That gramps was really stubborn. No matter what I said, he didn’t change his mind so it was quite troublesome. In the end, I reached my limit so I took a nap first, then went to Laura under the guise of ‘there’s something I want to consult.’ That gramps finally relented and told me that he would tell His Majesty himself after being persuaded by Laura.
The whole conversation ended up with Laura apologizing to me for the elder’s antics and me being flustered because of her apology.
According to Laura, elder Uwe had always been an eccentric person. Laura said that back then, His Majesty was worried because the elder didn’t show up to work, so His Majesty sent a chamberlain to the elder’s room only to find that the elder had disappeared, leaving only a letter behind. Letter said he was going to investigate the Ancient Kingdom’s ruin.
Really, that gramps was a troublesome person, but my conversation with him made me rethink some things.
First, the credibility of my own ‘game knowledge’ became shaky.
Then, this was about the game world itself. In the first place, it was strange to think that someone who had a position as high as ‘the King’s teacher’ like elder Uwe went to a dungeon alone without any escorts. Was Uwe in the game created based on real eccentric Uwe, thus leading to the game scenario in my memory? Or was it the opposite?
It was like the question of which came first, the egg or the chicken? I felt that if I knew the answer of which comes first, I would be able to shed some light into this mystery, including whether my memory of the game knowledge was real or not.
In any case, after the matter with the elder was settled, Marquis Schramm, the overall commander of the reinforcement army asked to meet me, so I went and had a meeting with him. The Marquis asked me to keep the existence of the laser pointer a secret as he judged that the laser pointer was a dangerous item.
When I told him that there was no need to do that since the laser pointer was created only for battle with demons in mind, he took out an official edict signed under the name of both the Marquis and Laura with the order to keep the laser pointer a secret.
Since this kingdom’s second princess and the woman hailed as ‘saintess’ signed her name in this edict, I had to keep the laser pointer a secret now. Somehow, the laser pointer became a big deal.
But on the other hand, I still had to explain about the laser pointer and the overall situation of my battle with Gezarius to the kingdom, so Laura asked me to also return to the capital, and I agreed.
Because I would be returning to the capital, I became busy temporarily handing over my work as a governor to Sir Behnke. Fortunately, Marquis Schramm also brought several civil officers who could help me, so the handover could be done in just a few days, but it was still hectic.
I also held a memorial for those who died in this war. Although I did my best, there were still casualties in war. I swore that I would never forget the people that died for the sake of this victory.
I was in charge of the memorial because I was the governor, but the saintess Laura, the hero, Mazell and the hero party, Marquis Schramm, the Captain of the 1st Division and 2nd Division all attended the memorial. The stature of people that attended this memorial was quite something.
“Haah…. I’m tired” (Welner)
“I thought being a noble meant living an elegant life, but living as a noble actually seems tough.” (Mazell)
“Unlike when doing the group assignment in the academy, it’s not like I can even ask you to replace me.” (Welner)
Currently, I was on my way to the capital alongside the Kingdom Knights, the army under Marquis Schramm, Mazell and the hero party. It was likely the Marquis’s goodwill to allow me to be on the same carriage as Mazell and his party.
Mazell told me with a wry smile that he didn’t want to get involved with politics as politics was out of his league. Unfortunately, Mazell wouldn’t get his wish. You would soon become a noble yourself, Mazell, so prepare yourself.
Neurath, Schunzel, Frenssen, Rafed, and Sir Eickstedt were also coming with me to the capital, but they were in a different carriage. I mean Mazell and the hero party was here with me, so I obviously didn’t need any escort.
Sir Eicksted was coming with me to the capital to be rewarded for his contribution in helping me in this war. As for Rafed… Well, to be honest I didn’t know how to treat him. His work was certainly good but… well…
“Big bro, didn’t you lost some weight compared to the last time I saw you in Anheim?” (Feli)
“As you know I was running around here and there to finish my job so that’s probably why.” (Welner)
I replied to Feli’s teasing with a bitter smile. I had been sleep deprived for the past few days. I finally was able to catch some sleep in this carriage earlier but when I woke up both Laura and Enrich laughed at me. Ah, damn it.
