36 - Episode 5 "Lee Woo's Worries"

That day, Rieve was lost in thought.

As she walks to her office, she is thinking about her beloved king.

During the previous meeting, Rieve was ordered to stay inside the castle.

I would have preferred to escort him, but I had no choice if I was ordered to do so. He was waiting at the castle for the king's return, doing domestic affairs with Ertina.

The guards in the courtyard were the SS and the Living Armor.

Among the living armors assigned to guard the castle, there are elite soldiers called "Special Service Soldiers". The soldiers escorting the king in the courtyard were a handful of these elite soldiers.

One of them looked vaguely familiar, so Rieve caught him coming back from his escort mission and decided to interrogate him ...... and ask him some questions.

"...... First Corps Commander. I have a simple question, how did you manage to catch me with pinpoint accuracy?　I am a common magic armorer (living armor), and I should not be different from the others in appearance.

"If you can say that, then you must be the living armored man who was escorting us in front of the bedroom that day. Then you need not hesitate. I didn't expect you to be a special forces soldier, but I'm going to have you spit it out.

"I don't understand what's going on here.　...... Um, First Corps Commander. The hand on my shoulder seems to have a certain strength to it.

"Inform them of the details of Lady Helian's interaction with the Latestwood emissary today. "Subtlety. Do you understand?

"Well, I don't understand ......, but I understand that if I don't report it, they won't let me go."

Then, the living armorer, who seemed to have come to his senses, gave a series of reports that shocked Levee to no end.

During the middle of the report, he said, "First corps commander, the hand on my shoulder was gripped by a grip force far beyond my endurance, and the armor started to dent into the shape of my finger. I think I heard a cry of distress, but Rieve was so shocked that she didn't even have time to take it in as a language.

According to the explanation of Living Armor, the two had been interacting with each other through some kind of game. It is said that the king (Helian) was patting the head of the messenger (Lillipha) at the end.

This explanation helped me to understand why the king looked so good when he came back for the dinner. It could be that his interaction with Lillipha-Lum-Latestwood had provided him with a distraction.

However, this fact was difficult for Liewe, who had always been at Helian's side as a close confidant of the king, to accept.

Of course, the king's state of mind was better than nothing.

It would be a welcome distraction.

It is a welcome development.

We should be genuinely grateful to Lillipha-Lum-Latestwood for providing a distraction for her beloved king.

--But Lieve could not help feeling a tinge of jealousy towards the young girl.

She had seen the king working day after day, night after night, with his tired body.

Every day he feared that he would collapse in the near future.

I tried several times to admonish him at the risk of incurring his displeasure, but he would not listen to my remonstrations.

I was unable to stop the king from locking himself in his office and working diligently on his political affairs.

Rieve could only watch on with an itchy feeling in the face of such a king.

But Lillipha-Lum-Lattestwood had done it easily. Not only had she succeeded in getting the king out of his office after a mere ten minutes of conversation, but in just a few hours he had even begun to show a cheerful countenance.

It was a look I had seen many times before coming to this world.

It was the first time I had seen this expression since I came to this world.

This simple fact made Rieve even more anxious.

"......I wonder if Mr. Helian doesn't trust me after all..."

As I walked down the corridor leading to my office, a weak murmur fell out of my mouth.

Rieve recalls the events of the recent rebellion.

Rieve, Eltina, and Gardi were to blame for their failed escort mission that day.

Gardi, however, was punished by being assigned to repair the facility, and he was also forgiven for having raised his rank above that of the enemy in the last war.

Ertina, too, has her sins offset by her medical treatment in the aftermath of the last war and by her hard work in general domestic affairs.

--But I have nothing.

In the last war, I devoted myself to escort and general command support, and did not achieve any notable results.

Today, as before the war, I am still working as an assistant to the king, and I am not assigned to any special work like Ertina and the others.

I am the only one who is still living the same life without any punishment and without any achievement.

This situation was taking a toll on Rieve's psyche.

