Homecoming, Briefly (1)
The two things that left Lexus most confused were these.
First, this thought:
But that doubt softened when he recalled the intelligence he had once received—that Sigmund Academy had temporarily closed. If that were true, it made sense they could spare the time to come here. He had no idea where they had obtained such a dragon, but if it was a dragon, flying straight here would not have been impossible.
Anyway. They had already arrived. The reasons behind it could go to the dogs for all he cared.
The second source of confusion was the sight of another woman standing beside his illustrious daughter, Karalin. He could not quite place her, but she looked like yet another Karalin.
Is this Yohan’s doing…? Damn it, that loyal bastard has no reason to pull something like this on me.
It might have been possible if it were an illusion created by the treasured sword kept in the Grand Duchy’s vault—Rorschach. In other words, it could hypnotize the eyes of Lexus and everyone else present here.
…But does that even make sense? Fuck that.
In any case, when trying to accept it rationally proved impossible, Lexus simply stopped thinking about it. Setting everything else aside, the best course seemed to be to see them in person and ask what the hell was going on.
However, the very next moment, Lexus’s expression—and not just his, but every person of Northern blood present—froze solid.
“G-Gorgo… Your Highness—?!”
Now close enough to see her face clearly, there stood the great hero and matriarch of humanity whose portrait still hung prominently in one wing of the royal palace, passed down through the ages.
…Because it was the face of Gorgo von Vitagarte.
It seemed the old assessment that Karalin, as a child, had been the spitting image of Gorgo had not been wrong after all.
At that moment, one of the soldiers who had witnessed the scene shouted.
“What are you all doing?! Open the gates—! The young lady has returned. Are you just going to stand there like idiots and let her face the biting winter wind?!”
“Your Grace Lexus! Your Grace Lexus! Please, allow the trumpets of welcome to sound!”
They were probably the same pathetic sons who had disappointed their mothers so thoroughly that changing their shit-stained diapers was the only thing they were good for. It was rather comical to see them welcoming back the child he himself had banished. Still, Lexus had no choice but to nod.
“…Do as they say.”
The atmosphere had grown so feverishly heated that refusing would have caused a real incident.
He would hear them out. He would find out what purpose had brought them back here.
The moment the dragon landed and its wings were allowed to rest, the Grand Duke singled out the young lady, me, and Gorgo and summoned us. The rest of our companions were asked to wait in the remaining guest rooms for now. We walked along the all-too-familiar corridors of the royal palace toward the audience chamber where His Grace Lexus awaited.
Both the young lady and Gorgo seemed utterly overwhelmed by the powerful welcome they received the instant they returned.
“Young lady, you have returned—!”
“It is good to see you. You must be Telga, commander of the Third Battalion of the Giant God Division.”
“I am honored that you remember me. This Telga will consider it an honor for the rest of his life.”
Watching people swarm around her with every step she took, I could only think one thing.
That bastard Telga was the one who abandoned the young lady more coldly than anyone when power passed to Abel… It seems tasting the bitter flavor of incompetence has made him turn completely.
An opportunist. Of all the types of people I despised, those were the ones I loathed most. Even so, I followed behind the young lady as she graciously accepted their greetings with the appropriate warmth befitting a liege.
I tried to pass by the man while glaring at him as if I wanted to kill him.
“Lord of Steel…”
Yet he dared to call out to me with mere words.
“It has been a long time, Telga. I regret that I could not join the front lines against the Demon Army. I hope you understand. I was fully occupied escorting the young lady in the capital, so I ask for your understanding on that matter as well.”
“…My lord bears no fault. It was all because these eyes of mine were nothing but knotholes.”
“Knotholes? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I believe you will come to understand that in due time.”
“………Hah.”
No. He could not possibly think I was unaware. Faced with his ridiculously arrogant words, I simply stopped in place, clasped my hands behind my back, and remained silent.
“……….”
Telga’s eyes darted around desperately, searching for anywhere to escape my gaze. But there was nowhere. In the end, he could only change the subject.
“…By the way, Lord of Steel. There are rampant rumors within the castle speculating about the identity of the person beside the young lady. If it is not too much to ask, could you perhaps enlighten us—?”
“If you swear to stop uttering useless words arrogantly in front of the young lady’s sword, I suppose I could tell you.”
“…That was a slip of my unworthy tongue. Please do not hold it against me.”
“Then very well. To put it simply, that person is Lady Gorgo.”
“L-Lady Gorgo—?!”
“In return for subduing one of the Demon King’s Six Swords, she was possessed by the creature and wandered in emptiness for three hundred years. We discovered and rescued her.”
“N-No, that—that—”
“Yes. The very person you know of.”
The moment those words left my mouth, Telga’s jaw dropped so wide it seemed it would never close again. I ignored him and simply followed after the two ladies who had already walked far ahead.
