——

"Wait, wait, can you let me negotiate with Firut before you talk...... Ha, ha..."

Atsuki, who didn't understand what was going on, let out a far-fetched smile and tried to change the direction of the topic, but failed.

The thing that filled his heart at the moment was to hurry up and make a deal with Firut before Elsa came here.

He harbored a strong fear of Elsa, who had already killed him twice, which prevented him from clearly analyzing the current situation.

There is Uchiha Kaede who has a kaleidoscope writing wheel eye, even if he doesn't understand what the ability of his eyes is, but after watching the anime, it is not difficult for him to say that Uchiha Kaede's strength is above Elsa.

However, he did not expect this!

"-Negotiation or something, it's okay to do it later, but you have to settle him first.

- What is your purpose, to make this place like this, but don't try to get my forgiveness and that of Lord Roma! ”

"-Firut!"

"Huh...!?"

"-You stand down first!"

Rom Ye cast a stern glance at Firut behind him.

When he looked at him, Firut understood the seriousness of the matter.

- Lord Rom can't guarantee her safety!

Old man Roma once again turned the center of the topic to the Uchiha Kaede with a calm posture:

"-I was so excited just now, but is what you just said true!?

- If you dare to deceive me, even if you abandon this old bone, I will make you pay!! ”

Roma had actually believed Uchiha Kaede's words, and he was present when Firut negotiated with the person who hired her, and looking at the woman in the black cloak, he was filled with a sense of danger, a feeling that he had survived many times from the subhuman war.

"Well, of course it is—really!"

"What is your purpose!?

- Is that the badge!? ”

Uchiha Kaede shook his head lightly when he heard this, and he stared at the door of the room with a confused look:

"My purpose is clear, I'm a girl!"

"-Huh!?

Are you here to be funny!? ”

Unlike Firut's excited shouting, Natsuki's face was full of astonishment:

"Did you approach her to ......?"

"Hey, hey, you're overdoing it! Have I done such a terrible thing!? Or am I that kind of person in your heart? ”

Uchiha Kaede pursed the corners of his lips, a look of helplessness on his face.

The originally tense atmosphere in the room was lightened by a one-time interjection from Natsuki.

"Ah, that's it! The topic is a bit crooked, so let's get to the point! ”

Firut: "-To the point!?" ”

Uchiha Kaede narrowed his eyes and asked Firut in a cold voice:

"-badge, you should have stolen it!?"

"Huh? It's stolen, so what!?

Could it be that this thing is a very valuable thing? The little brother over there has to pay for it!

If you want to, pay for it! ”

Hearing the speech of the girl named Firut, Uchiha Kaede laughed dumbly, he had to sigh at the innocence of this girl, he didn't even know what he stole and what it represented, this can only be said that no matter how big the world is, it is not as big as the money in his hand......

"Well, you're right, the badge you stole is indeed very valuable, but there's a problem here......"

Saying this, Uchiha Kaede looked at Firut, who was overjoyed by stealing something valuable, and after coughing twice, she said an answer that made her stiffen:

"Lugnica is in the midst of a royal election right now, and this badge is-

Voucher to participate in the king's election!! ”

“！！”

The atmosphere that had been relaxed by being disturbed by Natsuki Ang became grim again.

The look of excitement that originally appeared on her face froze, and the girl who stole the badge, Firut, widened her eyes, and her trembling body proved that her heart was not at peace at the moment!

A moment later, the words rang out, as if pinning her hopes:

"Liar, deceive!

You—You're kidding, aren't you?

It's, it's not funny at all! ”

However, this little fantasy was torn apart by life:

Although I spoke in a light-hearted tone, unfortunately that was the truth!

- You guys.

- I'm already a related person!

”

It was as if time had been choked by the throat, and the air was stiff at this moment!

But—

As if he was overwhelmed by this atmosphere, Azuki suddenly spoke, as if he wanted to forget the situation just now, and he laughed dryly twice and asked Uchiha Kaede a question in as light a word as possible:

"Huh... Ha! Can you please ask the mighty and domineering Uchiha Kaede-sama to tell me what the king is ??

Ahh......h

Uchiha Kaede held his forehead helplessly, he really had to admire Subaru's courage, but it was indeed more useful!

Firut and Roma, who were trembling just now because of those words, have gradually eased.

"I'm so drunk that you just said that knocked me down......

But the style still can't be lowered! ”

After saying this, Uchiha Kaede closed his eyes and cocked Jiro's legs, although the bench diaphragm deserved him uncomfortable, but this was a necessary posture to pretend B, well, he himself thought that he had just managed to pretend to be a ......