And this burden was getting heavier and heavier day by day, little by little, but surely. This is not something that can be solved by punching.

"I will not have the opportunity to give credit for this for a while. ....... At the very least, I should be able to receive some punishment: ......"

However, I don't have a good idea (plan) on what exactly we should do.

It would be best to consult Eltina in such a situation, but she is busy with her own hard work. As the head of the general corps, I hesitated to bother Ertina with a private consultation.

On the other hand, since she cannot come up with any good ideas herself, she has no choice but to maintain the status quo for the time being. I guess this is what he means when he says he is "heavy-hearted".

"............"

I looked out the window and saw my face reflected in the well-polished glass.

I stop, look at it for a moment, and exhale deeply.

"...... not good. I can't let Mr. Helian see my face like this.

He shakes his head to expel unwanted thoughts.

It was not a problem that could be resolved by such an action, but at least on the surface, he had to appear calm.

Pushing down the smoldering emotions in her heart and working on her usual calm and collected expression, Lieve arrived at the front of her office.

After saluting the guards with a "thank you," she stops in front of the door.

She checks her appearance with a hand mirror she took out of her magic pouch. His facial expression was clear as usual.

After making sure that he has completely killed his emotions, Lieve knocks on the door.

She hears the voice of the master saying "Come in" and pushes the door open.

+ + +

"Somehow it's starting to get back on track. ......"

A few minutes before Rieve's visit to the office.

Helian, who was waiting for her, was looking at several floating in the void and sorting out the situation.

First of all, the domestic issues have been settled.

We have taken care of everything that can be started at the moment, and have made in several months for matters that will take time to be resolved.

If no problems occur after a few days of observation, it is safe to say that we are on the right track.

There is no concern of rebellion for the time being.

As a precaution, the Sixth Army conducted a random survey of the public and found that the approval rate of the king is 99%, a figure that makes no sense at all. Moreover, it seems that the remaining 1% of the votes were not votes against the King, but invalid votes.

I was about to order a re-survey of the results, but the Commander of the 6th Legion (Camilla) insisted on the legitimacy of the survey results in the name of , so I decided to accept the results as fact.

Helian is aware of the importance that the legionnaires attach to the title. Since they went to the trouble of bringing up the title to guarantee the results of the investigation, Camilla's claim should be believed.

"Then it's time to start looking outside."

I don't need to reiterate now that Helian's supreme goal is to .

I have accepted that this is reality and not a dream, but I do not want to die in this world. I am not prepared to bury my bones in this world. This feeling has not changed in the slightest, and my goal is always to .

One of his short-term goals is to search for transplants to the other world, but there is no such information available from LATESTWOOD.

A plan is underway to gather information from Noblewood, which has a long history, but we do not intend to wait too long for the results.

We will have to consider conducting research in the human sphere of life.

"For the time being, Alkymaira cannot be moved. The current alkimaira needs time. With that in mind, what specific actions should we take?

Just as Helian was about to start thinking about this, the door to his office made a sound that announced a visitor. A polite knocking sound.

After a single exhale, Helian interrupts his thoughts and closes all the virtual windows.

She responds, "Come in," while shifting her attention, and the door opens without a sound, as usual.

"Excuse me."

With the words "Enter," Rieve steps into the office.

Rieve has a dignified expression on her face as usual, but from Helian's point of view, she looks a little strange today.

"......"

The difference from the usual Levee is obvious.

Her ears and tail are listless.

"Levee, what's wrong?"

"...... No, nothing unusual."

"Hmm, is that so?　I thought there might be some new problem or trouble."

The tail, hanging weakly, swung slightly.

This is a sign of anxiety, I believe. I remember learning this from a friend who had a dog. Rieve is a wolf, not a dog, but the sign would be the same for a wolf. Maybe.

"We have not experienced any problems that you might be concerned about, Mr. Helian."

"...... I see."

If Rieve says so, then so be it.

I am not going to doubt her words now.

But if that is the case, the question remains as to why she is not in good spirits.

