episode_0332

* * *

“… … Phew.”

After finishing my meditation, I lightly touched my rapier.

Okay. I can feel the mana being charged into the rapier.

Since you never know when or where you might have the opportunity to use Reika-san’s magic, it was necessary to steadily train the rapier in this way.

It was very annoying that this rapier would gradually drain mana if I didn’t use it while charging it. It was impossible to see with my eyes, but as Reika said, I could feel it instinctively.

I chuckled as if my battery was dying, but I also remembered that it had been quite some time since I had come to this world.

Let’s see.

I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.

The time is… 11:30 PM. If it were the original world, then I don’t know, but it was a time when all the people in this world would be fast asleep, waiting for tomorrow.

Should I take a break now?

I lay in bed without thinking about anything and looked out the window at the stars pouring down.

For some reason, I thought of Airen and Reika.

When we were at Eingart Castle, the three of us stayed in the same place. We took it for granted that we ate together every day and shared our day-to-day news…

‘It’s a bit lonely being alone.’

Although he had met Irene and Reika recently and had a good time, there was bound to be a huge difference between seeing each other once in a while and spending time with each other every day.

I want to return to Eingart Castle quickly, but if I don’t calm the Central Continent now, there’s a high chance that this region will fall into chaos again.

It had to be a bigger problem than it meant to me, at least. This area, the central and eastern region around the castle of Valharat, had a very high probability of—it was a place where Luna’s country would border her.

A while ago, Hesna came to visit and offered to become a vassal state.

The decision made by my intelligence of 100 was to accept it, but I unilaterally declined the offer for Serpina, not the country.

After that, as I expected, Hesna’s forces made contact with Bran’s forces. And soon after, news came that the two countries had formed an alliance.

Although what was publicly declared was a simple alliance, it was not difficult to infer that they had made a similar offer to our military.

‘So does that mean that the alliance between the two is a negative for our army, but helpful to Lady Serpina?’

The armistice agreement between our military and the Bruns Army still has some time left.

Now that we’ve formed an alliance with the Bran’s Army, there’s no reason for the Hesna Army to bother with our army.

That meant that for the time being, fighting would only take place within the southern continent, unless they broke the agreement first.

During that process, I was wondering what on earth was happening to our military that led to such a prediction.

Knock knock!

Someone was knocking loudly on the door, startling me and making me jump up from my seat.

“Bookstore owner, are you there?!”

“Who are you?”

“I came here to tell you something!”

When I opened the door, a soldier with an anxious expression was looking at me as if he didn’t know what to do.

“Calm down. What’s going on?”

“The lord is urgently looking for the bookkeeper.”

‘Serpina?’

I asked back, wondering what was going on so late at night.

“A rebellion broke out in Eingart Castle.”

“… … !!”

My mind, which was slightly hazy from fatigue, became clearer as if struck by lightning upon hearing those words.

A rebellion? And that too in the capital city of Eingart Castle?

So then… … does that mean that Lord Jenna rebelled?

Not someone else but Jenna herself??

No matter how much I think about it, if that woman had that much ambition, she wouldn’t have just given me the position of a bookseller.

It sounds ridiculous, but if you look at what she’s been through so far, it hasn’t been all that makes sense.

The soldier read my expression, lowered his head, and shouted urgently.

“Your Majesty will tell you the details. Please hurry! ”

“Okay.”

I got dressed right away and went out to visit.

Putting everything aside, it was time to face Serpina, who was probably in a state of confusion.

* * *

After arriving in front of a small mansion connected to the royal palace.

“This is the place. I will go and tell others about it.”

“I understand. And, please order General Airen and General Irian to assess the situation. If necessary, please tell them that all decisions that require the monarch’s approval, including preparations for battle, will be left to their own judgment. ”

Instead of Serpina, who was probably confused, there had to be someone to take control of the situation.

I can trust two people. Even if Irian had other thoughts, I could trust Irene unconditionally.

Originally, such an order should have been given by the monarch, but I guess it’s okay since they’ll grant this much convenience.

“Yes, sir!”

After sending away the soldier who had guided me, I quietly knocked on the door where Serpina was.

“My lord. This is Swen.”

After knocking on the door a few more times, a pitifully thin voice was heard from the other side.

