Tap, tap, tap
For about two hours, I walked aimlessly without thinking about anything in particular.
The tangled mess in my head had finally started to sort itself out, little by little.
As expected, when you have too many things to think about besides research or romance, the best thing to do is just wander around outside with no destination in mind.
If you roam about like this, before you know it, the order of what needs to be sorted out and dealt with first naturally starts to take shape.
"Um, big brother?"
Thanks to that, I'd more or less settled on a plan for that side of things.
Though it was still just a simple plan to smash straight in headfirst.
Still, the most reliable method is usually the simplest one.
As for the other issue... the bigger problem, the younger sister of the pair.
Haa, how did I end up worrying about something like this?
I'd always thought I'd have nothing to do with this sort of thing for my entire life.
"Yeees~ Hey, don't ignore me~"
At the small, cute voice coming from behind me, I let out a short sigh, stopped walking, and turned my gaze that way.
There, in my field of vision, was a little Amazon girl.
I'd originally planned to ignore her, thinking she'd just become a nuisance.
"You're persistent. Following me around while calling out to me for a whole hour, huh? What a mistake, what a mistake."
"What. So you knew the whole time and still did it on purpose? You're such a meanie, big brother."
Haa.
Another deep sigh slipped out on its own.
I looked at the girl in front of me, who was putting on a deliberately cute and coquettish act... no, at "her," and spoke my thoughts aloud in a low voice.
Hey, hello?
"Aren't you embarrassed acting like that at your age, Goddess Kali?"
"...What. So you knew from the very beginning?"
At my pointed remark, Kali realized she'd been exposed all along and dropped the act she'd been putting on to match that childish appearance, finally revealing her true colors.
At her grumbling, I simply shrugged once.
"Well, I figured you were hiding your divinity. I happen to know a god who goes out and plays around doing similar things every day. You could say I'm used to that sort of thing."
To be more precise, it was because my eyes were a one-of-a-kind special model in this world.
It wasn't a lie, so there was no need to add any further explanation, right?
"In any case, I'm not exactly in a leisurely mood that can afford to indulge in idle chatter right now. Could you just tell me what you want in a straightforward way and head back?"
"Oh? To think you'd show such composure in front of a goddess. Kukuku, how irreverent. How refreshing."
"You're not really giving off much dignity with that cute face, though."
"Hmm, interesting. Or perhaps it's precisely because you're like this that you were able to capture Tiona's heart?"
Kali smirked mockingly.
As for me, my expression probably didn't look all that pleasant while I stared back at her.
I knew a little about that country of theirs.
And if I connected that with the Tiona and Tione sisters, I could roughly guess what kind of circumstances were involved.
It was probably...
"You seem to be quite interested in those two, huh?"
"Of course. Those sisters are the true seeds of battle that I've had my eye on."
"Seeds of battle... Ah, [The One Who Surpasses You], was it? As expected, that barbaric culture of yours remains unchanged. The ritual of [gu]..."
"Ohhh, so you know about us. Then this should go quickly."
Kali removed the wig she'd been wearing and put back on her symbolic bone mask, then grinned at me.
Just as I was about to react to that strangely unpleasant smile.
"Sorry, but you're going to have to serve as bait for those two, child of Hestia."
"Hm?"
Thud!
A heavy impact struck the back of my neck, and my consciousness was forcibly snuffed out.
Well, to put it simply.
Everything was going according to plan, I guess.
And when I woke up, night had already fallen, dark and deep.
Good grief, the passage of time sure is fast.
"Still, this is completely unexpected."
Turning my head to check my surroundings, I found myself inside some nameless natural cave.
Obviously, a closed-off place like this was unsuitable as a dueling ground.
I'd naturally expected them to keep me near the duel site so Tiona could confirm my condition directly.
Could it be they were worried that if something went wrong, I'd be taken back and the ritual would be interrupted?
"No. I can't think about this using ordinary common sense. My opponents are original Amazons who still retain their native savagery."
Once I set my criteria that way and thought about it again, it finally made sense.
To them, I was probably bait to draw out Tione and Tiona, and at the same time a sort of prize to be granted if they won.
And if necessary, I was also a hostage to use as leverage to drag them back to that country.
"Well now, who would've thought I'd end up playing the role of a kidnapped heroine at my age."
As one man with XY chromosomes, this felt deeply wrong somehow.
If only Bell-kun, with his cute and pretty face, were in this position instead, it might have suited him better.
Though the unrestrained wrath of a certain goddess I knew would probably annihilate that country across the sea with full force.
But that wasn't something I needed to worry about, was it?
It hadn't even happened.
"Still, I've been muttering to myself this much and nobody's reacting at all."
Well, it was called a common language, but still.
From those girls' point of view, it was probably just some unfamiliar foreign language from across the sea.
And foreign languages, no matter which one it is, are always hard to learn, and even harder to feel a desperate need to learn in the first place.
"I wonder if that's true for the lady over there too."
After roughly grasping the situation, I turned my gaze toward the group of Amazons keeping me under close watch nearby.
More precisely, toward the woman who seemed to be their leader.
Or rather, the problem was that she looked exactly like someone I knew.
"Hmm, aren't you going to answer me with anything?"
"..."
Even after my repeated muttering, the only response from my surroundings was silence.
But if I showed even the slightest sign of trying to escape here, they'd immediately move to restrain me.
