Chapter 3 – On the Game Board

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Imperial Calendar Year 431, End of January.

Leonhart had been walking through the garden of the Pallatium residence located in the imperial capital’s First District. He stopped to turn his eyes at the man-made pond. Its surface was halfway covered by a layer of ice. Last year around this time, the pond had been locked away underneath a thick frozen lid, but it seemed like the Empire would have a mild winter this year.

Come to think of it, no snow has been falling.

The wind was rather cold as it dashed against the pond’s water. The dry grass around it was rustling. If he used his divine art Activity, it’d be possible for him to return the dry grass to its vivid, lush state. It was said that some nobles and merchants would pay high donations to the temple to have flowers bloom in the middle of winter.

Leonhart stared at the dead grass and shook his head.

Divine arts aren’t anything one should use carelessly, and even if the grass becomes lush and green again, it’s winter right now. They’d likely wither away quickly. Besides, a garden in winter has a nice atmosphere to it as well.

He vacantly gazed across the garden. Recently his days had been busy as the aftermath of the war was still going on.

I can spend my time in such a calm, relaxed manner as leader of the 1st Imperial Knight Order because of my subordinates. If I consider all those who died recently, it’s a very extravagant way to use your time.

As he thought about this――

“Good grief! So you were in a place like this, eh!?”

Lila’s voice thundered throughout the garden. Probably because she was wearing thick clothes, he looked plumper than he remembered her. She was pulling up her skirt as she swiftly was walking over in his direction.

“What are you going to do if you catch a cold while wearing so little!?” Lila raised her voice after coming to a halt in front of Leonhart.

She sized him up. While trampling the dry grass underfoot.

It’s probably not like they’re mounting some sort of resistance, but the tips are sticking out.

“What are you looking at?”

“The dried grass――”

“Aaaaahhh! You’ve become completely chilled because you’re in a place like this, haven’t you!?” Lila said while squeezing Leonhart’s cheeks with both hands.

He suspected this to be her attempt to warm him up. She was moving her hands up and down. And because their skin was cracked, it felt as if his face was getting sharpened by a file.

“By the way, what are you doing in a place like this?”

“I have been enjoying the winter scenery.”

“I’ve been thinking so for a while now, Lord Leonhart, you might look young’un, but inside you’re totally an old geezer.”

“You think so?”

“Indeed, I do. The young’uns play outside,” Lila said while throwing out her chest.

She was displaying an attitude making it clear that she didn’t consider herself to be wrong at all.

“Besides, your body will rot, if you seclude yourself at home all the time.”

“Hmm, I see. And are you going out to play, Lila?”

“Of course. Hehehe,” Lila snorted.

Leonhart’s eyes widened slightly. It was true that his family had taken her in as a servant, so she was getting paid a salary. But, Lila was completely disconnected from the idea of playing.

“What sort of playing is it?”

“I’m going to the new town.”

“What sort of playing are you doing?”

“I just told you I go to the new town to play.”

Confronted with Leonhart asking the same question a second time, Lila raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“You’re not going to tell me what sort of playing you’re actually doing?”

“What, so that’s what you wanted to know. I won’t get it if you don’t ask properly.”

Lila pulled a sullen expression. He believed his question was proper, but communication was quite a challenge for Leonhart.

“Are you fit for your work as captain if you’re bad at stuff like that?”

“Someone like me is able to do it thanks to my excellent subordinates.”

“Haaah, your subordinates sure got it hard. I gotta work hard too.”

With those words, Lila pumped out her large biceps.

“So, what sort of playing do you do in the new town?”

“I wander around aimlessly and eat food. Ah, come to think of it, the other day a wandering troupe was doing a play.”

“Hoh, what kind of program did they have?”

“One where you made an appearance, Lord Leonhart.”

“Lila, I’m no actor.”

“I know that. I was talking about a role in the play, you see? Well, anyway, you were part of the play. I was slightly startled because I didn’t know what sort of work you’re doing, Lord Leonhart. I felt especially shocked about the part of you facing a large army to protect Lord Alfort.”

“…I see.”

Leonhart nodded after a short while. With the name Alfort popping up, he could tell that the play was about their war with Argo.

“…That’s rather very early,” Leonhart muttered.

He assumed that someone was probably trying to manipulate the public opinion. The empire’s citizens didn’t have a direct influence on the empire’s politics, but no ruler could ignore his people’s voices. If the populace felt uneasy, it’d throw the country into chaos.

“Lila, did Chrono have a role in the play?”

“He didn’t. Did something happen with a Chrono?”

“No, it seems it was my misunderstanding.”

Lila looked puzzled, but she didn’t pursue the matter any further. Wondering what Chrono was doing right now, Leonhart looked up to the sky. Ever since they had separated at the front base, he didn’t see Chrono again. He just hoped that Chrono was doing fine, but――

“Ah, which reminds me, the old geezer was looking for you.”

“Oh?” Leonhart tilted his head at Lila mentioning it as if she had just remembered it.

‘Now then, I wonder what he needs me for? I’ve entrusted him with the maintenance and management of the mansion, but――

“He was talking about some conferral.”

“You mean conferral of honors?”

“That’s what I said,” Lila bit back testily. “By the way, what’s a conferral of honors?”

“It’s basically about receiving a summons.”

“Isn’t that a major deal then!?” Lila’s eyes flew wide open in surprise.

“Lord Leonhart, we’re going to the geezer’s place right away!”

“I don’t think it’s necessary to hurry so much.”

“Him searching for you means it’s urgent!”

Lila grabbed Leonhart’s hand and started to walk.

“Damn it, without me around he can’t get anything done,” she muttered under her breath.

At once Leonhart laughed. Inside her, it was still the time when he had met her――no, thinking back on it very closely, he had barely any memory of having received her care-taking. It was like this ever since they met. Very likely she had assessed him to be an incapable younger brother the instant they met and now she was stuck on that perception of him.

Pondering whether she’d ever revise that way of thinking until her death, Leonhart sighed deeply.

※

“――gh!”

Chrono jumped up on his bed, a soundless scream formed on his lips. His eyes darted around as he sat there. Currently he was in his room inside the capital’s Chroford mansion. When he tilted his head in confusion, wondering why he was here, memories started to flood in.

After that battle――after Chrono returned to the frontline base, he was treated. Bertil had arranged for the doctors to heal Chrono and his men. And just when they had reached a stage allowing them to soon head back to the Erakis March, a messenger from the capital visited Chrono. He was asked to visit the imperial capital because the palace would carry out a conferral of honors. Thus he left the rest to Mino and headed to the capital.

Chrono breathed out and let himself flop back onto the bed. His whole body was drenched in sweat, making this a very yucky matter. As he sighed while staring up to the ceiling――

“”Lord Chrono! Good morning, kinda!””

Arided and Deneb rushed alongside the door being slammed open. They were wearing maid attires instead of military uniforms. Unlike the one Layla had worn, theirs had a perfectly fitting size. Both used their momentum to dive onto the bed just like that, causing the poor furniture to creak.

“Lord Chrono, it’s kinda morning already.”

“Breakfast has been prepared.”

Arided and Deneb said while lying on the bed.

“Morning, you two,” Chrono greeted while yawning.

“I’ll accompany you, if you go back to sleep again,” Arided offered somewhat happily.

“The job as a maid is exhausting in contrast to being a soldier,” Deneb said with exhaustion dyeing her voice.

“Still, that’s an incredible amount of sweat during your sleep.”

“It looks like you had another nightmare last night. It might kinda be better for you to have a doctor check on you.”

“I suspect it’s something psychological, so a doctor’s examination won’t do me any good.”

Chrono smiled, or at least he intended to do so, but Arided and Deneb cast their faces down, looking as if they’d seen something heartbreaking. He guessed that he didn’t quite manage to produce a smile as he wanted to.

“…I’ll get up.”

“Sleeping for a bit longer is kinda OK.”

“If you like, it’d be OK to spend all day in bed.”

“That won’t work since I’ve been summoned to the castle for the conferral today,” Chrono sighed lightly.

If possible, he wanted to take up the two on their offer, but then it’d have been meaningless for him to have come to the capital. Besides, he believed one should carry out his work, even if one’s physical condition wasn’t the best.

“I understand your feelings on this, Lord Chrono, but please kinda sleep for a bit longer.”

“The breakfast preparations will wait until you get out of bed.”

“…You two, hurry out of his bed and get breakfast ready.”

“”――rh!””

Arided and Deneb jumped to their feet when faced with that voice which sounded like it’d come from the deepest recesses of hell. Mayla was standing in the door, her arms folded and a smile on her face.

“Our job is to wake up Lord Chrono.”

“He is still lying in his bed.”

Just Arided and Deneb objected with their lips pursed, Mayla briskly walked up to them.

Suddenly Chrono had a bad feeling. When he cocked his head, wondering what was triggering this discomfort, he suddenly understood the reason. Her footsteps. She, who was feared as Silent Slaughterer Mayla, was causing footsteps.

Mayla grabbed the elves’ heads and lifted them up just like that. Both were small, but lifting them up with one hand required terrifying grip and arm strength.

“Choose whether you will have your skull shattered or go make breakfast.”

“U-Uuooooh, I can…I can kinda hear my skull jarring!”

