7 - Runaway Son 逃亡之子

After turning the tables on the divine knights from Zayin, we dug graves for them.

扭轉了扎因神騎士的局面後，我們爲他們挖了墳墓。

Thinking just leaving them as is was too harsh, Thelma-san proposed it. Because they were doing their jobs as knights of Zayin, and were men of her country.

塞爾瑪小姐覺得就這麼放着不管太嚴厲了，於是提出了這個建議。因爲他們是扎因騎士的職責，是她國家的男人。

Hearing that, the Sixth spoke.

六號聞言，開口說道。

『Reasons aside, leaving them will leave evidence behind. Why not cremate and or bury them? Ah, make sure you collect their equipment.』

『拋開理由不談，離開他們就會留下證據。爲什麼不火化或埋葬它們？啊，一定要收集他們的裝備。』

Arms, luggage, and horses. After collecting up their belongings, we gave them proper burials. So as not to give any divine knight comrades out to investigate any information on us. At the same time, it would to gain a favorable impression with Thelma-san.

武器、行李和馬匹。收拾完他們的遺物後，我們給他們舉行了妥善的安葬。以免讓任何神騎士同志出去調查我們的任何信息。同時，也能獲得塞爾瑪小姐的好感。

I mean, we had to earn their trust in the timespan before we reached Beim. While it wouldn9;t be enough to oppose Celes, the current me didn9;t have the leisure to be picky about my means.

我的意思是，我們必須在到達貝姆之前的時間內贏得他們的信任。雖然不足以對抗塞萊斯，但現在的我卻沒有閒暇去挑剔自己的手段。

I needed Zayin9;s power.

我需要扎因的力量。

After we buried them, former Holy Maiden Thelma-san offered up a prayer, and gave us her thanks.

埋葬後，前聖女塞爾瑪小姐進行了祈禱，向我們表示感謝。

“On top of risking your lives to fight them, I thank you for going along with my pleas to such an extent. I do think you have your dissatisfactions with it, so I shall be putting an extra on your reward.”

“除了冒着生命危險與他們戰鬥之外，我還感謝你們在很大程度上同意我的請求。我想你肯定有不滿意的地方，所以我會額外給你獎勵。”

It appears she was taking my sentiment into consideration. But I shook my head.

看來她也考慮到了我的感受。但我搖了搖頭。

While everyone was falling asleep, I consulted with the Sixth Generation Head. While holding a halberd, and fighting him, that is.

『There9;s a blatant issue with its governing system, and the surrounding countries are making good use of it. I9;m sure Zayin makes use of it in its own way, system, but at this rate, all that awaits it is ruin. It9;s been three hundred years since the unified continent under the Sentras Kingdom collapsed… Now they9;ve all gotten themselves together, and it9;s about time they put an end to all the constant warfare.』

But I also thought I wasn9;t suited to the task.

我避開了刺力，恢復了姿勢，調整了呼吸。

The Sixth9;s room of memory.

I undid my stance, and let the halberd clasped in my right hand fade away. The Sixth pierced his own into the ground, and sat on the spot.

I answered him with a smile, and looked up at the sky.

我也坐了。

When I did a horizontal slash, he judged it, and dodged by a small margin before repeating a series of thrusts on me.

『其治理體系存在明顯問題，被周邊國家利用。我確信扎音會以自己的方式、系統來利用它，但照這樣下去，等待它的就是毀滅。距離森特拉王國統治下的統一大陸崩潰已經過去三百年了……現在他們都團結起來了，是時候結束所有持續不斷的戰爭了。』

“你真是好心。但最初提出的金額就足夠了。那是我們籤的合同。只要把這件事當作一個免費的蜜蜂就好了。”

The Sixth showed his teeth, and grinned, before talking to me.

With the attack, and the cleanup, it had begun to grow dark.

“You have my gratitude. I heard that many adventurers were of a rougher sort, but it looks like there are splendid ones around as well.”

老六在跟我說話之前露出了牙齒，笑了笑。

『對。不是那種願景。您的行爲將如何影響未來。而你的每一步行動可能會帶來什麼結果……也考慮一下如果你什麼都不做的話會發生什麼。』

（我要在兩天內取得她的信任，泄露奪回扎因的陰謀，讓她成爲我的‘正義事業9;……門檻很高。）

看着塞爾瑪小姐和加斯托內小姐誠摯的感謝，我的心開始受傷了。

0;I have to gain her trust in two days, divulge the plot to retake Zayin, and have her become my, ‘just cause9;… That9;s quite a high hurdle.1;

The Sixth put it simply. Celes wasn9;t the only reason. He told me his take on why Zayin couldn9;t be left as it was.

I avoided the thrust, regained my stance, and got my breathing together.

“是、是的。我不是欺騙，而是利用，怎麼說呢……”

『萊爾，你的視野很窄。嘗試獲得更廣闊的視野。』

老六的記憶室。

但我也認爲我不適合這項任務。

“視野，是嗎？我最好別開玩笑說我可以用二號技能感知周圍的一切，不是嗎？”

當我橫斬時，他做出了判斷，稍微躲開了，然後對我重複了一系列刺擊。

➐

I didn9;t like how it felt like I was using Celes as an excuse to take advantage of them.

