“Wasn’t this a strategy game?”

Eden bit her lip, staring at the mangled schedule covered in straight lines and stars.

Realizing that the Kiris guy, whom I had been desperately trying to make emperor, was nothing more than a rotten scoundrel was a revelation.

“If I had made Kiris the emperor, peace would have been nothing but a dream.”

It was only natural that I couldn’t let someone like that sit on the imperial throne, and I felt I needed to repay every single grievance thoroughly to feel satisfied.

Just recalling how close I came to dying at the hands of Madam Marens during the hunting tournament made my blood boil.

And then there was Asmun, who had thrown himself to save me from that situation…

“……”

Lost in thought with my lips still tucked, a shadow suddenly loomed beside me.

“What are you doing?”

“AHH!”

Startled by Asmun’s sudden appearance, Eden screamed and instantly hid the paper behind her back.

“Um, Your Highness.”

Asmun caught sight of the paper Eden was hiding behind her.

“Are you writing a diary or something?”

Eden awkwardly nodded at the indifferent question.

“Haha, yes. Diaries are good records.”

Eden quickly stuffed the paper into her pocket and glanced at Asmun, gauging his reaction.

“You, uh, came for a walk?”

Of course, I knew that Asmun wouldn’t be the type to just stroll over at this hour, but I had nothing else to say.

Asmun gazed at Eden for a moment and then took a seat in front of her.

“No. I came to see the priest.”

His nonchalant answer made Eden’s heart sink. It was unfair for him to say something like that with that face.

Eden feigned nonchalance.

“Good choice. The weather is lovely.”

“……”

“Would you like some tea? It’s from Reblem, and it smells wonderful.”

“No, thank you.”

With tea rejected, I had even less to say. Eventually, Eden shot straight to the point.

“Um… Do you have something to say?”

Asmun paused again, looking at her before answering.

“It seems I have nothing to say.”

Eden was taken aback by his confident reply.

“Then why…”

“I think I need to confirm something.”

His voice was relaxed, but his eyes were anything but easygoing.

“What do you mean…?”

This time, genuinely puzzled, Eden carefully asked, and Asmun opened his mouth again, still looking at her.

“…Do you know?”

Receiving a question instead of an answer left Eden perplexed. A low, pleasant voice continued from Asmun’s lips.

“I worry that the priest could disappear suddenly.”

“……”

“So, I came to check if you were still here and doing well.”

After he finished speaking, Asmun continued to stare at Eden with an audacious gaze, as if he might lose her if he looked away.

Somehow, Eden felt a pang of unease. It might not be now, but after the clear, as Asmun said, I would vanish suddenly.

Just thinking that made everything feel a bit dizzy. The fact that Asmun instinctively seemed to catch on to her subtle changes was both frightening and…

“That won’t happen. I won’t leave until you become emperor, so don’t worry.”

Eden answered confidently, yet Asmun’s relentless gaze showed no sign of relenting.

“Sounds like you plan to disappear after becoming emperor.”

That made Eden’s heart jump even more. She looked at him with a startled expression, then quickly steeled herself.

“No? I will make sure to witness you becoming emperor and leading this empire to peace.”

Of course, I would. That was the mission I had been given, so it wasn’t a lie. Even if Asmun became emperor, there were still so many tasks left for me to do after that.

I had to hunt down monsters, curb Hagen’ti’s rampages, and ensure the man before me didn’t turn into a tyrant.

“So, you should brace yourself. You’ll see a lot of me, whether you like it or not.”

Eden added a playful warning and flashed a smile, and only then did something that had been tightly coiled in Asmun’s crimson eyes slowly begin to unravel.

Asmun’s expression went soft, swelling with something that wasn’t there before, and he smiled slowly.

“…That promise you just made.”

Eden’s smile vanished at the sight of Asmun’s rare soft expression.

“You have to keep it, no matter what.”

His gentle voice sent shivers down Eden’s spine for some reason.

Just then, a notification sound chimed, and a profile window appeared next to Asmun.

‘Profile window?’

Eden’s eyes quickly scanned the notification window.

Affinity level? What even is that?

‘Wait, isn’t this a strategy game…?’

Eden maintained a calm facade as she pretended to sip her tea, glancing at the profile window.

