Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 160

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 160 – The Back That Could Finally Be Seen

――It was a good thing they hadn’t gone to war.

Even though they were, Elena was deeply relieved that the final step hadn’t been taken.

As Lili showed her around, Elena inspected many battleships and facilities.

But this was the first time she had seen the weapons, including the main cannon, in action.

If her thoughts could be summed up in a single word, it would be that she was glad they didn’t have to fight each other.

“Shall we load the next round?”

The crew turned to Lili after the main cannon had finished firing and asked her.

“Hmm. What’s the state of the castle city?”

“As you can see, it’s a pile of rubble. I thought it might have been crushed by the wind pressure or the debris.”

What lay in front of them was the ruins of what had been a castle city until a moment ago.

If this were a war, one could say that the victor had already been decided.

“Yes, yes. Then, just to be sure, we’ll reload and head back to the royal capital at full speed.”

“Ha!”

Lili gave this order and then turned to look at Elena and Tigre.

“For now, we’ve almost completely wiped out the creatures in Euro. I think there are a few that have survived, but it’s too much trouble to go and finish them off.”

“…Hey, is it true that you wanted to use that thing on the port city of Roundheart?”

“Well, I think you understand, Elena-sama, but we have our own problems as well. For now, please accept that we didn’t use it the other day.”

After saying that she wanted to use it earlier, Lili now tries to muddy the waters.

She doesn’t like to be toyed with, but in the face of absolute power, Elena couldn’t complain.

“Since you seem to be convinced, I’ll ask you to tell me the details now.”

Elena was speechless.

But Lili saw her reaction and understood her feelings.

She quickly changed the subject and asked them to explain the details of why they had come here.

Then Lili started to walk towards the door, beckoning Elena and Tigre to follow.

＊＊＊

Crossing a long corridor, Lili headed for a multi-purpose room.

This room was sometimes used for planning strategies and sometimes for talking to people from outside.

In other words, it was a perfect place for a situation like this.

“Please sit wherever you like.”

Even though they were told to sit wherever they wanted, Elena and Tigre took a nearby seat for the time being.

After Lili had brewed some tea with the magic tools provided, she shared it with them.

“Oh, there’s no poison in it.”

“…There’s no way we’d suspect something like that after coming all the way here.”

The commotion in the castle city and the blow from the main cannon.

Tigre was exhausted from having to repeat such shocking scenes.

Feeling very thirsty, Tigre swallowed the tea he was given in one gulp.

“…It’s delicious.”

“I won’t serve you anything that isn’t delicious. Here, have some more.”

Tigre’s cheeks flushed slightly as he honestly praised the tea.

After he had drunk half of his second cup, he whispered his thanks.

“Yes. I’ll leave another cup for Elena-sama if you like.”

“You’re so thoughtful.”

“Of course. After all, I was your former subordinate.”

Lili smiled, full of her own personality, and sat down in front of them.

The desk was about three meters wide and one meter deep.

It was a bit small for planning strategies, but it was just the right size for now.

“So, so? What happened in Heim?”

“Huh… you seem strangely happy.”

“This curiosity is my strength.”

When Elena got tired of the relaxed atmosphere, she drank the tea like Tigre and answered Lili.

“I don’t know where to begin.”

“Everything, everything. What happened, what did you think, and how did you come to be in Euro. If you can tell me that, I’ll answer about Ed-san as well.”

The fact that Ed was missing, which they had mentioned earlier.

Speaking from the heart, Elena and Tigre were both relieved that he was missing.

After all, if he was the culprit, the fact that he wasn’t in Euro would prove that Ishtalika and Euro were not related.

Elena looked at Tigre, who nodded softly.

Seeing this, Elena began to speak, little by little.

“The day after the assassination. We were…”

The first thing she told her was about the time she realized Ed’s relationship and went to talk to Tigre about it.

“Wow… I see. So you came all the way here to look for Ed-san?”

“Turns out we hit the jackpot.”

“You made a pretty bold move. I was there, so you made the right decision.”

