Chapter 15. Everything’s wrong!!
Argh, damn it. I hate this. I glare at the Speck as she guides us from the front. Gusu-oyake, now changed into a white dress, gracefully walks right behind her.
Still, is that outfit really all that big of a deal? Ahre? Am I fine the way I am? Well… it’ll probably work out. Gusu-oyake didn’t say anything about it being a problem.
“Well then, we have arrived.”
“I understand, thank you very much, Lilly.”
“Think nothing of it. I shall now take my leave.”
Seriously, this Speck takes a completely different tune around Gusu-oyake. What’s her deal with me? This is total bull.
The Speck then passes beside me and mutters something again. Yep, saw that coming. She says, “Hurry up and get yourself decapitated, you stupid eggplant.”
Calm down, calm down me. You’re an adult.
Maybe the Speck finds my silence boring cause she walks away with a click of her tongue.
Che, maids don’t click their tongues. Ain’t she get how bad her attitude is?
“Zero-san,”
Woops, I completely forgot about Gusu-oyake.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Really quick, I will do the talking so please be at ease. Please mind your tone and refrain from saying anything?”
“I get it, I get it. You ain’t got to worry about a thing. I won’t say anything unnecessary. Is that good?”
“My apologies… No, thank you very much.”
She’s making a desperate smile. I still remember what you said before. It’s those people in there who keep giving you trouble. One way or another, I’m gonna become your strength.
A soldier like guy then opens the door. The light inside is dazzling. There’s also a red carpet laid out on the ground. At the other end is a throne. That must be the king.
This is just like a movie…
I continue into the room with Gusu-oyake. It’s then I see that quite a lot of people are inside. I ain’t got a clue to who they all are, but I do recognize one person, that Damned Bitch.
Just like earlier, she’s glaring at me. Seriously though, that girl’s fine looking at my eyes? I need to look into this.
More or less just a bit before the center of the room, Gusu-oyake stops. I stop, too, just a bit behind her.
The Damned Bitch, not happy about it, harps out. “You disgrace! You are before His Majesty the king! Why aren’t you kneeling!?”
“Argh?”
Kneeling? Why should I kneel to that guy for? There’s a lot of different things I want to say to that Damned Bitch…
That’s when I notice. The chibi are frantically shaking their heads. They look sad as they point at Gusu-oyake.
Gusu-oyake’s head is down. She’s even shaking a bit. What it is you’re thinking about, Gusu-oyake? I don’t have a clue to what it could be. Still, I’ll endure this.
Without a complaint, I kneel. Che, just one leg should be fine, right?
“Hey, does this work?”
“Zero-san…”
“Fuun! You should have done that from the beginning!”
Endure it, endure. Endure it for Gusu-oyake’s sake. Endure it for the chibi and Gusu-oyake.
“To begin with, there was absolutely no need to bring such a lowly person here. He should quickly be tossed into the gaol!”
Endure, endure, endure, endure, endure, endure, endure, endure.
“That is far enough, Amaris.”
“B-but, chichi-ue.”
“Isn’t adopting such an attitude problematic towards guests? That is far enough.”
“Excuse my discourtesy…”
Heh, you mad? Didn’t you get that ossan’s words? Amaris? Damned Bitch Amaris? Get it now?
And the Damned Bitch notices I’m sneering at her and glares at me. Look at your own miserable self.
“Now, for the main issue at hand. Grace, you left the castle without notifying anyone and then returned. What the heck were you thinking?”
“…I apologize for my actions.”
“Do not give an apology. Explain yourself. A member of the royal family vanished out of nowhere. Do you understand what is being said? How many people you’ve brought trouble to?”
Gusu-oyake desperately puts up with it, just like earlier. Since I decided to endure it, I can’t say anything to the ossan either.
“As for the result of your selfish action, did you achieve anything?”
“Ye-Yes!”
Yeah, just listen up to what she has to say. You’re angry now, you’ll be praising her next. Not bad. Not bad at all, right, ossan, right?
“I have succeeded in contracting with a spirit. With that, I believe that I too have properly become an adult.”
“Woah… Chichi-ue, did you hear that!? Grace said she contracted with a spirit! This is wonderful news.”
Ain’t it great? It’s great. What? Looks like there was nothing to worry about.
With that, everything is resolved without any trouble. What a relief.
—Except, not. The ossan is frowning.
“Ridiculous!! You contracted with a spirit? An adult? You caused this much trouble just for that?! You made a selfish action without understanding a thing! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?! This is exactly why you are still half a person! Enough already, return to your room! You need to begin once more from the start. You probably couldn’t contract with a spirit up until now because you were too immature to put in proper effort!”
Agh? What’s this? What’s he getting mad at Gusu-oyake like this for? What happened to her effort?
Hey, what’s everyone on the sides staying quiet for? Gusu-oyake, say something! Give it your best! What’s with this silence!? Hurry up and say something! This is the whole reason you signed a contract with a spirit for!
“…I understand, please excuse me. I shall reflect in my room.”
“I said to return! Hurry up and go!”
