Ch.251Chapter 251. Proof (4)

“……What? You’re telling me to lie down on your lap?”

The situation was so surreal that I asked Reika once more, but she nodded with an incredibly serene smile.

“I-It’s okay…! It’s you, Swen, not anyone else…!”

“Uh…”

Honestly, my first thought in this situation was overwhelming discomfort.

Why is the usually shy Reika suddenly acting like this?

We’ve become more familiar with each other and Irene Juliette lately, but… I don’t think she’s ever been this bold before?

While I was unable to respond, frozen in indecision…

“Um… perhaps you don’t want to…?”

When she spoke in a voice that sounded like she might cry, I instinctively waved my hands in denial.

“What? No. How could I dislike it?”

“Y-Yes…!”

Reika seemed relieved after hearing “How could I dislike it” and smiled again.

With a strangely confident expression, she patted her lap once more.

My heart wavered. I realized how easily a man’s gaze can be captivated by those soft mounds.

“Then… excuse me.”

After emptying my mind of distractions, I laid my head on her lap.

…It was soft.

Reika gave off a pleasant sweet scent.

Like a cake scent reduced to about 1/10 of its intensity… that kind of indescribable sweetness.

“There. Swen… please rest comfortably.”

I wanted to look up at her face.

But because of her chest, I could only see her eyes peeking out.

Still, from what I could tell, she didn’t seem extremely embarrassed.

…If anything, I seemed to be the one more conscious of the situation.

Her chest, hidden beneath her pure white clothing, bounced slightly right before my eyes whenever the carriage shook.

‘…They’re big.’

Somehow, I feel like I’ve been having very close encounters with women’s chests these past few days.

I couldn’t help but notice the impressive size of my lord Serpina von Einhart.

And Irene Juliette… well, that goes without saying. I’ve never seen a woman with larger breasts than hers.

Since Reika had been constantly with Irene lately, I naturally thought of her as “average,” but seeing directly with my own eyes… I realized she was only relatively smaller, a fact that burned into my mind along with her sweet scent.

‘…Irene, Serpina… then her, I guess.’

Having thought that far, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Here I was having such carefree thoughts while heading off to do something completely unhelpful to the nation.

Anyone watching would think we were going on a pleasure trip.

“Um… Swen, are you uncomfortable…? You were fidgeting…”

“What? No. I’m fine.”

“Really? That’s good…”

Reika said that, let out a small sigh, and then…

“E-Excuse me…!”

Then… slowly, she brought her hand to my resting head.

And then.

“Swen. You’ve worked… so hard… I hope you can… rest well.”

Gently stroking my head, she continued to say things like “You’ve worked hard” and “Thank you for your efforts.”

Wondering if something was going on, I carefully asked her.

“Did something happen?”

“What? No… It’s just that… Swen, you’ve looked really tired lately.”

“Me?”

“Yes… You’ve had dark circles under your eyes. And it seems like you haven’t been sleeping properly…”

“…How did you know?”

“At night… haven’t you been… walking around the mansion a bit…?”

…That’s right.

Ever since hearing the news about Lunarian Ineanne’s uprising, I hadn’t really had peace of mind.

When I couldn’t sleep, I would wander around the mansion quietly lost in thought, and it seems she had heard me.

“I hope I didn’t disturb your sleep, Reika.”

“N-No…! I just… have sensitive hearing… that’s all. Yes. You didn’t do anything wrong, Swen.”

After saying that, she carefully revealed her true intentions in that shy tone again.

“So… I wanted to help you somehow… I thought it would be nice if you could relax and rest well, even just a little.”

“Reika…”

“So… right now, you don’t need to think about anything. It’s good to help your lord, and to do things for me and Irene, but… right now, I want you to rest while thinking only of yourself.”

I didn’t answer, just enjoying the feeling of her lap.

When I remained silent, she asked again in a slightly trembling voice.

“Um… was this… a bother to you?”

“Not at all. Thank you, Reika.”

Honestly, I felt genuinely grateful.

If anything, I was glad she spoke that way because it helped me realize what situation I was in.

It seemed that during the time I was struggling to save Serpina instead of returning to Lunarian, I had been unknowingly consuming a tremendous amount of my inner energy.

“Since we’re here, I should rest properly. Is it okay if I fall asleep here?”

“O-Of course…! I don’t mind. Because it’s you, Swen…”

“Then please keep stroking my head.”

“Ah, yes…!”

Reika obediently continued to stroke my head as I asked.

“Rest well, Swen…”

The carriage continued to bump along the rough road, but lying on her lap felt more comfortable than any bed.

Breathing in the pleasant sweet scent that tickled my nose, I was able to get a good sleep for the first time in a long while.

