Ch.252Chapter 252. Proof (5)

Kransis bowed his waist upon seeing Irian and said.

“Lord, you’ve arrived.”

“Commander Kransis. As I mentioned before, you don’t need to use honorifics with me.”

Though it was temporary, becoming the lord essentially meant being the ruler of the territory, so Kransis’s response was quite by-the-book.

From Irian’s position, it would be difficult to treat Kransis, the commander-in-chief of the occupying forces, with condescension based solely on rank.

Office politics are just as complicated in this neighborhood, I see.

“No, sir. How could I, as your subject, break protocol?”

Irian didn’t press the matter further and gave a slight nod before looking in my direction.

“So, Sir Swen. I was thinking of joining the workers conducting relief efforts myself. What do you think?”

Not just sending ordinary soldiers, but having the highest-ranking person directly participate in relief activities.

This seemed like it would be enough to quell the soldiers’ discontent.

“It would be excellent if you personally took part, Lord Irian.”

“Then we’ll proceed that way. As a bonus, I’ll also grant you full authority over the relief activities.”

I bowed my head to express my gratitude to him.

“I accept your kindness, my lord.”

“Very well. Let’s see…”

After accepting my greeting, Irian approached Reika, who had been standing awkwardly to the side.

“It’s been quite a while, Lady Reika.”

“What? Ah, y-yes, y-yes…!! H-hello!”

“Thanks to your efforts, Jenis is doing well. I offer my gratitude once again.”

“No, well, th-that… I-I just d-did…!”

Ah, she bit her tongue again.

Judging from the context of the conversation, it seemed she wanted to say, “I was just doing what I had to do.”

Irian continued the conversation normally as if nothing had happened.

“I want to say that we have very high expectations for you as an official mage of our army now. Especially regarding this matter. I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes… I look forward to working with you too.”

When their exchange of greetings ended.

Sensing it was the right timing, I bowed my head and joined the conversation.

“My lord. If I may, would it be alright for us to leave now? I’d like to work out the details of our plans.”

“Please do so.”

With the lord Irian actively supporting me, I could probably do whatever I wanted.

I thought that saving Jenis back then wasn’t just a purely romantic decision after all.

“Come, Miss Reika. Let’s go.”

“Ah, yes…!”

I slowly left the royal castle with Reika.

It was time to set up the relief camp.

* * *

In the audience chamber of Kelstein Castle, from which Swen and Reika had departed.

Kransis approached Irian and asked in a cautious tone.

“Um… my lord.”

“Speak, Commander.”

“Are you really sure about this? I too know that magic is not a falsehood, but there’s always the possibility of something going wrong. Considering that the female mage’s magic might not work properly or something similar could happen, I think it’s too dangerous for you to participate personally…”

Hearing this, Irian shook his head.

“No. If that were the case, that man would have stopped me.”

“That man…”

“I’m referring to Sir Swen.”

Swen’s name came up here as well.

From Serpina who was close to him, to Jenna the national advisor, and now Irian.

Everyone with significant influence in Serpina’s army seemed to be taking a friendly attitude toward Swen, as if caught in a whirlwind.

“…You seem to trust him greatly.”

Hearing Kransis’s words, Irian seemed to have something on his mind and looked at him with a serious expression.

“In many significant ways, he is an indispensable talent for our Serpina army. Didn’t you tell me that it’s the virtue of a superior to give appropriate trust to those who deserve respect?”

After saying this, Irian gave Kransis another slight nod.

“I certainly understand your concerns, but with so many rebellions, we are severely lacking people who can provide stability to our army. I intend to make Swen a wheel of our army. I would like you to consider this seriously as well, Commander Kransis. Well then.”

Kransis watched Irian walk away and let out a short sigh.

‘It doesn’t seem good for all power to be concentrated in someone who isn’t the monarch…’

Of course, the current situation wasn’t so bad that Serpina’s authority had completely collapsed to the point of worrying about the monarch’s authority.

Still, with the ongoing rebellions, it was concerning that this man Swen was gaining too much authority.

Both Jenna and Irian seemed to think that they could completely subjugate Swen to our army and use him as a resource for our army, but…

Kransis recalled the look in Swen’s eyes during their private meeting earlier.

Though his physique might not be particularly robust, his eyes were as sharp as a wolf’s. The eyes of a strong person who would never be satisfied with being subordinate to someone else.

‘…No.’

He almost got lost in complex thoughts.

But Irian, a junior he greatly cherished, and Jenna, whom he deeply trusted, both trusted Swen.

