4-01: Around Him Shall the Flags Be Raised (2/3)

4-01: Around Him Shall the Flags Be Raised (2/3)

But all she got in response was the weak voice of a troubled boy.

Shinichi had a habit of teasing the people he liked, but unfortunately for him, that made Lilisha bloom in a strange direction.

In a sense, it suited her, but it brought a great deal of damage to him mentally.

Not because he didnt like how she reacted, but because it made him feel guilty.

And as expected, even he found himself wobbling, unable to extricate himself from the impact of that.

So the entranced princess immediately fixed her expression and smiled.

My apologies. I appear to have shown you something unsightly Fu fu

If it were just that, she would be the very picture of an ideal princess, the sort that a hundred people would be captivated by;

But as expected of a woman who has been living in a royal palace that might as well be a den of demons, she was an expert at feigning appearances. Though perhaps shed simply realized that she wouldnt be able to get any more out of him even if she kept that up.

Haa Still, Im impressed that you were able to gather so much material from a place like this Hmm?

As the boy let out a sigh at the possibility of that, he changed the topic.

He was a bit forceful in the way he steered the topic away, but there was something that caught his eye among the pile of documents.

It was a title that was clearly of a different nature compared to the others.

A Discussion on the Faults of Artificial Humans(Homunculi) Thats a forbidden book.

So you did know about it Actually, last night, when I was holed up in the underground archives, I noticed a hidden book shelf and found this hidden there covered in dust

Hey, hey

What was it that dismayed him? Was it the part that she stayed up late despite knowing that there would be a welcoming party for her tonight?

Or was it the part where she found something troublesome like a forbidden book? In this case, it was neither.

It was because she found the forbidden book in this royal villa.

Lilisha understood where he was coming from, and she wryly smiled.

After all, there was a high chance that someone connected to the royal family intentionally hid this book. That is to say It stank of trouble.

Ill investigate it more once I get back to the capital.

Please do so.

The boy said wearily as he quickly flipped through the pages.

Yes, but unfortunately, no one knows who the author is, and the church was also the one who pointed out it was a forbidden book. Thats why the royal court was a mess back then.

I can imagine. Of all the people, it just had to be them.

Indeed.

A book that came from their nation was branded as a forbidden book by none other than the Rimoa Church.

Though it was right after the sudden death of their king, that was surely a bitter pill to swallow.

Moreover, not only did they fail to apprehend the author, they couldnt even figure out his identity.

And despite all their efforts, it wasnt until today that they found this one volume. Fortunately or unfortunately, it has basically been hoarded away here, but thats just when looking at it from a results-based perspective.

Although this incident didnt become get much attention, the people from the church knew about it, and it was obvious that Earthgant failed to respond in a timely or effective manner, so for the ten years until my grandfather took the throne, we couldnt adopt a strong stance against them. Well, they seem to have somehow managed the situation then, though

Earthgant did not just endure those ten years.

Instead, they looked for a weakness they could use against the church, and they both kept quiet about that matter.

However, when Lilisha thought about how much the related people must have suffered until they could find their weakness, she sighed.

The conflict between Earthgant and the church began from the conflict between magic and religion, but this little history of theirs might have contributed to their animosity today.

In a sense, its a history that reeks of humanity.

I envy you for being able to wrap it up just with that.

As someone from the royal family, it was not a matter that Lilisha could afford to be unrelated to, so she wryly smiled.

After that they sealed the book tightly, and the princess promised to investigate it after returning to her country.

It was a matter from long ago, though, so it was doubtful if she would even be able to figure anything out.

That made her sigh again.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes at that, then he casually asked.

By the way, you read the book, right?

Huh? Yes. I read it to confirm Is something the matter?

The princess didnt think there was anything off by her response, so she just nodded, but the boy muttered out loud to himself and said.

I see So after summoning an otherworlder, youre going to create a homunculus next.

What!?