Here’s the chapter. Enjoy~
ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 76 – A Momentary Break
A relaxing time before dinner. At this time of the day, two people were discussing the day’s events.
——It was an arduous day. But when Ain was asked if he regretted it, he didn’t feel that way at all.
The situation was just annoying, and “I want to fix it” was a thought he had often since returning from Euro.
Speaking of healing, Krone then congratulated him on his chief position. After the celebration, he told Krone what had happened during the day.
“…I’m just starting to think it’s kind of disgusting…”
“It’s just like having a stalker now.”
To his aide, Krone, Ain was basically free to pa.s.s on any information he got his hands on. So he decided to tell Krone about the matter about Heim this time as well, although it was hard to bring it up.
Krone did not usually speak ill of others. However, she too, was approaching her limit to the point where she found it simply unpleasant.
“I wonder if he’s just being incredibly positive? Or is he just deliberately ignoring the bad stuff?”
“Maybe it’s both.”
“I see… Sigh. I can see how hard my mother has been working.”
Krone’s mother’s job was inside the castle. Therefore, she had a lot to do with the royal family. Therefore, Krone was able to understand her mother’s hardships right away.
…In Ain’s room, Krone looked dismayed. The atmosphere in the castle had been bad since the morning, but she never dreamed it would be like this.
“Better yet, why don’t we call Krone’s parents to Ishtalika?”
This had been discussed for some time. Krone and Graff went to Ishtalika first, and since their lives have been stable since then, it was discussed several times whether it would be okay to invite the whole family.
But under the current circ.u.mstances, that would be difficult.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easy for them to somehow disappear and… So if we really want to do it, we might as well take them away by force during the meeting.”
“Hmm… that’s the last resort.”
It’s no longer just a means to pick a fight. However, it was Heim who picked the fight in the first place, so when he thought about it, he even felt that it’s okay.
“But I wonder if he was that pushy. I thought he was a little more intelligent than that.”
“Hmm? Are you talking about Prince Tigre or something?”
“That’s right. I didn’t think he’d be this reckless, even with his bright red face.”
The story went back to when Ain was in Heim; he never had anything to do with the royal family of Heim. It was only after he came to Ishtalika that he finally met Prince Tigre.
Therefore, he had no choice but to believe Krone’s words, but according to her, there seemed to be some uneasiness.
“I hate to put it this way. The Heim royal family must have been content to pretend to be the dominant power on that continent.”
“It is true that they seem to do as they please over there.”
The same thing happened when he remembered Tigre’s case in Euro. He was so free that he even interrupted other people’s meetings without making any appointments.
“And yet there was never a good time to back down. Why go all the way to a distant place like Ishtalika and get involved?”
“Hmm… I thought so when I met Prince Tigre, but he seems to be quite fond of Krone.”
The prince himself flew all the way to Euro just for Krone. He even spent a lot of money and the reason he did it was for Krone. Considering this, Ain could understand his obsession for Krone.
“Even though we haven’t seen each other’s faces for years… I think he’s embellishing his memories too much.”
Krone sighed and twirled the ends of her hair. It was an unusual gesture, but it strongly expresses her troubled feelings.
However, she had become more beautiful than Tigre could ever imagine.
“When I say that, there were always people like that at the party.”
“That’s right. I didn’t get the chance to see many of them, and when I hear that, I’m glad I didn’t.”
“That’s true. I guess I should be grateful that I was able to meet Ain at Augusto’s mansion because of the way they treated you.”
Krone’s expression was hard to read. With her sense of value, it was quite difficult. It was true that it was a fateful encounter for her. But it was hard to forgive what they did to Ain.
This made it a bit of a problem for Krone.
“I guess it’s all a matter of consequence, but, well, I guess it was for the best. I’m happy in Ishtalika, and if Krone has a good time here, that’s fine with me.”
“Yes. Then that’s fine.”
A quiet conversation. Ain sipped the tea Krone had prepared for him and relaxed.
“I’ll keep an eye on what they were thinking.”
“Right… But you must have some idea what ‘reckless’ means, don’t you, Ain?”
“Reckless?”
“Yes, that’s right. Reckless.”
Krone was describing Heim’s behavior as reckless. The word was closely related to what Ain was investigating.
“The most recent things I’ve been involved in include the Demon King and the Red Fox.”
“You’re right. Good boy, Ain.”
“Fufu… what kind of thing is that?”
It’s not a big deal, but somehow, he’s trying to look accomplished. Seeing Ain looking so happy, Krone giggled.
“Well, don’t worry too much about it. It’s only a theory.”