“Y-yes. Rather than deceiving, I9;m using them, and how should I put it…”

我微笑着回答他，並抬頭看着天空。

在寶石內。

He put his halberd over his shoulder, looked at my face, and touched his left hand to his chin.

『Feeling guilty? Well, I guess there9;s really no helping it on an emotional level.』

趁大家都睡着了，我向六代掌門商量了一下。一邊拿着戟，一邊與他戰鬥，就是這樣。

Within the Jewel.

Seeing Thelma-san and Gastone-san give their earnest thanks, my heart began to hurt.

我鬆開了姿勢，讓右手握着的戟消失了。老六將自己的身體刺入地面，坐在了原地。

『Right. Not that sort of vision. Just how will your actions resound into the future. And what each result of your moves may bring… consider what might happen if you do nothing at all, as well.』

That wasn9;t wrong, but I questioned as to whether I should be the one to do it.

Internally, I thought.

隨着襲擊和清理工作，天色開始變暗。

雖然我心裏嘀咕，但這也是祖輩們的提議。爲了獲得更多的力量，沒有更好的主意，所以我就立即付諸實踐。

塞爾瑪小姐旁邊的加斯托內小姐一臉擔憂地看着我，向我低下了頭。

Next to Thelma-san, Gastone-san looked on with worry, and lowered his head to me.

『Lyle, your field of vision is narrow. Try getting a greater outlook.』

“We9;ll have to camp here tonight. If we rush, about two days to Beim? Let9;s prepare for tomorrow, and get some rest for now.”

沒錯，但我質疑我是否應該做這件事。

“Field of vision, is it? It9;s best I don9;t joke around saying I can perceive every part of my surroundings with the Second9;s Skills, isn9;t it.”

“我很感激你。聽說很多冒險者都是比較粗魯的類型，不過看起來也有優秀的冒險者。」

他把畫戟扛在肩上，看着我的臉，左手摸了摸下巴。

在內部，我想。

“You sure are kind. But the initial proposed sum will do just fine. That was the contract we signed. Just think of this matter as a freebee.”

『Hmm, so what was the problem again? You feel like you9;re deceiving them, and it9;s a load on your mind?』

“今晚我們必須在這裏露營。如果我們趕時間的話，大約需要兩天時間才能到達貝姆？我們先休息一下，爲明天做準備吧。”

我不喜歡我以 Celes 作爲利用它們的藉口的感覺。

0;Hah, is it going well?1;

老六簡單地說了。塞萊斯並不是唯一的原因。他告訴我他對爲什麼扎因不能保持原樣的看法。

I sat as well.

While I grumbled about it, it was the ancestors9; proposal. In order to gain more power, there wasn9;t a better idea around, so I went right into putting it to practice.

（哈，還順利嗎？）

『嗯，那又是什麼問題呢？你覺得自己在欺騙他們，心裏有負擔嗎？』

『感到內疚？唉，感情上確實沒辦法了。』

0;I9;m not wrong, am I? Is it really alright to get Zayin and Lorphys involved in this mess for my sake?1;

（我沒有說錯吧？爲了我的緣故讓扎音和洛菲斯捲入這場混亂真的可以嗎？）

There, perhaps the Sixth sensed some hesitation in me, as he stood and changed the surrounding scenery. We were within a representation of his memories.

在那裏，當第六人站起來改變周圍的景色時，也許他感覺到了我的一些猶豫。我們處在他記憶的再現之中。

So it was a place where he could change the scenery at will.

所以這是一個他可以隨意變換風景的地方。

『Don9;t worry so much. Then how about I show you a good example?』

『別太擔心。那我給你看一個好例子怎麼樣？』

And there, I found the urban lands of the Weihs Territory governed by the Walt House.

然後，我發現了沃爾特家族管轄的魏斯領地的城市土地。

It was smaller than it was when I was driven from my home, but I could see the same traces.

它比我被趕出家時要小，但我可以看到相同的痕跡。

I followed him in standing, to see a young man get punched out the door of a small bar.

我跟着他站起來，看到一個年輕人被打出了一家小酒吧的門。

The one hit through the air had his long red hair swept back. The figure of the Sixth in his younger days.

被擊中的那人，紅色的長髮向後掠去。六爺年輕時的身影。

The look in his eyes was even sharper than it was now, and he gave off quite a thorny impression.

他的眼神比現在更加銳利，給人一種很刺骨的感覺。

“Um, this is?”

“嗯，這是？”

In it, stood Fiennes, all beat up from a brawl. An old couple was calling out to him. The sky was dark, and perhaps it was winter, as Fiennes looked quite cold.

『To me and my brothers and sisters, he was the worst father there was. His attitude without any emotions or interest pissed me off. But the people loved him. Why do you think?』

『… Kid, I don9;t give a damn how much a tab you rack up drowning your worries at my place. Run wild all you want. Punch me, and see if I care. But that man… I ain9;t gonna take any insults at Fredricks-sama.』

老六不好意思地點點頭，撓着頭解釋道。

Fiennes was in the middle of breakfast.

When Fiennes mounted the man, and began punching him left and right, the scene turned gray, and its time came to a stop.