“Kinda hurry up and answer, if you got the extra time to explain the situation!”

“I-I-I will k-kinda choose for my skull t-t-to shatter!”

“You kinda want to sleep with him that much!?” Deneb’s eyes widened upon hearing Arided answer.

“W-W-Wrong! T-This is kinda m-my pride as h-h-his mistress!”

“What a marvelous resolve. However, that’s only true if you don’t underestimate me, believing I wouldn’t crush your skull.”

“Ah, forgive me. I got carried away. I will prepare breakfast right away.”

As soon as Mayla’s smile gained in intensity, Arided readily retracted her previous statement. Mayla sighed, obviously appalled and removed her hand. Arided dropped on all four, breathing roughly.

“Pride as his mistress, what a laugh.”

“You should drop that line after almost having your skull broken,” Arided glared at Deneb.

“Well then, off you two go.”

“”Okaaay.””

The two elves left the room while looking languid. Mayla sighed so deeply that you’d think it couldn’t become any worse. Her footsteps and her sighing; all of it was unusual for her.

Chrono got out of his bed as quietly as possible to not trigger her. Thereupon――

“Young master, you have bed hair. If you like, I can fix it for you?”

“I’m going to take a bath after breakfast, so it’s fine.”

“Have you ever heard of ‘a hedge between keeps friendships’?”

“Got it. Please take care of it.”

Chrono sighed lightly and sat down on a chair. Mayla walked up to him and started to comb his hair. He assumed that she had to be quite irritated, seeing how her handling was quite rough.

“Those two…,” Mayla rested her hands. “Those two are coarse. I have never seen such bad maids in my entire life.”

“That’s going too far, isn’t it? Both of them remained behind because they’re worried about me.”

“Yes! Yes indeed! I was deeply moved when I heard that they had come along out of worry over you, Young Master, and when they requested to be taught about the work of maids, my chest was overflowing with feelings of delight! But, everything after that was terrible to look at!”

Mayla started to move her hands violently. With each comb, pain ran through Chrono’s head. His hair was actually being pulled out.

What a terrifying thing for her to do. Mayla is a true demon.

“As if natural, they oversleep every day. They clean a rectangle room in a big circle, and whenever they cook, they also snitch food. If I send them shopping, they cheat the change. What should I call this, if not coarse?”

“U-Umm, Ms. Mayla, could you be a bit gentler…”

“I thought that I’m the lowest sort of maid because I’m a fake anyway, but these two are actually much worse! They’re unmaids!” ¹

She was ripping out hair bushes one after the other. Unable to endure it, Chrono raised his voice, but he couldn’t calm Mayla. Far from it. She heated up more and more, making Chrono realize that his hair was actually in danger.

“On top of all that, they call me granny! Yes, sure, I’m a 60-years-old grandmother! It’s been sunshine all the time for the last t-twenty years! My acquaintances all have grandchildren! But, I was busy with the development of the southern borderland, so I didn’t have time for that, did I? If I had, I’d have married myself as well! Really!”

Mayla groaned in frustration. Naturally her hands stopped.

It’s a chance. I’ll calm her anger with another topic. I’m the only one who can save my hair.

“You want to marry that much?”

“No, not really.”

Mayla’s voice completely changed as she answered Chrono calmly. He tightly clenched her fists as he had apparently succeeded at appeasing her anger. Believing that his hair would be safe with this, he relaxed a bit.

“Let me ask just in case, but what are the conditions for you marrying?”

“There are no particular conditions, but it will be a big help if he has an annual income of 2,500 gold.”

“Hmm, I see,” Chrono agreed conversationally, but an annual income of 2,500 gold was something a low-ranking noble would have.

The hurdle was unexpectedly high. When a hand was placed on his shoulder, he reflexively jumped with a start.

“Come to think of it, Young Master, your income――”

“”Staaare””

Mayla was interrupted by Arided and Deneb. She sighed deeply and turned around. Lured in by her, Chrono also turned around. And there he spotted Arided and Deneb staring his way from behind the door. Mayla curbed her temple while shaking her head.

“You girls, what about your breakfast preparation?”

“We came back because we had a bad premonition.”

“And once we did, it was kinda just like we thought.”

Arided and Deneb jumped out from behind the door and took the poses of kabuki actors.

“We shan’t allow you to make a move on a boy who could be your grandson.”

“Women are always women, no matter how much time passes. Having said that, these two matters are two different pairs of shoes.”

“You two are saying some pleasant things, aren’t you?”

Once Mayla took a step forward while giggling, the two elves retreated in apparent fear.

“Ugh, my feet moved by themselves! So this is the pressure of an old elf!”

“Ack, the pressure has grown!”

“Get breakfast ready!”

Arided and Deneb groaned.

“The opponent is kinda our of my league.”

“No choice but to do a strategic retreat. But, before that…” Arided stepped forward and thrust her finger at Mayla, “Grandma, you’ve kinda served your purpose!”

“――gh!”

A wind breezed past Arided and Deneb, followed by a bang. Mayla had thrown a dagger. Now it was stuck deep inside the wall, making one wonder just how much strength she’d put into this.

“Is this all you wanted to say?”

“Retreat!”

“I’ll kinda ask Lord Chrohd for mediation!”

The two elves whirled around and left the room. You could hear them noisily running away.

“Good grief,” Mayla muttered and faced Chrono once more, “Let me continue then.”

“Don’t be too hard on Arided and Deneb, okay?”

“I cannot promise you anything.”

With those words, Mayla began to comb Chrono’s hair once more. She was using her hands carefully. As her anger had reached its peak, she had now become calm instead, Chrono suspected.

With this I can leave my hair to her without a worry.

Just as he thought that, Mayla’s hands stopped.

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s quite difficult for me to tell you, but…”

Chrono’s heart rate leaped.

Maybe, no…that cannot be――no, no, I’m worrying too much here. I’ll calm myself by counting prime numbers.

“One, three, five, sev――”

“There’s a place with no hair on the side of your head…”

“No way!?”

Chrono touched the side in panic. He could tell there was a smooth spot from the sensation he felt with his fingertips. Mayla was definitely right. He felt dizzy and nauseous.

Bloody hell, for me to become bald at this age――

“Forgive me. This seems to be a scar.”

“――gn!”

Chrono gasped because he suddenly understood the reason. Cecily. It was the place where Cecily had kicked him.

What a bitch. For her to repay the favor in such a way after I saved her ass――

“Just you wait, Cecily,” Chrono groaned while clenching his fists.

I’m definitely going to settle this, sooner or later――

※

“Delicious! It’s so incredibly delicious!”

“I won’t be able to go back to before, now that I’ve experienced such tasty food!”

When Chrono entered the dining hall together with Mayla, Arided and Deneb were sitting at the table and eating. Chrono’s foster father looked as if he was enjoying himself.

Mayla quickly stepped forward, roaring, “You two!”

“”――gh!””

Arided and Deneb immediately fled the dining hall. Mayla went after them and yelled, “Get the bath ready! If you slack off, I’m going to tear the skin off your back!”, after them while leaning out of the door.

“”Gotcha.””

The voices of the two could be heard from the corridor. Mayla sighed deeply. Returning to the dining hall, she grimaced. Arided and Deneb had finished most of the food. Chrohd was smiling cheerfully.

“Haha, that was one nice way to eat.”

“Yes, indeed. I can tell from just looking at this!” Mayla spat out in irritation while stacking up plates.

Chrono sat down opposite of his foster father so as to not trigger her.

“Master, please caution them!”

“I know, I know. I’ll give them a good warning next time,” Chrohd said with a tone which made clear that he didn’t understand anything.

Probably understanding that he didn’t intend to do anything like that because of their long association, Mayla didn’t comment on it any further and went to the kitchen while fuming with anger.

“Arided and Deneb must have caused you quite some trou…”

“Hmm? Nah, don’t worry about it. In the past, she was no diff――”

“I wasn’t coarse to such an extent!”

“Whoa, what sharp ears she’s got.”

With Mayla’s voice reverberating from the kitchen, Chrohd ducked his head.

“Goddamnit, old people always glorify their own youth, don’t they?” Chrohd grumbled.

“No comment.”

Chrono withheld commenting on that.

“Yeah, well. How to put it…you don’t look like you’ve slept well, do you?”

“You can tell?”

“I mean, I’m still your father, so yeah.”

Chrohd shifted around on his chair, looking uncomfortable. Chrono hadn’t slept well ever since he came back from Argo. He had trouble falling asleep, and even if he did, he’d wake up several times during the night. His dreams were all bad, too. He kept dreaming about how Leo, Horus, Lizad, and the elven woman, whose name he didn’t know, had died. On top of that, he also dreamed about his silly daily life where he had talked with Leo, Horus, and Lizad. If he had to choose, the latter was harder on Chrono. He’d always get assaulted by a terrifying sense of loss whenever he woke up from such a dream.

“Dad, why…”

“What is it?”

Chrohd leaned forward when Chrono addressed him.

Why did Lizad sacrifice himself? Why didn’t he stop walking? Why did he entrust me with a memento?

While plagued by those questions, the scene of Lizad’s death revived in Chrono’s mind. And it was then followed by Leo, who had his head blown away by a spear, the elven woman who went up in flames, the elves and beastmen who got killed by spears or divine arts, Horus who had died with his eyes wide open, and Lizad who had walked onwards with his body stabbed by spears all over.