Elena is grateful because if Lili hadn’t been there, she might have died.

“But that’s strange. Why aren’t any Roundheart people guarding you? Please don’t hide it from me.”

Of course, she would find out.

They had deliberately tried to hide it because they didn’t want to talk about it yet, but it was only natural that Lili would wonder about it.

It was strange that a member of the great general family, especially Grint, didn’t protect Tigre, considering everything that had happened so far.

“…Elena, I’ll explain the rest.”

Then Tigre opened his mouth.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

Hearing Lili’s words, Tigre’s face turned bitter, and he explained in more detail the circumstances that led to his arrival in Euro.

“The nobleman who asked Ed to deliver a message was Grint’s fiancée… the Bruno family’s daughter, Anon.”

“…So that’s how it is.”

“I’ll continue. Just before the meeting with Ishtalika, Grint went to Euro and delivered the message from Anon to Ed. The rest is as you know. By the time we got back to Heim, the assassination had already taken place.”

“That explains why the girl wasn’t there.”

The relationship between the culprit and the suspect, Ed.

Because of this suspicion, Tigre and Elena traveled to Euro with such a small group of people.

Hearing this, Lili felt the smell of something fishy intensify.

“I’ll tell you without hiding it any longer, but the royal family is also a suspect. That’s why Elena and I couldn’t judge who else was on our side.”

It’s a state secret, or at least it’s not a story that should be told to other countries.

But Tigre had spoken of it.

It might be the height of folly for a royal, but Tigre could not hold back at the sight of Heim.

“Royal family? You don’t mean…”

“Yes. As you may have guessed, the one under suspicion is my father… King Heim.”

From Lili’s perspective, the perception was that it was related to the Red Fox or that Ed was the Red Fox.

In the midst of this, the fact that King Heim was also involved in this relationship was mentioned.

When she heard that, she felt the biggest surprise of all.

“I hate to say this, but my father never used the honorific ‘dono’ with other people. He would use it with former royalty who were already dead, but I’ve never seen him use it with anyone else.”

“Uh, by the way, who did he call ‘dono’?”

“Well, it was Anon, Grint’s fiancée. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, so I just let it slide, but only now, with all this fuss, have I started to wonder about it.”

“I see. So it was Anon-dono who called out to Ed-san, right?”

Then Lili put her hand to her mouth and began to mumble something.

This story they heard from Elena and Tigre would bring many national benefits to Ishtalika.

The fact that they had shown their worth in this way was a welcome thing for Ishtalika, who had taken them under their protection.

“What kind of person is Anon-dono?”

“Well… She’s smart, and she’s a woman who can stand up to her future husband, Grint. She’s also known in Heim for her good looks, and her beautiful red hair makes her even more popular.”

“…Red hair?”

“Yes, she has beautiful red hair. I find it attractive, and it’s a very auspicious color.”

――So it’s confirmed.

When she heard the description of the person in question, Lili was more convinced than ever.

So Grint’s fiancée is the Red Fox?

The relationship between Ain and Grint was like the fateful relationship between Ishtalika and the Red Fox.

She never thought that the fateful relationship between the compared brothers would create such a strange connection here.

As soon as she arrives in the capital, she must meet Warren.

This was her first priority.

“That was a lot of wonderful information. Now, as I promised, I will tell you what we know about Ed-san.”

Was Heim’s past behavior influenced by the Red Fox?

That might be worth discussing, but they could do that later.

For now, let’s just pass on the information they have on Ed.

“Still, Duke Amour doesn’t really understand much. Apparently, after Heim’s messenger returned, he disappeared the same night. And after he heard about the assassination attempt on Heim, he seemed worried that Ed might have been affected as well.”

“…Lili. Is it possible that he’s acting?”

Elena was worried that Duke Amour was trying to deceive Lili and Ishtalika.

Elena, who understood that it would be unwise to believe him without question, asked Lili about it.

“I can’t say for sure, but Duke Amour was the one who saw our powers up close. So I think the possibility is small.”

