Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 201

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 201 – In the Suburbs of Heim Capital

The next day, they took a full day off to rest and recuperate.

Although the knights’ morale had been boosted by Ain’s arrival with reinforcements, the physical and mental strain they had been under had been immeasurable.

Even though it was only a day off, it must have been a precious day for them.

The next day, after another night had passed.

The knights, except for the seriously injured, left for Heim with Ain in the lead.

The troops led by Ain mainly consisted of knights who had come as reinforcements, and next to them were the troops led by Lloyd.

“…It’s going strangely well.”

Suddenly, during the march, Dill let out a suspicious voice.

Since they left Birdland in the morning, it was almost evening now.

And yet, not even the Heim soldiers, let alone the small animals, had attacked.

“The Heim side’s fighting power has been reduced quite a bit. Besides, I think they’re probably sending soldiers to the port city now, too.”

Majolica was the one who answered Dill’s question.

Lloyd had attacked the Heim soldiers in two battles.

The first is at Rockdam, and the second is at Birdland.

The crossbow attacks must have slaughtered many Heim soldiers, and the human clashes must have caused a lot of damage as well.

…If that’s the case, the Heim soldiers must not have much left in the way of reserves.

Under these circumstances, even the port city of Roundheart must be on high alert, so it’s clear that they don’t have enough fighting power.

“Well, I can see that there’s something strange about this. I can’t see what their goal is.”

“Ara, Your Highness. Are you talking about the Red Fox’s goal?”

“I think so. If they had done something like that, they must have known that they would be cornered. What they’re doing is half-hearted.”

As the horse slowed, Ain came up beside them and spoke.

The two listened intently to Ain’s words and looked at him with tense expressions.

“They want to harm Ishtalika. If that’s the case, they shouldn’t have interfered with Euro’s land in the first place. Or maybe they wanted to gain control over this continent. But even in that case, interfering with Euro would have been a foolish move.”

“Then is there another purpose?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure they’re doing something halfway.”

“Well… they don’t seem to be trying to get their hands on Ishtalika, and even the first prince of Heim probably wasn’t just a pawn.”

“Majolica-dono? Why do you think that?”

Dill, curious to know what Majolica was thinking, asked him to continue, looking a bit excited.

“At least, I’ve never seen anyone give off miasma. Besides, there are miasmas that don’t even bother our equipment, but those only occur when you go into deep, deep miasma caves. With that as a premise, why was it that only the first prince of Heim emitted miasma?”

Ain and Dill continued to pay attention to Majolica’s words as he skillfully twisted his body on the horse.

“First of all, it would be difficult to mass produce something that emits miasma. That’s why they couldn’t apply pressure all at once. Because if they could mass produce it, they could just spread it around and the battle would be over. Right?”

“…That’s certainly true.”

“There have to be several conditions. Like why it had to be the first prince of Heim.”

From what they had heard, it didn’t seem like Layfon had any special talent.

Ain and Dill looked confused when they were told that it had to be Layfon.

After all, from what they had heard, he was just a so-called royal scum who loved women and fine food.

“Well, I guess that means he wasn’t just a peasant. Maybe the Prince’s appearance―and his power―was unexpected.”

“Huh… Well, to tell the truth, after hearing Majolica-san’s hypothesis, I’m even more confused about the Red Fox’s goal.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of vague, isn’t it?”

“If you put it like that, even during the Demon King War, it’s not really clear. What did they want to achieve by manipulating the Demon King and causing a disturbance? I really don’t know if it can be chalked up to mere hedonism.”

The three of them continued to have question marks over Red Fox’s intentions.

No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn’t understand what they wanted to do, and they only felt suspicious about Red Fox’s vague and unclear actions.

“Well, the only thing we know for sure is that they want to harm Ishtalika.”

“Haha… You’re right, Ain-sama.”

“Maybe it’s good that we know that. If they want to harm our country, we won’t forgive them either. It’s simple and wonderful, isn’t it?”

At Ain’s words, Dill and Majolica both smiled as if to say there was nothing they could do.

The Red Fox’s goal still aroused their interest, but the most important thing was that it wished to harm Ishtalika.

The three of them confirmed this common understanding and then shifted their focus to the march to Heim.

＊＊＊

Two days have passed since Ain left Birdland.

Then, Ain was tormented by complex emotions as he experienced a sense of déjà vu that he had never felt before.

“…I remember this place.”

Having advanced two days from Birdland, they were already in the suburbs of Heim’s capital.

Still, the Heim soldiers had not appeared yet , but there was something more important than that.

“Yes, yes. The streets are different, but the atmosphere is exactly the same.”

Looking around, Ain recalled a memory from nearly ten years ago and felt a strange connection to the fact that he was walking here as a citizen of Ishtalika.

“…Hmm? What’s wrong, Ain-sama?”

It was Lloyd who called out to him.

Perhaps because they had approached Heim, they were discussing their next move.

Nearby, Dill and Majolica were also approaching on horseback, but Lloyd was the only one who spoke to him.

“Ah, Lloyd-san. I’m sorry. Did I make you worry?”

“No, it’s nothing like that, but you seemed to be thinking about something.”

