A Brief Moment of Respite

Now that we had permission to negotiate with the Empire, there was a mountain of things to do, and I was swamped with them.

Even deciding who would accompany me to the Empire was giving me a headache.

With neither Rays-sama nor Granz-sama here, what should I do about command of the Tenth Knight Order? The simplest and clearest choice would be to leave it to Lapilia, but she had strongly requested to accompany me to the Empire.

To be honest, I’d feel reassured if Lapilia came with me. But the Tenth Knight Order needed her, too.

As I wondered what to do, Zackhart-sama offered, “I’ll look after things for a while.” He was certainly more than qualified, so I accepted without hesitation.

Lufa would be staying behind this time. I couldn’t possibly take her along. Had Zackhart-sama perhaps been counting on Lufa staying behind...? No, well, never mind. If Zackhart-sama was looking after her, I could rest easy.

I was leaving Dick behind, too. I gave him a certain order. It wasn’t a request; it was an order.

“If we don’t return and the royal capital goes up in flames, take Lufa and flee to the southern continent.”

Lufa should still have Lulria’s letter. If she went to Fezaris with the letter, they wouldn’t turn her away.

Dick was very reluctant, but I couldn’t ask anyone else. The thought of entrusting her to Zackhart-sama crossed my mind, but if the royal capital went up in flames, I was certain he’d stay and fight to the end, making the castle his grave...