245 That's why I'm waiting.

After reporting back to Marito, I wandered around the castle to look for Ilias and Wolfe. It seems that today's training had already been completed and they were currently sorting out the castle's equipment. He is doing special training under Marit's orders, but he wants to do his job as a knight as well.

But I can't find it. ......

You'll be able to find a lot more information on this in the future. They may have long since gone home. Is it because I'm feeling homesick that I start to feel lonely when I don't see them like this? I tried to think if I could remember the memories of the Earth's milieu, but all I could think of was how much I missed the taste of grilled chicken wings in my room.

I have no idea what to do. ......

Seiya Yukura, the first Japanese to appear in this world. This person is said to have gained magical power by abandoning his longing for the world he came from. He left his name in the history of this world, and even left an extra mark on it. I have concluded that there is a difference in thinking as the reason why he was able to reach a point of reasoning that is not easy to reach for people in this world. .......

Oh, it's you. You're back from Trine?

"Oh, it's Nora. Are you alright, is that it?

As I walked down the corridor of the castle, I came across Nora carrying a crate as big as she was. Normally, a child of elementary school age wouldn't be able to carry a package the size of her own, but Nora had access to magic that could strengthen her powers and interfere with the weight of matter.

It's not heavy, but I can't see. I bumped into her five times.

I'd love to carry it, but it's ...... heavy?

It weighs about the same as a set of heavy armor.

I can't carry it, my back is going to scream. Instead, I decided to walk next to Nora, become her eyes, and help her navigate. The picture of an adult walking empty-handed with a child carrying a heavy load is really terrible.

The laboratory seemed to be the destination, and when I opened the door, I found Luko and Duvvleoris there. The fact that Luko, who is in charge of magic research and Nora's guardian, is there, and Duvraeori, who appears as an errand boy for his collaborator, Purple, is not strange in itself, but the fact that these two are together is rather unusual.

"Thank you for your help, nee-chan.

It's kind of sad when people say thank you. ......

Hey, brother. Are you back from Trine?

Yeah. I've just reported to Marito.

As soon as he mentioned Marito's name, Luko's face grew red. I was going to make fun of him right away, but I think I'd better restrain myself from doing that.

I'm not sure what to say. Speaking of which, Luko-sama really became Luko-sama.

Nora-chan!

But children are unforgiving. Then I'll take advantage of him. ...... is not going to work. Because this kind of topic is troublesome when it is returned.

"Yeah, Marito told me about you. Congratulations. But from the looks of it, you haven't fully accepted it yet.

Ugh. ....... No matter what I say, His Majesty won't relent. ......

That is unless he says he's going to marry another man.

No, I'm not!

It's not like he's going to marry someone he knows likes him, there's no reason for him to break. I'm sure you're just confused by your position as a maid who has been proposed to by the king, and once you get used to it, you'll be ready for anything.

Just as there's no need to rush to accept, there's no reason to rush to refuse. Just take your time.

"Yes, yes, .......

Well, the more time goes by, the more Marito fills in the outer moat. He's going to make you happy no matter what, so just give up.

"So, is Duvvreoris some kind of errand boy?

Yes. I've been sent to tell Nora and to capture the subject.

...... And what's the target, by the way?

You, of course. Now that the Blue Demon King has returned, he knows you're back. The Lord wants to see you. He ordered me to bring him here today.

I had a feeling about that. I had no reason to refuse, but I would have liked to at least let Ilias and Wolfe see me. Well, I've already told Harkdock that we'll have dinner at the Dog Bone, so we can meet up there.

All right. I just have to tell Marito. I told him I was going to meet up with Ilias and the others and go home, so if you suddenly disappear from the castle, it could cause a commotion.

"That's true. So let's get started.

Don't worry, I'll get one of the knights. You had a message for Nora, didn't you?

That's not a problem. I said I'd invite Nora and Luko over for dinner sometime soon. I've already done my part by telling Luko.

Dinner. Purple's getting to know other people pretty well. That's good.

Of course you're going! Of course I'm coming! I don't care if it's today!

