by Dojyomaru
“Hey, hey, Big Sister.”
“...Ah! What is it, Lady Roroa?” Tia raised her head. She must have been pretty out of it, because her response was delayed.
Roroa smiled wryly. “What made ya fall for my brother anyhow?”
“Wh-What’s this? Out of nowhere...”
“I was thinkin’ I oughta ask, since you’re gonna be my sister-in-law.”
Tia’s eyes went wide. “Is this really the time?!”
Roroa cackled. “Now’s precisely the time! Us lookin’ all glum ain’t gonna do anyone a lick of good, now is it? I’ve got ya all to myself, so I wanna ask you what my brother’s like now.”
“...Okay. Um... What do you want to ask?”
“All righty then. First off, how about your first impression of him?”
Tia tilted her head to the side. “My first impression of Sir Julius?”
“Yep. The big brother I knew was clever, but his eyes were cold. He didn’t hesitate to do what he had to when it came to achievin’ his goals. That’s why, when I came to this country... I was surprised by the mighty calm look on his face. It was nothin’ like the image I had of my brother.”
“It was?”
“You bet. That’s why I wanna hear your first impression of him. What was my brother like when he first came to this country?”
“Well... I thought he was a cool guy, at first.” Tia let out a little squeal and covered her cheeks as she spoke. It seemed she’d started by immediately fawning over him.
Roroa said, “Yeah, yeah,” a little exasperated. “My brother’s got a handsome face, after all.”
“But I didn’t have the impression he was a cold man back then, either, you know? He didn’t smile, but... it was like he always had something difficult on his mind.”
“He did?”
Tia couldn’t have known this, but after Julius’s defeat by Souma and exile from his country by Roroa, he had gone to the Empire for shelter. If Souma had mismanaged the Principality of Amidonia and gotten resentment building against him, Julius had been preparing to incite the people into an uprising and drive Souma and Roroa’s forces out to restore the principality.
However, because Souma had ended up living happily with Roroa, the nation’s princess, and used broadcast programs to embrace the people of Amidonia and win them to his side, no such resentment arose. Finding no inciting spark, and Julius’s hopes of restoring the principality had been dashed.
Leaving the Empire in disappointment, he had wandered from country to country as he thought. Why had he lost? And why did the people support not Gaius and him, but Souma?
It was during this time that Tia had met Julius.
Tia spoke with fond memories of that period in Julius’s life. “He was hard to approach, at first. But he was caring, I think you could say. When the monsters attacked from the north, and when my father had political troubles, he helped, even if he grumbled as he did it. ‘You’re so inept, I can’t bear to just watch,’ he’d say.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how my brother felt,” Roroa declared confidently. Julius was obsessive by nature. If he had to leave something to a less competent person, he’d rather do things himself.
Tia must have realized that, too, because she smiled wryly. “You may be right. However, when I saw him quickly handle things the right way, he looked so very reliable to all of us. We ended up relying on him, and even though he grumbled, he responded to our faith in him, making us rely on him more. The end result was that Julius became the most reliable person in this country.”
“I see. So reliable ya fell for him, huh?”
“Um... yes,” Tia responded with a nod, blushing.
“I think I can see it now...”
Hearing Tia tell the story, Roroa felt like she could understand how Julius had come to be the person he was now.
The soothing effect of the kindness of this girl who would be her big sister naturally had an effect. But in addition to that, Julius’s desire to win the trust of the people in this country, after having been rejected and run out by the people of his own, may have been a major contributor, too. He had responded to the hopes of those who placed their trust in him, and their acceptance had allowed Julius to regain his lost confidence.
I’ll bet that’s why he’s able to smile so softly. Roroa was satisfied with that answer.
Tia took her hand. “I answered your question, Lady Roroa, so now you answer mine. What was your first meeting with Sir Souma like?”
“You wanna hear it?” Roroa said to the eagerly listening Tia with a wry grin. “We had us a real odd first meeting. See, first I got myself a carpet, and...”
“Huh? A carpet?”
Roroa went on, passionately relating the story, until a soldier rushed into the castle and interrupted.
“Reporting! Our forces have exterminated the lizardmen! We are victorious!”
Hearing that report, Roroa and Tia hugged each other in glee.
Hakuya Crafts a Plan
While Souma and the others were planning out the liberation of Lasta...
In distant Parnam Castle in the Kingdom of Friedonia, Hakuya the Black-robed Prime Minister was talking to Jeanne the Little Sister General of the Empire over the Jewel Voice Broadcast. The main topic was the demon wave, of course. By sharing intel between the kingdom and Empire, they were secretly coordinating their efforts.
“According to the letter I received from His Majesty, it was going to take a long time to move the entire force, so he led an advance party and entered Lasta, the capital of the Kingdom of Lastania,” Hakuya said.
“Huh? King Souma led the advance party himself?” Jeanne’s eyes went wide with surprise.
Souma was cautious, well aware of his lack of ability in combat, and not the type to act so boldly. As Jeanne looked bewildered by the divorce between her image of the man and his current actions, Hakuya let out an exhausted sigh.
