428 427 Saying 'Petition and Reflection'




 Salainio snapped his hand, perhaps the original signal.

 Immediately, the sound of scraping steel rushed to Anne's ears. Anne could see that Salainio's old eyes were looking at her with a grim expression.

 The color in his eyes was not one of acceptance, but of rejection. Anne clicked her tongue in her mouth without expressing it.

 The gamble had backfired. I know you won't take my hand easily. I had hoped that he would be willing to talk a little longer.

 I looked to my left and right, and saw a soldier slowly approaching An with a sword or spear in his hand, and even Tel Sarat.

'I see what you mean. Largud-Anne. I know this is uncomfortable, but you'll have to stay in the camp for a while. What? It's safer than being in Philos.

 Anne watched as the old man's lips wavered and his voice trailed off. From the way she said it, it seems she is not going to be beheaded any time soon. No, perhaps they're planning to return Tersarat to the city and then finish him off.

 What should we do now? Anne tilted her head and let the words form on her lips. Salainio was still suspicious. She needed one word that would turn the board upside down to clear her suspicions.

 Anne bounced her eyelashes, thinking it was more that he didn't trust her.

 Salainio had always had a peculiar way of looking at Anne, even when they were still teacher and student. Perhaps it was because he saw Anne's talent, or perhaps it was because he was convinced that her way of thinking and believing was different from his own.

 His eyes were always filled with suspicion as he looked at Anne. And so it was with Anne. The more they understood each other's thoughts, the more suspicious they became.

 The more they understood each other's thoughts, the more suspicious they became, and it was no different after Anne left Salainio. Now, their burning suspicion and hostility towards each other is the only thing that binds them together.

"Yes, it can't be helped. But I have one other request...

 But there is one more request..." Anne was about to say. There was a clang of steel. I wonder if one of the soldiers made a hasty move. Salainio's eyes, which Ann had been looking directly into, widened slightly, growing steeper.

 As she followed his gaze, she saw that the tip of the spear that the soldier was holding had been snapped off. It was not Anne, nor the civilian she had brought with her.

 Tersarat-Lewana said, her dark skin shimmering.

I was right, wasn't I? Largd-Anne. A meeting is a meeting of blades, isn't it?

 Tersarat's legs were bouncing up and down as he sat in his chair. The black armor he wore was crushing the spear at hand. It wasn't as if he had smashed it with all his might, but he had done it with such ease.

 I heard the sound of someone swallowing spit. Telsalat's face showed no sign of bare hostility. There was an air of composure about his face. That made it all the more strange. The soldiers couldn't decide if they should thrust their spears at Tersalat.

 Could it be that all Elysealds were like this? Just as Anne was filling her mind with such prejudice, Tersalat continued to speak.

"Old Salainio. Am I allowed to speak here?

 Tersarat said, crossing his fingers in front of his face, making the soldiers around him brace themselves. It may have been a kind of declaration that she would not be touched, since she used her hands and feet as weapons. She might show her legs, though, as she had just done.

 Salainio's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he opened his mouth, showing his palms.

'No problem, of course. As long as it's not against our mutual interests.

 Tersarat nodded contentedly with his fingers crossed.

 Tersarat, who was originally just a witness, was now speaking to the attention of the people around him.

 Surprisingly, Salainio was calm about this strange development. Since Anne had brought him to this meeting, he had thought of the possibility that she had something else to say to him, not only to prevent him from using strong measures.

 Therefore, Anne was the only one who could not help but think about Tersarat's strange behavior to the point of feverish excitement.

 Of course, Anne had never asked Tersarat to say anything to her, nor had she asked him to do anything at this meeting.

 This is because this should be kept within the confines of the heraldry.

 If you allow Elyseald to intervene in this kind of internal dispute, it will only make you vulnerable to being taken advantage of in the future. There's no way Ann could ask for that.

 What the... What is she trying to say? Anne bit the edge of her lip as she tried to keep her expression intact. The situation was so unexpected that her teeth were about to chatter.

"Largud-Anne's proposal earlier. I hope you'll agree to it. I'll ask you to be Elyseald's emissary.

 Hearing Tersalat's words, the inside of the Great Tent shook slightly. Anne tried her best to hold back the words that were about to escape her mouth.

 What was she going to say out of the blue? For some reason, I know you're encouraging me, but... If you say that you are an emissary of Elyseald, it means that you are making a request as a nation.

 No matter how much of a messenger you are, that is not a word that should be given out easily.

 So why did she say it so easily? Leaving Anne's doubts and astonishment behind, Tersarat smiles gently and bounces her eyelashes. It was a gesture with a strange beauty.



...... It's internal Monstrance. It is not your place to interfere. But why would Elyseald want to do that?

 It's not that I'm not a good person, but I'm not a good person. For a moment, Tersarat's eyes seemed to look at Anne.

I will be frank with you. I'll be frank with you. Elyseald doesn't think well of the old Garleist state. However, we also believe that cooperation between nations and powers is necessary in this Hexenbiest - or rather, Hexenbiest - disaster.

 With his fingers crossed and his arm slightly tilted, Tersarat said.

 Demon disaster. It's the one that brought down the royal capital of the Garleist Kingdom, Arche. In the southern nation of Illyssarde, one of the seven great cities fell at the hands of a demon. Ann has received reports of damage similar to natural disasters in the western countries and the Borvat dynasty in the east.

 It was understandable that they needed to work together in the face of this, and it was also natural that they had a long-standing grudge against the old Garlist nations. But... Anne's lips quirked slightly.

If anything, I'd like to work with forces that are hostile to the old Garleist state. But I don't want those forces to be weakened by internal conflicts. I want them to be two independent forces, anyway. Isn't that right?

 What Telsalat says makes some sense, and it may not be wrong for Elyseald's position. The fact that Anne and Salainio were at odds with each other would also be blotted out by the content of this meeting. It is natural that she could understand.

 But not all of it was true. No doubt Tersarat was lying about one thing.

 Anne swallowed down her spit noiselessly. I don't know why she would tell such a lie. Is she defending herself or is she trying to set herself up? Anne's eyes narrowed as she let her thoughts heat up. Then she looked at Tersarat.

 Tersarat was smiling mischievously, looking only at Anne.

 It was an expression she had never seen before, at least not on the road to this point.