The sound of metal clashing echoed as the car door opened and a man entered.
“Master, how did the story end?”
“Don’t ask.”
“……Yes.”
At the man’s irritated voice, the driver immediately shut his mouth. He glanced around and slightly lowered the volume of the music he had turned on beforehand.
After a moment, the man spat out in displeasure.
“How annoying. That old man.”
In the end, the story was a loss for us.
The true powers controlling numerous noble families, including the Proiten family.
Aires’s Zaqil.
That monstrous old man wasn’t one to suffer even the slightest loss.
‘Making a fuss over just losing a cat.’
Six months ago, the request from Aires to transport ‘rare animals.’
He mentioned that task this time.
Of course, it was true that our side made a mistake by failing that request, leading to the confiscation of all the ‘smuggled goods’ including the requested item, but what could be done?
Afterward, it wasn’t as if we didn’t pursue the confiscated items.
In fact, most of the seized items were recovered.
However, one particular creature was completely gone, and it was impossible to retrieve it; it was a special cat with platinum fur.
Special, as in a regular cat with odd eyes and horns.
It was just that one simple request, and now there was no reason to dig it up again, was there?
‘Acting like it was something really important over just a cat…’
If they wanted to put horns on a cat, they could just catch a new one and do it.
He had to take a considerably unfavorable position at the negotiation table because of that incident, so he couldn’t help but feel discontent.
If it were up to him, he would have liked to revive the one they had already ‘disposed’ of and kill it again, but what could be done?
Even if he used necromancy to revive it, that wouldn’t be that creature, so it wouldn’t even serve as an outlet for his anger.
“……Tch.”
For just borrowing one item, three business locations were at stake…
It wasn’t a purchase but a rental; wasn’t it lacking in conscience?
Well, besides that, he had also agreed to take care of minor issues, but still, his dissatisfaction didn’t fade.
With this, his influence in Aires was significantly reduced.
It seemed that the prospects for expanding into Aires were still distant.
“When the hell do I have to be holed up in that damn Beriton?”
If that orphanage incident hadn’t gone wrong, he would have been in Aires long ago.
Aires, the largest country on the continent currently, a land where vast sums of money circulate—a land of opportunity.
For the people of the underworld, it was what they called the ‘brilliant Arinseia.’
“…….”
So it couldn’t be helped.
He fidgeted with the dark blue brooch in his pocket, his expression twisted.
“I won’t let that traitor die easily; prepare yourself.”
Wasn’t all of this because of ‘that guy’?
Three business locations?
Ha, if he could just take away the facilities that traitor integrated, he might recover some ground.
And it’s not just that; it wouldn’t be absurd to use him again to expand business.
From what he heard, it seemed he had changed quite a bit.
The man grinned a sinister smile.
He’d make the insolent lab rat who dared to stab him in the back pay for it.
——–
Once trust is lost, it’s hard to regain.
However, Luke had a genuinely perplexed expression as he tried to figure out how he had lost Diana’s trust.
“Hmph, Luke is a liar too.”
“What are you talking about? Me, a liar?”
Diana puffed up her cheeks and turned her body away.
Luke felt a wave of panic.
To be accused of being a ‘liar’ by a mage who sought the truths of the world felt quite heavy.
A moment later, Diana muttered, as if venting her dissatisfaction.
“When we ride on a plane, we don’t take off our shoes. Stop lying to me.”
“No, even if I do…”
When taking a plane, one takes off their shoes.
Hadn’t he done exactly that himself?
Luke was confused by the divergence from his prior knowledge.
Taking off shoes.
It was knowledge he had learned from Dayton and had personally experienced when Shirud demonstrated it.
Yet for some reason, this child had immense certainty that one did not take off shoes on a plane.
Why, Luke found himself completely unable to grasp.
Because wasn’t it a simple proposition?
When taking a plane, one either takes off their shoes or doesn’t.
If taking them off was true, then all the clues Luke had confirmed would align perfectly, but if not, then it wouldn’t.
Just because Diana was a naive child, Luke didn’t want to completely disregard her claim (he himself was just as naïve about the world), but still, her assertion lacked credibility against the body of evidence he’d seen, heard, and experienced.
Even if planes might differ, the plane Diana should be taking now was Shirud’s private jet, so taking off shoes should indeed be true…
“Liar! You just want to embarrass me again! I won’t fall for it!”
Thus, the back-and-forth between Luke and Diana was still at a standstill.
After some time, Yerna returned after finishing her conversation with Pyris.
“Luke, Diana. Did you take care of the luggage well?”
“Ah, Yerna. Welcome back.”
