Half-elves Fall in Love

Chapter 355: King, Arrival

&nsbp;

For now, it was agreed that there was no need to go any deeper regarding the Hero Rainer Exeliza.

“I’m curious, too. Especially since we don’t know each other, but I think it’s fair to say that Sieg Becker was defeated because he was chased too far. I’m going to put my Black Arms around Dianne’s unit just to make sure they’re safe while they’re here. ……I don’t think they’ll be here for very long”

“As soon as we receive the package, we will leave”

“I understand. I’ll have the supplies gathered at the mansion as soon as I can”

Sir Buster nodded and left.

“Becker-kun and Kingfisher-kun will be sent to Polka as soon as we get the stuff, right……?”

Since 100-man commander Becker was magically asleep, this was a confirmation to General Kingfisher. And Kingfisher was not very familiar with Trot.

“Kua? What’s Polka?

“H-o-t-S-p-r-i-n-g☆”

“No, No, I’m not in a situation where I can play”

“That’s why it’s not a situation where you can laugh. Kingfisher-kun, are you really going to take six months off until your wings heal? You’ll be ordered to return to your home country”

“Kuaa!? Th, That’s not good!”

General Kingfisher panicked. Well, if you think about it, it is an injury that would normally be treated intensively in Celesta rather than being allowed to recuperate leisurely in a foreign country until it heals. A Master Knight should be treated as such.

“If you go there, your injuries will be completely healed in a week or so”

“Well well. A wing that has fallen off once should not heal in a week”

“I know you think so, don’t you? But Andy-kun there also cut off his foot almost completely in the fall of the year before last and he is now back to normal. Becker-kun and you did a good job with your initial response and I think you’ll heal just fine, normally”

“……That’s a problem”

The general snickers. Well, that’s what people usually think, isn’t it? If I wasn’t from there, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.

“Ho. Then just take Becker with you. You don’t have to deal with the selfishness of this bald bird”

Laila gave up easily. But Hilda held up a finger, a sign that said, 「Shut up」. The only people who could be this aggressive with Laila were Hilda and Dianne.

“I don’t mind bringing Dianne-chan over to persuade you. I don’t think you should stretch out something that can be easily cured. Even if it’s just a matter of age, you’re a short-lived species, you can’t stay retired for so long, can you?”

……Well, he’s over forty, isn’t he, this bird general? As a commander, but as a fighter, he is generally old enough to retire already. If he’s a short-lived species, he’s going to start to show his age at once. If he is on long-term medical treatment, the slowdown will be compounded by the decline and it will be irreversible. Is that what you are worried about?

“Kua…… I don’t like to talk about my age”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, it means you understand how serious it is”

“……Of course, of course”

Reluctantly, General Kingfisher nodded.

“Ho. Hilda is meddlesome”

Laila shrugs. Hilda sighs.

“Doctors shouldn’t just pull their hands away because they’re someone else’s problem. At least not before they’ve been told how much risk there is in not taking the hand. ……If you live long enough, those regrets will accumulate, even if you don’t want them to”

“That’s a old man’s way of talking”

“Uh. ……La-i-la-cha-n? Don’t poke around too much☆”

“Hohohoho”

Laila ran away. Tetes looks a little dazzling at Hilda-san.

“……Really, you’re a kind person, aren’t you, Hilda-sensei?”

“Well”

“Probably, that person sees a lot more painful and unpleasant things than I or Master can imagine. Even though he acts cheerful, there is no way that someone that smart could ignore his own failures, setbacks and the negative aspects of others……and forget about them. It’s a great thing to be able to love and care so seriously about people’s lives and……their lives”

“……Ah”

If you ask me, that is true. Doctors sometimes have to keep dealing with stupid and reckless patients. Some patients may become delirious with a sense of their own mortality, much more pronounced than 100-man commander Becker’s earlier statement. In addition to that, there are things that she could have done for her patients at that time, things that she wanted to do but could not, things that I thought were well-meaning but were rejected like General Kingfisher is now. A lot of regrets and stagnation accumulate. Even a human doctor who has been doing this for decades is amazing, but Hilda has been doing it for hundreds of years. On top of that, she is so cheerful and able to think and talk about her patients. She is a wild person, but there is no doubt about her kindness. Like 「War God Dianne」 she may be a woman who should be called a great woman of the ages.

It was still early in the morning and the merchants were not moving. The common sense measure would be to have them gather early, but no later than noon. Accompanied by Tetes and Maia, I decided to go out for one last shopping trip before leaving.

