Chapter 94
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 94 – First Report and Souvenirs
“D-did you even investigate such a place?”
“The amount of effort I put into it is different from before. It’s only natural.”
Ain’s room at the inn. Ain, Krone, and Lloyd were gathered there, looking over the report of the investigation in the former Demon King’s territory.
It had been a week since their encounter with the blacksmith Mouton. Ain and his group continued their investigation in the city of Baltic.
“The fact that humans and elves coexist is another new discovery, isn’t it?”
“Of course. I had never heard about it either.”
“Hmm… I wonder how you could have made such a discovery again, especially this time.”
It was only a three-day, two-night investigation.
What’s more, they did almost nothing on the first day, and only the second day should have given them enough time to investigate.
On the third day, they left at noon, so they had less than half a day to investigate.
“However, we are still in the realm of estimation.”
“I see.”
Looking at the report again, this was what was written.
There were several graveyards in the territory of the former demon king.
As expected, he was reluctant to dig them up, so he studied their construction and culture.
In front of some of the tombstones, he found traces of offerings similar to those found in elven cemeteries.
In addition, he found the remains of what appeared to be purely human beings in the gaps between tombstones that had cracked due to age.
“It is possible that they were not taken there by force.”
“Certainly. If they were taken by force and treated like slaves, they wouldn’t build a grave, would they?”
They agreed with Krone’s opinion.
If they were slaves, they would not have bothered to make a grave. It may sound naive, but it seemed like the natural thing to do.
“I agree with you. Humans, elves, and monsters. There may have been many more races than in the present Ishtalika.”
“I guess it’s because it was the Demon King that made it possible.”
“…Monsters are basically disobedient to those who are weak.”
Nurturing them from an early age could make them obey by making them think they were their parents.
However, this was limited to lower-level monsters. The fact that sea dragons followed Ain was not very helpful.
“The Great War against the Demon King. Do you have any idea where the humans or elves… who were there after that went?”
“…Unfortunately, that depends on further investigation.”
“That’s true. It’s hard to say… but yes, elves.”
The elves was said to have lived in the Demon King’s territory. For some reason, Ain felt a sense of déjà vu…
“Hmm.”
“What is it, Ain? Is there something on your mind?”
“Just a little. When you say “Elves of the former Demon King’s territory,” I can’t help but… get caught up in something I seem to remember.”
“Remember? When did you make such an acquaintance?”
“No, I don’t know her. However, I have the feeling that I’ve seen ‘something’ of such a person…”
It’s a story that’s very hard to get to the point, but even for Ain, it’s hard to explain. He groaned and groaned.
“Ah, maybe it’s that thing.”
He clapped his hands as if in agreement.
Then Lloyd asked curiously.
“Ain-sama! Where in the world did you meet such a person?”
“Calm down, Lloyd-san! I just remembered that I have never met such a person before!”
Ain held back the approaching giant body.
It makes him realize that he, too, has gained a lot of strength.
“O-oh… sorry Ain-sama. I’m just too excited.”
In this investigation of Baltic, Ain couldn’t help but feel that he was seeing many different sides of Lloyd.
In a way, it would be easier for him to be as easy going as Ain.
“You see. There was one, wasn’t there? The elf who knows so much about the demon king.”
“Even if you say so. Mmm…”
Lloyd, while making a deep furrow between his eyebrows, had no idea what Ain was talking about.
On the other hand, Krone, sitting next to him, understood what it was all about.
“So that’s what this is about… I didn’t expect to be connected with the author of that thing here.”
“I know, right? But I was wondering, how did he study it in such detail? It doesn’t sound right unless we’re told that he lived in the territory of the former Demon King.”
“A-Ain-sama! I was wondering if you could enlighten me as well!”
Looking at Lloyd, who seemed to be vigorously stuffing himself again, Ain smiled bitterly and spoke to Lloyd.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Let’s see, Katima-san bought a book earlier. That ridiculously expensive book that Chris-san translated for her… I was just thinking about the author of that book.”
“…O-oh! I see; now that you mention it, it certainly is…”
“If the author was the same as the elves in the former Demon King’s territory, for example, it would fit. The author may have faked it in the way he wrote it, but even so, that much information is beyond the limits of what can be researched from the outside.”
“You are right, Ain-sama. I thought this would bring us closer to proving that humans and elves really did coexist in the territory of the former Demon King.”
“Yes, yes. Maybe the territory of the Demon King Arche was on a higher level than we think!”
It could be said that it was a skill that was not human. On the other hand, she was a demon king, not a human.
Even if Dullahan or Elder Lich were in her entourage, it would still be a difficult task.
“It’s a topic the researchers in the royal capital would love to hear about.”
