Chapter 398 – Side Story – Continued (1)
I was on my usual walk under the guise of patrolling the city.
The construction of the capital city of the Kingdom of Vale has passed the middle and is gradually coming to an end. It was hard to notice at first glance as I walked the streets almost every day, but I was very impressed to see a decent building built where building materials had been piled up not long ago.
What kind of store will be in that building, or will it be used as housing? It was fun to imagine the same thing.
While I was walking down the street today, Flora, who was looking at my face closely for some reason, blurted out.
“Soira. “You seem to be in a good mood these days.”
“Huh? Really?”
I unconsciously touched my face. I was grinning without realizing it, or anything like that. Honestly, I think I would have been a little scared if that had happened.
“Oh, indeed. It’s not like that. The atmosphere was a bit strange not long ago. “It feels like I’m going to fly off somewhere.”
“Ah…”
I felt like I knew a little bit about what Flora was talking about. It must be about a time when you were wondering whether to continue playing this game or start another game.
Certainly, I must have been in a strange atmosphere at that time.
Because worrying about whether to break up with a friend is not a light worry.
Of course, I know best that this world is a game, not reality. And it’s not the first time I’ve had such an experience.
But that doesn’t mean that breakups are okay.
Rather, in some ways even more so… No, no. I have already decided to enjoy this world more. There is no need to come here and talk about it in detail.
I smiled at Flora, who was looking at me with questioning eyes.
“Huh. “I’ve had some things to worry about these days.”
“Also… Still, it was resolved well, right?”
“That’s right. “It was great that Asil came back.”
“That is? Why is that?”
“Well? “I don’t know either.”
Why did I decide to continue playing this world after seeing Asil return?
If you think about it, it’s a simple thing.
Why do you play games in the first place? ‘Because it’s fun.’
It was fun to travel with me, Flora, and Alsil, but it became boring because I thought it wouldn’t be possible anymore… Well, that’s roughly the reason.
I won’t say it in words because I’m embarrassed to say it directly.
“I think Asil will be happy to hear what I just said.”
“I guess so? I think the reaction will be quite interesting.”
It was easy to picture in her mind the image of Asil puffing out her chest in exultation, saying, ‘It’s all thanks to me!’, But when we praised her indiscriminately, her face turned bright red, and she didn’t know what to do.
I think it’s very cute and funny. It was such a pity that I wasn’t by your side right now.
“Flora. “How many days are left?”
“Huh? Ah. Hmm… “I guess there’s about a week left?”
Even though my question omitted something important, Flora clearly understood and answered my question. Because they must have been thinking the same thing.
The date Flora mentioned was the time she had left until Asil came.
As she was able to travel between worlds, she would come here every few days and then go back after spending a few days.
I don’t know what’s going on with her district, but maybe she comes back here every weekend?
It seems like there is no friend on Earth to hang out with on the weekend. I once again became a little worried about Asil’s friendship.
But these days, she sometimes says, ‘I can’t come next week,’ so it seems like she doesn’t have any friends at all.
Anyway, it means you won’t know anything for about a week.
In the meantime, will she even think about what to do when Asil comes?
◆
By the way.
Worries are worries, and apart from that, it wasn’t like the week was getting shorter.
There’s nothing particularly dangerous anymore, so if I use the time skip function in my room in the castle, it will pass quickly, but there’s no need to do that.
So today I went out of the castle to do something for this week.
“Is that why you brought me here?”
“Yes.”
Flora’s face looked at me with a slightly sullen expression.
She made a fuss about studying hard to help her family, so she deserved it.
But actually, Flora’s older sisters liked it. Since I told her in advance that I would take Flora out, she even helped me find a good place to go.
She said, ‘It’s more helpful for Flora to walk around with a smile on her face than to struggle with her papers at her desk.’
Of course, she didn’t mean that Flora couldn’t do her job. She may not be as good as her other siblings who have been working as royals for a long time, but she is not one to say anything about that.
Currently, the Kingdom of Vale is in the midst of reconstruction. In other words, she has not yet completely returned to security and administration.
In this case, simply having the royal family walk around the city has the effect of quelling citizens’ complaints to some extent. Especially if it is a princess who is loved and has no particularly bad rumors, but rather only good rumors.