Why? Chrono clutched at his chest.

“――Oi.”

“――gh!”

Called by his foster father, Chrono came back to his senses.

“If you’re going to ask why your men sacrificed themselves, you won’t get an answer from me.”

“You don’t know, Dad?”

“Of course not. I’m no god. I mean, I also worried about various things when I was young. And after worrying over it repeatedly, I simply noticed that it’s natural that I won’t understand the feelings of those who died.”

“Dad, how did you deal with it?”

“How, you ask…”

Chrohd scratched his head awkwardly.

“Well, in various ways. I went around and argued with people for the sake of arguing. I let my anger free reign, beating my enemies to death. I drank booze and slept with women… In the end, I never really got over it, I think.”

“You never got over it?”

“I never felt like that’s it, now I’ve overcome the death of my men,” Chrohd looked up to the ceiling with somewhat distant and empty eyes. “There are still times when I become sad and nostalgic while drinking booze by myself.”

“I see.”

“So, I’d say it’s more important how you’re going to face it from now on.”

“How I’m going to face it, huh?” Chrono muttered.

“Sorry for having made you wait.”

Mayla placed a thin soup and bread on the table. Chrono was grateful for that since he didn’t really feel all that hungry. He used his spoon to bring the soup to his mouth. But, as soon as he put it inside, his eyes widened lightly. At once, he scooped up another spoonful.

Delicious. It’s got a light taste, but it does have depth to it.

“How is it?”

“Delicious. Yep, it’s great.”

“It’s a pleasure to hear that. Recently, your body has been looking in bad shape, Young Master.”

Mayla smiled in satisfaction, causing Chrono to feel apologetic for making her worry.

“With this you should collapse on the way to the conferral of honors,” Chrohd smiled broadly while resting his chin on a hand.

※

As soon as Chrono went outside after finishing his preparations to attend the palace, two box-shaped carriages were waiting for him. Both bore the imperial family’s crest and were surrounded by several cavalrymen. Going by their white uniform, Chrono guessed them to be members of an imperial knight order. In addition, curious onlookers had gathered, too.

The 4th District, where the Chroford mansion was situated, was an area inhabited by the rich, but most of them were commoners. Hence, it was inevitable for two carriages with the imperial insignia to draw attention. Once one of the riders dismounted, the onlookers drew back.

The man walked up to Chrono and came to a halt. He straightened his back and saluted.

“Ooohh,” murmured the onlookers in admiration.

That’s how beautiful the man’s salute was. Chrono responded with a salute of his own after a slight delay. But, unfortunately it didn’t cause any admiration amongst the onlookers. The man canceled his salute, and so did Chrono.

“Marquis Erakis, we have come to receive you.”

“Good work.”

“This way please.”

Prompted by the man, Chrono got on a carriage. Looking outside the window, he spotted his foster father, Mayla, Arided, and Deneb standing at the mansion’s entrance. He lightly waved a hand at them. In response, Arided and Deneb vigorously waved back. Chrono smiled wryly at their childish behavior.

The carriage began to slowly move. But, since he had no conversation partner, he spent his time vacantly looking out of the window. The cityscape of the imperial capital streamed past. The traveling comfort in this carriage was worse than the one Goldi had magically remodeled for him, but it moved forward smoothly. As might be expected of a carriage with the imperial family’s crest.

Suddenly Chrono recalled his foster father’s words, and tried to face his men’s death in his own way. Even if only incomprehensible feelings were left, it was better than arbitrarily deciding on what his men thought. Once he thought of it like that, he felt like it eased his mind a bit.

The carriage changed its direction and then advanced straight forward. After a short while, Castle Alfirk came into sight. Crossing the drawbridge and passing underneath the portcullis, the carriage passed the castle gate. Immediately after, the carriage’s speed dropped significantly and then it stopped in a section of the garden.

As Chrono waited in a daze, the door opened. The one opening wasn’t an imperial knight, but a court lady. She was a beauty, but at the same time she somehow looked to him as if she was putting on airs.

“I shall guide you to the audience hall. This way please.”

With those words, she slowly started to walk off. Chrono followed her in a hurry.

The garden of Castle Alfirk was big. It was obviously being maintained attentively. Of course, the same also implied to the castle’s interior. Soon they arrived in front of a door. A huge, luxurious door. Chrono suspected this door to lead into the audience hall. Two knights stood on either side of the door, and Leonhart, Taur, Rio, and Bertil had gathered in front of it.

“Yo, Chro――”

“Ooohh!! Marquis Erakis!”

Bertil pushed aside Rio and walked to Chrono, clasping both his hands. Meanwhile, Rio pulled a sullen face. But that was only natural after being shoved aside.

“Deputy Corps Commander Bertil, thank you for before.”

“No, no, I just did what was normal for a deputy corps commander.”

Before referred to the time when he had arranged for doctors to treat the wounded. If not for that, even more might have died after their wounds deteriorated.

“By the way, what about your lover?”

“If it’s Shaela, I had her return to the march together with my adjutant.”

“I see. I ended up doing something inexcusable.”

“No, it’s fine. I will be able to meet her soon enough.”

“I’m thankful for you saying so.”

Suddenly Bertil let go of Chrono’s hands. But, it’s not like he did it out of his own volition. He had been pushed aside by Rio. Rio wrapped her arm around Chrono’s. However, it still felt quite clumsy and awkward.

“What are you doing?”

“Deputy Corps Commander Bertil, could you not get in the way of a meeting between lovers?” Rio responded testily at Bertil’s angry question.

The older man groaned and then drew back. He had yielded to Rio’s force.

“Y-You two are really――”

“Of course, we’re dating.”

“I-I see. I was sure, the imperial princes…no, well, everyone to their own, I guess.”

Bertil quickly scurried away. Even while saying that people could do what they liked, he put strength into his butt muscles. Chrono believed he ought to clear up that misunderstanding, but only if they would be continuing their currently good relationship.

“I don’t have any intention to disturb other people’s love life, but…,” Leonhart paused at that point and shifted his eyes to the court lady.

She suddenly blushed. Her attitude towards Leonhart was quite different. Despite having constantly treated Chrono as someone below her. After bowing, she left in a somewhat flustered state.

“Shouldn’t you at least keep the time and place in mind?”

“I know.”

Rio separated from Chrono upon Leonhart’s words. Since she was pursing her lips unhappily, she didn’t seem to agree. But, Chrono found that to be one of her cuter parts.

All of a sudden, Leonhart looked at Chrono. He stared at him closely.

“Lord Chrono, you seem to look unwell?”

“Recently my appetite… Also, I’ve had slight trouble falling asleep.”

“Hmm, if you like, I could have my favorite aroma tea sent to you? It has a soothing effect. If you drink it when unable to sleep because of high-strung feelings, you’ll be able to sleep very well.”

“Your feelings are very welcome.”

“I see,” Leonhart said while looking downhearted.

It triggered Chrono’s feelings of guilt a bit.

“But, tell me any time, if you change your mind. I will be always waiting.”

Thank you for your kind consideration.”

Chrono bowed and walked up to Taur. He straightened his back and saluted. Thereupon, Taur responded in kind.

“Sir Taur, thank you for the other day. If you hadn’t come, everyone would have run out of strength and died.”

“What, no need to thank me. I just did what’s natural for friends who fought at my side,” Taur answered with a smile as Chrono thanked him.

Somehow it was a sad smile. Chrono assumed he was grieving over the death of his men. At that moment, the knights exchanged a look. One of them spoke up.

“Are you ready?”

“Yep, please go ahead.”

Once Bertil nodded, the knights turned around and pushed against the door. It opened with a heavy, solemn sound. A huge space waited beyond the door, and a red carpet was extending straight ahead.

“Let’s go.”

Bertil started to walk, followed by Leonhart, Rio, and Taur. Chrono was last. He placed a foot on the carpet, but then instinctively flinched back. The carpet was quite soft. The two knights smiled wryly, causing Chrono’s cheeks to become hot out of embarrassment.

He stepped on the carpet once more and walked after the others while letting his eyes wander. The audience hall was big enough to encompass the Chroford mansion in the 4th District. Yet, there was nothing in here besides the red carpet and the throne. No, if you included the pedestal beneath the throne, there’d be three things in here. You could feel an emptiness that could also be described as dreary.

However, the floor was polished like a mirror and the throne was adorned with such elaborate craftsmanship that you’d suspected it might cost a fortune. The court royals lined up on both sides of the carpet. Chrono didn’t recognize any of them, but he could tell from just their clothes that they were holding important posts. Probably because of that, he felt a certain level of pressure.

Chrono turned his eyes to the front. Six men and women stood around the throne. The ones on the left and right side were a bald, old man, and a young woman. He assumed the bald guy to be Prime Minister Alkor. And since he couldn’t easily come up with a person who would rank next to prime minister, he thought that the woman had to be Alfort’s mother.

That means the remaining four are the Military Department Head, the Finance Department Head, the Department of State Affairs Head, and the Department of the Imperial Household Head, huh?

Alfort was sitting deeply on the throne, revealing a cramped smile.

Since he’s allowed to sit on the throne on this occasion, they probably intend to install him as the new emperor.