“I know that His Majesty wouldn’t usually act with such rashness, but he has a way of not assessing the situation on a cost/benefit basis when family is involved.”
“...I see. If I recall, Madam Roroa’s elder brother Julius was in the Kingdom of Lastania, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, Sir Julius is. His Majesty must have judged that, even though they’ve parted ways, if anything were to happen to Sir Julius, Lady Roroa would be distraught.” Hakuya shrugged in exasperation. He looked favorably on Souma’s sentimentality, but as Prime Minister, he wished the king would show a little self-restraint. “Well, it does seem His Majesty’s recklessness kept Lasta from falling.”
“That’s good to hear. My sister will be pleased to know there are fewer people suffering out there,” Jeanne said.
Indeed. There was a reason Maria was known as a saint. The more victims there were, the heavier it would weigh on her heart.
Hakuya nodded. “If we leave assume we can leave Lasta to His Majesty, we still have to think how the main body of the reinforcements will act. Fortunately, I have a detailed report from His Majesty on the state of things.”
Hakuya spread a hand-drawn map of the crossing point on the Dabicon River out across the table.
“There are tens of thousands of monsters such as lizardmen on the opposite shore of the Dabicon. Unless they are exterminated, Lasta will not be fully safe. The enemy that the reinforcements sent by Friedonia’s National Defense Force will face is likely those monsters.”
“They can only cross at this shallow point in small groups, right?” Jeanne remarked, looking at the map that she could see through the broadcast.
“Yes. Thanks to that, they were able to defend Lasta, but now that we are the ones trying to attack, it makes it quite difficult. We are also in the position of only being able to send our ground forces across in small parties.”
“Why not bombard them with air forces?”
“If we do that, the monsters will scatter. ‘I’d like to find some way to encircle and exterminate them,’ was the request from His Majesty.”
“That’s a tall order. If the situation were reversed, things would be easy, though.”
“What do you mean, reversed?” Hakuya asked.
Jeanne nodded. “If instead of being on the other side, they had their backs to the river on this side, encircling and exterminating them would be a simple matter. If their only retreat was across the shallows, they wouldn’t be able to flee so easily.”
“I see. So that’s what you meant.”
Satisfied by her response, Hakuya looked back to the map. It was true; if the monsters were on the near shore, not the far one, encircling and exterminating them would be a simple matter. However, that was not the reality they had been presented with...
Hm? Then can we not simply create that situation?
They could bring the monsters to the near side... in other words, have them all cross at once. Hakuya’s mind raced to find a way of accomplishing that.
“Um... Sir Hakuya?” Jeanne asked, looking concerned by his sudden silence.
Hakuya gave no response, as he was deep in thought. After a lengthy silence, he finally raised his face.
“I think I have something workable.”
“It looks like you’ve come up with something,” Jeanne said.
Hakuya realized he’d been leaving her out. He hurriedly bowed his head in apology. “I’m sorry. I got lost in thought there.”
She smiled. “Oh, no, don’t mind me. More importantly, what was the idea you came up with?”
Hakuya cleared his throat before explaining. “If exterminating them on the far side is going to be difficult, we only need to have them cross to the near side. I believe we can borrow the power of a certain esteemed woman in our nation to accomplish that.”
After Hakuya laid out the outline of the operation, Jeanne voiced her admiration. “I see! I think that’s a fine plan.”
“The problem is... can we keep Duchess Walter under control?”
“Hm? Duchess Walter is famous in our country, too. Is there some issue with her?”
“No, I’m sure she’ll lend us her strength if we ask her to,” Hakuya sighed. “The issue is what will happen afterwards. She can be a person of quite unusual tastes, and it’s questionable whether she’ll come back quietly when the situation is resolved. If she decides accompanying His Majesty would be amusing, she may throw a tantrum, saying she doesn’t want to come back.”
“Sh-She sounds like quite a pain in the neck...”
“She is very reliable, though...”
With Jeanne giving him a concerned look, Hakuya let out a sigh.
I believe I will consult her relative Juna, just to be safe, Hakuya thought to himself. She might be able to come up with some countermeasures.
After that, Hakuya and Jeanne exchanged a great deal of information. Normally, after a meeting they would enjoy tea or liquor together while grumbling about their respective masters, but this time they each had matters they needed to act on immediately.
“I’d love to keep talking, but...” Jeanne said, her disappointment apparent, and Hakuya nodded.
“As would I. But... right now, let us each do what we must. To bring back peace even a day sooner. Then, when that time comes...”
“Yes. Let’s talk all about it. I have plenty more complaints about my sister I’d like you to hear, Sir Hakuya.”
“I am not entirely sure whether I should be looking forward to that or not...”
Then the two of them looked at each other and nodded, each with a wish for the other’s success.
They hoped for the day when they could talk again to come soon.
The Reason Taru Makes Leporina Stronger
The day before Friedonian reinforcements set out for the Union of Eastern Nations.
Kuu and Leporina, the servant and master duo from Turgis, had come to Taru’s workshop. They would be joining the reinforcements, so they wanted to come let Taru know they wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while.
“So, there you have it,” Kuu said. “We’re going to the Union of Eastern Nations with Bro since they’re being hit by the demon wave. Oh, don’t you try to stop me, Taru. I’ll be back safe and sound. Until then, so long for now!”