Suddenly, Eden placed her teacup down and widened her eyes. Asmun’s power had suddenly increased by 10, and even the feature line had gained an additional entry.

“As…?”

As Eden muttered unconsciously, the look on Asmun’s face turned rigid, having been watching her all along. When Eden finally noticed his expression, she snapped back to reality and quickly closed her mouth. But it was already too late.

“…What did you just say?”

The smile from moments before had completely vanished, replaced by Asmun’s chillingly cold expression.

‘Nicknames?!’

But that look was not one you’d expect for someone just called a nickname.

“Ah, I didn’t say anything.”

That explanation clearly wouldn’t work. Asmun stared intently at Eden, as if recalling a rather unpleasant memory.

Whatever this “affinity” system was, it was clear she had just lost about 5 points from her blunder.

“You did call me that. As.”

As he accurately pointed out her earlier slip, Eden felt her neck stiffen.

Damn it!

“Well, um… I, uh, suddenly thought the nickname As would suit you. I didn’t mean to say it out loud, I apologize.”

“……”

Her terrible excuse only seemed to make Asmun’s expression harder.

“What I meant was… If there are times when it’s just the two of us, you might be able to call me As…?”

No, stop!

Eden’s mouth was rambling on, crossing lines she shouldn’t have.

“That would be absurd, right? Haha.”

Yet, the moment Asmun had been glaring at her as if he might devour her suddenly softened. But now there was something even more insistent in his gaze as he looked at Eden.

He was just about to part his lips slowly.

“Your Highness! It’s a message from Duke Jepar!”

At that, Eden, who had been tense just moments ago, completely forgot the previous situation and jumped up from her seat.

Asmun’s subordinate rushed over, holding a letter, and hurriedly presented it to him with both hands.

Asmun calmly opened the letter.

“It’s an invitation.”

With that, Eden’s eyes widened. Just then, another achievement window popped up next to him.

‘Ah, so the invitation was a hint.’

As Eden realized this late, she felt a sense of relief. Meanwhile, Asmun nonchalantly continued.

“Two days later, at the coast of Bardelnut.”

With that low voice, Eden gasped and held her breath. Bardelnut wasn’t far from here.

‘I can’t believe it’s so close!’

At that moment, Asmun’s eyes narrowed as he read further down the letter.

“On board the Eloch’s Ship.”

Eden’s and Asmun’s eyes met.

On a ship at the coast?

Eden frowned at the unusual location.

“Why on a ship? I thought it was going to be held in Tevel. You didn’t catch on to something, did you?”

“I don’t think so. If he had, the date would have been pushed back.”

“Then…”

As Eden pondered, she suddenly realized something, and her expression turned serious. It felt like something had struck her hard in the head.

The reason the Magic Regulation would be held on a ship at the coast.

“That coast…?”

Eden’s eyes widened.

“It’s Tevel!”

Asmun must have thought the same. Only then did a sense of clarity, almost unpleasant, spread within her.

“Tevel has to have a bit of space.”

The mysterious man’s cryptic statement and the reason Tevel had to remain hidden all clicked together like puzzle pieces.

The coastal city of Reblem was indeed right over the sea of Bardelnut. And the Magic Regulation would occur on that very ship.

Finally, having grasped all the clues to solve the Reblem episode, Eden’s spirit soared.

“I can’t believe Tevel is out in the sea…”

Asmun looked similarly surprised, as if he hadn’t anticipated that either.

At that moment, Asmun’s subordinate arrived, holding another letter and glancing at Asmun anxiously.

“Um, and this is a letter for the priest…”

Asmun didn’t say anything in response, so he nervously handed the letter to Eden.

Eden quickly opened it, sensing something significant. Sure enough, it contained a letter from Jepar regarding the matters she had been anxiously awaiting.

When Jepar was about to leave, Eden had asked him one favor.

“Duke, there’s information suggesting human trafficking going on in Eloch. Could you please look into that?”

Jepar had nodded, looking puzzled but still agreeing.

“I will. But why…?”

“I think a child I know has been kidnapped by them. I have no idea what they might want with children at all.”

Jepar looked at Eden with keen eyes, his expression set.

“…Could it be that even His Highness doesn’t know?”