Chapter 125
Name
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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