Chapter 125
Name
Translator : PolterGlast
After sending Miku back to the Royal Castle, I
headed straight for the Imperial Castle. Unlike earlier, I didn't enter
through the main gate this time, but instead fully utilized Jaunt, Shadow
Dive, and Dark of the Moon to head directly to Her Majesty Emilia's
private chambers. At first, I had to go through the procedures at the Imperial
Castle every single time we met, but since doing that for every little
meeting was too much of a hassle, I was given special permission to skip the
formalities and enter directly. By the way, there's a restriction that I have
to be alone—it's a no-go if Miku is with me—but the reason for that is a
mystery. Since I had been taught the detailed specifications of the magic
tools, I could use Jaunt to arrive without triggering them. After
teleporting to the door of her room, I gave it a light knock. There was no
response, so I just walked in, and there...
「Zzz, mumble...」
...was the figure of Her Majesty Emilia, fast asleep
and slumped over her desk. She was wearing a negligee, and a massive pile of
documents was stacked beside her. To think she's working even in her private
chambers... Having a Majesty this incredibly busy go out of her way to make
time for me kind of makes me feel guilty.
「Oh, Masaru-sama, thank you
for your hard work.」
As I sat on the sofa near the entrance, wondering what to
do, the butler, Torakura-san, arrived carrying a blanket. He gently
draped it over Her Majesty's shoulders and silently left the room. I decided to
follow him out. Once outside the room, Torakura-san immediately bowed
sharply at a crisp ninety-degree angle.
「My deepest apologies, Her Majesty
seems to be exhausted. She was highly enthusiastic until just
a moment ago because Masaru-sama was coming, but...」
「Enthusiastic... in that negligee...?
No, it's perfectly fine, I'll come back when she's feeling better.」
「Masaru-sama, there is just one thing I would like to convey to
you...」
I heard Torakura-san is already over sixty, but he's
still full of vitality, his eyes sparkling brightly. He turned those eyes toward
me and smiled gently.
「Even after seeing Her Majesty in
such a state, please do not consider reducing the frequency of your visits. Her
Majesty genuinely looks forward to Masaru-sama's visits.」
「Ah, is that so...」
I don't know why, but ever since I defeated that demon, Her
Majesty Emilia has taken a strange liking to me. In the first place,
being allowed to come see the emperor of a major power without going through
formal procedures is the ultimate VIP treatment; it's normally unheard of. I
don't recall doing anything to deserve all that, though... Perhaps the doubts
in my mind showed on my face, because Torakura-san deepened the wrinkles
on his face and said,
「That is because you are the Hero, Masaru-sama.
Her Majesty Emilia has almost no one she can speak with on equal terms.
However, if it is Masaru-sama, who possesses a powerful Gift, an
equal relationship might be possible... That is most likely what Her Majesty is
thinking.」
「...That's, that's definitely
overestimating me.」
Me and Her Majesty Emilia, equals? I highly doubt a
shut-in who just happened to get strong and a ruling Empress could ever be
equals. Regardless, if the request is just for us to get along, I have no
reason to refuse. I don't dislike Her Majesty Emilia, so I'll just keep
coming to see her regularly like this. With this, the transfer of my classmates
to the Empire is complete, so next I need to check on the remaining
classmates in the Kingdom before the Demon Conference. I still
have so much left to do. But well, it's far better than having nothing to do.
Since I had nothing else to do in particular, I spent some
time having him guide me around the Imperial Castle Novark, taking a
tour of the artworks. Following the guidance of Torakura-san, who came
to inform me that Her Majesty was ready, I was led to a garden within Novark.
It was already dark outside, but the magic tool lamps cast their light,
maintaining plenty of brightness.
「I-I showed you something rather
embarrassing earlier...」
「Not at all, I'm well aware of how
incredibly busy Your Majesty is.」
Saying so, Her Majesty Emilia gave a small bow of her
head. Perhaps embarrassed that I had seen her sleeping face, a quick blush
spread across her smooth, porcelain-white skin. In stark contrast to the
negligee I saw earlier, she was currently in the sharp, dignified Empress style
from when we first met. However, perhaps because I had seen her in such an
unguarded state earlier, I didn't feel the same level of intimidation as
before. ...Is this gap moe? (Probably not.)
「I'm the one adding to your workload,
so I really don't mind. If you're tired, should I cast some Recovery Magic
on you?」
「Mhm, then I suppose I shall take you
up on your offer.」
I activated my Recovery Magic. I felt it was a bit
late for this since I had already shown Her Majesty my power, but figuring it
might be too much if I used a spell that was too strong, I opted for High
Heal for now.
「Ngh... This is...」
Her Majesty's entire body was enveloped in light, before
returning to normal.
「I-Incredible... My body feels as
light as a feather.」
Having received the magic, Her Majesty Emilia's face
looked noticeably brighter compared to earlier. Recovery Magic can't
remove mental fatigue, but it can heal the damage accumulated in the physical
body. She had been subjected to the kind of grueling schedule that made her
collapse asleep on her desk, so her body must have been screaming.