Walking out the bar was a large man, with a bald head, and magnificent goatee. His shirt was pushed out by his sheer muscle, and he looked formidable at but a glance.

『Will the Walt House be alright?』

我一聽，就說不出來了。

他懷念地看着費因斯和大個子的戰鬥。費因斯打了一拳，也許他也受到了訓練，因爲酒吧老闆被打飛了。

『對我和我的兄弟姐妹來說，他是最糟糕的父親。他毫無感情或興趣的態度讓我很生氣。但人民愛他。你覺得爲什麼？』

『……離家出走時的記憶。』

And I watched it.

『即使他是那個人的兒子……』『這就是父母精通，孩子不行的模式。』『沃爾特會嗎？ House還好嗎？』

And the young Sixth Generation Head… Fiennes stood, and shouted out as if he were a roaring beast.

於是費因斯喫了飯，睡在溫暖的牀上。

『……站在這裏會生病的。我們家東西不多，但你不進去看看嗎？』

“Because territory management doesn9;t have anything to do with the lord9;s family problems? No, but it does bring about problems with succession, so…”

The town9;s residents gathered around, and looked at Fiennes…

我看了。

The Sixth nodded embarrassingly, and scratched his head as he explained.

老六懷着懷念和尷尬的心情看着這一幕。

我給出了一個簡單的答案。

也許拉因斯意識到再這樣下去他就要凍死了。他接受了這對夫婦的善意，進了屋。

走出酒吧的是一個高大的男人，禿頭，留着華麗的山羊鬍。他的襯衫被純粹的肌肉撐開，一眼望去就顯得很威武。

When I heard that, my words wouldn9;t come out.

他們熱烈歡迎他。他們準備了洗澡和豐盛的飯菜。對於那對老夫妻來說，他們一定是爲他竭盡全力了。

當費因斯騎上這名男子，開始左右毆打他時，場景變成了灰色，時間也停止了。

鎮上的居民圍攏過來，看着費因斯……

光看周圍的反應，五號的印象似乎還不錯。他因好色而出名，但似乎也受到人民的愛戴。

I gave a simple answer.

Perhaps he had really fought his way through war, as there were numerous scars on his arms and face.

『It9;s that pattern where the parent9;s proficient, and the child9;s no good.』

『It was always nothing but failures. Lyle, you see, I… was an incorrigible fool. I snapped and left the house, ran rampant, and had to be saved by someone else. It was always a repetition of something like that.』

拉因斯正在喫早餐。

Just looking at the reactions around, it seems the Fifth had quite a favorable impression. He was famous for being a womanizer, but it seems he was loved by his people.

『Even when he9;s that man9;s son…』

Perhaps Fiennes realized that he was going to freeze to death at that rate. He accepted the couple9;s good will, and entered the house.

裏面站着費因斯，他因爭吵而被打得遍體鱗傷。一對老夫婦正在呼喚他。天色陰沉，也許是冬天了，拉因斯看上去很冷。

And the Sixth watched the scene with nostalgia, and embarrassment.

I thought he was a little delinquent-esque, but he really was a full-blown delinquent. As I felt myself surprised he was able to return to the House safely like that, the Fiennes began to speak.

So Fiennes ate, and slept in a warm bed.

也許他真的是在戰爭中奮力拼搏的，因爲他的手臂和臉上有無數的傷疤。

“……那是酒吧老闆嗎？”

『別跟我開玩笑！我向那個混蛋低下頭嗎？不是我死了！』

They gave him a warm welcome. They prepared a bath, and a splendid meal. To that old couple, they must have been doing their best for him.

我以爲他有點少年犯的樣子，但他確實是個徹頭徹尾的少年犯。當我對他能這樣安全地回到衆議院感到驚訝時，費因斯夫婦開始說話了。

『……孩子，我纔不管你在我這裏付了多少錢的帳單。隨心所欲地狂奔。打我一下，看看我是否在意。但那個男人……我不會接受弗雷德裏克斯大人的任何侮辱。』

Speaking nostalgically, he looked upon the fight of Fiennes and the large man. Fiennes sent a punch, and perhaps he had his share of training as well, as the barkeeper was sent flying off his feet.

而年輕的六代掌門……拉因斯站起身來，如同咆哮的野獸般大吼一聲。

『Don9;t f*ck with me! Lower my head to that asshole? Not on the death of me!』

“因爲領地管理與領主的家庭問題無關？不會，但確實會帶來繼承問題，所以……”

拉着衣領，費因斯怒目而視，吐出了口水。

『… A memory from when I ran away from home.』

The Sixth spoke to me.

Lifted up by the collar, Fiennes glared, and spat out his saliva.

那裏，六號又展現了另一番景象。

『That9;s right. He let me drink on a running tab. I heard about it later, but apparently the Fifth9;s men would come by now and again to pay it off. Only learned that one when I9;d earned enough to pay it myself.』

『總是失敗。萊爾，你看，我……是個無可救藥的傻瓜。我氣急敗壞地離家出走，橫衝直撞，只好找別人來救。總是這樣重複。』

『… You9;ll get sick if you stand out here. Our house doesn9;t have much, but won9;t you step inside?』

“… Is that the bar9;s owner?”