That much was easy to read even with my eyes closed.
"Let's see. It's been so long that I'm not sure I'll get it right, but... [Ah, was it something like this? The language of the ladies' country?]"
"[So you can speak our language, outsider.]"
"[I got a little help from some seniors from your homeland a while back.]"
Of course, I couldn't exactly say that it had been of their own free will.
But there was no need to tell her that inconvenient truth.
More important than that was continuing this conversation.
"[Since fate has brought us together like this, why don't we start with a light introduction? I'm a Magus. What's your name, lady?]"
"[How noisy. Are all the men in this place as talkative as you? Or are you just unable to accept the reality of being captured because you're afraid?]"
"[Well, some are like that. Others are the complete opposite. Everyone's different. That's just how life is, isn't it?]"
"[Tch. So you're not even a sane one, after all.]"
"[I am a little special.]"
"[To think that woman Tiona would set her sights on a lunatic like this. Her tastes are strange.]"
"[Hey, don't look at her through such biased glasses. She may be a little foolish, but she's a good person at heart.]"
"[Nonsense. All of that is useless, unnecessary weakness to a warrior!]"
Ah, yes. The classic Amazon machismo of that country.
It was the kind of spirited declaration that would make even a man's groin go thump-thump in sympathetic pain.
Of course, this was just the basic cultural tendency.
What mattered most was the content of the conversation from here on out.
"[Impressive. So you really are Lady Penthesilea. As expected of one who inherited the name of a truly noble warrior and proud queen. I might even fall for you at first sight.]"
"[What's that? You want to sleep with me for a night? For someone who looks so weak and feeble, your dreams are ambitious.]"
"[Hahaha, I'm not expecting something impossible like that. But there is one thing I'd like to know, as a man of intellect.]"
Who gave you your name?
She looked annoyed, as if wondering why I was asking such a pointless thing.
And yet she answered my question with an oddly earnest attitude, perhaps because she was bored at the time.
Or maybe because the content of the question and answer itself wasn't all that important.
It was probably one of those strange things even she herself couldn't quite explain.
"[Naturally, it was Kali. Not just me, but all the other Amazons in that country receive their names from our chief deity. There can be no exceptions.]"
Oh? Then... should I just take this as a coincidence?
Even so, something about it still felt suspicious.
So I kept asking her personal questions over and over, gathering the information I wanted one piece at a time.
For example, whether she knew anything about the parents who gave birth to her,
whether she still had clear memories of her childhood,
and whether the names "Hippolyta" or "Achilles" stirred up any feeling in her, and so on.
I kept probing her for information about the Berserker Penthesilea I knew.
And in the end, the conclusion I reached was...
"[Yes, that's right. If I just confirm one more thing, I think I'll know for sure.]"
"[You... you've been spouting nonsense this whole time... Hm? Wait.]"
The expression of the woman who had been answering my questions so faithfully suddenly turned grave and stiffened.
Then she drew the weapon at her waist and took a guarded stance.
She looked ready to pierce my throat at any moment if necessary.
"[What have you done to me... no, to us!]"
"[Hmm, so it was as I thought after all.]"
As expected, she'd noticed.
Looks like I'd let the tail drag on too long.
Still, I couldn't help it. It had worked far better than I'd expected, and before I knew it, my tension had loosened.
As a result, I'd made a mistake at the very end without realizing it.
Heh?
"[Damn it! What are all of you doing?! Hurry up and come to your senses and deal with this man...!]"
"[Useless.]"
Rustle, clatter
I pulled free the ropes binding me and stood up.
Then I worked my tongue around inside my mouth for a moment and spat out a small hidden object.
It looked like a tiny capsule pill, split in half and emptied out inside.
There was no need to hide it.
This was the very culprit that had made her and the other watchers around her act strangely.
Of course, even so, the drug's effect was only to blur rational judgment a little, turn the mood hazy, and temporarily raise the target's affection toward me by a small amount.
But for me, as a first-stage preparation, that was more than enough.
Through that opening, I'd already put all the other watchers around us into a deep sleep with Magecraft.
Leaving only one.
Only her, the one who needed to answer my questions.
"[I'd say it was probably from the moment I first opened my mouth. Didn't you smell something strangely pleasant then?]"
"[So that was your trick. You despicable bastard who knows nothing of a warrior's honor...!]"
"[That's not really something women who kidnapped someone in secret off the street should be saying.]"
I casually answered her while loosening up my body with a few stretches.
It looked like that little goddess who loved watching fights had casually judged that, since I was something like a mage, all she needed to do was block my incantations with the watchers around me.
But I'd have to go and personally teach her that such a sloppy judgment was not only naive, but basically the same as having prepared nothing at all.
But before that.
"[Take your stance, Amazon.]"
I purified the air around us with Magecraft, making it clean.
With that, her dizzy, hazy mind also cleared.
Emotionally and physically, her condition was probably at its absolute peak.
"[This... what are you trying to do?]"
Startled by the sudden change, she stared at me with a tense, wary expression.
There was only one thing I had to say in response.
"[What else?]"
It was time for the test.
"[Let's see whether you're truly worthy of that name.]"
Or whether you're the opposite.
"[Prove your rank to me.]"
That was where the rest of this story would begin.
Along with my own lingering attachment, which was a little complicated.