Volume 6 - CH 6

Chapter 6: The Plains of Grief 

In the northwest of the Kingdom of Friedonia was what would, in later years, come to be called the Plains of Grief. 

It was said that the name originated with a beautiful girl who, crying for her lover who would not return, had created a pond with her tears. There was, as a matter of fact, a pond in the Plains of Grief, and the local farmers used it as a source of water for agricultural purposes. It is said that this dramatic legend of tragic love has made the heart of many a young maiden who visited this land flutter. 

However, those who knew the truth behind the legend could only smile wryly. 

“Wow,” Liscia said, admiring the view outside the window of the gondola. 

Right now, we were up in the air. I could ride on Naden’s back, but if Liscia joined me there, the ryuu’s protection wouldn’t cover her, and she would be exposed to the wind and cold. Because of that, Liscia and I rode in a gondola designed to be carried by wyverns, and we had Naden carry it in her ryuu form. 

Naden swam through the sky far faster than a wyvern could fly. Watching the scenery race past, Liscia said somewhat excitedly, “Look, Souma. She’s way faster than a wyvern.” 

“Gwah!” I exclaimed. 

“Hold on, what’s wrong?! Why are you suddenly grabbing your chest?” 

“No... I only know it as a line from an old RPG, but hearing it come out of your mouth was a shock...” 

“But why?!” 

Yeah, she was never going to understand why I felt so pained to hear it, and she didn’t have to understand it. I hugged Liscia close as she looked at me with a perplexed look. 

“Please, stay with me,” I told her. 

“I don’t know what’s gotten you so worried, but... of course I’m going to.” Liscia rested her head on my shoulder. “The two of us... will be together forever.” 

“Liscia...” 

“Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” When we started getting a good atmosphere going, there was an angry roar from up top. “You make me carry you around, then you go and flirt with each other?!” 

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “Couldn’t help myself...” 

“What do you mean you couldn’t help yourself?! For a start, you could ride up on my back!” 

“Then the three of us couldn’t talk, though.” 

In her ryuu form, Naden spoke using something like telepathy, so she could talk without regard for the walls of the gondola, or the sound of the wind whipping by. But if I rode on Naden’s back, I couldn’t talk to Liscia in the gondola. 

Liscia leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You’re doing this on purpose because Naden’s reaction is so cute, aren’t you?” 

“Nah,” I whispered back. “Well, maybe a little.” 

“You’ve developed a bit of a nasty streak yourself, you know that?” 

“Well, being surrounded by such a difficult group of girls, I’ve had plenty of training.” 

“...Are you including me in that?” 

“Come on, I told you not to leave me out of the... Huh...?” Naden’s complaining cut out midway. While I was wondering why that might be, Naden suddenly added, “Hey, could you two look at the ground for a moment?” 

I opened the window, and Liscia and I looked down at the ground below while flinching at the wind that rushed into the gondola. 

““Wha?!”” 

In the fields beneath us, there were a number of big holes. Craters, big and small, had formed there. It looked like the area had been hit by a localized meteorite storm. 

“It’s like the area was bombarded by a wyvern unit...” Liscia whispered. 

“Bombarded?! I never heard anything about that from Hakuya!” I cried. 

“Wait, Souma! This is right next to the village where Aisha and the others were waiting, isn’t it?!” 

“Ah! Let’s hurry. Naden, I’m counting on you!” 

“Roger that!” 

Naden performed a sudden dive down to the village where Aisha and the others were waiting.

We had Naden let us off near the village and assume human form, then we went through the entrance to the village. Unlike the beaten-up fields, the village showed no sign of being any different from how it was when I was last here. 

Well, what were those big holes all about, then? While I was wondering that... 

Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. I heard the sound of heavy footfalls, and then, “Your Majestyyyyyyy!” 

I saw Aisha racing toward us at an incredible speed. 

With the amount of inertia she had behind her, she was almost like a runaway horse or a wild rhino, and as she got closer, I could hear alarm bells sounding in my head. This was bad. I tried to turn and run the other way, but... 

“Your Majestyyyy! I finally caught youuuu!” 

“Gwah!” 

““Souma?!”” 

Without even the time to fully turn, she rapidly closed in on me, and I caught a flying tackle-hug with my side. The impact was like being run over by a small car. 

Though I had finally been released from that bear hug, I did wish she could have saved me in a more peaceful way. Honestly... I’d gotten tackled, squeezed, crushed, and finally electrocuted. These past few minutes left me completely exhausted. 

When we arrived at the inn where Aisha and the others had been staying, Tomoe welcomed me with a smile that was like a flower blooming. 

“Big Brother! Thank goodness you were all right!” 

I gave her a gentle pat on the head. “Sorry for worrying you. Where’s everyone else?” 

Tomoe said, “About that...” glancing behind her. 

Following her line of sight, I saw Hal, Kaede, and Carla passed out at a single table. The three of them had looks that seemed to say, “I’m burned out, like white ash,” with all the energy and vitality gone from their faces. Their clothes looked a little beat up, too. 

“Wh-What happened...?” 

“All three of them... They tried their best.” 

Tomoe got a far-off look in her eye as she related what happened in the time I was gone. 

The story turns back to a few days earlier... 

“Sire... Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!” 

Halbert narrowly dodged Aisha’s greatsword which she was swinging around as she cried. “Whoa! That was dangerous!” 