Chrono wondered whether it’d be alright to have a new emperor who gets cold feet when intimidated by a soldier and shits himself when seeing bonfires, but he also knew that they didn’t place him up there because they were expecting anything out of him.

Bertil came to a halt, and so did the rest of the group. Leonhart and Rio positioned themselves on Bertil’s sides while Taur stood next to Chrono. Bertil genuflected and the other three imitated that. Chrono followed suit with a slight delay. Prime Minister Alkor stepped forward and looked down at the group.

“Deputy Corps Commander Bertil, give us your report.”

“Yes, Your Excellency! We――”

Prompted by Alkor, Bertil began to recount the events of the recent war. He didn’t say anything overly wrong, but the truth was still being distorted. Even if it couldn’t be helped for him to omit the part with Alfort shitting himself, he exaggerated things a bit too much in their favor. Anyone hearing that story would take Alfort for an outstanding corps commander. Even if he had mentally prepared him for this, Chrono was proud of himself for not retorting at half of the things said.

“――That is all.”

“I see, then we must reward those who have performed especially marvelously on the battlefield,” Prime Minister Alkor turned his eyes at Chrono after Bertil finished his report.

“…Marquis Erakis.”

“Yes!” Chrono answered curtly.

“His Highness Alfort has been very grateful for your devotion as the one who served as rear guard during the recent battles. That also applies to me and His Highness’s mother, Lady Farna.”

Upon making eye contact with her, Farna took a step forward.

“Marquis Erakis, you have deepest gratitude for having saved my son from a terrible predicament.”

“Thank you for these kind words.”

Once Chrono bowed while kneeling, Alkor spoke up once more, “In praise of those achievements, you shall be granted the Cad Earldom.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. I gratefully accept.”

Chrono bowed once more. The Cad Earldom was situated west of the Erakis March. He had passed through it during his trip to the capital to attend the ball. The impression he got from it when looking out of the carriage’s window was backcountry with nothing but a small fishing village, but a territory with connection to the sea was attractive. It would allow him to eat seafood and if they built a port, trade would become an option as well.

“Now then, the war just ended, but…”

Chrono lightly shook his head at Alkor’s words.

No good. I only thought about my new territory, but the war is still not over. A new departure to the front won’t be order right after we suffered so many losses, but――

“We concluded a peace treaty with Holy Kingdom Argo just the other day.”

For an instant, his head went all white.

wHaT Is hE saYInG?

“As all of you know, we have had countless skirmishes with Argo at our border. Our recent war expressed our unhappiness about that.”

Alkor continued to speak, but Chrono was stuck in a vortex of confusion.

Impossible. Assuming they started the negotiations right after Alfort’s return, they’d have had less than twenty days for peace talks. It’s weird for them to come to any sort of conclusion in such a short span of time.

Suddenly he recalled something that occurred on the second day of the march. Back then, Chrono had wondered whether they could chip away Argo’s national power if they managed to simply prevent merchants to traverse the east-west highway.And he had also asked himself why they didn’t do something they could actually do.

War was an accumulation of plain harassments. In addition, there was an immeasurable number of things that needed to be done such as recruiting soldiers and training them. Yet, they hadn’t been given more than a month to get everything ready. That was no time for a significant accumulation of harassments to take place. But, you’d be easily able to explain it, if you assumed that negotiation had already advanced behind closed doors.

The empire didn’t plan to occupy the town of Marcab from the very start. Even if our army had successfully taken Marcab, they’d created some sort of situation making a retreat indispensable. After all, Prime Minister Alkor’s objective wasn’t a messy war with Argo, but peace. In addition, he also created the necessary achievements for Alfort to succeed the throne by concluding a peace treaty. Everything and anything went down just like this old geezer had plotted.

His body trembled. He had fought with his mind set on not wanting to let his men die while putting a lid on his feelings of guilt and stifling his fear. But, he had allowed many of his subordinates to die because he lacked the necessary strength.

And yet, all of it had been moving pieces around on a game board. Chrono had frantically fought without knowing that he also hadn’t been much more than just another game piece.

Chrono clutched the carpet. His nails were torn away because he put way too much strength into it. Bloodlust welled up inside him.

I’ll kill them. I’ll kill all these fuckers.

The instant he tried to get up, Chrono’s head was pressed down. It was Taur. Taur was pushing down Chrono’s head.

“Let me――”

“Endure. Lord Chrono, your life isn’t your own anymore.”

“――――gh!”

Chrono tried to brush away Taur’s hand as violent fury raged inside him. But, Taur’s words let him recover a bit of composure.

That’s right. I have people waiting for me. If I act on my emotions, I’ll only cause trouble to everyone else.

“M-Marquis Erakis, w-what do you think about the peace?” Alfort asked at that moment.

“――――gh!”

Even more bloodlust welled up inside him due to those insensitive words.

Why is he asking me something like that? In the first place, if you hadn’t whined about retreating, we could have withdrawn in a much safer manner, yet――

Something plopped on the carpet. Tears of bitterness.

Chrono used the back of his hand to wipe his tears away and lifted his face, frantically producing a smile.

“The people…will surely be thankful for your decisive judgment on this matter, Your Highness. My subordinates are no different as they must feel proud to have become a cornerstone of this new peace.”

“I-I see. That’s g-great,” Alfort sighed in relief.

Meanwhile Chrono felt the bile stir in his stomach.

A farce. All of it. And my men had to die for this bullshit. There’s no way they feel proud for having become some cornerstone for a sham like this. I’m sure they didn’t want to die. I’m sure they wanted to stay alive. How can one be proud of using and throwing them away like this?

Chrono lowered his head, his shoulders trembling.

※

“Marquis Erakis!”

“――ng!”

Chrono came to his senses when this loud voice hit him. A wind was blowing. A cold one. Once he looked in the direction of where the wind was coming from, wondering what was going on, he spotted a man in white uniform.

“Is something the matter?”

“We have arrived at the mansion…,” the man answered while quizzically lifting an eyebrow.

Chrono looked behind the man, just to find the Chroford estate there. He wondered just when they’d come back here. His memories became blurry from halfway through the conferral of honors.

“Marquis Erakis?”

“Ah, sorry. I will get out right away.”

Chrono climbed out of the carriage, but his legs almost gave out on him. The man grabbed Chrono by his arm.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine.”

The man revealed a doubtful look at Chrono’s reply. But, he probably thought that his own work was over here. After saluting, he turned around and climbed on his horse.

Chrono vacantly watched him and the rest of the escort leave.

At that moment he heard a clack from behind him. It was the sound of a door opening. Once he looked back, Arided and Deneb were just coming out of the mansion.

“”Lord Chrono, welcome back kinda!””

The two greeted him energetically and hugged him. He staggered, unable to fully catch them both.

“How was the conferral of honors, kinda?”

“Did you kinda receive a reward?”

“Ah, yeah. I got the Cad Earldom.”

“”Oohh! That’s amazing!””

The two went around in front of him and did a high five. The clapping of their palms sounded full and nice.

“I’m kinda sure, everyone…Leo, Horus, and Lizad will be happy as well.”

“We also kinda did our best and allowed you to reach new heights, Lord Chrono.”

“―――nh!”

Feeling a shock as if having been punched in the face, Chrono stepped back. The two were rejoicing, saying that the deaths of Leo, Horus, Lizad and everyone else bore meaning.

Wrong. You’re wrong. That war was a farce.

The battle of Chrono and his men was meaningless. The whole thing started on the gameboard and it ended on the gameboard. But, there was no way he could tell the two girls about this.

“”Hmm? Is something kinda wrong?””

“N-No, it’s nothing,” Chrono answered nervously.

In his mind he cursed at himself for being unable to play it by the ear.

“Hmm, are you kinda doubting our loyalty by chance?”

“We might act like this, but we’re deeply loyal. Promised.”

Both looked slightly sullen.

I wonder why? I feel sick. My chest is constricted. If I’m not careful, I could end up vomiting the bread and soup I had for breakfast.

“”If it’s for your sake, Lord Chrono, we…””

Chrono drew back even further. He wanted them to stop. He couldn’t take it any longer. He felt like throwing up. The scenes he had seen on the battlefield played back in front of his inner eye――Leo with his head blasted apart, the elven woman who burned to cinders, Horus who had died with his eyes wide open, and Lizad who kept running to the bitter end while being stabbed by multiple spears.

“”…would die for you!””

“――――gh!”

Unable to hold it back any longer, Chrono threw up. His stomach’s content splashed on the ground. He felt like he heard the two’s voices, but he didn’t understand what they were saying.

“Lord Chrono, is something kinda wrong?”

“If you feel ill, it’ll be best for you to take a good rest.”

“――――rg!”

The two elves drew close.

Once again tormented by flashbacks, Chrono backed away, turned around, and started to run. No, he fled. He felt like he could finally understand why Lizad had thrown away his life. It was because of Chrono.

The Universal Declaration of People’s Rights――I’m sure Lizad also pinned his hopes on that like Arided and Deneb. That’s why he gave his life.

Chrono was afraid of holding up some ideal. If you brandished ideals, you’d create enemies. It’s because he thought that, but now he wondered whether that was all.

Isn’t it actually because I realized the danger of Universal Rights for everyone?

