magic, either. After all, her goal here isn’t to defeat Hazen, but to help Major Simanto.
“Sigh… looking at your audacity reminds me of a certain someone. Fine, come in.”
Hazen sighed and returned to his room.
Yan entered the room and immediately headed for the bookshelf. As always, it was a treasure trove of books.
First, she looked to select a few geography books. Since Hazen’s bookshelf wasn’t organized by category, finding what she wanted was a struggle. As her eyes traced the titles, her thoughts suddenly halted. Yan turned around and peered into the face of Hazen, who was reading a book.
“What is it?”
“Nn… I was just wondering what Master would do.”
“……Since the prerequisites for you and I are different, I don’t think I’ll be of any use as a reference.”
“Why is that?”
“First of all, the range of what we can do is overwhelmingly different. Therefore, I choose the single optimal solution from countless available options. You are not like that, are you?”
“Is that so…”
It felt like she was being somewhat evaded; it didn’t sit right. whenever Yan tried to peek into this man’s mind, she was always rejected for some reason, and only his conscious thoughts were conveyed.
“For example, if I were to accompany Major Simanto, I would first cast a spell to prevent him from speaking a single word.”
“T-That’s cruel!?”
“Do you think so? He is a coward, a tyrant at home, and possesses an insidious personality. First of all, he is the type to unleash a barrage of arrogant insults against opponents who don’t understand his language. That is the type of man he is.”
“……”
H-He’s right, Yan thought.
And, Hazen’s point was also correct. Yan looked like a toddler and was physically weak. Moreover, she had no magic. The starting line was different, so there was no meaning in thinking with the same prerequisites. She understood that.
But.
“Nn—”
“Is there still something else?”
“I wonder what it is. Something just feels a bit off.”
Come to think of it, there were various things that felt strange. Hazen basically never took actions that would be to his own disadvantage. Naturally, if this negotiation went well, he would be put in a difficult position, yet he wasn’t trying to do anything in particular. If Yan were truly taking an unexpected action, wouldn’t Hazen come to disrupt the situation?
However, this time he wasn’t doing that. There were two conceivable intentions. Either Yan’s actions were within the scope of his tolerance. Or, he was intentionally letting Yan swim because the actions were already predicted.
“……What’s wrong?”
“No. It’s nothing. Ummm, what else is there—”
Scary. Just thinking for a split second, and he sensed that she was pondering something. From here on, Yan began to separate her thoughts and actions, just as Hazen had taught her. One track was to search for other materials while looking for geography books.
The other was to figure out what Hazen Heim was thinking about for the future.
Hazen was an ultra-rationalist. Therefore, rather than methodically returning books to their original places, he changed the distance between the books and his desk based on frequency of use. The books he read most were in the front. The books he had no interest in, or hadn’t read yet, were in the back.
Yan pretended to look casually, scanning the books in order of proximity to Hazen’s desk.
Here, she discovered one book that bothered her. [History of the Empire’s Founding]. Among the practical books, this one alone felt slightly out of place. Perhaps he had reviewed the history of conflict with the Empire to deepen his understanding of the Kumin tribe. Previously, when they had a meeting with the Kumin Queen Vashia, Hazen had spoken about their history. Since there had been an actual occasion to use it, it wouldn’t be strange if this man had been reading it.
……But, the timeline didn’t match.
The ceasefire agreement was signed over two months ago. And since there had been wars and such in the meantime, there were numerous books on strategy and tactics in the front. The fact that this was mixed in among them meant he had looked through it after the ceasefire agreement was concluded.
Why did he read it before the war, or perhaps during the war? Hazen’s ability to read ahead was exceptional. Perhaps, regarding the territory exchange after winning the war—after the Kumin tribe captured the fortress—he had some kind of intention?
“Ah, I don’t know where to start reading anymore, so I’ll just grab some at random.”
Feigning resignation, she chose several books and casually mixed [History of the Empire’s Founding] in with them.
“Well then, I’m leaving. Sorry to disturb you.”
“Oi, Yan.”
“……Ck, what is it?”
“Don’t treat them roughly. Treat books with care.”
“Since they are expensive items, naturally, a poor person like me understands that. Thank you very much.”
That scared me. He observed me with eyes that seemed to see through everything, as if piercing me. Whether I looked away or stared back, it felt like my intentions would be read. However, regardless of that, I was able to get my hands on the target object.
Yan immediately went into her room and began reading [History of the Empire’s Founding].
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
The next day, the moment Yan woke up, sunlight was streaming in, leaving her dumbfounded.
“W-Why!?”
It seemed she had fallen asleep before she knew it. She had never experienced passing out asleep before. She was shocked that a considerable amount of time had already passed.
Yesterday, she was reading [History of the Empire’s Founding], went to the cafeteria in between, came back to the room to read again—and she had no memory after that. And, the contents of the book hadn’t entered her head at all.
Don-don-don. (Banging on the door)
“Oi! Get ready quickly! It’s already time, you know!?”
“Y-Yes!”
From the morning, Major Simanto’s grumpy voice echoed. Yan hurriedly got dressed and went outside.
“I-I am terribly sorry.”
“Good grief…… making me come to pick you up, despite being a lowly interpreter. What a useless good-for-nothing.”
“……”
It was aggravating, but since it was true, it couldn’t be helped.
“Come on, we’re going to pick up Colonel Gedol quickly.”
Major Simanto said this and walked briskly. Yan followed him at a trot. However, her superior officer had a long stride, so Yan was forced into a half-run.
“……”
Thinking about it now. Hazen matched his pace to Yan’s. He was also abnormally impatient, but he walked at the same pace as Yan without even seeming to think about it. Even in small things like this, the difference between the superior in front of her and him was glimpsed.
After a while, Colonel Gedol’s room came into view. Major Simanto knocked on the door with a supple snap that was dimensionally different from the knock earlier.
Ton-ton-ton.
“Gooooood mooooorning. Are your preparations compleeeeete?”
“Ah, of course.”
Colonel Gedol came out of the room and glanced sharply at Yan for a moment.
“I heard in the report, but she really is a child.”
“It seems a merchant named Nandal taught her the Kumin language from childhood. That man kept her as a secretary for interpretation, but I took her under my wing.”
Major Simanto put particular emphasis on the first person pronoun.
“Is that so. You did well.”
“No, it was extremely easy for me, but in a sense, it was difficult. Captain Lorenzo and the other Lieutenants were screaming that they [could not] do such a simple thing. I truly thought that without me, they really can’t do anything.”
Unstoppable. Major Simanto’s condescension knew no bounds. If Yan were his superior, she might have said [That includes your management, doesn’t it?], but Colonel Gedol was nodding with a smile, saying ‘mm-hm’.
“As expected of Major Simanto. Now, regarding the territory exchange.”
“About that…… I am very sorry.”
Major Simanto’s expression changed completely, and he apologized deeply.
“Is it not going well?”
“Yes…… there is a part where they insist no matter what. Since Koryaote and Nasefuyu, which Colonel Gedol holds, are territories inherent to the Kumin tribe, the barbarian dogs cheekily said [We-absolutely-must-have-those!].”
“What, is that it? That cannot be helped. That was originally their land.”
“……!”
Major Simanto opened his eyes wide in exaggerated surprise.
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