“Still, you sure got pretty strong, Feli. I don’t think I can beat you now.” (Welner)
“It’s me who doesn’t want to fight you, big bro. How to say it? I feel like even if I win the battle, I will lose the war.” (Feli)
“Ah, I kind of understand what you’re trying to say.” (Mazell)
Mazell chimed in. Really, you guys thought too highly of me. Honestly, just what sort of image did you guys have of me in your mind?
“Well, the Viscount’s way of fighting is quite skillful.” (Elrich)
Now, Elrich joined the conversation. Apparently, I was skillful in making timely attacks and obstructing enemies’ field of view.
‘Thanks to you, the fight became much easier’ was the hero party’s assessment of my fighting style. Somehow I feel embarrassed.
“I also feel that I was just doing the easy task of killing the tattered demon general with wounds in his feet, shoulder, and one eye blind though.” (Mazell)
“No need to worry about something like that.” (Welner)
I got the feeling that Gezarius was someone that had to be killed as soon as possible or a really bad thing would happen, so I didn’t care who or what killed him. Even now, I still hoped that I didn’t kill Gezarius too late.
“In short, the best thing to do when fighting Welner is to kill him quickly or we will definitely lose the war.” (Luguentz)
“Hey! Don’t talk about my death like that!” (Welner)
I responded to Luguentz’s joke with a bitter smile. Still, what should I do now? Should I stay in the capital for a while? Since I had become the target of the demon army, staying in the capital was a safer choice at least until the attack on the capital event.
“If you hurt the Viscount, I will get angry, you know?” Laura replied to my conversation with Luguentz while laughing.
“Woah, scary.” (Luguentz)
“But won’t big sis Lily cry if big bro got hurt?” (Feli)
Knowing that Laura and Luguentz were joking, Feli said while laughing. How did Lily’s name suddenly appear here?
Come to think of it, since Mazell had returned to the capital before coming to Anheim, the Hearthing family should have met the hero party… right?
“Mazell, you have met your parents in the capital, right?”
“Yeah. The Count was also kind enough to let me stay in your house for a night.”
What?
“You stayed a night in the Zeavert residence?”
“Yes, we stayed for a night in the Zeavert residence. I even talked until late at night with Lily-san. It is rare for me to meet a lady my age, so we were having fun talking with each other.” (Laura)
Wait, Laura too?
“Princess Laura also stayed in my house?” (Welner)
“Yup.” (Mazell)
Since I was afraid to ask Laura herself, I asked Mazell and he nodded. Wait a minute, even if I wasn’t in the mansion, for the great second princess to stay a night in another noble house was a bit…
“Don’t worry. I already got His Majesty and my elder brother’s permission for it.” (Laura)
Laura said that as if it was a simple matter. Or rather, the two of them actually gave Laura… Ah, I see. It was the royal family’s show of goodwill that they trusted and relied on the Zeavert house. I think the royal family might have another hidden agenda other than that. Somehow, my stomach started to hurt again.
“I mean it was obvious that big sis Lily is in love with big bro Welner!” (Feli)
“Feli, that sort of thing is something that you shouldn’t just reveal like that, even though it looks obvious!” (Luguentz)
Luguentz hit Feli’s head jokingly. Wait, what!? I looked at Mazell and he gave me a wry smile. It was probably just a ‘love’ because of the suspension bridge effect. But wait, it had been a while since I saved Lily. Wasn’t the suspension bridge effect a temporary thing?
“What about you, Viscount? What do you think of Lily-san?” (Laura)
Laura suddenly asked me with a teasing smile. It was true that girls in Laura and Lily’s age were usually really interested in matters of love, but I see Laura too was interested in love. And Luguentz and Feli could you wipe off your annoying smirk!?
‘It seems like there are a lot of things I have to handle once I return to the capital..’ That was my thought as I attempted to ignore the hero party’s teasing.
