Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 162

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 162 – Conversation Since Magna

Ain and Elena exchange words for the first time in a long time. Time jumped back a bit, and it was shortly after the battleship departed Euro.

It was late at night, but Ain had a lot of work to do, so he worked hard on paperwork in his office without sleeping when Warren came to see him.

“Oh, Warren-san?”

Warren, who had come to visit, looked unusually serious.

He also seemed to have difficulty speaking.

“What’s wrong at this hour? Has something happened at Heim again?”

“Yes. I’m sorry to come so late at night. …Heim, hmm… Speaking of Heim, it is about Heim, but it comes from Euro, and…”

He didn’t make sense.

Ain beckoned Warren, who seemed reluctant to say anything, over to the sofa and sat down on the opposite side of Warren.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’re having a hard time saying anything.”

Ain asked with a wry smile, and Warren came closer.

Ain had made the arrangements so far, so it must have been easier to talk.

“I don’t know the details either, but Euro was attacked by an unknown creature. It seems to have the characteristics of a monster, but it doesn’t seem to be a monster at all.”

“Euro?”

“Yes. It seems that the number of them was also unusual, and in the end, we bombarded the castle city with the main weapon, resulting in the entire castle city being burned down.”

The knights relied on the battleship.

Although Ain and Warren didn’t know the exact number, they understood the urgent situation.

“We have taken care of Duke Amour. We are also taking care of the victims of Euro in the same way.”

“What about the damage on the Ishtalika side?”

“…A knight was killed by that creature.”

When Warren told him the news, Ain lowered his head and sighed.

“I’m sure Warren-san would have done it without me telling you, but please offer your generous condolences.”

“I understand. I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”

“Is that why you were reluctant to tell me?”

“No. There are some details I need to tell you, but aside from that, we have actually taken in a very unusual person.”

When he hears about the knight’s death, Ain is disappointed, but it seems that this is not the end of the story.

Ain drinks some water, which changes his mood a bit.

“The unusual person, is it someone from Euro?”

“It’s not someone from Euro, but someone from Heim.”

“Huh? Why is someone from Heim in Euro?”

“It seems that they came to deal with the assassination attempt the other day and to exchange documents with us.”

When Ain heard this, he understood.

“So there were two of those unusual people, and the first one was Elena-dono.”

“…I’m really glad that you were able to protect her.”

“Yes. She was in a very dangerous place in Euro, and Lili and the knights managed to protect her.”

There was a good chance that Elena would have lost her life.

In such a situation, Ain should express his gratitude to Lili for saving Elena.

“And the other person is the problem.”

What should we do?

Warren hesitantly opened his mouth.

“The other person is Prince Tigre.”

“…Eh?”

Ain was stunned but understood why Warren was so worried.

“I haven’t received a detailed report, but it seems that Prince Tigre and Elena-dono decided that it would be more prudent for them to go to Euro than to stay in Heim after the assassination incident in Heim. For this reason, it seems that the prince himself has come to Euro.”

“…It smells fishy, too.”

“When the battleship returns to the royal capital, I will ask for a detailed explanation.”

“Yes. I’m counting on you.”

“…So, I came to ask His Majesty what we should do about Prince Tigre.”

Ain straightened up when he heard Warren asking his grandfather.

He also needed to hear what decision Sylvird had made.

“As a result, His Majesty said he will leave it to Ain-sama…”

“Eehh… wait a minute. Grandfather, isn’t it a bit too much to leave it to me?”

“His Majesty said that it was Ain-sama who had the closest relationship with Prince Tigre. The same goes for the matter of Krone-dono and the matter of Euro in the past. His attitude towards Ishtalika was also outrageous, but this time His Majesty said that Ain-sama would be in charge of the matter.”

However, it could be said that Ain is the person with the closest connection to Tigre in Ishtalika.

If it had been a member of the Roundheart family or King Ralph, the situation might have been more complicated, but Tigre was low on the list of priorities.

The fact that Ain was removed from the position of next in line is a problem for the Roundheart family, and the many other troublesome matters are basically due to Ralph.

As a fellow royal, he is responsible, and the past rudeness in Euro also weighs on him, but it was precisely for these reasons that Sylvird has left the decision to Ain.

