Chapter 10
The snake looked deeply moved, its eyes growing moist, then it slipped snugly beneath Irix’s jacket collar and hid there. Soon, a shout loud enough to make ears ring echoed out.
“Irix Verkardt! Come out right now, Irix Verkardt!”
I asked quietly,
“They looking for you?”
“…I heard it too.”
When the snake cautiously poked its head out from under the collar, Irix pressed it back down with his fingers.
“You stay right there.”
From beneath the collar, the snake’s tongue flicked in and out.
With loud banging on doors, more shouting followed.
“No, it’s not here!”
Bang!
As a door opened, people screamed.
“Eek!”
“Who are you?!”
Bang again!
“Please spare me!”
“Aaaargh!”
Another bang.
“He’s not here!”
“Where the hell is he?!”
“Come out, Irix Verkardt!”
…Wouldn’t it have been better to figure out which cabin Irix was actually in first? This was way too noisy.
“He’s not here! Are you sure this is the right place?”
“Damn it, yes! I checked myself! He definitely boarded here!”
“Then why isn’t he here?!”
Maybe because there were still lots of cabins they hadn’t checked yet?
“Why are those people making such a fuss trying to find you?”
“…If they come in, ask them.”
At last, the door to our cabin was flung open.
BANG—
The ceiling and floor both shook. Damn it.
I stepped toward the door.
“Senior, what are you—”
“Shh. Quiet.”
The men who barged in with a crash flinched when they saw me.
“What the hell is this?”
Just as the noise had foretold, they looked rough and vicious. Their clothes weren’t decent either. From their expressions to their outfits, everything about them screamed that they’d trample and take whatever they pleased. Swords and guns were stuck in their belts. Things that were ugly to begin with looked even uglier in the hands of ugly men.
They didn’t seem to belong to the Order. No one doing God’s work would dress like this.
One of the men stepped in front of me. He was the biggest of them all, and his face looked the least polite.
He snickered as he asked,
“Well now, is it just you here, miss?”
“And what would you do with that information?”
“Senior, what are you saying right now—”
Before Irix could finish, the snake darted out from inside the collar, coiled swiftly around Irix’s chin, and sealed his mouth shut. Irix froze on the spot.
People of this world, take note: the natural enemy of the one who will someday destroy your world is a snake. Size doesn’t matter. Even a baby snake fresh out of its egg is more than enough of a threat to the mastermind.
The man leading the band of outlaws let out a whistle.
“So there was someone else with you. Looks like quite the young master too—your outfit’s impressive.”
He really is an impressive young master. The exact one you’re looking for, actually.
As the man approached Irix, the snake lifted its head and flicked its tongue.
“My goodness, what’s that?”
The man chuckled.
“Looks pretty cute. Could fetch a good price if sold. Guess rich young masters keep expensive pets, huh?”
Offended by the appraisal, the snake spread its wings wide and lowered its head.
That was an attack stance.
The man exclaimed admiringly,
“Look at that. A snake with wings! That’s a seriously pricey pet!”
Angrier still, the snake shook its tiny head fiercely, hissing. The man laughed as if he were watching a trick.
“So, is it poisonous, miss?”
“Yeah. If it bites you, you die instantly.”
Irix’s eyes wavered resentfully.
“……”
Once again, I couldn’t believe someone like that was supposed to destroy the world. Or maybe this world was just that bad.
“So don’t touch it.”
The man burst out laughing.
“Oh my, how scary! Guess I’d better be careful!”
“Yeah, good thinking. Now get away from my junior.”
Everyone laughed uproariously.
“Oh my, protecting your junior, are you?”
“How brave!”
“Right, a fragile young master needs a lady to protect him!”
Irix’s eyes flickered with resentment again. What exactly are you unhappy about?
“Before that, let me ask you something, miss.”
I didn’t answer, but the man spoke anyway.
“We’re looking for Irix Verkardt, the chancellor’s son. You happen to know him?”
I do. He’s right there.
“You didn’t come just to have tea together, so why are you looking for him?”
“To take him with us.”
