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“Smell… same…?”

The first to react to Anne’s utterly absurd voice was Selian, who was right next to me. However, it wasn’t just her; the other friends were also glancing at me, mumbling a few words.

By the way, to be able to detect such a faint body odor, I began to wonder if Anne’s sense of smell was even human.

“Hahaha… well, you see…”

But the situation wasn’t really conducive to continuing the conversation. Not just us, but there were many knights from the Imperial Knights here, on guard against the dragon, Olivier.

“Everyone must be quite tired after coming all this way, right? How about we go inside, unwind a bit, and have a cup of tea while we talk slowly!”

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the knights would react if they found out I had dared to sleep in the same bed as the Emperor.

Their loyalty was indeed profound, and even if the Emperor had permitted it, they might still bear resentment against me.

But even if they did harbor resentment, it’s not like anything would happen, but still, those things can pile up and explode. It’s definitely better not to give them any reason at all.

“…Should we? Let’s go in and talk slowly. You’ll have to explain thoroughly, both to El and to His Majesty.”

Fortunately, it seemed Selian picked up on my intent and readily accepted the suggestion. However, her gaze, which only moments ago was teary, now felt unnervingly cold and hollow.

Selian was from a distinguished family of the Empire… or rather, as the head of her family now, she must have reacted that way because she thought I had brought trouble to the Emperor. While she wouldn’t be as resentful as the knights, she probably harbored some desire to lecture me.

*

“So… explain.”

We moved to a study that the Emperor used to handle government affairs instead of the audience room. Had the basic systems returned after a night’s rest? A maid came out skillfully with tea and some snacks.

Of course, although the study was spacious, if all my friends came in, it would be quite crowded, so some chose to wait outside. Those left in the room were Selian, Lindy, and Frecia, who was curled up in cat form on my thigh, along with Luna, who had sneakily attached herself to the ceiling.

…If we got caught, we might be thrown in prison for treason, but with Luna’s rapidly growing stealth skills, she wouldn’t get caught unless she did something outrageous.

“Uh, um… this might take a while, so how about we have a sip of tea first to wet our throats?”

To explain, I needed to start from when I arrived in the capital. No matter how briefly I summarized it, it would take some time.

Slurp.

However, in response to my suggestion, Selian picked up her teacup and gulped it down like it was cold water.

…Wasn’t this just brewed hot tea? The steam was still rising… Out of curiosity, I lifted my cup and took a sip, and it was definitely hot.

“Now that I’ve finished, you should hurry and explain.”

Selian’s expression showed no sign of it being hot at all. Was it related to her tone, which was chillingly cold?

“Well, you see…”

Since it was all content I intended to share anyway, I began explaining one by one without delay. From the discovery of Glen’s traces while rescuing Rizeria, realizing the enemy’s aim was the Emperor, and storming the castle to rescue Cecilia, and finally, how I managed to defeat Glen…

I even mentioned that due to all this, I had to serve as her bodyguard and attendant yesterday.

“So, you’re saying that after defeating the Four Heavenly Kings Glen, you ended up bathing together and sleeping in the same bed because you had to?”

“Yeah, yeah! That’s right! Lindy really knows how to summarize!”

Well, while some parts were exaggerated and trimmed, it was enough to justify my actions.

“Hmm… Elysia?”

After hearing the whole story, it appeared that all misunderstandings directed at me had been cleared, as Lindy let out a small laugh and called my name.

“Yeah!”

“Did we seem that ridiculous to you?”

“Uh…?”

However, caught off guard by Lindy’s unexpected reaction, I couldn’t respond properly.

“It doesn’t seem like it ends there, does it? No matter how I think about it, I feel there are parts left out… no, I’m certain of it?”

There were quite a few details I had omitted, as Lindy pointed out. From me ranting about fate while saving Cecilia, to the part where I gave her a massage in the bathhouse, and even about how she had fallen asleep cuddling me all night…

These weren’t really vital or anything, but they were just too embarrassing to say out loud, so I skipped over them. However, perhaps because she was the head of the Information Guild, Lindy quickly noticed and pointed it out.

Moreover, the whole time she was smiling sweetly, yet strangely, despite her smile, it felt frightening. Upon closer inspection, her mouth was smiling, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

It seemed hopeless to persuade Lindy, so I glanced at Selian, sitting next to her, hoping for help. But she, apparently, wasn’t satisfied with the empty teacup in front of her; she snatched Lindy’s teacup and, without hesitation, gulped down the still hot tea in one go!

Her rigid expression showed no sign of helping me. On the contrary, the pressure radiating from both of them was extraordinary.

