episode_0157

Hugo’s era.

This is a phrase that everyone, whether an ordained knight or a person holding a sword, has heard without exception.

Its high prestige extended not only to the empire but also to the swordsmanship dojo at the edge of the continent.

But that wasn’t that surprising.

There were many people who witnessed Hugo’s powerlessness over the past 20 years, and there was no one who owed his life to him who was not affected in some small way indirectly.

Of course, this was not an achievement that Hugo Prien accomplished alone.

The administrative power of the empire built up over the past 500 years.

Behind the fact that the empire did not implement a conscription system even though it faced the Makal Mountains, where magical water was constantly descending, as its border, there was an organizational system that could build a miraculous exchange rate by intensively operating carefully selected troops.

however,

The unprepared power vacuum caused by Hugo’s vacation was so influential that it reorganized the system that had been built up over hundreds of years.

“Maybe I heard wrong? A summons?”

Lucia kept asking questions even during lunchtime, which was like a rainy day in a drought. In front of her, a piece of bread that had been bitten off and a layer of soup that had hardened and formed a film on the surface were cooling.

“Has a war broken out somewhere? The emperor who lost his son went crazy and declared war on neighboring countries…”

“This guy! Are you really going to make a big deal out of it?”

“But if that’s not the case, there’s no need to issue a call-up order, right? I think there must be a crisis big enough for kids this young to raise troops…”

Lucia took a close look at the view of the restaurant.

The bottom row, where Lucia belonged, or the top row, where she was always straining her neck… There was a shadow on the top table, so it wasn’t the usual view of the restaurant.

At the Imperial Academy, the upper and lower ranks were distinguished by name tags on their chests, and it was natural that the upper ranks, who had to respond to the summons next year, looked more gloomy.

“Did you not hear anything?”

Gracie sighed at Lucia, who kept looking around.

“Hearing, what?”

“You live with Siriel. And your godfather is Hugo.”

Gracie spoke the last word carefully, whispering it. She began to worry about her fierce friend.

From a malicious perspective, there was a possibility that this summons could be viewed as a disaster caused by the arbitrariness of a family called Prien.

“Hasn’t anything changed in the house? For example… At some point, you started encountering more adults in the house in quiet corners of the house.”

“If there is an adult in the family…”

Lucia rested her chin and thought for a moment. The day after returning from the sweltering desert. What impressed her the most was the sight of her uncle seeing off Siriel and Lucia on their way to the academy.

A relaxed side of Hugo that you would never normally see. Unlike his always solemn expression, brandishing a sword in the training hall or never coming out of his office. Hugo, whom I saw this morning, had the appearance of a handsome, relaxed middle-aged gentleman.

“Now that I think about it. These days, my father smiles brightly more often. Should I say that I feel a sense of leisure that I have never seen before?”

Externally, Lucia is Hugo’s adopted daughter and Ciriel’s sister. Gracie, with whom she had a very close relationship, also knew that, so Lucia spoke while being conscious of that.

“There are definitely things that have changed these days. From the daughter’s perspective, it’s nice to see that there seems to be harmony in the family. Why is that?”

“…So? Well, you seem fine, so I’ll be honest.”

Gracie said calmly.

“The reason why the convocation order was issued is because the existing expeditionary force cannot block the border of the mountain range. So, a situation arose where academy cadets, the human resources of the future, were used.”

I don’t say that it was because of Hugo, who arbitrarily declared sabotage. Gracie euphemized what she had heard from her grandmother, Margaret Versailles, the head of the Versailles family.

“Is the situation that serious?”

Lucia, who understood Gracie’s words, had an expression filled with concern.

If you listen to your friend’s words, you can’t help but understand that this whole situation happened just because of Hugo’s vacation.

“No matter how manpower is lacking, they are still kids. I think it would be too harsh to deal with magical beasts in rough terrain. Wouldn’t it be better to request troops from neighboring countries like Lucerne?”

“Well? I think so too. If you listen to what grandma says, it’s not that easy.”

Gracie shrugged her shoulders and made a puzzled expression. Immediately deploying human resources that have not yet matured into the battlefield is bound to be a wasteful strategy that sells the future and then uses it up. The current emperor, who had achieved peace and prosperity for the longest period in history, could not have been unaware of this, but for some reason, the emperor forced the summons to be called.

“And this is a secret…”

Gracie snuggled up next to Lucia and placed her mouth next to Lucia’s ear.

“There is a rumor that the emperor has a suspicious disease.”

“…”

“They don’t want to let outside forces into their home. So, he tried to do something with the cards he had and ended up in this situation.”

“Isn’t that… serious? Didn’t anyone raise an opposing opinion at all?”

“Even if it’s serious, what can you do? Your Majesty is having a hard time even including your grandmother. Students like me just do what adults tell them.”

