It has been about 3 years since the establishment of Shadow Garden . Alpha and I have both become 13 years old, and my older sister Claire is now 15 . There is no particular meaning a.s.sociated with the age 13, but that is not the case with the age 15 . When the children of n.o.bles reach 15, they have to attend a school in the royal capital for 3 years . Nee-san is pretty much the rising hope of the Kagenou baron family, so my mom is all pumped up with setting up the farewell party and all that . Yep, rising hope indeed .
(T/N: 'Nee-san' is what the MC calls his older sister . )
All that's fine and all . Really . But problem is, when it came day for her to actually set off for the capital, she up and disappeared . Thus the enormous tumult at the Kagenou house at the moment .
“When I came into the room, it was already like this . ”
So says my father in a dandy voice . His face isn't too bad either .
“There is no sign of a struggle, but the window was indeed forced open from the outside . The fact that neither I nor Claire was alerted means the kidnapper very skilled indeed . ”
My dandy dad places one hand on the windowsill and looks off into the distance . All that's missing from this picture is a whiskey gla.s.s in his hand .
And hair……
“So?”
A chilling voice is directed at him .
“Very skilled, so there's no helping it? Is that what you're trying to say?”
It's mom .
“No, no of course not . I was merely stating the facts……”
So answers my dad as cold sweat rolls down his face .
“You STUPID BALDYYYYYY!!!!!!”
“Hiii, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry!!!”
By the way, I'm air . Nothing is expected of me, and neither do I cause any trouble . That's the position in this family that I'm striving to maintain .
But well, Nee-san was a pretty good person, so it's a bit of a pity . The crime happened at night when I was at the abandoned village, so there was nothing that I could have done either .
I quietly listen to my parents' bickering and, at the first chance I get, return to my own room . I place my palms together in the direction that Nee-san had disappeared, then dive into my bed .
Then .
“You may come out now . ”
“Yes, my lord . ”
Immediately, my curtains sway slightly, and a young girl wearing a black slime bodysuit steps out .
“Beta, huh . ”
“Yes, my lord . ”
Same as Alpha, she is also a young elf girl . But where Alpha has blond hair, Beta's is silver .
She of the cat-like green eyes and a mole under her eye was the third person to join Shadow Garden . Even though I told Alpha “in moderation,” but Alpha brings them in like stray cats or something so their numbers keep growing .
“Where's about Alpha?”
“Searching for traces of Claire-sama . ”
“Fast reaction . You think Nee-san is still alive?”
“Likely so . ”
“Can she be saved?”
“Possible, yes…… but might require Shadow-sama's help . ”
Ah by the way, they're calling me 'Shadow . ' Cus I'm the master of Shadow Garden, fufufu .
“Is that what Alpha said?”
“Yes, my lord . She said that since they have a hostage, it would be best to bring our full force . ”
“Heeh~”
To be frank, Alpha has gotten quite strong . The fact that even Alpha is asking for help must mean that someone of very significant power is involved .
“My blood boils……”
I clench my fist while instantaneously releasing magic to create a small explosion .
There's no particular meaning to it, but I like this kind of theatrics .
I can hear Beta murmuring “As expected……” with surprise .
As of late, I haven't been in lack of a sparring partner, what with Alpha and Beta and Delta and the crew, but something fresh is good every once in a while . Above all else, I want to play at being a power in the shadows, so this seems like a good opportunity .
“It's been a while since I last got serious……”
Just like so, I've also gotten used to exuding the aura of a power hidden in the shadows .
Also, lately Alpha and Beta have taken to fles.h.i.+ng out our setting even further, so it's been a blast .
“The criminal is, as expected, part of the Order of Diabolos . Even more, he is one of their upper echelons . ”
“One of their echelons, huh . So why did they kidnap Nee-san?”
“They suspect her of being a Descendent of the Heroes . ”
“Hmph, those sharp-eyed b.a.s.t.a.r.ds……”
So yea, like that .