“這是正確的。他讓我喝流動飲料。我後來聽說了這件事，但顯然第五的人會時不時地來還錢。直到我自己賺到了足夠的錢才知道這一點。』

老六跟我說話了。

There, the Sixth showed another scene.

『… Why did you save someone like me?』

『……你爲什麼要救我這樣的人？』

That impudent attitude of his wasn9;t something that should9;ve been directed at the ones who saved his life. Even so, the wife seemed delighted.

他那種無禮的態度，不應該是針對那些救了他一命的人。儘管如此，妻子似乎還是很高興。

『With this, we will finally be able to pay off our debt to Fredricks-sama.』

『這樣一來，我們就可以還清弗雷德裏克斯大人的債了。』

『We9;ve troubled that man far too much.』

『我們太麻煩那個人了。』

Fiennes spoke unpleasantly.

費因斯不悅地說道。

『That damn old man?』

『那個該死的老頭？』

『Yes. Our village burnt down, and he made it possible for we, the survivors, to live on here.』

『是的。我們的村莊被燒燬了，他讓我們這些倖存者得以生存。』

『He rushed over to save the village. Yet we could only speak ill of him… I9;ve always regretted it.』

『他衝過去拯救村莊。但我們只能說他的壞話……我一直很後悔。』

Fiennes looked a little surprised, but his attitude instantly turned sour.

拉因斯看上去有些驚訝，但態度立刻就變壞了。

『That9;s because that9;s his job, dammit! It9;s all that damn old man9;s fault for not making it in time! You lot are being fooled!』

『那是因爲那是他的工作啊該死！都是那該死的老頭沒及時趕到的錯！你們被騙了！』

弗雷德裏克斯看上去也有些後退了。

他對我低聲說道。

『Bwah!』

Seeing that, Fredricks sighed, and spoke.

看到女人繼續打我的巴掌，我稍微往後退了一步。我的意思是，費因斯變得比以前更加衣衫襤褸了。

費因斯的母親流着淚，跟在兒子身後。

“The scene9;s changed again.”

『Yep, forgiven. Well, I complained about this and that to my brothers, and shared some sarcasm. The worst was when Milleia asked, ‘has your head cooled down yet?9; Her lecture made me quite sad.』

臉被打得鼻青臉腫，拉因斯的臉頰腫了起來，看上去十分可憐。

『Yet I could only ever fail. In the end, I was a worse man than my father.』

老夫婦聽後還是笑了。

咳咳，他在跟我說話之前故意清了清嗓子。

There, the Sixth let out a sigh.

『You9;ve got me there. But that man was kind. So kind it was even pitiful to watch.』

『Well, if you9;re asking what I9;m trying to get at here… right, even if you think you9;re doing good, it may not be so in the eyes of another, and even if you know you9;re doing wrong, some might see it as you doing good. There9;s also the fact I wanted to show it to you some time around.』

He showed his embarrassing memories, and acted ashamed of them.

通往入口的道路打開了，第五……弗雷德裏克斯從中走了出來。我可以看到費因斯的母親就在他身邊。

（嗯？這個人看上去很善良，但是實力卻出奇的強！）

The path to the entranceway opened up, and from it the Fifth… Fredricks walked out. I could see Fiennes9; mother beside him.

他展示了他令人尷尬的記憶，並表現得感到羞恥。

費因斯龐大的身體在他母親的怒容下僵住了。

『Hah, go get in the bath, and change out of those clothes. Once you9;ve eaten and slept, come over to my place. If you make up all you9;ve gotten behind in while you were away, I will accept you as my successor.』

It seems the Sixth was quite a siscon.

Fredricks also looked as if he was retreating a little.

『哇！』

Ahem, he purposefully cleared his throat, before speaking to me.

『… My mother9;s palm you see… it resounded in my heart, but it also resounded in my skull and bones. In various ways… it really hurt.』

『Stupid son of mine! Running out the door, and coming back in such a pitiful state! Just how much do you plan on making me worry!?』

Before we were to depart, Gastone-san and Thelma-san brought a single young girl over to me.

看到這一幕，弗雷德裏克斯嘆了口氣，說道。

“場景又變了。”

Seeing the woman continue a series of slaps, I drew back a bit. I mean, Fiennes was becoming even more ragged than he was before.

『哈，去洗澡，把衣服換掉吧。喫飽睡了就來我家吧。如果你彌補了你離開期間所欠下的一切，我就接受你作爲我的繼任者。』

說着，他轉身，回到了府邸。守門士兵把肩膀借給了搖搖欲墜的年輕拉因斯，把他扛在了後面。

With his face battered so much, Fiennes9; cheeks swelled, and he looked quite pitiable.

『我的傻兒子！跑出家門，回來的時候還這麼狼狽！你到底要讓我擔心到什麼程度啊！？』

0;Huh? She looks kind, but she9;s ridiculously strong, this person!1;

“… You were forgiven?”

『好吧，如果你問我在這裏想表達什麼……好吧，即使你認爲自己做得很好，但在別人眼中可能並非如此，即使你知道你做錯了，有些人可能會認爲你做得很好。還有就是我想找個時間給你看一下。』

『然而我只能失敗。到頭來，我還是個比我父親更糟糕的人。』

In front of the mansion stood some troubled soldiers. A ragged Fiennes before them, they seemed to be hesitating on whether to let him in or not.