Yerna glanced over: Pyris, who was sprawled out sleeping in a chair; Luke, standing a bit flustered; and finally, Diana, who turned her back to Luke with a sulky expression.
If Pyris was just tired from maintaining her physical form for so long, then why was Diana sporting such a disgruntled expression?
“Oh dear, Diana. Why do you look so pouty?”
At this, Diana grumbled again in a voice full of dissatisfaction.
“Luke keeps lying to me.”
“I do not lie.”
Since engraving the Circle, there had been times when he hadn’t told the complete truth, but he had absolutely never told a lie.
So for Luke, it was a frustrating matter, and it was only natural that he wanted to regain the child’s trust.
“Yerna, please tell her. Is it normal not to take off shoes when boarding a plane?”
“Ah, that’s what this was about.”
Yerna touched her forehead for a moment.
She was surprised that Dayton’s prank could still carry on.
“That’s right. It isn’t necessary to take off your shoes when boarding a plane.”
“……Is that true?”
“Yes, usually we board with our shoes on. Well, there wouldn’t be a significant problem if someone did, but it would get crowded with so many people doing that.”
“What the…?”
Luke was bewildered.
Then Dayton had indeed lied to him, which he couldn’t understand at all.
What benefit could there possibly be from giving him incorrect information?
Deceiving someone with false information can be a rather effective propaganda technique in strategy, but of course, it could also be used in jest.
Humans are creatures who enjoy play.
However, a jest requires the ability to see the other person’s reaction, and since Dayton didn’t ride the plane with him, he couldn’t have seen him take off his shoes before boarding; moreover, it would have been a lie that would have been instantly exposed if anyone was ahead of him in boarding.
“Huh, I really don’t know why Dayton told such a lie.”
“Haha, me neither.”
As Yerna chuckled at Luke’s baffled expression, she found it amusing.
Dayton also had a mischievous side to him.
The youngest member among the party members, and seeing that side of him, despite his size, made him seem adorably childlike.
Thus, in the end, Diana’s claim turned out to be true.
Diana turned to Luke with a triumphant expression.
“See? I’m not falling for it anymore.”
Luke, petting Diana’s hair, replied.
“Yes, I see now. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t lying. It’s not a problem to not take off your shoes on Shirud’s plane.”
“……Really?”
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”
Diana shook her head energetically at Luke’s words.
Earlier, she had thought he was colluding with her brother to tease her, but to Diana, Luke was a ‘Spirit Girl.’
A being like an idol.
“Okay, then Diana. Before I board, I will take off my shoes. Then, you can trust me, right?”
“Got it! Then I’ll take off my shoes too!”
“Good girl.”
Luke lightly fixed Diana’s hair with his fingers, smiling broadly.
———-
Before Shirud’s private jet, the group stood.
Pyris had little interest in the plane, while Luke had seen it a lot, but was scanning its overall appearance once more with his magic sight, and Dayton and Yerna let out short exclamations of admiration.
With their series of reactions, Shirud felt secretly embarrassed but also pleasantly tingled in his chest, so he smiled without it being too bad.
Among them, the one with the most intense reaction was undoubtedly Diana.
Diana pointed at the plane with her finger while looking at Shirud.
“Is this your brother’s?”
“It’s not mine; it’s Grandfather’s.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
When Shirud heard Diana exclaiming in excitement, he replied.
Was she said to be eight years old now?
She was quite the energetic little one.
Since Shirud was an only child, he had harbored vague curiosity about what it would be like to have a younger sister, and now he felt like Diana might just fit that feeling.
Even Luke, being a year younger by age, was technically still his younger sibling, but he was more of an exception.
“Wow!”
Diana exclaimed in wonder at the plane’s interior.
The spacious room felt almost homey, as if they had already arrived home.
Getting even more excited, Diana’s face turned red as she muttered.
“Is this a real airplane?”
Squatting on the floor, she rubbed her hands over the carpet.
The carpet was incredibly soft.
“Is it okay to do that?” Dayton asked worriedly.
“It’s fine; people always clean it well before takeoff.”
No matter what anyone at the back said, Diana paid them no mind and began darting around the plane’s interior.
The sofas were even more plush than those at home, and peeking inside the fridge, she found a ton of drinks and a huge stash of snacks.
Even the TV mounted on the table belonged to a channel featuring her favorite ‘Spirit Girl!’
After confirming everything, Diana exclaimed without delay.
“This is heaven!”
It felt so good.
She was so happy.
It felt like everything here existed just for her.
Then, a moment later, Diana looked at Shirud with a serious expression and said.
“I want to marry this brother.”