“So much so that, at worst, we might have to keep Katima-san on a leash.”
Hearing Ain’s words, they nodded deeply.
With a new discovery of this magnitude, she might have acted alone in a bad situation. Such was the “trust” of the company.
“…It looks like the textbooks are going to change a lot in the near future.”
“I’m ready now. Maybe we should do some more research on the former Demon King’s territory and then make a textbook from scratch.”
“Fufu… I guess so.”
However, this was not Ain’s job.
Let’s leave those things to the researchers.
——…Knock, knock
“Is that Dill? Looks like he’s back.”
In the somewhat more relaxed atmosphere, there was a knock at Ain’s room.
Dill was not in the room this time because Ain had asked him to take care of something.
“I’m back, Ain-sama.”
“Welcome back, Dill. Thank you for helping me.”
“Oh, Dill, you’re back. And what happened to Mouton-dono?”
Dill’s job.
The other day, Mouton had decided to go to the royal capital on the spur of the moment.
He wanted to dismantle and transport the precious magic stove. He had gone to check on Mouton just to be sure.
At the same time, Ain had decided to ask Mouton if his feelings had changed. That was what he wanted to ask him.
If he really came to the royal capital, the cost of transporting the furnace would be paid for. That was what Ain thought.
“He said, ‘Do you mind if I put this bird in my luggage?"”
“U-umu, he seems to be in a good mood today… So what did you say?”
“I said that the different races are not allowed in the freight car. I told him that.”
A few days earlier, Dill had asked Mouton about a similar matter.
Thanks to that visit, Dill had learned of Mouton’s relationship with Ememe. Perhaps because of that, Dill had learned to treat Mouton and Ememe with restraint.
“Did Ememe-san say anything?”
There was probably a lot of noise today as well.
Ain, expecting this, asked Dill to continue.
“Yes, that’s it. She said, ‘Master! Can we put a perch on the seat?"”
“Oh, yes. I see.”
And to answer that, it would be difficult to put a perch on the seat.
Even if it is a car for n.o.bles, it will be the same.
“(I think she looks like Katima-san. That person is a wild cat, but Ememe-san is a wild bird…? No, she’s already an ostrich.)”
Thinking about it, what would happen if they happened to meet?
The number of pet slots could be increased in the royal castle of Ishtalika. Was this a case to be avoided?
“Ain? Be careful, okay? Don’t make too much noise with Katima-sama, okay?”
“I don’t want to, Krone. You really are a very perceptive a.s.sistant…”
“(Krone has good instincts today. Well, I don’t dislike that feeling of working on the same wavelength.)”
＊＊＊
While Ain and the others were talking, it began to get dark.
It was the same in the royal capital. Compared to Baltic, it was still bright, but the sky showed different patterns.
At that time, a message from Krone, who was in Baltic, arrived at the castle.
The place was Warren’s office, and it was delivered to Warren, who was at work.
“Warren-sama. This is a report from a.s.sistant Krone.”
“Hmm? Oh, that reminds me, today is the day… I certainly received it. Thank you.”
“No, sir. Well, I’ll excuse myself.”
The butler handed him a large envelope and left the room.
Warren examined the envelope in its entirety, then took a small knife and opened it.
“Well, well. The fact that the messenger bird is not being used means that there is no major problem…”
She went to the trouble of renting a train car for the n.o.bility to send the report.
Krone hadn’t told Ain about this because she knew that Ain would probably say, “What a waste of money!”
But this was the most convenient way in many ways. It arrived quickly, and, most importantly, it was safe.
“…After all, the territory of the former demon king is a mysterious area.”
It was a surprise from the very first page. It described Ain’s meeting with the Demon King’s subordinate, and Krone’s easy-to-read report caught Warren’s interest like a current novel.
As he read through it, Warren understood what had happened in the initial investigation.
“Hmm… I should probably let His Majesty know about this right away…”
Ring.
He rang the bell on the desk and called people to his office.
The castle servants were excellent and came without keeping Warren waiting.
“You wanted to see me, Your Excellency?”
Another butler came, different from before.
Warren gave an order to him, who arrived immediately.
“I want permission to visit His Majesty. And summon the Lord Marshal to my office.”
“Understood, sir.”
The reason for calling Chris was not only to replace Lloyd but…
Her beloved… That would be an exaggeration, but she was waiting for Ain to return home. He thought that Chris would want to know this information about him.
“Excuse me, Warren-sama.”
Then, Warren’s subordinate, a civil servant, arrived in place of the butler.
“We received a souvenir from Ain-sama… what shall we do with it?”
“A souvenir…? What’s in it?”
“Two whole lamprey rabbits… what shall we do with them?”