「Thank you, Masaru-dono.」
「Not at all. If this much is fine
with you, I can do it as many times as you like.」
「I-In that case, may I ask you to do
so regularly? Truth be told this is
completely incomparable to what our court mages can do.」
Perhaps her embarrassment had faded as we talked, as Her
Majesty had returned to her usual tone. When she clapped her hands together
with a pam, the servers began laying out sweets and light snacks on the
table. Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I decided I'd let
them feed me a hearty amount. Alongside Her Majesty, who was enjoying black tea
instead of alcohol today, I filled my stomach by eating sandwiches made of
white bread stuffed with various ingredients. The other-world-branded sweets I
ate after satisfying my slight hunger were as delicious as always. Ever since I
started having regular tea parties with Her Majesty Emilia, I've come to
know the greatness of whipped cream.
「However, with the quality already
being this high, starting up a sweets shop might be a bit tough.」
「What, is Masaru-dono going to
open a shop?」
「Ah, no, I was just wondering how it
would be if my classmates opened a shop.」
「Mhm, I see. Sweets from another
world... That certainly piques my interest.」
I already have more than enough money, so honestly, me
providing the capital to run a shop is a viable option. It can show that
otherworldly transmigrators are useful outside of combat, and we can earn money
too—it's truly killing two birds with one stone.
「What kind of sweets are there in the
other world?」
「For example, even if we just look at
a cake like this one, there are countless varieties. You can scatter
strawberries... or other fruits on top. There's also something called mousse,
which is like a slightly firmer cream, and tarts too. Then there are some that
use cacao for a bit of bitterness and depth.」
「Oho... That sounds fascinating.」
「Ah, there are also Japanese sweets.
I think something like manju might actually be relatively easy to make
in this world, too.」
Feeling like a brainstorming session where I just let out
the ideas in my head, I explained the sweets situation of my world to Her
Majesty Emilia. Thinking about it like this, if we turn a blind eye to
the high cost of sugar, it seems there are many things that could be replicated
on this side. I might have just found something that the girls who say they
hate fighting can do. I should probably pass this idea along right away, maybe
even tomorrow.
「...dono, Masaru-dono, are you
alright?」
「Eh!? ...Ah, yes, I'm fine. I was
just lost in thought for a moment.」
「I see. I tend to do the exact same
thing, so I understand the feeling well.」
It seems I had completely immersed myself in my own thoughts.
After giving a light apology to Her Majesty Emilia, who was smiling
faintly, I decided to enjoy the tea party once more. I talked about Earth,
while Her Majesty Emilia talked about the Empire and this world, Aristella.
I don't know how many times we've done this now, but we never run out of topics
to discuss. I was nervous and terrified at first, but now I feel like I've
managed to grasp Her Majesty's character to some extent.
「Once again, thank you very much for
this time. It truly helped me that Your Majesty took action.」
Right as the conversation wrapped up and we had just
finished eating the tea snacks, I bowed my head once more. I almost forgot, but
the reason I came here today was to convey these feelings of gratitude.
「No, it is fine. Thinking about the Empire...
and by extension, the Anti-Demon Lord Alliance, selling a favor to Masaru-dono
here holds a value equal to a thousand pieces of gold. If anything happens... I
will be counting on you.」
「Haha, please go easy on me...」
I was starting to get sleepy, and overstaying my welcome
when Her Majesty Emilia is exhausted wouldn't be good. Starting today, I
plan to live in an inn until my classmates get settled down, too. I need to
head back before everyone is fast asleep, so I should probably take my leave
soon.
「W-Wait just a moment!」
As I was about to leave the spot, Her Majesty Emilia
called out to me. Wondering what it was, I raised my head to see her clench and
unclench her fists before turning her gaze toward me with a look of firm
resolve on her face.
「If it is alright, could I ask you
for one favor?」
「Umm... Yes, if it's something I can
do.」
「If you don't mind, could you call me
Emilia in private settings?」
「...」
I had braced myself for a much heavier request, so those
unexpected words made me freeze for a second. But after calming down and
thinking about it a bit, this feels like quite a heavy request in its own
right. However... Torakura-san's words from earlier surfaced in the back
of my mind. Perhaps she is just lonely. If I could be of help in easing the
loneliness of her reign as the Empress
of the Empire... Besides, she's the one asking for it, so there shouldn't be a problem... right?
「I understand, Emilia... Is
this good?」
「U-Umu! Well done!」
When I spoke to her casually, for some reason, she was the one who got formal. It was somehow so funny that I burst out laughing. Drawn in by that, she laughed too, and we parted ways while laughing together. I don't know why, but before I knew it, I ended up speaking casually with Her Majesty Emilia in private settings. I feel a bit a bit presumptuous... but at the same time, I feel like the emotional distance between us has shrunk, so I guess it isn't so bad after all...
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