Gracie stood up, putting the last piece of bread into her mouth. Lucia glanced at the cooled food and stood up after Gracie, stuffing a piece of bread into her mouth.

*

So a week later.

An unusual tea party was held in the mansion’s dance hall.

The fact that it doesn’t suit them is because the participants who savor the scent of tea and enjoy sweet snacks are not lively girls.

Huge hands. The cute teacup on top of it is lifted.

“These are tea leaves I bought as a souvenir during my last vacation. I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Hugo smiled softly at his nephew, whom he had not seen in a long time.

“Oh, what… is it good? It’s not useless and it’s not boring either…”

Siron had a face-to-face meeting with Hugo, who unexpectedly met him.

“Then I’m glad. Maybe it’s because it’s a hobby I picked up late, but I thought it was too late to say it openly in front of others.”

“…It’s a hobby, right? No matter what the result is, wouldn’t it be okay if your uncle is happy?”

“Okay, well said. Of course, as long as I am satisfied, that’s enough.”

Hugo chuckled and put down his teacup gracefully.

“I’ve been running without any time to enjoy a hobby like this. Thank you for making me see life again.”

“Is there anything you can be thankful for? Hobbies are something that comes naturally when you have some spare time. It has been decided that the operation of the Knights Templar will be suspended for the time being. No one would say anything about having one or two hobbies.”

Siron looked at Hugo with a shocked expression. In front of him was not a warrior wearing bloody armor, but a middle-aged man with a warm look who had found some leisure time after retirement.

It’s warm.

Siron had that impression when he saw the man in front of him.

“But maybe. Are you not doing any training?”

“Hmm? Training. Why is that suddenly?”

“That’s because… you seem to have gained a bit of weight.”

“Ah! I’m definitely starting to gain a lot of flab here and there these days, and Yongkae has noticed it too.”

“…”

‘It’s not at the level of flab.’

Siron quenched his sour taste and looked at Hugo.

The Hugo of just a week ago and the Hugo of today are very different.

Where had the steel-combed warrior who had no flab gone and the plump, plump guy next door was there. Of course, unlike any other man, he was taller than Siron by a head, but he also seemed heavier than the Orc warchief… if you look at his appearance alone, he was like that.

“This is really delicious!”

Latera, who had finished eating all the snacks on her plate, smiled brightly. Hugo smiled happily and stroked Latera’s head. As a week passed, the charming angel blended into the enclosure called Prien without any problems.

“I’m glad it fits your taste.”

“It’s simply not at a level that suits your taste. It’s my first time eating such delicious snacks. The honey-pickled pancakes and jelly I ate at Braham were delicious, but it felt like I was traveling to a new country.”

“Haha. The little lady speaks so beautifully. Would you like to try this too?”

Hugo placed a new plate in front of Latera that he didn’t know where he got it from.

A cake coated with chocolate and a tart topped with various fruits. Latera’s eyes lit up and she licked her lips.

“How does it taste? This is a new work I made this time.”

“Really, um, delicious!”

Latera, whose mouth was covered in chocolate and cream, gave a brief but unaffected comment, and Hugo was embarrassed, flexing his body in an uncharacteristic way, perhaps because his work was being praised.

Shiron saw that and opened his eyes wide.

“Are you also into confectionery?”

“I learned it from the chef once. I guess it was because I had so much time left that I wanted to take on a new challenge. Did it look strange or something?”

“…Not at all. Well, I think it’s okay to have one or two of these domestic hobbies.”

Siron smiled awkwardly and looked at Hugo. He finally seemed to understand the reason why Hugo had grown so much in size.

‘Isn’t it too relaxed?’

Siron wanted Hugo to rest, but did not want him to become irreversibly lazy. So he decided to bring up something he didn’t really want to talk about.

“Well… I’m sorry.”

“Hmm? Why are you doing that?”

“Is there any story about the next expedition? Either in the imperial castle or within the knights.”

“Oh, you mean that? Still, people came to visit a few times. Could you please participate in the next expedition?”

Hugo joked with Siron, who asked him carefully.

“But I defeated them all. I get really annoyed at people telling me to do this or that when they are resting well.”

“Geo. Didn’t you just decide to take a break from this expedition?”

“Of course I did. There is so much to do. I have to have a retirement ceremony for Yohan, and I also promised to go on another trip with An Saram.”

“You can go on a trip after going on the next expedition…”

“I’ve thought about that too. Are there any differences between summer travel and winter travel? If I postpone the next expedition, I will see similar scenery again, but I don’t feel like doing that.”

“…I see.”

“Of course, I plan to participate properly in the next expedition, so don’t worry. I need to manage my weight and reorganize the knights.”

Hugo told Siron to be at ease, but Siron had a feeling that his delay would not end.

‘I think this is messed up somehow.’

Siron let out a groan at the unexpected situation.