CH 45.1

Some time passes as I hug Alexia. She’s already stopped crying, so maybe she’s calmer than before. However, she’s still hugging me, making no attempt to let go. Maybe she’s only stopped crying and still hasn’t calmed down yet on the inside. But we can’t just stay like this forever. Now what do I do?

“Got a minute?” Havoc says apologetically. It’s not just Havoc, Liam and the others are also with him. Irene’s there too, and there are some Weichsel soldiers who were probably persuaded by Irene. Did they just get here?

“Everyone’s here, huh?”

“Teacher, do you know these people?” Alexia asks as she changes her position a bit to look up at Havoc and the others while hugging me.

“Yeah, I was in a party with them before I joined yours,” I say, facing her.

“Well, the thing is… I know this is kind of rude to say, but isn’t it about time you two stopped flirting?” Havoc says.

“It’s embarrassing just watching you,” Cornelia says.

“We were taking the search seriously, and here you are taking it easy,” Liam says.

“Ah, it’s good to be young,” Emilia says.

“What are you doing, talking like an old person? …Hey, don’t raise your weapon!” Havoc says.

I turn to face them slowly, like a creaking tin toy in need of oiling. Their grins give a strong impression of teasing.

Irene and the others have a different reaction. Although Irene is smiling, she looks like she’s just barely tolerating it, the type of smile that makes a chill run down my spine. I don’t want to look at it any longer than I have to.

“How could the Saint have lost?” says one of the soldiers Irene brought as they all look on in shock. Did they see the whole battle?

“How long were you there?” I ask.

“Since you shoved your staff at the little lady. Though, none of us expected you to hug her all of a sudden, so we kept our mouths shut.”

“You were acting cool and saying stuff like, ‘I’m a teacher to you, aren’t I? If my student has strayed down the wrong path, it’s only natural that I correct her,’” Cornelia says.

“Eugh, so pretentious. Even I’m getting sick to my stomach,” Liam says.

“But as a girl, I think I’d want to be told a pretentious line like that at least once,” Emilia says.

“No, you’re too old to call yourself a girl… I- I’m sorry! So quit casting, that’s not funny!” Havoc says.

‘Go on, Emilia, get him back,’ I cheer her on in my mind as my face turns red from Liam and Cornelia’s teasing. Even I thought I was being pretentious, but it’s even more embarrassing having it be seen and mocked by someone else. Ahh, it looks like this’ll be etched in my mind as one more page of memories I wish I could bury for good.

“Fl- flirting… We hugged…” Alexia says, her face so red that it looks like it could catch fire. I guess having someone else say it made her cool down and view the situation objectively. There’d be nothing more embarrassing than a ladylike girl like her who’s the very image of purity being seen hugging a guy.

Suddenly, Alexia pulls away from me and covers my face.

“Th- they saw… Someone saw me… hugging Teacher…!” Alexia, in dismay, screams indescribably.

“I apologize. I lost my composure for a bit,” Alexia apologizes, despondent. The mood between her and the others is strained, as if they’re watching their step around her.

“Uhh, no, that’s alright. I’m incredibly sorry for all the rude things we said to you, Your Ladyship,” Havoc says, using polite speech that he clearly isn’t accustomed to.

Clearing her throat, Alexia says, “No, I don’t mind. I just ask that you please avoid bringing it up.”

“Could you explain this situation to me as well?” asks Roseline, who woke up while Alexia was panicking. It was sleep caused by Sleep Cloud. After some time passed, she woke up pretty quickly. It’s only natural that she would be confused to wake up and see that Alexia, who had been on such a rampage, was no longer fighting and was instead shaking her head in dismay.

“After I heard the story from Irene, Alexia’s chamberlain, and then from Havoc and the others, I realized that this war must have been caused by vampires acting behind the scenes.”

“What?”

I tell Roseline and Lady Alexia my deduction that, based on the discrepancies in the events witnessed from both countries’ sides, the vampires must be acting behind the scenes. As she listens, Roseline’s face turns red with rage.

“So that’s how it happened! Those infuriating pests!”

In contrast, Alexia’s reaction is calm.

