“Wow, it feels like it’s my first time in the capital itself, doesn’t it?”
As Ares looked around, jaw dropped at the sight of Reibel, the capital of the kingdom, his gaze met mine for a moment before he quickly turned away.
“I should’ve come with Arni.”
I smacked the back of this grumbling guy’s head whack.
Last time, when Tana got dragged away as Elise’s maid, we passed through in a carriage, but I had never walked this street on foot.
It wasn’t just a capital for no reason; the prosperous scenery was striking, but I barely noticed it.
‘First and foremost, I need to meet Elise.’
If it’s her, the third princess, she could interfere on the diplomatic front. I was planning to go to the royal palace from now to advocate for cooperation with other races.
The meteor falling on the continent was an issue that required the involvement of all races.
“Phew…”
A slight sweat formed from the tension.
When I answered the goddess of time that this was my last chance, I thought it was a good thing.
But now that it was happening like this, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“It’s okay. Just stay calm.”
The Following Apocalypse clung tightly beside me. I had warned it repeatedly not to go anywhere, and now that the goddess of death couldn’t interfere anymore, Rin wouldn’t have to forcibly awaken either.
I prepared thoroughly to stop the Following Apocalypse, and needed to seal the power of the apocalypse within Rin.
Yeah, that would be the end of it.
“Hey, hey! It’s too fast!”
I heard Ares’s voice behind me, complaining about my pace, but I marched onward without slowing down.
However, obstacles appeared sooner than expected.
Of course, it was the guards at the entrance of the royal palace blocking our way.
While carriages hurriedly moved alongside preparing for the year-end banquet, Ares protested to the knights.
“No, our friend is the third princess! Just let us call her once!”
“Calm down. If the princess’s acquaintances were set to arrive, we would’ve been informed in advance. Even if you claim to know the princess, you can’t make such unreasonable demands.”
“……”
Is he overwhelmed by adult logic?
Ares turned into a silent dummy, sweating profusely. I shoved the useless but handsome guy aside and went inside.
“Huh? Huh?”
The guard, who was shouting roughly at him, frowned as he watched Ares with a bewildered expression, but he eventually followed behind me.
“Did, did time stop?”
“Yup.”
“Is it really okay to go like this?”
“There’s no time to get stuck on things like that.”
“R-Right…”
Ares’s voice trailed off, tinged with unease, but I pretended not to hear him and pushed forward.
Since I’ve already spent about a month inside the palace, finding my way around was no problem. As I got closer to Elise’s mansion, I could finally see her rushing out in a panic.
“Master? Have you come to find me?!”
The bright smile on Elise’s face. She must’ve sensed our presence returning, as if Lavender, her intelligence organization, had informed her in advance.
She rushed over and almost hugged me, but sorry, I immediately grabbed her head and said,
“Let’s go inside; we have things to discuss.”
“…Master?”
“What? Let’s talk while we walk.”
I hurried past her towards the interior of the mansion. As I went in, Bertia, who was standing behind, quickly guided us to a room, and soon enough, we had a place to talk.
After we sat down, tea hadn’t even been served yet, but I jumped straight to the point.
“I think I need to go to the Dragonkin territory. Unlike last time, this time I’ll go as a sort of special envoy.”
“Eh?”
“Also, I need to meet with the current king. Now that the king has regained his health, and since I have contributions in executing the goddess of time, it should be possible.”
“Uh, um…”
“I also need to have a gathering with the leaders of other races. The elves should come this way as soon as Eris is rescued, so that’s no problem. As for the dragonkin, I’ll persuade them myself. The beastmen should be fine because of Kurika…”
“Wait! Master!”
Now that the tea was finally brought out, Elise called out to me urgently. I shot her an annoyed look, wondering why she was panicking when we hadn’t even started, but…
Elise’s face had turned pale.
“What on earth happened?”
“What?”
That was an answer I never expected. I had anticipated responses like it being impossible, needing more time, or questioning why such things were necessary.
But no.
Even amidst my coercive demands, she was worried about me.
“What’s going on? Why are you so desperate?”
Standing up from her seat, Elise approached with disbelieving eyes and sat down beside me. She then placed her hand over mine.
“Please stay calm for a moment. Don’t worry, I’ll follow whatever you say. If you force me, my personal satisfaction will be fulfilled, too.”
“……”
“But not now. Right now, you’re pretending to push me…”
Having sensed what Elise was trying to say, I closed my mouth tightly.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard.”
I knew it.
I was pretending to bully Elise while I was truly putting myself on edge.
However.
The image of Rin, who smiled at me until the last moment, kept lingering in my mind.
I carefully removed Elise’s hand, and seeing her face, which looked like she was about to cry, I had no choice but to utter cruel words.
