CH 279

Chapter 279 – This Happens Regularly

It was the day after I had discussed diplomatic policy regarding the two northern countries with Seraphita-san and Sylphy, who was on the other side of the golem communicator, and with Melty, who had joined us later.

“We’re here.”

“Oh, you came…”

Sylphy arrived at the northern base with Melty, Isla, Ellen, and the others. So now Merinesburg is empty. There are some rather troublesome ambassadors of the Varyag Empire. I mean, this sudden visit is just like that. After all, Sylphy and Seraphita-san are mother and daughter.

“So, what’s going on all of a sudden? I think we had a good discussion about our future plans.”

When I said that, Sylphy suddenly started to have tears in her eyes. No, not just tears, but tears were welling up in her eyes.

“Wait, wait, wait, what happened all of a sudden?”

“Ueee!”

Sylphy suddenly started to cry. What is this? What in the world should I do! Sylphy’s cute―or rather beautiful―face has turned into a rather unfortunate mess with tears and snot.

“Guoooooo!”

Sylphy jumped on me at a blinding speed and hugged me as hard as she could.

“Oh noooo! Don’t leave meeee!”

“What’s going on? Wait a minute, you’re holding me so tight! It’s breaking, it’s breaking!”

“Uwaa-aaa-aaaーー!!”

“Uwaa-aaa-aaaーー!!”

It took about thirty minutes for Sylphy to stop crying.

“Then what the heck happened?”

Melty quickly rescued me from Sylphy’s bearhug, so my bones didn’t get all busted up, and I looked around at Sylphy, who was still sniffing and sobbing as Seraphita-san patted her head, and at Melty, Isla, Ellen, and the others, who were all making awkward faces.

“Uh, well, it all started with a word I said… and I didn’t mean to cause any harm.

It was Melty who started the conversation. According to Melty, after yesterday’s discussion, she casually muttered, “Today, we only talked about work.” And Sylphy was very concerned about that.

It was also wrong that I was too attentive. I just listened to what Sylphy said and hardly expressed my dissatisfaction. I never said that I missed Sylphy or that I wanted to relax in Merinesburg. Sylphy thought that I might be satisfied with the current situation of spending time away from her. Such anxieties made Sylphy feel uneasy.

I really, from the bottom of my heart, thought that I had to stay at the northern base for a while and play the role of a diplomat with Seraphita-san in view of the current situation. I thought that complaining would only annoy Sylphy and Melty. But Sylphy did not think so.

There were the oni girls and Grande at the northern base, and the newly recruited harpies, and even Seraphita-san had come here. There is no shortage of beautiful, lovely women who adore me. Moreover, Sylphy herself has been offering me various jobs and dispatching me to various places in the country, and when I think about it, she has been relying on my strength and not rewarding me sufficiently.

Anxiety and frustration swelled up in Sylphy’s heart. Melty was concerned about Sylphy, who suddenly began to look serious, but she was busy working to realize what they had discussed, so she left Sylphy alone. And she did.

Distressed, Sylphy decided to talk with Isla at that time. The way she talked with Isla was not good.

“Isla, no matter how close you are, you still need to be paid for your work, right?”

“Hmm, of course. It is not good to make someone work just because they are your family. If you continue to do so, they will eventually lose heart, and it may lead to a fatal breakdown. In most cases, those who have the ability to work for free will leave because they are fed up with it. If they go elsewhere, they will be rewarded handsomely.”

Isla didn’t think that Sylphy would be so worried about me and spoke in generalities.

“Leave out of affection…”

Well, I think Isla has a point. I would be displeased if I was forced to work overtime just because I was a friend or a spouse and didn’t receive even a word of praise, and if that continued, I might even grow tired of it. However, I don’t feel that way at this point, and if I did, I would express my dissatisfaction to Sylphy. I don’t want to keep this kind of thing bottled up inside. It is futile to demand telepathy like an esper without saying anything.

And Ellen’s words, which she did not mean to offend, put the final nail in the coffin of Sylphy.

