Ch.338Chapter 338 – Helper

The meeting between the Kingdom of Mikea and the Kingdom of Firenchena had ended.

Strictly speaking, there was some ambiguity in both Diana representing Princess Liriel and Princess Gabriella not yet having ascended to the throne, but from my perspective, it didn’t seem to make much difference.

“Are you alright with this? Things didn’t go according to Princess Liriel’s intentions.”

Diana was working as a soldier in the Kingdom of Mikea due to various circumstances.

From her reaction, it seemed she had failed to carry out the orders given by the royal family.

I honestly worried a bit that she might be held responsible later, though I didn’t know what Princess Liriel’s exact intentions were.

“It’s fine. Like I said earlier, there’s no damage except for my bonus flying out the window.”

Diana said this and then, feeling the need to explain further, she spoke again.

“Coming to the Kingdom of Firenchena in the first place was a sudden decision. Count Metis said something to Princess Liriel that prompted this, so not many people even know why it happened. The contact with Princess Gabriella was also hastily decided before we came.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And actually, I fulfilled the princess’s true instructions, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Diana said with a slight smile.

“This proposal was originally made because she wanted to find out what kind of person Princess Gabriella is.”

According to Diana, Princess Liriel’s true intention was to gauge what kind of person Princess Gabriella was.

Chris tilted his head curiously and asked.

“Was that it?”

“That’s right. Sending your country’s army to a foreign land is quite burdensome to begin with.”

“Because just moving an army costs money.”

Diana nodded at Eve’s words.

“So the proper order would be to first propose to the princess, then dispatch troops. If she refuses like now, we’ve only lost money and supplies. Yet she chose to accept that loss because the princess judged that investing would bring benefits one way or another.”

If the request was accepted readily, that would be good.

They could extract compensation from Princess Gabriella later, one way or another.

Even if not, Diana said that Princess Liriel seemed to think it wasn’t a loss since she could assess what kind of person Princess Gabriella was.

“Well, to summarize, she believed she wouldn’t lose no matter what result I achieved. It’ll be enough for me to report what conversations took place and how I felt about them. And honestly, this old lady doesn’t quite understand what that cunning fox was thinking.”

“I think your inner thoughts slipped out a bit there.”

“Just pretend you didn’t hear that, dear.”

Diana replied nonchalantly to Sera’s observation.

“So you can go back now?”

“Don’t say such disappointing things, Chris.”

Kara immediately responded to Chris’s words.

“Or perhaps Chris finds it burdensome to be with me?”

“That’s not it. From what I’ve heard, you’ve been through intense battles, so I thought you might not have rested properly. I’m especially concerned about Diana.”

Chris specifically mentioning Diana was probably because of her advanced age.

Knowing this, Diana smiled and said:

“Child, I really appreciate your concern. It’s quite disappointing that none of the people around me worry about my health.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

Diana smiled brightly, seemingly pleased that Chris was worried about her.

Then she spoke in an energetic voice as if telling her not to worry.

“This old lady may be advanced in years, but her body is still strong. So don’t worry too much.”

“From what I can see, Diana will live strong for at least another 30 years.”

Kara said with a slight smile.

“To change the subject, part of why we came here was because we received requests to help you. We won’t be leaving until you finish what you need to do in this country.”

“Who requested that?”

When Sera expressed curiosity, Diana smiled.

“I received requests from so many people that it’s hard to list them all. When we were just about to form our ranks to depart, people gathered in swarms.”

“Swarms?”

“In other words, you’ve met quite a lot of people.”

Diana said with a smile.

“Shall I list some particularly memorable ones? There was the cute receptionist from the guild and a rather solid adventurer party, the vice leader of the Lavencha Trading Company…”

The guild receptionist and adventurers were likely Nina and the Haven party.

The vice leader of the Lavencha Trading Company would be Rachel.

These were people I hadn’t thought about in a very long time, having forgotten them due to everything that had happened.

And Diana continued:

“People from the Evgenia Order, people from the Jeolei Order… A young lady named Eina also sent her regards, saying there were people who hoped you would return to meet them… And there were others who secretly made requests with gifts, like Count Metis, Aria, and that fellow Ludger.”

“I see.”

“Many others said they were too busy to come. There were probably people I didn’t know or didn’t see.”

Diana said.

“That means there are people who worry about you and wait for your return. Come to think of it, many of those people played significant roles in the recent battle against the demons. Perhaps they wanted to protect the place you’ll return to.”

