CH 490

“Seriously!! Why didn’t you call me! I could have become an older sister who would swoop in and save the day for her adorable little sister and niece!”

At dinner, when we told her how we came to be here, her second daughter, Grace-san, gave us a furtive look with her mouth agape. She was unhappy that she wasn’t invited to the battle because she loved her half-sister, Verna-sensei, very much.

Also, since she hasn’t had a child yet, she dotes on Tilia-chan, so the fact that she went to the royal capital is another reason for her anger. Then, Veig-san said to Grace-san while sipping his wine.

“We received a letter from Reflexion, but since we don’t know what’s going on, we can’t help you. But since we didn’t know what was going on, we were going to have to wait until we received a request for reinforcements. I had already prepared my troops.”

“That’s what it was!? Well, considering the fact that the town of Gast has been taken over, even if we go there, we might have only increased casualties.”

I said and put my hand on the dessert.

“Hmm!? What’s this, sister? Our chef has a new dish?”

“Fufu, this is a dessert that Lars-kun brought for me.”

“Yes, it’s a dessert called ‘pudding’, and Tilia-chan loved it too.”

“You don’t have to be so formal just because you’re here. When I went to Verna’s, it was more crumbly, wasn’t it? Besides, it’s delicious!”

“Then …… I’m glad it suits your taste. I had a lot of ideas for souvenirs, but Grace-san has been eating a lot of snacks, so I made some at the inn.”

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful of you. Nevertheless …… Mmmmm, it’s especially delicious with the black sauce ……!”

As Grace-san was tucking into her pudding, Basleigh-sensei, who had already finished, nodded deeply and opened her mouth.

“I know right,  all of Lars-kun’s dishes are superb, after all. The hamburgers are especially wonderful.”

“I think I’ll like the fried chicken?”

Basleigh-sensei and Urka said something unnecessary, I frowned, and sure enough, Grace-san took the bait.

“It’s a dish I’ve never heard of …… I’ll let you use the castle’s kitchen, so can I ask you to try making it?”

“W-Well, I’m too full to make it right away, and it’s not something that you can make right away, so you’ll have to wait another time.”

“Mmm, that’s too bad ……”

“So, how’s married life?”

“It’s going well, of course!”

In addition to this, Grace-san told me a lot about her husband, the second son of the estate in Luitzar.

According to Queen Shiina, he’s a very calm person who likes to study rather than fight, just like his older brother. I didn’t think he would get along with the strong-willed Grace-san, but he says they are a surprisingly good couple.

“–So, it’s been fun. I happened to be at the castle today, but I’m usually at my estate. I mean, your brother got married, but Lars hasn’t yet? Didn’t you have many partners?”

“No, it’s not many–“

“Well, there were three or four, including me, a little.”

“I don’t have that many!? ! What are you talking about, Reiss!”

I thought you’d been quiet lately, and now you’re lying suddenly!?

“Well, that’s a good thing! Lars is brilliant, and I hope he has lots of kids …… and marry our child ……!”

“I don’t like the idea of political marriages …… If they like each other, that’s fine ……”

“So you don’t deny having many children. Then maybe one day I’ll let my children get married to yours too.”

“Oh, me too!”

Basleigh-sensei, even Urka? Ah, maybe it’s because they’ve been drinking a lot of alcohol …… I’m confident that my kids won’t end up like my previous parents, but I’m still a little scared. 

Either way, I think I’m going to have to take down the Founder and then think about it when the threat is gone? I’m sure that Makina, as Fath-san’s successor, is getting better and better, so I’m hoping that she will be able to find something more on that island.

To be honest, it would be rude to make her wait too long, so when this battle is over, Makina is sure to have grown up, and I would like to have the ceremony right away.

When it comes to lovers, I used to worry so much that my hands would shake, but as I came into contact with the lives of various people, such as Retzel, the former king of Sandiola, and Lux’s parents, I guess it was largely because I came to think that my previous life was distorted and furthermore that I had no self. Other people’s look …… No, the desire to be accepted by my parents and siblings was probably a curse in itself.