“It’s just as I suspected.”

“Lady Alexia, you realized?”

“No, I only realized the truth just recently. I had my doubts, as there were some suspicious aspects of Commune’s actions, but I only realized the trick after I met Roseline.”

“Then why did you fight Roseline’s vassals?”

“It was because they attacked me. …Though, looking back on it now, I might not have explained myself well enough. But I did not take their lives. There were some things I thought were suspicious, so I gave Irene strict orders to avoid killing as much as possible.”

Roseline’s vassals are all unconscious, not dead. They were all in a pile of bodies, so I thought they were dead, but knowing that she didn’t kill any of them is a huge relief.

“Then, you were trying to stop this war, right, Lady Alexia?”

“Yes. I wanted to use the magic you taught me to do what I thought was right. I will not do anything that will bring dishonor to your name.”

So Alexia is the same person that she was before after all. I thought I ruined everything I touched in this world. But I was wrong. It may have been conceited and arrogant of me to think that. Alexia was acting according to her own convictions, in order to stop this war. This war might have ended even if I didn’t come to this world, but I really am glad that Alexia didn’t kill anybody.

“The Weichsel soldier who delivered the head of Commune’s messenger? I cannot say for certain, but I do have an idea about that. About a month ago, after the incident at Brandenburg, Weichsel sent messengers to Commune. The messengers were attacked by Commune soldiers and annihilated, and the soldiers sent as bodyguards did not return. If this was the vampires’ doing, then there is a possibility that one disguised itself as one of the messengers at that time.”

“In other words, the vampires were not planning to take over the country, but were planning to start a war between Commune and Weichsel from the very start. In that case, their wreaking havoc across the country may have been to make it easier to invade by focusing our attention within the country and blocking information from outside of it. Our inability to contact Duke Mayenne may have been caused by the vampires as well.”

“If we assume the letter was written by the vampire king while he was still alive, everything lines up. They must have thoroughly studied the Weichsel Empire’s invasion. It may seem like an overly roundabout plan, but if their goal is to destroy the unity between humans, then it’s not a bad plan.”

The unity between humans, huh. Is she referring to the fact that vampires can hide among humans? Without the map function, it’s hard even for me to determine if someone’s a vampire or not if they look normal on the surface.

“Although things have been calm recently, both the Weichsel Empire and the Castal Kingdom have a history of expanding their territory through war to become large countries. After all, safe land with few monsters is valuable in this world where monsters run rampant. The only reason war between humans has ceased is because they disliked the disadvantages brought about by conflict between large countries. Maintaining that balance is precisely why no wars have occurred. If Weichsel gets their hands on Commune, it’ll expand their territory and lead to a difference in national power. It may not happen right away, but it would be no surprise if wars between humans eventually broke out. If that happens, it’ll create an opportunity for vampires to spread all throughout Weichsel and Castal.”

‘Just from that, it’ll become a huge war that even Castal and Weichsel get involved in?’ I think to myself, but all I know about this world’s history is the lore that’s been revealed. I don’t know the values of the people in this world or the relationship between the two countries, and considering what’s happened so far, it may be quite possible.

If a war breaks out between the Castal Kingdom and the Weichsel Empire, just how many lives will be lost? I involuntarily shudder just imagining it.

“In any case, let’s bring an end to this war. We cannot allow any more lives to be lost due to miscommunications. Princess Roseline, I ask once again that you accompany me to meet with the emperor. Would you please speak with His Majesty directly?”

“Alright. …Chaos, sorry, but could you accompany me? Even if I believe Lady Alexia, I can’t exactly go into enemy territory without a single person guarding me.”

“Me? I mean, is it alright for me to do it?”

“If anything, I’d prefer it to be you. I want to bring someone I trust. …If that’s alright,” Roseline says with an anxious expression on her face. Even if she knows that Alexia means no harm, it’s only natural that she’d be scared to go into enemy territory. All of Roseline’s vassals are still unconscious, so I can’t let her go alone. After all, I made a promise to Raoul.

“Alright. I don’t think I’ll be all that useful, but I’ll come with you.”

I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do. But even so, there’s probably something I can do if I stay by her side.