Raid (3)

If you travel all the way west from the capital city of Silvester, you will find a dense forest.

Inside the forest, filled with dense coniferous trees, there’s a giant tower that stands alone at the foot of a cliff.

It’s not easy to find this place unless you know its exact location, because the trees and the cliff serve as its natural camouflage.

Since it’s hidden by nature, even magic detection can’t find it.

There’s only one reason why I can find this place:

Because I simply know it.

I discovered it by playing countless iterations of the game.

The road leading to the tower was more inconvenient than I thought.

It’s because I was walking along a narrow path that only Elysia uses.

We parted the trees along a narrow gap that could barely be called a path, and then...

“…It really is here. The tower.”

We encountered Elysia’s residence.

The eight-story-tall giant tower was built with gray bricks.

It was quite a tall building, but it was lower than the trees.

That’s because the trees in this world are usually very large.

“So what do we do now?”

“We’ll just go in normally.”

“Isn’t it possible that they’ve set up defenses against outside intrusion?”

“With Philly here, we’ll be fine.”

At my words, Philly squinted her eyes.

Undoubtedly, she was looking at me with suspicious eyes.

“My daughter would come here now to worry about me? She’d rather be attacking me, too.”

“…That would actually be better.”

“What are you saying?”

While we were having that conversation...

Surprisingly, well, surprisingly to Philly at least...

Creeeak—

The front door of the tower opened.

Elysia came out from inside.

Elysia laughed cheerfully at the sight of Philly, whose expression hardened.

“Mom!”

Elysia was surprised that Philly knew about her hidden residence.

She was glad that she came all the way here.

She was happy to see her mother when she least expected it.

She expressed all of that on her face and smiled brightly.

“How did you know about this place?”

Elysia approached us without any hesitation.

Even without looking closely, it was clear that she was completely unarmed.

Approaching us completely defenseless, Philly clasped and shook both of my hands.

The situation I feared the most.

Philly, with her 'suspicious of everything' personality.

Philly, without a doubt, excludes anyone who could be an enemy.

But what if she can't be sure if they are an enemy?

What if she's placed in a situation where she has to decide if her own daughter is an enemy based on unclear evidence?

...Even then, can Philly let go of her suspicions?

"Here, have some herbal tea."

Elysia boldly led Philly and me into her tower.

She handed us teacups.

To Philly, and to me as well.

She sat us down at the table, served the herbal tea, and sat opposite us.

"......"

Unusually, Philly glanced at me for cues.

But I had no more help to offer.

I had already said everything I could.

"So, what brings you here?"

Elysia asked Philly.

"Just wondering. What is our daughter doing hiding in a place like this, even from her mother?"

Philly responded with a smile.

Her expression was perfect.

"Sometimes I just need a break from palace life. I thought I'd get scolded if mom found out."

"Hmm."

Philly looked around the interior.

Pretending to be just curious, but probably looking for anything suspicious. However, it's unlikely she'll find anything.

Otherwise, Elysia wouldn't have invited us here.

'After all, Elysia is in the same emergency situation.'

It's unlikely that Elysia expected both of us to come.

If so, she would have run away to the palace from the start.

Right now, Elysia is just improvising.

In other words, this is actually a battle between me and Elysia.

Who can successfully persuade Philly.

"Mr. Frondier, was it?"

"Yes."

Elysia addressed me.

"I'm well aware of the renown of the Roach family, but it's quite awkward for me to see the offspring of Duke Enfer here with our mother."

It was an easily understood challenge.

As if to say, know your place.

However.

"I see."

So what?

I didn't feel the need to answer that reason explicitly.

No matter how high the princess's position might be, could it rival that of the empress?

Elysia furrowed her brows at my brazen response.

It was only for a moment.

Indeed, as Philly's daughter, she's adept at managing her expressions.

Also, as Philly's daughter, she couldn't quite match up to Philly.

"Miss Elysia."

"……'Miss'?"

Elysia asked back as if she had never heard such a title before.

"May I take a look around this tower?"

"…"

Elysia glared at me.

Whether it was because of my presumptuous request or the suspicion of wanting to explore the tower.

I wasn't sure which it was, but either was fine by me.

It wouldn't be possible to refuse this offer.

"…Alright. Feel free to look around. Shall I guide you?"

"No. I'll look around by myself."

Saying that, I pretended to casually explore the room.

Elysia is hiding something in this tower that absolutely must not be discovered.

Yet the reason she's so bold is that it's nearly impossible for me to uncover it right now.

So, there's only one thing I must do.

I have to make Elysia reveal that hidden thing herself.

"…May I go upstairs?"

"Do as you wish."

I stepped onto the staircase leading up, having discovered nothing special.

Ah, somehow it feels like I can see it.

Elysia is smiling triumphantly behind me.

Whether she knows that I'm wearing a similar expression, I'm not sure.