Especially considering that Jenna, as the national advisor, would certainly have better judgment of people than himself, who had merely spent a long time on battlefields.

If Swen truly harbored ambition, Jenna would surely have drawn a line.

Most decisively, he knew better than anyone that his lord Serpina was not the kind of person who would be swayed by a mere man.

‘It’s fine. As a warrior, I should follow my lord’s will no matter what. And if my lord’s will is to support this man Swen…’

Kransis put his thoughts aside and walked toward where Irian had disappeared.

――In fact.

If only the ambition that Swen harbored in his heart wasn’t completely different from what he imagined… his assessment would have been closer to Swen’s true nature than anyone else’s.

* * *

A few days later.

Something like a relief camp began operating in earnest.

With hastily constructed temporary buildings and guards strictly controlling entry, the total number of people in the camp was about 12.

Since it was a facility for distributing supplies rather than for war, not many people were needed.

Of course, more people would have been better – but this was the limit of what Reika could stably manage with her magical power on a weekly basis.

“Now, please close your eyes…!”

Saying that, Reika cast buff magic on the soldiers and Irian in turn.

With this, everyone here, including myself and Reika, would absolutely not fall ill for a week.

If it were someone else, I might not have been so certain, but with my basic knowledge of this world, I could be confident that what she said was true.

“This is… quite amazing. It feels different from just hearing about it.”

Irian expressed his surprise while flexing his hands and doing light stretches.

“Well, yes.”

I understood what he was talking about.

When you’re under a spell… literally, your physical abilities get “buffed.”

According to Miss Reika, all she’s doing is spreading mana floating in the air onto our bodies, but still.

“Good. Then from today, we will begin relief activities for people suffering from disease. We have the mage’s blessing spell on us, so everyone can work with peace of mind!”

“Yes, sir!!”

The soldiers responded enthusiastically with loud voices.

Blessing spell.

That’s a pretty good name. I wanted to give extra points for it sounding much more impressive than “buff magic.”

“Let’s go then. Six of you follow me, and those assigned to guard duty, go to your designated areas!”

While Irian was busy moving around.

I approached Miss Reika, who was nodding off in her chair.

“Miss Reika, are you okay?”

“Ah… yes? Oh, I-I’m fine. I can… handle this much.”

I’m not sure if this analogy is appropriate in this world, but-

Magic isn’t like turning a faucet and having water gush out.

Even if mana floats in the air, as long as the caster is Reika, there’s no way to avoid putting strain on her body, which meant that ultimately Reika would bear all the responsibility.

To bear all that responsibility alone… the woman sweating in front of me seemed too pitiful.

“Still, please tell me if you feel you can’t continue. The plan is for about a month, but I’m fine with shortening the period.”

“No…! I want to… help Lady Serpina, my lord… and you, Sir Swen. I won’t… back down. And.”

Reika looked up at me with a bright smile.

“I was the one who suggested twelve people in the first place… I want to take responsibility for what I can handle…!”

If she’s going to say that much, there’s no need for me to say anything more…

Besides, she often mentions wanting to “be helpful,” both now and before.

So now was the time to say what she wanted to hear.

Instead of expressing concern, I firmly held Reika’s hand.

“Alright. I’m counting on you, Miss Reika.”

Reika no longer flinches when I hold her hand.

Instead, she squeezes my hand tightly.

With her eyes curved like crescent moons, she gives an extremely radiant smile.

“Hehehe… l-leave it to me…!”

“…”

At that moment.

…Thump, thump.

I felt a strong heartbeat.

The sweet scent from her body that couldn’t be erased brushed my nose.

Somehow… I felt my face getting hot.

Since giving her the lap pillow a few days ago, I’d strangely started noticing things about her that I hadn’t seen before.

For example, her bluish thighs or large breasts. Her cute voice, or her gentle, feminine tone.

From that point on, Reika as a being started to approach me very much as a “woman.” Not in the dictionary sense, but in a somewhat different meaning.

Strangely.

Lately, the concept of “woman” keeps disturbing my thoughts.

I thought I had been managing myself quite well until now.

‘…Have things been… building up recently?’

I briefly thought about it and then let out a hollow laugh.

It was too luxurious a worry to have in these chaotic times.

Now was not the time to be swayed by temporary hormonal pranks.

I cleared my mind and focused on the task at hand.

‘I’ll know in about a week.’

Anyway, the die had been cast.

Now it was time to question Yurie, who had spread the rumors.

――While we risk our lives to help the sick people of the territory out of humanitarian concerns, what were you doing?