Having cut through nothing but air, Aisha’s sword continued on to slam into the ground, leaving an indentation about five meters across. Seeing that power, Halbert’s cheeks twitched. 

“Th-That’s getting into one-hit kill territory. Wasn’t this supposed to be training?” 

“Stay on your toes,” Carla said, holding her sword at the ready. She was standing beside Halbert. “This is genuine combat now.” 

“Oh, cripes. How did it come to this...?” Halbert said with a sigh, holding his favorite short spear in both hands. “Honestly... I’m holding a grudge for this one, Souma.” 

“It’s not Master’s fault, but... I can’t say I don’t understand the feeling,” Carla agreed. 

“You can say that again,” Kaede added. She was behind the two of them with both her hands on the ground. “I think I’ll be asking His Majesty Souma for hazard pay... you know!” 

Crack! Crunch. 

When Kaede pressed down with both hands, the ground around Aisha swelled up, forming walls to surround her. They thought that would be enough to bind her, but... 

“Why, sire... Why...?” With teary eyes, Aisha swung at the walls enclosing her again and again. 

Seconds later, the earthen walls came tumbling down, falling apart like a carelessly assembled pile of wooden blocks. On closer inspection, the earth had been cut into brick-sized chunks. Hard rocks and soft earth were both cut into exactly the same shape. This couldn’t have been done without a sharp edge and a frightening degree of strength. 

When they saw that sight, all three of them felt their cheeks twitch. 

“I like to think I’m pretty strong myself, but...” Halbert began. 

“I can feel my pride as a military woman weakening,” Carla confessed. Though, I do realize I’m a maid now.” 

“I’m seriously considering a strategy where we just throw Madam Aisha into the middle of an enemy army on her own,” said Kaede. 

Without paying any mind to her three clearly disturbed companions, Aisha wailed, “Sirrrrrrrrre! Why, why did you leave me and go on by yourseeeelf?!” 

“““She makes it sound like Souma/Master/His Majesty is dead!””” her three companions exclaimed. 

That night, Aisha and I ended up sleeping in the same room. 

“You had her worried sick, so be sweet to her for today, at least.” I remembered what Liscia had whispered to me. 

...She’s right, I thought. I caused her a lot of worry this time, so today, I’m going to be really sweet to Aisha. I’ll do anything I can for her, whatever she wants. 

I was prepared to do that, but... 

Aisha had a surprising request. 

“This is all you want? ...You’re sure?” I asked. 

“Yes! This is the best, sire.” 

So now I was sitting on the bed, while Aisha lay sideways with her head resting in my lap. In other words, this was a lap pillow. What Aisha had asked for was a lap pillow, and a head pat. Even just patting her head like she’d asked, and running my fingers through her hair, which was currently down, was enough to get Aisha’s face to melt. It was kind of cute. 

With an entranced look on her face, Aisha gave me a satisfied smile. “When I was giving you a lap pillow in the wagon ride here, I thought, ‘I’d like His Majesty to do this for me, too.’ I’m very satisfied to have you doing it now.” 

“...I’m getting off cheaply, huh?” I couldn’t help but smile wryly, wondering if something so simple was good enough. “I was ready to do anything for you, though. Liscia told me to be sweet to you today, so if you want to, Aisha, we could do something more... sexy...” 

Oh, geez! It was embarrassing just saying it! 

But given that Liscia had put us in the same room... that had probably been her intention. 

If Aisha gave birth before Liscia it could result in a succession crisis, but Aisha was from a long-lived race, so it wouldn’t be that easy for her to conceive. Even if we did it here, it was practically guaranteed that she wouldn’t conceive before Liscia. 

“That’s probably why Liscia put the two of us alone together, after all,” I said shyly. 

Aisha chuckled. “Hee hee. That’s so like Lady Liscia. Not only does she think about the two of you, she also considers me, Madam Juna, Madam Roroa, and... was it Madam Naden? It’s strange for me to say it, but I think she’s a lovely woman.” 

“...She sure is.” 

“That’s why I want to be just as lovely for her. Well, of course, I’d like to have you make love to me, but if I let myself give in to desire here, I’d just be indulging in Lady Liscia’s kindness. I don’t want that.” Aisha snorted. “That’s why I’ll wait until after you and Lady Liscia have a child. In any contest, no matter who my opponent is, and even if it’s a battle for love, I want to win straight-up in a fair fight.” 

Fighting fairly in a battle for love, huh. That was so like Aisha. 

“I think you’re plenty lovely yourself, Aisha,” I said. 

“Hee hee... You’re embarrassing me.” 

Then Aisha sat up and turned over, looking at me with upturned eyes as she said, “But, sire, I’m still thinking about how I want you to make love to me, you know? When you suddenly disappeared, I felt so lonely.” 

“R-Right...” 

“So, please, hurry up and make a baby. As fast as you can.” 

“...I’ll do my best.” 

Aisha brought her face close, pressing her lips to mine. 

Come to think of it... this was my first kiss with Aisha. 

While my eyes were still wide with surprise, Aisha grinned and said, “Allow me this, at least. And... when you’ve made that baby, be sure you make love to me, too, would you? Darling.” 

It went without saying that that cute gesture left me as red as a boiled octopus. 

The next day... 

“Now then, Your Majesty! Let’s head off to the Star Dragon Mountain Range!” 

Aisha’s face was beaming as she declared that, full of energy, so Liscia and Naden gave me a knowing look. 

Remembering our conversation from the day before, I felt embarrassed.