Ch.56Chapter 56: The Romance of Travel Is Like This…

I wanted to so badly continue stroking Shizu’s hair under the pretext of tidying it up.

“We’ll be late. Let’s go in.”

Shizu’s voice, having barely managed to calm the heat rising to her head, brought me back to my senses.

“…Right.”

Disappointment… Wait, why am I feeling disappointed?

Though the question crossed my mind, there was no time to dwell on it. I reached out my right hand to politely knock on the Director’s office door.

Even if it was strangely difficult to remove my right hand from the top of Shizu’s head.

Knock knock knock

The clear sound that spread through my fingertips with each knock helped calm my mind, which had been scattered by the earlier incident.

“Carl Ranos and Lillian Shizu Proxian. We’re here as Subjugation Festival participants, responding to the summons to report to the Director’s office.”

I was able to state our purpose without difficulty.

The response from beyond the door came quickly.

-Oh. I’ve been waiting for you. Come in.

First came Director Belpheus’s kind voice, brimming with warmth.

Snap

Following that was the sound of what I presumed to be the Director’s fingers snapping, and then…

Creeeeak

The sound of the Director’s office door opening smoothly.

“Excuse us.”

Shizu and I spoke simultaneously, without either of us taking the lead, and as soon as we finished speaking, we headed into the Director’s office.

#

It was cozy.

That was my first impression upon stepping into the Director’s office.

When I had set foot here in late autumn at the Director’s invitation(?), the place had merely felt cool. Now, a warm energy enveloped the entire room.

‘It was just cool a few days ago.’

In the corridor outside the Director’s office, a slight chill was seeping in, giving the impression that the season had already changed in the span of those few days.

Yet inside the Director’s office, a comfortable warmth circulated, making it impossible to sense the season.

No matter how much this place was considered the cradle of Imperial architectural engineering at its finest…

It’s now approaching early winter, a little past late autumn.

Without the heating system running, such coziness would be impossible.

Turning my head toward the fireplace…

Crackle, crackle

A modest amount of firewood was burning, emitting a gentle sound that softly filled my ears.

“Normally, I wouldn’t feel the need to light the fireplace. But with such lovely young stars visiting, I couldn’t let you shiver here. Ho ho ho ho.”

The Director let out an awkward laugh as he noticed my gaze turning toward the fireplace.

For someone who had lived nobly for a thousand years in human form, his voice exuded an impression of excessive simplicity.

[People really don’t change, do they? He’s still the same.]

Even Fafnir, observing this scene through the sword, expressed a sentiment similar to what I felt.

By the way, since the Director was the one who gave me this sword with the dragon residing in it, I wonder if he knows about the existence dwelling within this blade.

[I’ll teach you about that later, slowly.]

Flinch

I involuntarily flinched at Fafnir’s words, which seemed to read my thoughts.

How?

[Your strong thoughts come through like static noise to me. Since this is my first experience with such a thing, don’t ask me why.]

Fafnir’s response, once again reading my thoughts, contained words that preemptively blocked the question I was about to ask.

‘Please make sure to tell me about it later.’

With these words, I had no choice but to set aside the momentary questions I had.

There was still time before 8 AM.

And it didn’t seem like all the participants had gathered here yet.

To pass the time, I turned my head and slowly examined the Director’s office.

Director Belpheus was seated at his desk in the center of the room, still wearing that kind smile.

“You’ve arrived right on time.”

My sister, who also served as the escort for the Subjugation Festival participants, stood next to the Director, watching Shizu and me.

And…

“You guys are late.”

Excel, standing next to my sister, greeted Shizu and me with a refreshed expression and a wave.

“Hello, Excel.”

Shizu, seemingly in an exceptionally good mood this morning, responded to Excel’s cheerful greeting with an even brighter voice.

“You’re early.”

Contrary to his usual habit of adjusting his schedule to be neither too late nor too early due to his strong sense of time…

I directed a voice filled with puzzlement instead of a greeting toward the guy who had entered the Director’s office before anyone else.

Recognizing the meaning in my voice, Excel raised his refreshed expression even further and said:

“The earlier I arrive, the more time I get to see Sister’s face.”

I carefully examined Excel’s face as he stated his reason for arriving early in a very calm voice.

Grin, grin

His mouth was stretched to his ears, to the point where this onomatopoeia would automatically come to mind.

…It seems he’s not just refreshed but has entered that familiar infatuated mode again, just with less obvious expression.

The only difference is that he doesn’t express it too overtly, having learned that he’d get scolded by my sister if he did, but still.

‘He’s hopeless.’

If only my sister would accept his courtship to some extent.

She should appreciate how wonderful it is to have someone who, with that handsome face, doesn’t look at anyone else and only gives warm glances to one person.

[…A descendant of Arthur.]

My thoughts, which were about to continue, were interrupted by Fafnir’s voice resonating in my head again.

A brief question came from Fafnir as he observed Excel’s frivolous behavior.

‘He’s the owner of the lightning spear Keraunos.’

I confirmed that his guess was correct.

By the way, considering he even knows the founder of the Burnstein family, I’m genuinely curious about what this person… no, this dragon has done.

[Not only does he look like him, but he also acts like a lovesick fool in front of women, just like him.]

Tsk, tsk, tsk

Making a light clicking sound with his tongue, Fafnir’s mouth didn’t seem to want to close with just that.

[And next to him…]

This time, he seemed to shift his gaze to my sister standing next to Excel.

[…She resembles her a lot.]

He let out a voice tinged with melancholy, similar to when he mentioned the ancestor earlier.

[Except for the hair color that I didn’t dye, she’s almost identical.]