“Even if it’s just a theory, it still gives me a sense of urgency as someone who investigates.”
“Really? Then you should be careful. It’s only a theory now, but in terms of possibility, it’s not zero.”
“…I’ll do that. Thanks, Krone.”
The Red Fox was such a troublesome final boss that it made Ain and the others feel like they were in a lot of trouble. Never knowing when things might go wrong, they could not let their guard down mentally.
“But when we compare them to the people they’re going to carry… It’s not good enough. I wonder if the Red Fox would bother to choose the royal family of Heim…”
“The Demon King and the royal family of Heim, huh? Yes, that’s the wrong choice as a target. The difference between them is too great.”
Even though they were the same “king,” the difference between them was too great. It was hard to believe that the Red Fox would make such a mistake, but now the joke was a source of laughter for both of them.
＊＊＊
“I-it’s just so disgusting…”
Olivia uttered a line that could be described as déjà vu.
After Ain finished dinner and took a bath. He went straight to Olivia’s room and enjoyed the evening with her.
Olivia, like Ain, was relaxing after her bath. Her beautiful body was floating in the lace negligee.
The memory was already fading. But Ain still had his former life. He could not recognize her as “just a mother,” so he did not know what to do with his eyes.
“Y-yes, that’s right…”
——He thought about it for a long time; perhaps it was the effect of his reincarnation. He had a new personality called Ain, and he was living a new life. Maybe that’s why he was mentally immature and restless at times.
Still, it did not allow him to recognize Olivia as just a maternal figure. This made him want to deliver a bitter complaint to the loli G.o.ddess.
But the truth was, the manner in which Ain was born… The birth was a kind of self division, and that had an effect, but there was no way to know.
“Krone also said a similar line.”
“A-ara… we’ve been together so long that our personalities have become similar.”
Was Olivia like Krone, or was it the other way around? Ain believed that Krone was influenced by Olivia. Nothing strange about that since Krone had been a big Olivia fan since she was in Heim.
“As for you, Mother, I really… don’t know what to say anymore.”
“Ain? You don’t have to worry about that. …What I think of Heim. That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it?”
Ain nodded honestly. He wanted to hear what Olivia really thought about Heim.
“That’s right. I think about the Augusto family sometimes.”
“It’s the same for me. If possible, I would like to live with Krone.”
“Yes, I think so too. As for the rest, well… in a word, I’m not really interested. I think that’s the honest truth.”
Olivia said with a tilt of her head. Ain asked her what she really meant by not interested.
“Uh, what exactly do you mean by not interested…?”
“For example, in Heim. Even if there’s a big epidemic or a big catastrophe… I’m not interested anymore, that’s what I mean.”
Would some people find these words of Olivia cold? She was a beautiful woman filled with compa.s.sion, so much so that she has been called a saint in various places.
Still, what she should love now was the people of Ishtalika. It was never the people of Heim.
“Let’s say, for example. Even if I… um, got into big trouble with Roundhart…”
“That’s okay, I don’t mind. But don’t do it half-heartedly.”
“I-I see…”
Final confirmation part 2: She didn’t seem to have a problem with the Roundharts, either.
After all, she was worried about all the Augusto family living in Heim. If possible, she would like to bring them to Ishtalika as soon as possible…
“But bringing Krone’s parents would be difficult, even from a psychological point of view.”
“I agree. I wonder how much Krone’s parents have left in their hearts for Heim. It is hard to know. So, like Graff-san, it may be difficult to make a decision right away.”
Graff was never without loyalty to Heim. But the weight in his mind was that his family… and Krone came first. This may have influenced his decision to go to Ishtalika.
These days, Graff traveled the continent on business for his trading company. From what Krone had told Ain, he was enjoying his life in Ishtalika immensely.
“There are times when a third party’s best intentions can become a nuisance. So we have to think about that very carefully.”
“So you’re saying that forceful means are the very last resort.”
Olivia nodded with a smile. She spoke softly, bringing the teacup to her lips in a graceful motion. After all, Olivia’s gestures were more refined than anyone else’s. Ain noticed this when he saw Olivia.
“By the way, Mother is… no, Mother too, isn’t she? Does Mother also find it irritating?”
“Uh, irritating…?”
“Let’s put it this way: it’s the att.i.tude I’ve been getting from Heim. It’s not wrong to feel like I’m being treated badly.”
It happened with Olivia, it happened when Ain went to Euro. And then today’s issue.
——Olivia listened to this and looked as if she was thinking a bit. She took another sip of tea, then took a breath and began to speak.
