Volume 1 Chapter 66 Fox Mask Wants To Be A Hero
The wind blowing in through the open window makes the silky white hair sway.
A man in black, with long white hair tied back and wearing a fox mask, stands up from the window seat. For some reason, he jumps lightly, spins around, and lands in front of the table where we are sitting.
"Brother."
"Sir Rail..."
"Sir Rail, it's good to see you looking well after such a long time."
When Sir Roxas and I, Sir Ciel, speak to him, the man in the fox mask puts his hands on his hips and puffs out his chest.
"I'm──I'm, Fox Mask. I've heard everything."
"Brother, there are only your acquaintances here. You don't need to hide your identity."
"I'm not your brother; I'm Fox Mask, Roxas."
"Brother. Right now, we are having a serious conversation."
"I'm being serious too, but... by the way, I also want to eat the rice balls and mushroom hot pot made by the princess. Ciel, can you save some for me?"
The strangely dressed Sir Rail, who insists he is Fox Mask, sits next to Sir Ciel.
Sir Rail is slim, but since he is still a man, the table feels a bit cramped with all the guys sitting around. It feels a bit overwhelming.
When Sir Ciel snaps his fingers, a plate appears in front of Sir Rail, and the rice balls and mushroom hot pot are served.
Sir Rail easily takes off his fox mask and says, "The princess's cooking always looks delicious," as he eats a rice ball.
"It's delicious, princess, delicious...! It's the best!"
"Thank you very much... Sir Rail, it's good to see you looking well."
"Ah, I'm doing great, just like you see."
"Why are you dressed like that?"
"I'm feeling better, but I have to keep it a secret from the Girard family. In fact, I've made it seem like I'm dead. So, it's not good if my true identity gets revealed. Right now, I'm registered with the Adventurers' Guild and working as an adventurer."
Sir Rail talks happily while eating rice balls.
I remember that Sir Rail said he wanted to become a hero.
"I plan to make a name for myself as a hero soon, but if I become known as Rail Girard, my father from the Girard family might find out. So, for now, I'm Fox Mask. I think it looks cool. What do you think, princess?"
"Y-yes... I think it's wonderful..."
"Really? I'm glad!"
Sir Rail is slimmer than Sir Roxas, but he has a nice figure.
When I met him before, he looked like just skin and bones, but he seems to have gained some weight since then.
Still, he doesn't seem more muscular than Mr. Lucian, and he's shorter than Sir Ciel.
So, I feel like the cute fox mask suits him well.
I'm not sure if it looks cool, though.
"So, princess, you're in trouble, right? It's my job to help a troubled princess. Because I'm a hero. Anyway, I've heard all about your situation."
"If you were here, you could have just come inside."
"Showing up at the right moment is what a hero does, after all."
With a sigh of exasperation, Sir Roxas said this while Sir Rail shrugged.
"And I think it's important for a brother not to get in the way of his cute little brother's love life. Ah, but since we're twins, I plan to share the princess with him in the future."
"Share her...!?"
I shivered.
How would we share her? That's scary.
"There are various ways to do that... But more importantly, princess. It's about Kirschtein."
"Sir Rail. Do you know something?"
Sir Ciel said in a calm voice.
I pulled myself together and tightened my expression. I was surprised when Sir Rail suddenly appeared, and our conversation had drifted, but now we were talking about something important regarding Mr. Lucian, so I needed to focus.
"Ah. I might know a bit more than Ciel and Roxas. Until I developed White Moon disease, I was raised as the heir of the Duke Girard family. Plus, after I got sick, I was stuck in my room every day and got bored, so I asked the servants to bring me books from the Duke's library and read a lot. I have some knowledge."
"Brother is impressive. You know things I don't."
Sir Roxas said somewhat proudly.
Sir Roxas really likes Sir Rail, huh? I'm glad Sir Rail is feeling better.
