It’s Ko-Fi’s Supporters’ chapter (89/113), enjoy~
ED: Lonely-matter
Part 2
This evening, Ain finished his work in his bedroom. Suddenly, he remembered something that he had to check.
“…Oh, I forgot so many things.”
It wasn’t a coincidence that he remembered. It was because he had met Oz today and had mentioned about Baltic.
Ain said, “Well,” and stood up from his chair. He left his desk and slipped out of the bedroom.
“Ain-sama. What can I do for you?”
Martha was the one who called out to him. She seemed to have just left Olivia’s room and carried an empty tea set. Olivia was apparently still awake.
“I wanted to ask Mother if she’s still awake?”
“Yes, she hasn’t gone to bed yet.”
“That’s good to know. I’ll get right on──”
“Wait a minute. Actually, we just received a message for you from the royal capital.”
“…For me?”
“Yes. Lady Krone and Chris-sama will be arriving the morning after tomorrow.”
“Does that mean they’re feeling better now?”
“It seems so. I’m relieved, too.”
Ain smiled and patted his chest. He could see their faces and hear their voices after a long time.
It had been less than a month since they had been absent, but Ain felt as if he hadn’t seen them in years.
He wondered if it would be the day after tomorrow. It was not unreasonable for him to be excited with anticipation.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yes. But please be careful that you don’t collapse from too much fun, Ain-sama.”
Martha laughed and joked with him, but he assured her that he was fine and left her.
He then walked back to Olivia’s room.
“Mother, are you still awake?”
Martha said she was awake, but he asked just to be sure.
The reply came quickly from inside.
“I’m awake, you can come inside.”
Hearing the reply, Ain opened the door.
Inside was Olivia, dressed in her usual revealing negligee. He approached her, taking care not to look at her as much as possible.
“What’s the matter? Did you want me to sleep with you because you couldn’t sleep? If so, you can come over anytime, you know?”
“…I’ll think about it in the future. I came here today because I wanted to ask you something.”
It’s about the tombstone he saw in the Demon Lord’s castle.”
“Is Chris’s family name an ancient one?”
It would be normal to be puzzled by such a question out of the blue. As expected, Olivia, in front of him, had a puzzled look on her face.
“It’s a little difficult to talk with you while standing there, so come here.”
“Oh, yes.”
At her invitation, Ain went to the sofa where Olivia was sitting. He tried to sit directly across from her, but she told him not to sit there, so he ended up sitting next to her.
“I was surprised by the suddenness of it.”
“No, it’s just that… I’m kind of curious.”
“It’s okay. But I don’t know much about it, so I don’t know if… I have the answers that Ain wants.”
“No problem! I’d appreciate it if I could get some answers!”
Olivia then puts her hand over her mouth and starts thinking.
The way she crossed her legs was troubling, as was how she dressed. Olivia was just thinking, but why did she have to look so glamorous?
“It’s not that she is an Elven noblewoman. Chris said the family name has been used for a long time.”
──I see, from long ago. He could not help wondering how long ago that was.
“The only thing you know is that it’s an old name?”
“Yes… That’s all I know, even Chris herself only knows that.”
“Have you ever heard if there is a branch family?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve never heard of that either. ──Oh, but if it’s about Chris herself, I have everything from embarrassing stories to black history.”
That’s very interesting. This was Ain’s true opinion.
He couldn’t help wondering what Chris’s black history was, but he resolutely succeeded in suppressing his true feelings.
“The only other thing I know is that Chris has blood other than Elf.”
“──Eh?”
“I heard that she has Pixie blood among the Elf race. So Chris has both Elf and Pixie’s blood flowing in her body. She seemed to be happy about it and told me about it happily before.”
Ain can imagine how happy she’d be, but his attention is not on that right now.
In fact, he’s starting to feel that too much connectivity is a bad development.
“H-heh… So that’s what happened.”
He didn’t have the courage to ask anymore. He decided to ask Chris herself about the rest the day after tomorrow.
She didn’t seem to know much about it, but he hoped she might know.
“I apologize for coming so suddenly.”
“No, it’s fine. As I said before, Ain can come over any time he wants.”
The aura that made Ain want to indulge himself with her made him flinch.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from getting spoiled, so I’ll hold back.”
“Ara… When you say it like that, it makes me think that you want me to push you further.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
If she pushes him, he’ll lose rather quickly.
That’s how great Olivia’s feminine receptiveness was.
◇ ◇ ◇
As Martha had said, Krone and Chris arrived two mornings later.
As soon as they saw Ain, the first thing they did was to apologize.
They bowed deeply, saying that they, the assistant and guard, hadn’t been feeling well, but there was no one to blame for the incident.
Ain replied, “Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you’re both feeling better.”
Then he continued.
“I don’t think we should talk here, so let’s go inside.”
He took the girls to the hall of the villa.
The three of them enjoyed chatting as if they were making up for the lost time. They reported to each other about their recent activities and laughed, losing track of time.