Lloyd, with an eye patch over his left eye, looked good in it.

It was like he was an old general who had seen many battles, and he liked it so much that he even ordered a custom-made one to be prepared for when he got back to Ishtalika.

It was a good sign that his morale was not dropping due to his injury but rather rising.

“Hey Lloyd-san, did you ever wonder what I was like in the old days?”

“What about the old Ain-sama…”

“Yes. When I lived in Heim… or rather, in the port city of Roundheart.”

Then Lloyd pondered as if choosing his words.

But Ain smiled as if to say not to worry.

“…Hah. I heard you weren’t allowed to leave the territory and weren’t treated well.”

“Haha, that’s right. That’s why, on the contrary, Grint… my younger brother was the one who went out. Especially after Father―Logas started taking care of Grint, I saw him being taken on long trips.”

“…Yes.”

Lloyd nodded with a serious look on his face.

“But even I got to go on my first long trip one day. Guess what day it was?”

“Hmm… your first trip? I’m sorry, but I have no idea…”

“That’s right, it was the day I crossed over to Ishtalika.”

“Oh, I see! That was the day that Ain-sama went on your first journey!”

He had never told such detailed stories to anyone before.

Hearing about Ain’s past for the first time, Lloyd replied in a tone that expressed his curiosity.

“It was a gathering held under the pretext of a party to introduce the children of the nobility to the public, and it was the first time I had set foot in the royal capital. I remember being surprised that the royal capital was even more lively than the port city of Roundheart.”

Ain spoke as if he was really reminiscing.

Behind Ain and Lloyd, Dill, and Majolica continued to listen intently.

“The venue was the mansion of Grand Duke Augusto. It was the beginning of everything for me.”

“Augusto’s mansion… I see, the one that belongs to Graff-dono. I’ve heard a little about that day…”

“Yes. When I went to Augusto’s mansion, I was tricked and couldn’t attend the party. In the end, I couldn’t even enter the venue, so I was wondering what to do…”

For Ain’s vassals, including Lloyd, this was an event that made their insides boil with rage, but Ain just smiled happily.

Unconcerned about Lloyd, who grimly held the reins next to him, Ain continued to speak in a good mood.

“I decided to look at the flowers.”

“What, flowers?”

“Yes, that’s right. The garden of the Augusto mansion was magnificent. So I went to see it with the permission of the then Grand Duke Augusto―Graff-san.”

“W-why flowers…?!”

“My mother apologized to me. She wasn’t at fault, but she apologized to me as if she were about to cry. So I suggested that we go see the flowers. But it was better for me. It was more meaningful to see the garden with my mother than to go to a party I wasn’t interested in.”

When they hear that he covered for Olivia, Lloyd and the others are filled with a warm sense of Ain’s character.

“Ma-Majolica-dono?”

“Ugh… it’s not a good story.”

Majolica let out a sob, his eyes brimming with tears as he seemed moved by the story.

Dill was surprised by the sudden turn of events, but his feelings were not too different.

“…And then I met Krone.”

He thought of the continent of Ishtar across the sea and uttered her name.

“After that, I made a Star Crystal and gave it to them. …After I gave it to them, I was surprised to learn that it was a proposal of marriage.”

“I… it is true that a Star Crystal can be a proposal… but mainly in stories, with certain conditions.”

“After the party, Logas took Grint to the evening party. That was the final trigger, and Mother destroyed the ring and sent a message to Ishtalika. After that…”

From here on, it’s a story that Lloyd and the others had also heard.

It’s the story of how Ain came to Ishtalika on the Princess Olivia.

“Oh, and then you returned to the port city of Roundheart…”

“Yes. After I returned to the port city of Roundheart, I met Chris. You know? I think that day was the most important day of my life.”

Even though he said that, Lloyd couldn’t help but nod his head in agreement.

Even though it was the result of a number of different factors coming together, there was no denying that Ain had been treated coldly.

No matter how happy Ain seemed to be as a follower, Lloyd felt a complex mixture of emotions.

“That was a long story. In short, this road is similar to the one I took with my mother in the carriage to the royal capital that day.”

“Yes. I could feel the feelings you have for her.”

“Oh, but don’t worry. It’s not that it makes it difficult to fight… or anything like that. It’s just that I feel like life is something you never know.”

“Please don’t overdo it.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Lloyd-san.”

Ain smiled in response to Lloyd’s concern and then turned his attention to the road that led to the capital of Heim.

…Then a knight came running towards them.

“Hey, why is our knight coming from that direction?”

“It’s a scout. We sent a few out, so it must be one of them.”

“When did that happen… well, never mind. He seems to be in a hurry.”

While the two were talking, the knight arrived in a hurry.

He stopped his horse in front of Ain and Lloyd and changed the direction of the horse so that it was facing the direction they were going.

“I apologize for reporting from horseback!”

“It’s all right. Continue.”

“Ha!”

The knight replied, then took about ten seconds to catch his breath.

Then, with a determined look on his face, he opened his mouth.

“After continuing from here for a while, you will see the capital of Heim. …There you will see many Heim soldiers, as well as General Logas and the others.”

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