“What would happen, for example, if I said I would not allow him to enter the country?”

“In some cases we will consider sending him back to Rockdam, etc.”

Ain felt that Warren was serious when he answered the question so directly.

If Ain had been serious about this decision, then Warren would have really sent him back.

“What if I told you to detain him?”

“We’ll use the excuse of violating the treaty and put him in jail immediately.”

That would be the treaty that was decided on the other day.

Depending on how you look at it, it’s certainly possible to judge this as a violation of the treaty.

“Well… I have my own thoughts about it, and I think it’s troublesome…”

In the face of difficult-to-put-in-word emotions, Ain voiced his thoughts one by one.

“He ran away, didn’t he?”

“Well… it seems so.”

“I know some people aren’t happy about it. But in my mind, the meeting the other day pretty much sealed the deal. ――Well, I don’t know if I can send someone back or put them in jail when one of their family members is dead and they’re fleeing the country.”

The one who was not satisfied with this was mainly Chris, but when Ain said, “That’s enough,” she would also reluctantly accept it.

It hurt him to use her loyalty like this, but Ain had no choice but to ask her to bear it.

“I can’t give him the treatment he wants, but if it’s just to give him a safe place, that’s okay, right?”

“…Ain-sama is so kind.”

“I’m just being naive. I just don’t want to make a disgusting story in which I can see.”

He put his hand on his temple as if mocking himself with a smile.

“I want to avoid ‘trouble’ as much as possible. I’m sorry, but can I leave it to you, Warren-san?”

“Yes, please leave it to me. If it is Ain-sama’s decision, then I have no objection.”

“Yes. Thank you. Then I guess we should hear more information and then discuss what to do.”

“I’m afraid that will be the case. The battleship should be back soon, so I’ll go to the harbor and find out what’s going on as soon as possible.”

The fact that Warren is going out of his way to do this shows how serious the matter is.

“I’ll ask Prince Tigre about his feelings in detail and so on.”

“Okay, I understand. You’ll bring him to the castle, right?”

“That’s right. It’s also easier to deal with ‘various things.'”

“Then should I go to Elena-san later?”

He thought about having a conversation with her, mainly to show his concern for her.

“If you don’t mind, it would be a big help if you could do that.”

“Okay. So when Warren-san gets back, can you call me?”

“Yes, as you wish, Ain-sama.”

＊＊＊

After a while, Warren returned.

When he told Ain what he heard in the carriage, omitting some details, Ain was surprised by Tigre’s transformation and the situation in Heim.

The connection between the red fox and the Roundheart family was too disturbing to contemplate, and his mood quickly soured.

The message was passed from Elena and Tigre to Lili, and then from Lili to Warren, and then from Warren to Ain.

It was a strange route, but Ain felt that he could see the back of his sworn enemy.

――After hearing the report from Warren, Ain made his way to Krone’s office, where Elena had gone.

“I shouldn’t say this, but haven’t things progressed too much without us knowing?”

“Yeah, it feels like things have been moving pretty fast.”

Ain couldn’t help but smile wryly at the events of last night.

Dill, walking beside him, had a similar expression on his face.

“Well, I guess it depends on what we decide to do from now on…”

“Well, as you probably know, you can’t just cross the sea, can you, Ain-sama?”

“I know that! Even I understand that it would be dangerous!”

The person in question was Anon, Grint’s fiancée.

And thinking about Ed, Ain wanted to arrest him or do something about it quickly, but it wouldn’t be that easy.

The fact that they have to cross the sea presented a different kind of hardship than if they were on land.

…If he had to choose, Ain would also like to go and settle things, but of course, the crown prince couldn’t go.

When he thought that he’d have to hear about the situation from far away Ishtalika from now on, he felt a little lonely.

“…Okay, my clothes are fine. I’ve also fixed my hair.”

Ain comes into Krone’s office and checks his appearance one last time.

――Knock, knock.

After ensuring everything was okay, he knocked on Krone’s office door, which he was used to doing, but this time, he did it with a different feeling.

After a few seconds, he heard Martha’s voice answer, “Please come in.”

