Chapter 123
On our way to pick up Prince Tsetsedora, Zackhart-sama heard what was happening from a letter from Lufa, dropped everything, and came running. Other than Lufa scolding him—"If it's not your day off, don't skip work!"—and refusing his request to come along, much to his dismay, things went fairly smoothly.
Zackhart-sama saw us off with the forlorn look of a wet puppy.
We eventually reached the fortress near the Rudek-side entrance to Yoros Corridor. Waiting for us was Bekshutat-sama, commander of the Fifth Knight Order.
Bekshutat-sama was, how should I put it... an extremely "proper" person. His hair was perfectly in place, and his clothes were immaculate.
As for the memories of Bekshutat-sama I have from the future, I actually don't have many. He dislikes drawing attention to himself, and even when he accomplishes something, he is a rare sort of person who gives all the credit to others.
Yet in later generations, he would also become, in a sense, the most famous person of all.
Some of the achievements attributed to Raiz-sama in the war against the Empire were actually Bekshutat-sama's as well.
It is the sort of thing one would never know without investigating as thoroughly as I did. It wasn't so much that Raiz-sama stole his achievements; he had probably used them to maintain the morale of Rudek's people rather than let them be buried in silence and darkness.
One of Bekshutat-sama's most notable traits is...
"..."
"...Um, Bekshutat-sama?"
"You've come."
"...Ah, yes. Thank you for welcoming us. We appreciate your help again this time."
"We haven't done much."
...He was extraordinarily taciturn.
This was a major reason Bekshutat-sama went unnoticed.
And he had one other distinctive trait.
"The rest is in writing."
With that, he promptly disappeared into the depths of the fortress. When I opened the letter he'd handed me before leaving, it read:
'Thank you for coming such a long way. Being entrusted with the important task of welcoming an imperial dignitary must be quite stressful. At the very least, please take the day to rest comfortably in the fortress. Also, I apologize for the cold reception when you visited Yoros Corridor before. Given the relationship between the Empire and the Fifth Knight Order, I hope you can understand. Come to think of it, I hear the dignitary you are welcoming this time is the consort of the princess from the Southern Continent. How surprising. Part of me would like to see them, but I think I'll refrain, since I would hate to offend them. I am actually a little curious. And then...'
The page was covered in writing—far more than necessary. Bekshutat-sama was a compulsive letter writer.
For that reason, the many letters by Bekshutat-sama discovered in the years after Rudek's destruction would become invaluable to researchers studying Rudek's internal affairs.
In any case, he wasn't a bad person at heart. He had a craftsman's temperament and was highly respected.
We took full advantage of Bekshutat-sama's kindness. After resting up, we entered Yoros Corridor once more the next day.
Of the four thousand troops, only one thousand would proceed into Imperial territory. We had no desire to provoke the Empire by leading an unnecessarily large force there. Besides, Yoros Corridor was not suited to moving a large army.
The remaining three thousand would wait near the entrance, ready to send reinforcements immediately if anything happened.
We had made our way here in a fairly relaxed atmosphere, but as Imperial territory drew closer, tension began to spread through the unit.
Amid all this, it was Lufa who kept the mood around us light.
"I wonder if Lururia-chan is there?"
"I hope so."
Hearing the carefree exchange with Lapiria-sama, I was able to relax my shoulders a little.
"Ah, we can see them now." Even before I heard Wickhart say so, I could see around two thousand soldiers waiting at the corridor's exit.
As we drew closer, I made out a large general with the greatsword I'd seen once before on his back, along with two familiar figures beside him.
"Prince Tsetsedora, Princess Lururia, General Gafor, it has been a long time. I am Roa of the Roa Unit, Tenth Knight Order. By order of King Zeurasia, I have come to escort Prince Tsetsedora."
"You don't have to go to such lengths," a voice came from above me. Naturally, it was Lururia's.
"But..." I looked up, and Lururia cheerfully said, "Come on, read the room. You don't have to be so formal in front of the people here!"
When I shifted my gaze to Prince Tsetsedora, he nodded with a gentle smile, and General Gafor nodded as well, albeit with a stern expression.
"What? Has Lururia-sama's true nature already been exposed?" I tried joking lightly.
"You don't need the -sama, either. Tsetsii already understands that you and the others don't need to stand on ceremony. Right, Tsetsii?"
The prince they called Tsetsii...
"Yes. Thanks to you, Roa-dono, it is as though my life was saved. If I had answered Brother Fillemas's summons without knowing the situation, who knows what might have happened... Therefore, you are my benefactor. Please feel free to call me simply Tsetsedora as well."
"No, no, that would really be inappropriate."
"Then why not call him Tsetsii in informal settings? That way, strangers won't know who you mean." Lururia proposed it, and Tsetsii agreed, "That sounds good." It really wasn't, but the atmosphere made it impossible to refuse.
"Um... well, I understand the matter of what to call each other. But I've been wondering for a while—Lururia, what's with your outfit...?"
Ever since we met, I'd been wondering about it. Lururia was dressed in something decidedly unprincesslike—in clothes that were extremely easy to move in. More specifically, though I hated to admit it, they looked suspiciously like riding clothes...
"What? I'm obviously going with you too, aren't I?" Lururia said matter-of-factly.
When I was at a loss for comment and looked to Tsetsii for an explanation, General Gafor answered in his place.
"It is Lururia-sama's fervent wish. If possible, I would have liked to accompany Prince Tsetsedora and protect him myself, but since that is not possible, it is reassuring to have someone as quick-witted as Lururia-sama accompany him. After the Second Prince incident, I learned all too well just how much initiative Lururia-sama has."
General Gafor wore a genuinely conflicted expression as he said this.
...What on earth did Lururia get up to?
"Is that so...? Wait, General Gafor, you're not coming with us?"
I had assumed he would naturally be accompanying us, since he was here.
"...If the positions were reversed, and Raiz came all the way to our Imperial capital, how would you feel about that?"
There would undoubtedly be people who wouldn't take kindly to it. It would be counterproductive to the negotiations.
"Indeed. Thank you for your consideration."
"It's not something you need to thank me for," he said, turning away. It seemed less that my words had displeased him than that he was frustrated at being unable to accompany us.
"Any other questions? Then it's settled! Oh, Lufa's here! Long time no see! Have you been well?"
With that, Lururia ran off toward Lufa.
Watching her go, I spoke to Tsetsii.
"...Is she always like that?"
Tsetsii answered without losing his smile, "Yes. More or less. I never get tired of it."