Chapter 11: Ignorance is bliss
The ship arrived safely on the day after Alma Elma's attack. They were greeted with surprise as the first ship coming in from the Ilias continent in such a long time. The merchants and sailors who got wind of it quickly began moving in a flurry of activity. The flow of goods would likely be restored in short order.
"Hmm, things seem quite lively on this side."
"It's because this is a Sentoran port town. In the end, only the ships heading to and from the Ilias continent were affected by the blockade."
Alice looked at the far more lively town with interest. As for Ilias...
"Ah, how appalling... To see monsters so openly fill the streets... and not even have the strength to drive away such evil..."
She appeared furious at the mermaids wandering around, minding their own business. It reminded me of how she suddenly demanded to have the slime girls in Iliasville, as well as Rumi and Remi, exterminated back in my world. How nostalgic.
"Would anyone like some fried starfish, handmade by a mermaid~?"
"...Looks like some things don't change."
"Oh, are those tasty? Hey, I will take one!"
"Thanks for your business~. Hehe, I finally sold one!"
Seeing the mermaid selling legitimate junk food over here too, made me feel strangely sentimental, and seeing my expression, Alice ended up buying one.
"Munch, munch... Ack, disgusting! What is this!? This is terrible! Why would you sell this!?"
"Eh?... What do you mean? These taste really good..."
"...What is wrong with your tastebuds?"
It was the one dish Alice, who shoveled just about anything into her mouth, was unwilling to eat. It had to be incredibly nasty indeed.
"Gulp, gulp... There we go, palette cleansed! Time to go eat all of the delicacies!"
And so the Monster Lord went off to scour through the stalls. Ilias also wandered through the stalls, her eyes flicking back and forth as she looked at the considerably greater variety of goods than back in Iliasport. And since she looked like a cute little girl...
"Oh? Why, hello there missy, interested in my wares? Here, have a taste."
"Oh my, how adorable. Look, I have some candy made with Sabasan fruit. Want one?"
She received samples from many of them. It was strangely adorable to see her take them all and eat them one by one.
"Nom, nom... As expected of myself, even in this form, my greatness shines through~. Munch, munch... Giving me so many offerings, what commendable faithful I have~."
"Don't get lost, you two. I don't want to have to go looking for you. I'll try to find something for dinner in the meantime."
Luka did his best to keep track of the two, following them as best he could while shopping for dinner. Lolias, especially, seemed quite easy to lose track of due to her small size, which was a bit worrisome.
"Luka... Luka, can you hear me? You must make curry. No, not hurry. Curry. I want curry for dinner."
"Indeed, Luka. You must make curry. And something with chocolate afterward."
"Why are you two in perfect sync only at times like this? Oh well, since we're already in a port town, I guess I can make some seafood curry."
"Yay~!" the two gluttons exclaimed in unison to Luka's idea. They truly did get along just so long as they were eating. Luka bought as many sweets as possible to appease the two when needed while also procuring curry powder, chocolate, anko, and a variety of jams made of foreign fruit.
A lot of shopping and eating later, they were finally able to take a breather. And the conversation naturally shifted to their next destination.
"So, Luka, do you already have another place in mind?"
"I figured we could head west to San Ilia first. Since it's the headquarters of the Ilias faith, we should be able to gather a lot of worthwhile information there."
"San Ilia? I have descended upon the cathedral a number of times, but I never took the time to leisurely explore the city. Alright, I shall see how my believers live their day-to-day life with my own eyes."
Lolias was looking forward to our stay, but Alice was clearly dissatisfied with the prospect. Well, it was probably only natural that a quiet visit to the stronghold of the Ilias faith wasn't exactly a Monster Lord's idea of fun.
"Is there at least any good food?"
"...The cuisine may be a bit humble and plain, but there is a lot of it. A-Also, the canals that run through the city make for a beautiful sight, hence being a popular tourist attraction."
"...What a worthless city," the Monster Lord blatantly voiced her disdain at not even being able to expect good food. Meanwhile, Ilias was also disappointed but couldn't really say anything as she'd always claimed leading a humble life was a virtue. Their dispirited expressions looked quite similar.
As their discussion continued, a somewhat familiar voice called out to Luka. "Um... Excuse me. May I have a moment of your time, traveler?"
