It’s been 10 minutes since Elsa left to tell Diaz and Aurel about Fran's arrival.
Finally, we went to the guild master's office. Inside, we found two elderly men drinking tea.
One of them looked like he resembled a nobleman; his grey hair, neatly combed back, as well as everything else about him, indicated that despite his age he didn’t forget about his appearance.
The other person was a similarly grey-haired, sturdy elderly man.
From the way his large muscles showed through the haori, it was clear that he never stopped training. His gaze was piercing and heavy, just like a mafia leader.
“Oh, Fran! Long time no see.” (Diaz)
“Lady Fran, so you came to Ulmutt after all.” (Aurel)
Their smiles were completely different: Diaz had a radiant, warm smile, while Aurel of the White Dog race had more of a smug grin.
Both of them met Kiara when she was still living in Ulmutt, and so had decided to search for her when she went missing.
“Fran! It's so good that you are came back!” (???)
“Doll, is talking?” (Fran)
On the table where the two men were sitting, there was something that looked like a doll, no more than 20 centimetres in height. The doll had a human figure, but it was clearly crafted very skilfully, like the finest figurines from my home world.
And then a voice came from her. However, I had heard that voice before.
“This voice… Rumina?” (Fran)
“Yes. At the moment, she is inside this doll.” (Diaz)
Even though I thought that the Dungeon Lord was unable leave the dungeon, it seems like there are a few workarounds. On that note, the doll really did look like Rumina.
“What are you doing here?” (Fran)
“I’m discussing issues related to the management of the dungeon.” (Rumina)
Why are all three of the city rulers, Diaz, Aurel and Rumina, present? And we arrived at such a surprisingly convenient moment. Nevertheless, we need to inform the people in this room about Kiara.
“What’s wrong?” (Rumina)
“Nn. I came to Diaz with a report on behalf of the guild.” (Fran)
“Oh, is that so?” (Diaz)
“Nn.” (Fran)
“Well, young lady, regarding the report…” (Aurel)
“Did you learn of Kiara’s whereabouts?” (Rumina)
“Yeah. I met her.” (Fran)
Aurel and Rumina immediately reacted with surprise to Fran's words,
“Oh!” (Rumina)
“Really?!” (Aurel)
“So what happened.” (Diaz)
Diaz got down to business when Fran’s face didn’t lighten up. Diaz and Aurel sensed this and corrected their sitting postures. Rumina, although in doll form, seems to have changed her expression to a more serious one.
Diaz could tell that Aurel didn’t intend to hide what the assignment relating to Kiara was about, and it seems that he didn’t mind that everyone present heard the report.
“Kiara was in the Beast-Kin Country.” (Fran)
“I see, as I expected.” (Diaz)
“How is she?” (Aurel)
“Is she alright? Did she evolve?” (Rumina)
“We met with Kiara in the Beast-Kin Country’s Capital…” (Fran)
Fran told them everything that happened after meeting Kiara, all of the events, battles, and struggles. Diaz, Aurel and Rumina listened very closely to what she was saying.
They couldn’t hide their happiness when Fran talked about when she met Kiara, the battles with the army of demonic beasts, and about how Kiara came to her aid.
Of course, she didn't say everything. There was a lot that was worth keeping secret; both about Alistair and myself. Surely, experienced people like Diaz and the others should have realized that Fran had something to hide. However, they shouldn’t doubt what Fran was saying.
Despite their emotions, they all listened attentively to what Fran was saying.
But when the report approached the event of trip to the dungeon, their faces immediately darkened. From Fran’s tone alone, they knew that some kind of misfortune was about to happen.
By the time Fran finished the report with Kiara's death, none of them were remotely excited.
“Kiara…” (Diaz)
Diaz jumped from the couch with emotion, but immediately fell back on it, as if he lost all his energy, and sighed loudly with a blank look. He sat there, motionless. But it was evident that his hands were reddened to the very tips of his fingers from the strength with which he had been holding them together in front of him.
“I see… she hadn't changed at all… even up until the end…” (Aurel)
Aurel was in a similar state. Hanging his head, he wiped away his tears and sniffed. Nonetheless, he perfectly understood why everything happened like this. After all, he was just like her, a battle-obsessed warrior.
Rumina held on tighter than the others. However, for some reason, she seemed even happy.
“I see she managed to evolve. And as a Heavenly Black Tiger…” (Rumina)
Rumina probably understood Kiara better than anyone else. Instead of feeling sad about her death, she was glad that Kiara managed to spend her final years in happiness, achieving evolution, and emerging victorious from battle.
Soon, there was silence in the room, and then Aurel slowly raised his head and said:
“Young Lady… You said that Kiara smiled in the last moments of her life?” (Aurel)
“Nn.” (Fran)
“Then, in your opinion, was it a sincere smile?” (Aurel)
“Of course.” (Fran)
“I see… Then it's fine.” (Aurel)
It seems that he was having a hard time accepting the news of the death of his girlfriend, whom he had been searching for for many years. I heard Aurel whisper to himself over and over again.
“…Zelosried…”
Diaz muttered the word in a choked voice. Despite his restraint, I could understand all the rage he put into that word. Even though there was no emotion on his face, it made him look even more terrifying.
“Diaz, Kiara told me not to do stupid things trying to avenge her.” (Fran)
“I see. So revenge for her is stupidity. Is that how you watched the veteran's death? I would like to understand how you can be satisfied with the death of someone who is close to you…” (Diaz)
The head of the guild understood that not everyone wanted to leave it like this.
“But still, I… I cannot accept this news as calmly as you do. Perhaps this is because I am a human being, but as long as this dirty, low, hated enemy continues to live somewhere, I will not give up on my revenge.” (Diaz)
Diaz's words sounded subdued, but I saw a dark fire in his eyes. I don’t know what he’s going to do, but he will certainly never forget the name of Zelosried.
But realizing that he would be troubling Fran if he continued to say such things, he immediately changed his tone to a friendlier one.
“By the way, I thought that Kiara had a hard time in the Beast-Kin Country. So she still lived happily. This alone makes me quite happy.” (Diaz)
Even without a the Principle of Truth, I knew that this wasn’t what he really thought, but I didn’t want to point it out. After all, no matter what Fran says, Diaz will not be honest.
“Of course, it would be nice if she was alive, but… This is just the essence of time. It's not new to me to hear that one of my friends died, without me even knowing about it…” (Diaz)
“Gha-ha-ha-ha! You are right, Diaz. On the contrary, consider that Fran was present at the death of Kiara in our place. You should be grateful to her!” (Aurel)
“Perhaps you are right. Furthermore, she helped to show what it takes for the Black Cat-kin to evolve. We are all grateful to her for that.” (Rumina)
While the three of them were ultimately unable to figure out how to respond to the news of Kiara’s death, Fran was delighted.
Because Fran had both love and respect for Kiara. And she was glad that there was someone to tell her story to. It was new for Fran to tell such a long story, and her hands were even a bit tired from the many gestures she used to tell her story.
