Ch.221Chapter 221: A Journey Short Yet Long

The lineup was quite different from what I had expected.

I thought the delegation would mainly consist of seasoned, cunning politicians with extensive experience in such matters.

“I was told that we need fresh stimulation instead of sending the same people all the time, so His Majesty—I mean, my brother—ordered me to go.”

Princess Lucius, who was complaining to me, Shizu, and Excel—the knights assigned as escorts with whom she was somewhat acquainted—was actually the eldest member of the delegation.

The diplomatic mission being dispatched to the Golden Moon Empire this time was filled with young blood.

Not to mention the young administrative officials who hadn’t even reached their prime, all younger than me who was participating as an escort knight.

Even the newly appointed diplomat who would serve as the resident representative to the Golden Moon Empire was joining the delegation.

The entire group consisted of people barely in their twenties, even the oldest among them.

Some might click their tongues and criticize how the diplomatic delegation was filled with inexperienced youngsters.

But after spending some time observing them aboard the airship, only one thought came to mind:

‘I don’t know who selected them, but they’ve picked nothing but the cream of the crop.’

This admiration wasn’t without reason.

Among those looking around in awe, experiencing an airship for the first time, every single one of them would rise to important positions of great responsibility in the Empire in the timeline before my regression.

Princess Lucius, along with Shizu and Excel who were selected as escort knights, needed no introduction.

But even beyond these three, there was one representative example worth mentioning.

Diederich Becker, the newly appointed resident diplomat to the Golden Moon Empire.

Before my regression, he was the one who made outstanding contributions in actively promoting the transnational alliance between Solarium and Golden Moon as the Great War was about to intensify.

“Ugh… if this thing crashes, I don’t think they’d even be able to… recover our bones, right?”

…Though right now, unlike others who were looking around the airship with curiosity, he was just a youngster trembling like an aspen leaf, clearly terrified.

Well, it’s rather amusing that I, having just reached the rank of mid-level knight, am internally referring to others as youngsters.

But what can I do? While physically I’m just a 21-year-old greenhorn,

If I combine the life before my regression and the memories of lives from other timelines that seep into my mind even without direct experience,

I have experiences comparable to dragons who live through thousands of years without batting an eye, which unconsciously leads me to such thoughts.

Even without the additional complications of pondering over the past three years due to this incident stemming from the sword-gun,

And without further complicating my mind by defining only the life I clearly recognize before regression as my true lived experience,

The trajectories of my lives from different timelines, where I made different choices in similar situations until the moment I closed my eyes, would undoubtedly have a profound influence on my way of thinking.

To properly exercise my own judgment appropriate to the current situation without being swayed by these countless “precedents”…

[If you don’t want to suffer from such things, you have no choice but to make each moment of your current life incomparably better than any other time.]

‘I’m working hard on that every moment.’

[That much I’ll acknowledge.]

‘…It seems you won’t acknowledge anything else, from your tone.’

[I’m suddenly feeling sleepy…]

Hey now.

Ahem, anyway, as Fafnir pointed out, all I can do is give my best in every moment and overwrite the memories flowing into my mind with better ones.

“Don’t just stand there, let’s explore the airship together.”

“Let’s do that.”

I had no choice but to follow Shizu, who had taken my arm and was urging me to look around the vast airship.

Experiencing the sky so blue it almost felt chilling for the first time in my life was also something that my other selves who lived through countless timelines had never experienced.

And nothing provides me with such incomparable overwriting as spending these unfamiliar moments with someone I care about.

Despite being assigned an important mission in name, the first day of the mission seemed likely to pass leisurely aboard this giant flying vessel, without any tension.

#

…I thought only the first day would be like that.

It didn’t take long to realize that this escort duty truly offered nothing to do while aboard the airship.

The second and third days also passed peacefully without any variables.

Considering that the delegation members and their escort personnel aboard the airship were carefully selected by the Empire,

And unlike ships or trains, it was impossible for anyone to secretly board midway, this result was only natural.

Thanks to this, I could experience my vigilance as an escort unconsciously relaxing, with little to worry about until we reached the Golden Moon Empire.

Speaking of the airship,

Unlike sea travel, there was no need to worry about rough waters.

With nothing to block the airship’s path as it pioneered the unknown route of the sky at an overwhelming speed that put even express ships to shame,

The experience provided by the airship surpassed the comfort I felt when boarding the high-speed train on my way home from Night Haven three years ago.

This created a relaxed atmosphere for the entire delegation aboard the airship, with no need for tension.

So after completing my formal escort duties, Shizu, who took over the mission for me, let out:

“Huaaawn…”

Such a languid yawn that showed no tension whatsoever.

And this was while performing her duties as an escort knight.

It was a rare sight from Shizu, who had never shown even a hint of fatigue on her face, let alone yawned, even when staying up all night for a day or two on missions in the northern regions.

“Hua…ah?!”

She quickly tried to compose herself after making that strange sound of surprise following her yawn.

Her yawn must have reached the ears of Princess Lucius, who maintained a straight posture in the VIP room inside the airship with her direct shadow in attendance, but

The princess’s lips merely:

“Hehe.”

Let out a light laugh, and then:

“While it may be fine here, once we disembark from the airship, you escorts will be kept busy, so don’t relax your vigilance too much.”

It was an expression too subtle to be called a warning.

The princess herself knew well that there wouldn’t be any urgent situations requiring the escort knights to focus on their duties inside the airship, hence her mild expression.

Of course, regardless of this mild reaction:

“…I apologize, Your Highness.”

Shizu immediately bowed her head and upper body toward Princess Lucius in apology.

Looking closely at Shizu bowing beside me,

I could see faint shadows of fatigue on her face, though I didn’t know what she had been doing yesterday.

“Didn’t sleep early?”

I carefully inquired about her condition.

“Well…”

For whatever reason, Shizu seemed quite hesitant to answer.

I’ve always known she likes to sleep a lot, but seeing her this relaxed and languid in the morning was quite rare.

I was starting to worry if there might be some issue with her health that she was trying to gloss over, but:

“When I was about to sleep, the night view from the window was so beautiful that I lost track of time staring at it… hehe.”

Her subsequent answer quickly dispelled my concerns.

Instead of worrying about her physical condition, I started wondering if she could properly complete her duty in this state.

But that was a problem well within the range of solvable issues, so:

“Want something to drink?”

I casually offered her the usual remedy for such situations.

“Really…?”

I could see Shizu’s face light up, all traces of fatigue seemingly vanished.

Hmm, I was thinking of letting her have some coffee to temporarily push back the fatigue.

But seeing her so happy like that makes my own fatigue from my previous shift disappear completely.

“Wait just a moment.”

“Okay, okay!”

Just as I was about to brew some coffee for Shizu,

I felt a peculiar gaze boring into my back, so I turned around.

“Co…coffee?”

I could see Her Highness the Princess with eyes sparkling no less brightly than Shizu’s.

…What’s this? Somehow it seems like I need to serve coffee not just to Shizu but to the Princess as well?

Without revealing my suspicions in my expression, I carefully asked the Princess:

“Would Your Highness also…?”

If she would like some coffee.

“Ahem, I’ve heard that the tea or coffee brewed by you has a special taste, according to your sister.”

I could hear her remarkably polite request, considering her status, which essentially meant she wanted some too.

Ah, I told my sister not to spread rumors.

Yet the word has already gotten around.

I had a sinking feeling that until the airship arrived at the Golden Moon Empire, my duty would be less about escorting and more about serving tea and coffee to those around me.