Chapter 143

In this world where the week is set at eight days, naturally, there are ‘days of the week’.

For example, the weekend of each week, or the day of the month that is a multiple of eight, is the day of the week for “healing,” which is the day of the week associated with the main Goddess of Healing, Lydina.

Since there are eight gods in this world, each of the eight days of the week is given a name associated with the main god.

I don’t want to say it out loud because it seems a little embarrassing, but… In the case of Yuri, the main deity that controls “love”, so it is generally known as the day of the week for “love”.

The day is the seventh day of each week, which means that the day before the day of healing is the day of love, associated with Yuri.

About three weeks ago, on the 23rd day of the spring month, it had been exactly one year since Yuri had been invited by Lydina to become one of the main gods of this world.

On the occasion of the first anniversary, Yuri designated the day of the week of “love” associated with herself as the ‘day of the sovereign’s visit’ and announced it to the people in the country and abroad via [Broadcast].

On this day, anyone could use the【Transfer Gate】to visit the capital of the Yuri Empire, the Divine City of Yuritania, and request a meeting with Yuri at the palace.

If there are too many applicants, a lottery will be held, but basically, there is no restriction on status.

Whether you are a nobleman, merchant, farmer, or even a quasi-national from another country. As long as it’s on the day of the week of Love, anyone is free to request a meeting and speak directly with Yuri.

The overwhelming majority of people who use this system are merchants.

There is a rule against giving gifts, but whether they know it or not, there are many merchants who bring expensive gifts and try to get Yuri to do something for them.

However, if you try to offer them a gift, you will be thrown out of the audience room. Fortunately, it does not take much time and effort to deal with these people.

Of course, some merchants abide by the rule of ‘no gifts’ and genuinely come to us for business. Many of these merchants come with proposals that consider the national interest, so Yuri has to face them and talk to them.

Sometimes it is used as a place for citizens to petition Yuri for something, and other times people request to meet simply because they want to see Yuri in person after seeing her on [Broadcast] every day.

As far as Yuri is concerned, that’s fine. Of course, she can’t spend too much time on each person who wants to see her. Even so, Yuri doesn’t want to treat people who want to meet with Yuri indiscriminately.

―――Today is the seventh day of the summer month, the day of love.

Sitting on the throne in the Audience Room of the Yuritania Palace, as usual, Yuri let those who wanted to see her in the room one by one and listened to their stories.

There were eleven groups of people who wanted to meet with her that day.

Among the last group was the name of Princess Yubel, whom I had just met the other day.

Of course, Yuri was aware that she was coming to the city of Yuritania since she had the magic【Spatial Grasp】. Yuri felt a little happy when she saw Princess Yubel enter the ‘audience hall’ with firm steps.

She still had the same unhealthily thin body. But there is no longer the pathetic atmosphere of a sickly woman that I felt from Princess Yubel the other day when she could not get out of bed at all.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for the other day. Not only did you heal me from my illness, but you also lent me two rings so that my body would not be affected by the disease anymore. I understand that no amount of gratitude will ever be enough for the great favor you have done me.”

Unlike the seven escort knights who immediately knelt after entering the audience room, Princess Yubel stood and told Yuri so while performing a graceful curtsy.

Since she was the first princess of the Kingdom of Rapier, she was probably in a position where she didn’t need to kneel even in front of the monarch of another country.

“Thank you for coming, Princess Yubel. As for the treatment and the ring, you don’t need to thank me since I did it on my own. I hope you’ve been in good health for the past three days?”

“Yes… the day after Your Majesty Yuri put these rings on me, I felt completely healthy, as if the painful days I had experienced before were a lie.

By the way, this ring is such a gem that it instantly transformed me from a sickly weak person to a healthy body. It seems to be a very expensive item, but how long can I borrow it?”

“I thought of giving both of those rings to Yubel but…”

“C-Can I really have it?”

In response to Yuri’s words, Princess Yubel was clearly flustered.

To be honest, it was painful for Yuri to see her like that. After letting out a sigh inwardly, Yuri continued to speak.

“I’m sorry… I gave Ubel the two rings to give them away, but… my subjects insisted that I retrieve them.”

The fact that Yuri had given Princess Yubel a ring that nullified all abnormalities became known to everyone in the Yuri Empire through Sera, who had witnessed the event, and many of the children protested strongly two days later.

This is because, no other than Yuri, is better at fighting with abnormal conditions than anyone else in the Yuri Empire.

That’s why handing over the ring of [Invalidate All Abnormality] to someone else is the same as handing over a weapon useful for killing Yuri to someone you don’t know to be your friend or foe.

As the children of the <Red Rose> had said, “This is as foolish as giving a god-slaying sword to a man,” Yuri could not have said anything back.

Yesterday, Yuri’s heart was very depressed because she was seriously scolded by her beloved children.

“… I’m sorry, but I was wondering if I could have one of the rings I gave Yubel back. Of course, I will give you the other ring, and that ring alone should be enough to keep Yubel healthy.”

“Ah, yes, of course. Which one shall I return to you?”

“The one on your left hand, please. ―――Partita.”

“Yes.”

Partita, the captain of <Nadeshiko>, who had been waiting right next to Yuri on the throne, walked down the steps to Princess Yubel’s side and collected the ring from her.

Partita delivered it to the throne, and Yuri made sure to receive it.

“Thank you, Princess Yubel. I’m sorry I took the liberty of saying that.”

“No, not at all. From my point of view, I should like to express my deepest gratitude to you for giving me the other ring. Thank you very much.”

“―――Partita, she’s the last one to see today, isn’t she?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Princess Yubel, would you like to have dinner with me afterward? I have to do my usual [Broadcast] in the evening, so we’ll have to dine a little earlier than usual.”

It was still around 5:30 p.m., so it was a little early for dinner, but if Yuri didn’t finish a little early, it would interfere with the [Broadcast] that Yuri does every night at 8:00 p.m.

“Ah… Yes, I’d love to, if that’s okay with you.”

“Partita. Tell the owner of Arv’s that I’m on my way.”

“Yes, Master. Right away.”

Partita left the room immediately after receiving Uri’s order.

“Arv” is the name of a high-class restaurant in the center of the city of Yuritania, run by the Rostine Trading Company.

Some of the dishes served at the restaurant are supervised by Yuri, who knows the cuisine of other worlds, and Euro, who is the cook of the Yuri Empire, so it is well known among the citizens of Yuritania as a high-class restaurant where you can enjoy delicious and unusual meals.

On the other hand, as compensation for this, one of the private rooms in the restaurant is always left empty so that the country can use it freely. This is why it’s ideal to use it as a place to entertain guests on short notice, like this time.

Standing up from her throne, Yuri walked down the steps to the side of Princess Yubel and gently held out her right hand towards her.

“Shall we go then?”

“Y-Yes.”

Princess Yubel gently took the right hand that Yuri held out to her.

As she gently guided the skinny girl’s hand, Yuri enjoyed the short date to the restaurant.