Ch.45Words Over Actions – 4

The magical chains binding my arms and legs firmly didn’t budge no matter how much I struggled.

Well, of course. Charlotte had personally sealed them, so it would be stranger if they loosened or came undone just because I squirmed a bit.

Though I did wonder why she needed to tie me up at all when I would have waited right here if she’d just asked me to.

If I could have swung my sword even clumsily, I would have cut off my head, let it roll away, and escaped through regeneration.

But with my arms completely wrapped in chains, I could barely move my fingers and neck. Charlotte had clearly anticipated I might try something like that and bound me thoroughly.

First of all, I wondered where those two had disappeared to.

It was practically a given that wherever they fought, the surrounding landscape would be devastated, so it was fortunate they weren’t clashing here.

Though it would be best if they didn’t fight at all.

‘Given their personalities, that’s absolutely impossible.’

The more I thought about Serena and Charlotte’s relationship, the more foolish my past decision seemed—leaving Serena in the royal knights while I wandered alone searching for dragons.

It was a miracle and sheer luck that the kingdom’s capital hadn’t been destroyed yet. Well, ultimately the root cause was that I’d spent too much time away.

As I made a mental note to ask them someday what they’d been doing during the eight years I was gone, continuing my useless squirming, the wave that had swallowed Serena and Charlotte suddenly spread out once more.

And from within the wave, Serena and Charlotte emerged.

It felt like barely five minutes had passed since they’d disappeared into the wave, and I briefly wondered if their fight was already over.

It didn’t take long to realize that Serena and Charlotte hadn’t come out voluntarily but had been forcibly ejected.

After all, if they had walked out on their own, they wouldn’t have lost their balance and crashed into the ground or gone flying through the air.

Serena fell back-first onto the ground and slid backward, mercilessly shattering the stone tiles of the central plaza.

She barely avoided the disaster of crashing through buildings by stabbing World Eater into the ground, but the tiles along her path were completely destroyed.

Charlotte was thrown into the air, spinning several times before suddenly stopping in place without any inertia, likely having used telekinetic magic on herself.

Her silver hair, which normally flowed beautifully behind her back, was now disheveled.

I was incredibly shocked by the sight, not to mention how the parties involved must have felt.

What in the world had happened in there that caused Serena to tumble across the ground without even managing a proper landing stance, and Charlotte to be thrown about so wildly?

Serena quickly got to her feet and charged toward where the wave had occurred. But there was nothing there anymore. She looked around, and Charlotte gently descended to the ground.

Charlotte clicked her tongue once and began using magic to fix her hair.

The disheveled strands realigned neatly behind her back, flowing beautifully as she tilted her head.

After briefly surveying the surroundings, Serena put away World Eater. It seemed she couldn’t detect anything unusual with her sensing abilities.

Having confirmed the wave had completely disappeared, Serena’s eyes fixed on me.

“Are you alright, my lord?”

The fact that her first question after their confrontation was about my well-being was so typical of Serena. I nodded lightly and asked in return.

“I’m the same as always. That’s actually what I wanted to ask you. Are you two okay?”

Though being too much “the same as always” is often the problem.

“I am fine. Thank you for your concern, my lord.”

“I too am without any particular injury. I merely experienced a rather unexpected phenomenon.”

“Unexpected phenomenon?”

“Indeed. It was a most unpleasant and disagreeable experience.”

“What did you experience to make you react like that?”

If Charlotte was saying something like that, it definitely wasn’t an ordinary situation. She was someone who could handle most crises without batting an eye.

Moreover, Serena was with her. Charlotte and Serena were together, yet they had an unpleasant and disagreeable experience?

Did she take a hit from Serena or something?

Instead of answering, Charlotte snapped her fingers. The magical chains binding me dissolved and scattered all at once.

Serena quickly rushed to my side to support me. Though I had been tightly bound with barely enough freedom to wiggle my fingers, my shoulders weren’t stiff. After loosening them once, I calmly stood up.

Charlotte’s eyes briefly sharpened at the sight of Serena and me together, but she didn’t seem interested in fighting as she gently attached herself to my left shoulder instead of launching magic at us.

This time, Serena’s eyes sharpened in turn. Feeling physically comfortable but mentally uncomfortable, I moved toward the long bench in front of the fountain in the central plaza.

It’s not like I needed support anyway. Serena’s offer to help me was closer to an excuse to be near me.

Charlotte probably sensed this too, which is why she chose to stick to my side rather than confront Serena.

On one side, a beautiful blonde Royal Knight Commander, and on the other, a beautiful silver-haired Queen. It was an absurd sight to behold.

“So, what did you experience?”

I asked, sitting on the bench with Charlotte on my left arm and Serena on my right.

At first they pretended to support me, but now they weren’t even trying to hide their desires, deliberately placing my hands against their side breasts and waists.

For reference, Serena had my hand at her side, and Charlotte at her side breast.

Looking at them now, it was hard to believe these were the same women who had been glaring at each other with murderous intent just moments ago, but they were indeed the same people.

It was difficult to accept at first, but I got used to it after a while.

“Where would you like me to begin?”

“Everything. From when you two disappeared from here to fight, until you came back. I want to hear everything that happened in between.”

“Then I can summarize it quite simply. That woman and I entered a subspace to fight, and in the midst of our battle, the space distorted and we were ejected. That is all.”

“The space distorted and ejected you?”

“I would prefer to use different terminology, but that is the most accurate description. If you do not believe me, ask that… woman over there.”

Charlotte said with a sulky expression. I knew that pouty look was just an act.

Still, I caught what she wanted, so I slightly moved my hand that was around her shoulder upward, and she happily nuzzled her cheek against my face.

Serena, Charlotte, Christine—they all greatly preferred rubbing their cheeks against my hand.

They would probably like whatever I did anyway, but in situations like this, this was their go-to reaction eight times out of ten.

“What happened to the dignity of Queen Charlotte de Gargantua?”

“Before you, I am a woman first, before I am Charlotte de Gargantua. Is that not natural? This name, this position, this reputation—all are mere trifles I could discard if you wished it.”

That’s not what you emphasized in the palace when it came to dignity.

While stroking Charlotte’s cheek, I turned my head toward Serena.

Serena had been glaring at Charlotte with eyes that could tear someone apart, but quickly composed her expression when I looked at her.

I chuckled and caressed Serena’s cheek, which made her smile broadly.

“Is what Charlotte said true?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Where was this subspace?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize… Serena, do you also think the space distorted and ejected you?”

“Yes, my lord. There’s no other way to explain it.”

Since both Serena and Charlotte gave the same answer, it must be the truth. But I couldn’t quite imagine what it meant for space to distort.

I had seen magic that created spatial rifts a few times, but most practitioners just said you had to experience it to understand.

I need to be able to try it first to know.

I had asked Charlotte before, but she had shut me down by saying that spatial rift magic couldn’t be explained with formulas.

Spatial interference magic was apparently a realm of instinct, not knowledge.

“So where exactly did you go that caused you both to be ejected helplessly? Charlotte, you know spatial magic, don’t you?”

I wasn’t sure if Serena had reached that level, but at the very least, Charlotte knew several spatial interference spells.

The method she had tried most often to kill me was transferring parts of my body to different dimensions. Of course, no matter where she sent them, they always returned to normal.

Charlotte answered simply while not stopping my hand from caressing her cheek.

“I don’t know.”

What?