I turned to look at Ein, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

As if sensing my attention on him, he suddenly chose that moment to open his mouth, yet he didn’t call out to me, but to the prince instead.

“When the kingdom came to fetch Eneida, you weren’t there? But did you know how many people went there?”

Manasye nodded and then shook his head.

“Uhm, I didn’t come along with them, yes. I reckon there were many people going there… They made such a fuss about it. It’s been known to many that sometimes, a saint would be born in Vittae village. If that saint were to turn cursed… it’d be able to throw the kingdom into chaos.”

“Hmhm…”

Ein continued to nod as he fell into another contemplative state.

 

“Say… You should be familiar with the elves in the temple, right?” Ein turned to ask Eneida.

Eneida nodded.

“Then, how do you describe them?” Ein asked again.

“Uhm… They are very devout, structured, disciplined…,” Eneida seemed uncomfortable in answering Ein’s question, but she continued her words, “Some are the kindest people… but they, I…”

Aah, I believe she’s conflicted since the very same people who revered her turned against her once she was cursed…

“Are they humble?” Ein asked again.

“Uh… They are very prideful of their community.”

“Are they also loyal to the kingdom aside from their loyalty to Vidaestinae?”

“Yes… I think they are a bit… chauvinistic…,” Eneida stuttered a lot, yet she managed to answer Ein’s barrage of questions.

“Chauvinists. Secluded village. The kingdom lent a hand in Eneida’s matters…,” Ein muttered in a low voice that I could barely hear. Clavis’ ears twitched and so did Carbuncle’s.

But Manasye and Eneida didn’t seem to catch what he was saying.

 

I looked at Ein in confusion.

What is he cooking inside that little mind of his?

Again, just as I was questioning him, Ein suddenly turned to Manasye and asked, “Well, Manasye. What about you?”

Manasye was stunned, clearly not expecting to be questioned.

“What do you mean?” He asked as he scratched his head in confusion.

Well, Ein’s question is a bit hard to understand…

 

“What do you think of the people of the Vittae village?” Ein asked as he gestured to Manasye to follow him, as they went further from Eneida, so she wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation.

Obviously, the rest of us quickly approached Ein and Manasye.

“Uhm, I never really encountered them myself… But based on Eneida’s description of them, I feel like they… can be a bit hard to face off? Definitely not the type of people I wish to face as a part of the royal family,” Manasye said.

“Why?” Ein asked.

“Well, I feel like they may have felt that they were superior compared to the others. Looking at our current situation… we all know the ongoing conflict within our kingdom with another empire. And if they are chauvinists, then… They—along with other chauvinists—might wish for our kingdom to clash against the empire head-on and conquer the empire. It will cause war,” Manasye scrunched his nose a bit.

“Right,” Ein nodded.

“I think it’s really best for me to entrust this matter to you guys and not have anyone that can clearly say they’re from the kingdom to investigate this matter. If they know the people that come there have relation to the royalty, they might use it to push us to declare war, or even be guarded to us since as of now, Father hasn’t stated his stance yet and continues to be on the defensive side,” Manasye said.

 

“Now, putting that matter aside, Manasye,” Ein looked with a serious gaze to Manasye before asking, “What about you personally? Which one do you support?”

Manasye was stunned before he stutteringly said, “I-I… I do… not wish for war to happen…”

“You don’t want to conquer the Naraka empire? Why?” Ein asked again.

“I… don’t wish for that. As long as we can just be at peace with each other, it’s fine. If war were to break out and we were to fight, no matter which one of us wins, the remaining won’t be at peace. The winning party’s fanatics will choose to eradicate the losing race, and if their agenda is fulfilled, it’d be a genocide. If not, the losing party will be slaves and suffer for all eternity… Both aren’t good. Proving something is superior to eradicate or enslave who they saw as the inferior… I don’t think it’s right,” Manasye explained with conviction in his eyes.

 

Ein nodded, seemingly satisfied with Manasye’s answers.

“Why did you ask me those questions?” Manasye suddenly asked.

“Well, we are in the same stance as you. I am just making sure before revealing that. We just want to be wary if we need to go to a place with possible fanatics. I believe you should get what I mean?”

Manasye had a look of understanding before saying, “Okay.”

“Alright, let me discuss with the others for a while,” Ein suddenly dragged me, Carbuncle, and Clavis away from where Manasye was.

Manasye seemed to be wondering what was going on, but he decided to go near Eneida’s room to converse with her.

 

“So, what are you planning?” Clavis asked Ein.

