“…Still, just what kind of group are they supposed to be?”
Dana, the island’s magic-tool artisan, tilted her head in genuine puzzlement.
That strange party of five she met outside the town— they claimed they’d all lost their memories, but the odds of an entire group conveniently suffering amnesia were astronomically low.
Of course, it could have been some sort of magical accident… but even then, the composition of the group was odd.
Traveling with an infant was strange enough, but for the whole party to consist almost entirely of young women. And even more peculiar, the baby didn’t seem to be the child of any of them.
“The talking baby is the strangest part of all… but wait. If such a baby existed, the whole island would be buzzing with rumors by now. Which means, they must be from outside the island… hm? Uh- my head…”
A sharp pain struck her, forcing her to wince.
“…Huh? What was I just thinking about?”
It seemed that a fragment of her memories had simply vanished.
…In truth, Reus had quietly cast a mental manipulation spell on her. Whenever she grew too close to uncovering the truth, the spell would block her thoughts and erase the moment from her memory entirely.
Unable to recall anything no matter how hard she tried, Dana gave up with a sigh. Instead, she turned her attention toward the large hall reserved for female pilgrims—
and there, she noticed something.
“Come to think of it… where did that baby go?”
The infant who had been so delighted to stay in this free lodging just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
“No idea. He’s always wandering off on his own. Who knows where he’s gone this time?”
The red-haired beauty named Anje with a sigh.
“…Is that really okay? Well, he isn’t an ordinary baby so I suppose there’s nothing to worry about.”
Right after Dana said so—
A squad of burly temple clerics suddenly burst into the large communal room.
“Inquisition! No one move! Anyone who does will be treated as resisting arrest!”
The Inquisitors. Clerics granted special authority to hunt down heretics—interrogate them, judge them, and punish them.
Dana’s heart lurched.
(Don’t tell me… they’ve found out…?)
“Mm. Should I take them out?”
“Agreed. They barged into a women-only room with weapons. If they get slaughtered, that’s on them.”
“W–wait, wait, WAIT! If you do that, we will be the ones arrested!”
Dana frantically stopped Fana and Anje, who had casually begun saying very dangerous things.
A moment later, one of the Inquisitors shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Is there a woman named Dana here!? If so, step forward at once!”
(…So. It really was me.)
Dana had a guess. She had taken every precaution while conducting her experiments, but it seemed the Inquisitors’ net had spread far wider than she expected.
The entrance was completely sealed.
There was no way out.
No— even if they somehow managed to escape this place, there was no chance of slipping from their grasp.
With a trembling voice, Dana stepped forward.
“…M-me. I’m Dana.”
◇ ◇ ◇
“If people on this island ever found out that the “divine ship” they very much treasured was modeled after breasts, they’d probably faint on the spot…. I mean, honestly, no matter how you look at it, that’s exactly what it resembles.”
Had no one noticed until now?
Had no one ever thought, “Hey, doesn’t this look like boobs…?”
『Even if someone did think so, they would never dare say it aloud.』
“Sigh. How sad. Every human being grows up drinking from their mother’s breasts and yet…”
In the end, I didn’t even get to flirt with the girl.
I just trudged back to the temple instead.
“I guess it can’t be helped. For today, I’ll have to make do with my disciples’ breasts. No—hold on. Now that I think about it, Dana is here, isn’t she? Fufufu… perhaps I should take the chance to enjoy hers instead.”
I was entertaining such thoughts as I approached the free lodgings when I suddenly realized it’s terribly noisy inside.
“What happened?”
In the women’s common room, for some reason, male priests were gathered. Some of them were even holding what looked like weapons, and the women staying there were watching them with frightened, uneasy expressions.
“Don’t tell me they found out that we came from the surface…? Wait—what?”
The one surrounded by the priests was Dana. Head drooping in resignation, her hands had been tied with rope.
“What happened?”
“Who are yo—wait, there’s a baby floating in midair, and it talked!?”
One of the priests gave the standard shocked reaction upon seeing me.
“Don’t mind me.”
“Of course I’m going to mind you…! W–well, no, this isn’t the time for that. We are Inquisitors. This woman is under suspicion of committing blasphemy against the Divine Ship. We will be taking her to the tribunal for questioning.”
“Blasphemy? Against the Divine Ship?”
“…Don’t tell me you don’t even know that? Your parents should have taught you.”
“I’m a baby.”
“Mm, I see. At that age, I suppose you wouldn’t yet—no, wait, then how are you speaking so fluently…?”
The priest, still looking flustered, explained it to me anyway.
“The Divine Ship is sacred and inviolate—it brought our ancestors to this land. Any act of mimicking it frivolously is strictly forbidden.”
…Wait, seriously?
So showing off the Seno Grande Kai was a huge mistake… Even though I hadn’t mimicked it—it was an old model!
“You all must be extremely careful as well. …Let’s go.”
Dana offered no resistance and was quietly led away.
“Huh!? My boobies for tonight just got taken away!?”
『Absolutely not the Master’s. More importantly, are you certain it’s okay? She did, after all, break the laws of this island.』
“…That’s true. When we met her, she mentioned she was conducting some kind of experiment. And that broken artificial device lying nearby… it was probably an attempt to recreate a magical airship.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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