CH 56

—Three days have passed since the large-scale invasion of the Demon King’s Army into the Castle of the King.

My injuries are completely healed thanks to Spera’s recovery magic, and I have no special aftereffects.

However, the Royal Castle, which was heavily damaged by the invasion, is in shambles. Reconstruction work is being carried out at full speed. But there were piles of large rubble in the courtyard that was the main battlefield. Large holes in the walls here and there, and everywhere there is a shortage of manpower.

And this is in the middle of such a hectic and very busy day.

“Gustav, Nina and Spera. His Majesty would like to hold a conferment ceremony for you.”

“What, really?”

Morgan-san’s words made me forget my honorifics and ask back. Like me, Nina and Spera, who were covered in dust and sweat from the reconstruction work in the courtyard of the royal castle, also had their mouths open wide.

“I’m not lying, it’s in four days. His Majesty has already sent invitations to the surrounding lords the day before yesterday to organise this.”

“Yes, why do it at such a busy time of the year again?”

Nina wrinkled her brow.

“That probably means we need to do a lot of preparation on our side, right? If we’re out of work, the restoration of the Royal Castle will be delayed, won’t it?”

“Yes, I know that. But His Majesty wants to give priority to the formal declaration of the end of the war between the Kingdom and the Demon King’s Army.”

“Do you think that’s such an important thing?”

Spera raised a small hand next to Nina, who let out a sigh.

“I’m in favour of having a ceremony. You may think it’s just a ceremony, but I think it’s quite important.”

“Eh? Why? Why not just have the king announce that the battle is over?”

“You can say whatever you want with your mouth or in writing. Besides, it would be more realistic for people to see first-hand where the battle took place. Actually, yesterday I was working on restoring the distribution route for medicines, but from what I heard from the merchants from the neighbouring towns, it seems that in the surrounding towns there is still a lot of doubt: ‘Is the Demon King really dead?’ ‘ and it seems that there are still many doubting opinions. So perhaps the further you go into the countryside, the more ambiguous this fact will become.”

Morgan-san nodded deeply at Spera’s unaffected words.

“That’s right. Commercial activity in this castle town has still been reduced since the first attack of the Demon King’s Army. That is why His Majesty believes that this must be resolved as soon as possible. Therefore, it has been decided to hold a [ceremony to declare the end of the war] as soon as possible, inviting many noble families to attend. The invitations have already been sent out.”

“I see… so if there is a place to directly inform the local nobles of the facts, they will then spread the facts of the announcement in their respective territories.”

Well thought out. In most RPGs, the king is either a weak presence or a villain, but I realize once again that the king of this kingdom is a real king who thinks deeply and acts for the good of the country.

“…….So, if you sent the invitations to hold the ceremony to declare the end of the war, does that mean you’re going to hold our conferment ceremony as a bonus to that?”

“Ummm…”

Morgan’s eyes swim. Oi, I wish you had lied there and said that wasn’t the case.

“Well, it’s not just a bonus, you know.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Gustav, you don’t remember, do you? The reward you demanded from His Majesty when you defeated the Demon King?”

“Ah…”

…Yes, I’d forgotten about it in this chaotic aftermath, but now that you mention it, yes, I did.

“Gustav, you are now going to join the nobility. From now on, you will have to remember the names of the other families.”

“Indeed… In that sense, this conferment ceremony, where all the nobles gather, is a chance for me, isn’t it?”

“Mm. I’m sure His Majesty must have been very considerate to hold the conferment ceremonies at the same time.”

I’m really impressed that the king is able to spin his head around so many things.

“I understand. Then, I’ll accept.”

“Mm. That would be a good idea.”

Morgan-san nodded smilingly.

…Oh, yes, there’s one more thing I want to ask you.

“Um, is it only going to be me, Nina and Spera who are eligible for the conferment?”

“Hm? Well, yes, but what about it?”

“I was just wondering if there was a hero or something…”

“Oh, hero arc…”

Morgan-San looked at me with a somewhat distant look.

“He’s a criminal. He’s currently in a jail cell in the basement of the royal castle, so it’s impossible to hold a ceremony.”

He exhaled with a sigh.

…Well, I guess that’s right. He was one of the contributors to the defeat of the Demon King, but before that, he tried to escape from the castle with the maids working in the castle as hostages, right?

Incidentally, in order to defeat the Demon King, I threw Arc into the air, but after that Arc was safe, and sound with no serious injuries. It seems that he was protected by the guards who found him when he was unconscious, clinging desperately to my spear, which was stuck in the wall of a building some distance away from the castle. Since he was unconscious and unarmed, it seems he was arrested on the spot.

“…By the way, Gustav, you have requested a reduction of Ark’s sentence from His Majesty, haven’t you? You must have been pushed around a lot by him, so why?”

“Well, I was feeling a little pity for him. Also, I was able to defeat the Demon King because he appeared in front of me at the best time… I’m more grateful for such a chance encounter than for him, so I thought I’d do what I could to help.”

“Hmm… well, if that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.”

Morgan-san chuckled.

“─ ─Morgan-Sama!”

Suddenly, a soprano voice echoes in this courtyard. My shoulders jump a little. It was Princess Leia, walking slowly out of the entrance to the royal castle into the courtyard, being led by the hand of a maid.

“Your father has something to discuss with Morgan-Sama. He wants you to come to the throne room as soon as possible.”

“Well, well, Princess. Thank you for coming all the way to call on me.”

“No, the least I can do is to act as a messenger for now.”

Princess Leia smiled as she said this.

The only regret after the ancient magic failed – and that was Princess Leia’s eyes. It seemed that her eyes were closed again and she could no longer see anything.

…Princess Leia doesn’t seem to mind, but I wonder how she really feels. However, the only thing I can do now that I know that is to stay by her side… but recently I haven’t been able to do that either. Because…

“But more importantly, what was Morgan-Sama doing in the courtyard?”

“Yes. I wanted to have a word with Gustav and the others.”

“What?”

Princess Leia’s shoulders jumped up, probably twice as fast as mine did earlier. Then her face turns flushed as she looks around.

“G, is Gustav-sama here?”

“Oh, um… the princess?”

“Huh??”

When I speak to her, Princess Leia shakes her head and hides behind the maid. She hides behind the maid of honor. She also turned her snow-white face as red as the sun at sunset.

“G-G-G-Gu, Gustav-sama…!

The princess said, and then, “Poof! and runs off, leaving even the maid behind, paying no heed to the eyes of those around her. I was worried that she might fall or hit something, but she disappeared safely into the castle.

“Gustav, you… are you and Leia still like that?”

“Umm, yes…”

“You’re red in the face too, aren’t you, Gustav?”

“Don’t say it, I know it myself…”

Nina and Spera look at me in dismay, and I unintentionally turn away.

…Actually, I haven’t been able to talk to Princess Leia properly for the past three days since I defeated the Demon King. I don’t have to tell you the reason why.

I’ve become aware of it. On the day of the defeat of the Demon King, no matter how much the circumstances and the were going crazy, I still lay my lips on Princess Leia’s lips and even said ‘I love you’, ‘I want to stay with you forever’, ‘I love you! I love you!” I love you!” and so on, and if I think back on the experience of that day, we both (mainly me) called out words that made each other writhe in embarrassment when I think back on it calmly.

Momentum is a scary thing…