Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 12 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue — Departure

Two days later, the Glasir’s Leaf left port to—as Freya had predicted—a grand farewell from Anna.

The sailors were already at their stations. It was only Zenjirou and Freya, along with their guards, Skaji and Natalio, who would be climbing the gangway now.

Marquis Pomorskie was standing across from them. Joining him were the fatefully connected Yans—in other words, the priest, mercenary, and orphan.

Having arranged this farewell, Anna was wearing her Husaria uniform and was astride her winged horse, circling the sky with her two fellow riders. Each of them had a length of cloth—red, white, or yellow—streaming behind them, so they were even more attention-grabbing. Looking up at them was like seeing a circle rotating through the air, split into each color a third of the way along its perimeter. The ships in port—and indeed the entirety of the town—could see that three-colored circle. The various trading vessels would talk about it at the neighboring countries’ ports, spreading the news of the Husaria making a production of an Uppasalan vessel’s departure.

After a while, the knight atop the red-carrying horse leaped from the sky. She was skydiving without a lifeline or parachute. The Krakow family had no need for such trifles, though. She had likely cast the spell before she jumped.

The knight fell unnaturally slowly through the air, landing in front of Zenjirou with a soft noise. She then took off the silver helmet covering her head, letting voluminous blue locks fall free. Her hair was far less ordered than a royal woman would usually show in front of others—having been bundled up in her helmet—yet the disarray was strangely fitting for the lightly armored knight.

She showed no care for her current appearance, standing boldly in front of them with a wide smile on her red lips. “Your Majesty, Your Highness. Though I hate to see you leave, I understand you have plans. You were of great help during your stay,” she said, spreading her arms out. The act would normally seem somewhat amusing, but she had the charm to make it work.

“I will gratefully accept your thanks,” Zenjirou said. All too aware of how she had used and outwitted them, he was in no mood for his usual modesty.

For her part, while Freya offered a smile, she remained completely silent. While for the general populace, things might be different, nobles lived and breathed in the subtleties of speech, so they would easily be able to tell there were few pleasant feelings between the three of them.

“I truly thank the both of you,” the marquis said, taking over from Anna. “You are the saviors of our town, and I dread to think what may have happened if you had not been here.” The man’s bow was so low that he was practically on his knees. While it may have sounded somewhat exaggerated, he was speaking nothing but the truth.

Looking back, there had been no delay in the knights’ attack. Margarette might not have listened to the orphan. Zenjirou might have declined to arrange a meeting after her report. Freya could have decided not to use her status to force a meeting with the marquis.

The results went without saying—it had only been three days between the marquis hearing the orphan’s report and the knights actually making landfall. If any one of those things had failed to happen, there was no doubt the knights would have arrived without any warning of the impending attack.

In that situation—assuming the nobles sympathetic to the knights had opened the gates from the inside—the city itself could well have fallen. It was not an exaggeration to say that the town owed them.

Part of their thanks was the prized alcohol from the marquis that now sat in the ship’s hold. It was a spirit mixed with several herbs and gold dust. The drink was not easy to get hold of, even for royals on the Northern Continent. Remembering the man’s proud smile as he had called it a masterpiece of the town made Zenjirou look forward to cracking open the seal.

The man’s earnest thanks earned real smiles from both Zenjirou and Freya as well.

“This beautiful town was not exposed to the ravages of battle, and if my actions were part of that result, then I am proud to say as much.”

“This port is an important destination for Uppasala, so I could not be happier to contribute to its peace.”

Being in public meant that they both worded things in somewhat roundabout fashions, but both of them were glad that the town had been defended.

Then, the green-robed man took a step forward from where he had been waiting. “Your Majesty, it has been most fortunate that we were able to make each other’s acquaintance as we have. I wish to offer my own thanks for your aid and would like for you to accept this.” As he spoke, the priest pulled out a sealed letter and held it out to him.

“And this is?” Zenjirou asked briefly.

The priest smiled gently. “A letter of introduction to a glass mirror crafter in my homeland. Princess Anna has already given you something similar, so it may be unnecessary, but the sentiment remains,” he replied, puffing his chest out slightly.

A crafter of mirrors was also inevitably a crafter of glass. The church was one of the biggest customers at such establishments, placing many orders for things like stained glass.

