Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Magic and and Natural Witches - (4)

When Ashton's entourage is escorted to the library, Claris and her colleagues are tidying up the bookshelves.

“Oh? All right, it's Ashton Senefelder. I'm glad Fellow Olivia and Miss Claudia are safe, too."

(Comrade)

After saying that, Claris rested her feet on the edge of the stairs and slid down in a trained motion. At the sight of that, Olivia rushed towards the stairs, but Claudia snatched her collar quickly.

Claris ignored the reproachful gaze that was pointing towards her and pushed her plain red-framed glasses with a mischievous smile.

“You also look healthy, Ms. Clarists. By the way, why are you smiling like that?"

Ashton was alert.

“I've heard it all. How you all slaughtered enemy commanders like demons. Even the Sun Knight led by the Empire's Tri-General was made to flee back to Fort Kiel with his tail between his legs."

(Semacem idiom which means running away.)

“Devil is a bit.. By the way, why do you know all these details, Miss Claris? That seems strange to me."

"Ashton's right, you got suspicious information."

The surprised Claudia agreed with Ashton. The military will inform the masses about the general situation, but it will not be that detailed. As Ashton looked at her suspiciously, Claris hugged his arm and whispered into his ear: 'Claris:

“You've just been assigned as an officer, and your tone has become very rude. When did you fall so low? Major Ashton Senefelder."

"I'm a Warrant Officer, you know?"

Ashton corrected her, but Claris raised the corner of her lips.

“You will soon become Major.”

“Other forecast? Unfortunately, it can't be — and can you release it now?"

Aware of Olivia's gaze, Ashton pushes Claris out of her arms. Satisfied with his teasing, Claris grunted softly.

"So, why do you know so much, Ms. Claris?"

“Whose do you think I am? This much information is just a piece of cake to me."

Claris' haughty words drew Ashton's memory. Returning to the Lion King Academy, he was well-informed. From trivial matters such as where the headmaster kept his wine, to the operating expenses of the academy that normal students would not know about, he knew all of this information.

"That's right, Ms. Claris has always been shrouded in mystery."

“Fufu, that mystery envelops women, women.”

Claris pressed her index finger against her lips with a seductive smile. After taking Ashton and his friends to the reading room, he went somewhere alone.

Moments later, Claris returned with a book and sat down next to Olivia.

“Have you found the reason?”

Ashton's passing comments made Olivia overreact. He leaned his full body into Claris' chair.

“Do you already know it !?”

“R-Rekan Olivia, you're too close. I'll be embarrassed, so please step back a little."

"All right!"

Claris rarely looks confused, and Olivia agrees obediently. However, he did not do what he just said, and even leaned closer.

His excessive excitement might cause a mismatch between his words and actions.

“B-Good. I smelled something good, and it also cleared my head. Let's continue with the topic."

Claris and the other three all looked towards the black book on the table. The title of the book is 【The Clan of Darkness】. The author is Angus Rem White, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kingdom of Farnesse.

(The title of this book is no stranger, I saw it the day before I left the capital.).

Claris understood what Ashton was thinking and said with a nod:

"That's right, this is the book Ashton Senefelder discovered. Because there wasn't enough time, so we put it back on the shelf, but I read it some time later. Let's start with the conclusion, the Valedstorm residence is a descendant of the ancient Dark Clan. The reason for his death is written inside."

With that, Claris opened the marked page. Ashton took a quick look around, and it was true, that it was mentioned that Valedstorm was a descendant of the Dark Clan.

“So, what is the Dark Clan? Darkness feels unpleasant..”

Claudia asked Claris while flipping through the pages.

“According to the book, they are a minority race against the True King. They're trying to usurp the throne with their superior abilities or something."

“Ras minority who seized the throne? That's a big jump."

“As you know, history is written by the winners. Only the subject himself knows whether the contents are true or not."

Claris shrugged, and Ashton agreed. He read a lot, and found a lot of information to be taken with a pinch of salt.

They should use their own judgment to determine what is right.

