In the Land of Leadale - Volume 3 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

She went from standing in front of her grandson to standing in front of her home in an instant. It didn’t quite yet feel like “home,” though, so there was a lingering strangeness that still remained in the new house. 

The village sky had turned half orange, and the smoke rising up here and there from the houses signaled that dinner was well underway. Cayna picked up the delicious aroma of a familiar soup that wafted by. 

“I’ve sure grown used to the cooking at Marelle’s inn.” 

The inn’s fare was a staple of the village, and her stomach growled at the very thought as if to say Feed me! 

“Lady Cayna, it troubles me that you do not seem to share such an affinity to our own home cooking.” 

As Cayna stared out over the roofs and let her empty stomach sniff the spicy aroma, Roxine opened the front door to greet her. Roxine and Roxilius had learned how to cook the standard meals of this village after asking the local wives. Fundamentally, most food made with Cooking Skills required expensive ingredients. Collecting ingredients not already found in the village and using Teleport to go shopping in Felskeilo and Helshper also took time. If they were going to be extravagant with each and every meal, there were some limits even money couldn’t overcome. 

“Welcome back, Lady Cayna. Did your discussion go well?” Roxine asked. 

“Ah, yeah. For the most part. I asked Caerick to send goats and chickens, so if I’m not here when they arrive, accept them for me.” 

“Yes, understood. Thank you for your hard work.” 

Cayna handed over the ingredients she’d bought, and when she peeked inside the house, she thought it was too quiet. 

On top of not smelling any dinner cooking, she didn’t sense Luka coming to greet her. When Cayna tilted her head, Roxine gestured toward the inn with her hand and provided an explanation. 

“Lady Luka went to the inn. That fool also went with her, so there is no need to worry.” 

“The inn?” 

“Yes, it seems someone important has arrived from Felskeilo.” 

“An important person? But that has nothing to do with Luka—” 

Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Cayna remembered what she’d heard from Caerick earlier. Felskeilo, along with its neighbor, had decided to station an emissary at the checkpoint. As for who might be assigned this duty and also wish to meet Luka, Mai-Mai, who hadn’t seen the girl yet, was a prime candidate. However, as the headmistress of the Academy, would she really abandon her work to come to the remote village? 

When Cayna headed to the inn to at least meet her and find out what was going on, something peculiar was parked near Lux Contracting. 

It was a magnificent, standout carriage ornamented in griffins and dragons of gold and silver. Along with it were the six horses she’d seen during the expedition. The animals were poking their heads into a nearby pile of fodder. The Game Era had stables to take care of the horses, but this place was rife with vacant plots of land filled with weeds that harshly asserted themselves. 

“…Something that gaudy can’t belong to Mai-Mai. No way.” 

“No, if one is the representative of a nation, such a display may be necessary.” 

She could see where Kee was coming from. Thinking she still didn’t want some noble clashing with the village, Cayna hurried over to the inn. However, even if the checkpoint was only a day away from the village, it was about nine days from Helshper. Cayna thought with amazement that the envoys must have had a lot of free time on their hands if they could take off eight days. 

…However, in that next instant, she grimaced as she saw someone leaving the inn. 

It was a male elf dressed in the blue robes of a high-ranking priest, which were stitched in gold with the symbol of their main deity, the God of Light. His long golden hair was silky and well-maintained, and he had handsome features that would captivate any woman. For some reason, he saved his bewitching smile mostly for family. 

He was Cayna’s eldest son and biggest problem child, Skargo. Behind him was an accompaniment of armored knight bodyguards who were better-looking than average but not quite in the realm of hot. 

Luka and Roxilius followed Skargo outside, and his eyes (literally) sparkled the moment he laid eyes on Cayna. As a Pointillism background appeared and he exploded into Waterworks, he approached her with oddly large steps that went whoosh, whoosh! and got down on both knees before her with a whishhh! 

“Mother Deaaar! I’va ’ome to shee youuuu!” 

He held out his arms in happy, drunken appeal. On top of the Blue Roses in Full Bloom background that shot forth all around him, “The Language of Flowers Is Eternal Love” flowed on endlessly in (terribly misspelled) subtitles. 

He took the back of Cayna’s left hand and planted a big kiss on it. The mother had paled at her son’s approach, but this got her moving again. As Luka watched in mute amazement and Roxilius’s expression remained unchanged, they thought they heard a snap! come from somewhere. 

“W-welcome…back…Mommy Cayna.” 

“Thanks. I’m home, Luka.” 

For some reason, Cayna felt a wave of relief when she held the timid girl in her arms again. She took something out of her pocket and placed it in her daughter’s palm. When Luka saw the three small fragments of red, blue, and green crystals, her face lit up with joy. 

“There are three, so be sure to share with Lytt and Latem.” 

“…I will. Thank you…Mommy Cayna.” 

In the evening twilight, the charming family held hands as they headed home. 

When the tactless outsiders incapable of reading the air tried to call out to them with an “U-um…?” Roxilius quickly staved the group off. The smartly dressed werecat butler emitted an intense aura that caused both Skargo, whose mouth was partly open, and his entourage of knights to go “Ggh” and freeze. 

“My master is quite busy. I shall listen to any business you may have.” 

One of them mustered up their pride as an imperial knight and asked a question. 

“Wh-what should we do about the High Priest?” 

Everyone turned their attention to the Zhu Bajie pig who was moved to the point of tears—more specifically, Skargo in his blue robes from the neck down, but with a pig’s face that looked more like an orc’s. 

“You may leave him be,” Roxilius replied curtly with a shrug before turning on his heel to follow after his master. 

The remaining six guards could only look at one another in bewilderment.