“Thankfully,” Diana added lightly.

“With their requests in mind, we’ll help as much as we can.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t just thank me—make sure to visit them and pay your respects when everything is over. Those people understand your character and would understand even if you said nothing, but there are times when you need to express things directly in words.”

“I will certainly do so.”

Diana nodded with satisfaction at my answer.

“Anyway, I made this clear to Princess Liriel as well. Since we need to properly help those friends, once we go, we won’t be able to return quickly.”

After saying this, Diana added with a slightly apologetic tone:

“However, since we’re officially part of the royal army, it would be difficult for us to accompany you all the way outside Firenchena.”

She meant they could help for a while, but couldn’t come all the way to the final seal.

Since this was obvious, I nodded.

“We have so many people to be grateful to.”

“Indeed.”

I nodded in response to Sera’s smiling comment.

As I felt my mind becoming a bit more at ease, Diana asked:

“So, is there anything we can help with?”

“I’ll need to think about it.”

While I was organizing my thoughts to determine exactly what help to ask for, Diana said:

“Honestly, there will be a lot. We just arrived here and learned that you’ve just achieved a major victory in a big battle.”

Diana continued in an advisory tone:

“After any battle, the aftermath is difficult to handle. Things like distributing compensation, cleaning up… While your situation is better than the resistance army since you don’t have as many people, it will still be quite hectic when it comes time to settle accounts.”

Perhaps it was her extensive experience that made her say we would soon be overwhelmed.

I could tell that things seemed relaxed right now only because we had just finished everything and the aftermath hadn’t yet begun. Once we started processing and settling accounts, it would consume a lot of time.

‘It would certainly be more convenient if they helped.’

It’s not that we couldn’t handle the settlements ourselves, but with our small numbers, having more people to help would be beneficial.

Especially people with experience in these matters.

As I quietly turned my gaze toward Diana, she smiled and said:

“Yes. Use us as your helpers. Whether you need people transported, rewards collected on your behalf, items delivered to the kingdom, or supplies prepared. I have experience, and I have subordinates who know what they’re doing. We can divide the work among our people.”

Diana added that Princess Gabriella had given her approval, so there was nothing to hold back on.

Soon Kara smiled and said:

“So if you need anything, just say so. We’ll prepare it.”

If help was available, it would be best not to refuse it.

I thought again about what we needed.

Then something occurred to me, and I asked:

“By any chance, are there people among those you brought who have experience sailing or navigating ships?”

“I’ll need to check, but with our numbers, there probably are.”

When Diana finished speaking, I nodded and looked at Eve.

Eve also nodded and said:

“We’ll save on hiring costs.”

“More than that, I’m most pleased that we’ll save time looking for people.”

We needed to sail toward the fourth seal.

And honestly, I wasn’t sure how many in our group were skilled in navigation.

While we might have the knowledge, it was doubtful whether we had people with extensive practical experience in operating a ship.

So we needed to hire people skilled in navigation, and if we could recruit them from the Mikean troops, we could save a lot of time and money.

We might still need to hire or find a few new people, but it would definitely be a big help.

“From what you’re saying, do you have business at sea?”

“Yes. We were quite anxious about managing with just our group.”

“I understand. I’ll search diligently.”

Diana said with a smile.

Eve also seemed to be in a better mood, her expression brightening slightly as she spoke:

“I’m pleased that we can extract as much compensation as possible from Princess Gabriella.”

Previously in Sestas, we had been unable to properly collect compensation due to time constraints and my physical condition.

This time, with people who could receive it on our behalf, Eve seemed unwilling to hold back.

“I look forward to seeing how much Her Highness will open her purse and storehouse.”

“Well, try to get as much as you can. Though from what I can tell, she’s probably already decided how much compensation to give.”

“A merchant’s job is to extract more than what’s initially offered.”

A dark aura seemed to emanate from Eve after a long time.

She clearly intended to squeeze out every last bit.

“This is going to be fun after a long time.”

Princess Gabriella, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t find it so amusing.

“…I’ll accompany you, as I’m a bit concerned.”

“Oh my, by all means.”

Diana carefully interjected, perhaps a bit frightened by Eve’s demeanor.

I wasn’t worried though, as Eve wouldn’t create unnecessary problems with excessive demands.

Soon the two began to set a time to meet with the princess.

