40 - CHAPTER IX "Departure"

The audience was over.

In the room reserved exclusively for the Commander of the Third Army, Ertina looked over a stack of documents and closed her eyes, letting out a light sigh.

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

Although he is getting a minimum amount of sleep, he feels a heaviness in his eye lids.

I have cast a healing spell on myself to alleviate the physical fatigue, but I am unable to take care of the mental fatigue.

Even though I am accustomed to this kind of work, the workload and the weight of responsibility are commensurate for a large-scale project. And moreover, it is a pioneering project in a situation where there is a shortage of personnel due to the metastasis phenomenon. Even with Eltina's internal administrative skills, she was just barely managing to fulfill the orders from the Lord.

Moreover, there are still several piles of documents.

He spent his days desperately resisting against the stacks of documents that were literally piling up.

Just as Ertina was about to reach for the next pile, the door suddenly made a sound.

A distinctive knocking sound.

Ertina identifies her visitor by the impatient but somewhat reserved sound, and calls out to the door.

Come in. The door is open, Ceres.

After Ertina responded, there was a slight hesitation and silence, and then the door opened.

The one who peeked through the doorway was Ceres, the commander of the Fourth Legion with the [Magic Legion].

"......You know, Elle. I've always wondered how you knew it was me who came.

"Celes has a distinctive knock on the door. Come on in."

Is that so?　Twisting her head, Ceres stepped into the room with a somewhat reserved look on her face. He looked at the piles of papers on the desk and his eyes shook as if he was frightened.

"Ah, you know, that ....... Elle is busy, isn't she?

"No, no. I was just about to take a break."

Eltina smiles, her tone soft as usual.

Celes, however, somehow guessed the current situation from her complexion and her words, and she looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry. I'll make this quick.

"No problem. So, what can I do for you?

When asked what he wanted, Celes looked away somewhat hesitantly.

Then, after taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth with a bold expression.

"...... You know... I'd like to ask you a personal question,......, but I think your majesty hates us elves.

"The elves to His Majesty?"

Tilting her head, Eltina asked Celes.

"Yes. The other day at the time of the war you were more angry than I've ever seen you. If I'm not careful, I might even make Nogarde open the box.

"Yes, I see. I've never seen His Majesty in such a rage before.

"...... and the Noblewood guys were vermin, but they were still elves like us in appearance,...... and I got worried... I wondered if His Majesty didn't like me."

Ah," Eltina guessed.

Perhaps it came out of her mouth without her noticing it, but before she knew it, the target was not the Elves, but Ceres personally.

So that's the main point, Eltina nodded inwardly.

"Even before the war the other day, they didn't take me alone. ......"

I wonder if I made myself even more anxious by saying it.

A slight glint appears in Celes' eyes.

Ertina sees this expression and smiles softly, as if she is comforting her beloved child,

"--Thank you for all your hospitality, Ceres."

"What?"

"No, I was talking about this."

Although she let her true feelings slip, Ertina thinks that she will be able to fight for another two weeks.

Eltina, who had been supplied with a precious source of energy and spiritual satisfaction, spoke to Ceres with a Virgin's expression.

"Back to the subject, I think Celes is overthinking this. If Your Majesty dislikes the Elves because of that incident, it should be more obvious to me, who is of White Elven descent, than to Celes, who is of Black Elven descent.

"But even Camilla could have been taken by His Majesty: ......"

"...... That way of talking is going to make Camilla mad at you, don't you think?　First of all, under the circumstances, he could not have taken Ceres to the village. Your Majesty acted according to the situation, not out of contempt for Celes.

"That may be true, but ...... I think I know what I'm talking about. ......"

Muttering a few words, Ceres turns her head down again.

In short, she seems to have been attacked by anxiety on an emotional level, although she understands it rationally. Eltina, who correctly guessed Ceres' condition, wonders how she can comfort her.

Then a knock on the door announces a new visitor.

Is it Lieve? Come in, it's open.

A moment of silence.

Then the door quietly opens and a colleague appears.

Unlike Ceres, the visitor who opened the door with dignity was, as expected, Levee.

......Ertina. I always wondered how you could tell it was me just by the sound of knocking?"

"Because Lieve's knocking is very distinctive."

"Don't compare me with Ceres, my knocking is normal. I've mastered all the etiquette skills you need.

