Volume 3 - CH 26

It’s been a week since Yumiela #2 and the evil god debacle.

I was finally getting back into decent shape after not feeling well for a while.

Things have been peaceful here ever since. Eleanora, who was in high spirits, came into my room.

“Yumiela, here’s a souvenir for you! It’s Kuma-san’s bread!”

“Thank you. Where did you get that?”

“There was a baking event at church for children. A teacher invited me to help out.”

“Not for participating?”

“Nope! I’m on the management side!”

Whether true or not, she is a frequent visitor.

And I have never been there. As a Lord, I have met with the priest whom Eleanora calls her teacher, but the meeting took place in this mansion.

The priest is lovely, but the church—

Someday I will have to visit the church, but I keep putting it off for one reason or another.

Eleanora has become like family to me, and I am grateful that she can bridge the gap between politics and religion.

This is where we should work to our best ability. Eleanora, you’re doing great!

“Thank you for your hard work. It must have been a lot of work.”

“Not at all! I only helped a little at the beginning!”

“What are you helping with?”

“I was the one who was in charge of measuring the ingredients! The teacher said it would be easy for me to do the math as a royal academy graduate.

Perhaps the teacher dreamed too much about the royal academy. That is where the nobles are forced to go to make connections for the future. People who are interested in studying are usually apprenticed to scholars.

The majority of students can at least look at a bread recipe and calculate the quantities?

The young lady continues to talk excitedly.

“But Kai-kun is—oh, Kai-kun is an older boy. Kai-kun said a princess shouldn’t have to work, so he did it for me.”

“Well done.”

“I couldn’t refuse his offer to act like a knight.”

“I see. That’s why you have nothing to do.”

“Kai-kun said I look like a princess.”

That’s right. She’s a princess. Although the dresses are simpler than before, only nobles would wear something like that.

I feel there is some sarcasm mixed in with Kai’s comment. Since I didn’t personally witness the scene, I won’t say anything.

Seeing Eleanora looking the same as ever was a relief. I can understand well why Sanon cares about her.

Besides being soothed by Elanora, I need to finish up the accumulated work.

While walking down the hallway, I noticed a shadow from the corner of my eye that caught my attention. The shadow formed by a tree in the garden stretched from the window to the mansion’s hallway.

“Hmm?”

Casually, I stuck my hand in, and it went into the shadows.

The shadow shook like the water’s surface. Inside, the shadows feel as if they were underwater.

“Ah, I found it.”

Searching for what I was looking for, I grabbed him and pulled him up.

A dark-haired boy emerges from the shadows. He is upside down by the ankle. Ah, I thought it was his wrist. Sorry.

“Haa… this was my private area. Why oneesan always do crazy things on a hunch?”

“What’s the deal this time?”

“How rude! When have I ever caused trouble?”

“You… huh?”

Suppose you ask me, maybe not. The image of a black-bellied person was too strong, and I misunderstood.

He laughed boastfully. No, it’s just normal trespassing.

While messily setting him down on the floor, I asked what was bothering him.

“I see. You were back this way. Sorry, I left you in #2’s world.”

“It’s okay. I’ve been lurking in your shadow since time rewound.”

“Please don’t go inside people’s shadows without permission. Next time you do that, I’ll deal with you.”

“The shadows are my territory. No one should complain about which shadows I’m in.”

“You know what? Isn’t territory something you can take if you win a war?”

“I’m sorry, I’ll take care oneesan’s neighborhood.”

If nobody had detected it before, it means that Remn had been able to peek into people’s private lives as much as he wanted.

Was he some kind of peeping god? He could have been peeping into my bath. Pervert.

“Eh? Eh? Remember you said you’d be considerate? Why do you look at me with contempt?”

“Anyway, you can contact yourself from the parallel universe, can’t you?”

“Yes, but… why?”

“I was wondering how #2 was over there.”

And I would like to know what action Yumiela #2 took after that.

Timeline-wise, the battle to defeat the Demon King should have been about to end. Is she planning to graduate from the academy, or is she about to leave for a new place?

Still, it’s only been a week. There might not be much change.

“Ah, the other side. It sounds like things have been tough.”

“Tough? But it’s only been a week.”

“Oh.”

Remn makes a surprised expression.

What happened in the short time? Which one is he referring to, Yumiela #2 or the world? I think it is the latter, given this god of darkness’ nature.

“I think we should go to see what’s going on.”

“No, no, no! Don’t distort space-time carelessly!”

“But something was going on, wasn’t there?”

