When their secret was revealed by someone unexpected, the air froze, and everyone became speechless.
Everyone present was taken aback, and their thoughts came to a screeching halt.
Amusingly enough, both the person trying to reveal that secret and the people that concerned that secret made the same reaction.
“…You knew?” The alchemist said.
“Shin, since when did you know that!?” Lilisha said.
It was curious for how long that silence continued, but Johann eventually broke that silence with a quiet mutter made in disbelief, while Lilisha came back to her senses and looked at Shinichi with shock.
After all, he had never acted like he knew something that shocking.
“Ever since we met.”
“Ehhhhhh!?!?”
“So you really didn’t notice, huh. Stella, Robelia, Louise, Clara, didn’t I mention it this morning? I can see most things… Especially when it’s during combat.”
“Huh? Ah!”
When he said that, the four called out finally realized the true meaning behind what he said this morning.
It was difficult to judge people’s blood relation based off of their appearance unless they looked really similar.
Especially in their case, where they had many similar traits yet didn’t look similar at all.
Despite that, Shinichi’s eyes were good enough to be able to understand the circumstances surrounding their birth and understand that they were created through secret techniques to artificially create them.
In the first place, with how good his eyes were, did it even really make sense for him to miss such a crucial point?
That was especially so since the first time they met was during combat.
“I’d also spoken a lot about other secrets relating to Earthgant. That was actually me trying to get you to consider that I might know about the fact that the royal family was keeping the circumstances surrounding you a secret. An implicit way of saying that I knew. But you didn’t notice at all! You guys are surprisingly dense too, huh. Ku ku ku.”
Shinichi said with his usual mischievous smile.
He might have been shy of strangers, but he never kept his true face from them.
Even though he knew from the very beginning that they were a forbidden life form, he neither became disgusted with them nor pitied them, he just smiled at them normally.
“Ah~~~ What the heck!! And here I was worrying so much about when and how to break the news too!”
“Princess!?”
“Wait a moment!”
They were fascinated by that, and when that was confessed, the maids opened their eyes wide in surprise.
They were the sin of the royal family of Earthgant, who raised them despite knowing what they were.
To think that the princess was actually planning on telling that secret to him…
But of course, from the princess’ perspective, since she was planning on entrusting them to him, then of course one of the preconditions to that was that she shared with him that secret.
But of course, she was so ahead of herself that she didn’t even consider the possibility that he might have known already.
“Impossible…”
The girls were so shocked by all these revelations that – for a moment – they’d forgotten what situation they were in, or at least that was the case until that shocked voice reached them.
“You knew and yet you sacrificed yourself to protect them? Those are homunculi! Artificial life forms! They’re not humans! How could you so readily put your life on the line to protect them!?”
The alchemist once again yelled at the incomprehensibility of it all.
And as strange as it might seem, Lilisha and the others could actually understand where he was coming from.
The creation of artificial life form was an unforgivable act, all the more so when it concerned a humanoid.
That was the kind of forbidden existence that the homunculi were, creatures that had to be disposed of when found.
That was common sense, and yet here was a boy that would put his life on the line for them.
It was unthinkable even for an eccentric to sacrifice themselves to rescue such creatures.
And yet…
“Is that really something you should be saying as someone who brazenly broke that taboo? And besides, as you can see, I’m an otherworlder. Even if I know about the common sense of this world, it’s not my common sense.”
“The creation of artificial life is forbidden even on Earth!”
“That’s true, but this is a different world, you know? There are monster beasts, magics, evil gods, and even demon kings here. What’s one homunculus or two? Fuss over it as much as you want, but I just don’t see the big deal.”
“Ehhhh…”
It was an unusual perspective for them who were raised and born in this world.
But of course, Shinichi himself would have been surprised if this happened on Earth.
However, with this being a fantasy world and with him having already met all sorts of fantasy creatures, something on the level of a homunculus no longer bothered him.
“In the first place, it is the height of arrogance to deny the existence of a life that is already there just because of the way it was born.”
He was basically questioning what right they had to question their existence, and that pretty much summed up Shinichi’s stance in regards to the ethics concerning artificial life forms.
He was someone who always acted so haughtily, so hearing him say that made it seem to the girls as though the maids’ existence had been validated, and it brought them much relief.
“…”
Ironically, the one who couldn’t understand that was none other than Johann, who had willfully encroached the taboo.
He stood frozen in place, speechless, as he watched the boy arrogantly declare that he didn’t care about the common sense of this world.
Though there was no telling what emotions were swirling within him as of that moment, the light in his eyes spoke of hesitation and irritation.
Because it felt as though the boy was looking down on his own resolve.
“In the first place, it’s stranger to see these girls and say that they’re not people.”
The boy intentionally ignored how Johann was feeling and said that with a smile that covered his whole face.
A gleeful and expression and a voice, yet what that evoked was a profoundly unsettling premonition.
After all, that was the way he looked whenever he was about to say something utterly absurd.
“Let’s start with the assistant head maid, Frau.”
“Huh? Me?”
The person he called out was a maid with an abundance of chestnut-colored hair and a quiet demeanor.
Unable to even guess what Shinichi might be planning, he started.
“She might appear and act like the gentle sort, but she’s actually a very observant girl, and she’s also the scariest when mad. In that regard, even Lilisha and Stella have to watch their step. She loves accessories, though, so she’s easy to fool by taking advantage of that.”
“…Hah?”
How did he even know that? Whether it was the person herself or everyone else around, they were all equally confused.
In the first place, why was he even saying that at a time like this? But without being able to get any answers, the boy turned his attention to the next girl.