As I pondered this in my mind, Grace-san let out a sigh and shook her head.

“It’s such a waste. I think polygamy is a man’s reward.”

At the end, she said that Veig-san and Grace-san’s husbands would probably have concubines sooner or later. If you’re an aristocrat or a royal, you’ll probably have a concubine.

But my dad and brother only have one wife, and as a Japanese, I think that’s fine. I hope that …… Luciel and Kudelica will find a good man. And Luciela.

After dinner, we headed to Angriff’s place, where he was tied up in the garden.

“Thanks for waiting. I’ve got some good meat for you to eat.”

“Oh! As expected of Master. I’ll eat it happily.”

When I untied his chains and set him free, he was happy, sliding his head against mine. Then Retzel put his hand on his chin and asked Angriff.

“Hmm, you’re getting pretty good at talking, aren’t you? Does that mean you’re learning?”

“That’s right. Thanks to that female talking so much, I’m getting better and better at it.”

“Female …… Basleigh-sensei, huh. I’m sure you’ll be able to speak fluently soon.”

“Count on me, Master.”

“What are you doing, Lars-kun! Let’s go to one more round, one more round!”

“The castle is not a bar, okay!?”

I went straight to the inn with Basleigh-sensei, who was saying outrageous things, and decided to rest for tomorrow. But since Angriff is here, I won’t be staying at the inn, but will be sleeping on the carriage in some sort of warehouse.

“Have a good night.”

“Thanks a lot …… Hm, someone is coming?”

“What?”

The one who showed up was Lilith. She came to the carriage with a tired face, raised her hand to me, and opened her mouth.

“Yes. Are you sleeping already?”

“We have to go early tomorrow, so that’s what I plan to do, though? But did you want something?”

“I don’t really have anything to say, but I’ve been dragged here in a mess and I wanted to talk to you.”

“I don’t feel sorry for you, because there is no doubt you’re one of the demon within the ten chief priests that ruined the Everlide Kingdom.”

“Fufu, that’s fine. After all, we’re demons, right? Hmm, that’s fine. Because we’re demons, right? We’re beings called from another world ……  I’ve been wondering about one thing about that.”

After shrugging her shoulders in mockery, Lilith sat down next to me and said to me with a serious look on her face 

“Why did the Lord Founder call us at this time? That, and why did he keep going around in circles?”

“…… What do you mean?”

“The power of the Lord Apollos is, by all appearances, quite magical and knowledgeable. If I wanted to, he could have summoned us when he was young and taken his revenge, but he summoned us when he was old. He’s an old man already, maybe fifty years old? There are many people who would have found another way to live before they reached this age, right?”

“You’re right …… but it might be that it took a long time because it was difficult to call you guys.”

“Then, how will you explain his roundabout way? It’s taken so long, and we’ve failed so many times, that we’re not making any progress. As you can see from the town of Gust, if we had turned our efforts towards Reflexion, there’s a good chance we would have been able to finish it sooner, don’t you think?”

This is something that has been bothering me as well. Before I knew about the existence of the ten chief priests, I thought that the plan was to use Berias as a backer to increase their strength and gain territory in the meantime to solidify their position.

However, the Reflexion Kingdom would have been finished if the demons were used to overrun it all at once.

“Does he have another goal in mind ……?”

“It’s reasonable to think so. Well, he’s old enough that he might take advantage of Asmodeus’ return to demon form to attack us at once.”

“I see. I think I need to tell the king when I get back.”

“Also, I think you need to be careful of that Reiss kid? You can’t tell what she’s thinking, you know.”

“Yeah, she’s been like that since the time at the academy. It’s no use worrying about it.”

“But …… Oh, it’s okay. For now, that’s the way it is. Good night.”

I called out to Lilith as she walked away, and I lay down on my bed.

…… But Apollos is certainly incomprehensible. He should have memories from before his reincarnation, but he hasn’t done anything. Even I use it to make food and other things ……

I’d like to talk to him once, but I closed my eyes, thinking that it was a little unscrupulous–