“Please just say this is true. Did the Valedstorm family plan a betrayal like their ancestors did?"

Claris shook her head at Claudia's question.

"No. The Valedstorm family's loyalty to the nobility of Farnesse was well known. Moreover, no one knew that the Valedstorm family was a descendant of the Clan of Darkness.”

"Then what happened?"

The confused Claudia raised her voice slightly. If what he said was true, then there was no reason that the Valedstorm residence would die.

“Wait, didn't you say that the Valedstorm family is loyal to the throne? Why would they believe such an absurd thing?"

This time, it was Ashton's turn to ask Claris out loud. But he only answered:

“After all it is the 8th century of the Lunar Calendar. You understand why, don't you, Ashton Senefelder?"

(Eighth Century of the Lunar Calendar .. so.)

The eighth century of the Lunar Calendar is also called the dark ages. Everyone is tormented by hopeless wars, and lives under pressure and anxiety. If one were to complain about the threat to the throne, the royal family would definitely remove the threat quickly.

If this were to happen now, there would be a careful investigation. But given his situation back then, Ashton felt that this was just an expected result. That's what Claris says.

“-So, has the Valedstorm family been destroyed?”

Olivia was talking all this time. He looked at Claris with a serious face, which made Claris flinch at him.

“Mean Olivia, I'm not sure what happened back then. The book only says that Valedstorm's palace was besieged and burned. It doesn't mention the people in it. But something's bothering me."

Claris deftly flipped through the pages and pointed to a section.

(Some soldiers watched the black fog fly from the windows of the mansion as the buildings were burned. It is still unclear what that is.)

- Black fog.

Ashton sees Olivia's sword, and Claudia does the same. They turned their eyes between Olivia and the sword.

As for the owner of Olivia's sword, there was a brilliant light in her eyes as she raised the corner of her lips. There was a hint of madness on his face, making him difficult to approach.

Claris who knew nothing about the sword continued:

“This part is very strange. What is that black fog? This book is the only book that mentions it from all the books. By the way, there is no evidence to prove the Valedstorm family committed treason."

"So they were framed, yeah ..."

Claudia murmuring.

“From my speculation, the royal family may feel guilty about this. In any case, they punished the loyal Valedstorm family without any evidence."

“Even if they are descendants of the Dark Clan, it has been a long time, and has nothing to do with the people in the current era.”

“This is definitely the reason about his death not mentioned. Normally, the name of the residence would be removed for this kind of situation. I think Angus Rem White wrote this book as a form of penance."

Claris closed the book and sighed heavily.

"There's a record of who the complainant was?"

Things got this way because the accusations were baseless, so Ashton was curious that Claris did not mention it.

“Nothing in the book offends that. Either the author does not know, or accidentally eliminates it..”.

Silence enveloped the place for a moment before Olivia broke it with a clear voice:

“Claris, Claudia and Ashton, thank you for your help. Choosing a Valedstorm residence is the right choice. "

"… What do you mean?"

Claris asked with investigative eyes, but Olivia simply told him not to fuss about it, and stretched his back. Ashton wanted to learn more, but since Olivia had no intention of telling them, she could not really ask.

Everyone has their own secrets -

*******

After leaving the Royal Library, Ashton and his colleagues walked aimlessly through the streets.

“It was very fast. What do we do now?"

Ashton turned around and asked, which made Claudia smile wryly.

“Yeah, we think we should stay for a few days.”

Olivia who was walking in front of them suddenly stopped.

"Then, let's eat something delicious. It's noon already. "

As Olivia said that, the clock tower rang. Ashton could not help but smile at this coincidence.

“That's right.. It's a rare opportunity, let's visit the roadside stall.”

“Shopping at the stall! Hurrah! ”

Olivia was so happy.

"Lieutenant One Claudia, is that okay?"

"Yes that's fine."

Claudia also nodded.

"I don't mind either. It's a great opportunity to eat something from a street vendor."

A voice suddenly came from behind. They turned around and found a handsome young man standing there with a brilliant smile.

...****************...

...To Be Continue's...