“Not that there was any in a short time. A force at work tries to ensure that time is uniform between parallel worlds. Time flows relatively quickly in the other world and slowly in this one… I guess we’re on the same timeline now.”

The time we rewind in the second world was about a year. If it is back to normal, does another year has passed over there?

As he tells me to calm down with his hand, Remn says,

“They already settled over there. There’s no need for you to go, okay?”

“If it has been a year, I’d like to see what #2 is up to.”

It has been a year since #2 said she would do better this time. Wonder where she is, who she is with, and what she is doing.

It is not because I am worried about her or anything, I want to tease her.

That’s not good nor evil. We’re leaving now.

“No matter how much you want to visit, you can’t. I’m the one who keeps the pruning sword.”

“You’re not going to give it back.”

The pruning sword was not something that could be thrown around. Not having confidence in my ability to manage it, I decided to leave it with Remn again.

While he would never return it to me for personal use, he would always return it to me when it came to a global crisis. He’s shady, but I trusted him.

And without it, I can’t open the gateway to another world. It’s impossible without the sword. Impossible?

If only there were a substitute. What’s the alternative to God’s pruning swords? My bare hands? Can I do it with my bare hands?

“I got it.”

“What’s going on with your body?”

Moving both hands to pry open the empty space in front of me caused a spatial distortion.

As I thought, when in trouble, you can always rely on your physical strength.

The fact that I made it inside the mansion was a bit of a mistake. Patrick would show up at the most inopportune time and find out about this.

“Why is that thing inside the house?”

“He said it has been a year over there! Let’s go check on #2.”

In these situations, you have to push through. What I like about Patrick is that he understands and accepts my intentions.

He is probably wondering what’s going on with #2. I’m sure he’ll be on board.

“She has her own life. It wouldn’t be good to intervene too much, would it?”

“Eh? Are you not coming? Maybe we can laugh at #2 who opened a coffee shop, and no one came?!”

“Why can’t you just be honest?”

“Honest? What are you talking about? All I want to do is mock #2.”

When an amateur suddenly opens a coffee shop, there is no way she will manage it well. It is unexpectedly normal that #2 would want to be a trendy coffee shop owner or something. Let me, as an amateur, give you a run for your money.

Assuming that he would naturally follow me, Patrick shook his head.

“I’d better not go because you’ll get into another fight. I know you’re worried, but she has her own plan for her life.”

“I’ll go even if you stop me. You were the one who told me you like my strong, unshakeable heart.”

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

Patrick sadly agreed to come with us. That’s how he spoils me, and I get away with things.

We jumped into the spatial distortion with nothing but our clothes and traveled to the second world.

The scenery may be familiar, but this is a different world. Must you be on your guard… huh?

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know this place.”

Although it was the same parallel world, the location changed as we moved around.

The gateway was opened in a meadow near Dolknes town and led to the royal castle’s balcony. Where am I now that I have opened the gateway inside the mansion?

We are outdoors—no building within our sight.

Luckily, we found carriage tracks on a well-maintained road. It must lead to somewhere.

“Should we walk along the road?”

“If we walk for a while, we should find where the people are.”

Together we walked side by side along the street.

Judging from the road, there seemed to be a lot of traffic. But we never encountered anyone.

No people? No, did Yumiela #2 make the same mistake again—

“Look! It’s a carriage.”

…They were regular people.

#2 isn’t so clumsy as to fail so badly that it wishes for the world’s destruction twice. At most, the coffee shop went bankrupt, and she spent her days going to the dungeon to pay off her debts or something like that.

She said when we parted, she would beat me in strength, social status, and lover.

None of those seem plausible. There is no way she becomes stronger than me, I’m a Countess, and I have Patrick as my lover.

The carriage was approaching. The peddler’s ojisan was leisurely holding the reins.

Nice to see that he’s at peace. He gave me information about #2… no, first I must ask where we are.

Even though the peddler looked suspiciously at us standing in the middle of the road without our luggage, he immediately smiled and stopped his horse.

“Good afternoon. What are you doing over there?”

“Oh, we are—”

“If you go straight here, you’ll arrive at Lysdamia. You could find a place for the two of you to live there, and he could find a job.”

“…Work?”

“I know it’s tough, but hang in there. As long as you support each other, you’ll be fine in a new place. There are no adults in Lysdamia who will try to keep you apart.”

Huh, does he think we are eloping?

A young man and woman walk silently along the road without any traveling attire. It sure seems like it, I agree.

The peddler’s misunderstanding was quite correct. Let’s talk and ask him some questions.