After hearing this, Ain spoke to Dill.

“Dill. I’m going to talk to Elena-san now. Can you wait in front of the door?”

“Ha. If you need me, please call me.”

After talking to Dill, Ain put his hand on the door.

He slowly opened the door, checked who was inside, and extended his greetings.

“Good evening. Oh, is it morning already? It’s been a while since we last spoke, hasn’t it, Elena-san?”

They had met face-to-face during the meeting but had not spoken, so it was probably safe to assume that this was the right choice of words.

He had thought that she was enjoying a conversation with Krone, but it seemed that Krone was resting after being tired.

The expression on her face as she rested on Elena’s lap looked very happy.

“C-Crown Prince――”

When Ain arrived, Elena hurriedly tried to stand up.

Looking at the face of the person resting on her lap, Ain didn’t want to take this time away from her.

Thinking this, Ain stopped her with his hand and spoke softly.

“It’s okay. Krone will wake up, so please stay seated.”

After saying this, Ain went to the seat where Martha had prepared the tea and sat down across from Elena.

“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.”

Elena opened her mouth when she saw Ain sitting down.

At the same time, Martha left the office.

“I don’t know how to apologize for the past. I don’t know how to thank you for accepting my father-in-law and Krone. And for showing us mercy this time. This can only be a small part of it.

Ain listened carefully to every word Elena said.

“But there is something I wanted to tell you first. In Magna, I never spent a day without being grateful for such extraordinary kindness shown to a person of unknown origin.”

“Haha… It’s nothing. I just introduced you to a place to stay. Don’t worry about it.”

Speaking directly to him like this, she was able to get a good sense of Ain’s personality.

If he had been a woman, he would probably have been called a saint, like Olivia.

“And you don’t have to apologize or thank me. I’m always happy to have Krone and Graff-san here.”

“…T-that’s too kind of you.”

Up until this point, Ain had been the more nervous of the two.

After all, the other person was Krone’s mother, Elena.

Although she was the head of Heim’s civilian government, this meeting was almost like a private conversation. It was no wonder that Ain was nervous.

However, due to the fact that Elena was the one who kept bowing, Ain decided in his heart that he would change the subject.

“Until I came here, I thought you enjoyed talking to Krone. But she was tired again today and fell asleep.”

“When you say ‘again today,’ does that mean it’s happened a few times before?”

“Yes, well. We had a fight about it once, so now she seems to be taking a little break…”

Elena looks at her daughter sleeping on her lap and thinks she should scold her.

She never thought that she would end up fighting with the crown prince of Ishtalika.

“I’m sure you already know, but she can be a little too wild sometimes. I’m sorry.”

“No, no. I enjoy it too, so it’s okay.”

“…I wonder why she became so wild and stubborn.”

“Hahaha… hasn’t Krone changed at all?”

Ain was a bit curious.

Since he was here, he thought he might as well take the opportunity to ask about the old days.

“In the old days… yes, she was the kind of girl who would throw away a marriage proposal without even looking at it, like it was garbage.”

“Ku-kukuku… that’s so like Krone.”

He tried to hold back his laughter, but it didn’t last long.

Ain couldn’t help but smile.

“Whatever she did, she was good at it. Maybe that’s why she had such a quick temper.”

“Hee…”

“She also seemed to have a way with words, and there were several times when my father-in-law was defeated in arguments. Although he showed some leniency towards his granddaughter, there were also times when he was completely defeated…”

Hearing this, Ain also had a hunch.

During the commotion with Roddy, she even called Graff to the castle to talk to him.

The story Elena told was very similar to that time.

“I’ve seen it too. She called Graff-san to the castle once to have some… discussions.”

“Ara ara. Your Highness? You don’t have to choose your words, you can just say that she beat him in an argument if you want.”

“Hahaha… She’s a reliable assistant.”

Even here, the way he slurred his words showed how kind Ain was.

Elena, who felt the warmth of her daughter lying on her lap, thought that it seemed to increase gradually.

“By the way, I know it’s a little late to ask, but how was the city of Magna? Actually, it was the first place I came to when I came to Ishtalika.”

