Chapter 54

Released:

“I should return this week to meet His Majesty. He might not be too happy about me running a business under my name… but since I’m the one expected to inherit the throne, he probably won’t forbid it entirely.”

Besides, this business was being funded with Iris’s personal finances.

Of course, there was also the support from the Holy Empire to consider.

Actually, if the Holy Empire provided funding, there was a high chance the Emperor might decide to open the national treasury rather than rely on Iris’s private funds.

After all, if the Holy Empire was willing to open their treasury to support the development of the Ermunt Empire, it would look rather disgraceful for Ermunt to proceed with the Crown Princess using her personal money.

“It will be a pilot project, and I plan to designate Theo’s farm as one of the test sites. Since it’s an agricultural and fishery business, I also intend to designate a location for fisheries and submit a business plan. Do you know anyone involved in fisheries by any chance, Sir Theo?”

“Hmm, not sure.”

Given that I live far from the sea, I didn’t know much about fisheries.

“I’ll ask Uncle Duncan.”

“Uncle Duncan… Ah, you mean your swordsmanship master?”

“Yes, that’s right. That man knows just about everything.”

It seems it wasn’t a lie when he used to say he was a famous swordsman. His connections were vast, and his knowledge was extensive.

Though, I never expected those connections to include the Saintess herself.

“I’ll go ask him real quick, so everyone just relax and enjoy yourselves.”

I took the opportunity to see my master after a long time, as well as to find a candidate for Iris’ pilot fishing business. I used teleportation magic to visit Duncan at the butcher shop.

“Uncle!”

“Gah! You scared me!”

Instead of opening the door and walking in, I teleported without making a sound, successfully pulling off a perfect scare.

“Yo-You little rascal! Where the heck did you come from…”

“Oh, I used the teleportation magic Estelle taught me~.”

“Of course, you’d go learning all sorts of things just to scare people. But why are you here when you should be at the Academy? Is it your day off? Founder’s Day?”

Founder’s Day? That was something you’d expect in an elementary school, not an academy. Did this man think I was an elementary school student? Honestly.

“No, not exactly. Just… some things happened.”

“What kind of things, you rascal? Ah, wait. Did you go to the Holy Empire by any chance?”

“How did you know that?”

“Estelle mentioned before that around this time, she’d usually have to deal with some bothersome tasks in the Holy Empire. That stuck in my memory.”

This man seemed like someone who would never suffer from memory loss. Remembering every little detail like that… really, it was impressive.

“Yeah, you’re right. I went there briefly. But that Holy Emperor… seems like he’s got a lot of issues.”

“Well, Estelle’s been saying for years that there were always problems over there, even when she was young. Nobody believed her, though. His image is just too pure.”

He really did seem like someone meticulous about managing his image.

When I met the Holy Emperor, even though I was just an ordinary commoner, he treated me politely, referred to me as Estelle’s friend, and always maintained a warm smile.

But I never would have guessed that such a facade could hide so many underlying issues.

Honestly, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I might’ve doubted Estelle’s words despite my efforts to believe her.

Even in the game, the backgrounds of characters like Estelle or Iris weren’t well fleshed out, so I had no choice but to observe and judge the Holy Emperor and Ermunt Emperor myself.

“Anyway, why are you here? You’re not here to learn more from me, are you?”

“Ah, it’s about Iris…no, ahem, I mean Her Highness the Crown Princess. She’s planning to launch a pilot project related to agriculture and fisheries. My family’s farm was chosen for the agricultural side, but she’s looking for someone for the fisheries side. Do you happen to know anyone?”

“A pilot project?”

When I briefly explained what Iris had in mind, Uncle Ducan’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement.

“She really is someone who thinks of the people, isn’t she? Her Highness the Crown Princess, I mean.”

He wasn’t wrong.

I didn’t know what kind of politics the Emperor had practiced until now, but at least from what I’d seen, Iris cared for and worked for the people far more than the current Emperor ever did.

“So, do you know anyone who’s involved in fisheries?”

“Hmm, I do know someone from the Wesker County. I’ll ask around.”

The Wesker County again.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Marty’s family might show up in this.