Sorry, I'm heading your way. I'm sorry, but I've been told that I should have at least one escort when I head out that way. ...... arrangements are ......

Nora is a valuable asset to the development of Taze. Luko is also in charge of the area. Even if they're close, going to the Demon Lord's place without an escort is going to pose a lot of problems.

I'm aware of that. I've also been told that I'm to have the Mix as my bodyguard.

Yeah, they were close, you know.

But Mixu is royalty, the king's sister. Catching her and taking her out to dinner would be a very high hurdle for Luko, the castle maid. I'll give her a hand tomorrow.

"Mmm ......, the house of the demon king is so intriguing .......

"Don't worry, I'll treat you well later. I'm sure the Lord of the day will give top priority to the people there in the first place.

That's also true. If you interfere with the purple girl, Nora may be interfered with as well.

Hmm, the distance between Nora and Duvraeori is closer than before. I heard that Nora and Murasaki treated Duvraeori when he was injured by Arcreal, did they somehow succeed in raising Duvraeori's sensitivity? I'm not sure what to make of that.

This is thanks to Barastos' education. ......

"Speaking of which, I heard that you met your master. How's your master doing?

Yes, he caught the young knight and wouldn't let him go.

Brother, this is not a topic for children!

"I'm surprised to find a man of Master's liking. I was surprised to find a man who liked my master. He's so idealistic for a man of his age, I thought he'd be single all his life.

Balastus, this is what your disciple thinks of you. No, I'm the kind of guy who deserves it.

I've heard a lot about him from Nora, and she even said that he was courted by a lot of men, but he fought them off one after another. ....... I'm not sure what to make of that.

"It's called ...... Cael.

Luko stiffens at the name. That's true. Cale is Luko's--

Oh, brother. ....... Cale is from ...... Leanor?

Yeah, he's your brother.

You knew about this?

Yeah.

How could you not know? I've been looking into knights to improve the environment in the Iliad, and I've been having dinner with Sir Léanor, Cael's captain, from time to time. Since I was working with Caire in Trinh, I heard about his family from time to time. Even if Luko hadn't told me anything about his family, there are enough factors to connect the two.

"Cael was found by ...... the great sage Balastos ......? Why on earth would ......

I wanted to say, "You're the one who was discovered by the king?" but I held my ground. I've decided not to mess around with this one.

Because he's the brother of Luko-sama who was proposed to by His Majesty. Luko-sama is awesome!

No... Nora-chan... ......

But children are unforgiving. I'm not sure what to say. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm not sure what to make of that. But she's holding back because she doesn't want you to talk about her love life.

This guy can ...... just by looking at people's faces?

You don't say that, human.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm going to do it.

I'm not sure what to say.

I'm not sure if you've heard of this, but I'm sure you've heard of it. But honing your sword skills is not the only job of a knight. There are many things to be done, such as patrolling the city and maintaining the armor. If I am the only one who has the time of many knights, I should be able to get some work done. .......

I didn't expect Sir Leanor to find me and tell me to go home. ......

I said what I thought, of course, but he said, "Do you want to show everyone that you have plenty of time to work after our training? I didn't have anything to say to him, so I left.

But Ilias, you're hardly tired these days.

It's not that I'm not tired at all. ......

In the beginning, it was hard for me to even walk home, and when I got home, I fell asleep without being able to do my housework. But now I have a certain amount of leeway, habit is a terrible thing.

Wolfe is still going strong! Do you want to train together until dinner?

"No, Sir Léanor told me that it is a knight's job to rest. I'm not sure what he'll say if I'm wobbly tomorrow morning. ......

His sensitivity to assessing the strength of his opponents is also becoming more acute, and the pressure he feels from Wolfe as a strongman is increasing day by day. In addition to Gradna, Neil Ryates is also helping him in some way. ...... Is this a legitimate way?

When I came home with these worries in my head, there was a presence in the house. I was about to reach for my sword, but I put my hand down when I heard the distracted humming of a harddog.

"Oh, Miss! You're back early!

