Chapter 116 – Microwave Oven (6)

The skies of Uzet, the waters of the Empire, were so peaceful that it was hard to believe that there were only two days left until the end of the world.
Because it is located in the southern part of Acetaria, which has a land area larger than the combined territory of Fenheim and Monarch.
In this place where there was no threat from any monsters or demons, the culture of the nobles blossomed naturally.

A small concert was held today at a party commemorating the Marquis Elvin’s 41st birthday.
It was for young ladies just making their debut in the social world to show off their instrumental skills.
Erzsebet also took the opportunity with difficulty, as her name had not yet been included in the empire’s social circles.
Since he would appear tomorrow, today was actually the last chance to receive an invitation.

She waved the hem of her skirt lightly toward the audience and sat down on a stool made of buffalo skin.
As his beautiful fingers pressed the keys, a beautiful serenade rang out.

— Oh, great.
— Was there a song like that in Empire? It seems very different from the beats used by the classical music school.
— What family does that lady belong to? Does anyone know?

By stepping on the pedal with a pen-like shoe foot, the sound is pushed into the tube along with air, skillfully adjusting the intensity of the sound.
Her gently closed eyes, pure white nape of her neck, along her collarbone, her arms, and even her fingertips—all the lines leading to the extremities of her body drew soft curves as if dancing, and all the nobles were spellbound and immersed in the music she was making.
How long has it been since she played the harmonium?
Reminiscing about his childhood, Hergé Bett did his best to show off his favorite songs.
Whenever I played like this in the small instrumental music room in the castle, blood would fly and circle around me.

Clap clap clap!!
Clap clap clap!!

When the performance ended, thunderous applause poured out.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she unconsciously looked around to see if Lewis was watching.

‘Right. Dinner is probably being prepared right now.’

Although she was somewhat embarrassed, she got down from her seat, feeling a little regret that she couldn’t show him this unexpected side of her.
At that time, when I was expressing my gratitude with a smiling face for the nobles’ praise, someone spoke to me.

“Excuse me, young lady.”
“Yes?”

Unlike the aristocrats dressed in fancy tuxedos or dresses, a neat-looking man who looked like a commoner suddenly handed out an invitation.

“I listened to the performance well. “Could you please show your beautiful side one more time at the marquis’ birthday celebration tomorrow?”

Finally, we made contact first from the other side!
It was the moment when the hardships of the past five days paid off.

“Yes, as much as you want.”

Hergé Bett politely accepted the invitation, hiding her joy.
To share this joy of hers, she immediately got into her carriage and headed to the Hotel Marriott.

“Louis?”

But Lewis said she hadn’t returned from the market yet and she was nowhere to be seen.
While contemplating whether to wash it first and take off her stuffy dress, she sat down on her bed for a moment and tapped her knee.

“Well, if I go to the party tomorrow, I won’t have anything more to show… Should I just wear it?”

***

‘Sakenia’, a shabby tavern in the basement of the Cheokpo Inn, at 27 Baltival Street.
The owner’s grandfather, who also runs a blacksmith shop, suffers from dementia, and from September 14th to 17th, alcohol for disinfecting military equipment was poured into an oak barrel, and the number of patients continues to increase.
Afterwards, I secretly met An Sen in a place where it was written in the brochure that she had not had any guests.
The reason is, of course, Caroline.
There was no better place to talk about the saint in secret.

“Oh, you’re Ansen? “What’s going on here?”
“Huh? Ah, haha. “I have some business to run.”
“Hmm. Now that I think about it, I heard you don’t get into accidents these days? “We’re going to party here all night. Do you want to join?”
“No, it’s okay. Louis? I think I need to move my seat…”

Alas, my path overlapped with the students who were looking at the same booklet.
We quickly went upstairs to the inn and took an empty room.

“There is only one room with one bed…”
“It’s okay. “Please give me that.”
“…”
“Why?”
“You’re talking nonsense, tsk tsk.”

The old master’s eyes conveyed indescribable emotions, but he tried to ignore them.

She entered the room and punched the wall a few times before Ansen cast her soundproofing spell.
Only then was I able to talk in earnest, so I immediately brought up my business.

“The Sacreir dragon’s nest. “What on earth is the cult targeting?”
“If you ask me that… “I’m just a liaison.”
“Still, there must be a rumor going around inside the church. “They say they will change the academy’s hegemony, or the prayers of the guards groaning under the gambler chairman echo through the temple every day.”
“The chairman?”

Ansen didn’t seem to understand what I meant by suddenly mentioning Lehel.
The fact that the Sacreir dragon’s nest is her cradle is some kind of secret.
However, I don’t think Caroline, who is from the Blood Gate Brigade, similar to Penheim’s counterintelligence unit Goliath, wouldn’t know that.
In the end, Lehel will be in trouble if Sacreure’s location is revealed as she has been looking for something in the library, glancing at me and Liv over the past few days.
I decided to protect her, as she was her business partner and could only use one or two of her unique magic spells.

“Umm… Well, I didn’t get the feeling that the delegation from the Holy Kingdom was trying to contact the Archduke this time. If it’s a dragon’s nest, wouldn’t there be something else it wants?”
“What is that?”
“Without a doubt, it’s a treasure. “Not only gold and silver, but all kinds of rare minerals said to have been collected by dragons are spread all over the earth.”

Well, as the adventurers chatting in the bar down there said, the value of Sacreure was generally close to a mountain of treasure.
Ansen also told another interesting story.

“Recently, there was a rumor that Monarch was purchasing high-quality minerals. Some people are worried that we are preparing for war…”
“No way.”

