Chapter 200 - 199 - Everything Back To Normal?

"Mom, hasn't it been long enough?" I asked as I arrived in the dining room in the morning. 

Coffee had already been served and my mother and father were sitting while they ate a piece of bread with jam and drank bitter coffee.

As soon as I arrived, I immediately talked to her about it, as I was impatient.

Three days had passed since the last time I had asked her to allow me to go out, so it should be about time to release me to train and also to work on something.

'Boredom is killing me.' 

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she looked at me and took another sip of coffee.

"I've been saying that for days. I'm feeling good, I don't feel my body tired anymore and I don't feel dizzy either." I said while showing off my arm muscles for some reason.

"Haaa~~ You're looking forward to being able to go out, aren't you?"

"Of course! Do you know how annoying it is to be stuck indoors without being able to do anything? I was close to going crazy."

"But you weren't alone, your friends came here to stay with you every day. You didn't seem bored." My mother smiled sarcastically at me. Noticing what she meant, I quickly tried to get away from the subject.

"Forget about it, I just want you to allow me to leave to train and work."

"But what are you going to do after that? Will you stay in the village? Will you help the villagers? Or do you intend to sneak out and head for the forest again?" My mother looked suspicious.

"No need to be suspicious, I won't go out again without your permission."

Maybe she will never allow me to go into the forest alone again. Not until I come of age and gain my independence.

"I see. Do you promise that you won't try to go out again? If you can promise me that, I will allow you to do work and train around the village."

"I promise. But I have one condition."

"Condition? You think you are in a position to impose conditions?" My mother smiled at me, but I just ignored that and spoke exactly what I wanted. It was a simple request that they could easily accept.

"When you or my father go hunting, I want to go along. If you guys are together with me, it is okay for me to go into the forest to hunt, isn't it?" I smiled at them both. My father stopped eating and looked at me surprised, but then started smiling.

My mother seemed quite affected by my question. In a positive way.

"Hahahaha, is that it?" She laughed out loud as she finished chewing the piece of bread in her mouth.

"Yes. Since I can't go out alone, I guess it's okay to go out together with one of you two, isn't it? And why is that so funny?" I wondered why my mother laughed so hard.

"Hahaha, it's nothing. I thought you were going to ask for something "big", but you just want to hunt together with us?"

"..." Should I have asked for something different?

"But anyway, I guess it's okay, right?" My mother looked at my father.

"I think so, it's fine. But why are you so committed to hunting and killing monsters? I never understood that about you."

"Well..." I want to level up.

"Remember when you snuck out of the house a few years ago to go into the forest? I'm glad nothing happened to you that time."

"Yes, maybe if you had been injured back then you wouldn't have been able to survive before reaching the village."

"But unfortunately you were irresponsible and this time you ended up getting injured."

My father and mother again started reminiscing about my past. Since I was already tired of hearing things about it, I decided to interrupt their conversation.

"Don't start that conversation again! I can leave now, can't I?" I said as I stood up from the chair I was using.

"Now? But it's still very early, people probably haven't started work yet." Outside it was still dawning, I didn't even realize what time it was now. Was I that anxious?

They could have rejected my request, I could have woken up early for no reason... Oh no

'But I've kind of gotten used to waking up early.'

"I'm just going to talk to the residents who are already awake, and I also intend to help anyone who needs it."

"What a good boy you are....." My mother sneered at me, and my father just smiled at her words.

"Okay, I'll see you guys outside. Don't eat too much and end up getting fat, Mom." I yelled as I walked out of the house. I could hear a few grumbles from her before I left, but I ignored them completely. 

'Now that my mom has released me, I can finally go back to training and also to work. I couldn't stand standing still anymore.'

I feel like I've just been released from prison.

####

In the capital, a lot of help was arriving, bringing peace of mind to the residents.

With the number of soldiers and volunteers gradually increasing, the work of removing and burying the bodies was stepped up. So it wouldn't take so long for all the cleaning up of the capital to be completed.

But it wasn't all finished yet.

Now let's talk about the recovery of the capital.

The streets, the walls of some houses, and the castle broken by Isabell during her battle had been rebuilt. And now some people were taking care of cleaning the blood marks in various streets and houses.

It was a rather disgusting job that few people agreed to do. But the people who accepted that job the most were the ones who could use water magic.

Using the magic, the cleaning was quite easy.

The city's drains had already been unclogged, so using water magic was not a problem. And of course, with the cleaning of the culverts that was quite quick, the water in the capital was not harmed.

The only problem was the food supply that had been harmed. And with the increase of people in the capital, the workers in the community canteen were being overwhelmed.

Because of this, the queen opened two more canteens. She divided up some workers, making it easier for all the people to eat.

And because of the complaint of some nobles who were forced to stand in line together with the normal people and also eat such "Poor" food 

A canteen was also opened in the noble area, where only classified and approved cooks who worked for the castle and noble houses worked. A restaurant was used for this.

'Those arrogant nobles.' That's what the queen thought about all this. But still, in order not to lower her and the king's reputation, she allowed the opening of the new canteen for the nobles.

And so, most of the nobles were divided from the common people.

'It is as it should be.' Most of them thought.

####

"Mother, what are you doing?" As the queen was signing some papers, the princess approached with her angelic smile.

The queen who looked at her daughter, smiled graciously as she took her in her lap.

"I am working."

"Working? Isn't that the work Daddy used to do?"

Hearing the princess' question, the queen felt a huge depression hit her. But still, she restrained herself and just smiled at her daughter hiding all her true feelings.

"Yes, but your father doesn't do that job anymore, understand?"

"No? Where is he now?" The princess asked in a cute voice. Her voice was able to make the queen give up holding back, letting a few tears come out of her eyes.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" The princess asked as she wiped her mother's face with her small hand. The queen who felt the princess' touch decided to hold back her tears and smile so as not to worry her daughter.

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling a little sad."

"Why?"

"It's nothing. And about your father, he went to visit someone far away, don't worry about him."

"Who did he go to visit?"

"It's someone who lives quite far away from here, understand? So it might be a long time before your father comes back."

"Got it... But I miss him, I wanted to see him."

"I know, I'm missing him too, understand? Now come here." The queen hugged the princess affectionately as she remembered the events of a few days ago.

Her husband's body was placed inside a wooden box and was buried on the grounds of their castle. This was all done without the residents knowing.

Was this right? Hiding the king's death cannot be right.

But in her mind, that was the right thing to do now.

If the news that the king of Southlein is dead were to spread, it would only bring unnecessary trouble and worry to the residents who are already experiencing a difficult situation.

'I wish you were here... ' The queen thought as she held back her tears and hugged the princess in her arms.

It took some time before she let the princess go.

"Mommy needs to go back to work, okay? How about you go have fun with Lett?"

"All right."

"Lett, could you take her for a little walk? But please don't go outside and show her unnecessary things."

The maid, who had been inside the room the whole time, looked at the queen and nodded silently.

She then approached the princess and held her small hand with a smile on her face.

"Where was I? Oh, about that...."