Furthermore, they've also been 'gathering research' and saying things like “As expected, your words were entirely correct……” and “About a thousand years ago, Diabolos' descendents……” and “From this stone monument we can glean clues that point to the existence of the Order of Diabolos……” and other similar such . I mean, I can't read ancient letters so how would I know? I bet Alpha can't really read them either, so she just lays out all these ancient-looking materials and whatnot of a similar general feeling in front of me, so that we can feel like we're making some headway in investigating the Order . I'm sure that must be it .
“Please take a look at these doc.u.ments . These are the hideouts that we think Claire-sama might be held in, based on our latest intel . ”
After saying that, Beta plonks a huge pile of paper on my table . Ok seriously, I have no idea what to do with all this . More than half of it is in an ancient language and the rest is filled with indecipherable mathematical equations or something . d.a.m.n, you guys have gotten good at making up this kind of stuff . I'll admit, you all have gotten even more pro at it than me .
While ignoring Beta's 'explanations,' I take out a throwing knife and throw it at the map on the wall .
Thunk .
With a dull sound, the knife pierces a certain point .
“There . ”
“That place? What is there?”
“That's where Nee-san is . ”
“But that place, there's noth-…… no, wait, could it be……!”
Beta hurriedly rummages through the materials as if she'd just realized something .
Um, yeeaa, I just randomly threw that knife, alright?
But wow your acting is good, Beta . I can see where this is going – you're going to tell me that there is a secret hideout at that location, aren't you?
“In conclusion, after comparing various sources, it seems that there is indeed a high possibility that there is a secret hideout at the location that Shadow-sama just pointed out . ”
Called it .
“But still, to read through this enormous amount of materials in a split second and even deduce the location of a hidden hideout…… as expected of Shadow-sama . ”
“You still lack training, Beta . ”
“I shall double my diligence . ”
Seriously, she's good . Even though I know it's acting, but I can still feel the emotions that she's conveying . You've got all the important points down pat, Beta .
“I shall inform Alphsama at once . Will we move tonight?”
“Mm . ”
Beta bows, then takes her leave . Her eyes are glittering and all, such that I can totally feel the respect and whatnot . Cheers to her Academy-level acting .
Chapter 4: If Only He Had Hair…….
It has been about 3 years since the establishment of Shadow Garden . Alpha and I have both become 13 years old, and my older sister Claire is now 15 . There is no particular meaning a.s.sociated with the age 13, but that is not the case with the age 15 . When the children of n.o.bles reach 15, they have to attend a school in the royal capital for 3 years . Nee-san is pretty much the rising hope of the Kagenou baron family, so my mom is all pumped up with setting up the farewell party and all that . Yep, rising hope indeed
(T/N: 'Nee-san' is what the MC calls his older sister . ).
All that's fine and all . Really . But problem is, when it came day for her to actually set off for the capital, she up and disappeared . Thus the enormous tumult at the Kagenou house at the moment
“When I came into the room, it was already like this . ”.
So says my father in a dandy voice . His face isn't too bad either
“There is no sign of a struggle, but the window was indeed forced open from the outside . The fact that neither I nor Claire was alerted means the kidnapper very skilled indeed . ”.
My dandy dad places one hand on the windowsill and looks off into the distance . All that's missing from this picture is a whiskey gla.s.s in his hand
And hair…….
“So?”.
A chilling voice is directed at him
“Very skilled, so there's no helping it? Is that what you're trying to say?”.
It's mom
“No, no of course not . I was merely stating the facts……”.
So answers my dad as cold sweat rolls down his face
“You STUPID BALDYYYYYY!!!!!!”.
“Hiii, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry!!!”.
By the way, I'm air . Nothing is expected of me, and neither do I cause any trouble . That's the position in this family that I'm striving to maintain
But well, Nee-san was a pretty good person, so it's a bit of a pity . The crime happened at night when I was at the abandoned village, so there was nothing that I could have done either
I quietly listen to my parents' bickering and, at the first chance I get, return to my own room . I place my palms together in the direction that Nee-san had disappeared, then dive into my bed
Then
“You may come out now . ”.
“Yes, my lord . ”.
Immediately, my curtains sway slightly, and a young girl wearing a black slime bodysuit steps out
“Beta, huh . ”.
