CH 376

The sudden visitors were Retzel’s group.

As the three of them bowed their heads and waited for a word, Afmand coughed and opened his mouth.

“I’m glad you’re here. I’m …… I am Afmand, King of Sandiola. A doctor is a rare thing. What more do you want with an audience?”

“I’d like to say hello to the young king, but there are still many poor people in this country. And medical care is not up to par, is it? So I thought that I’d like to help.”

“That’s …… very kind of you, but it’s not free, is it?”

When Afmand points with his cheekbones, Retzel laughs and says.

“You’re correct. As expected of you, who staged a coup d’etat two years ago and took control of the country.”

“Enough with the flatteries. I want to know what you can do as a doctor and what you want.”

“If anyone is sick or injured, I want them immediately. I also need you to find someone for me. A man named Lars Irving is supposed to be in the country.”

“Lars Irving ……? Is it the adventurer from the Reflexion?”

Afmand said unexpectedly, and Retzel chuckled. The king’s acquaintance might make the conversation a little faster, he thought to himself.

“Oh, so you know him. As expected of Lars-kun, he really stands out wherever he goes.”

“I remember him because he was very talented. After all, he could cook new dishes, he could control ancient magic and he was very good with a sword. To be honest, I’d like him to be my bodyguard. I brought along a girl who used to be at the same academy as him, and after hearing about him from her, I want him even more. Ah, I said I want him, but I don’t mean anything weird, okay? I’m Norma–“

“Ahem! Afmand-sama.”

When Abol said that, Afmand was surprised. While he was blushing and trying to calm himself down, Reiss, who was kneeling beside him, spoke up.

“A girl who used to be in the same academy, who do you mean by that ……?”

“You are?”

When I asked Reiss, who was squinting through her glasses, thinking that her body was poorly built, Retzel answered for her.

“Her name is Reiss, and she went to the same academy as Lars. She’s one of my assistants, but she’s more like my daughter. I sent her to the academy.”

“Lars is the man who will be my husband, so he must be strong! …… Never mind that, who of my same grade is she? I’d be happy if I could meet her.”

“S-Same grade?”

“What?”

“A-Ahhhh, no, but I think he’s already got his heart set on someone, though?”

Helena aside, and Makina, who was with Lars, was in good shape for her age, but Afmand broke out in a cold sweat that the girl in front of him was clearly poorly developed. The pretentious Reiss narrows her eyes and speaks of other topics.

“Well, I’m only lending him to her for now. He’ll definitely choose me in the end …… Fufufu ……”

“I-I see. I guess It’s a good idea to have a face-to-face meeting to prove your identity. Somebody get Helena in here.”

“Helena …… That strangely, sexy one ……”

“Reiss, can you not make your eyes bleed? It’s scared.”

irumi, who had been silent for a long time, finally made a comment in a dumbfounded voice. Not long after that, Helena, who had been summoned, appeared in the audience hall.

“Hey, I was just having dinner, you know?”

“I’m sorry, but the king wants to see you, so please forgive me.”

As she and her maid entered the audience hall, with Helena quietly shouting from the back door, Reiss shouted as if she had just met an old friend.

“Hello, Helena. Since the class tournament, right? You went to the Royal Capital right away, so you might not remember me.”

“Ah! You’re the girl with the glasses who used a strange powder to put Ryuuze to sleep!”

“Hahaha, don’t give me too much credit. It’s been a while.”

“Reiss, right? Why are you here?”

Helena tilted her head and asked, and Reiss told her the story of how she got here.

“Heh, so Lars is here too. And you want Afmand-san to find him, right? But why would you want to come all the way to this country to look for him?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Well, it may not mean much to you since you’ve moved to the Royal Capital, though?”

“……?”

Helena looked at the three of them with a wry smile on her face as Retzel said something suggestive. Afmand claps his hands to bring the conversation back.

“I understand that you were classmates at the academy. Now, let’s investigate Lars in addition to Ornob. If you’re a friend from the academy, you’ve got a lot to talk about, right? I’ll send you to the town doctor later, Retzel, right? You can rest in the castle.”

“Thank you very much, King Afmand.”

Afmand nodded at Retzel’s reply and ended the audience by instructing the maid who had brought Helena to assign him a room.

“I’ll be staying with Reiss then.”

“Yes.”

After leaving the audience room, the three of them were going to be assigned a room together, but only Reiss requested a single room.

“I’m a caring person, after all, and you’re glad to be alone with Retzel, right?”

“A caring person would never say that, though, would she? Well, you’re not a child, so you’ll be fine on your own.”

“We’ll take our time until the King calls us, okay? I’ll leave you to explain.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to her.”

“Hey, what’s going on? You said it had something to do with me …… a class reunion?”

Helena asked as she entered the room, and Reiss smiled as she closed the door and opened her mouth.

“No, it’s not that kind of story, I’m afraid. If I tell you that everyone in the town of Gust might be killed, you’ll most likely understand, right?”

“……!?”

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

“I’m surprised that she knows Helena-dono …… I wonder if she knew it ……?”

“It wasn’t something like that, I think? The girl named Reiss seemed surprised that Helena was there. More importantly, it was nice to know that the arrival of that group would delay Helena’s return to the other side a bit. I wonder if there’s any way we can woo her?”

“I can’t say for sure. Then I’ll ask them to find Lars-dono too.”

“Do so. I wonder if Lars might be able to help us find the treasure?”

“Hahaha, that’s just a fantasy. Then, I’ll be back later.”

As he watched Abol leave with a rare smile on his face, Afmand wondered how he could make Helena stay.

–At this point, however, Darva, the former king’s aide, had begun to march on Sandiola. Helena, Reiss and the others are caught up in the battle to retake the city.