With no one on my side, I tried petting Frecia, who was on my thigh, just to take my mind off things, but suddenly she twisted her body and bit my finger! Although it wasn’t painful, I was startled by the sudden sting and looked down to find her curling up again, pretending nothing happened.

And Luna… it seemed like she had given up trying to hide, as her heavy breathing from the ceiling was clearly audible. Perhaps at this point, Ferrent, who was waiting outside, had also noticed, but knowing it was part of my entourage, he was turning a blind eye.

It felt like there wasn’t a single ally in this room.

No matter how much I had acted disrespectfully towards the Emperor, I thought this treatment was unjust. True, all these actions were my doing, but behind it all, I had the Emperor’s permission.

In fact, I had humbly expressed my refusal, saying I couldn’t possibly do something like that, yet she pressed me on saying it was nothing between friends.

“…Could everyone step aside for a moment? I have something to discuss with His Majesty alone.”

An awkward silence settled in the room, and it felt like ages had passed. After fiddling with her empty teacup, Selian finally spoke up.

“Really, there’s no need for that…”

“Then I’ll wait outside. You trust me, right?”

Selian probably wanted to apologize on my behalf for the rude things I had done to Cecilia. I attempted to say it wasn’t necessary, but I couldn’t get the words out as Lindy stood up and began pulling me out.

“Hey, kid! You come down and follow along too!”

“I’m not a kid!”

At Lindy’s words, Luna jumped down to the floor and obediently followed outside.

Seriously, this wasn’t necessary…

*

“What… is going on here?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

In the room left behind, Selian and the Emperor were sitting face to face and discussing.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Why suddenly show interest in El now?”

Contrary to the Emperor’s expectations, Selian surprisingly remained calm. There was a slightly sharp edge to her voice, but considering her feelings at the moment, it was understandable.

As Selian said, the Emperor had not felt any particular affection for Elysia until now. He liked her, sure, but it was merely a friendly liking, nothing more.

“When someone appears and claims my fate at the moment I have given up everything, how can I refuse?”

However, despite being that kind of Emperor, Elysia’s actions were captivating enough to catch his interest. The Emperor had already had his fate stolen by her. It wouldn’t be strange if he had a little bit more sentiment attached to the stolen fate.

“Fate…?”

“Hmm… yes, fate.”

The Emperor nodded, as if recalling what happened yesterday, closing his eyes. Watching him, Selian, who had been putting on a calm facade, flinched slightly.

“…Then let’s leave it at that. Don’t deceive innocent Elysia.”

“Hm? As you know, is this really ‘ordinary’? I truly don’t understand what deception you speak of.”

Selian had no more words against the Emperor’s brazen reply. Indeed, as the Emperor said, Selian and the other friends had been subtly pushing Elysia to him, saying it was all ordinary things among friends.

“Well, talking to you is practically self-criticism, isn’t it? Now let’s have a more fruitful conversation.”

Somehow, the initiative of the conversation had shifted to the Emperor’s side. No matter how capable Selian was, in this regard, the Emperor was slightly more adept.

“Selian, do you remember?”

Even knowing she was caught in a bind, Selian couldn’t muster the courage to stand up and leave. As the Emperor said, there was much talk to be had between them.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh? Are you really not remembering? Or pretending not to remember? I would think you were sharp enough to know it’s the latter.”

In response to the Emperor’s words, Selian merely clicked her tongue lightly. It was not an action one would normally take in front of an Emperor, but Selian knew she wouldn’t be reprimanded for it.

“Surely you and I made a bet, didn’t we? Whether you’d accompany Elysia on her journey to slay the Demon King.”

It was a bet made quite some time ago. At that time, I had still believed myself to be a hero. Therefore, in order to keep Elysia from enduring dangerous trials, I had planned to go slay the Demon King while shaking her off.

However, for some reason, I didn’t awaken as a hero, and instead, Elysia did. By the destiny of her being a hero, she naturally ended up setting off to face the Demon King. Unable to stop her, Selian had no choice but to follow along with Elysia.

Of course, unexpectedly, Elysia did briefly shake off me and the other friends, but in the end, as the Emperor said, we ended up journeying together to slay the Demon King.

During that time, the Emperor had asked Selian about the outcome to settle the bet. However, at that moment, Selian had simply and easily conceded victory to the Emperor, with only the thought of wanting to be together with Elysia.

The problem was that in order for a bet to count, there had to be something at stake. Back then, neither party had anything they truly wanted, so they had let it slide vaguely to the next time, but thinking it over now, it was a foolish judgment.

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, the Emperor, looking at Selian, smiled faintly with an unusual glimmer in his eyes.