“But you know what? I think we all deserve it. It was Ishtalika who started the whole thing.”
“…Huh?”
Seeing Ain’s confusion, Olivia continued.
“Isn’t that right? In terms of military power, wealth, and culture. There is nothing inferior about Ishtalika, but Heim treats us so poorly. But that’s the seed we planted ourselves.”
Olivia’s opinion, new to Ain, was very interesting to him.
“The origin can be traced back to the first king. But in the end, I think it’s necessary to think about it anew with the people who are alive today… the royal family and the people.”
“I-it’s hard to say. Especially this matter…”
“Yes… it is really difficult. But, you know, we have sown the seeds ourselves. If we forget that and just complain about the other party, we might lose our footing. So I think we should all think about it a little more.”
“Yes… I hope that this time a little bit will be one of the things that will help us…”
Ain’s comment at lunch about wanting to settle the matter. If that was one of the triggers, it had to be seen as such.
Olivia was not a radical, but she was for reform. If you think about the future of the country, the system should be changed at least a little bit. That’s what she thought.
“But I don’t know what to think until I see the results. Will it be a huge failure and a foolish plan, or will it be a foolish plan with no action? Even if you think about it, I have another, more important thing to do.”
“Another?”
Looking at Ain, Olivia stood up and walked to his side of the room. Then she hugged Ain from behind the sofa and whispered in a soft voice.
“More than anything and more than anyone… I respect Ain’s thoughts. So don’t worry about anything; do what you want.”
This action from Olivia was not some simple amus.e.m.e.nt but rather a purely rea.s.suring word and gesture.
Olivia’s ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed against Ain’s back. From there, her soft heartbeat reached Ain’s body. It did not cause any submissive desires but simply and genuinely calmed Ain’s mind bit by bit.
“Oh, but you know what? What I said earlier about us being responsible for that… was a secret, you know? Because my father would be furious with me.”
——The charming thing about her was that she didn’t forget her mischief.
“That person did something really wasteful.” Ain often thought of this when he was with Olivia.
＊＊＊
Since the morning, the castle had been filled with a disturbing atmosphere. However, there was one woman who was completely unaware of such a situation.
Yes, it was Katima, the first princess of Ishtalika. She was completely unaware that her father, Sylvird, was angry.
Today was the third day that she was locked up in the laboratory. The many walls that had been built, had blocked Sylvird’s aura.
The reason why it was the third day was because her research has started to go well. Because of this, Katima had lost the opportunity to go outside. Therefore, meals were sometimes brought in by Chris.
——While Ain was relaxing in Olivia’s room, she was happy about the success of the experiment.
“The experiment is over-nya!”
With a thud, her own custom-made chair falls back. The several days of experimentation had finally paid off.
It did not seem difficult to say that the results of the research took only a few days. However, it was not an easy task, considering the number of tests that had to be done.
“For now. Now I know the conditions for monsterization.”
Katima nodded in agreement. She had experimented with several hypotheses over the past few days. It was an experiment to gather several weak monsters and explore the conditions for their development.
Similar demonstrations had been done several times in the past. This time, however, Katima delved deeper into the verification process.
“Memo memo… That’s it-nya. Even if you absorb a low-ranked magic stone, it will only affect your status-nya! Therefore, it won’t turn you into a monster-nya!”
Her experiment went like this.
She artificially evolved a Big Bee. Then, it evolved into a Giant Bee, which was an even bigger bee.
The magic stones given to the bee were cheap, trashy magic stones like the ripple modoki. After the bee became a Giant Bee, she continued to feed it with cheap magic stones equivalent to ripple modoki.
At first, you could see an increase in its status as it became more physically aggressive in the cage. However, it did not fluctuate at all from the middle of the process, and as a result, the thousands of magic stones given to it had no effect at all.
The Giant Bee would then evolve into an even larger bee, the King Bee. But for a moment, there was no sign of evolution.
“Nya. Am I still capable-nya? Am I smart-nya? I am afraid of my own intelligence-nya…”
Katima looked into the mirror and praised herself. If Ain had been there, an iron fist would have silently descended.
“Magic stone-eater mother-con. Hmm… Ain is a really good character-nya. Well, I have the best fur and a brain. I can’t let him beat me like that-nya.”
Katima was distracted now that the experiment was over. She took care of Giant Bee with the magic tool provided and made her way to the sofa.
She had not slept for a while, and her body was at its limit.
“Well, it’s okay-nya. I’ll tell Ain later-nya… Fuwahh…”
Katima reached the top of the sofa. She twirled around a bit to find the perfect position. Then she curled up and left for the dream world.