Subaru twitched the corners of his mouth, he seemed to know what kind of guy the Uchiha Kaede he knew......

Firut and Roma, who looked confused, didn't know what was going on, and the atmosphere that had just been fighting suddenly changed because of a sentence that they couldn't understand......

But there is one thing they have figured out, Uchiha Kaede has no ill will towards them for the time being.

Seeing that Uchiha Kaede closed his eyes and didn't want to make a sound, Roma explained to Subaru in a calm voice:

"Half a year ago, all the bloodlines of the royal family suddenly contracted an infectious disease and died one after another, so now Grunica's throne is temporarily vacant, and its day-to-day management is controlled by the Sages.

In order to elect a new generation of kings, the sages will select five candidates according to the instructions of the dragon power stone, and then choose the most suitable one from these five candidates, this is the king's choice! ”

Subaru was stunned when he heard this, and he seemed to understand why Emilia didn't tell him his real name in the first glance.

"So, you're stealing a candidate's badge!!

Wow! It's amazing, and I hope I'll never have ......."

When Firut heard Subaru's sarcastic words, she put aside the anxiety and nervousness in her heart and laughed angrily:

"After all, it's the employer's request, how did I know this thing has such a big deal!

Besides, don't you want to buy this badge, little brother!

Looking at your attitude, I guess I don't know what's going on!

Now I'm going to sell it to you, you dare either! ”

Hearing Firut's words, Subaru was silent for a while, but immediately changed to a serious expression, he turned to Firut's pupils staring at her, and said:

"Even though I already know its origins, I still can't give up!

I wanted to buy it back just to give it back to the owner who lost it!

Although I still don't know much about the king's choice, I can't fake my desire to return it!

- Please give it to me!

- Please! ”

Subaru suddenly bent down to Firut halfway through his words, and his body appeared in front of her with a ninety-degree bow!

Firut looked at Natsuki in amazement, as if she had seen something that made her unbelievable.

The whole body was dominated by an inexplicable emotion, that kind of thing slowly crossed the whole body from the deepest part of herself, and finally gently pinched the heart, that feeling made her body tremble, and the unprovoked emotions began to spread, and finally turned into unexplained words:

"You—you're going to be killed! Isn't it nice to be alive!?

Even in the slums, I am still strong and hard-working!

You're not familiar with the girl I stole the badge, right!? Why get involved in such a thing!?

How can that kind of thing be believed!!

You, you lie! Right...... You must be lying to me!!

”

The words of self-deception came from her trembling mouth, and although she was still trying to maintain her composure in the end, the emotion prevented her from acknowledging the reality!

Living in the slums, she has seen too much filth, selling her body in order to survive, betraying her companions in order to survive, robbing people who are also poor in order to survive, she herself has seen too much.

She also knew in her heart how dirty it was to live like this, but if she didn't do this, it would be impossible to survive here, so she also went to steal other people's things, but doing so still left a little guilt in her heart.

And in the face of Subaru's practice of returning the badge to a stranger who doesn't know him even if he leaves his life, she will never agree!

A person who has been living in the dark like this for a long time, suddenly sees a light shining on this kind of thing, I am afraid that the first thing that appears is not excitement, but panic, I am accustomed to the dark scene all year round, even if I see the light, I will only be pierced by it and leave tears!

But then the topic of faith and stuff suddenly ended.

"I ......"

"Looks like I'm targeting!"

Uchiha Kaede didn't seem to care about the atmosphere that had just appeared in the room, and his gaze fell through the three of them to the door of the room.

After hearing this, Subaru raised his body and looked back, and at some point there was a young girl standing in the doorway that had been opened by Lord Roma.

The girl was dressed in a white robe, with a flower plucked from nowhere on her chest, and the 'Demon-like Bird' totem printed on her cuffs, and now she was raising her right hand and staring at it with her sharp blue-purple eyes.

"The target is me!? I can't pretend I didn't hear that!

Is stealing my badge and leading me here for your purpose!?

I don't know what you're trying to do with me, but give me back the badge! ”

When the girl by the door said these words, she slowly approached everyone, and her blue-purple eyes obviously leaked a trace of vigilance against everyone.

Seeing her here, Firut seemed to recover from that emotion, but she seemed to have forgotten the meaning of the badge and the meaning of holding the badge, and cried out in surprise:

"Y-you guy is so tough! I chased it straight here.

Make no mistake about it, though, the person you're targeting is the guy sitting on the bench over there!

And also! Little brother, it's all your fault, if she had been a little bit of a burden on the road, how could she have found this place so smoothly!

Sure enough, you lied to me!! You've known her for a long time! Right? You approached me to get her stuff back! ”

Subaru: "......"