Chapter 48

Here, a person is flustered by the sudden encounter with an unfamiliar culture.

Her name is Daisy Pagger.

That's me.

“- -- - -!”

“- -- - -!”

The situation where suspicious people are welcoming Ruel. In such a perplexing situation, objective judgment and observation are essential.

I calmly looked around and organized my thoughts.

Location?

‘The airship Ruel summoned. It’s small, but from its overall appearance, it doesn’t look mass-produced. It must be expensive.’

Time?

‘2:30 PM. On the way back to Midwinter.’

Situation?

‘When I boarded the airship, strange people were kneeling and shouting to welcome Ruel.’

Opponents?

‘About thirty people. Foreigners. They are wearing white northern-style clothing with white veils, so only their chins are visible. Mostly men, with about two women.’

Northern-style clothing.

‘...Yeah, on closer inspection, all these people are wearing clothes in the style of the Northern Continent Alliance Church.’

Moreover, it was not modern clothing but traditional clothing that I had only seen in books as a child.

Long, wide sleeves that could cover the hands and a narrow waistline. Belts and earrings adorned with pearls and gold.

Furthermore, the thirty people all wore the same color, giving the impression of a religious ceremony.

Here’s a summary.

‘Thirty foreigners are gathered, displaying behavior reminiscent of a religious ritual.’

Conclusion.

‘...Cult!’

Oh, Ruel. I never thought you’d really be a cult leader!

I looked at Ruel, hoping to get confirmation of my logical deduction.

However, contrary to expectations, Ruel, the one being welcomed, showed no reaction.

If he had looked around with a haughty expression, as if this were a normal welcome, my deduction would have been more credible.

He passed through the masked people lined up on both sides as if he couldn’t see them.

His steps showed neither arrogance nor a sense of entitlement.

Is my guess wrong?

‘Then, who are these people?’

Why is the welcome so grand?

It felt a bit strange. No, not a bit, but very strange.

The tense atmosphere like that of soldiers. The blind cries summoning a hero in troubled times. The posture of submission, as if paying respects before a conqueror.

All of this exists in one place. How could it not be strange?

And most importantly.

“Calepha! Calepha! Calepha!”

The word they have been chanting endlessly since some point.

‘Calepha?’

Is it Ruel’s real name?

I turned my head and looked at Ruel again.

He was already back to his original self, walking steadily forward.

Swish.

Following Ruel, I gathered the white cloth embroidered with gold thread and moved deeper into the airship.

After passing through about four more pieces of cloth with different patterns, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Then, a fantastic landscape I had never seen before appeared.

A greenhouse bathed in green, with a glass wall as the background.

“Wow.”

A small bird with a red crest flew overhead.

Through the clear chirping of the bird, the sound of a stream trickling could be heard.

The airship is clearly an isolated space, and despite the presence of a water stream, there was no humid air.

Beyond the glass wall was a vast sky and a forest.

Beneath my feet was a small greenhouse that seemed to contain a paradise.

‘How much money must have been poured into this airship?’

Perhaps Ruel is even richer than I imagined.

At that moment, unfamiliar footsteps began to gather around Ruel, who was walking ahead.

Three people entered silently, like shadows.

They were dressed in white from head to toe, like those who had welcomed Ruel, and began to carefully move their hands, starting to undress him.

‘Are they crazy?’

Why are they undressing him in front of me?

Moreover, Ruel was walking calmly into the greenhouse, seemingly indifferent to whether others undressed him or not.

This kind of contact seemed natural to him.

‘Is this a custom here? Since Ruel allows it, I can’t be annoyed.’

In any case, I am in a position where I have to ride this airship.

It’s awkward to watch someone undress, so I should look around the greenhouse.

However, despite my resolve, I couldn’t take my eyes off Ruel for a long time.

‘...Hmm.’

Because the guys were touching parts of Ruel’s body that shouldn’t be touched.

One by one, meticulously. As if they were handling a young child who couldn’t even stand properly!

‘Do they really have to go that far?’

Could Ruel be a young master who needs to be fed by hand?

Moreover, Ruel seemed completely uninterested in where and how the perverts touched him. From the looks of it, this wasn’t the first time.

If it’s a family custom, I, an outsider, should understand, but...

‘I don’t want to understand.’

I don’t want to, for some reason, it’s just, somehow, more and more unpleasant.

Why is it unpleasant? Is it because I would feel the same if I were in Ruel’s position? Or is it because I don’t like seeing a grown man treated like a child in front of me?

‘I don’t know.’

One thing is clear.

I’m annoyed. I want them to stop.

If so, I had only one choice.

“Hands.”

The three men and women, who had momentarily stopped moving, turned to look at me.

I declared to them.

“I’ll undress him.”

“...”

“From now on, I will take charge of Ruel’s changing. As a thank you for letting me ride the airship for free. No refusal.”

Ah, these people are foreigners. Do they understand the language?

My worry was unfounded. The man who had been most enthusiastic about undressing Ruel glared at me, biting his lower lip.

“This insolence. To do such a disrespectful act in front of Calepha...”

Disrespectful?

‘Is it disrespectful here for an outsider to undress Ruel?’

What a bizarre rule.

However, the man didn’t stop at scolding me.

“Repent with death!”

Death?

“No, that’s a bit...”

The man lunged at me. I instinctively slapped his cheek.

This is self-defense. I can’t die just because someone tells me to.

“Gasp.”

The pervert’s body staggered slightly.

However, he didn’t lose his resolve and tried to grab my neck, pretending to fall. I slapped the other cheek as well.

The man fainted.

“...”

“...”

“...”

In the prolonged silence.

I defended myself in a low voice.

“Self-defense.”

The remaining two looked at me in disbelief, then shuddered and turned their heads.

They gripped the half-undressed sleeves of Ruel’s shirt tightly and swallowed hard.

“...”

The silence was broken by a short laugh.

However, the short laugh soon turned into a long burst of laughter.

I stared blankly at Ruel’s face, which was shaking with laughter and losing its composure.

I had never seen Ruel laugh so openly, and I wondered if I was seeing things.

After venting his emotions, Ruel suddenly stopped laughing.

He looked at me with a strange expression, slowly wiped the corner of his mouth, and threw the shirt hanging awkwardly on his arm far away.

After proudly taking off his top.

Ruel turned my body perfectly towards him. Then.

“Miss Daisy.”

A shiver ran down my back at the touch. His eyes were filled with an insane and happy look as he brushed my cheek.

“If you wanted to undress me so badly, you should have said so earlier.”

Shyness and madness.

Confronting his beautiful face, which was clearly marked by these two emotions, I was momentarily speechless.

You’re not Morian now. If you’re not Morian, why are you making that face?

What is it? Something. Something. It felt like I had lifted a blind that didn’t need to be lifted.

I took a step back, and Ruel let go of me.

Turning his head, he nodded lightly at the two perverts. It was a signal to leave.

“But, Calepha.”

“We are here to serve Calepha...”

Ruel closed his mouth and stared intently, and the two stopped speaking.

They gasped and quickly bowed. After kneeling once and barely managing to greet, they disappeared from the greenhouse.

A bird sang somewhere.

Ruel, who had been staring expressionlessly at some place, slowly turned to look at me. Then, he suddenly spread his arms and said.

“Come on, I’m ready, so take off the rest.”

Today, I reflect.

Ruel is crazy.

Crazy to the point where it’s a waste to use three syllables to call him crazy.

So from now on, I’ll abbreviate it to ‘M’ for ‘crazy.’

“M? Mr. Ruel, undress yourself.”