We returned to the inn and first changed our clothes.
Right now I was wearing clothing that would let me blend in easily with ordinary citizens.
I should also change my underwear and undergarments whenever possible.
"Should I step out of the room for a while?"
"No, it is fine."
"Got it."
We turned our backs to each other and began changing.
There were two different sounds of fabric rustling.
The sounds felt different.
Mine were rougher.
Maybe personality shows even in something like this…
I finished changing a little faster than Seras.
"All right, let us pack our things."
Seras finished tightening her belt.
"Yes."
Next we packed our luggage.
I wrapped Pigi-maru, who had been watching the room, around my waist under the robe.
"Puyu〜♪"
Seras watched with a gentle smile.
"Pigi-maru really likes you, Lord Touka."
"Piyu!"
"I like Pigi-maru too."
"Pii! Pyuuu〜♪"
I shouldered my backpack.
Our luggage had increased a little.
I should start thinking about getting a dedicated baggage carrier at some point.
"Now then… preparations are complete. After this we will wait for her at the bridge in front of the great gate as planned."
We finished the procedures at the inn and left.
There were still many people coming and going at this time of night.
The night wind was somewhat chilly.
But it could also be called pleasantly cool.
Gururuuu~
"Ugh."
That sound just now…
Was that Seras's stomach?
Seras awkwardly averted her eyes.
"This is… rather embarrassing."
"Come to think of it, we have not eaten dinner yet."
We stepped out onto the main street.
We bought a light dinner from a stall.
Large cities are convenient in this regard.
Stalls are open even at night.
Not quite 24-hour convenience stores, but close.
What we bought were skewers with meat shaped like meatballs on them.
They looked like tsukune skewers.
"Am."
I took a bite.
"Hm?"
The seasoning was light.
Well, as long as it fills my stomach for now.
We headed toward the bridge while eating.
"Am… when we were buying these skewers earlier, I thought the same thing."
Seras, who was eating little by little, spoke to me.
"When you are acting, sometimes I get the illusion that a completely different person is standing in front of me. You blend into the scenery in an instant and stop standing out…"
I remembered my uncle and aunt.
"Because I could not act in a way that would get me found out."
I had been acting as the "kind Mimori Touka."
Yes—so that my uncle and aunt would not see through it.
If they saw through it, they would worry.
I knew that.
I was forcing myself to act like a "good child."
If my uncle and aunt noticed, they would feel guilty.
They would think they were making me worry.
That was why I also had to act like "myself who is not forcing anything."
"So you learned it because you had no choice?"
"…Yeah."
I looked at Seras, who had meat bits stuck to the corner of her mouth.
"On the other hand, you stand out too much."
"R-really? I thought I was making an effort to blend into the scenery and erase my presence…"
The transformation power from the light spirits.
She could not change too far from her original appearance.
In short, even when changed she could not completely hide her beauty.
As a result she drew people's eyes.
Besides her beauty, Seras had many elements that attracted the opposite sex.
During information gathering she had apparently been invited by men several times.
Well, how should I put it.
There was nothing mob-like about Seras.
"There are things that cannot be helped no matter how hard the person tries, and nothing can be done perfectly. For example, things like this."
I touched the corner of my own mouth with my finger.
I was showing her so she would know there were meat bits stuck there.
"Ah."
Seras realized.
"Um—"
"Give it here."
I snatched the cloth from her and wiped the meat bits from the corner of Seras's mouth.
"U… I am sorry."
I let out a breath.
How should I put it,
"You can be surprisingly dense in weird places…"
▽
The bridge in front of the great gate came into view.
There were few people around.
Seras and I moved to the side of the bridge.
For now we positioned ourselves in a spot that was a blind spot from the great gate.
It was to avoid being seen by the guards.
I set down our luggage once and checked my pocket watch.
We had about four hours until the time limit…
"A straightforward and strongly principled good person is surprisingly difficult to deal with."
There were also aspects that made her easier to handle because she was straightforward.
Above all, Eve…
"My lord wants to take her with us to the demon zone, right?"
Seras, standing beside me, asked.
"She is the strongest blood gladiator… but more than that, I think there are big benefits to bringing Eve into our group for other reasons."
Yes,
"When thinking about the future."
"In any case I will follow your decision."
I looked in the direction of the blood arena.
"Even if she survives, Eve Speed will have no choice but to decide to escape from Monroy anyway."
The question is when that will happen.
Before the blood fight?
During the blood fight?
After the blood fight?
"At some point Eve will learn the reality."
But once tomorrow comes it will already be too late.
No matter the timing.
Once tomorrow comes it will become difficult for us to intervene.
We might still be able to save Eve.
However, in that case we would have to cause a commotion inside the royal capital.
According to my reading, Eve will not be able to leave the royal capital tomorrow.
In other words, if we save her we will have to act inside the royal capital.
As a result there is a risk that the goddess will learn of my existence.
For now I want to avoid that.
The location of the Forbidden Witch.
The risk of the shitty goddess realizing my existence.
I weighed those two things on the scales.
And I chose to avoid the latter.
That was why, once the date changed, I planned to leave Monroy without Eve and head straight for the demon zone.
The time limit was until the appointed time.
That was the compromise point.
After that—it was up to Eve.
Seras looked down.
"Is there no future where she obtains her freedom as a blood gladiator and lives peacefully with that girl?"
"There is not."
I declared it clearly.
"From what I have heard, the Duke Zuan who owns Eve is definitely a piece of trash. There is no bright future waiting for her. True scum are nothing but poison to good people."
I know the toxicity of scum very well.
"True scum will devour good people completely. They will suck them dry to the bone… until they are no longer useful."
That was why my uncle had cut ties with my father, his older brother.
Even so, my father had pushed me onto my uncle.
Because he knew my uncle was the kind of person who could not abandon a pitiful child.
A shadow fell over Seras's expression.
"Is there no happy ending?"
"There is not."
I do not trust anyone I have judged to be scum.
I do not hold onto wishful thinking.
"As long as Eve Speed remains a straightforward good person, a happy ending will not come. Yes—"
Unless someone with poison uses that poison to neutralize the poison currently eating away at Eve.
▽
As time passed, the number of people coming and going in our field of vision decreased.
People are made to sleep at night.
I had seen that kind of talk on the internet before.
"Will she come?"
"Who knows… to be honest, I am not certain either."
Eve's personality.
Information about Eve.
The people around Eve.
The environment surrounding Eve.
Our attitude…
"I think I did everything I could."
I did my best.
After that, it was a matter of which way the dice would roll.
It had always been like this.
When I fought the Soul Eater in the Ruined Ruins.
When I faced Shibito.
There had never been anything absolute.
There had never been anything certain.
So this time too, it would be a gamble.
Win or lose.
Which way would the scales tip?
"Still though—"
I snorted.
"If there was no chance of winning, I would not be waiting here."
While gazing at the street where lights were gradually going out one by one, we waited for that moment.