六號在那裏嘆了口氣。

拉因斯的母親跑到兒子身邊，用盡全力，打了他一巴掌。

記憶片段中斷，我們又回到了院子裏。

The memory footage cut off, and we were in the yard once more.

『是的，原諒。好吧，我向我的兄弟們抱怨了這個那個，並分享了一些諷刺。最糟糕的是當Milleia問：“你的頭腦冷靜下來了嗎？”她的演講讓我很傷心。』

『As if I could show you any more embarrassing sides of me! Next is a memory from after I returned. Well, I guess this one9;s also an embarrassing one, but…』

➐

看來六號真是個妹控。

『你已經找到我了。但那個男人很善良。太善良了，看着都覺得可憐。』

Saying that, he turned, and returned to the mansion. The gatekeeper soldiers lent their shoulders to the unsteady young Fiennes, and carried him along behind.

宅邸前站着一些陷入困境的士兵。衣衫襤褸的費因斯出現在他們面前，他們似乎在猶豫要不要讓他進來。

But even after hearing that, the old couple smiled.

『……我母親的手掌你看……它在我的心裏響起，也在我的頭骨和骨頭裏響起。從各個方面來說……真的很痛。』

『好像我可以讓你看到我更多尷尬的一面！接下來是我回來後的回憶。好吧，我想這也是一個尷尬的事情，但是……』

出發前，加斯東桑和塞爾瑪桑帶了一個年輕女孩到我身邊。

His upper body swayed with the force, and next she used the back of her hand to hit him the other direction. Seeing that, I thought.

And he muttered to me.

“……你被原諒了嗎？”

Fiennes9; mother ran over to her son, and with all her might, delivered a slap unto his face.

他的上半身被力搖晃，然後她用手背朝另一個方向打了他。看到這裏，我想。

Fiennes9; large body froze up under his mother9;s scowl.

And shedding tears, Fiennes9; mother followed along her son.

Her name was 【Aura】.

她的名字是【亞烏拉】。

Gastone-san9;s party had supported her in becoming the next Holy Maiden, and she was one of the candidates.

加斯托內小姐的政黨支持她成爲下一任聖女，她也是候選人之一。

Her brown, long hair curled so much I felt that any more, and drills would naturally start to form. Her modest chest was, unlike Thelma-san, wrapped in the simple black uniform of a consecrated virgin, and not emphasized in the slightest.

她的棕色長髮卷得很厲害，我覺得不再捲了，鑽頭自然會開始形成。與塞爾瑪小姐不同，她那樸素的胸部被簡單的黑色聖女制服包裹着，沒有絲毫被強調。

A perfectly level body.

完美水平的身體。

When they brought such a girl over to me, Clara stood, and took Eva and May out towards Porter9;s loading tray.

當他們把這樣一個女孩帶到我身邊時，克拉拉站了起來，帶着伊娃和梅走向波特的裝載托盤。

“I9;ll go check up on Aria-san.”

“我去看看亞莉亞桑。”

“Got it.”

“明白了。”

Seeing the three of them part, Thelma-san spoke.

看到三人分開，塞爾瑪小姐開口說道。

“It seems they9;re being mindful of us. But it is for the better.”

“看來他們很關心我們。但這是爲了更好。”

And Gastone-san explained the situation to me.

加斯托內先生向我解釋了情況。

“She may be trouble. But Aura-sama isn9;t a Holy Maiden or anything; she9;s just a girl we lifted up. At the very least, I want her to find a different life, and find happiness of her own.”

『Oh? It looks like Lyle9;s hopped on board. Was it because of the Sixth9;s persuasion? What did you tell him?』

I ignored the second half of that, and looked at Gastone-san.

加斯通小姐和塞爾瑪小姐都是心地善良的人。但既然如此，肯定會有一些東西是他們無法守護的。

Gastone-san as well.

Thelma-san shook her head. Her expression looked a little clouded to me.

Thelma-san cautioned her.

“我並不想死。但像我這樣的前聖女，無論去哪裏，都只會帶來麻煩。既然如此，我就想盡可能地找個家。加斯托內他們也是一樣。”

From within the Jewel, the Sixth spoke.

『哦？看起來萊爾已經跳上了船。難道是因爲老六的勸說？你告訴他什麼了？』

「萊爾大人，爲了讓聖女候補者亞烏菈逃走，我們前往貝姆。我相信你明白我們在扎音的生命處於危險之中。在評估了你的技能之後，我有一個要求。可以庇護我們的亞烏菈大人嗎？」

“T-that is…”

“Aura, you9;re being rude.”

“Shelter?”

“那、那是……”

加斯托內先生看起來很困擾。他確實很累，也許這就是他視野變得遲鈍的原因。被困在角落裏，他的思緒也陷入了困境。

看到她帶着這句話轉身回來，老四從寶石中發出了聲音。

Thelma-san hung her head, put her hand to her chest, and opened her mouth.

Seeing her turn to return with those words, the Fourth let his voice from the Jewel.

The Third spoke in an aloof voice.