While the majority of the church looked down on Yan as something of a heretic, he was still the dean of dracology at a university. The department had a place of worship of its own, and they used stained glass there as well. Being a valued client from the same country, his letter might even be more valuable than the one from Anna.

“I will gratefully accept,” Zenjirou said, taking the envelope from him.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

While the farewell was more grand than initially expected, the Glasir’s Leaf safely left port. Its four sails bulged with the wind as it sailed out across the ocean.

Unlike their intercontinental trip, where no one knew what would happen, these were well-worn routes for those of the Northern Continent.

Of course, nature could not be taken lightly, but the route was meant to take four days on average—three if they had particularly favorable winds.

Regardless, there was a significant amount of tension among the crew as they worked swiftly. Zenjirou was rather impressed as he watched, thinking them model sailors. But the truth was that Magnus had been enraged by those missing during the emergency recall, and the crew as a whole had been held responsible.

Their one mercy was that, depending on their performance for this voyage, they could gain a lesser punishment. Upon hearing that, the sailors had thrown themselves into their work with feeling.

Zenjirou had cracked a smile upon hearing this from the bear-faced vice-captain, but soon returned to a more serious expression. He was nervous enough that he didn’t have the spare mental capacity to be sympathetic to the fearful sailors.

When the Glasir’s Leaf had left Valentia, the terror of the voyage itself had overcome all of that. Now, though, the ship would be arriving in Uppasala within the next three to four days. There would be more travel before they reached the capital itself, but even so, it was not a long journey. With their destination being so close, he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

Uppasala was—naturally—home to its king. The current ruler was King Gustav Uppasala V. That title wasn’t Zenjirou’s concern, though. His concern was his position as Freya’s father. The event any man feared—asking a woman’s father for his daughter’s hand—was swiftly approaching.

He let out a breath. Just thinking about it was depressing him. He was also a prince consort, and he already had a wife: Aura. Being in that position, he was asking the king for his first princess as a concubine. He couldn’t see either a king or a father being happy about that.

Frankly, he would have loved nothing more than for the man to take it as mockery and command him to leave. Then he could say, “Of course. Right, excuse me,” and just go back home. However, from Capua’s perspective, he could not do such a thing.

While he was engrossed in thought, Freya had appeared at his side. She was wearing her captain’s garb again. It felt like it had been a while since he had seen her wear it, but the long voyage made it seem like the right outfit for her.

“Are you uneasy, Your Majesty?” she asked bluntly.

He couldn’t resist a rueful smile at the realization that his thoughts had shown on his face. “I am. Frankly, I will need rather a lot of courage to ask King Gustav for your hand while in the position I am.”

“I was the one who suggested it,” she pointed out.

“Even so.”

If the woman offering and the man accepting were enough to make things go well, it wouldn’t even be an issue. But the country’s honor came into it, as did the king’s feelings.

That made Zenjirou think that part of those feelings would be the king’s affection for Freya. Such feelings might even lead to an understanding between the two members of the family. After all, he was allowing her much more masculine behavior than was proper for a female royal.

“To what extent does His Majesty understand your values?” he asked.

If there was an understanding there, there was a high possibility her father would show that same understanding about her becoming his concubine. Freya loved her freedom and adventure more than anything, so she would not be truly happy marrying a normal royal. That was precisely why she had pushed herself so strongly—almost overbearingly—at Zenjirou. He had shown an understanding of that, and a willingness to allow it.

His faint hopes, however, were emotionlessly dashed. “Not in the slightest,” Freya answered. “He simply allows me my ‘incomprehensible selfishness’ out of affection for his daughter.”

“I see,” Zenjirou said, sighing openly at the answer. It was almost the worst possible answer he could have received.

“My father is a statesman, though,” she added brightly, trying to cheer him up. “He will not hesitate to invest in the country’s future. Marriages between royals are part of those investments.”

“So that will be our starting point, then.”

An intercontinental trade route would be very beneficial. Zenjirou had personally seen how quickly the Northern Continent was developing. Any normal politician would feel the fear of being left behind by that rapid advance and the idea of their nation falling.

More than anything else, developing a country needed a budget. There was a strong possibility that a statesman with those fears would be far more likely to accept things for that purpose over honor or faithfulness.

“Well, I will manage. Somehow, I will manage,” he said, almost forcefully motivating himself.

“I look forward to it,” Freya replied, her face softening in relief.

To be continued in The Ideal Sponger Life 13.