“You don’t exactly look like the sort the chancellor’s son would trust and follow.”
I twirled my finger in the air.
The man laughed loudly.
“Yeah, you’re right. We’re not close. Don’t know each other at all.”
That much I could tell too.
“So he won’t come willingly. That means you plan to kidnap him. That won’t be easy.”
At that moment, one of his companions urged him on.
“We need to find him before those guys arrive. Don’t waste time here!”
“Got it! But first, we’ll take this.”
He pointed at the snake.
“I know a guy who auctions stuff like this. Jewel-like body, wings and all! It’ll sell for a fortune.”
The man grabbed the snake by the neck. The frightened snake’s tail stiffened. Irix clenched his fist.
“You said it was poisonous!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, miss. A pet snake kept by a lady wouldn’t be venomous. Just expensive.”
Do ladies here really keep a lot of snakes? What a strange trend.
The snake flailed and shook its head. Irix pulled his fist back. Incredibly, he looked like he was about to protect the snake.
And then—
Crunch.
A sharp sound rang out.
The snake had its eyes tightly shut as it bit down on the man’s finger.
Seeing the snake desperately sink its fangs into that thick finger, resisting with all it had, made it look pitiful.
Snake, let go and back off. I’ll hit him for you instead.
“Ow! That hurts!”
The man laughed loudly, and then—
Thud.
He collapsed.
“……”
“……”
I glanced at Irix. His eyes were wide.
I looked at the fallen man.
He wasn’t moving…
Reluctantly, I approached him and checked his neck.
“He’s dead.”
Irix’s eyes widened even more as he looked at the snake still wrapped around his chin.
The snake blinked its innocent black eyes and looked at Irix.
Irix then looked at me. Seeing his trembling gray-green eyes, I clasped my hands and bowed my head.
Sorry. You were right.
That thing really is a venomous snake.
Irix clenched his jaw and said quickly,
“It really was poisonous.”
“So you didn’t know when you said that.”
“Is that important right now?! Get rid of it, now!”
I raised my hands.
“Calm down. I only just found out it was venomous too.”
“Senior, are you an idiot? You picked it up without knowing it was venomous? What, fifteen percent? This is one of that fifteen percent!”
“If I’d found out that way, wouldn’t I be in no state to tell anyone?”
Because I’d have to get bitten to know.
“If you know now, then throw it away!”
“That would require the assumption that I’m the one raising it, but I already said I’m not. It just follows me around, so I have to wait until it leaves on its own.”
“You could just throw it out the window.”
If it were that easy, why don’t you throw it? Your hand’s closer.
“Calm down. I’ll admit it’s venomous. Sorry.”
“You think a ‘sorry’ covers this? Are you going to say that while standing by my corpse after I die from a bite?”
Ah, that actually sounds nice. The world wouldn’t be destroyed, and I’d die without regrets.
“What’s with that tempted look?”
Because it really did sound tempting.
Just then, one of the gang said,
“Hey, wait.”
He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a photograph.
“That’s him!”
“What?”
“That guy! We found him!”
Everyone gathered around the photo. I stepped closer too and looked over their shoulders.
It was indeed a photo of Irix.
No—more precisely, it was a photo of a photo of Irix.
It was blurry, but he still looked good. The original must have been even better. I pointed at the photo.
“Yeah, that’s you.”
“…What happens if I admit it?”
You really shouldn’t say that when you stand out so much wherever you go.
One of the gang shouted,
“Grab him now! We don’t have time! If the Order shows up, it’s over!”
The snake on Irix’s shoulder lifted its head. Knowing now just how venomous it was, the gang froze, unable to move.
“Senior.”
As if he’d finally made up his mind, Irix let out a long sigh.
“Yeah.”
“We’ve got something urgent to deal with first, so let’s talk about the venomous snake after we handle that.”
“What are you going to do?”
Irix’s neck flushed red.
“About the venomous snake… I’m about to do something, so… don’t bite me.”
Before the snake could respond—before I could even answer for it—the snake was suddenly flung into the air.