* * *

‘To visit this place again,’

As soon as we arrived at Kelstein Castle, I got out of the carriage and looked around briefly.

I felt nostalgic in many ways.

…Nothing has changed. Or perhaps everything has changed so much that it feels like nothing is left.

When I first came here, the emblem on my cloak was that of House Brans.

Now I stood here wearing the emblem of House Einhart.

Until the sky-blue flag of the Brans army fluttering on the spire changed to Serpina’s yellow flag – truly, quite a lot of time had passed.

Shortly after, several soldiers recognized us, approached, and greeted us formally.

“Welcome, Sir Swen. Lady Reika.”

“Ah, hello…”

Reika bowed slightly beside me.

The more I saw her, the more I thought she didn’t seem suited for places with strong hierarchies.

“Where is the lord?”

“Waiting inside. Please follow us.”

“Understood.”

Just as I was about to take a step…

“…?”

“Ah, um… I’m, I’m a bit nervous.”

Apparently quite tense about visiting a new royal castle, Reika was looking around anxiously and trembling.

It was quite endearing to see someone who had been so confident while offering her lap earlier now shrinking back in front of others.

Instead of saying anything, I took her snow-white hand.

“Ah…!”

“Let’s go, Reika.”

“Ah… y-yes…!”

And so, holding Reika’s hand, I walked toward Kelstein Castle.

* * *

Upon arrival, we were greeted by someone I hadn’t seen in a while.

“You’ve arrived, Lord Swen.”

“I am honored to see you, Lord Kransis.”

“L-Lord K-Kransis… I-I’m h-honored to see you…!”

Kransis didn’t respond to the stammering Reika behind me, but looked at me instead.

The man who once opposed my opinions, Kransis.

I heard he had been acting as lord of Hisphil Castle before troops were withdrawn… but after being pushed back to Kelstein Castle, he seemed to have spent his time here without any new assignment.

Looking at the empty lord’s chair, I asked.

“Where is the lord?”

“He stepped out briefly. But I have something I’d like to ask you.”

“Please speak freely.”

“What do you mean by conducting relief activities? As far as I know, the plague hasn’t penetrated the northern continent due to our lord’s blockade order.”

“It means exactly what it says.”

I briefly explained to Kransis the significance of this “relief activity.”

First, I explained that “there is very strong discontent among territory residents who temporarily went to the central region and couldn’t return to the north, or those who have family or relatives in the central region, so there is a need to suppress this public opinion.”

“And, as you know, Lord Kransis, since Yurie has provoked us with absurd claims, I would like to say that our army needs to take direct action.”

Of course, I added that this was only targeting residents near Kelstein who had family in the northern continent.

After silently listening to my explanation, Kransis nodded, but his eyes still held doubt.

“I understand. However… for relief activities, wouldn’t it be better to just send supplies there…?”

“To another country? I question whether that would work well…”

“But according to what you’re saying, you’ll need personnel to establish relief centers and receive central region patients who might have the plague, correct?”

As he said, that was indeed the biggest problem.

Even if it was just a few people, given the nature of the plague, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t spread to the north if we were unlucky.

“That’s why I brought her.”

Saying that, I placed my hand on Reika’s shoulder beside me.

Reika kept bowing her head, not knowing what to do.

Yes.

This was the decisive reason I had chuckled at my Intelligence 100 result when I heard Serpina say “If we mobilize soldiers who fear catching the plague, bad rumors will inevitably spread.”

That reason was Reika.

“…Are you Lady Reika?”

“Ah, y-yes…! Th-that’s right…”

“You must know what abilities Lady Reika possesses, Lord Kransis?”

Without needing to explain in detail, Kransis seemed to understand what I was getting at and nodded before asking a question.

“But the question is how much we can trust this magic.”

“Haven’t you heard the news from the northern continent?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

Kransis waved his hand as he spoke.

“It’s not about whether I personally trust it or not.”

…Ah.

“If I order, ‘The power of magic is protecting you, so focus on relief activities without worry,’ the soldiers will have to follow, of course. But whether that’s really the best approach… that’s what I’m talking about.”

He’s touching on quite a sharp point.

From the perspective of soldiers who only hear about this from a distance, even if they’re told about magic, it might still feel like they’re being sent to their deaths.

If there were soldiers who felt forced to participate reluctantly, there could be some discord in the relief activities, so it was necessary to gain their trust.

‘How should I convince him?’

As I was pondering this…

“I’ll do it.”

Hearing a familiar male voice from behind, I turned my head.

A familiar face was walking toward us.

“If I personally participate, wouldn’t the soldiers joining the relief activities have no complaints?”

The owner of the voice was the temporary lord of Kelstein Castle—

Irian Al Kaski.