After finishing lunch, I walked around the castle looking for Queen Alpheria.
"Hey, what are you gonna do when you find that cake-faced old hag?" Shirakawa asked as we walked.
"Figure out what she's really after," I answered calmly.
"Her goal? You mean why she, like, summoned us? Isn't it, like, to beat the Evil Dragon?"
"I don't buy it. Even if we're supposed to kill a dragon, is it really evil? Are we really the only ones who can beat it?" I replied, shaking my head.
It's true that the classmates who got summoned were given five to ten times more Magic Power than the people of this world. I don't know how much of a power difference that Magic Power gap actually makes, but would it really be more effective than just throwing a bunch of people at the problem? Or maybe they just didn't want to weaken their own country's forces, so they pulled people from another world instead. Either way, I want to know why we got dragged into this.
The queen, the one who summoned us, was relaxing in a fancy room. She wasn't wearing all the over-the-top decorations from yesterday when we came to the summoning site, but she had on a loose dress made of some really nice-looking fabric. Since she wasn't out in public, she wasn't wearing that kabuki-actor white face paint either.
"How old is that old hag, like, anyway?" Shirakawa whispered, leaning in.
"Hmm... over 30? But Japan's skincare tech is probably way different, so who knows," I murmured back.
Speaking of which, I wonder if Shirakawa even noticed that after she used Clean magic on herself, her gyaru makeup came off and she's bare-faced now. Personally, I think she looks healthier and better now than with all that heavy eyeshadow and lipstick, but saying something like that would probably cause a whole thing, so I'll keep my mouth shut.
Queen Alpheria was sprawled out on a couch that looked super comfy, staring blankly outside the terrace. You'd think a queen would be crazy busy with government stuff, but maybe she has people who handle the actual work.
"Your Majesty, Prince Balthazar has arrived."
"Pray, admit him..."
A woman who looked more like a lady-in-waiting than a maid announced the guest, but Alpheria didn't even move her eyes.
The one who came in was a fat middle-aged guy with dark brown curly hair slicked down with oil. He was wearing an over-decorated outfit made of expensive-looking fabric. He was basically the word "nouveau riche" turned into a person.
"Sister, have the dogs been sent to the training facility?" Balthazar asked, stepping forward.
"Indeed, I provided them with breakfast and dispatched them immediately thereafter."
"That's funny, then. The security seems awfully tight," Balthazar noted, raising an eyebrow.
Alpheria frowned at Balthazar's words and spat out her reply.
"Hmph. Those utterly foolish creatures had their throats torn out by a rather dreadful woman."
"Huh? Weren't they wearing Collars?" Balthazar asked, frowning.
"They became dreadfully careless, assuming she was only capable of ordinary Magic."
"Where's the bitch now?" Balthazar demanded.
"She has vanished completely. It is entirely possible she descended into the city."
"Ugh, more trouble..." Balthazar muttered with a sigh.
"Should she be hiding in the city, she cannot possibly cross the river upon her departure. There is no cause for concern regarding her joining the other dogs. Do exercise caution, however, lest she turn on you as well."
"Haha, I haven't even shown my face. If anyone's a target, it's you, sister," Balthazar chuckled dismissively.
Balthazar didn't seem to care at all that soldiers had been killed. Since they never even saw our faces, normally they wouldn't know we exist, so I guess his reaction makes sense.
"Sister, about when do you think we'll get the dragon's liver?" Balthazar asked, changing the subject.
"I have no intention of allowing a whole year to pass. I am informed it bestows immortality rather than youth, so we simply cannot afford to dally."
"I see..." Balthazar murmured thoughtfully.
Balthazar had a smile on his face, and Alpheria asked him in a sour tone.
"Whatever do you mean? What are you implying?"
"Nothing. If you can kill the dragon, I've got no complaints. The scales, claws, fangs-its whole body will bring us a huge fortune."
"Naturally. Are you aware of the sheer expense of the summoning? If we fail to recover our investment and yield a proper profit, the entire endeavor will have been quite pointless."
Right after the summoning, they'd told us they wanted help defeating an Evil Dragon that was hurting the people... but yeah, that was clearly a lie.
"Hey, like, they keep talking about immortality, but were we seriously called here just so that caked-up old hag can fight off aging?" Shirakawa whispered in disgust.
"Yeah, and for that fat guy who's blinded by money," I added under my breath.
"Like, so gross..." Shirakawa groaned quietly.
"Agreed," I nodded in agreement.
Watching these greedy siblings smirk while talking about which countries they'd sell scales to, how much, and who'd get the swords carved from the bones-it made something dark and nasty pool up in my chest. Also, does dragon liver even really grant immortality? Isn't it just a legend like mermaid flesh in Japan?
"Hey, let's just kill these guys quick and be done with it," Shirakawa whispered fiercely.
"No, we can't," I cautioned her softly.
"Why not?! Everyone's been through hell because of them!"
"We're not giving them a quick death," I clarified firmly.
"Ah, right... We can't let them die easy." Shirakawa gave a dark smile and agreed with me.
"Exactly. We make them suffer and suffer, make them feel the full weight of their sins, make them want to change, give them hope that maybe they'll survive-and then we kill them," I explained coldly.
"Wow... you've got a totally nasty personality. But I'm so in."
"Besides, until we've got a way back to Japan, we have to live off this castle. We should avoid anything that destabilizes the country."
"Got it. But we'll kill them in the end, right?"
"Once there's no reason to keep them alive."
If the soldiers are soldiers, the queen is the queen... no, I guess with a queen like this, you get soldiers like that. I burned the faces of those two scumbags-number one on my kill list-into my memory, nudged Shirakawa, and left the queen's room behind.
Trivia:
- The queen specifically says the dragon liver grants immortality but not youth, which reveals her true priority is stopping aging rather than living forever.
- Shirakawa's gyaru makeup washing off from Clean magic is a subtle detail showing how the fantasy world strips away modern identity markers.
- The escaped female dog that killed soldiers is a loose thread that could come back later, and the queen warns Balthazar he might be bitten too.
Notes:
• Alpheria - Heavy-makeup woman in gaudy clothes who greets the summoned group as heroes of another world. Explains they were summoned to defeat an evil dragon. Her face twitches when interrupted.
• Shirakawa - Family name of Shirakawa Kiyoka, the dark-skinned gyaru and classmate of the protagonist who was summoned alongside him to another world.
• Balthazar - Fat middle-aged prince and the queen's younger brother. Motivated by greed. Slicked dark brown hair with oil. Wears over-decorated expensive clothing. Discusses selling dragon parts for profit without concern for the dead soldiers.