Both Gastone-san and Thelma-san were kind at heart. But as they were, there would surely be some things they wouldn9;t be able to protect.

（……所以這還不夠。）

我在兩人面前糾正了姿勢。我一臉嚴肅地說道。

還有加斯托內桑。

我忽略了後半部分，看向加斯通桑。

“所以你要逃跑？我不確定這是否是我該說的，但事實就是如此，亞烏拉桑的生命將再次成爲目標。比起前聖女，對敵人來說威脅不是更大的是亞烏菈小姐嗎？」

從寶石內部，第六人說話了。

“拋開亞烏拉小姐的戒備，你們兩個以及其他人會做什麼？” 3;3;id_12945;5;塞爾瑪小姐低下頭，把手放在胸前，張開了嘴。

『We just talked a bit. Reminisced a little.』

0;… So that isn9;t enough.1;

塞爾瑪小姐警告她。

“我們都太投入了。下一個追趕者，或者也許是之後的追趕者，最終會找到我們。說實話，我沒想到他們會這麼認真地殺死我們。我太天真了。”

I thought.

“Do the two of you plan on dying?”

“她可能會帶來麻煩。但亞烏菈大人並不是聖女之類的。她只是我們養育的一個女孩。至少，我希望她能找到不一樣的生活，找到屬於自己的幸福。”

“We are all too involved. The next pursuers or perhaps the ones after will get to us eventually. To be quite honest, I never thought they would try to kill us so seriously. I was naïve.”

“Putting Aura-san9;s guarding aside, what will you two, and all the others do?”

塞爾瑪小姐搖了搖頭。我覺得她的表情有點陰沉。

Gastone-san looked quite troubled. He really was tired, and perhaps that was what was dulling his field of vision. Stuck in a corner, his mind felt cornered as well.

The Sixth made it short.

“I9;ll have to decline. While he may be my life9;s savior, that was simply him working off his pay. I cannot bring myself to trust this adventurer; what9;s more, if we get all the way to Beim, I9;ll have you all let me free. I9;m no longer relevant to the Holy Maidens, or the temple, or even Zayin anymore.”

“奧拉，你太無禮了。”

『期待已久的聖女候補者似乎不太願意。如果她變成這樣，你就算勸她，也無法讓她上位。雖然先生。萊爾一定能做點什麼吧~。』

說着，我看向了名叫阿烏拉的少女。但當我們四目相對時，她卻轉開了目光。

Saying that, I looked at the girl called Aura. But when our eyes met, she averted her gaze.

I corrected my posture in front of the two of them. And I spoke with a serious expression.

But Aura was…

老六簡短地說。

“So you9;re running away? I9;m not sure it9;s my place to say, but as things, are, Aura-san9;s life will be targeted again. Rather than a former Holy Maiden, wouldn9;t Aura-san be the greater threat to our enemy?”

“庇護所？”

我想。

“我不得不拒絕。雖然他可能是我一生的救世主，但這只是他在靠工資工作。我無法讓自己相信這個冒險家；更重要的是，如果我們能一路到達貝姆，我會讓你們都放我自由。我與聖女們、神殿，甚至扎因都不再有關係了。”

“Lyle-dono, we are headed for Beim in order to allow the Holy Maiden Candidate Aura to flee. I9;m sure you understand that our lives are in danger in Zayin. And having appraised your skills, I have a request to make. Could you offer shelter to our Aura-sama?”

『That9;s wrong. The moment they lifted her up, she became just as involved. There9;s no putting a stop to that one anymore. She9;ll be targeted without a doubt.』

但是奧拉是……

『我們只是聊了一會兒。回憶了一下。』

He looked quite apologetic, so I asked his situation.

老三用冷漠的聲音說道。

“I9;ve no intentions to die. But no matter where a former Holy Maiden such as myself were to go, I9;d cause nothing but trouble. In that case, I9;m thinking to find a home as far as I can. Gastone and the others are the same.”

『The long-awaited Holy Maiden Candidate doesn9;t seem up for it. If she9;s going to be like that, even if you persuade her, you won9;t be able to put her up top. Though mr. lyle would surely be able to do something about it~.』

他看起來很抱歉，所以我問他的情況。

『這是錯誤的。當他們把她抬起來的那一刻，她也變得投入其中。再也沒有辦法阻止這個了。毫無疑問，她會成爲目標。』

“你們兩個打算死嗎？”

I looked at the two before my eyes.

我看着眼前的兩人。

“If things keep going at this rate, won9;t Zayin go through some horrible times? With Lorphys attacking, masses of uninvolved civilians may end up dead.”

“如果事情繼續這樣發展下去，扎因會不會經歷一些可怕的時刻？隨着洛菲斯的攻擊，大量無關的平民可能會死亡。”

Thelma-san looked down, and spoke regretfully.

塞爾瑪小姐低下頭，遺憾地說道。

“I understand that. But there is nothing left for us to do. Overbearing as it may have been, the Holy Maiden status was formally conceded. Gastone was driven out of his High Priest role as well.”

“我明白。但我們無事可做。雖然很霸道，但聖女的地位還是被正式承認了。加斯托內也被趕出了大祭司的職位。”

Gastone-san spoke to me. His small and slender fingers formed a fist.