"Ciel probably doesn't want to get involved with the Margrave Wisteria family. So, I'm knowledgeable, but my knowledge is a bit one-sided. Also, when I work at the Adventurers' Guild and take on requests, I hear a lot of things."
"The fox-masked adventurer... Oh, I heard rumors about that. They say the figure is suspicious, but really strong."
"I see! My rumors are already spreading...! This means the path to becoming a hero might be closer than I thought. Hehe, I'm so happy. Princess, your hero will become a real hero. Just wait for me!"
"Y-yes..."
Sir Ciel has also heard the rumors about Sir Rail.
I don't know anything, but maybe it's because I try not to listen to the gossip from the adventurers who come to eat at my restaurant while I cook. I'm not really interested in the conversations of the older men.
If possible, I'd rather hear about cute girls' clothes or love stories.
"You all talked about how King Zeere waged a war of conquest like it was a terrible act, but... the tensions between the two countries run deep. Kirschtein probably worships the witch Sylphina, who is said to be imprisoned on the Red Moon. They claim that Sylphina is the rightful wife of the god ancestor Theobart. They say the goddess Alexandria stole Theobart and imprisoned Sylphina on the Red Moon."
"I've heard that story too. The kingdom's records don't mention such facts, though. Anyway, it's an ancient myth. We don't know what the truth is."
Sir Ciel lightly shook his head.
The jewel on his head swayed.
Sir Ciel is said to have blood from the gem people who fell from the red moon.
He might have some thoughts about the claims and situation of the Kirschtein people.
"Even if the Kirschtein myth is true, so what?"
Sir Roxas asks.
"That means they claim the land of the Bernard Kingdom is theirs. Because of the goddess Alexandria, Sylphina is trapped on the red moon, and they say they are stuck in the small land of Kirschtein. The people of Kirschtein claim that the Bernard Kingdom originally belonged to them and have attacked the kingdom many times."
"Using monsters, right?"
Sir Ciel says, as if deep in thought.
"That's right. And 20 years ago, there was an experiment happening in the Kirschtein palace. Along with King Zeere, my father also participated in the suppression war. This isn't in the official records. My father told me about it when he was drunk."
Sir Rail put a finger to his lips.
It was a gesture saying, "It's a secret."
"They were trying to break the seal of the witch trapped on the red moon and bring her down to the surface. But since that can't be done, they were trying to call back just the witch's soul──apparently, they were trying to create a vessel for the soul. As part of the soul vessel experiment, towns and villages near our country's border were attacked, and many Bernard lives were lost. Because of this, King Zeere decided to go to war."
"So, it was Kirschtein that attacked first?"
"The bad relationship between the two countries started from the myth of the goddess and the witch. In other words, it goes way back to ancient times. It's hard to tell who started it first. Both sides would say they are the victims. However, the current situation... the way the Margrave Wisteria family controls the old Kirschtein territory is just too careless. Ciel, you can't say you're completely unrelated to this, can you?"
"...I don't want to get involved with that family."
"That's true, but... by the way, do you know why Lucian is called The Star's Fallen Reaper? It's such a cool title. I want one too."
When Sir Rail asked me, I shook my head.
I had heard the name before, but I didn't know the reason behind it.
Sir Ciel put his hand on his chin and opened his mouth.
"I heard that a few years ago, he single-handedly stopped a civil war in the Moon Soul Cult and captured the leaders."
"Right. That's what I heard. I think that the Moon Soul Cult is actually a remnant of Kirschtein. An invisible anti-monarchist organization. It's suspicious that Lucian was able to suppress it all by himself. The remnants of Kirschtein... and they can control monsters. Maybe the people who were trying to revive the witch are still alive."
"...That possibility does exist."
"Does that mean Mr. Lucian is there, in that Moon Soul Cult...?"
As I clumsily mentioned the unfamiliar name, Sir Rail squinted his eyes and smiled, slowly nodding while saying, "Maybe."
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