Kuu was making a big show of saying goodbye to Taru, but as for Taru herself...
“Leporina, raise your arms.”
“Okay.”
She was putting a new breastplate on Leporina, and wasn’t hearing a word of it.
“Leporina, your breasts have grown a little again. If you don’t wear something that’s the right size for you, it will just be hard to breathe. It hurts your performance, too.”
“Hey, could you not say that in front of the Young Master?!” Leporina exclaimed.
“It serves you right,” Taru muttered.
“Taru?!”
While the two girls were having that exchange, Kuu looked on with disinterest. “Hey, Taru. I came all this way to say goodbye, so could you maybe pay me a little more attention? I’m getting lonely here.”
“Dumb Master,” Taru said in a lovingly syrupy tone, “getting Leporina’s equipment taken care of is my first priority right now.”
Taru didn’t so much as look at him as she said it. Then she went deeper into the workshop to fetch some arrows.
“I made the arrowheads myself,” she told the other woman, emerging. “I’ve asked enchantment artisans to strengthen them for me.”
“Wow, they came out great!” Leporina sighed in admiration as she looked at the arrowheads.
Kuu, who was primarily an up-close fighter, wouldn’t have understood this, but those arrows were so well made any archer would fall in love with them.
Taru puffed up her practically non-existent chest with pride. “With these, you can pierce monster shells and carapaces with ease. Take as many as you can carry.”
“Thank you, Taru!”
Seeing how happy Leporina was, Kuu was not amused.
“Hey, don’t just help Leporina! Make some equipment for me, too!”
“I made the cudgel exactly as you ordered it, Dumb Master,” Taru said coldly.
“It’s been a while since you made it, you know? You’re always making weapons and equipment for Leporina, but I get nothing?”
“Leporina comes before you, Dumb Master.”
“Why?!”
“Because.”
Taru went back to working on Leporina’s equipment without engaging further. Kuu slumped his shoulders, dejectedly drawing swirls on the bare ground of the workshop with his cudgel.
Seeing the exchange between the two of them, Leporina could only smile wryly. Whenever Taru makes my equipment stronger, it’s for the young master’s sake, though...
Leporina was Kuu’s servant. If it came to it, she had to protect Kuu, even if that meant sacrificing herself. Kuu was the son of the republic’s head of state. He was expected to become head of state himself in future, too. He might be shortsighted in some ways, but Kuu drew everyone to himself, and the people of the republic had great hopes for him. Even if it cost her life, defending him was Leporina’s duty.
Young Master... that’s why Taru makes me stronger. Because she never wants to let you die, she is making me strong enough to protect you, no matter what.
That was what Leporina thought as she watched Taru seriously work on getting her equipment in order.
Mind you, if she’d let those feeling show even a little, I think it would make the young master happy... but Taru is every bit as stubborn as he is.
That said, even knowing that, Leporina did nothing to tell Kuu. If she did, in the end, Kuu would only pay more attention to Taru. When she considered her own feelings for him, that was undesirable.
I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little mean about this.
Leporina considered Taru a valued friend. That’s why, though she wouldn’t convey those emotions to Kuu, she was determined to do everything else she could to grant the wish behind them.
When Taru came to remove the breastplate for Leporin
a, Leporina whispered in her ear, “I swear I’ll defend Master Kuu with the equipment you’ve made.”
Taru blinked and opened her eyes wide, nodding. “...Yeah. I trust you.”
Leporina laughed at how cute Taru was being. “That honesty, you could stand to show a little more of it to the young master.”
“If I did, Master Kuu get a big head. That’s dangerous.”
“I agree with you there. Don’t worry, I’ll protect him.”
“You come back safe, too.”
“Right! I swear I’ll come back with the young master!”
Then the two of them hugged each other tight.
Being forced to watch how close the two of them were, Kuu, who was feeling left out, pouted even harder, and the number of swirls on the bare ground of the workshop continued to increase.
I’ll Be Back
When I told Juno, the adventurer who had been coming at night occasionally to have tea, that I would be going to the Union of Eastern Nations, she let out a cry of surprise.
“Whaa?! You’re going to the Union of Eastern Nations?!” Juno exclaimed.
It was a few nights before the reinforcements were dispatched to the Union of Eastern Nations, which was being hit by the demon wave.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be pretty dangerous up there now?” Juno asked.
“Huh? You know that, too, Juno?” I said.
We were keeping a lid on that information so as not to incite an undue sense of crisis, so the common people shouldn’t have had a very good grasp of what was going on in the Union of Eastern Nations. Why did Juno, a simple adventurer, know about it?
When I raised that very question, she smiled boldly.
“I know because I’m an adventurer. The number of quests up in the Union of Eastern Nations has spiked recently. We adventurers can tell these things from experience. Delivery of medicine, escort of caravans, protection of villages, slaying of monsters... There are all sorts of quests. When those are focused in one place, you know something’s going on there. Like a war, maybe.”
Juna clapped her hands. My fiancée was there with us. “I see. Adventurers have their own network of information, huh?”