This world was different from the world where Chrono used to live. But, if this world followed the same history as his former world, it should be able to produce a Universal Declaration of Rights――the idea of human rights――in a few hundred years. Chrono imported an ideology that should have come to be in the distant future.

For Chrono, this was only natural knowledge, but for the people suffering in this world at the very moment it was salvation. It made them think that they want to protect that idea, even if they have to sacrifice themselves for it. It lured them into dying for their beliefs. It was poison. A deadly poison that encroached their thinking. And because of it, they protected Chrono. But, the one they had protected in exchange for their own lives was an idiot who didn’t realize that he was nothing but a piece on a game board.

“Dad, it’s impossible.”

Tears overflowed. His foster father said it was important to face his subordinates’ death. But, it was impossible for Chrono. He couldn’t face their death. He couldn’t hold up his ideals. He didn’t even have the ability to realize them. He wouldn’t be able to accept any further of his subordinates dying.

I want to go far away.

That feeling sprouted in him.

No, that’s wrong. It’s not that I want to go far away. I want to go to a place where no one knows me.

Suddenly Layla’s face crossed his mind, but he lightly shook his head.

Let’s go to a place where no one knows who I am.

With that thought in mind, he headed for the gate, but being stopped by some hoodlums over having touched his shoulder, he was beaten black and blue on top of being tossed into some back alley. His wallet got stolen as well. Far from going far away, he wasn’t even able to leave the capital.

Chrono laughed at how ridiculously small and irrelevant he was. The idea that his men had died for the sake of such a useless bum made him unable to stop crying. He cried while laughing. He looked up to the sky, wondering whether he might be able to die, if he remained lying down here.

Suddenly a girl with dark skin looked down at him. She had an evil look on her. She appeared to be around fifteen years old. Her hair was short and she had a slim figure. Her tattered clothes immediately told anyone that she wasn’t rich. The girl knelt down and started to search Chrono’s pocket.

“…My wallet has already been stolen.”

“――――gh!”

The girl’s body froze with a start and then she breathed out deeply.

“What, you were still alive?”

“Well, so far as it goes.”

“Tsk, get lost once you’ve got enough of this. This ain’t a place for people like you to hang around.”

The girl clicked her tongue and left Chrono. It didn’t really matter, but her words sounded as if she had been the one who beat up Chrono.

The girl turned around and started to walk away, but then came back right away.

“Hey, you.”

“I’m called Chrono.”

“Hmmm, Chrono, eh? Sure, whatever. Why did you collapse in a place like this? Going by your outfit, you’re a noble, aren’t you?”

“I tried to go to a place where no one knows me…”

“You tried?”

“Some hoodlum messed with me, beat me up, and dumped me in this alley. He also stole my wallet.”

“That’s no good! At least leave through the gate!” The girl yelled.

He couldn’t object as she was totally right about it.

“But well, ain’t like I can’t understand your feelings.” Saying as much, the girl knelt back down. “Nobles have their own share of hardships, don’t they?”

“They sure do,” Chrono agreed to her grumbling. “And, who are you?”

“I’m an orphan. No need for pity. The capital is full of brats like me and it ain’t like pity would change anything for the better anyway.”

The girl brushed up her hair and sighed.

“I could give you some money, if my wallet hadn’t been stolen, but well…”

“I told you to not pity me, didn’t I!? I might look like this, but I still earn my own food!”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine as long as you get it,” the girls said while looking somewhat bashful when Chrono apologized.

“Say, why did you want to go to a place where no one knows you?”

“My men died.”

“Hmm, that means you’re a soldier?”

“Yeah.”

“So, is that anything you’d need to worry about?”

“――――gh!”

Chrono’s head became white. Once he came to, he stood up and grabbed the girl by the collar.

Oh no, this is bad.

For just an instant, he regained his senses. But, he didn’t stop.

“I killed them! My men died because I ran my mouth about ideals…values that don’t exist in this world without thinking!” Chrono yelled and let go of the girl.

“…The subordinates, who survived, said they’d die for me as well.”

“I don’t really get it, but it ain’t anything you need to worry about after all, is it?” The girl said while fixing her collar. “It’s not like you told them to die for your sake, right?”

“But, I spoke about ideals――”

“Who would be so stupid to die after hearing some ideals?” She interrupted Chrono with a tone telling him that he didn’t get a thing. “Your subordinates acted out of their own will.”

“But, they might still be alive if I hadn’t spoken about my ideals. They’d be living right now, marrying at some point, and getting kids…that’s the sort of future they should have had, if they were still alive.”

“…You liked those guys, didn’t you?” The girl muttered.

Chrono felt a shock as if his heart had been grabbed by a vice. He instinctively looked the girl in the face. She was looking puzzled.

“Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not. I…liked Leo, Horus, and Lizad.”

“I’m sure those guys liked you as well.”

Her words echoed oddly inside Chrono’s heart. Suddenly he remembered Layla. When he had detained her at the hospital, he might have thought that he wouldn’t forgive discrimination. No, back then he was frantic about holding Layla back. The Universal Declaration of Right was nothing more but an excuse for that sake. He simply hated the thought of a person he liked being treated unjustly and he had wondered whether he couldn’t change the environment of his subordinates.

Tears started to spill out.

He liked Leo, Horus, and Lizad. He wanted to meet them once again. He wanted to meet and tell them that he liked them. He wanted to meet his dead subordinates. But, they weren’t here anymore. They had already died. Chrono raised his face and cried.

※

How long did I cry? It must have lasted for quite a while. My eyes are stinging and my throat hurts. But, it’s not a bad feeling.

Once Chrono lifted his head, the girl had bright red eyes.

“I haven’t cried out of sympathy or anything, okay!?”

“I know, I know,” Chrono agreed to her clearly wrong justification.

He wiped his tears and slowly stood up.

“How should I put it…? I’m an idiot, so I can’t come up with the right words in situations like this, but shape up, man.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Chrono stepped forward.

What can I do for them? How should I move in order to make their wishes come true? Yet, they ended up dying on me. So I can’t ask them about their wishes. I have no choice but to think how to thank them in my own way. I guess that’s what my foster dad wanted to tell me too.

Just as he was about to step out of the alley, Chrono stopped and looked back. The girl stared at him in confusion.

“Come to think of it, what’s your name?”

“Verena.”

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask you, if I may…”

“What?”

“Why did you come back?”

“Ah, that, huh? It wasn’t anything important…” Verena averted her face, looking embarrassed. “I just wanted to try talking to a noble.”

“And, what was your impression?”

“Ah, somehow you’re very normal. I thought you’re a human just like everyone else.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

Chrono smiled wryly and left the alley. He didn’t tell her see you. He left the alley and started to walk. It couldn’t be helped that his body ailed at first, but before he knew it, Chrono started to run. Power and passion was overflowing from the core of his body. The slightly filthy streets looked pretty to him, and the air, which was pregnant with a stale stench, appeared fresh to him. He wanted to tell these feelings to someone.

He kept running as if being fueled by passion until he eventually arrived at the Chroford mansion. Arided and Deneb stood in front of the gate, looking dispirited and not knowing what to do.

“Arided! Deneb!”

As soon as he called out to them, both raised their heads at once. Under normal circumstances, they’d have run up to him right away, but right now they were downhearted. Because of that, Chrono walked up to them himself.

“…Arided, Deneb.”

“Lord Chrono, forgive us. We, umm…”

“We kinda didn’t consider your feelings,” Deneb took over after Arided started to mumble under her breath.

Even now they looked to be on the verge of tears.

It seems I worried both quite a bit. I really suck. I should apologize. But, before that, there’s something else I need to do.

“…Arided, Deneb.”

“”――――gh!””

Arided and Deneb gasped because Chrono had hugged them both.

“I love you.”

“S-Sure, I’m in a bind if I’m told something like that in such a serious and grave atmosphere.”

“B-But, w-wrong…I love you as well!”

“How cunning. Still, I’m the same.”

Arided frowned at Deneb yelling out her raw feelings. But, her expression softened right away, and soon both were hugging Chrono back.

Suddenly you could hear the clack of the door being opened. Looking at the entrance way, Chrono saw his foster father and Mayla coming out.

“Dad! Mayla!”

“”Eh!?”

Chrono yelled, pushing aside Arided and Deneb. Both cried out, apparently confused, but Chrono didn’t care. He wanted to pass on these feelings.

“I love you!”

Stirred by his passion, he rushed at the two newcomers. Mayla swiftly stepped forward. Given that he had tried to hug his foster father, he had unconsciously eased up on the speed. Now he attempted to slip past her, but was cut off. Having no other choice, he hugged her tightly. Probably deeply moved by his action, Mayla’s body trembled, before she returned the embrace.

“It might be the first time in twenty years for me to be hugged so passionately. There’s quite a difference in age between us, Young Master, but if you desire me, I shan’t turn you down. Ah, Master, please forgive me. I’m a weak woman.”

“You’re the only one regarding this as being hugged passionately, you know?” Chrohd retorted.

“That’s just your imagination,” denied Malya at once.

“Mayla, let go of me.”

“Just a bit longer. Gosh, for the Young Master, who used to be so unreliable, to have grown into such a fine, young man…I can little see the upbringing.”

Chrono shuddered at Mayla’s whisper. He thought that she was simply trying to torture him to death, so he was shocked to hear that this was her idea of an upbringing.

