NOVEL NEXT Chapter 91: Frustrating Mystery
After two days had passed and everything was ready, I arrived at the location the guild had specified for the mission. I'm genuinely very curious about the person who's going to pay me 30 million for this escort job.
"Evelyn-sama, it should be this place here," Eve says as we stop in front of a small building that belongs to a commercial carriage rental service. It also handles dispatch for carriages of various nobles, so that alone still doesn't reveal who the client is.
I, Eve, and Syl'Vyr enter the premises, and quickly someone approaches us, saying our client is waiting. He leads us to a private room and leaves, leaving us standing in front of it.
'Well, let's see who this mysterious person is.' I love all kinds of mysteries to the point that the Mysterious Esther was the character that piqued my curiosity the most back when I played the game. So, I open the door, wondering who the mysterious person is, but I'm immediately disappointed when I see who it is.
"Laplace?" I say his name, genuinely frustrated that he ruined all the excitement I felt earlier.
"...Evelyn?" I see Laplace drinking a cup of tea, the only one in the room. He also seems surprised that I'm the person the guild sent, eventually giving a look of understanding.
"Ah, yes... You had fallen so far that you decided to become an adventurer... Rank C, right? Tsk." He clicks his tongue while looking me up and down as if appraising every last bit of me.
"...You were planning to rape the adventurers to stave off boredom during the trip, weren't you?" I say accusingly, pointing my index finger at him while puffing out my chest, knowing full well that's exactly it. That's exactly the kind of person he is.
"...Yes, I was planning to use some pretty girls to entertain me on the journey... but you ruined everything by accepting this mission. I'm not in the mood to do that with you... for now, of course. I had plans to grab some more... common girls or something like that."
'Should I consider this a good thing?' At least he doesn't want anything with me, though he did say "for now," so he might try something in the future if he gets an opportunity to do something to me.
"Well, I've already paid for you, so you're coming with me since I don't have time to wait for another team of girls. I need to deliver this cargo quickly, and the two-day timeframe was the maximum free time I managed to get," he says, standing up and placing the cup on the table.
"You better pay me, you know!" I say, not caring that he's the client. As long as he pays, and besides, I can try to increase his affinity to turn it into friendship. His friendship would help with various things.
If it were anyone else with this malicious plan to attack unprepared adventurers, I would hate the person. However, with Laplace, I understand the reason, even if I don't agree with it.
He suffered a lot. I know that doesn't justify these actions—I myself repudiate this with all my strength—but there is a logic behind it. Besides, demon culture, unlike modern human culture, is far less "just" towards common people.
In short, nobles can use and abuse those who lack the wealth to defend themselves or who aren't powerful. And since Laplace is the son of the Demon King, he's naturally a nearly unstoppable noble who can commit many crimes without any punishment.
Besides... some girls might even like being attacked by him, since if they had his children, they could enter the royal family. Not that this would ever happen, because Laplace doesn't want children and is careful about it using magic.
He does this purely for the pleasure of doing it, because of his race. Furthermore, in the romantic route with Grace, he stops doing this when he finally understands what it means to love someone, and he improves.
So I know that despite his flaws, he can improve and become a better person if he receives love, understanding, and care—not that I'm going to be the one to give it to him! Grace is the one who should do that! She's the heroine! So let her do her heroine duty!
"Laplace, where are we going?" I ask, starting to follow him as he exits the door with quick steps.
"I'm taking a certain type of specific 'supply' to a fortress city. It's a request from our father... These supplies will later be sent by a noble to the battlefield," he says with an atypical coldness.
'I see...' It's the battlefield. Anything related to the battlefield reminds Laplace of his worst days, which makes his lust spiral out of control. That's why he so blatantly wanted girls in his team.
It was probably also why he hid his identity as the client, since some girls would definitely avoid it if they knew he was the person accompanying the escort.
"Hey, Laplace, don't even think about touching Eve or Syl'Vyr! Especially Eve, who looks just like me! LITERALLY!!" I say with some urgency. He stops and looks at the two of them.
'Syl'Vyr, don't worry! I like you just as much as Eve! But Eve has my appearance, you understand, right?' I send a mental message to Syl'Vyr so she doesn't feel bad about what I said.
It's just that if Laplace tried anything with Eve, it would be extremely weird because Eve looks exactly like me, and I really don't want Laplace to know those kinds of things about my body.
"...They are beautiful, but not what I was looking for as entertainment on this trip. Perhaps in the future," he murmurs, which leaves me slightly calmer, since he can be somewhat selective with his choices on certain occasions.
'That's why the payment was so high for this type of mission.' Considering it's Laplace, it makes a lot more sense now.
'Speaking of which... Laplace is clearly half-incubus... but what about me? What am I?' I don't know my race. In fact, I don't know the race of almost any of the other candidates for the throne.
Of course, we are all demons, but demons have types and their own races amongst themselves. "Demon" is just the general, generic term for all beings generally born from magic who come from the demon continent and who, according to other races, express clear aggressiveness, antipathy, and a lack of respect for other races.
Although that last part is partially a lie, since not every demon is aggressive or expresses antipathy towards other races. Some even respect other races in general, except for angels, since they are mortal enemies.
'I wonder what my race is?' I don't know the Demon King's race, and I don't know my family's race, so I don't know what race I am.
Now I'm curious. I wish I could see my family in this world, though that's impossible. In the game, there was no way for a family member of any of the throne candidates to appear.
'Well, that will remain a mystery! And the system won't tell me.' The system only shows certain information if you already know it beforehand. For example, the race and age sections only appear if you know those things.
I, for example, know I'm a demon, so the status shows "Demon" for race, but not the type, because I don't know what type of demon I am. Of course, it's more complex than just knowing.
You need to know, and it needs to be true. The system won't just list something that's false just because you believe it to be real. So the best way to explain it is that the system knows the truth but only reveals it when you already know it too.
"Laplace, when will I get my payment?" I ask as we arrive outside, which pulls me out of my reverie about the system and my race.
"When the mission is over. The guild will automatically deposit the money into your card. Since it's an escort mission where I'll deliver the item as soon as we arrive at the location, you'll be free," he says without much interest.
'He seems frustrated.' He probably didn't expect the team of girls to be me and my companions, which completely diverges from what he wanted.
'But I can't trust him too much! He might change his mind out of nowhere during the trip and do something problematic! But he won't get away with it!' I quickly devise strategies to befriend him while staying cautious.
"We'll go in this carriage. As you can see, it bears the symbol of the Demon King. Hardly anyone would dare attack us inside it, and even if we are attacked, it won't be a problem."
"Now get in. It will be a somewhat long journey, and I really want to avoid being punished for something I can't control," he says, climbing into the carriage. I get in after him, followed by Eve and Syl'Vyr.
'O-Ohh, it's so comfortable!!' I sit down and feel the softness of the seat. It's incredibly nice and incredibly comfortable, as well as very soft. The space is great too, with the four of us fitting with room to spare.
"Let me tell you the schedule. We will have two breaks per day, every day. During that time, we'll do everything we need to do, and there will be no further breaks, understand?"
"The coachman will drive day and night, stopping only at specific times for this, and I will spend this time checking the delivery..." He continues explaining coldly, but I tune him out.
'Two breaks... T-This pervert!! He wanted to do that kind of thing with girls inside this space!!' It's spacious in here, but not spacious enough for his lewd acts.
"Hnf!!" I make a sound of irritation and decide to stay quiet for this beginning part of the trip. I sincerely hope this carriage hasn't been used for that before.