“I am leaving.”
Gusu-oyake turns around and walks with heavy steps.
“My apologies, Zero-san. I will have a room prepared for you. Will you be able to find it on your own?”
“Ahh…”
Room? Is this a situation to be talking about whether I have a room or not? Are you really fine with an expression like that?
Nope, can’t do it. Gusu-oyake might be fine with this, but not me.
“Yeah, sorry, Gusu-oyake. I can’t do it.”
“Eh?”
With long strides, I approach him ossan as though sneaking towards him from below. Because of what just happened, no stops me. The first person to come back to her senses and get in my way is the Damned Bitch.
“In-Insolence, what are you doing? Chichi-ue said to return.”
“Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad uuuuuuuup!”
I look around at everyone here and they all jolt to a stop. Haa, I’m starting to feel grateful for these terrifying eyes of mine.
“Hey, the hell was that just now, bastard? Agh? Ain’t you the king? Quit screwing with me!!”
“In-Insolence! You’re making demands of His Majesty?!!”
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up! Quiet you Damned Bitch!!”
“Wh-wha…!? Unforgivable!”
The damned bitch then draws her sword. Bring it on! I ain’t running!
That is until the ossan gets everything under control.
“Enough, Amaris.”
“Bu-But this disgraceful behavior! It’s Lèse-majesté! Killing him here wouldn’t be a problem!”
“I said enough. Well then… you seem to have a dispute with me. Is there something you wish to say?”
“I absolutely got words for you!”
Gusu-oyake grabs my arm in a desperate attempt to pull me away, but she’s probably at a loss on what to do next. She’s shaking all over.
My bad, Gusu-oyake. Didn’t mean to make you nervous.
“Bastard, you’ve been calling Gusu-oyake an idiot for a while now! She fricking made a contract with a spirit! Didn’t she give it her best!? Why aren’t you praising her!? More than that, you should be delighted she came back safe and sound!”
“…Had she conducted herself through the proper procedure, I too would be rejoicing. However, such is not the case. Grace acted at her own whim to flaunt her authority. Despite that, you expect me to praise her?”
He ain’t understand squat. I thought this ossan might somewhat be alright, but he’s a worthless dad after all. He knows nothing about Gusu-oyake!
“Proper procedure? You can’t praise her? The hell do you think Gusu-oyake disappeared from the castle to contract with a spirit on her own for!?”
“That, she was impatient to distinguish herself…”
“Not one bit!!”
Impatient to distinguish herself? There’s no way that idiot could come up with something that clever! This bastard doesn’t know a thing about his own daughter!
“Gusu-oyake was! She was completely driven into a corner! That’s why she rushed out on her own to contract with a spirit! She stupidly kept going just to get a bit of praise from you wretched bastards!!”
“……”
“What, nothing to say!? That’s right, you didn’t know anything! Acting on her own whim!? Gusu-oyake did all that because she was driven into a corner by her bastard of a stupid old man!!”
Haa, I said it. Serves you right. Yeah, I feel refreshed. Everyone’s gotten quiet for some reason though. After all that, shouldn’t he be reflecting on himself? Even if just a little.
“Sei-”
“Argh?”
“Seize this disgrace!! Execute him at once!!”
All of a sudden, I’m surrounded by soldiers. Their numbers are astounding. Getting a dead on hit gets the death sentence? Then, come on! Bring it!
I grab my pipe from behind my back. The chibi brim with spirit as they take a fighting pose, too. We’re gonna send them flying!!
“Please stop!!”
Everyone freezes. It wasn’t the ossan or the Damned Bitch who told everyone to stop either. It was Gusu-oyake.
Gusu-oyake walks straight up to the ossan and gracefully bows her head.
“Chichi-ue, please excuse this. I accept all responsibility for everything that occurred here. He is not responsible.”
“Wh— Grace! There’s no need for you to protect this person!”
“Please be silent, onee-sama!”
“Whaa—”
“Zero-san was wrong to say those words, but he spoke my feelings on my behalf. For me to take responsibility is only natural.”
“Gr— Grace…”
Hold on a sec. What’s she taking responsibility for what I said to that bastard for? I just went and said whatever I wanted.
“Hey, I said what I wanted. Gusu-oyake, you had nothing to do with it. Back off.”
“No, that is not the case. Thanks to you, Zero-san, I now feel refreshed. Thank you very much. Please leave the rest to me.”
“No, that’s what I’m—”
“Grace,”
The ossan, having kept quiet until now, opens his mouth. Just with that, the place gets quiet again. I’m not sure what’s going on, but let’s depend on the ossan.
“Ye— Yes?”
“Lead our guest to his room.”
“Eh? Ano, un— understood.”
“In regards to what just transpired, I believe there are various areas that need to be looked into. As such, disregard everything.”
“Chichi-ue! Discipline still needs to be enforced!”
“Disregard everything. That’s enough, Amaris.”
The Damned Bitch has no choice but to obey and quiets down. Me and Gusu-oyake, with expressions that don’t really get what’s going on, leave as we were told.
So, what happens now?
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