“Mayla? Mrs. Mayla? Could you please let go of me anytime soon?”

“……No helping it, I suppose.”

Mayla reluctantly let go of Chrono. She turned her back on him and looked up to the sky, probably ruminating through memories. Every once in a while, her body trembled. Chrono felt slightly scared by that, but he shook his head and charged at his foster father once more.

“Dad! I lo――”

“I told you that I have no interest in butt love, didn’t I!?” Chrohd yelled and drove a fist down on Chrono.

“Hiii!” Chrono screamed.

Probably because Chrohd hadn’t expected for Chrono to dodge the punch, he widened his eyes in surprise.

“How dare you dodge my punch like that! You hurt my feelings!”

Since Chrohd cracked his knuckles and drew closer, Chrono pleaded with a pale face, “Ah, sorry. I won’t hug you anymore, so please stop cracking your knuckles like that.”

“No need to hold back, you say? That fits. I was just thinking about moving my body a bit.”

“Please give me a break for real. My body hurts all over after I got beat up by some hoodlum. MY ribs might be broken,” Chrono coughed, “I’ve suddenly got trouble breathing…”

“I was just joking, so no need to become so frantic, dude.”

“Oh, I see.”

His foster father said with a fed-up tone, but Chrono didn’t let his guards down. It was still possible that it was an act to lure Chrono into becoming careless. Chrono only breathed out in relief when his foster father lowered his hands.

“Looks like you’ve finally been able to face things properly, eh?”

“Probably…but, I’ll keep thinking about it from now on as well.”

Chrohd looked at his son, narrowing his eyes. His look carried a nostalgia as if he was staring at his past self. Suddenly Chrohd grabbed Chrono’s head and shook it sideways.

Maybe he’s intended to stroke my head? I’m thankful for the feelings, but my neck bones are in a dire situation.

Suddenly his foster father’s hand stopped.

“To be honest, I thought you’d run away. Unlike me, you’re a sensitive guy. You’ve got a tendency to think of your subordinates as friends. I didn’t think you’d be able to come to terms with their death.”

“Sorry for having caused your worry.”

“Ain’t nothing to apologize. Well, how to put it…I just underestimated you, I guess. No matter how I look at you, you totally give me the impression that you’d bawl like a baby at any given moment. I didn’t expect you to grow up at all. Sheesh, are all the parents of this world like this?”

With those words, Chrohd scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Isn’t it terrible to say that 『you didn’t expect me to grow up at all』?”

“I mean, that’s inevitable, no? You’re full of overly optimistic thoughts.”

“O-Okay, I can’t deny that.”

“Your overly optimistic attitude is just like a disease, which makes it all the nastier.”

“”Disease!?””

Arided and Deneb drew back in response to Chrohd’s words. Chrono’s good impression of the two dropped somewhat.

“I didn’t mean it like that. This guy is living based on a fundamentally different set of values than us. Some folks might even feel comfortable around him and try to do stuff for his sake.”

“”How’s any of that bad?””

“It’s not that it’s bad. However, doing something because it’s reasonable and doing something in order to make it reasonable are two different things. You’re in for a lot of pain, if you misunderstand that part.”

“”I see.””

The two elves apparently reached an understanding.

“Him digging his own grave because of his overly optimistic attitude also plays a role in this. It doesn’t negatively affect only others, but himself as well. See? Doesn’t it sound just like a disease?”

“Hmm, I kinda want another example.”

“I’d like you to make it a bit easier to understand.”

“I think my example was quite good, though,” Chrohd scratched his head, looking awkward.

“Anyway, I’d continue with 『Which is it?』, but it looks like you’ve made up your mind, eh?”

“Yeah, well, I worried about it quite a bit, though.”

“Isn’t it fine? I mean it’s just normal to worry quite a bit when you’re trying to do something outrageous.”

“Did you do it as well, Dad?”

“Well, even I――”

“To me it looked like you didn’t think about anything, though, Master?”

“Idiot! Look, it was that. Yep, that…I just pretended to not think anything,” Chrohd said as if trying to make an excuse.

It seems like it’s quite difficult if you have a maid who talks a lot.

“Anyway, grab a bite, take a bath, and then let’s drink some booze.”

“After the medical treatment, that is,” Mayla sighed when Chrohd gave Chrono a thumbs-up.

※

“Okay, Dad. Good night.”

“Aye. I’ll hit the sack after drinking for a bit longer.”

Chrono left the dining room after bidding his foster father a good night. Chrono had drunk only small sips of wine while talking with him, but he still felt lightheaded.

I guess this is what they mean if they talk about feeling exhilarated. Still, it was a good wine. I want to drink it again with Dad at some point.

He climbed the stairs and headed to his own room. He extended a hand for the knob, but then stopped.

I wonder why, but I’ve got a bad feeling.

He quietly opened the door and peered inside. Just to meet eyes with someone. Eyes were staring at Chrono. He gently closed the door again. Thereupon――

“How terrible of you to close the door like that!”

“Reaction please, kinda.”

Arided and Deneb jumped out of the room.

“…Reaction, you say…,” Chrono muttered reflexively.

Just what sort of reaction are they looking for? I feel like just closing the door quietly was already me having done my job well. Rather, I’d like them to praise me for not slamming it shut.

“Okay, I’ll go to sleep now.”

“”Kinda wait a sec!””

Arided and Deneb blocked the door when Chrono tried to enter the room.

“Today I want to snuggle into my bed and get a good night’s worth of sleep…”

“I kinda understand your feeling very well, Lord Chrono. But, what is the idea with you slighting Deneb’s efforts of buying brand-new panties!?”

“Gyaaaaa!”

Arided widened her eyes while Deneb screamed. Arided had flipped up Deneb’s skirt, just to have her hand slapped away in the next moment.

“Did you see?”

“No, I didn’t,” Chrono answered Deneb, whose face was bright red.

He didn’t lie either. He found it regrettable, but he didn’t manage to catch a peek.

“Of course, I’m also wearing new panties.”

“How about you kinda show your own panties then!?” Deneb retorted while glancing at Arided sideways.

“I’m not really confident that I can share a bed with both of you due to my sexual desire having recently waned a bit…”

“If you like, we’re kinda OK with just servicing you.”

“In that case, I feel like leaving it in your hands.”

Chrono decided to accept Arided’s proposal. It was a godsend idea since he thought the hurdle would be rather high to suddenly start off with a 3P. This way he could simply cut it off at any point, if he judged it as impossible.

“After you girls.”

“”Excuse me for kinda entering””

After ushering the two elves inside his room, Chrono made sure that no one was in the hallway and then closed the door. Once he turned around, the two girls stood stock still, not knowing what to do next.

Chrono walked over to his bed and sat down. Arided and Deneb approached him. They came to a halt in front of Chrono and put their hands on their maid outfits.

Chrono sighed reflexively, They don’t get it.

“Keep your maid clothes on just like that.”

“”It’ll get dirty.””

“K-e-e-p your maid clothes on just like that.”

“”…Okay.”

The two nodded at Chrono repeating his words with more emphasis.

“Err, from now on we are going to service you, but――”

“It’s embarrassing to be told so once more.”

“My heart is throbbing a bit.”

Arided put her hands on her cheeks while Deneb placed a hand on her heart. Both seemed nervous, but that felt incredibly novel to Chrono.

“Please show me your panties first.”

“…I’d like to ask why, but it can’t be helped. Here you kinda go.”

“Being told so directly is embarrassing.”

Arided pulled up her skirt energetically while Deneb did it somewhat hesitatingly. Arided’s used a simple design. Denebs’s were shorts made out of lace.

“Hoh,” Chrono leaned forward, looking at Deneb’s underwear.

Probably feeling shy about this, Deneb started to rub her inner thighs against each other. It was a very innocent reaction, causing Chrono to unconsciously smile.

“Did you kinda understand Deneb’s level of readiness?”

“So I did. By the way――――”

Chrono slid his hand towards Deneb’s butt. In response, Deneb’s body quivered lightly.

“Where did you buy this?”

“I kinda bought it, umm, at the Picks Company,” answered Deneb, her body still trembling.

“In the Erakis March? Or, in the capital?”

“I-In the capital.”

“Hmm, did they say something?”

“N-No, they kinda didn’t.”

“By the way, I kinda bought mine at the Picks Company in the capital, too.”

“It has a simple design, but what’s the idea behind it?”

Chrono sat up again and looked at Arided next. Deneb breathed out in relief.

“Simple is best in everything, kinda. By the way, how long should we kinda do this?”

“Oh, you’re right. Then, let me ask you to serve me now.”

Being asked by Arided, Chrono got up and took off his pants. He folded and placed them on the bed. Then he sat back down. Arided and Deneb let go of their skirts, their eyes focused on Chrono’s nether region. It was embarrassing for Chrono, but acting shy here would be bad.

“Both of you, sit down on the floor.”

“It kinda feels fussy with you ordering us around.”

“It’d kinda be better to do it more normally.”

Both girls had their own reservations about this, but they still sat down obediently. As Chrono pondered whether he should give them another instruction, Arided made her move. She moved slightly, touching Chrono.

“It’s kinda very energetic, considering you talked about a decrease in sexual desire.”

“I’d say it’s thanks to you, Arided.”