"Ah, sure. How can I help?" Slightly surprised, he turned around and saw a beautiful mermaid, Meia, whose inclinations matched quite closely with a certain Heavenly Knight's
"Judging by the sword you carry with you, I believe you are likely not just some ordinary adventurer..."
"Indeed, he is far from ordinary."
If anything, it would be far more strange if someone ordinary carried such a blade.
"Since you seem to be an experienced adventurer, I would like to make a request of you... Would you be willing to hear me out?"
Wanting to help someone who had been a companion in his former world and curious about the changes between the two worlds, Luka was about to nod in agreement before a deafening roar resounded through the town.
"Kya!"
"What just happened!?"
"That building... Oh no, it's the mermaid school!"
Meia rushed toward the school. Whereas Luka also somewhat recognized the sound of an explosion, Alice's next words confirmed his fears.
"It smells of gunpowder... it must have been a bomb."
"...I knew it."
"Yes, and the one who caused this ruckus is..."
It seemed that Ilias knew something, but Luka also quickly rushed off toward the school, as there may be injured people who needed help. However, he was reminded of how sturdy monsters were when a large number of mermaids crawled out of the debris. Hearing there were no casualties, he let out a sigh of relief... which stopped short when he saw a familiar face from the corner of his eyes.
"...Uncle... Lazarus?"
As Luka stood in shock, Lazarus disappeared into the crowd, his expression clearly not one of concern for the mermaids.
"...Something wrong? Was that an acquaintance of yours?"
"...'Uncle' Lazarus?"
Alice was puzzled, not having seen Luka act in this way before, while Ilias tilted her head at the fact he called Lazarus, of all people, Uncle.
"What is the matter, Luka?... You are sweating all over, you know. Did you know that filthy, vulgar-looking man from earlier?" Not having gotten a reaction the first time, she shook his shoulder.
"Ah... yeah. He... was the person who raised me and my childhood friend."
"Lazarus raised you!?... and, what's that about a childhood friend?"
Ilias was utterly unable to reconcile the Lazarus she knew with the one Luka seemed to talk of. And with the way he was shaking, his face pale, they had to have been close indeed.
"...Hey, Luka. We are staying the night in this town."
"B-But..."
"You are in no condition to travel. Come on now." Alice dragged him along to the inn, followed by Ilias, who held a complicated expression.
"Have you calmed down a little?"
"Y-Yeah, I have. Thank you, Alice," Luka said, having managed to compose himself after being thrown into one of the inn's rooms.
"Still, to find out the person who raised you is a terrorist bomber in a parallel world..."
"...Actually, he apparently did a number of bombings as the Don of the Mafia over there as well... He even blew up the Pope."
"So he is an unrepentant criminal after all!? What were you even so shocked about then!?"
"The Po— Why would he blow up the Pope!?"
"..." Thinking it over, it was true that he was both the Don of the Mafia and a heinous criminal who had blown up the Pope... Huh, was he actually a pretty bad person?
"W-Well, you know, it's not like he just committed any indiscriminate terrorism, involving even human civilians despite aiming for monsters like here and—"
"Discriminate terrorism isn't much better!"
"...I guess that's true."
"...Just how did the leader of Ilias Kreuz happen to join the Mafia?"
"Ilias Kreuz... Coming to think of it, you were surprised by the differences between the worlds back when we talked... what kind of organization is it?" As he recalled from their conversation about his world, Ilias had indeed been quite surprised—surprised—about—Eh...? No... That... It couldn't be true!
"I-Ilias... The one who killed my father in this world, was it really... and Merlin and Karen died too?..." With a pale face, Luka quivered. Memories he didn't want to believe, couldn't believe... "Monster Lord! Put him to sleep, NOW!"
At Ilias' shout, Alice's hand descended on Luka's neck in a chop. Normally, Luka would have been able to dodge easily, but shaken as he was, reaping his consciousness was quite easy.
"...Monster Lord, you must erase his memory starting from after the terrorism incident."
"As much as I hate to abide by your words, very well... Just what did find he out about?"
"With a person so close to him committing misdeeds, especially ones as atrocious as that, it is only natural he would be impacted."
"...Is that so?"
The two laid him down on the bed with grave expressions. And, for the time being, Ilias decided to tell Alice about Ilias Kreuz, among other things, until Luka woke up.