Chapter 201: The God Gives an Oracle ①

* * *

"That's enough!"

At the sound of judgment, two shadows stop moving.

One is a well-trained adult man.

The other is a girl who can be described as lovely.

Her beautiful gray hair with waves is tied back in one, fluttering in the wind.

Both of them hold in their hands swords with blunted blades for practice.

In other words, this is a sword training session.

A scene from the daily routine of the lovely girl...... Mereucce Runtart.

However, don't misunderstand.

Mereucce is not being trained.

She is the one giving the training.

As proof, Mereucce is calmly pointing her sword at her opponent's throat...... while her opponent, a soldier of the Runtart family named Siemen, is sweating like a waterfall and breathing heavily.

"......Dammit! I can't win! As I thought, I can't win against the young lady!"

Perhaps having reached his physical limit, Siemen fell backward and lamented his own incompetence while sprawled out.

"Hehe! But Siemen, compared to two years ago, your movements have improved remarkably! Just keep up the good work and strive for more!"

Mereucce sheathed her sword and smiled adorably.

Then she spoke to the soldiers who were observing the mock battle.

"And that goes for all of you too! Let's continue working hard together! To protect the people of Runtart together!"

"""""Yeaaaaah!!!""""

Cheers rose from the surrounding soldiers.

The Runtart County is a peaceful land.

Damage from monsters and bandits is low, and until a while ago, the soldiers were somewhat complacent due to the peace, and their enthusiasm for their duties was not very high.

But Mereucce changed that.

At first, everyone just looked at the eccentric young lady of the count who came to the training ground wanting to learn swordsmanship with curious eyes.

However, as soon as this girl started swinging a sword, she quickly acquired the skills, built up her strength, and became stronger than anyone else.

An astonishing growth rate.

That's why she's a prodigy.

And even after becoming stronger than anyone else, she didn't become arrogant.

She says she wants to protect the people.

That she swings her sword for that purpose.

Those straightforward words, that unpretentious attitude, greatly rekindled the flame called ambition that had nearly gone out in the hearts of Siemen and the others!

The daily training that they had been inclined to slack off on gradually became more passionate, and although not to the extent of Mereucce, the soldiers of the Runtart family have now become widely known within the country for their prowess!

"Young Lady."

And here, a person calls out to Mereucce from behind.

The person who appeared unnoticed by anyone is a tall woman wearing a maid's uniform out of place in the training ground and wearing glasses.

"Mmmph! Viola! I told you to stop suddenly appearing like that because it startles me!"

"My apologies."

Despite not showing any sign of remorse, the maid takes a water bottle out of the bag on her shoulder and hands it to Mereucce.

The contents of the water bottle are memon water.

Memon is a citrus fruit similar in taste to lemon, with a strong sourness and also effective in relieving fatigue.

Mereucce takes a break and moistens her throat with memon water, taking one sip, then another.

"Please listen while drinking, it's fine. Regarding the business negotiation scheduled for today with the Sapara Company, there are no particular issues with the weather or anything, so the company president will arrive at this mansion in two hours."

"Oh my! Then I can practice for another hour!"

"Young Lady."

Viola's glasses flashed white, and she exuded killing intent!

"Eep!"

"That won't do, Young Lady. Surely you don't intend to appear before the guests in such a sweaty and muddy state as the daughter of the Runtart Count family, do you? I would like you to return to your room immediately and change clothes."

"B-But, if we have an hour, that should be plenty of time for preparations, right?"

"Young Lady."

Viola's glasses flashed white again, and she exuded killing intent once more!

"S-Sorry! I was joking! I'll go change right away!"

"Mind your language."

"I'm terribly sorry! A-Anyway, I'll go change immediately!"

As Mereucce hurriedly ran out of the training ground, Siemen and the other soldiers saw her off with smiles, and Viola sighed.

"Hahaha, as expected, even the young lady is no match for Viola-san!"

"No doubt about it!"

The soldiers laughed with each other and waved at Mereucce, and then sent their gazes to the maid who should still be standing in the training ground.

But, however.

By that time, Viola's figure was no longer in the training ground, as if she had vanished like an illusion.

"......The young lady is amazing, but that maid is also incomprehensible......"

Siemen muttered while wiping his sweat.

* * *

Now then, wiping away her sweat, changing clothes, and preparing the documents and prototypes for the negotiation, Mereucce's preparations are complete.

She is currently in the conference room of the Runtart family, having a final meeting with the parties involved in the mansion.