Suddenly, Krone remembered something.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“By the way, the fruit that Chris-san and I ate was from──”
“Oh, you mean the big ripple?”
“Yes. All I’ve heard about it is… that Ain made the tree bigger, which doesn’t make any sense at all. What’s really going on?”
“There’s no other explanation… I mean, you both ate it.”
“We did! It was so good, I felt better right away.”
But there is really no more information than that.
If he had to say anything, it would be that Ain talked to the sapling, but he didn’t do anything special.
It might have something to do with the Demon King, but he couldn’t tell them that.
“It seems to have grown when I talked to it.”
“…..Well, it’s Ain we’re talking about, after all.”
Krone said with resignation.
“How is that enough to convince you…?”
“Fufu, it’s fine. Even Laralua-sama said it was delicious.”
The door to the hall opened as Ain smiled.
“I have brought you some more tea.”
Martha walked in.
She came to Ain’s side and began to brew tea with her experienced hands.
“Martha-san, it seems that a lot has happened in the capital.”
“It seems so. I also heard from Katima-sama.”
“Eh, from Katima-san?”
Then Chris turned her head away.
Upon looking closer, you can see that her expression is frozen, and she is blinking rapidly and repeatedly.
In addition, she started whistling a lousy whistle that made no sound.
“I won’t say who it was, but there was a knight who said, ‘I’m fine already, so I’m heading to Magna now!'”
Suddenly, the light disappeared from Chris’s eyes.
Her cheeks gradually flushed; she put down the cup of tea and put her hands on her cheeks to hide her face. She laid down on the couch and buried her face deep in her hands.
“What happened then?”
“Of course, she was readmitted to her room. But that’s just the beginning.”
There was a fluttering sound!
Chris moved his legs as if she was resisting something.
“She opened the window to get some fresh air and almost jumped out the window. She even tried to hide under the bed to get past the guards. Incidentally, Katima-sama’s advice has stopped all of this.”
“───I wonder why it was so quick to be noticed, so it’s because Katima-sama suggested it, huh!”
Ain thought he shouldn’t have reacted.
Chris looked up, and her face was red with embarrassment.
“Chris, Martha-san didn’t say anything about Chris.”
“…No, I heard about it too!”
“Well. I heard that Chri, I mean the knight ── who had gradually run out of excuses, finally said this.”
Ain was curious about what she did and how she did it but was taken aback when she heard her excuse.
“I forgot something at Magna! Don’t worry, I’ll get it right away.”… that’s what she said.”
The hall was filled with silence.
Poof… Everyone was speechless, except for Chris, who was exchanging glances. Apparently, this was new to Krone as well. As expected, she couldn’t seem to follow up on any of it, so she smiled in trouble and seemed to be struggling to choose the right words.
Standing up, Ain went and sat down next to Chris and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I want to appreciate your hard work, so… thanks for that.”
“The last thing they used was Katima-sama’s special paralyzing potion. It has no effect on the human body, and since it has no taste, they mixed it with food to take away her freedom.”
“So that’s why my body was so heavy!”
Finally, the one who tried to escape confessed.
“Mmm… if only my resistance were a little higher.”
“Katima-sama said that even wyverns can’t resist it! That’s what she said…”
“Oh, I’m not very good with drugs. Even though Elves are a race with high resistance to drugs.”
It was convenient that the word had come up here.
He felt sorry for Chris for embarrassing her, and he remembered the conversation he had had with Olivia the other night.
“I know it’s sudden, but is Chris’s family name, Wernstein, an old family name?”
Thanks to Olivia, he was able to ask her naturally.
“Mm, mm… about my family name?”
What are you going to do by asking that? Chris made a face like that, but it was none other than Ain who had asked her. There was no way Chris wouldn’t answer.
“I don’t know much about it either. But it’s an old family, that’s for sure. We’re not noblemen, though.”
“But?”
“Wernstein was originally the name of an old Pixie family.”
“…So, if I look very carefully, I might be able to find a Pixie with the same name?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think so. From what I’ve heard, Pixies don’t really have family names.”
“H-heh…”
He gave a dry reply.
While he listened to Chris’s words, he turned his attention to the magic stone in his body. He thought about Misty and Ramza, whom he had met in the spirit world the other day, and hoped that they would give him some answers.
There was no sign of a reply, and Ain pondered long about what to do.
◇ ◇ ◇
At night, Krone comes to Ain, who is doing some chores. He wondered what was going on, but he found that she held a letter Warren had authorized.
“Is it from Warren-san?”
“Yes. It’s a little long, so I can summarize it for you.”
“Oh… yes. If Krone has already checked it, then let’s do that.”
When Krone heard those words, she straightened up. She calmly looked at Ain and began to talk in a gentle tone.
“The meeting with Heim has been officially decided.”
“──Does that mean they’ve already agreed to it?”
“No. It’s just that we’ve set a specific date and time. But Heim has been pushing us to hurry up, so I don’t think they’ll refuse.”