“Oh, really? It was a nice port city. The inn you introduced me to was first class, and I didn’t have any problems at all. And the food was delicious, so it was a really good trip.”

Ain was pleased with her praise of Magna and continued.

“Speaking of which, if it’s hard for you to talk about it, it’s okay, but I heard that Lili-san showed you around.”

“…The hardest thing about Magna was probably having to talk to that girl.”

Elena’s head was in her hands as she thought back to that time.

“She was really too carefree… Well, I can’t say anything about it, but when I woke up, she was wearing a maid’s outfit and pretended to be a servant…”

“…That’s so like Lili-san.”

She kept it under wraps from Ain, but he knew that Lili also had the same kind of freedom that Katima and the others have.

It was only natural that Elena would be surprised to wake up in the morning and find a person from the enemy country serving her breakfast.

“But thanks to her, I was able to understand the difference in our fighting strength. I also felt her own kind of kindness, so I’m grateful. …Oh, this is a secret, okay? I have a feeling she’ll get out of control if she gets carried away.”

Elena’s face, as she spoke of it being a secret, was similar to Krone’s.

As they spoke, Ain also felt that Krone and her mother were truly mother and daughter.

“…I think she’ll come running if we call her name, but what should we do?”

“…Please spare me.”

When Ain said this with a hint of mischief in his voice, Elena smiled softly and hesitated.

“That girl has had her share of troubles in Euro as well, so she must be tired.”

“Ah… now that you mention it, you’re right.”

Elena thanked Lili and took her first sip of the tea Martha had prepared.

“…Ara, it’s delicious.”

“It’s Martha-san’s tea. She’s amazing.”

Elena smiled self-deprecatingly as if she felt that even a cup of tea made a difference.

“Well, I’ll be leaving soon. Actually, my grandfather called me, so I stopped by first.”

Having said that, Ain stood up and drank the tea Martha had made in one go.

“Let’s talk again soon. I think the room will be ready soon, so please talk to Krone and wait.”

“――Thank you for your consideration. It was an honor to speak with the Crown Prince.”

Elena bowed gently, still holding Krone in her lap.

Seeing this, Ain slowly made his way to the door.

“By the way, I’m sorry. The child fell asleep at the end.”

“…Hmm? No, no, it’s okay. I think I told you to talk to Krone and wait…”

Ain, who had his hand on the door, turned around and called to Krone, who was lying on the sofa.

“Krone, you can take it easy until tomorrow evening, so don’t push yourself too hard. Also, since you’re in front of Elena-san, why don’t you stop pretending to be asleep?”

“…Gosh. You can just be quiet.”

When Ain spoke, Krone answered from Elena’s lap.

“Yes, yes. See you tomorrow. Good night, Krone.”

After this exchange of words, Ain finally left the office.

Elena was stunned by their conversation but was happy to see them interacting naturally.

At the same time, she gave her daughter, who had pretended to be asleep, a stern look.

“Ara, Mother, you look so scary.”

“You know very well who is to blame, don’t you?”

“Well… but I was really asleep at first. I noticed when Ain came, but I guess I lost track of when I should have woken up…”

Krone smiled like a naughty child and showed her tongue.

If she showed herself like that, Elena would lose the energy to be angry.

“…Oh, Martha-san, can I have some tea too?”

Krone stood up and sat down where Ain had been sitting.

Then Martha, who had heard the call, came quickly into the office.

“Excuse me. If you like, I can bring you some refreshments, what would you like?”

“In that case, could you bring something for me and my mother?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll bring them right away.”

Elena could tell from the natural way they interacted that Krone was already feeling very comfortable in Ishtalika.

And so began Elena’s first day in Ishtalika.

Compared to the conversation during the meeting, Elena and Krone enjoyed their conversation in a more relaxed manner.

Afterward, Elena was shown to a room prepared for her, and she went to bed to rest her tired body.

It seems that Tigre was also shown to a room, and he was taken to a different room than Elena.

When she woke up next, she had a lot to think about.

But first, she had to rest to regain her strength.

…Despite her excited state of mind, the bed in Ishtalika gently enveloped Elena, and she was soon able to drift off into a dream world.

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