Although Mereucce is renowned as a prodigy, she is still a 9-year-old girl after all.

No matter how genius-like inspiration allows her to create innovative products, she lacks the experience to deal with veteran merchants to sell them.

The support of the servants, starting with Viola, is indispensable.

"......And as expected, the key point is thorough hygiene management. Since this seasoning uses eggs......"

However, at that moment, Viola's shoulder, who was organizing information with documents in hand, trembled slightly.

"Viola? What's wrong?"

"......I apologize, Young Lady."

"Huh?"

"Regarding the business negotiation after this, I remembered that I cannot attend. I had completely forgotten that I was given a task by the Master that I absolutely cannot miss."

"Eeeeeh!?"

It was a sudden apology.

Viola usually carries out her work diligently, but she has a "bad habit" of suddenly remembering other work like this and vanishing without a trace.

"Hey, Viola! Even if it's an order from Father, that's not right, is it!?"

"I apologize."

Without any sincerity, Viola placed her hand on her chest, bent her waist, and showed Mereucce her intention to apologize.

"However, there is no need to worry. The preparations are already complete. Even without me, with your ability, Young Lady, I'm sure this seasoning negotiation will go well. Right, Head Chef?"

"Of course, Viola-san! And Young Lady, believe in us more, not just Viola-san!"

By the way, this head chef is the person who actually created the seasoning they plan to pitch in this negotiation based on Mereucce's ideas.

"Mmmph...... I got it! In exchange, prepare cake for today's snack! Because we're going to have a victory celebration with sweets!"

"No, you'll gain weight."

"Eeeeeh!?"

Viola bowed to Mereucce, who reluctantly allowed her to leave, and silently left the conference room.

* * *

Now, this "bad habit" of Viola's.

Isn't it a bit too unnatural to dismiss it as just a "bad habit"?

No matter how much of an order she received from her master...... she suddenly abandons her work and vanishes.

No one knows what Viola is doing during that time.

And no one, starting with Mereucce, considers that unnaturalness a problem.

Why is that?

In conclusion, it's because a "great power" beyond human intelligence is at work.

It's a power to smoothly advance the "story."

Viola is one of the performers of that "story," and also works behind the scenes.

In other words, Viola is a messenger of the god who weaves Mereucce's story, and her "Master" is not Viscount Runtart, but the god.

When she vanishes without a trace...... that's when she receives an oracle from the god and carries out her work as a behind-the-scenes worker to advance the story.

"............"

Viola moves through the hallway without making a sound, unnoticed by anyone, and enters the supply room on the first floor of the Runtart mansion.

There, she firmly presses one of the wall panels...... and a magical mechanism activates, revealing a secret staircase leading deep underground.

This hidden staircase itself has existed since the Runtart mansion was built, but it is currently concealed by the "great power," and no one except Viola notices its existence.

Therefore, the basement ahead is a place for Viola to communicate with her god without worrying about prying eyes...... and also a space for her hobbies to satisfy her urges that she can't do in public.

At the bottom of the cold stone staircase illuminated by magic lamps is a small stone room.

With a creak, Viola pushes open the rusted iron door and enters the basement.

And she takes a deep breath.

What tickles her nostrils is...... the smell of blood.

"............Ahaa."

What leaks out of her mouth as she sniffs it is a seductive sigh.

This smell is the smell of yesterday's kill.

......Irresistible.

<<<Hey, Viola...... I hate to interrupt your bliss, but could you come here quickly?>>>

"......Hehehe...... Tsk, I know."

Now, there was a being that spoke to Viola like that.

It is the only full-length mirror installed in this basement.

To be more precise, what should be a mirror is not reflecting Viola standing in front of it, but a floating hexahedron, and that hexahedron is speaking to Viola.

<<<Don't click your tongue. You still have a bad attitude even towards me. Be more polite like you do with Mereucce-chan. You're my messenger, aren't you?>>>

"Hehehe, sorry."

The hexahedron, changing its color randomly from green to yellow, purple, blue, red, and so on, complained to Viola.

As for Viola, her usual polite and sometimes insolent attitude was gone, and after roughly closing the iron door, she sat cross-legged in front of the mirror.

And in that posture, while resting her cheek on her right hand, she stared at the hexahedron and said,

"So? You summoned me suddenly, what do you want... Cube God Kakushii."

At last, the god of this chapter has appeared!

Its very name is "the Cube God Kakushii"!

...What is that!?