Summary of the last chapter in three lines
Receive a dagger with royal family crest.
The man in butler clothes is actually the king.
Give seedlings, the king is very grateful.
Once Agradia, who keeps expressing his grat.i.tude, leaves the room, an air of relief fills the room.
「…… Dina, thank you.」
「No… But is it fine with only that?」
As Dina knows what Souta refers to, she asks this.
「Ah, it’s unnatural if I have them. I think your follow up was the optimal one.」
Souta and Dina look at each other, and then sigh.
「When I wonder what are you going to do, you suddenly pull those things out. It really surprises me. Even though the leaf itself can make an uproar…」
Remembering that scene, Narasu shudders.
「Well, I got this dagger, so in the end, the result is alright. That king too, as long as he has those seedlings, the elven country will surely improve even if only by a little. It might cause the minister a headache or two though.」
「Ufufu, that minister seems to be struggling with anxiety too, doesn’t he?」
That minister looks very similar to the minister from before Dina was sealed. Remembering how the minister from that time also couldn"t endure the anxiety, she laughs.
「Ah, that person really had it hard… Seems like every elven king is an oddball.」
Considering the actions of the king that caused a headache for the minister and the king from his memories, who was also an odd one, that’s the impression he gets from his few points of reference.
「Anyway, we don’t have anymore business here, can we go back now?」
Agradia, who already left the room, said nothing about what they needed to do now. Since there seemed to be no one who would come to that room afterward, Souta asks Narasu, who has some experience visiting the castle.
「Hmm…… The reason we were here is to receive souvenir from the king, so doesn’t that means it’s fine to leave now? You can just show the dagger to pa.s.s anyway.」
Answers Narasu after thinking for a bit.
「Well then, should we go back to the workshop quickly? There might be someone who wants to take a break as soon as possible from mental fatigue.」
Hearing that, only Arezel nods profusely.
「Roury, get ready to leave, we will return to the workshop soon.」
Narasu urges Roury -who is eating the teacakes on the table- to leave.
「Yesss~ Souta-san, these fruits, can you put them into your bag?」
Roury brings the fruits that she can’t finish eating to Souta.
「……Ohh well, fine. Pa.s.s them to me.」
Somewhat amazed, Souta throws the fruits Roury carries one by one into the magic bag.
「Thanks!」
After she finishes pa.s.sing all the fruits, she then stuffs the remaining sweets in her pockets.
「No that’s fine. But, what is that, that childish behavior.」
「Yes, that’s her fault, but that freedom also leads to interesting ideas, so I can’t deny it strongly……」
Narasu holds her head in her hands and shakes it. That action speaks loud about the distress she feels with regards to Roury.
「Because she’s a mother of one child, there are lots of elves……」
In the middle of that exchange, a knocking sound from door can be heard.
「Excuse me, I would like to guide you on the way back, can I open the door?」
A somewhat familiar voice comes from behind the door.
「Ah, you can. We have also already finished our preparations here.」
The door opens, and standing beyond the door is Dorusu, who guided them to the castle.
「h.e.l.lo everyone. For returning back home, the task is once again left to me.」
Dorusu lowers his head while smiling.
「You huh… Do we really need to bear with the crampedness again on our way back?」
Since it’s a familiar face, Souta jokingly utters words of sarcasm.
「Hahaha, I hope you can pardon me for that. For the return travel, we have now prepared another carriage so you can ride in two groups.」
「Hahh~ That’s a relief.」
Souta thought that he would only deal with that after it was pointed out, so Dorusu preparing it ahead of time actually impressed him.
「Well then, guide us immediately.」
「Understand, please this way.」
Following the path they used when they came, Dorusu guides them to the entrance of the castle.
「How was your audience with the king?」
「Umm, various things happened, but let’s just say the end result is good.」
Answers Souta with only a little self-confidence.
「Is-Is that so… In any case, I’m glad that you came back without encountering major problems.」
Dorusu already understands a bit of Souta’s personality. A bead of sweat falls down his forehead as he already predicted that something would happen, only he doesn’t dare to go too deeply into it.
Dina and Narasu both only listen to Souta’s conversation, with Dina walking next to Souta, and Narasu one step behind them. Further back, there is Roury who is eating sweets, and Arezel who follows along while looking around restlessly.
Reaching the castle entrance, they can see the door is already open and two carriages are prepared outside.
Souta and Dina ride the previous carriage, with Dorusu as the coachman. The three from the workshop ride the other carriage, and the coachman is the one who previously brought them to the castle.
「Well then, I’ll count on you until we reach the workshop.」
「Yes, leave it to me. Let’s go.」
When Souta speaks through the small windows toward the coachman, Dorusu’s answers come together with the horse"s neighs as he handles the reins.
「Dina, I’m glad that you came with me but what will you do in the future? Even if that person is Soldia’s enemy, at this point, he won’t be alive anymore.」
Listening to Souta, Dina thinks with a serious look. For a while, silence fills the carriage.
「For now, I have a house in the city of adventurer – Toura, so it might be good to take it easy there for a while.」
Souta starts getting talkative, but Dina’s expression is still pensive.
「…… I’m worried about the image sent by my older brother. As I thought at the time, I feel like it was not a mistake and there really was another person there. Not to mention, the expression of the hero of human race seemed unusual too. He might be already dead, but we might be able to get the truth from somewhere else, as we don’t know anything now……」
Souta puts his hand on Dina’s head as her expression starts to become gloomy.
「If it worries you that much, then there"s surely something. If it weren"t me who attacked Soldia in the first place, then why did the princess repatriate me? Why did the hero of human race stab Soldia? What happened to the princess who cast the repatriation magic? Was there really someone else in that place, and if there was, who?」
Souta also starts to talk about the matter that gnaws on his mind.
「Go back to my house and then let’s solve the mystery together after you rest for a while. How about that?」
Sota smiles, and then talks to Dina with a strong will harboring in his eyes. They feel a strong connection to each other, as they are the only ones in the world who share their experience from a thousand year ago.
「Yes! I will do my best gathering as much information as I can.」
「Don’t push yourself, alright?」
Removing his hand from her head, they shake hands strongly.
t/n: do you think it’s late? too bad it’s D…..
Double chapter release MUAHAHAHA
no kidding, for a while i will release on a weekly basis, however with multiple chapters (hopefully it’s always 3 chapters a week), until i pile up some chapters ahead
also the reason there is only 1 chapter last week, blame Sophie. Which Sophie you ask? Sophie the alchemist, of course