■ My Room Owner □
“Finally, I’ve arrived.”
Even though I was only away for about 10 days, I felt a profound sense of nostalgia.
Is it because I’m getting old?
I put down the suitcase I was holding and asked.
“Who wants to use the bathroom first?”
“Ah, can I go in first?”
“I don’t mind whenever.”
“Then I’ll be second.”
After deciding the bath order, Dorothea quickly went upstairs to get her change of clothes, while everyone else dispersed to do their own tasks.
Since I was just as tired from the long journey, I took off my coat and entered my room on the second floor.
“Cough! Cough!”
Even though I was only gone for 10 days, there’s dust all over the room.
“Tch, what a hassle.”
I gathered the dust with magic and threw it out the window, then casually stripped off my clothes and lay down on the bed.
There’s nothing like home.
The comfort of sleeping indoors is incomparable to sleeping outside; I could feel sleep slowly creeping in.
But I couldn’t sleep without showering, so I got up abruptly.
“Will everyone take a long time in the shower?”
In the meantime, I should check the mail.
I changed into comfortable clothes and headed downstairs.
Everyone seemed to have gone into their rooms, leaving the living room quiet.
I crossed the living room, went outside, and checked the mailbox.
Even though I was only gone for 10 days, there was an overwhelming amount of letters piled up.
Carrying the letters back inside, I saw Dorothea walking around the living room with just a towel covering her naked body after coming out of the bath.
“Yikes! You scared me.”
As I jumped back in surprise, Dorothea looked at me with an expression of bewilderment.
“We see each other every day. Why are you surprised?”
“Not this… Just wear something at home. You’re a grown woman, you know.”
“That’s my choice.”
Dorothea replied curtly and drank water from a pitcher.
“Hmm- Nothing beats this taste after a shower.”
Despite her actions resembling those of an uncle, she has the appearance of a beautiful young girl—a contradiction.
Thinking how carefree she lives, I went back to my room with the letters.
“Let’s see…”
Most of the letters piled up in front of the house were business-related.
There were a few flyers mixed in, but they weren’t important, so let’s skip them.
After skimming through a few envelopes, I naturally thought that tomorrow at work would be quite busy.
While the authority of my superior is good, it also means nothing gets done without their approval.
As I lost track of time reading the letters,
Rustle-
“Hm?”
I tilted my head upon finding a letter whose packaging looked more luxurious than the others.
“This is the emblem of the Demon King’s Castle.”
I had no idea what kind of reason might prompt sudden contact.
After peeling off the red seal with a knife, I pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it.
The sender was the Demon King.
It began by asking about my and Ozma’s well-being, but summarizing the content aside from trivialities: it seems the situation in the Oz Kingdom is stabilizing, so it’s time to return to the battlefield.
This came along with information indicating the movements of the Elves beyond the Great Forest are unusual.
“So the Elves are finally moving?”
For such sluggish beings, they’re surprisingly quick.
Perhaps the current movement of the Demon King’s Army is perceived as a threat even to them.
It seems the peaceful days in the capital are now over.
With a strange sense of nostalgia, I was about to fold the letter when I stopped at the postscript.
“Postscript: I’ve sent someone to fetch you.”
“Someone to fetch me?”
Although it didn’t seem necessary, I decided to gratefully accept the Demon King’s kindness.
Considering it takes three generations to travel from here to the Demon King’s Castle, it wasn’t bad at all.
[Hey! Caldlasth! It’s your turn to bathe!]
“Yeah! I’m coming!”
Hearing Dorothea’s voice from downstairs, I hastily placed the letter on the desk and went downstairs.
I should have realized then:
The Demon King didn’t leave a hint for no reason.[[#]]The next day.
Returning to the finance management office after a long absence, I encountered an unexpected person.
“Hey! Partarth! You’re finally here?”
The blue-haired invader who had taken my seat said that while waving.
And I recognized that face.
It was the blue-scaled tyrannosaurus I fought hard against and defeated in the previous Dragon Mountain fighting tournament.
The Celestial Dragon Gabriel.
“Gav! What are you doing here!”
As I asked in surprise, Gabriel smiled like a child who succeeded in a prank and wiggled his finger.
“I came at the Demon King’s request to bring you back. Partarth. And by the way, it’s not ‘Gav’ anymore—it’s ‘Gabril’ since I’m now female.”
“Is now really the time for name jokes?”
Ignoring my question, I demanded an answer instead of playing along.
