After making plans to have a meal with Lord Iscar:
“This is your temporary residence? It’s a good room.”
Bajiko and I were shown a splendid guest room. Though it had an old-fashioned feel, the furniture was top-notch, and the room was spacious with excellent lighting. The bed was huge too.
“That’s great, Bajiko… wait.”
When I looked over at the busty, quiet maid, she was inexplicably kneeling on one knee. Her L-cup chest was resting on her knee.
“What are you doing?”
“This Bajiko has just renewed her loyalty to Your Majesty…!”
Huh?
“I was so surprised when Your Majesty turned into a cute, white-haired little girl. Her cuteness was so overwhelming, I would grant three wishes if she were offered as a sacrifice!”
“Stop giving those monster-like reviews of cuteness.”
Don’t bring up ‘sacrifice’ when offering compliments.
“But! The reason for becoming cute was to seduce the city’s ruler, wasn’t it!?”
“Huh?”
“You’re already close to bringing him to his knees! Ah, as expected of the Dark Dragon Majesty… planning to rule human society through subtle means instead of violence!”
“That’s not it.”
I stepped on one of her boobs with my now tiny foot. Caught between her knee and my foot, Bajiko let out a weird sound, “Myaaah!?”
That should make her reflect… but why is her face turning red?
“It hurts, but for some reason, it feels good! Has a special kind of mating begun?!”
“This is not mating.”
She turned pain into pleasure! And could you stop shouting weird stuff in someone else’s house? I don’t want to get kicked out again.
“Ah, my milk’s starting to leak…! Majesty, you can drink all you want. Bajiko is your milk server.”
“Quit that business. Let’s get back to the topic of ruling human society.”
It’s best to clear up any misunderstandings quickly.
“I’m not plotting anything like that. The thought of trying to seduce Iscar makes me sick…”
“Ah! I understand now!”
Oh? Did she finally get it?
“This is the ruler’s lair! We mustn’t speak our true intentions so carelessly, must we?!”
“No, you didn’t get it at all.”
Come on, Pink. You’re just a monster with a cute face.
“I’m only taking on the appearance of the Dark Lady Sara to hide my true form and spread knowledge.”
The city was a mess back in the day. People dumped waste everywhere like it was the real Middle Ages. I didn’t want to live in that filth, but I also didn’t want to be treated like a sage. I’m just using ‘Dark Dragon Brain’ to copy-paste knowledge from my previous life’s manga.
“So that’s why I’m getting close to the lord.”
“I see!”
“You finally understand?”
“Yes! Even the mightiest Dark Dragon doesn’t grow complacent. You’ve disguised yourself to deceive humans while turning the environment into a comfortable nest! A true model of the wild!”
“I’m going to knock you out.”
“Or push you down!?”
Ugh… she’s unstoppable.
“You’re incredible, Bajiko.”
“Huh?! I’m so happy to be praised!”
No, I’m actually appalled.
As I was having this nonsensical conversation, there was a knock on the door. The voice of the elderly butler followed, “May I interrupt your conversation?”
Oh, better get off Bajiko. Stop looking disappointed, you perverted pink thing.
“Sure, come in, Sebastian.”
“Pardon me.”
Sebastian opened the door smoothly, bowing to us with elegance.
“Every movement is so quiet and refined. It’s a world apart from our noisy maid.”
“No, no, it’s just the wisdom of age.”
No, really, it’s different. Our pink one isn’t even a maid, just a monster wearing a maid outfit. Her future dream is to become my egg incubator.
“So, what’s up, Sebastian?”
“Well, Lord Iscar is about to hold a meeting with representatives of various merchant guilds. The topic is the ‘discovery of the Great Lakeshore.’”
“The Great Lakeshore? Oh, right.”
Nisha and Kusha mentioned it. After cutting through the monster-filled areas, a large lake was found. We need a water source for the next ‘pioneer city,’ so they plan to hunt the monsters in the lake area.
“It’s great that there will be more habitable land for humans. So?”
“Well, Lady Sara, we would like you to attend the meeting as well.”