“I’m being rushed, so it can’t be helped.”
“……”
That expression must be what they mean by having one’s world crumble. After that, Elise accepted every word I said without questioning it even a little.
*
After the coercive information session disguised as a meeting was over, Elise, left alone in the mansion, took a deep breath and calmed herself.
It was not unwelcome for Daniel McLean to treat her harshly. Contrary to being a joke, she had longed for him to slap her at least once, secretly hoping.
But this was not the case.
This was not Daniel pushing Elise away.
He wasn’t being rough with her.
‘Master is pushing himself.’
What could be the problem?
She had asked Ares when Daniel was briefly absent, but he didn’t know the reason for Daniel’s change, either.
‘This isn’t what I wanted.’
Daniel shouldn’t be the one to be hurt. She didn’t want to see Daniel in such a dark state.
‘But.’
There was nothing she could do. Thus, Elise swallowed her pride and called Bertia.
“Bertia.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Her lips wouldn’t move.
However, being the wise and clever princess, she knew exactly what wasn’t her place to do.
What Daniel McLean needed right now was not a passive princess.
“Please check if that person is on the party guest list.”
The year-end party was about to begin soon. If her guess was right, that person would likely attend the party.
“Yes, I’ll find out right away.”
Bertia quickly caught on to Elise’s intentions and swiftly turned to leave the room. She, too, had noticed the change in Daniel McLean.
Elise took a deep breath and tapped the windowsill with her fingers.
‘This doesn’t mean I’ve lost.’
Saying that, she understood it in her mind, but the thought of being outdone by someone naturally made her feel displeased.
*
Two days had passed since arriving at the royal palace.
Although I expressed my desire to meet the king, it wasn’t as easy as I thought.
Even when I rushed Elise, she kept replying, “There are procedures. Please wait a little longer.”
“Phew.”
In the end, all I could do was swing a sword on the rooftop of the mansion. At first, I practiced dueling.
For some reason, the memories of the second round had interrupted, leaving me with about a year of combat experience lost.
Ares, Elise, and even Bertia too.
Honestly, after a year without swinging a sword, simply being immersed in darkness or in a vegetative state listening to Rin’s stories made me anxious.
But it was just a worry.
Watching all three of them lose quickly in a duel, unable to withstand even three exchanges, I decided it was better to practice alone.
“Not… yet.”
I had already thrown off my soaked clothing from the rain of sweat, swinging the sword so hard my hands trembled. Starting from the dark dawn, it had already turned into lunchtime with the sun hanging high above.
Still, I didn’t stop swinging.
Bertia and Elise came by, telling me to take a break, but I ignored them in silence.
I couldn’t just sit still.
During the time I was resting, her face kept coming to mind.
‘If she sees me like this… she’d be sad instead.’
I knew it.
If the Rin from the second round saw my current state, she would shed tears, lamenting that she had acted in vain.
But I couldn’t help it.
[Forget me.]
“NO!”
[Please forget me and live happily.]
“I can’t do that.”
[Forget me, who will become a wraith and fade away, a nonexistent being… please forget me.]
“I said… I CAN’T!”
BAM!
As I slammed the sword roughly down on the ground, it shattered in two. Breathing heavily, I stared blankly at the broken sword.
If I took even one more step, I felt tears would spring up.
Like a statue devoid of emotion, I stood in place. But then…
“Hey, I’ve been thinking for a long time, your body is in good shape, huh?”
From the rooftop where a cold breeze blew, her voice came like the delightful chirping of a bird. Or like sunlight peeking from behind clouds.
A tingling sensation rushed through me.
I forcibly hid my watery eyes as I turned my head slowly.
There stood a girl with reddish-brown hair, holding a candy in her mouth.
“May…?”
Why on earth was she here?
I knew she was attending the year-end banquet, but I wondered why she was at Elise’s mansion.
“I have so much to say! I want to argue, and I want to complain about not seeing me during vacation! But, you know…”
With a playful smile, like a little villain, she clung onto my sweaty self and pulled my hand.
“Let’s go for now!”
“G-Go? Where to?”
The suddenness made my mind race to catch up. I still felt a bit dazed from the intense workout.
“A DATE!”
A date?
I really didn’t want to do this. However, in a moment, I saw a girl with black hair drifting by, overlapping with May’s figure.
My legs tensed up.
“Sorry, but now’s not the time… cough!”
A round solid object forcibly entered my mouth. The sweet lollipop jabbed deep and hit my uvula, causing my legs to weaken.
It wasn’t a new one; it was the soggy one she had been holding.
And there, instead of a magical figure drifting like Rin…
Stood May Plov, grinning mischievously, her back against the wind.
“Shut up, idiot. Today, you’re mine.”