He had sent them such high-quality food? As expected from an adventurer’s city, the sheer size of it makes Warren smile.
“Everything, including the preservation, is in the hands of the head chef. …By the way, was there a letter attached?”
“As expected of you, Warren-sama. This letter was attached to the wooden box.”
He handed the letter to Warren.
The letter was a bit dusty, but that’s nothing to worry about. The name Ain von Ishtalika was written on the back of the letter.
“Then I’ll take this one.”
“Yes. Thank you for your report.”
A report from Krone and a letter from Ain.
And a huge souvenir. He was surprised at how many different things had arrived. But he thought he should check the contents first, so he cut the seal on the letter.
Inside was another small, thin envelope.
“…Fu-fufufu. As expected from Ain-sama… there is no lack of topics of conversation.”
The description was short, but it explained why it was a lamprey rabbit.
He got two from a living armor. There was one more rabbit, but they all took it for comfort as well.
In short, here’s what it said. Warren let out a small laugh, never expecting AIn to receive a gift from a living armor.
“I know it’s a hard road. If the knights got that much food, I’m sure their morale wasn’t so bad.”
In the name of comfort, Ain served the lamprey rabbit in grand style.
Such behavior is greatly appreciated by Warren. He thought it was a good decision, full of Ain’s character.
Then he slowly read Ain’s letter.
Then, he heard lively voices coming from the corridor.
“…Hmm? Who is that?”
He listened to the voices of the two women and wondered who they were. Then, the voices stopped outside his office, and there was a knock.
“Come in.”
Warren answered the knock and looked to see who the visitors were.
One was who he had expected, and the other was someone he hadn’t.
“Sorry to disturb you, Warren-sama. I heard that you wanted to see me.”
“Warren? What is that meat-nya? Is that a lamprey rabbit-nya? It’s my favorite-nya! How come there are two of such magnificent size-nya?”
Krone reported. It would have been understandable if she had overheard it somewhere.
But out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the lamprey rabbits being brought in.
She met Chris on the road, felt she could understand everything if she came here, and came with Chris.
“I heard it was a souvenir from Ain-sama. He sent it to the royal capital while it was still fresh.”
“Huh… my nephew wasn’t just a mother-con, was he-nya? What a capable nephew he is-nya!”
Katima was so happy that she started saying inappropriate things. Chris, who usually looked stunned, was more than happy to hear that Ain had contacted them.
If she had a tail attached to her, it would have been wagging furiously.
“A-Ain-sama contacted you! Warren-sama, is that true!”
“P-Please calm down, Chris-dono. It is true that he contacted me. He said that everyone is invited to enjoy the lamprey rabbit.”
Chris was excited for a moment. But when he heard that, he quickly became quiet.
It’s not good to wish for something like that, but if there had been a personal letter… She had such faint hopes.
The Crown Prince would never do such a thing to a mere bodyguard. She understood it in her mind, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling a bit sad.
“——…And also. This is for Chris-dono.”
“…Eh?”
“It was sealed in the envelope. It is addressed to Chris-dono, so please check it.”
The expression on her face was completely different and brighter than before, which everyone could see and understand. She looked pleased, and it was obvious at first glance that her feelings had changed.
“(Umu. As expected from Ain-sama.)”
Warren pushed Ain into the role of telling Chris that she would stay behind.
Even if it is said that it was forced upon him, it was because it was Ain who had the greatest effect on her.
Even now, he sent a personal message to Chris.
Warren was grateful for this concern. Without it, she might have been depressed.
“When are we going to eat-nya? Is it today-nya? Or now-nya? Have you already eaten-nya?”
Katima was just trying to control her drooling.
She was so energetic that what she said gradually turned into unintelligible lines.
“Katima-sama. Please calm down. As expected today, I’m afraid His Majesty and the others will be late for their meal…”
“There is no problem-nya! I will go and convince my father and the others, don’t worry-nya!”
Katima started to run.
He tried to stop her, but Katima’s momentum was too strong for him to stop her.
Katima was probably heading for Sylvird’s private room with the same momentum.
Chris, on the other hand, opened the letter from Ain and looked through it.
She seemed so focused on the letter that she paid no attention to Katima’s condition.
From the occasional smile on her face, it was clear that she was happy.
Her G.o.ddess-like smile and fresh cheeks with a light blush. She had such an attractive face that she could charm any man.
——So much so that it felt like she wasn’t a marshal anymore but just a woman in love.
“…Ain-sama. I sincerely look forward to your return.”
After reading the letter, Chris puts it back in her pocket like a piece of jewelry.
After that, she turned in the direction of the Baltic and wished with a clear voice.