“You’re saying some nice things there. I’ll service you to my best abilities,” Arided said happily and started.

She used her hands and tongue to service Chrono. And because of that, his dick was able to fully recover his usual hardness. Deneb intently watched her sister giving Chrono a hand- and blowjob. After a while, she timidly opened her mouth.

“I-I want to serve him as well.”

“And here I have just reached the good part… No choice. I’ll kinda pass the baton to you,” Arided spat out with a sigh and freed up her spot.

Deneb silently looked at Chrono, but apparently having resolved herself, she moved into the spot where Arided had been moments ago. She she touched Chrono’s dick and started to move her hand.

“It’d kinda be better to put a bit more strength into it.”

“I-I know.”

“Now you’re kinda using too much strength.”

“Let me do it how I want for a bit――”

“Now, no, calm down, you two.”

Chrono intervened since it looked like they were about to quarrel. He’d be troubled if they started to fight in this situation.

Maybe it’s bad to have one getting bored.

Chrono spread his legs to make more space.

“Do it together now.”

“It’s kinda awkward to do it while bringing my face close to my younger sister’s.”

“It’s the same for me as well.”

Deneb seemed unhappy about this arrangement, but Arided moved close without reservations. Then both started to service Chrono.

“Please take care of the next preparations, too.”

“”The next preparation?””

Both stopped using their hands and tongues, cutely tilting their heads. But, they immediately gasped as they suddenly understood the meaning.

“No other choice,” Arided muttered and extended a hand for her lower half.

Deneb hesitatingly followed her sister’s example. Then both resumed their servicing again. Chrono felt a deep satisfaction. If he had to make a complaint here, it’d be him not being able to watch the two girls play with themselves from his current position.

“I think it’s enough now.”

“Are you kinda dissatisfied with something?” Arided raised her face and asked.

“Both of you, lay down on the bed while facing each other. Of course, while wearing your panties.”

“It’s kinda been a very rewarding service.”

Arided climbed on the bed, laying down while looking up to the ceiling.

“Come on, Deneb. You kinda come here too.”

“Y-Yeah, I got it.”

Deneb shyly climbed on the bed and positioned herself above Arided while looking down at her sister.”

“As I thought, it’s embarrassing to stare at your little sister while doing it.”

“Ugh, I feel like my head’s boiling.”

“You guys are ready, I’d say,” muttered Chrono while looking at their underwear.

He got on the bed and closed the distance to them. First he pulled on the string of Deneb panties, then he did the same for Arided’s. Of course, only on one side. The panties’ fabric gently turned over.

“Which should I do first? Maybe Arided?”

“I’m kinda good to go any time.”

“Let’s go with Deneb first after all.”

“――――gh!”

Chrono thrust his dick into Deneb. Maybe because she was startled or for some other reason, Deneb bent back before powerlessly falling on Arided.

“Deneb, you’re heavy.”

“I-I’m not that heavy.”

Deneb raised her body and Chrono started to slowly work his hips. There was no reaction.

My dick is reacting though, he sped up his thrusts.

“Hmm, watching my little sister enduring frantically feels kinda strange.”

“There’s no need for y――auuhh!”

Deneb moaned and immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Arided grinned at that and started to caress Deneb’s ear. Deneb’s body trembled and Chrono sped up even further.

Deneb started to raise her voice as she was closing in on her limit.

Arided, on the other hand, probably didn’t realize it yet. That she’d become the next target――

※

Imperial Calendar Year 431, Beginning of February

A clattering could be heard. A carriage. But, this sound was different.

While thinking so, Layla lifted her face. A wagon passed in front of her.

As expected, it wasn’t Chrono. She had sensed that it was a different sort of sound from the beginning. Yet, she ended up disappointed because she probably hoped that she made a mistake.

Two months had passed since Chrono departed from Harshel. At first she only stood at the gate during her days off. That changed into once every five days, once every three days, and after Mino came back, every second day.

“…Lord Chrono,” Lalyla muttered under her breath.

She recalled Mino’s recount, informing her about the deaths of Leo, Horus, and Lizad, as well as Chrono’s hard struggle. She bit her own lips.

Why can’t I be at his side while he’s suffering so much?

Of course, she knew the reason. Chrono had decided for it to be so. But, this didn’t make her stop asking for the reasons why she couldn’t be at his side and why she didn’t insist strongly on going with him.

Just why am I only thinking about Chrono? It’s seriously all questions with no answers. Even though I should have become a bit smarter thanks to being taught by Chrono, the questions only increased. I’m starting to wonder whether I’ve actually become dumber despite intending to become smarter.

Layla cast her face down and sighed.

Suddenly something white fluttered down to the ground. She instinctively looked up to the sky――

“…Snow,” she mumbled.

Snow was slowly floating down from the ashen sky. She widened her eyes lightly. This came a bit unexpected because she didn’t think it’d snow this year.

As she stared at the sky, a boxed carriage passed in front of her.

It’s not Chrono anyway.

She kept looking up while believing so, but the carriage slowly dropped its speed and soon stopped altogether. Taken aback, she looked at the vehicle just as the door opened. Her heart beat leaped.

Chrono slowly got out of the carriage. He was wearing a military uniform and a mantle covered his back. Stepping on the ground, he shifted his eyes to Layla.

I must walk over myself. I have to welcome him back.

Yet, she couldn’t walk nor speak.

Chrono stopped. At a distance where she could touch him whenever she reached out a hand.

“…Layla.”

“――gh!”

Having her name called by him made her gasp. Her whole body trembled. Just him taking her name into his mouth made her so happy. She fully realized that she was Chrono’s woman and at the same time she cursed her own shamefulness.

40% of her comrades who had departed to the front, didn’t come back, and yet she was happy over Chrono having come back alive. She was happy that she’d be able to share a bed with him again.

If this isn’t shameful, what is? Moreover, I’m blaming myself far too little for this.

“…I’m home.”

“Welcome back, Lord Chrono.”

Layla spun her words while her chest felt constricted by all the emotions swirling inside her.

Suddenly Chrono stepped forward and hugged her. It was a gentle, considerate embrace. Layla hugged him back, narrowing her eyes in joy.

“I have…been worried.”

“Sorr――”

“Booh! How long are you two kinda going to hug each other!?”

“It’s snowing so let’s kinda get back to the mansion quickly!”

Arided and Deneb’s voices interrupted Chrono. He separated from her.

“Ah,” she breathed her regret. ‘Even though it has been our first time in two months,’ she pouted.

“You two, go back first and call everyone together!”

“”Roger, kinda!””

As soon as Chrono loudly ordered them, the two elves got back on the carriage. Soon the carriage started to move slowly and Arided leaned herself out of the window.

“Let’s kinda spend a hot night at the mansion tonight!”

“Hey! That’s dangerous!”

Deneb pulled Arided back inside the carriage. With that alone, it had become clear what happened between the two, no, three. But Layla knew it couldn’t be helped as she wanted such a relationship after having resolved herself.

“L-Let’s take a little walk?” Chrono offered with a slightly high-pitched voice.

“Okay,” agreed Layla calmly.

They started walking next to each other.

Around the time when they passed the former inn of Shaela after passing through the gate, Chrono had put his arm around her shoulder. That alone was enough to make her heart race. She couldn’t suppress her glee despite feeling despicable for it. They passed in front of the hospital, and moreover, the square――

“…There’s something I have to apologize for, Layla,” muttered Chrono.

Arided and Deneb crossed her mind, but she guessed that it was about something else.

Just what does he want to apologize for?

“Do you remember my first battle?”

“…Yes,” answered Layla after a short while.

Back then Chrono had repelled Argo’s army of ten thousand men with merely a thousand of his own troops. She didn’t know where his strategy had been right or wrong, but if he hadn’t put it into action, they would have been turned into butchered corpses and Harshel would have been overrun, she suspected. If you just looked at the outcome, Chrono was right. And, results were all that counted on the battlefield.

“Back then I…”

Chrono hesitated to continue. He walked onwards in silence, and then opened his mouth after apparently having made up his mind.

“I tried to push responsibility on you guys…on you, Layla.”

“……Yes, I knew,” Layla managed to somehow squeeze out after a long spell of silence.

At that time Chrono had shown an expression similar to relief. It was a face she had seen many times over in the slums. His expression closely resembled the one a weakling would show when he found someone even weaker than himself.

“I felt it was no more than a repetition of what had happened so often, so I thought I just needed to apologize.”

“Sorry. But, if you noticed it――”

“I’m a despicable woman,” Layla interrupted Chrono. “Lord Chrono, you were so kind to me that I doubted your look might be a deceitful lie…I didn’t want to lose your affection. Also…”

Layla struggled to continue. She didn’t know whether she shouldn’t reveal this. She feared she might lose his love if she did. Those feelings tied her body and mind down.

‘But,’ she thought, ‘Chrono told me a truth he usually should have kept secret. He’s trying to move on after confessing everything. In that case, I should face him equally honestly. Even if it leads to an undesired future further down the line.

Layla resolved herself and spoke up.

“I thought I’d be able to receive your affection for a long time if you kept feeling guilty, so I deliberately avoided speaking about this matter. Please…forgive me.”

Layla stopped and grasped Chrono’s hand. In response, Chrono stopped as well and faced her. She felt like averting her face out of guilt, but she did her best to endure.