“So it’s in the summer?”
“Yes, I think Heim would agree.”
Since that letter, things have finally reached this point.
At last, they could have a seat at the table to settle their differences.
The corner of Ain’s mouth unconsciously relaxed.
“You look like you’re having fun, Ain.”
“Actually, a little.”
The two people laughing face to face were originally citizens of the Heim Kingdom. The two of them are now trying to turn against Heim. And they are not just ordinary citizens. One is the crown prince, and the other is his assistant.
“But is Krone okay? I believe the third prince will be there.”
“Right… I need to remember his face, just in case.”
It’s a terrible thing to say.
“N-no, you don’t have to look like that!”
“I’m sorry. But you’ve both grown up together, and you don’t know his face?”
“…No? I didn’t remember his face from when I was in Heim. In fact, I don’t even remember the details of people I meet at parties. I wasn’t even interested in them ── Oh, I’m fine now that I’m in Ishtalika. I’ve got a job, and the people are nice…!”
Ain smiled, amused by the flustered look on Krone’s face.
“I understand. Nothing to worry about.”
“Y-yes. …That would be great.”
She played with the ends of her hair with her fingers, trying to hide her panic. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Not going to give her a helping hand, Ain asked one thing that was bothering him.
“I think Krone’s mother will be there. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m fine. I was born in the belly of a woman named Elena, but she is not my ally now. My ally is Ishtalika, and the only person I follow is you, Ain…”
Krone stares at Ain with heat in her strong eyes.
As always, she has beautiful eyes with dignity and strength.
“But you know, it’s not me that your mother has to deal with.”
“Oh, I see. If you say so, the representative of the civil service in Ishtalika is──”
The Prime Minister, Warren ── is the only civilian representative who can represent Ishtalika.
Sometimes, he has a good-natured smile, and other times, his eyes are as sharp as blades. And sometimes, he is a man who completely controls the flow of the conversation, as if he sees through everything.
“I have a feeling that if we leave it to Warren-san, everything will be fine.”
“Fufu… I think so too.”
“In the meantime, personally, I’m wondering what Heim will want from us.”
Originally, Heim was asking for information about Krone and Graff.
“If Krone comes to the stage for the meeting, it’s as if the other side’s demands have been met.”
This made him wonder about the meaning of the talks.
“I don’t think it will come to that conclusion straight away. Heim thinks I’ve been kidnapped by Ishtalika.”
“But I’m sure Warren-san will dismiss it out of hand.”
“Of course.”
He talks as if it were a matter of course, but Ain’s doubts remain unanswered.
“I think it’s a little confusing because there are so many different agendas at play. What constitutes a victory for Ishtalika, Heim, myself, grandfather, Warren-san, and… everyone else seems to be a little different.”
After saying this, Krone slipped a pen into a piece of paper close at hand.
“What Ishtalika wants is a clear apology and a formal break in diplomatic relations. Besides, I’m sure Ishtalika will tell them to stay out of the matter with Euro.”
This includes what Tigre did.
“Heim will probably ask for me and my grandfather back. But if Ishtalika agrees to that, they will admit that they did the kidnapping…”
“Oh, so we’re asked to make reparations, including money?”
“So we can’t admit it. There was no kidnapping in the first place.”
The other side is the one who broke the secret agreement, so they should not think so highly of themselves. But it’s obvious that they’re going to reopen it when they say it, and no one is going to say anything pointless.
“What about Ain? Is there anything you’d like to ask Heim?”
“…No, I wouldn’t mind if we could break the ties.”
And don’t mess with Krone, he thought.
“The next one. I think Warren-sama has more on his mind than just his purpose as an Ishtalika. He may be demanding something harsh… or he may be trying to get some excuse to make it easier for Ishtalika to move in the event of an emergency, even with the word of His Majesty the First.”
“That’s likely.”
“Also, the third prince over there, I think he just wants… me.”
“So he doesn’t care about the rest as long as Krone comes back?”
“Yes… I think so, despite myself.”
The prince can’t say no, and that’s typical of him.
No matter what, Krone has no intention of returning, and Ain has no intention of letting her go either. The third prince, Tigre, will never be able to fulfill his wishes.
“And then there’s my mother.”
“──Elena-san?”
“Yes. I think my mother also has some purpose. To be honest, I think she understands that whatever Heim is looking for now will never come true. Then my mother must have a different purpose and a different idea of what the princes are looking for.”
“…I don’t know much about her, but what kind of a person is she?”
“She is very intelligent. At least there was no one who could beat my mother in Heim, and I don’t think there is anyone else in any other country.”
The two generals, Logas and Elena, are the country’s pride.
However, when it comes to a verbal battle, there are times when Elena’s personal strength can be used to fight, and thus Warren should not let his guard down.
(Now──)
What kind of meeting will it be?
Along with the feeling of enjoyment, a certain amount of tension began to dwell in their hearts.
Thanks for the chapter
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Thanks for the chapter!!
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