Considering what I was about to ask her to do, maybe it would be better to call it a day.

"Are you by any chance not feeling well?　I know I keep throwing work at you, but you've been working hard for a while now. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind if you took a leave of absence today.

"Thank you for your concern. But I am in perfect physical condition.

Rieve insists that he is in perfect health.

She has [stout] in her character traits, so it is conceivable that she may be hiding her health problems. ...... No, it would not be very pleasant to delve into this topic any further.

If she continues to feel strange tomorrow, we will just have to make adjustments to reduce her workload.

"But more importantly, I would like to ask you about the matter you called me about.

"Yes. I have a small favor to ask you. It's not a difficult thing, just a continuation of what I've been doing with Rilifa.

A twitch, and the wolf's ears responded.

Her ears perked up, creating two triangles on the top of her head.

Is she nervous? I have just explained to her that this is not a difficult request.

"Of what you've been working on with Princess Lillipha?"

Yes. No, it won't take much time.

In short, it is a continuation of the capability test.

It is an experiment to verify whether or not the king (player), Helian, has the ability to attack.

In the game [Tactics Chronicle], the king's (player's) offensive power was set to zero, and no matter how much he kicked or punched, he could not damage demons.

However, this world does not conform to [Tactics Chronicle] in every way. Basically, it has the abilities of the game, but there are some differences from the game in details. Then, the offensive power also needs to be verified.

We were able to test most of the basic abilities of the king (player) against the refuels, but we were not able to test whether or not the king (player) has an offensive ability.

If we wanted to verify this, we would have to see if the player could damage others, but we could not test it on a princess of another country, especially not on Lillipha, who is a child.

Diplomatically, ethically, and by far the most out of line with his own common sense (rules).

And since it is an act, there is no way she can grab a suitable subordinate and say, "Let me attack.

A king who suddenly says to his people, "Let me hit you," is just a tyrant.

No, an actual tyrant would have his hands out before saying such a dumb line as "Let me hit you," but anyway, we do not want to behave in a vicious manner. We need to choose our opponents.

So.

"Levee."

"Ha."

"Let me slap you around a little bit, will you?"

......Hey.

I think I chose the wrong words.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. No, I mean, let me try it on your body. Only you can do this kind of thing."

"...... only me, sir?"

"Oh."

I can't ask anyone else to do this. That's why it's Levee.

The only person he could ask to conduct a verification experiment on the offensive power was Lieve, the only one who has been most loyal to him and the only one he has decided to trust.

"To be more specific..."

No, no, I understand. You don't have to explain. Please don't hesitate."

I was given permission before I could give a detailed explanation.

Oh well. I had a feeling that it would be a little strange to ask for something like this, so I'll just go along with it. Let's get on with it and get this over with.

However, I have no intention of hitting Rieve, who is a woman.

In short, we just need to see if we can do some damage.

I take her arm in my hand, thinking that this will be a good way to decoupage her.

"............"

It feels so good to the touch.

Smooth.

I wonder if that's what fine skin feels like.

And her skin is very white.

And the sweet scent of a woman's scent tickles my nostrils.

...... am I going to bump this skin now?

It's a sinful thing to do, isn't it? I should have been prepared for it, but I feel a little guilty about it.

I mean, I touched a woman's skin in a natural gesture, but what about it? If you think about it, this might be s*xual harassment. This is the first time that I have ever taken an adult woman's arm in my hand. What should I do? I'm too embarrassed to look at Levee's face. But I can't stop her now. To take her arm and look at her and say "hi" would be s*xual harassment. Get a grip. I tell myself. If you think to yourself, "Why am I being asked to do this?" you'll lose.

"Yes, let's do this."

I hope you'll forgive me if my voice sounds a little scratchy.

I popped my finger and hit the white skin.

A small, dry sound is heard.

"...... how's it going?"

He asks cautiously, trying not to let his agitation show in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

He asked me back.

"I mean, what ...... do you feel no pain?"

"No, no. Not particularly."

"......mm."

That means no damage was done.

