I listened to the explanations from Prada, Erme, and Beton as I ate my simmered daikon.
Prada claimed that as soon as she arrived in Shashato City, she noticed malicious magic circles laid out everywhere. While she was busy dispelling them, she ended up in a fight with Beton.
"Beton is the one who made those circles! Also, I reported this to Lord Gucci and requested reinforcements! I believe the fact that they never arrived was a complete dereliction of duty on Lord Gucci’s part!"
I get it, I get it. I’ll hear Gucci’s side of the story later.
"Please do," she huffed.
Erme explained that she had come to investigate a suspicious barrier, only to discover Prada and Beton in the middle of combat. Since she couldn’t participate in the fight herself due to certain circumstances, she brought Count Pugyal as reinforcements for Prada.
"He was the most capable warrior I could find nearby."
I see. And what are these "circumstances" that kept you from fighting?
"They are a condition of my employment under Lady Versa."
That made sense.
Next was Beton. She said that since someone was destroying the magic circles she had installed in the city, she had viewed Prada as an enemy and engaged her.
"Midway through, that woman brought a demon man named Watogang into the fray, which caused the battle to drag on... I apologize for offending your eyes with such a clumsy barrier."
Beton bowed her head deeply toward Dos as she spoke. For some reason, despite the fact that I was the one asking the questions, she kept directing her answers to Dos. Well, Dos was the Dragon King, and she clearly knew it. I didn’t mind, really.
The problem was Dos relaying her words to me.
"She testifies as follows," he said.
Did he really have to be so incredibly formal about it? I wished he’d stop. It was making Beton look at me with a very strange expression.
In any case, to summarize... the root cause was the installation of magic circles in the city. Which meant Beton was the one at fault.
"Yes, I agree completely!" Prada shouted.
"Me too," Erme added.
They both raised their hands. They were essentially saying that if someone had to be hanged for this mess, it should be her. This wasn’t exactly a democracy, though.
Dos asked Beton why she had set up the magic circles in the first place.
"It... it was for self-defense. To protect my companions."
Prada immediately countered her. "She’s lying! Those circles are incredibly dangerous and designed to harm others! They aren't for self-defense at all!"
I turned to Beton. Is that true?
"Th-those circles drain the life force of anyone who enters them, but only enough to cause fatigue. If someone stays inside for a long period, it can certainly be dangerous, but I installed safety devices. They aren't a threat."
So, she claimed they were safe.
"That’s impossible!" Prada yelled. "If there were safety devices, I would have found them! There was nothing like that in those circles!"
We had a clear discrepancy here. We could have settled it by investigating the circles, but...
"All of the magic circles in Shashato City have been destroyed," Beton noted.
She could apparently sense their presence, and someone had wiped them all out. With the evidence gone, their claims remained on parallel lines. Personally, whether there were safety devices or not, I felt that installing dangerous magic circles was a dealbreaker from the start.
But how did those circles protect her companions? From what I’d heard, they sounded like a purely offensive measure.
"The life force stolen by those circles is funneled to me. I can then use it as magic power..."
So, it was to power yourself up.
"Yes. Without doing at least that much, they aren't opponents I could ever hope to defeat."
And just who were you planning to fight?
"The explanation is a bit long..."
"Keep it as brief as possible, please."
"I used to live in a human kingdom, but I came to Shashato City with my companions. We were hoping we could live there permanently, but then we discovered that assassins sent from a human kingdom were hunting us."
So, you intended to use that power to fight the assassins.
"Yes."
I understood the motivation. However, that still didn’t make it okay to install magic circles that could hurt innocent bystanders.
By the way, I’ve been leaving it out because it’s a chore to describe, but this entire conversation was still being mediated by Dos.
I looked over at Erme.
"Erme. Yes, you. While Beton and I were talking, you looked like you had something to say. Go ahead."
"N-no, it’s nothing..."
"I won't be mad. Just tell me."
"Well, about the magic circles in the city... they were a bit incomplete, so I modified them."
... I had a very bad feeling about this. No, wait. It was too early to panic. I had to trust her. "So, in what way did you modify them?"
"They were being obstructed so they couldn't function at full capacity, so I removed the parts that were causing the interference."
That was it.
The sequence of events was clear now. Beton had installed magic circles equipped with safety devices. Erme had come along and "fixed" them by removing those very safety devices. Prada had then discovered the now-dangerous magic circles and panicked.
Neither Prada nor Beton had been wrong.
"Erme, seiza," I commanded. "Feet together... yes, sit exactly like that."
"But why did you modify them, Erme?"
"If you see something so flawed and you know you can fix it with just a little effort, wouldn't you?"
I understood the impulse. I really did. But she needed to think before she acted.
"Lady Versa tells me that all the time," Erme admitted.
"Then start doing it. This was a disaster. I’m going to tell Versa about this, so make sure you accept your scolding."
When I said that, Erme looked absolutely devastated. I felt bad for her, but it couldn't be helped. I also made a mental note to report the fact that she had dragged Count Pugyal into this.
Still, that didn't explain Prada’s situation. She said she’d asked Gucci for reinforcements, but they never showed. Based on what I knew of Gucci, he wasn't the type to be lazy with his work.
"Erme. You look like you have something else to say. Just get it all out now. It’ll be much worse if I find out later."
"I’ll protect you if I can," I added.
"Umm... while I was fixing the magic circles, I ran into some people who looked like Lord Gucci’s subordinates..."
"You didn't attack them, did you?"
"No! They told me to back off, so I did."
"Without a fight?"
"Yes. I’m forbidden from fighting personally."
That explained it. Gucci’s reinforcements had arrived in Shashato City. But since they hadn’t met up with Prada, they must have just started searching on their own.
"Excuse me, may I offer an opinion?" Prada asked, her expression grim as she raised her hand.
"Go ahead."
"I think Lord Gucci’s reinforcements assumed Erme was the one who had set up the circles. And since Erme backed down so easily, they must have decided she wasn't a threat, destroyed the remaining circles, considered the matter closed, and went home."
............
Alright, let’s summarize one more time.
Beton installed a vast number of magic circles. Erme went around "fixing" them, and Prada followed behind, trying to destroy them. Beton realized her circles were being broken, lured Prada out, and started a fight. While they were fighting, Erme kept fixing more circles. Gucci’s reinforcements caught Erme, made her stop, and destroyed all the remaining circles. The reinforcements left, but the fight between Beton and Prada continued. Finally, Erme noticed the battle and brought in Count Pugyal to join the fray.
Was that everything? It seemed so.
Good. Good.
"By the way, Erme. Could you hold this stone for me? It’s about the size of a rice bale. Yes, keep holding it while you stay in seiza. Don't worry, I'm not angry."