加斯托內先生對我說話了。修長的手指握成了拳頭。

“It9;s not like we cast it aside because we wanted to. It9;s just that there9;s nothing we can do. We9;ve no power left to hold back the divine knights or the other high Priests!”

“我們並不是因爲想拋棄它。只是我們無能爲力。我們已經沒有能力阻止神騎士和其他大祭司了！”

I carried myself boldly. And I told myself.

我表現得很大膽。我告訴自己。

0;No, it9;s possible. I9;m able to do it.1;

（不，這是可能的。我能做到。）

Pushing my right hand against my chest, I unreservedly spoke with confidence.

我將右手按在胸前，毫無保留地充滿自信地說道。

“No, it9;s possible. With the two of you, of course, and Aura-san… with the Holy Maiden candidate9;s power, we can take back Zayin.”

“不，有可能。當然是你們兩個，還有亞烏菈小姐……憑藉聖女候補的力量，我們就能奪回扎因了。」

我試着聽老四的話，但話音剛落不久，塞爾瑪的臉就漲得通紅，開始驚慌起來。她困惑地看着我和加斯通先生的臉。

第四個發言了。

It seems I9;ve gotten her to harbor distrust of me.

While I was troubled, the Fourth spoke.

“我想要的是你（扎音國）。”

『就算你是我的親生父親，你也是最糟糕的。如果媽媽在的話，她一定會嘲笑你。』

Gastone-san spoke.

『You9;re the worst. You9;re making me see a future of Lyle being stabbed from behind. Okay, Lyle… how about you apologize here? You can9;t just leave this sort of misunderstanding be.』

“你、你、你、你、你以爲你在說什麼！？”

『Eh? Wait! I mean, after coming this far, getting another girl or two doesn9;t really make a difference! And if it9;s Lyle, he should be able to…』

塞爾瑪小姐抬起驚訝的臉。

『萊爾，趕緊改正。聽着，這可不好。我以前在這方面失敗過。』

“T-that9;s definitely the case, but what do you mean to do in taking it back? … Taking back an entire country isn9;t something to be done with these measly numbers.”

“T-take back? Lyle-dono, what are you saying? Zayin9;s rule has been officially succeeded to the new Holy Maiden…”

The Third.

『Fourth… Max, we9;re going to have a long talk after this. Lyle, this is bad, so make sure you explain it, ‘kay?』

塞爾瑪小姐看了我一眼，然後後退了一步。她用疑惑的眼神問道。

『萊爾，老實說吧。但還是掩蓋一點吧。對了，讓她誤會了。別擔心，造成誤會的人就是錯的人。聽着，跟着我重複一遍……』

Thelma-san sent me a look, and took a step back. And with suspicious eyes, she asked.

『第四……Max，接下來我們要好好談談。萊爾，這很糟糕，所以一定要解釋一下，‘好嗎？9;

（OYYYyyyy!!這是什麼意思！我剛剛給她誤會我是個沒救的人了不是嗎！？）

『Don9;t panic! Right now, let her misunderstand, nod, and only correct the statement once she9;s lost all escape routes! You may end up the enemy of all womankind, but it9;s something necessary for the current Lyle!』

The Sixth as well.

I tried heeding the Fourth9;s words, but a little while after I said it, Thelma9;s face turned bright red, and she began to panic. She looked between my face and Gastone-san9;s in confusion.

看來是我讓她對我產生了不信任。

『Lyle, correct it at once. Listen here, this is no good. I9;ve failed in this one before.』

I as well, the moment after saying it.

As I pictured the Fourth9;s scheming face in my head, I followed his lead.

他的聲音中途變得聽不見了。所以我有目的地清了清喉嚨。

正當我煩惱時，老四開口了。

加斯托內先生髮話了。

“What I want is 0;the country of Zayin under1; you.”

『別慌！現在就讓她誤會，點頭，等她失去退路後才糾正！也許你會成爲所有女性的敵人，但這對於現在的萊爾來說是必要的！』

五號喫了一驚。

“W-w-w-w-w-what do you think you9;re saying!?”

當我在腦海中想象老四那張詭計多端的臉時，我就跟着他走了。

『Lyle, just be honest here. But cover up a bit of it. Right, have her misunderstand. Don9;t worry, the one that makes the misunderstanding is the one in the wrong. Listen, just repeat after me…』

The Seventh too.

第三個。

『呃？等待！我的意思是，走到這一步之後，再找一兩個女孩並沒有什麼區別！如果是萊爾的話，他應該能夠……』

“Want to try betting on me? Just leave it to Lyle Walt. You9;ll end up betting your lives, but rather than waiting for untimely assassination, I think this bet would be much more worth your while.”

“確實、確實是這樣，但是你收回它是什麼意思？ ……光靠這些微不足道的數字根本無法奪回整個國家。”

“……你的目標是什麼？利用我們在世界上崛起？我以爲你是個善良的人，但看來我看錯了你。”

“問題不就在於此嗎？一場不必要的戰爭即將爆發，她正試圖和你們一起殺死聖女候選者。我錯了嗎？”

“And isn9;t that where the problem is? A needless war is to break out, and she9;s trying to kill the Holy Maiden candidate, along with the rest of you. Am I wrong?”