I look at the skin around where I popped my finger, and it's not even red. The skin is pure white and clear. If you take your eyes off the skin, you may not even be able to tell where you hit.

Then, I hit it with my palm this time.

The force was a little stronger than that of clapping. This was the limit for Helian in many ways.

This time, however, when he slapped her, her body trembled.

Although I could not see her face as usual, I asked her again with a sense of expectation that this might have some effect (damage).

How about this?

"...... Yes, it doesn't hurt. Um, really, please don't be shy, yeah. More force, yes.

"...... mmm."

This did not seem to do any damage.

However, if we were to apply more force, it would be at the level of a slap.

Although I was not conscious of it before the experiment, even though Lieve was the only person I could ask, I was not comfortable with the idea of hitting a woman with a force at the level of a slapping hand. Even if the point to be hit is the arm.

And this is also a new story, but Leve's occupation (job) is 【Fist Saint】, and her durability (VIT)--and thus her physical defense-- is high even as a bare status. The power is extremely high.

Considering this, it may have been a mistake to think of inflicting damage with bare hands, with such slender arms as mine.

The point is that even if [Helian] had the ability to attack, there is a possibility that the physical defense of Levee would have resulted in zero damage.

But once we have started, I would like to finish this experiment here and now. Asking for cooperation again would be a hard thing to do in many ways.

On the other hand, since it is unlikely that we can do any damage with our bare hands, a drastic action is needed here. I feel a prickle of guilt in my chest, but for the time being, I will ignore it.

"Let's try to use the tool: ......"

As he muttered something, Lieve's arm jumped.

"A tool?"

"Mm. I thought I'd give it a real try."

".................., yes, sir. Tools?　Yes, I can handle it. No problem at all, please don't hesitate to contact me.

"Okay. That helps."

No, we've been waiting for you!

"...... yeah?"

I was a little caught up in what Levee had to say.

It was nice of him to cooperate with us, but why did he say that he had been waiting for us?

"I'll borrow a whip and a collar from the 6th corps commander (Camilla) right away, please wait a moment!

"A whip and collar?　Wait, where did the collar come from, if not the whip?"

The whip is an exaggeration to begin with.

It doesn't have to be that aggressive.

If you want, you could even use a stick from around here and there.

"It's all right, Mr. Helian!　I've heard a lot about that kind of thing from the Commander of the Sixth Legion, so I'll be fine!　So everyone has their own hobbies and interests!　I have a good understanding, yes!"

"?　That kind of thing?"

I don't understand.

I looked at Levee's face and saw that her cheeks were flushed for some reason.

Her breath was slightly raspy, and her ears and tail were behaving in an indescribable and mysterious way.

......There is something wrong with him. I wonder if there is some kind of misunderstanding.

Helian is just now taking stock of the situation, wondering if he has said something that could be misinterpreted.

"Hmmm... ......"

The location is the Oval Office.

In this situation, there are only two people in the room: Levee and myself.

What they were doing was to verify their own offensive capabilities.

I was the one who was hitting Levee's arm as a favor.

Rieve, red-faced and flustered.

I suggested that we use tools.

No problem, she replies.

Talking about it.

Hobbies.

To each his own.

And from Camilla, a whip and a collar.

--I understand.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute!　Rieve, you are making a very serious mistake!　Don't try to walk out of the room, stop right now!

"It's all right, Master Helian, if this is a distraction for you, I'll gladly accept the punishment!　I was rather waiting for this!　I've been waiting for you!"

"Calm down!　You are talking out of your ass!　Do you even know what you're saying right now?

"Yes, I understand, I am an understanding subordinate!　In other words, you mean dog discipline!"

"That's not your understanding!　What is a dog anyway!　You're a wolf!"

"Actually, I may have been a dog!"

"Don't throw away your wolf pride on this shit!　Just calm down and listen to me!　For God's sake!

Helian does everything in his power to stop Lieve as she tries to run out of the office.

--It took her 30 minutes to clear up the misunderstanding.