"Hark-dog. I heard you left Trinh, but was it today?

He looked towards the back of the house, but there was no sign of him. Wolfe is thinking the same thing, sniffing around, searching for a scent.

I can smell Lacla, but I can barely smell Shishou. ....... Where is Shishou?

"If he's your brother, he went to the castle with the mix to report to King Taze. You didn't see him?

No, ...... we've crossed paths.

When I think of how I could have met him if I had stayed in the castle a little longer, I want to blame myself for being found by Lord Léanor. I don't blame Lord Léanor, not at all.

I'm not going to blame Lord Léanor, not at all." "Well, Miss ...... and Wulfe have gotten a lot stronger since I haven't seen them. ......

Hark-dog, do you understand?

Yes, I do. My detective magic can even measure my opponent's strength. What can I say? You're getting used to fighting.

Spot on. In terms of physical ability, you haven't grown that much. Physical training doesn't always produce easy results. But I'm aware that the me of now can overwhelm the me of a month ago.

It's nice to see that I'm growing objectively, but it's also a little embarrassing.

"Well, Hark-dog, let's get to work!

I'm tired from the long trip. Please don't. Oh, yes. The brothers said they were going to have dinner at the Dog Bone at night, so maybe we can meet them there?

They've been away from Taze for a while, they must miss the taste of Dog Bone. If you can cook at a time like this, would you say, "I miss the food of the Iliad"? ...... If anything, Wolfe and I miss his cooking more than he does.

Isn't there a possibility that he might come back here once?

Oh, ......, I didn't ask him about that in detail. It's hard to say.

"Then all you Harkdogs go to the Dog Bone. I'll wait at home.

He'll figure it out and come join us if there's no one home. But it might make him feel a little lonely to come home after a long absence and find no one at home.

But, Miss. What if the brothers are heading directly for the Dog Bone?

"There's Ecdysium's chain. Lakra can signal it remotely.

Exduk can even treat it like a communication crystal, but he doesn't need that much functionality. It's enough that he can shake it lightly when he appears at the Dog Bone.

Huh. It's amazing that he can communicate with distant places like the crystal of Yugra.

In his world, everyone has a tool with a function similar to that of a crystal.

The crystals of Yugraism are quite expensive. Even if they spread in large numbers, only the nobility with large fortunes would be able to purchase them. I don't know how many mass production processes would be needed to make it possible for everyone in the village to have one. ....... There would not be enough people or resources to make this happen in this world.

Ugh, that's just disgusting. I don't think I'll be able to do it. You'll have no time to rest no matter where you are.

I said the same thing to him. I said the same thing to him and he said, 'Just pretend it's broken.

It's just like brothers. But I hate it when I have to lie.

That's true.

If you listen to him talk about his world, it boasts of convenience that is hard to imagine, but on the other hand, there are problems that arise from that convenience. If the end result of this is that we can only live as he does, it makes me wish that the civilization of this world would not be overly developed. This is probably one of the reasons why he minimizes his contribution of wisdom from the original world.

"Well then, Ilias, I'll go ahead!

After seeing off Harkdock and the sleepy-faced Lakra with Wolfe on his back, he looked back at the quietness of his home. After my parents died, I moved out of the house and moved to this place. In the beginning, I couldn't do the housework properly, and Maja often took care of me. As I got used to living alone, I could afford to feel that I was alone.

I thought I was used to it. ......

I'm alone in an empty house. I began to feel lonely again. That's why I volunteered to be his housekeeper, not wanting him to feel the same way. My heart has grown stronger, but I still feel this way.

I guess strength is another thing.

I don't think it's immaturity. I don't think it's immaturity, because I don't want to admit that I've grown up to become someone who doesn't feel anything. I don't want to become someone who doesn't know pain, even if I can endure it. I don't want to be a person who can accept negative emotions and then act on them, like him.

No, that was a little too eccentric.

Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've waited for him to come home like this. Even though he had just arrived in a foreign country in a different world, he was quickly flying from place to place. I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who'd like to know more about this.