“—Trying to forget it, I threw myself even more desperately into my duties as a knight. Striving to be pure and incorruptible… Ah, I thought it was unthinkable to take an interest in such things!”

Indeed, a brothel would hardly be a place compatible with someone like Alisha.
If she were entering it for work, that might be one thing—but to be in a position of using it? Unthinkable.
　Moreover, witnessing acts between women there—perhaps that alone was enough to leave a lasting impression.

(…It wasn’t quite what I’d imagined)

I couldn’t fathom her reasons, but before sharing this story, Alisha had carried a profoundly heavy air.
Hence—I’d assumed some deep, hidden circumstances lay behind it. But in short, it was that she couldn’t forget the unsavoury acts she’d witnessed at the brothel.
　It was certainly enough to shatter one’s image of Alisha. But,

(It’s… a serious matter for Alisha-sama)

Lotte decided to tell herself that.

“—And so, it probably ended up causing me to bottle up stress.”
“Er, so… what she witnessed that day kept bothering her…?”
“Yes. Honestly, it bothered me a great deal.”
“A great deal…?”
“—But this is about another day!”

Alisha lifted her face, clenching her fists tightly as she continued.

“We seized something from a criminal we caught on another case!”
“Something, you say?”

What on earth had they seized?

(Alisha-sama is so furious… Could it be something even worse than that ‘demonic herb’ mentioned earlier…!?)
“Yes. It was—this book of dubious content.”

—Pointing at the book placed on the table, Alisha stated.

“Th-that is it?”

This too was an entirely unexpected direction, leaving Lotte bewildered.
—The gap between the Alisha Lotte admired and the Alisha before her eyes was simply too vast, leaving her desperately trying to reconcile the discrepancy in her mind.
　After all, the question was why Alisha had even picked up a dubious book in the first place—it surely couldn’t lead to anything serious.

“Books like this are widely available, and possessing them isn’t a crime—though I couldn’t possibly go to a brothel just because I’m curious… Reading a book is permissible. Yes, as long as no one finds out.”

In other words, that must have been why Alisha concealed her true face.
Her appearance was undeniably suspicious, but in such a remote place, even if she had gone to the trouble of buying a book—surely no one would have imagined it was Alisha.
Ultimately, Lotte recognised her by Alisha’s voice, and they were also struck by the mishap of the mask’s cord snapping.
　Still, if her face were seen, her true identity would be exposed—wearing a mask might be excessive, but it sufficiently explains that suspicious appearance.
In short, as Lotte had sensed, she was making a heartrending effort.

“…Coming all the way out here was, um… to avoid being discovered, right?”
“It was partly on the way back from an expedition, yes. It’s common for knights to visit the provinces on duty. But essentially, yes.”

Back when Lotte worked at the Zekrosia residence—whenever she stayed away from the house for long periods, it was always for missions.
This must have been one of those times she stopped by in between.

“So it had become a secret pleasure—but now it’s finally been discovered.”

　Though beyond her control, Lotte had discovered her true nature.
For Alisha, it was a fact she desperately wished to conceal.
—So much so that she’d gone so far as to say she wanted Lotte to kill her.
Lotte didn’t know what the right answer was—but she had absolutely no intention of cornering Alisha.

“Guess I just can’t be naughty, can I?”

Alisha said it with a touch of self-mockery.