Gabriel waved his palm as if telling me to calm down and lowered the foot he had rested on the desk.
“It’s been a while since we met, isn’t it? Isn’t that too harsh?”
“…We weren’t ever close enough for that.”
“I’d like to become closer.”
Saying that, Gabriel gave an alluring smile.
Unlike her previous boisterous behavior, she now fully adapted to being female.
Two years was enough time for the dragon who used to act male to completely embrace her feminine identity.
Well, dragons never really cared about gender distinctions anyway, so she probably never experienced any identity confusion.
“Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I’m here to take you to the Demon King’s Castle. So, I’d appreciate it if you could wrap everything up as soon as possible.”
“Wrap up?”
“There’s a lot to do, like handing over responsibilities and such. I can accommodate that much.”
She doesn’t seem intent on dragging me to the Demon King’s Castle outright.
That was fortunate amidst the misfortune.
I immediately went to find Aness, the deputy financial officer.
“Did you call for me, Chief Financial Officer?”
“Come here.”
When I gestured, Aness approached with a puzzled look.
I handed her the fountain pen I used and said,
“As of this moment, you’re the top of the finance management office, Aness.”
“Huh?!”
Aness, who usually shows little emotional fluctuation, reacted with an exaggerated response.
Feeling secretly proud of this fact, I shook the pen.
“Oh, my arm hurts. Take it already?”
“Ah, yes.”
Aness finally stirred and accepted the pen I offered.
“Why are you suddenly passing on the position of Chief Financial Officer?”
I shrugged at her words.
“There are places besides here that need my power.”
That’s why talented people are tiring.
As I joked, Aness stared at me as if saying “you can’t help it” and tucked the pen into her chest pocket.
“I’ve properly received the position of Chief Financial Officer. Thank you for all your hard work, Mr. Partarth.”
“Yes. From now on, please work hard in my place, Aness.”
Saying that, I patted Aness on the shoulder.
It was always known that I would step down from the position of Chief Financial Officer someday, and I had trained Aness specifically for that purpose.
In a way, the timing was just moved forward slightly.
Plus, the advantage of having all the work I needed to handle today disappear is not insignificant.
“I’ll bring my things later, so leave them as they are.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go, Gabril.”
As I stepped outside and gestured, Gabriel, who had been occupying my seat without permission, got up without resistance.
I immediately headed to the Governor’s Office on the third floor of the Royal Castle.[[#]]
“Ozma! Long time no see!”
“EEK! Gabriel!”
Ozma, who was even more awkward with Gabriel than I was, made a voice unbecoming of a governor as soon as Gabriel walked in.
Whether unaware or pretending not to notice, Gabriel greeted with a broad smile and waved.
“Do you have a moment to talk?”
“…It’s possible.”
When Ozma said that and signaled to the secretary, the secretary went into the pantry to prepare refreshments.
Afterward, Ozma, sitting on the sofa, asked,
“So, Gabriel, why are you here?”
Then Gabriel, crossing her legs, cheerfully said,
“Call me Gabril now. And the reason I’m here is by the Demon King’s order.”
“My father?”
Because of the sudden mention of the Demon King, Ozma tilted her head in confusion, so I took out the letter I had in my possession and showed it to her.
“A letter came from the Demon King’s Castle. The gist is that I’m being called back to the front lines. It seems the Oz Kingdom is gradually entering a stable phase.”
Upon hearing my words and confirming the contents of the letter, Ozma was silent for a while.
“Then I won’t be seeing you for a while.”
“Probably.”
“When will you return to the capital?”
“I can’t guarantee that either. But this time, I think I’ll put a final stamp on our negotiations with the Elves one way or another.”
Permanent peace or conquest war—only the gods know.
“Understood. I’ll guard here.”
“The quick resolution is appreciated. I was worried you might not let me go.”
As Gabriel said that and chuckled playfully, Ozma laughed and said,
“Just because my body is away doesn’t mean my heart is. I have no intention of restraining this guy.”
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but marvel at Ozma’s words.
She didn’t seem capable of such profound statements before, but it’s clear that two years have indeed contributed to her growth.
“Hahaha, great, very good. You’ve changed a lot from before, Ozma.”
“That’s the greatness of love.”
As Ozma boasted, Gabriel’s expression stiffened slightly, and she licked her lips while muttering,
“It’s going to get even more interesting.”
Watching the two of them spar from the side, I found myself thinking involuntarily,
‘What is going on? Is this… Cat Fight?’