“… … Come in.”

“Then excuse me.”

As I quietly opened the door and went in-

‘… … !!’

I couldn’t help but make a dumbfounded face, momentarily unaware of what had happened.

――Soft.

Foolishly, the first sensation I felt was ‘softness’. It was the inevitable squishyness that comes from another’s body touching my own.

When I looked down, I could see that there was a young, blonde-haired woman in my arms.

“My lord… … ??”

“… … Swen.”

First of all, I didn’t refuse what she expected.

He gently ran his hand down her back. The clothes she was wearing were not her usual uniform. A negligee.

I’ve seen those clothes before. They’re the clothes I saw when I woke up. The clothes that were see-through and made it hard to look at.

It’s really stupid, even though my brain knows that this is a very serious situation –

The fact was that my head was going crazy because of the faint scent of yuzu tickling my nose and the feel of a woman’s body that was noticeably different from a man’s.

First, I somehow managed to get into the room and quickly locked the door.

If someone else sees this… …it’s bound to be a big problem.

“My lord. The current situation is… … .”

“… … .”

“I heard there was a rebellion at Eingart Castle… … .”

Serpina didn’t answer for a while, then slowly nodded.

“… … Yeah.”

“Who is the leader of the rebellion? Is it perhaps… … Lady Jenna?”

Instead of answering, she slowly shook her head.

“Then… … ?”

And only then did she provide evidence to explain why she, who had already experienced several rebellions, had fallen so far.

“Dead.”

“… … Yes?”

“Jenna… … is dead.”

‘… … !!’

He’s dead?

You killed the lord, Jenna, and started a rebellion?

Are you saying that there was someone inside Eingart Castle who could do something like that?

… … No, it’s just that I didn’t have any contact with them to begin with, but since the country is so large, the number of armed forces is incomparable to that of the countries I briefly helped out in the past.

There were countless warriors who, despite being scholars, lived far away from each other and had never even seen each other’s faces.

“Jenna’s neck… …was beheaded at the gate.”

You really have to go that far?

It’s such a cruel thing to do, even though it wasn’t necessary. It’s almost like they’re declaring war on us.

“What is the reason for the rebellion?”

“Opportunity… … .”

As Serpina spoke up to that point, her voice began to tremble.

She was crying. Serpina was barely able to squeeze out her voice.

“I won’t miss this opportunity. The chance to drive out the witch and restore things to normal… … .”

“You don’t miss opportunities?”

It was a bit vague, but given her condition, I couldn’t possibly ask her any further.

Let me do what I can do now.

“First, calm down. They say they rebelled, but they only occupied Eingart Castle. All the elite soldiers and magicians are here. It may be a bit chaotic, but you should be able to subdue them without much difficulty.”

“… … .”

“And wouldn’t it be me, not someone else, by your side? So you can get it back. Considering the agreements between the two countries bordering us and the Bran’s Army, there won’t be any unrest for the time being, and in the meantime, if we focus on recapturing Eingart Castle, we can suppress the rebellion quickly and without difficulty.”

“So calm down. We’re just going to fix what’s happened so far, like we’ve been doing so well so far.”

All I wanted was for her to stop shaking and regain her composure. That was all.

That’s why he blurts out words that are not comforting at all with a shameless expression. It’ll be okay. It’s just repeating what we’ve done so far… … He blurts out words that, depending on how you hear them, can even make you feel miserable.

That’s okay though. What I meant was, ‘It’ll be okay if this happens again.’

at that time.

“Jena too… … eventually died.”

“Yes… … ?”

“The people who gave for me, during the rebellion… …died one by one. Every time a rebellion broke out, the people who lost their lives to the rebels… …were all people who supported me.”

“Just because they took my side… …Just because they said they would follow me, they all died. There was nothing I could do. All I could do was belatedly suppress the rebellion and cut off the heads of those who called me a monarch. That’s all I could do. ”

“But now… …even I am dead.”

Serpina says so, and only then does she lift her face from where it was buried in my chest and look into my eyes.

“Swen… … I… … It’s too, too hard. It’s too much now. I don’t think I can hold out any longer. So――”

――Please, help me.

In her golden eyes as she spoke, there was no ambition or ambition whatsoever—only me.