"...... Hey, Levee. Don't you dare to casually put me down.

Celes, with her usual bullish expression on her face, quickly retorts.

Ceres reveals her true feelings and shows her vulnerable face only in front of Ertina, her kindred spirit and the person she trusts the most. Celes, who has "stoutheartedness" in her character trait, has been trying to avoid showing her weak points in the presence of others.

Eltina asks the new visitor, thinking inwardly that she is cute in that way too.

So, Lieve. What can I do for you?"

"Oh. I came to ask about Celes' whereabouts, but you saved me the trouble."

Heh?　Atashi?"

When Celes asks her with a vacant look on her face, Levee, with her usual clear face, gives her a message.

"Herian-sama has decided to go on an expedition as a merchant to the world outside the forest, to the sphere of human life. I, Gardi, and Ceres have been appointed to accompany him. We will meet in the ninth conference room in two hours for a meeting among the corps commanders to discuss the escort method and other matters. Understood?　I certainly did. I'll talk to Gardi and then go to the conference room. That's all."

As soon as he had delivered his message, Levee quietly closed the door and strode away.

Ceres looked at the closed door for a moment, but when she understood the meaning of Rieve's words, she turned to Ertina with a smile like a flower opening.

"Yes!　Your Majesty called me, called me, Elle!　I'm not hated by His Majesty!"

Celes, who had been embraced by Ertina with such force that she squealed with delight.

Eltina smiled at Celes as if she was watching over her daughter and said, "I'm so happy for you.

After a short period of joy, Celes regained her composure and left the room with a cheerful heart after receiving from Ertina her advice on how to be a squire.

After seeing Celes back to health, Eltina recalls the feeling she had just had, "Now I can fight for another three weeks," and goes on with her work.

+ + +

A few days later.

Helian and his party were standing in front of the great door of the outer wall of the capital after preparing to leave.

Helian, dressed in his expedition cloak, gazes up at the great door that separates the capital from the outside world.

We are ready, Herian. We are ready to go.

I turned around at the sound of Reeve's voice and saw the squires beside the unadorned carriage.

The king's aide, the all-powerful Levee, Gardi, the most skilled in the fully humanized form, and Celes, an expert in sorcery. The three of them are quietly waiting in front of us, all wearing the same type of equipment for disguising themselves, looking ready to go.

These are the three followers I am taking with me this time.

I have settled on this number because I want to leave half of the corps leaders at home at all times in case of emergency. This is the style we have adopted and will probably continue to adopt in the future.

(......We were standing in front of the grand door like this that day, weren't we?)

I remember the first day I was transferred to another world.

Helian, who had been carried away by the situation, went with Levee, Eltina and others to investigate the unexplored areas.

It seems like a long time ago, but at the same time it seems like yesterday.

It must have been such an intense and intense time.

Looking up at the grand door, I am lost in deep emotion.

Unlike that day, however, there are no guards of honor to see off the departing soldiers.

This is because I had refused to let the guard of honor see me off, as I had told him that this was nothing special and that I was just going to do my job as a matter of course.

There is also one decisive difference from the first day of my transfer to another world.

Unlike that time, I did not step out of the city by accidental remarks, but stepped into the outside world of my own volition.

"Hm - I have been on many expeditions in the past, but I never thought that the day would come when I would explore another world. I remember the day when I arrived in that world with the "Three Bodies of the Beginning.

In order to motivate myself and turn on the switch to act as a higher-ranking person, I dared to say similar words to the last time.

The three corps commanders standing behind him responded with words of their own.

"I will protect you with all my strength. --This time, I promise.

Leave the magic to me. I will burn them to the ground no matter what enemies appear.

"Well, don't worry about the rough stuff, you can take it easy on us, General. I'll do my best to make up for the fact that I can't be of any help in the small and complicated matters.

These are all very encouraging words.

It seems to me that Rieve is a little over-enthusiastic, but that's something I can follow. It's easier said than done, but I am the king. I am their superior. Then I have to follow them to that extent.

With determination, Helian told his followers who were standing in line.

Let's go. Rieve, Ceres, Gardi..."

Ha--!"""Ha--!"""

And so the king of Alkimaira took his first steps out of the country.

Not as he had done that day, not as he had been driven away by circumstances.

--This time, he did it of his own volition.