He was a man as easily swayed by rumors as a feather in the wind. The rumor I had just planted would surely spread nicely throughout the palace after he interpreted it in his own way.
Though Karalin had said she was afraid, the moment she returned home her spirit seemed to surge. She walked more proudly than anyone. But Gorgo, whom we had just spoken of, kept stopping and hesitating as she looked around.
“…This porcelain. I brought it back as a trophy—”
One remark as she gazed reverently at a magnificent blue porcelain piece protected behind glass in a corridor display.
“This can’t be. That section was still under construction…?! How could it have been completed so beautifully? How is this even possible?!”
Another remark when she saw the thick, beautiful plaster gate decorated along the path to the Northern mausoleum where the remains of all her ancestors lay.
“My goodness, the view outside…”
“It was all burned away. It did not used to look like this… It is the work of those wyvern bastards that deserve to be killed a thousand times over.”
“…Hahaha, oh dear. This one thing is exactly the same as it was three hundred years ago—!”
And she even marveled at the enormous floor-to-ceiling window that offered a clear view of the city below.
But the place where she stopped the longest—longer than anywhere else—was in front of a certain portrait.
“…Brother.”
It was the portrait of the family’s founder, the first patriarch—Goyal I—the man who had transformed Vitagarte from a mere northern frontier fortress into the Northern Kingdom that nearly tore the throat out of the Empire itself.
The overwhelming dignity of its enormous size would make anyone who stood before it shrink back instinctively. But Gorgo had no need to do so.
Goyal I was none other than her own older brother.
She stood silently before that beloved face, unable to speak a single word, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Brother. This sister has come to keep her promise…”
Not a single sob escaped her.
What must she be feeling…? She thought she had wandered in darkness for eons, only to realize that three hundred years had passed, that everyone she knew was gone.
And of all people, the one closest to her—her brother—was now revered and heroized to the point of being a figure of history.
She must feel some pride, in her own way. But at least in my opinion, an unbearable sense of alienation would be crashing over her.
“…Yohan, wait a moment. I’m going to Gorgo.”
Karalin had clearly noticed as well. She walked straight up to Gorgo and said,
“Great Matriarch.”
“…Karalin! Oh dear, child. I’m sorry. Why am I like this? An old woman acting so foolishly—”
What she said next was not particularly difficult.
“…Welcome home.”
“…Thank you.”
“No matter how much time passes, this place will always be a beloved home you can return to.”
“Yes…”
How strange. She had spoken the very words I had wanted to say to the young lady.
If the North had been destroyed as scheduled and the royal palace had been completely wiped out, the situation would have been even sadder.
In any case, that left only one thing for me to worry about now.
“…You two. This way.”
I pointed behind me with an open palm and spoke to the two women who were earnestly sharing words of comfort.
“We have arrived at the audience chamber. If you enter first, I will follow right behind.”
It was time to see His Grace Lexus after so long. Even after returning to the North, I was the only one still keeping my sanity. It was my duty to guide them.
And I never expected things to turn out like this.
I thought I would never again see someone prostrating themselves so thoroughly—except for Lumein when she begged us to save her lizard and boyfriend (real). Yet here we were.
THUD—!!
“……….”
“Um, Lexus. Could you raise your head a little…?”
“I cannot, Great Matriarch. The moment I realized you truly are that Gorgo, is it not only natural for a descendant to react this way?!”
“B-But… if you do that…”
“Lexus von Vitagarte, the 32nd patriarch of the Vitagarte Grand Duchy, pays his respects to the hero!”
Damn it. To think I would see this from Lexus again. Fate really is a cruel thing, isn’t it?
“Your Grace—!”
“Your Grace—!”
“Please raise your head, Your Grace—!”
His retainers wailed, begging for his mercy. Karalin seemed to think this was wrong as well…
“Father… The Great Matriarch will be troubled if you continue like this. Please, lift your head…”
She pleaded earnestly, trying to raise the old man’s body somehow. But—
“Ah, ah—”
Lexus simply kept crying, eyes red, as if he were seeing some vision. Or perhaps the fact that the symbol of the North he had always dreamed of now stood before him was simply too moving.
“However, my heart is so overwhelmed with awe… that this Lexus cannot help but act this way.”
“Truly, you are a child who knows how to respect etiquette.”
“…I am unworthy of such praise!”
“Then shall we follow etiquette even more strictly?”
“…Great Matriarch?”
After shedding a few tears, Gorgo returned to her role as the Great Matriarch and spoke simply.
“I have heard much about how the family has fared. But having flown all the way from the capital, how could I not meet Karalin’s fine half-sibling and the one who became his mother? Bring them to me.”
“T-They…”
“Please, summon them.”
I was always the one causing incidents wherever I went, so I never really knew what emotions others felt when they looked at me. But now—
Wow… crazy.
This might actually be pretty entertaining. I felt like adding five more decorative frills to Gorgo’s magical girl outfit.