Chapter 95
I went to see the count while he was having a late breakfast, having heard that he had awakened. The young lady was still asleep, so I was more or less free.
The bread baked just this morning smelled strongly of butter and looked delicious. The count was spreading lingonberry jam on his and eating it. Did people who used their minds crave sugar? The count also put a generous amount of honey in his morning tea.
Even though he was consuming quite a lot of sugar, the count showed no sign of gaining weight.
"—Reiji-san, you were here?"
The count looked surprised when I entered the dining room.
"I am. You're going to the Holy King's Palace at noon, aren't you?"
When I answered, the count's eyes widened, and then he signaled to the head butler beside him. So the head butler knew some of what was going on, too.
"How are you feeling, Count?"
"I'm far from being in peak condition, but I'm not in a state where I can remain in bed right now."
The count quickly finished his meal and straightened himself up. With an hour left until noon, we were ready to leave.
"Reiji!"
Just as the count and I met at the mansion's entrance, the young lady appeared from the second-floor hallway overlooking the foyer. She looked as though she'd just woken up, too, but she had changed clothes and quickly combed her hair. Being a noble meant she couldn't come out in her pajamas.
"Young lady, you're awake?"
"Reiji, where are you going?"
The young lady's eyes wavered anxiously as she came down the stairs.
"I'm going to the Holy King's Palace with the count. We're reporting on how yesterday's incident was dealt with."
"Ah..."
"I also fought that giant snake afterward, so I have to tell them about that."
I explained everything up front, making it clear that I wasn't talking about the young lady's "Inspiring Magic Eyes" or Young Louis. The young lady gave a small nod.
"I see... That is indeed very important."
"Yes. So, young lady, please stay here at the mansion today."
"Yes..."
"Eva. There's nothing for you to worry about. I'm merely carrying out my duty as a noble, and Reiji-san is merely carrying out his duty as a guard."
"...Yes, I understand."
"Good girl."
The count lightly patted the young lady on the head and said,
"Let's go."
"Yes."
I left the mansion with the count.
When I glanced back, the young lady was still standing at the entrance, watching us leave.
"My daughter certainly seems fond of you, Reiji-san."
Once we had boarded the carriage, the count said that to me. Please don't bring up awkward topics when the head butler is sitting right beside us, Count.
As our carriage entered the First Holy District, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"Count Slyries, where are you headed?"
We were stopped by the Holy King's Knights almost immediately after entering. They had even set up a barricade of fences to keep carriages from passing through.
Count Slyries should normally have been able to pass through on sight—for obvious reasons, since he reported to work here every day—but today they were asking us where we were going.
"The Holy King's Palace. His Majesty summoned me."
"...Please wait a moment."
The Holy King's Knights began checking something.
Looking outside through the open carriage window, I saw knights stationed everywhere, but none of the government officials who normally came here to work.
"We've confirmed it. Once you've finished your business at the Holy King's Palace, please return here."
Permission was granted, and the carriage continued on.
"...Count. Is this because of the Riviere ducal house?"
"Yes. The entire Riviere family, including its head, has been ordered to remain at its mansion in the Second Holy District, but it seems the houses connected to Riviere are gathering their own forces. Publicly, they call it 'self-defense.'"
"That practically amounts to declaring themselves suspicious. For that matter, are they even allowed to gather troops?"
"Once they invoke 'self-defense,' there's little choice but to accept it. And Riviere is a ducal house, after all... Fortunately, its lands lie quite far from the Holy Capital, so it seems they have very few troops here. Many of the nobles connected to them have also been arrested."
"What?"
"—Ah, I hadn't told you, Reiji-san? The Riviere faction was involved in illicitly siphoning off and reselling Talent Jewels from the 'One Heaven Altar.'"
That was what led people to call the count the "Cold-Blooded Lord." The count had suspected that the Talent Jewels appearing from the "One Heaven Altar" were being secretly taken by nobles and diverted elsewhere... He had investigated, sending many nobles to the executioner's block.
(The Riviere faction was involved in that...? And Riviere plotted the assassination of Kurvshrat-sama...?)
I felt a vague, nagging unease. What was it? I felt as though I were overlooking something...