“You might not be willing to believe me, but my love is yours alone, Lord Chrono.”

“…Layla.”

Layla’s body stiffened up when Chrono called her name.

“You think my love is genuine?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I also believe that your love is genuine, Layla.”

With those words, Chrono hugged Layla.

Clanging sounds could be heard. Goldi and his men were swinging their hammers in the workshop. Apparently they had arrived at the marquis’ mansion without noticing it. But, maybe that was also fortunate. As they wouldn’t need to worry about onlookers here.

“Layla, I love you.”

“I love you too, Lord Chrono. My love belongs to you alone.”

Whispering their words of love to each other, their lips soon overlapped. It turned into a sweet, enchanting kiss.

※

Chrono climbed the stairs, but then looked back halfway up. His subordinates――Mino, Layla, Arided, Deneb, Goldi, White, Gray, Taiga, Cain, Fay, Shaela, Elena, Shion, and Alyssa stood in the mansion’s entrance hall. The place was wrapped up in a pristine silence.

“…There’s something I want to inform you about,” Chrono started off quietly.

At least he had planned so, but his voice carried much further and louder than he had expected.

“We lost many men during the recent battle, including Leo, Horus, and Lizad. In exchange for their lives, the main force managed to safely return to the empire and I was conferred the Earl Cad peerage.”

No one spoke up. Even Fay looked all doom and gloom. Chrono was unsure whether he should tell them about the empire having concluded a peace treaty with Argos, but――

“The Empire forged a peace treaty with Argos.”

Everyone besides Arided and Deneb stirred.

“For them t’have concluded a peace treaty so quickly――――gh!”

Mino gasped, probably having reached the same conclusion as Chrono did before.

“What the hell!? What did we fight for then?”

“What does this mean?”

“In short, all proceeded in line with the plans and intentions of the higher-ups,” Cain muttered with a sigh as Fay cocked her head in confusion.

“That’s…going way too far.”

“Yeah, quite terrible,” Cain answered her with a grimace.

“Ugh, for what reason did Leo-dono…,” Taiga lamented in sadness and frustration.

“Horus, Lizad also dead.”

“We, sad.”

White and Gray let their tails hang powerlessly.

Chrono waited for everyone to calm down and then spoke up again.

“Soldiers die. This applies to officers and ranks alike. But, death is an outcome. I don’t think that it’s a soldier’s role to die. If someone insists on soldiers having a duty to die, I have only one answer for them: fuck off. We’re no game pieces. We’re humans. We ought to have loyalty to uphold and a logic to follow. But, the Empire doesn’t follow logic and lacks loyalty.”

Chrono added a short pause at this point.

“I hate the Empire. I cannot forgive the Empire for slighting the people precious to me just because they’re demi-humans or commoners. Slavery doesn’t really suit my taste either. But, it’s not like I want to destroy the Empire. Because of that, I’ll change this country. I plan to try altering it. I’ll try to change it into a country that holds meaning and value without dividing its people into demi-humans, commoners, and nobles.”

Once Chrono made this statement, silence swooped down on the entrance hall. Those knowing about the Universal Declaration of People Rights――Mino, Layla, Arided, Deneb, Goldi, White, Gray, and Tiger――became somewhat excited, but those not knowing about it――Cain, Fay, Shaela, Elena, Shion, and Alyssa――seemed confused.

Cain was the one to break the silence.

“Are you sane, no, serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious,” Chrono answered him with a wry smile.

Next Elena spoke up, her eyebrows knitted into a deep frown.

“You say you’re going to change the Empire, but how are you going to change it?”

“We will proceed with the basic route. First off, I will enrich my own fief through agricultural reforms and trade.”

“I see, it makes me slightly happy to hear that.”

“If my own fief isn’t prospering, no one will listen to what I have to say. Also, we’re going to stimulate the industry, I guess. If we do that, it’ll give birth to more jobs and if the foundation of livelihood stabilizes, the commoners…this also includes the demi-humans…will naturally rise in status.”

“Out of your mouth it does sound like it’ll be easy to get it done,” Shaela folded her arms and nodded several times over.

“Do you know the saying words are cheap?”

“Even I know as much,” Shaela looked angrily at Elena for that sarcastic comment.

“No matter how hard you work, a mere country noble won’t be able to change the Empire with his authority. You must become the Emperor to change this country.”

“Yeah, I think that it’s also an option to aim for becoming the Emperor.”

“――――gh!” Elena had her breath taken away.

Everyone else was also looking surprised. But that was only natural. For Chrono, a guy with no rights to the crown succession, the means to become emperor were limited. It wouldn’t be weird, even if he got arrested for treason.

“If it becomes indispensable for me to be the Emperor in order to reach my goal, I will do just that.”

“So you see the post of emperor as nothing more than a stepping stone, huh?” Elena asked with a frown.

“Well, yeah,” Chrono agreed. “I’ll take various measures from now on. Participating in wars and accumulating achievements will also be included in that. I doubt I’ll be able to avoid sacrifices along that way. So I’d like all of you to decide your own future path while keeping that in mind.”

The entrance hall was wrapped up in silence once again. But not because people were confused. It’s because they understood that Chrono had asked them whether they’d be willing to walk this path together with him.

“I have already offered my life to you, Lord Chrono.”

“As promised, I’m gonna accompany ye all the way t’hell.”

Layla knelt down, quickly followed by Mino.

“I do not understand all those complicated matters, but I wish to carry on Leo-dono’s will.”

“If you say you will make this fief prosper, you will need my abilities.”

“”We, together with Lord Chrono.””

Taiga, Goldi, White, and Gray knelt down as well.”

“We got a late start!”

“Uhh, kinda uncool.”

Arided and Deneb knelt down on the spot in panic.

“I got an even later start!” Fay jumped and knelt, before looking up to Cain, “Cain-dono, you are not going to kneel down?”

“I was just baffled by your way of kneeling…”

“If Lord Chrono rises in fame and power, so will we. Humph,” Fay roughly breathed out through her nose.

Her tone was colored with the conviction that it was simple enough to understand.

“Maybe I’m just overthinking things?”

“Is there anything particularly difficult about this?”

“No, it’s a problem on my side. Thinking back on it, I had my life saved by Lord Chrono. No choice then. Guess I’ll stick with him to the bitter end,” Cain scratched his head and knelt down on one knee.

When Chrono looked at Elena’s group, Alyssa was just in the process of kneeling down.

“You sure to make up your mind so easily to obey him?”

“Master has saved this life after all,” Alyssa smiled with a slightly troubled look in response to Shaela’s appalled comment. “Besides, I had already decided to serve Master anyway. Shaela, what are you going to do?”

“I…I… What are you going to do?”

“Why are you bringing me into this?” Elena asked with a sulky tone when Shaela hesitated to answer and hurled the question at Elena.

“I just wanted to hear your opinion as reference.”

“My answer is obviously set.”

With those words, Elena knelt down. Shaela’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s there to be surprised about? I’m Lord Chrono’s slave, so I can only obey, right?”

“Really?” Shaella looked doubtful.

“I won’t be able to protect myself if I stop being his slave.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

Shaela nodded, but didn’t seem to be fully convinced yet.

It’s understandable. She doesn’t know that Elena tried to kill her former fiancé at a ball. Very likely, her uncle has also heard about her survival. I don’t consider the probability of them sending assassins to be high, but from Elena’s point of view, it’s only logical to tread carefully.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Me? Hmm,” Shaela folded her arms and groaned.

P-r-o-m-i-s-e, formed Chrono with his mouth.

Probably out of shame, Shaela’s face became bright red.

“Y-Yeah, I-I’ll do so until I repay my debt. Yep, until I repay my debt.”

“Your face is red, you know?”

“This place is hot!” Shaela blurted out and knelt down.

The last one left was Shion. On second thought, Chrono felt like it’d be better to not call out to her. She surveyed her vicinity and timidly knelt down.

“You sure?”

“Eh? Yes, umm, it’s not like you are against the doctrine of Mother Goddess ruling over Yellow Ocher Harvest, Lord Chrono. It won’t be a problem even if I cooperate with you. Ultimately that is my private opinion, though…,” Shion mumbled an explanation in response to Chrono’s question.

“You’re aiming for more donations by saying this, aren’t you?”

“T-That’s not true.”

“Humph, sure, sure.”

“Now, now, I’m happy if she cooperates with us, even if it’s only based on her private opinion,” Chrono intervened while Elena snorted.

Chrono cleared his throat and looked at his subordinates.

“Starting from now on we will encounter many conflicts I cannot foresee. I don’t have the slightest idea how much effort we will need to put into things and how many sacrifices we will have to make. I don’t know whether we’ll be rewarded either. We can’t even hope for a divine protection.”

It was going to be a battle of attrition. On top of that, the enemy didn’t have a real form. He was going to change the values of people and society itself. That’s the kind of battle it would be.

“Despite that, I believe there’s value in fighting,” Chrono quietly declared.

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Translation Notes:

1. The raw combines 駄 (da – low-grade/worthless) with メイド (maid). Usually if you describe someone as no good or lost case in JP, you’d use 駄目な (damena) and in this particular case it’d be 駄目なメイド (damena maid). The author merged the words here with 駄メイド, so I altered no good maids to unmaids