“What?”
What am I supposed to do at a meeting between the lord and the merchant guild heads?
“They will be discussing profit distribution. Until the next ‘pioneer city’ is built, the profits generated from the reclaimed land will go to that city.”
So.
“The newly discovered lakeshore will allow a large amount of fresh fish to be harvested. Each guild will be petitioning Lord Iscar for their allotted amount of fish per day, asking how much they can take.”
“As expected of Lady Sara. That is exactly right.”
The elderly butler nodded respectfully.
“It’s a delicate issue. Let’s say there’s a ‘rising guild’ and a ‘long-established guild.’ If we favor the long-established guild too much out of respect, it will be disastrous. Do you understand?”
Of course, I do.
“The younger guilds will wither and die, leaving the long-established guilds to monopolize the market.”
“Exactly. Prices and innovation would stagnate, leading to a very unhealthy situation.”
That’s how it works. Commerce thrives when there’s a good balance of competition.
“However, favoring only the ‘rising guilds’ would also be problematic. It would create resentment among the long-established guilds. If they moved their businesses to other cities, it would be a great loss. Moreover…”
The butler hesitated. I continued his thought.
“It could endanger the lord, perhaps through poisoning or other means.”
“…!”
The butler’s eyes widened. His reaction confirmed my guess.
“There was a poisoning attempt on Iscar’s food in the past, wasn’t there?”
“Indeed… as expected of Lady Sara. That is correct…”
So that’s why the usually thick-skinned Iscar was so paranoid about poison.
“When Lord Iscar was a child, a new resource area was opened, and the former lord favored a rising guild. As a result…”
“The poison was placed in Lord Iscar’s food, causing him to fall ill with a high fever for nearly half a month… How terrible…”
Hmph. Targeting the child, a textbook example of intimidation.
“Calm down, Sebastian. Did they catch the culprit?”
“A maid who disappeared shortly after the meal was served is suspected. However…”
“The mastermind is still unknown, isn’t it?”
“Yes…”
The butler nodded weakly.
Well, that makes sense. With the maid gone, the trail to the mastermind has gone cold.
“The main suspects are, of course, the powerful guilds. But there’s not just one large guild. It could also be one of the mid-tier guilds. In fact, mid-tier guilds might feel more threatened by rising guilds than the larger ones.”
“It’s a difficult situation.”
I genuinely think so.
“This is why I never want to get involved in politics. Approaching the lord as ‘Dark Lady Sara’ instead of Jade was definitely the right choice. Ugh, how annoying.”
“The maid who ran away… was someone young Master Iscar was fond of.”
“I see.”
“Because of that, the damage to him was immense. He now only eats the food I cook!”
“I see.”
“And in discussions with the representatives of the merchants, Master Iscar… he always trembles for several minutes before he even begins!”
The old butler had finally started to shed tears.
“So please! Please, Lady Sara! Stay by Master Iscar’s side! Just having you there would surely be a great support for him!”
“Enough. Close your mouth.”
“Wh-!?”
I silenced the butler, who was tearfully pleading.
“A man shouldn’t whine so easily. Where’s your usual calm demeanor?”
“I… I-I apologize. I was so desperate to make you understand, Lady Sara, that I showed such an unbecoming side of myself…!”
Indeed. Who would want to see an old man crying like this?
Therefore…
“I’ll never let either of you cry again. Neither you nor Iscar.”
“Huh…!?”
Standing on tiptoe, I forcefully wiped Sebastian’s tear-streaked face with my sleeve.
“Ah!? L-Lady Sara, your dress will get dirty…!”
“It’s not dirty at all. These are the tears of a butler crying out of love for his master. They’re beautiful, Sebastian.”
“Wha…!?”
There’s no need for strong words. Just that one drop of tear made me want to help you.
“It’s alright now. I’m here, after all.”
“L-Lady Sara…!”
Blushing in embarrassment from having his face wiped by a child, Sebastian looked at me, and I gave him a smile.
“Let’s bring closure to your past.”
Now… it’s time to expose the mastermind.