The place he mentioned sounds familiar. Although far from Dolknes territory, it is a provincial town in the Balshine Kingdom. The area was like a large Count territory.

I am not sure it could be the same name in a different country. Let’s feign ignorance and find out.

“Thank you for your concern. I just wanna ask you one question. Is Lysdamia a town located in the Balshine Kingdom?”

“Hahaha, of course. Ah, it’s not the Balshine Kingdom. It’s different.”

No longer part of the Balshine Kingdom? Lysdamia is not a territory that is located along the border. Has this world become disorderly that the line dividing the countries moves so much?

My mind immediately became tense. I could sense some nervousness from Patrick as well.

So, where did we end up? With a good-natured smile, he continued.

“It’s the same thing, though. This is the Holy Dolknes Empire, Lysdamia is located in Balshine province.”

“The Holy… Dolknes… Empire?”

“Oya? Haven’t you heard the news of the century sweeping across the continent?”

“Sorry, I’m not up to date on worldly affairs.”

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Disregarding our confusion, the peddler speaks with a theatrical gesture.

“Her Majesty the glorious and one and only Emperor Yumiela Dolknes has accomplished an unprecedented feat! She has brought five great nations and numerous smaller nations to this continent, all under her rule! The birth of the united continental nation that the past rulers have longed for!”

Amazing! What the?

My thoughts can’t keep up anymore. In response to our stunned reactions, he shyly scratches his cheeks.

“Haven’t you heard of this? I heard it everywhere.”

“This is my first time hearing about it. This Yumiela, she became the emperor, right?”

“Yes. Maybe people back home didn’t know what the Emperor looked like? Emperor Dolknes has dark hair, just like yours. About the same age and gender? If they were against your relationship because of your hair color—”

“Heheh, Her Majesty’s hair is black too. Let me think about it for a minute.”

It was destroyed before I could formulate a theory about another person with the same name. It’s definitely #2. What is she doing?!

What kind of country is this Holy Dolknes Empire? #2, are you doing fear-mongering? Are you forcing them to work and build large tombs? You’ll get stabbed in the thigh.

Without further ado, I ask him about the situation.

“A lot has changed since the empire was built, hasn’t it?”

“Hmm. My surroundings are not that different, I guess. Besides, it was the old Balshine royal family that was essentially running the government.”

“Are the former kings in good health?”

“The changes would be along the border of each country. The emperor would have noticed if we were to start a war as we have been in the past. Oh, we are under the same empire, it should be called conflict, not war. There is more cross-border traffic than there used to be, which is good for business.”

This is a story I read in a book once. In the Balshine Kingdom, conflicts between territories are less likely to escalate to extremes. If the local nobles fight each other excessively, the royal family will intervene and impose penalties on both parties. This can only be done because the royal family has a large central military force.

Yumiela #2 has done it on a continental scale. Most likely, she is only using her body and strength.

The people may love her, but the kings and nobles will resent her. She will have to fight to the death against all desires for domination in this world.

One person is responsible for the entire system in the empire. It’s no longer a person but more like an institution.

Is she really happy now? If the empire ends up being ruled by a lonely emperor, I will destroy it.

We should meet #2 first. Before that, I’ll ask about her personal reputation.

“The empire is amazing. What kind of person is Her Majesty?”

“The latest news is that the emperor is holding a lover audition?”

“…Yes?”

“The emperor is looking for a lover on a grand scale. She said she would gather beautiful men from all over the continent and choose a husband from among them. This ojisan wants to be Her Majesty’s husband and have an easy life.”

That girl, sigh. She just does whatever she wants. All she does is obtain power and indulge in her desires. Stupid! I don’t know anymore!

We then thanked him and parted ways with the peddler. The conversation we had was brief, but it was exhausting. It feels even more tiring than when I rewound the world.

We stood there and watched as the carriage got smaller and smaller, stunned.

I was too busy collecting my thoughts to notice that Patrick hadn’t said anything. He probably has a lot more on his mind than I do and is too exhausted to think about it.

Haa, Holy Dolknes Empire.

“I wonder, which parts of it are holy?”

“Is that the first thing you’re concerned about?”

“There’s more.”

#2 did a hell of a job.

I have no energy to see her anymore. Shall we go home first? If possible, I would like to go home, sleep and forget about it.

Silence ensues. Without a second thought, we start walking in the direction we came from.

“…Shall we go home?”

“Okay.”

However, I’m glad to hear that Yumiela #2 is doing well.

…That’s what’s important, right?