Chapter 235 – Woman in black

When Elena and I arrived at the Royal Capital…...
the situation is strange.
The town is silent.
When I checked the map, there’s one red dot, and one yellow dot,
both are moving towards the castle slowly.
「Seiji-sama!」
When I turned towards the direction of Elena’s voice,
there’s a girl lying down on the roadside.
I tried to rush over and see the girl’s condition, but―
not only the girl,
I noticed that there were people lying down throughout the whole town.
「What on earth is this!?
What happened??」
The townscape was dyed in twilight,
numerous people were lying down on the main street,
and none of them was moving.
「Seiji-sama! She’s fine.
She’s only asleep.」
Asleep!?
By any chance, all of them!!?
Elena wake up the girl using【wake-up】magic.
「......Hm? Who are you onee-chan?」
The sleeping girl woke up.
「I’m Elena. Why were you sleeping in a place like this?」
「Err…...
if I remember correctly…...
after the black-clothed woman walked along the road,
a black-like fog wrapped around the surroundings…...
after that...I can’t remember…...」
That black fog probably put everyone to sleep.
However, who on earth could that black-clothed woman be?
Is that woman one of the red and yellow dots indicated on the map?
「Elena, the person who is moving towards the castle is probably the perpetrator.
Let’s follow it.」
「Towards the castle!? Otou-sama is in danger!」
We parted from the girl and went towards the castle.
***
In the castle, the soldiers who were sleeping were lying down everywhere.
「Who are you!」
Upon arriving outside the audience room, the King’s voice can be heard from the inside.
When I broke into the door―
there were two women in front of the King.
「Seiji! You came. Help me quickly!
It’s dangerous, run away, Elena!」
My intention of helping him vanishes…...
『Hm~? There’s still someone left, huh~??』
One of the women looked back while saying so.
Hm?? Wasn’t it strange just now?
That woman who looked back is wearing black garments, and a hannya-like mask[1].
The mask has two grown horns.
I’m not sure whether the two horns are fake attached to the mask or real ones.
The other woman is hiding sneakily behind the hannya woman.
The black-clothed woman is probably the principal offender.
『Hm~? Why does Aya-chan’s onii-chan appear in my dream~??』
N!!?
She said『Aya-chan’s onii-chan』!!?
I realized the nature of the uncomfortable feeling which I felt a short while ago when I came here.
The language that this woman speaks……
is Japanese!
That means…...
『Are you Yurie-san?』
『That’s right~. I’m Yurie~.
Oh, Elena-chan is here too~.
Happy new year~.』
It’s Yurie-san after all!
However, her way of speaking is strange.
She seems to be totally drunk.
『Why a happy new year?
It’s June now, you know?』
『Hm? Is that so?
I thought it was certainly new years~.』
As expected, she looks strange.
Is she by any change under control of some magic?
I may understand it if I use【Appraisal】.
When I thought so and used【Appraisal】on Yurie-san who is donned with a hannya mask.
!!?
The woman who was hiding behind Yurie-san suddenly got in between Yurie-san and me,
and the【Appraisal】magic had been blocked by a suspicious shield.
What’s that!?
That woman’s shield is made from a material I don’t understand well, it has a dull feeling, and black in color.
Although the【Appraisal】magic hit, I wasn’t able to appraise it.
The moment the magic hit, it felt like it was diffused, and canceled.
It’s probably something that can cancel magic.
『Ara~. Koneko-chan, you protected me, right~?
I will lick you later~.』
Yurie-san said such a thing to the woman with a shield,
but since she talked in Japanese, it probably didn’t make any sense to that woman.
『Yurie-san, please return to your sanity.
Let’s return to Japan together.』
『I don’t want~.
Since it’s a special dream that seems to be interesting,
I have to enjoy it more.』
『It’s not a dream! It’s reality!』
『Ahaha~. Such a strange thing happened, it’s impossible to be real~.』
No good, Yurie-san completely believes that it’s a dream…...
『That’s right! Since Elena has specially appeared too, it’s a good opportunity to do it!』
Dangerous, I have a terribly dangerous feeling.
When Yurie-san picked her skirt up a little―
from inside Yurie-san’s skirt,
several jet-black tentacles gushed forth with *une une*.
「Hii!」
Overwhelmed by fear, Elena uttered a short scream,
and hid behind me.
『Elena-cha~n, you don’t have to run away, you know~.
Because it’s not going to be painful~.』
From the bottom of my heart, I―
felt Yurie-san to be frightening.
[1] The Hannya (般若) mask is a mask used in Noh theater, representing a jealous female demon. It possesses two sharp bull-like horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth. - Wikipedia