『你是最糟糕的。你讓我看到了萊爾被從背後刺傷的未來。好吧，萊爾……你在這裏道歉怎麼樣？這種誤會不能就這樣放着不管。』

I grinned, and went on.

His voice became inaudible half-way through. So I gave a purposeful clearing of my throat.

第六號也是。

“收回、收回？萊爾閣下，你在說什麼？扎因的統治已經正式由新聖女繼承了……”

The Fifth was taken aback.

“想試試賭我嗎？就交給萊爾·沃爾特吧。你最終會賭上自己的生命，但比起等待不合時宜的暗殺，我認爲這個賭注更值得。”

Thelma-san raised her surprised face.

我也是，說完之後的那一刻。

我笑了笑，繼續說道。

“I-it seems I9;ve made you misunderstand something. To be more precise, what I want is a reliable government in Zayin, as it had under your rule. If left alone, there are too many demerits to be had for an adventurer like myself.”

There, the Fourth offered me some advice.

The Fourth spoke.

第七號也是。

“… What is your goal? Using us to rise up in the world? I thought you were a kind one, but it seems I had misread you.”

在那裏，老四給了我一些建議。

0;OYYYyyyy!! What9;s that supposed to mean! I just gave her the misunderstanding that I was a hopeless one, didn9;t I!?1;

『Even if you9;re my own father, you9;re the worst. If mama was here, she9;d definitely rain you with jeers.』

「我、我好像讓你誤會什麼了。更準確地說，我想要的是扎因有一個可靠的政府，就像你統治下的那樣。如果放任不管的話，對於我這樣的冒險者來說，過失太多了。」

With a reddened expression, Thelma took a few deep breathes, and nodded a number of times.

塞爾瑪臉色漲紅，深吸了幾口氣，連連點頭。

“R… r… rrrrright, of course! B-but if there9;s a battlefield to be found, don9;t you adventurers make mwahneh?”

“對……對……對，當然！但、但是如果有戰場的話，你們冒險者不做mwahneh嗎？」

Thelma-san bit her tongue, but me and Gastone-san acted like it hadn9;t happened.

塞爾瑪小姐咬住了舌頭，但我和加斯通小姐卻表現得好像這件事沒有發生過一樣。

I explained my own situation.

我解釋了我自己的情況。

“The Guild I am associated with is a bit of a pain. I9;m sure I9;ll have to start explaining from there, but when there9;s a war, the quota we have for fulfilling requests goes way up. That would be quite troublesome, so I want to keep the countries in this area at peace. I have other things going on as well, but leaving Zayin as it is would be troublesome. Because from what I9;ve heard, there will be many more wars to come.”

“我加入的公會有點令人痛苦。我確信我必須從那裏開始解釋，但是當發生戰爭時，我們滿足請求的配額就會大幅增加。那會很麻煩，所以我想讓這個地區的國家保持和平。我還有其他事情要做，但就這樣放着扎音的話會很麻煩。因爲據我所知，未來還會有更多的戰爭。”

Her panic rendered Thelma-san incapable of making rational decisions.

塞爾瑪小姐的恐慌讓她無法做出理性的決定。

She seemed satisfied as she looked at me, and nodded. And wait, it didn9;t seem much of what I was saying was actually entering her ears.

她看着我，似乎很滿意，點了點頭。等等，我說的話似乎並沒有真正進入她的耳朵。

Gastone-san was the same. He was bewildered, and didn9;t try to butt into the conversation.

加斯托內先生也是一樣。他很困惑，並沒有試圖插話。

“Well we can talk more about my circumstances on the trip, but how about we cool our heads a bit. Let9;s talk some more during our next break.”

“好吧，我們可以多談談我在旅途中的情況，但我們冷靜一下怎麼樣？下次休息的時候我們再聊聊吧。”

Thelma-san9;s face was still red.

“哎呀！”

“正確的。這是最好的。否則的話，我就不能好好地……”

我的其他戰友也在傀儡的陰影中凝視着這一切。

“那、那好吧，下次有休息的時候我們再來。”

一股奇怪的汗珠流了出來，當我伸手去擦時，我感覺到波特身後有一道目光在盯着我。當我轉身時，我看到臉色蒼白的阿麗亞從波特的裝載托盤上偷看。

然後他們分開了，好像要逃跑。

塞爾瑪小姐的臉還是紅的。

加斯通桑也是。

“Right. That9;s for the best. Otherwise, I can9;t properly…”

And they parted as if to run away.

“Eek!”

我最終驚慌失措地撤退了。我明明沒做什麼壞事，爲什麼心裏卻有那麼大的愧疚和悔恨……都是你的錯啊老四！

I ended up giving a panicked retreat. Even when I didn9;t do anything bad, why do I feel so much guilt and regret… this is all your fault, Fourth!

Gastone-san too.

“W-well then, we9;ll come again next time there9;s a break to be had.”

A strange sweat had broken out, and when I moved my hand to wipe it, I felt a stare from behind Porter. When I turned, I saw a pale-faced Aria peeking from Porter9;s loading tray.

And my other comrades were peering this was as well from the golem9;s shadow.