“Once we get the supplies to the fort, we’ll go straight to Polka, won’t we?”

“I guess so. I’m going to stock up on souvenirs just in case. The cat beasts and non-combatant elves probably won’t come to this side of the fort, so even a small item would be interesting and unusual”

“I’d rather have something made by Andy-sama……”

“Souvenirs are another courtesy”

The three of us look around the morning market. Inwardly, I was wondering if Rainer Exceliza would appear from somewhere, but his actions so far have been only contact with Neia and interception of 100-man commander Becker. I haven’t been aggressively aiming at this and so far there is no reason to aim at me in the first place. I can’t say that I don’t need to be too concerned about it. I can understand a little bit how people became abnormally wary of a dragon palace after the Fire Dragon War. It’s scary, isn’t it, having an opponent who is super strong but whose principles of behavior you don’t understand. ……When such shopping is over, I feel a presence approaching me from behind and suddenly Tetes and Maia are on the alert.

“Who!?

“Andy-sama, stand back”

The two of them go from a friendly atmosphere, like sisters who adore their older brother, to instantly taking out their swords and tulare, respectively, leaving only the burlap sack in their hands on the spot and bracing themselves. And who was at the end of their gazes?

“Hoohoohoo. This is a lovely bouncer. But what have I done, young man?”

“!?”

I turned around and was startled. Good old man. ……No, there was the most astute old man I knew, who just looked like that.

“……Your Majesty”

“Originally, that’s right. You can call me 『Old man』following Arthur, hoohoohoo”

Ulysses Ernest. An old man who still supports the Trot Kingdom with his presence alone stood in the corner of the market with a few Sword Saints.

“W, Why……”

“I’m not sure why you don’t come by Trot often. The other day, the first grandchild was born. Renfangas sent him a big congratulatory gift and the king insisted on returning the gift himself. But he felt that Celesta would be disgraced by his casual visits to Renfangas, so here, instead, is the old man on his first trip abroad in decades”

The beautifully-armored sword saints surrounding the old man chuckled at the old man’s words. When I thought there was a man with a bitter face, he was 100-man commander Grants.

“I would like to ask you to do that without me. My lectures at the university have been canceled for almost half a semester”

“I’m sure you’ll have Cowl take your place”

“Even the president does not want to leave my lectures to others. In the first place, the view of history is something that educators should be responsible for and should speak from a consistent viewpoint and it is also important for students to have their own viewpoints……”

“I don’t see why I should give you a lecture. But, for some reason, Sword Saints have many idiots who throw their thoughts to others. We really need people like you who can think and move on their own”

“Late King, please do not reveal our weaknesses in front of the common people”

“Don’t become a man like Sir Gold who can’t argue with being called a fool, Randall. Since you’ve got Grants-sensei with you”

“Ha, Haa……I mean, you all don’t refute him either, except for Sir Gold……”

“I’m not sure I want to be quoted by Grants-sensei”

They are laughing peacefully, but this group of about 10 people is more than one ordinary fort by itself. Or maybe even if you have Laila and Dianne in person, you can stand up without changing your complexion.

“Now, now, that lovely queen is also welcoming us. I’m going to stretch my wings a little bit……is there something wrong with your spirit? I don’t suppose it’s something to do with your hands going behind your back?”

The predecessor king looks me in the eye with a slightly serious expression on his face. I looked at Tetes. Maia is not going to be able to offer a helpful opinion in a situation like this. ……I wonder if I should tell him about Rainer. Think about it for a minute. I make eye contact with Tetes and nod to each other.

“The first is the 『Hero』 ……from Kalwin and the second one is apparently secretly riding to Rennesto”

“Hou. He’s sneaking in. How do you read that, Grants?”

“It’s not a self-proclaimed title. It’s probably the first source of information. And if he’s wary of it, it proves that Kalwin is not a monolith”

……What the heck, how do all you smart people read that much in an instant?

“A strange kingdom enclosed, signs of an internal schism……sounds like something out of an adventure novel, Grants”

“Not an uncommon story, though. How do you like it?”

“I’m just a tourist on a return visit. But if Arthur had been here, he would have been delighted with such a commonplace story”

“Forgive me, my lord. My stomach cannot bear the thought of traveling with the Master Sword Saint”

“Hoohoohoo!”

The late king laughed merrily, while 100-man commander Grants held his stomach with a hearty chuckle over his armor. We could not speak without being bewildered.

- ToC -