How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 8 (Premium)
Page 25
When Juno had first met Juna, she’d gulped at the famed beauty of the Prima Lorelei, and then compared Juna’s voluptuous chest with her own and gotten depressed. Was this deja vu? (Just kidding.)
Whatever the case, I groaned and rested my face on my palm with my elbow on the table.
“From what Roroa tells me, keen-eyed merchants are heading to the Union of Eastern Nations, too,” Juna said. “I guess even if we try to clamp down on the information, it continues to spread through grassroots networks.”
“Well, obviously,” the adventurer Juno replied. “Adventurers and merchants are both special occupations that cross borders. But we keep the information in our own circles, and don’t blab, so maybe that’s why it hasn’t spread further?”
“Many of the loreleis are from common backgrounds, but I don’t hear them sounding all that worried, after all.”
Juno and Juna addressed my concerns from their respective viewpoints. From the way it sounded, I probably didn’t have to worry. Still, though, it was great to be able to hear things from so many different perspectives.
“Still, you’re going to a dangerous place like that?” Juno asked with a concerned look on her face.
“You’re worried for me?” I asked.
“Well... I did go on an adventure with Mr. Little Musashibo, and now I’m drink tea with the king inside him,” Juno mumbled in embarrassment. “You’ve got retainers, don’t you? You’re a king, so why can’t you wait in the castle?”
“I know, but it’s easier to negotiate with the other country if I go in person.”
The more precise reason was that Julius, who I had some bad blood with, was in the Kingdom of Lastania, and we’d decided it would be best if Roroa and I handled him, but I wasn’t going to tell her that much.
“Well, I’ll have an army of tens of thousands,” I told her. “It should be fine. The one actually leading them will be Ludwin, while I’m just negotiator and figurehead, so I doubt I’ll go to the front lines.”
“Here’s hoping,” Juna interjected, a look of concern on her face. “The princess and Naden told me what happened in the Star Dragon Mountain Range, so I can’t help but think you’ll do something reckless again.”
“I wouldn’t know, but is the king that reckless?” Juno asked.
Juna put her hand to her cheek and nodded. “His Majesty tends to shy away from recklessness and rash behavior, but because he’s a rational person, when he thinks, ‘Taking a risk now will mean less danger later,’ he can do the most reckless things. It’s not so much that he’s brave as that he’s good at accepting the situation.”
“That... must be worrying to watch,” the adventurer said.
“Yes. It really is. I mean, he went to go see something we never figured out the identity of in the Star Dragon Mountain Range!”
The two of them looked at me like I was some sort of troublemaker. Why were they so in sync?
Juno leaned on the table, resting her face on her palms as she asked, “Hey, is there anything I could do to be of assistance?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“Yeah, I figured. You’ll be bringing in the regular army, after all.”
I was glad for the offer, but this wasn’t a point where I could use adventurers. Besides, even if I had needed them, I wouldn’t have wanted to take Juno to a place she herself considered dangerous.
It seemed Juno understood that, so she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the sky. “We won’t be able to talk like this for a while, I guess. Does that go for Mr. Little Musashibo, too?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what’ll happen, so I want to keep it so I can use Living Poltergeists at any time. I need to leave a number of consciousnesses behind for my political work, too, so I intend to have the rest on standby. Naturally, that means the consciousness I use for Little Musashibo, too.”
“Oh, yeah? I’ll kind of miss him.”
“Ah! Then why don’t you stay in my room and we can talk?” Juna offered, clapping her hands. “I’ll be staying in the kingdom, too, and I’ll be lonely without His Majesty and the others around, so if you’d keep me company, that would be lovely.”
“That sounds like it could be fun, but... is it okay, letting me stay in the castle?” Juno asked nervously.
I gave a big nod. “Yeah. It’s true that Liscia’s away now, and I’ll be taking Aisha, Roroa, Naden, and Tomoe with me. I was feeling bad about leaving Juna to hold down the fort by herself, so if you don’t mind, please come and have fun with her.”
“Okay. Sure. I’ll do that.”
“Hee hee! It’ll be fun!” Juna giggled. “Oh! Why don’t you stay for the first time tonight?”
“That’s getting ahead of ourselves! I have to prepare myself emotionally, too, you know!”
Juna and Juno were having a lively talk. It looked like a lot of fun.
...Oh. Right. I had something to say.
“Hey, Juno,” I spoke up.
“Hm? What?”
“I’m heading off now, but I’ll be back.”
Juno stared at me blankly for a moment, but then grinned. “Take care, and make sure you come back in one piece.”
Incidentally, later on, Juna was sent by Hakuya to retrieve a stubborn Excel who joined us with additional reinforcements and then refused to go home.
When Juna later told Juno about it, she got a resentful, “You traitor!” in return.
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Copyright
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 8
by Dojyomaru
Translated by Sean McCann
Edited by Emily Sorensen
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 Dojyomaru
Illustrations by Fuyuyuki
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2018 by OVERLAP, Inc.
This English edition is published by arrangement with OVERLAP, Inc., Tokyo
English translation © 2018 J-Novel Club LLC
J-Novel Club LLC
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: February 2019