“I think we should investigate the area. If Oriel is really still alive and the royal family is actually against the union with the Oni, then maybe… maybe Oriel is being held somewhere… Maybe they change the place where she’s held for safety reason. It might be too far-fetched, but we never know ‘til we try,” Ein explained.

My anxiety faded away into relief.

With this, we can help Eneida as well as continue our main mission of finding out the truth about Oriel, helping Alt-nii and the others, and hopefully work towards peaceful days!

“Great, we can do that!” I quickly agreed.

“That’s not my only goal, but…,” Ein muttered.

“Eh?”

But before I got to ask Ein that, he already approached Manasye and tapped his shoulder. Manasye turned around to look at Ein before he walked away from Eneida and approached us together with Ein.

 

“We’d like to accept your request, but we have another request in exchange for that,” Ein said.

“As long as it’s within my abilities, I will do my best,” Manasye said without hesitation.

To which, Ein smiled—not the kind of innocent angelic smile I often saw on his face, yet a business-like smile—and answered, “Can you find more information about the delegates from Riviera country? You can also befriend them. When we return, can you please introduce us to them?”

Ein’s words surprised me.

“Huh? Why?” Manasye asked a question I was dying to ask too.

“Simple. They are delegates sent from the Riviera country to negotiate peace to Cielle, in hopes that Cielle won’t retaliate and launch attacks to Naraka, causing the war to worsen. They want peace. Plus, I heard that the citizens of Riviera—although mainly humans—there are other races and mixed races too. I think befriending them will be similar to gathering more allies or gaining more connection of the same view. We have always wanted to get some kind of connection to Riviera, but we didn’t know where to start before,” Ein lied without batting an eye, and his words flowed eloquently out of his mouth.

I was too stunned at Ein’s ability to lie on the spot like this…

 

“That is a good idea, but…,” Manasye furrowed his eyebrows.

“Why are you hesitating? I think it’s a nice deal even for you too. Or is it that your family isn’t really supportive of the cause and that’s why you are hesitant?” Ein asked.

“Actually… I can’t read what my parents are thinking about the issue at hand. But that’s not the reason. I am just not sure if I can do that because… Unlike my sister, I am not an outgoing person,” Manasye said.

“It’s fine. You can always try just like how we are going to try investigating the Vittae village,” Ein said.

“Try… Okay, I will try then,” Manasye nodded.

“Is that a deal?” Ein asked for another confirmation as he extended his hand towards Manasye.

“Deal,” Manasye said as he shook Ein’s hand.

 

Ein…

He really is an opportunist, huh?

I am not sure if he just wants to make use of the prince to make sure we can understand more about Alt-nii and the others’ condition, or if he wants to give us a leeway so that the prince can keep becoming our ally, even if our identity were to be revealed.

Maybe it’s both?

Looking at Ein’s skilful maneuver through this situation, I was reminded of how I seemed to lose similar set of skills that I had gained as Reinst.

My chest tightened at the thought that… Although I disliked it, but sometimes, we should try to put up a front and deceive others for what we wanted.

 

Right.

I was no longer a child.

But I had never been exposed to this world again… the world of deceit and survival tactic in the harsh society.

I disliked how I always used to put a front as Reinst, but I had to admit that maybe… I needed to consider using that skill back, should it be necessary.

 

“I will arrange the preparation soon. I will inform you guys again,” Manasye said before turning to Eneida.

“Isn’t it great, Eneida? We might be able to play together without any restrictions soon!” Manasye said excitedly to Eneida.

His innocent smile was really unsuitable for a typical prince of a kingdom, but again, he reminded me of the innocent Leticia.

“Thank you, Manasye. Thank you too, Escha, Kuu, Reynald, and Ralph!” Eneida said, but the smile she put on her face was a bit strained.

I guess she felt a bit uneasy, nervous, and worried…

Of course, this matter was a life-changing one to her.

 

Although I was unsure if we were headed towards the right direction or not… There was nothing else we could do than this for the time being.

Hopefully, fate brought us closer towards the best possible future we could get.

 

At that time, I suddenly recalled the celestial voice of Aion-sama during when we met.

“I just want you to do what you want and what you feel like the right thing to do.”

Could this be one of the things Aion-sama had wanted me to do?

Is that why Aion-sama reincarnated me as Lyra?

 

I was still unclear of it all. However…

Remembering Aion-sama’s words eased up some of my worries.

Yes, I feel like this is the right thing to do, so it should be the right thing to do!!