Lili didn’t believe it unconditionally either, but at the moment, she thought the possibility of it being an act was small.

“Oh, by the way, Prince, can I ask you something?”

“…Mm? What is it?”

Suddenly, Lili spoke to Tigre.

She already had a promise, but there was one more thing she wanted to ask.

“When we get to Kingsland, we’ll exchange the official documents. There are a few things that need to be included, but the most important thing is that we want the documents to say that we didn’t kidnap you but that we protected you.”

“Kingsland? What on earth is that?”

“Ah, well, it’s the name of our capital.”

Tigre had never heard the name of the capital of the Kingdom of Ishtalika before, and he didn’t know where it was.

When Lili explained that it was the capital, he nodded in understanding.

Of course, Tigre was in a position where he was protected by Ishtalika.

The lives of his subordinates and Elena were saved as well, so he had no intention of making a fuss here.

“I see. Yes, I understand. I’m the one who was saved, including my subordinates, so I’ll accept whatever you say.”

“Yes. That’s a good answer. If only you had done the same for Ain-sama and everything else, it would have been easier.”

“M-mm…!”

When she says that, Tigre can’t answer at all.

Lili, who speaks without restraint, makes Tigre feel uncomfortable.

“I think Elena-sama knows, but I have a bad personality. When I think that everything will be okay, I’ll do whatever I want.”

Lili implicitly told him not to worry too much.

It might be possible to fix that part, but since Lili had no intention of doing so, Tigre had only two choices: give up or endure it.

“….Yes. I’ve learned that all too well.”

Elena smiled incredulously as she thought back to Lili’s actions so far.

Lili was a woman who could be childish at times but also too free. She also spewed poison from her mouth on a regular basis.

And yet, she’s not stupid, so there were times when it was difficult to deal with her.

“Well then…”

After Tigre and Elena had exchanged stunned looks, Lili opened her mouth as if she had remembered something.

“Speaking of which, you’ve been pretty strong-willed so far, but why is that? We’re a pretty big country, after all, but weren’t you too trusting of that word that we wouldn’t launch a preemptive strike?”

This was a tendency that was especially noticeable in Tigre.

She had been wondering about it until now, so she thought it was time to ask the two of them.

“In my case, my father had taught me that. Even when the Roundhearts had their first child… the Crown Prince of Ishtalika was born, I was told not to respect him!”

“Your Highness? Did His Majesty say that?”

Elena let out a voice of slight surprise when she heard the story.

“Ah, yes. Even when I was young, that is, even when I first met Krone, I was told that…”

“Wow, that’s too rotten.”

Maybe King Heim was influenced early on.

Lili didn’t know when that would have been, but at the very least, it must have started when Ain was born.

Even if he wasn’t influenced, it would still be a story that ends with him being a foolish king.

After a few deep sighs, Lili stood up wearily.

“Thank you for telling me. I understand that this is an incredibly tedious story, so I’ll end it here.”

Although she said this, Lili felt that it was too much for her.

If that’s the case, she should end her questioning here and leave the rest to Warren.

It was somehow frustrating to say that, so she stood up, looking annoyed, as was her habit.

“Shall we go eat? Aren’t you hungry?”

Hearing this, Elena and Tigre realized that they were indeed hungry.

After the hectic scene that just passed, they become aware of their own hunger during this time when they can relax.

“I’m sorry. I’ll repay you somehow. Could you give something to my men who brought me here?”

Seeing Tigre’s meek expression, Lili smiled slightly.

“It’s okay, really. It’s not good to let someone go hungry, so please don’t worry about the food.”

Lili replied, then put the cups away and went to the door.

“Please follow me. I’ll show you the dining hall, so let’s get something to eat first, okay?”

Afterward, Tigre asked Lili how much longer it would be until they arrived.

Elena had been on a cargo ship the last time, so she thought she had an idea, but battleships were even faster.

When she was told that they would be there soon, both of them were surprised, with similar expressions on their faces.

――About an hour later, the Ishtalika battleship returned to the harbor of the royal capital with Tigre and Elena aboard.

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