“Sylphiel-san, don’t you think it’s time to bring Kosuke back to Merinesburg? If you don’t spend too much time together for too long, you will be forgotten. There are many women there who like Kosuke.”

“I-I’ll be forgotten…”

And so, when Melty found Sylphy on her knees in bed, anxious and unable to sleep, she asked her what was going on, ran the air board, and came here in a hurry. I see.

“Well, yeah… Sylphy.”

I patted my lap after calling her name, and she moved from Seraphita-san’s place to my lap with great speed and became sweet. Isla and Seraphita-san are looking enviously at her. Please be patient, both of you. I mean, Seraphita-san is envious because Sylphy came to my lap, right? She’s not envious of Sylphy being spoiled by me, is she?

“Um… what do you think I should do about it? Do you want me to stop going to the two northern countries?”

“No, I don’t think so. It would be better if Seraphita-sama and I were to take turns, but if it’s not Kosuke-san, it would not be so good in terms of status… Sir Leonard might be able to take your place, but in terms of personality, he’s not so good…”

“I think he’s surprisingly strong, and I don’t think he’s unsuitable for the job.”

“Yes, but it was Kosuke-san who participated in the battle with the two northern countries this time, and Kosuke-san is still the best person for the job.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“I would be happy to accompany Kosuke to reinforce his authority. It would also be a way to show that the Kingdom of Merinard and the “Adol religion” are working well together.”

Ellen nonchalantly offered to accompany me. Ellen quietly offers to accompany us. Indeed, Ellen is also a saintess of the “Adol religion,” and there may be a positive effect by making the assumption that we are from the same country that accepts the “Adol religion” as well.

“Mmm…”

Sylphy, who was listening to the exchange, grumbled and pressed her face against my stomach. Yes, yes, Queen-sama, you should restrain yourself, okay? I patted her head, and she calmed down. Is she a child? No, she is still a child according to the age of elves, right? Come to think of it, Sylphy is the youngest of the four sisters. In fact, Sylphy is even younger than the loli Aquawill-san.

“Once the work is done, we’ll take another vacation together and go somewhere. It could be the Black Forest, the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom, or the Varyag Empire. If I ask Grande, we can fly anywhere, and even if it’s too far to get to in a day, we can go down to a suitable place and make accommodations and be comfortable wherever we want to go. As a reward for my hard work, give me the time to spend with Sylphy. That will be my reward.”

“Yes. I love you, Kosuke.”

Sylphy puts her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly. Hahaha, what a sweetheart.

“That’s not fair.”

“Please give me a reward like that, too.”

“I’d like that reward, too.”

Isla, Melty, and Ellen were eating up to it. Seraphita-san is also looking at me, and her long ears are twitching furiously.

“You’ll have to work out the schedule on your own. Sylphy first.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“As for me, I’ll be fine as always.”

Ellen is too free. That’s because she’s practically like the head of a nostalgic group, and since she’s not tied down to government work, it’s relatively easy for her to make time for it.

“Anyway, I’m not dissatisfied with the way things are. I miss spending time with Sylphy, but I’m doing my best, thinking that if I can get through this, we can be together again.”

Sylphy nodded her head as she buried her face in my stomach. Sylphy tends to have mental instability like this on a regular basis, but in terms of the mental age of elves, her strong and resolute normal mental state is abnormal, and this is probably her true age-appropriate mental state. Seraphita-san also had a serious expression on her face, as if she had come to the same conclusion as I had.

“By the way, is it all right for all of you to leave Merinesburg unoccupied?”

“It will be fine for about three days. We can communicate with each other via the golem communicator, and if the need arises, we can be back on the air board in less than half a day.”

“I see… Well, take your time.”

“Yes. I will discuss the contents of the diplomatic letter to be sent to the Duchy of Dihart and the Kingdom of Tigris with Seraphita-sama and proceed to write it.”

Then Melty smiled, and it was a happy smile. Oh, yeah, just don’t push them too hard and make it sound like you’re going to fight the whole war. Please. I’m begging you.