That possibility is not high.
Even if the Holy Kingdom wants war, if large-scale movement of goods is identified, it will be caught first by Darling’s information network, not Ansen’s.
In other words, the reason they wanted Sacreure was not simply because there was gold lying around there.

“I understand first of all. “If you receive any additional instructions from here, please report them to me.”
“What about Sacre?”
“You may not be able to find it, but… “If I find it anyway, I’m going to tell you first, right?”
“I guess so… ?”

In the end, what mattered was that Caroline give up her church’s mission first.
Even if she is a saint chosen by her goddess and is good, it does not mean that she has universal love for humanity, as in the case of me, who picked off the devil’s head with a sword with her own hands.
There is no guarantee that Lehel will not become dangerous.

“Then I’ll take care of it. “Come out quietly in a few hours.”
“All right. By the way, Mr. Louis.”
“Why.”
“Is it okay for you not to escort the princess?”

Instead of answering, I held up a raw chicken I bought at the market and showed it to him.

“It’s probably in the banquet hall. “He wanted to be invited to Marquis Elvin’s party.”
“Marquis Elvin… “You are the Prime Minister of Iron Blood.”
“I know?”
“Because he is a person who left a mark in the history of the empire. Learn about it in history class at the Academy. “I was victorious leading the army of steel, but it didn’t end well.”
“How did it end?”
“Um, that’s…”

***

After hearing Marquis Elvin’s story from Ansen, I returned to the hotel.
While I was renting a kitchen and preparing chicken, Erzsebet, who had arrived earlier today, approached me.

“Lewis, are you late?”
“The chicken flew in the middle and ran away.”
“… “If you’re going to lie, try to make it at least believable.”
“I will prepare and fry it in a moment, so please sit at the table first.”

A popular trait that did not disappear even as we removed the stems and tails and cut the chicken into 6 pieces.
I looked over her shoulder to see if she had any business, and saw her standing there without even changing her clothes.

“Are you going out again?”
“No, the party ends tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“I received an invitation. There is a keyboard instrument called a harmonium, and wouldn’t it be similar to the one in the royal family? I presented a clean song and was freed from that horrible party. Shouldn’t this be the next successor to the Penheim royal family? How about this?”

Erzsebet lifted her chin triumphantly, holding the top of her blue dress and gently lifting it to avoid getting it dirty on the kitchen floor.
It was a beautiful appearance worthy of being the star of the party.

“It’s pretty.”
“Don’t lie, be honest… Yes?”
“You grew up well.”
“Lu, Louis… ?”

It was an honest impression with no lies.
She has grown even more than fifteen years ago when she almost became my fiancee, and even more than half a year ago when she was standing in front of the cafeteria.
–
“Oh, no… ! That’s not what I asked… That is… Of course, I’m happy to receive compliments, but I also didn’t wear it specifically to impress you… !”

There’s a harmonium.
A long time ago memory came back to me.
I’ve only seen her play once, at the Penheim Castle.
It was right after I, who had just transformed from a hamburger patty into a human being and was still less mature, had crushed the King’s cervical vertebrae.

— Don’t worry too much, Leader of Hooksclaw. I’m a bit sensitive right now. Think about it? She calls her child, who was living a good life, and tells him to catch the devil, but even if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to do it without hitting him.
— Just leave it alone for now. The guy who recommends reconciliation is a traitor? When you calm down, Eris and I will persuade you.
— There’s still time before Hubblet arrives. It’s a mess, but Yunhoegong is still in the castle. Just go back to the battlefield, we will be leaving soon.

As I was walking around the castle, I happened to hear music echoing through the corridors.
It wasn’t that I was captivated by the beautiful melody.
Our house was on the second floor, so there was a family who ran a daycare center right downstairs, and the sound was similar to the sound of the piano being played by the children there.
That’s why I started walking there without realizing it.

In a small hall reminiscent of a church, a blonde girl was pressing the keys of her piano.
It seemed like he was trying to rhyme, but in reality, it was closer to making noise.
While I was watching her through the crack in her door, Terra approached her and placed her hand on my shoulder.

— She is a princess, Lady Erzsebet, who turns 7 this year. Do you remember what the king said earlier?
— Don’t be so annoyed. The old man probably did it because he was anxious. Not long ago, this capital was also on the verge of fall. Surely you wouldn’t want to stamp yourself to fight for humanity and the royal family? Even more so, he would have wanted to protect his own daughter.
— We humans are fragile creatures who manipulate magic and create mysteries, but cannot believe what we cannot see.

I looked at my flowing blonde hair and thought about it for a moment.
If they are that weak.
They were so scared that they entrusted their fate to a kid who had just started picking up a sword.
This is because I thought it would be okay to end that anxiety even if it wasn’t an engagement.

– Really? Is it okay if I do that?

So I told Terra.
As a sign that I will not betray humanity, I decided to entrust them with one of the only two things I have since I fell into this world without a smartphone.

— There’s power in names, Lewis. The reason I mixed ‘King of War’ and ‘Heart of Steel’ in your name is not just for magical meaning.
— Of course, it is true that your heart will never stop…
— Yes, do as you wish. The king will like it. Because the next queen has a strong supporter.

So I left it behind.
Instead of being the faceless fiancé of a princess, he promises a relationship that comes to mind from the wonderful line that the man who suggests reconciliation is a traitor.
She swore that one day, when she was in danger and asked me for help, I would grant her the favor.
In the meantime, I also sent one of the extremely colored birds caught in the Ravier Mountains.

“Beepeeeee———!”
“Kwaaagh!? What is this again!? Evil! Don’t attack! Louis! Take this away! “Ahh, quickly!!”

Erzebet Brunhart.
A golden princess with a heart of steel.

Little by little, she grew up, and before she knew it, she was about to take her first steps toward walking her own royal path.