This effect was maximized as the story spread that Flora was with her hero party that defeated the Demon King not long ago.
In such a situation, it is neither an exaggeration nor a consideration to say that it is better for her to move around rather than just stay in the castle with paperwork.
Justitia even tried to assign us an escort knight. She refused even that. It may have been natural for Flora’s family, who had been royalty since her birth, but it was too burdensome for an ordinary person like me to have a separate escort.
“But, a few hours a day is enough for that. I want to help her sister and brother more.”
“What… It’s not that I don’t understand that feeling…”
“Oh, wait. Soira. The carriage is coming.”
After hearing Flora’s words, she turned off the road. The carriage, which seemed to her to be quite far away, got closer in an instant.
– Tap, tap, tap…
A carriage passed by with the cheerful sound of horses’ hooves on a road that had not long been completed. It was a wagon with a large luggage compartment.
There was not just one carriage. Starting with the first carriage, dozens of carriages followed, heading towards the capital city, which was in the midst of reconstruction.
And all of those carriages had a large imperial seal stamped on them.
We stepped aside from the side of the road and watched the scene. The sight of dozens of carriages running in a row down the road was a spectacle in itself.
The amount of luggage loaded on those wagons was even greater.
“Flora. “I think it’s already helped enough?”
“Yes…”
This time, Flora didn’t really deny it.
That’s because all those carriage machines were Flora’s work.
A reward for subduing the Demon King, promised directly by the Empress of the Empire. What Flora asked for was support for the reconstruction of the Kingdom of Vale.
And that support was clearly provided in the form of material and manpower support.
When that much material arrives at the castle, the castle will have more work to do in sorting, organizing, and distributing it.
However, it was clear that it would be much more pleasant than working to collect supplies that did not exist.
“Huh? In the end, it doesn’t change that the sisters’ workload increases!”
“Ahaha. Does that happen?”
Flora grumbled slightly, but looked noticeably happier than before. By seeing with his own eyes the enormous amount of material support, he seemed to be relieved of the burden of not being the only one helping.
No matter how much people say it is helping to stabilize public sentiment, this is a matter of feelings.
We took our steps again only after the tail of the last carriage had passed.
“Flora. Did you see that a store opened on the west side of the square?”
“Yes. “I saw what came in, but I didn’t see what kind of store it was.”
“A dessert shop came in there. After listening to it, it seemed like it had a good reputation. Let’s go together next time.”
“Good. I guess I can buy some for my sisters too.”
“I didn’t find out if it was packaged… Well, if the princess asks me to do it, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
“Really, Soira. “The authority of the royal family is not meant to be used for such purposes.”
We walked around chatting about various things. For some reason, it felt like it had been a very long time since I had been out of the castle like this.
How long did it take?
“Huh? Wait, here…”
Flora looked around curiously.
“Why? “Did you find anything?”
“I didn’t find it… No, I’m not sure… “Wait a minute.”
Flora turned off her road and approached the forest.
I don’t know what it is, but it seems like there’s something there. Or there was.
“… “Of course.”
The place where Flora stopped her steps was quite far into the forest.
Around the time when it started to become more and more dense, there was a small hut.
“Flora. Does she know the place?”
“Huh… Yes.”
Flora nodded her head with a complicated expression on her face. It was a dark expression that I had rarely seen since she returned to live with her family after the Demon King fell.
“Here is… “This is where I was captured.”
“Caught… Ah.”
It reminds me of her first meeting with Flora.
At that time, she, Flor, was captured by a slave trader and subjected to various abuses.
Her equally enslaved Justitia was able to live a luxurious life for a slave thanks to her symbolism, but the men who captured her were not so smart.
If I hadn’t saved him, it would have been a tragic ending that I don’t even want to imagine.
“It was really difficult at the time, but thanks to you, I was able to meet Soira.”
“…”
I don’t know what to say.
Just because the results are good, you can’t say that everything is good. It’s a sensitive topic to be quick to claim understanding.
Luckily, Flora didn’t seem to be expecting an answer in particular, so she approached her cabin first.
“… Huh?”
As Flora approached the cabin, she noticed something about her and made a questioning voice.
Unlike the surroundings, footprints on the floor where dust and fallen leaves had not accumulated.
Someone was using this cabin.