"We're entering the Holy King's Palace."
The count's words jolted me back to reality.
Compared with being questioned in the First Holy District, it was absurdly easy to enter the Holy King's Palace. Since hardly anyone visited in the first place, everyone must have known that the count—or rather, I—was coming.
After getting down from the carriage, only the count and I entered the palace through its airy entrance.
The stone palace had water channels here and there, and the quiet sound of running water could be heard constantly. Like old Japanese buildings, wooden sliding doors resembling fusuma served as the entrances to each room, and they were painted pale blue—the color of holy water.
The room was so bare it could almost be called austere, with a large table and chairs placed in the center.
"It's a plain room, isn't it?"
"Y-yes, it is."
"The Holy King's family has carried on this old-fashioned way of life unchanged."
"I see... It seems inconvenient."
"It must be extremely inconvenient."
So even if you were born a king, you couldn't necessarily live in luxury...
After we had sat and waited for several minutes, the Holy King appeared with a priest and El-san, a Special-Grade Priest.
"I thought you might not come—ah, never mind. Sit down."
The count and I rose and bowed, but the Holy King promptly sat down as he said this. I sat as well, watching him.
The Holy King looked so haggard that one might have thought he had aged several years in a single day. His curt manner and the dignity of a king were unchanged, but he also seemed to be running on sheer force of will.
El-san, the rabbit, and the priest stood behind him. Honestly, I couldn't tell how the rabbit was doing from his expression.
"Now then, you are Reiji, the Slyries family's guard?"
"Yes."
"Thank you. I appreciate your service."
Those were frank words. But...
"No, I merely acted in accordance with my contract with the Slyries family."
I hadn't worked for this man.
"So you insist you acted solely for Count Victor's sake?"
"To be precise, I did it for the young lady. Here, I'll return this."
I took the knife I had slipped into my breast pocket and held it out. Come to think of it, I hadn't been subjected to a body check at any point before getting here. Was their security really this lax? Or was that how much they trusted the count?
"I see. You there, return this to the vault."
One of the priests nodded, took the knife, and left the room.
"Even if your actions were for the count's family, their outcome benefited the nation. I wish to discuss your reward."
"Yes."
"First, in recognition of your courageous actions yesterday, I award you one Holy Gold Coin."
One Holy Gold Coin was worth roughly five million yen. Part of me thought, 'That's about right,' while another part wondered if it was a little low, considering that my annual salary was three Holy Gold Coins.
"Hm? You're making a 'That's not much' face."
"N-no, not at all..."
"Are you paying him that much, Victor?"
"It is only right to pay talented people well, Your Majesty."
"Tch. That's why I said to make it higher. But the treasurer was stingy... Apparently, even one Holy Gold Coin is extraordinarily generous by historical standards."
"Nothing of such magnitude has ever happened in the Holy Capital before. It would be another matter if he had distinguished himself in war, of course."
The count replied that way, and the Holy King looked even more bitter.
I mean, come on. I thought 'That's about right,' too, you know? Why am I the one coming off as greedy?
"In any event, a reward is a reward. Accept it."
"Of course."
There's no harm in having money.
"Also, I have another meeting to attend now. El will handle the rest."
"...Is that so?"
When the count asked, the Holy King nodded with the same bitter expression.
"We have to discuss the Riviere matter. I've summoned my children, the other members of the royal family, and the other ducal houses as well. Victor, you're coming with me."
"But—"
"Come."
"...Yes, Your Majesty. Reiji-san, I'm sorry, but that's how things stand. You should have no trouble getting home, though."
"I'm fine."
Compared with talking to the Holy King, I felt at least a little more at ease with El-san.
For that matter, was the Holy King not particularly wary of me? Or did he consider me an ally as long as I was with Count Slyries?
When I glanced over, the count had a complicated expression on his face. It looked like the unease of realizing that he had misread the situation. He hadn't conveyed the truth about me to the Holy King quite accurately enough.
"Ah, Reiji, was it? One thing."
The Holy King said this as he stood up.
"As for this matter, you'll enter into contract magic. Nothing to worry about—think of it as something like a confidentiality agreement."
It had come, I thought. Contract magic, just as expected.