Translator: Ataru
Editor: Ray
Enemy's Attack
Philia shouldn’t have been loitering in the corridor leading to the mansion's storage. She has perhaps been eavesdropping on our conversation.
I had told Philia to hide in the bedroom with Saint Sophia. It was wrong of me to believe she would.
Notora looked back at me suspiciously.
"Solon-dono? Who is she?"
"Well, umm, I don't know what I should say, but she is entrusted to me."
I couldn't say she was a servant. It was clear that Philia's clothes were expensive and her way of speaking wasn't like that of a servant. It should be fine to say that she was my disciple, but if it were possible I wouldn’t want her to catch Notora's interest. If that happened, there would be a high risk that Notora, a summoner, would know Philia’s identity as a devil's daughter.
But my effort was useless.
"She’s a devil's daughter, huh,” Notora nodded with an expressionless face. He easily knew Philia's true identity.
Notora was a summoner who used demons to fight. Furthermore, he was someone powerful enough to become The Knights executives. Of course, he would notice this kind of thing.
Notora said, "Who entrusted her to you?"
"That... I can't say."
I shook my head. Notora shouldn't know that Philia was a princess.
The fact that she was a devil's daughter was known in the Imperial Palace, but it would become a problem if it were known by the people.
Nevertheless, Notora asked me more questions, "Then, can you tell me who’s her mother?"
"Her mother?"
"Yes. This girl has a strong magic power. With her being a mixed-race, inheriting her mother's devil traits, she has a lot of power."
Philia’s mother. I didn't know who she was. What I knew was that she was a devil and a slave, she had the emperor's daughter, and she had already died.
Notora looked at Philia seriously. She looked frightened and hid behind me, squeezing the hems of my clothes.
Notora smiled.
"You two seem quite close. What kind of relationship do you have with her, Solon?"
"She is my disciple."
It was no longer necessary for me to hide it, so I said frankly. Notora raised his voice.
"Your disciple? Well, well, you’ve chosen a good one. But you shouldn't let the evil Sage Arte see her."
"Why?"
"Because this girl's blood has a special use. For the details..."
"Details?"
"I'll tell Solon-dono, if you agree with my suggestion and promise to go back to the knight’s headquarters to overthrow Arte."
Notora smiled. It was troubling.
Philia's blood had a special use and the reason seemed to be because of her mother. But it seemed that Notora intended to use this information as chips for negotiations.
I shrugged.
"I'll take that into consideration and think about it."
"It's better to know,” Notora said, but he didn't try to persuade me anymore. Tomorrow, I had to decide whether to stop Arte and the others or to pretend to not know anything. I had to choose one of the two.
If I chose the former, Notora would tell us Philia’s secret.
I told Notora to go to the wine storage first, saying that I would catch up soon. First, he had to go out of this mansion from the entrance at the end of this corridor, then he had to go through the garden to reach the storage. It was a little far away, so I asked him to go first.
After he disappeared, I scolded Philia.
"Philia-sama. I told you to stay in the bedroom, right?"
"I-I'm sorry, I'm worried about Solon..."
"You don't have to worry about me. I’m okay, but it would be a problem if you were met with dangerous situations. So please heed my words."
When I told her off, warning her, Philia's face blanked. This was for Philia. If she went off on her own without my permission, I wouldn't be able to protect her.
"Solon? Are you angry?"
Philia looked anxiously into my eyes. I shook my head.
"Please don't make that face. I'm not angry. I just want you to heed my words. Can't you trust me, as your instructor?"
"Yeah. I trust Solon."
"Then, let's promise on it. This is a promise to keep a promise.”
I extended my little finger. This was a pinky promise.
Philia hesitated for a moment, then she wrapped her finger around mine. Philia whispered, "Hey, Solon? You can go back to the knight order, don’t worry about me."
"So you were listening to our conversation. You shouldn't eavesdrop, okay?"
"Well, I'm sorry..."
I smiled when I saw Philia apologizing meekly. Leaving Philia and returning to the knight order, as expected, I couldn't do that. I had told Philia I would keep our promise. Is there a way for me to keep my promise with Philia and stop the knight order’s reckless plan at once?
I was still thinking, when we heard a scream coming from the front of the hallway. It belonged to the summoner Notora.
Philia and I immediately headed towards there. What happened?
Notora had fallen on the ground. Behind him, we could see several young people. Among them was a magician with a black robe. She was a girl with beautiful black hair and black eyes, who looked as pretty as Saint Sophia. The magician was Sage Arte.
Arte glared at me with hatred, "Solon-senpai is not only useless, but also a hindrance."
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