“Yes, my lord . ”.
Same as Alpha, she is also a young elf girl . But where Alpha has blond hair, Beta's is silver
She of the cat-like green eyes and a mole under her eye was the third person to join Shadow Garden . Even though I told Alpha “in moderation,” but Alpha brings them in like stray cats or something so their numbers keep growing
“Where's about Alpha?”.
“Searching for traces of Claire-sama . ”.
“Fast reaction . You think Nee-san is still alive?”.
“Likely so . ”.
“Can she be saved?”.
“Possible, yes…… but might require Shadow-sama's help . ”.
Ah by the way, they're calling me 'Shadow . ' Cus I'm the master of Shadow Garden, fufufu
“Is that what Alpha said?”.
“Yes, my lord . She said that since they have a hostage, it would be best to bring our full force . ”.
“Heeh~”.
To be frank, Alpha has gotten quite strong . The fact that even Alpha is asking for help must mean that someone of very significant power is involved
“My blood boils……”.
I clench my fist while instantaneously releasing magic to create a small explosion
There's no particular meaning to it, but I like this kind of theatrics
I can hear Beta murmuring “As expected……” with surprise
As of late, I haven't been in lack of a sparring partner, what with Alpha and Beta and Delta and the crew, but something fresh is good every once in a while . Above all else, I want to play at being a power in the shadows, so this seems like a good opportunity
“It's been a while since I last got serious……”.
Just like so, I've also gotten used to exuding the aura of a power hidden in the shadows
Also, lately Alpha and Beta have taken to fles.h.i.+ng out our setting even further, so it's been a blast
“The criminal is, as expected, part of the Order of Diabolos . Even more, he is one of their upper echelons . ”.
“One of their echelons, huh . So why did they kidnap Nee-san?”.
“They suspect her of being a Descendent of the Heroes . ”.
“Hmph, those sharp-eyed b.a.s.t.a.r.ds……”.
So yea, like that
Furthermore, they've also been 'gathering research' and saying things like “As expected, your words were entirely correct……” and “About a thousand years ago, Diabolos' descendents……” and “From this stone monument we can glean clues that point to the existence of the Order of Diabolos……” and other similar such . I mean, I can't read ancient letters so how would I know? I bet Alpha can't really read them either, so she just lays out all these ancient-looking materials and whatnot of a similar general feeling in front of me, so that we can feel like we're making some headway in investigating the Order . I'm sure that must be it
“Please take a look at these doc.u.ments . These are the hideouts that we think Claire-sama might be held in, based on our latest intel . ”.
After saying that, Beta plonks a huge pile of paper on my table . Ok seriously, I have no idea what to do with all this . More than half of it is in an ancient language and the rest is filled with indecipherable mathematical equations or something . d.a.m.n, you guys have gotten good at making up this kind of stuff . I'll admit, you all have gotten even more pro at it than me
While ignoring Beta's 'explanations,' I take out a throwing knife and throw it at the map on the wall
Thunk
With a dull sound, the knife pierces a certain point
“There . ”.
“That place? What is there?”.
“That's where Nee-san is . ”.
“But that place, there's noth-…… no, wait, could it be……!”.
Beta hurriedly rummages through the materials as if she'd just realized something
Um, yeeaa, I just randomly threw that knife, alright?.
But wow your acting is good, Beta . I can see where this is going – you're going to tell me that there is a secret hideout at that location, aren't you?.
“In conclusion, after comparing various sources, it seems that there is indeed a high possibility that there is a secret hideout at the location that Shadow-sama just pointed out . ”.
Called it
“But still, to read through this enormous amount of materials in a split second and even deduce the location of a hidden hideout…… as expected of Shadow-sama . ”.
“You still lack training, Beta . ”.
“I shall double my diligence . ”.
Seriously, she's good . Even though I know it's acting, but I can still feel the emotions that she's conveying . You've got all the important points down pat, Beta
“I shall inform Alphsama at once . Will we move tonight?”.
“Mm . ”.
Beta bows, then takes her leave . Her eyes are glittering and all, such that I can totally feel the respect and whatnot . Cheers to her Academy-level acting