I… dyed… hair… color?

‘…What do you mean by that?’

I tried to ask what that strange information meant, but…

Knock knock knock

-Dan Augustine.

-Rufus Kessler.

-We have business at the Director’s office regarding the Subjugation Festival participation.

[The guests are increasing. It would only be distracting if I keep talking to you, so I’ll stay quiet.]

Fafnir said these words and then remained silent, not answering my question.

‘Fafnir?’

[…]

‘Fafnir?’

[…]

‘Hey?’

[…]

No answer.

It seems that no matter how much I try to talk to him, it would be difficult to get the answer I want from him right now.

Can’t be helped.

I’ll have to ask him again when we’re done here.

Just as I finished organizing my thoughts…

“Welcome.”

The Director directed a voice filled with warmth toward the two people about to enter from beyond the door.

Snap

Just as he had done when letting Shizu and me in, he lightly flicked his right thumb and middle finger together.

Creeeeak

Then, the massive black entrance door to the Director’s office opened slowly with a smoothness that didn’t match its size.

Thump, thump

The footsteps of two men with excellent physiques resonated calmly through the Director’s office, perfectly in sync without the slightest deviation.

“Hello, Ma… Director.”

Dan, who directly learns space-time control spells from Director Belpheus, tried to address the Director as “Master” as usual but quickly corrected himself.

“I am at a loss for words at the warm concern you show to the students participating in the Subjugation Festival.”

Rufus, who possessed the most overwhelming physique among the students present, showed his respect to the Director with elegant etiquette and speech that was hard to associate with his massive build.

While the Kessler family doesn’t have as long a history as venerable martial families like Ranos, Proxian, and Burnstein…

They are a distinguished family that claims the Dragon Claw Mountain Range as their domain and serves as the Empire’s shield, protecting its subjects from monsters.

And the heir also displayed conduct worthy of being called a member of the Kessler family that claims to be distinguished.

After receiving the greetings of the two with a smile, the Director slowly scanned all the participants, including myself, and then…

“I’m pleased that every participant in this Subjugation Festival is so reliable.”

He expressed his appreciation with a voice deeply imbued with satisfaction, making his smile even more profound.

Judging by his expression filled with kindness and satisfaction, the lineup of participants in this Subjugation Festival seemed to meet the Director’s approval.

And I am among those who meet that approval.

As this thought crossed my mind, I realized I had progressed several steps beyond the minor achievements of the previous timeline, and satisfaction began to build in my heart.

“…Still, I wonder if the number is too small.”

However, while satisfied with the quality of the personnel, the Director expressed regret that the number was small.

“Unlike previous years, there are reports that the monster forces trying to cross the Dragon Claw Mountain Range and move south are unprecedentedly organized, so we were extremely cautious in selecting personnel.”

My sister, who had been right next to the Director, moved to the opposite side of the desk where the Director was seated, showed extreme respect, and explained the reason for the small number of selected participants.

The official heir of the Ranos family, which holds the highest status among the three distinguished martial families that support the Empire’s martial prowess.

And the vice-commander of the Imperial Knights, which symbolizes the Empire’s practical martial strength.

Despite holding these two positions, which in the Empire are connected to secular power that cannot be treated lightly by anyone except the Sun Emperor or royalty who share blood with the Emperor…

My sister’s demeanor as she reported with respect to Director Belpheus suggested that such secular power held no meaning before a great hero who had sustained the Empire, and by extension humanity, through a thousand years of long history.

Of course, no one present, including myself, would find my sister’s extreme attitude toward the Director strange.

‘Even the Sun Emperor, who stands at the pinnacle of secular power, cannot command this living legend.’

Though the comparison might be a bit rough, to this person, our existence is merely like lumps of flesh.

That applies to me, my sister, Shizu, Excel, and everyone else present here.

Perhaps it’s appropriate to see us merely as the distant descendants of comrades who fought together through the most difficult times a thousand years ago, and to cherish us for that?

“Hmm…”

Before my thoughts could continue…

The Director, who seemed to have recalled something, let out a single exclamation.

The attention of everyone present, including myself, turned toward the Director who had sighed loudly.

“Since there are fewer participants this time, this old man might be able to lend some strength to the five young stars participating in the Subjugation Festival.”

Recognizing the attention focused on him, the Director opened his mouth like this, wearing a gentle smile on his face.

What is he planning to do, smiling so broadly?

“Is the assembly point the same as in previous years?”

My curiosity remained unresolved as I had to listen to the Director’s one-sided question.

“Ah… Yes, it is.”

My sister, forgetting her momentary confusion, answered quickly, and the Director…

“Well then, there’s no need to hesitate further.”

Saying this, he beckoned the Subjugation Festival participants, including my sister, to come before him with a light gesture.

“In the past, just getting to the Dragon Claw Mountain Range was part of the training, but now even that time is considered too precious, so they put you on a train.”

He began with words carrying a peculiar nuance.

“But thinking about it, even the time spent traveling by train, though much reduced from before, now seems too precious to me.”

This… somehow…?

“So, I’ve been working on perfecting a large-scale spatial transfer spell that would allow Subjugation Festival participants to move directly to the assembly point someday, and since the number of participants is small, I’ll send this Subjugation Festival’s participants directly to the assembly point.”

…As I thought.

It was good until now.

[…What a pathetic fellow.]

Fafnir’s mocking voice, once again reading my inner thoughts, resonated like a wedge driven into my deflated heart.

‘Ugh…’

As soon as I heard the Director’s words about sending us to the assembly point via spatial transfer, I could almost feel the exceptionally cold winter wind of the Dragon Claw Mountain Range piercing my lungs.