Meanwhile, Kara gently raised her hand and said:

“If there’s anything else, tell me, Chris.”

“Not really…”

Chris said that much and then seemed to remember something.

“Actually, Kara, I do have a favor to ask. Could you spare some time?”

Chris said apologetically for taking up her time, and Kara replied with a bright smile:

“Don’t hold back. I’ll listen to any request from you.”

“Okay. Then later…”

“We’ll go right now.”

Kara immediately grabbed Chris’s wrist.

“…Kara?”

“Right now.”

Kara took Chris away just like that.

Unable to break free from Kara’s grip, Chris gave me a pleading look, and thinking there was nothing I could do, I looked at Sera.

“Help separate them.”

“Kay, I’m not a specialist in using force.”

Sera said, puffing her cheeks slightly.

It was a somewhat cute expression, but judging by the way her fingers moved, I felt I might be in trouble if I teased her about being strong.

In the end, I gestured for Sera to stay put and approached Kara myself.

Kara glared at me and said:

“Don’t come.”

“Sorry, but Chris asked me to separate you two.”

“Don’t come.”

“…”

“Don’t come.”

Kara stared at me with even more intensity.

Then she hugged Chris’s arm even tighter.

It was an awkward situation to forcibly separate them.

“I’ll finish quickly.”

Kara said quietly.

“And judging by what Chris asked me, it’s clear that I’m the only one who can fulfill her request. So don’t interfere.”

“…”

“Let’s go, Chris. We’ll finish and come back soon.”

“S-save meee…”

While I was contemplating how to respond, Kara dragged Chris away.

Chris called out pitifully as she was being dragged, but soon seemed to give up, straightening her posture and beginning to guide Kara.

Conversely, Kara’s face was brightening.

She was gripping Chris’s hand tightly as if determined not to let go.

‘…Could it be.’

No, it couldn’t be.

Kara’s behavior was a bit suspicious.

I considered following them, but when Kara caught me looking and glared slightly, I gave up.

‘Chris will handle it well.’

Kara listens well to Chris, so it should be fine.

I decided to think that her sharp reaction was because Chris was like a lifesaver to her, an object of admiration.

It definitely wasn’t because I was afraid of Kara.

“You seem afraid of that young lady.”

“No, I’m not.”

I quickly denied Sia’s comment.

+

After moving away from the group.

Kara, still firmly holding Chris’s hand, asked:

“So what is it you want to ask of me, Chris?”

“Actually, there are knights from the Emiris Order being held as prisoners here.”

Chris explained to Kara.

Kara tilted her head curiously.

“If it’s a prisoner issue, shouldn’t Princess Gabriella handle it?”

“It’s a bit special.”

“Special how?”

“They’re all in shock.”

Chris said quietly.

Soon she began explaining what had happened at the palace, and Kara nodded quietly.

“So they caught a glimpse of Emiris’s true nature and were shocked to learn that the deity they believed in doesn’t care about them.”

“It’s similar to what happened with you.”

Chris said quietly.

“It would be easy to ignore them. But…”

“You want to help them regain their spirits. That’s just like you.”

Kara smiled.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it.”

“…I’m sorry to ask this after making the request, but perhaps you should take others with you, as it could be dangerous.”

“There’s no need. I’m quite good at fighting too.”

Kara said, flexing her arm slightly.

It looked like she was showing off her muscles, but there was no visible change.

“Just trust me and everything will work out.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Trust me.”

Kara was confident.

“…This works out well. From what I could see, that princess doesn’t seem to have much leeway either. She’s probably in no position to keep holding prisoners. We’ll absorb them and thoroughly train—”

“…Kara, can I really trust you?”

Chris was now feeling uneasy.

She had asked Kara because she thought she was the right person for the job, but now she strongly felt that things might not go according to her intentions.

Sensing this emotion, Kara slumped her shoulders and said:

“Chris doesn’t trust me.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t trust you…”

“Then can you entrust this to me?”

“What?”

“Can you entrust this to me?”

Kara asked with a smile.

As if unable to go against that smile, Chris averted her gaze.

And Kara, as if determined not to let her escape, moved closer and said:

“You’ll entrust it to me, won’t you?”

“That…”

“You will, won’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Chris reluctantly agreed.

Soon Kara straightened her posture again.

“Then let’s get to work.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t disappoint you.”

“…Yes.”

I’m worried.

Chris felt anxious looking at Kara, who seemed more spirited than before and a bit more whimsical.