Of course, I had no idea if that guy was involved in fisheries at all.

“Alright, please confirm by the weekend and let me know.”

“Sure, I’ll get back to you.”

After saying goodbye, I headed back home, but the atmosphere felt a bit cold for some reason.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

I asked, wondering if something had occurred while I was away.

“Hmm? No, nothing happened.”

“That’s right. Absolutely nothing happened.”

Both of them kept their mouths shut and didn’t give me a real answer.

What was this? What had happened?

No way… Was this one of the bad ending routes?

***

While Theo had stepped out to meet Duncan for a moment.

“This time, you really surprised me. I never thought you’d come up with such an incredible idea,”

Estelle said to Iris.

“I just happened to think of it while listening to Sir Theo and father talking.”

When Theo had talked about helping his father with magical equipment, various ideas had popped into her mind.

“Seriously, Sir Theo is amazing. He always makes everything turn out so well, no matter what.”

“That’s right. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have even thought of this.”

Both Estelle and Iris agreed wholeheartedly.

To both of them, Theo was like a star.

If it weren’t for Theo, it was clear that the two of them wouldn’t be having such a harmonious conversation.

Even though they both claimed to truly seek peace, they wouldn’t have known what to do, and they would have been too busy distancing themselves simply because they didn’t like how different they were from each other.

“I like Sir Theo”

Estelle calmly expressed her feelings.

“I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone as amazing as him in my lifetime. Honestly, no matter what we do, he’s always kind and considerate. I wonder how he can always be like that.”

He was someone who reassured her that it was okay to make mistakes and who would help find a path when none seemed to exist.

He was someone who made her dream, and to Estelle, that person was Theo.

That’s why she could confidently say that she couldn’t help but love him.

“I feel the same. I too like Sir Theo.”

But Iris loved Theo so much that she couldn’t yield to Estelle.

The love she felt for him, deep from within her heart, was so immense that no one could surpass it.

“I support everything Sir Theo does, and I hope to be there for every step of his journey.”

“Then we’re rivals.”

Estelle simply laid out the relationship between the two of them.

“Let’s call it a friendly rivalry.”

“Friendly, huh? I wonder if that’s even possible when it comes to love.”

It was a place where they competed over their love for none other than Theo.

When Estelle asked that question, Iris couldn’t bring herself to answer.

“…I’m only saying this because I don’t want Sir Theo to feel awkward if we don’t get along.”

At Iris’s words, Estelle shot her a subtle glare.

“I wouldn’t create a situation that might trouble Sir Theo, either.”

Estelle felt offended and responded to Iris, whose words made it seem as if Estelle was saying that she would put Theo in a difficult position just to get him to choose her.

And in the midst of this exchange, Theo returned home after finishing his conversation with Duncan, only to witness the strangely tense atmosphere between them.

***

“Alright, you two. Care to explain what you’re fighting about?”

They said nothing, but their faces gave it all away. It was clear as day, they had quarreled about something.

Anyone could see that they’d had a spat, yet neither of them was willing to talk about it, which was incredibly frustrating.

“Should I ask my parents?”

I figured they might know since they had likely been in the house at the time.

“…Both Mother and Father went out, so they probably wouldn’t know.”

Estelle answered with a pout.

Ah, true… these two wouldn’t fight in front of my parents anyway. That’s just not their style.

“It’s nothing major… just something about friendly rivalry …”

“Friendly rivalry?”

Suddenly, I found myself wondering what kind of “friendly rivalry” they were talking about.

“Yes, that’s right. You know… just this and that. We decided to have a friendly rivalry and all that…”

I wasn’t sure what exactly they were competing over, but it didn’t seem like a lie. They weren’t avoiding my gaze.

Considering how they always averted their eyes and gave themselves away whenever they lied, I realized they were telling the truth this time and gave a small nod.

“Alright, fine. Maybe it’s something you feel too embarrassed to tell me about. But even if you’re rivals, you’re competing in good faith, right? No fighting or anything like that. Understood?”

“Yes… I will try.”

“I’ll try too.”

Their answers weren’t particularly reassuring, but they had never broken a promise before.

It should be fine, I guess.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *