[Serena Enfield #2]
A date.
……Clearly, the fact that Serena was the one to ask for a date is something I should be happy about. It really is.
But the person she asked is me?
“……A date, you say?”
“Ye-yes.”
Serena’s voice trembled slightly.
If it had been a proposal from any other woman—if Lily or Elizabeth had asked me out, I probably would have thought about it for a moment before agreeing. They, at least, vaguely understand the line I’ve drawn.
Elizabeth is…… well, her attitude has changed a bit lately, but she still maintains a proper sense of distance.
But this is Serena. The very same Serena who had been a fortress against the three male leads until now, the very same one who had caused me so much headache.
And yet, why is she doing this to me?
“Ugh.”
I looked down at her, wondering if it could really be true. Serena’s eyes were squeezed shut, and her cheeks were faintly flushed. A vivid pink emotion swirled around her.
Haa.
……What do I do?
Up until now, I had intentionally avoided crossing the line in my relationships with women. If I cross that line now, it will interfere with my future plans to abdicate the throne.
Should I make an exception for Serena?
There are no exceptions. Once an exception is made, things can never be the same as they were before.
After a long period of contemplation, I reached a conclusion.
“……If that is your wish.”
“…Kya!”
Serena stomped her feet in excitement.
Well, I have to save the world first, don't I?
A date is a date, but there was work to be done.
After Leviathan left, I had to deal with the aftermath.
The creature had simply flown through the sky as if it were nothing, but that alone had caused humanity to suffer great damage.
You ask if it’s the Empire that suffered, not humanity? Well, the Empire is humanity, and humanity is the Empire.
“This is the damage report following the Great Spirit’s descent.”
In the conference room, the ministers gathered to discuss the recovery efforts.
“Hmm.”
The Minister of Agriculture let out a groan.
“This is……”
“The damage is beyond imagination,” the Minister of Finance stepped forward to say.
“To what extent?”
“Most of the territories Leviathan passed over have been hit hard.”
Naturally, since the inland regions were hit by floods on the level of a tsunami. Not only was this year’s harvest ruined, but many goods were destroyed by the water.
“The food shortage is also severe. Due to the rapidly rising humidity, most of the stockpiled food has rotted.”
“Hmm.”
The ministers’ brows furrowed deeply.
“Hmm.”
I turned to look at Serena.
“Ah, yes.”
If you’re wondering why Serena is here, I called her because she was obviously needed.
“Le, Levi. Please come out.”
"Did you call, Master?"
⟨ Leviathan's Avatar ⟩
At Serena’s call, a tiny whale popped into existence. True to being an avatar of a Great Spirit, despite being only the size of a fist, it held a significant amount of energy.
“Ohh.”
“Is that the very….”
The ministers who recognized Levi’s true identity lit up. To think that grown men would be as excited as children.
……Hmm, no. A flying water whale. Even I found it fascinating. Besides, to them, isn't Leviathan a creature of myth?
If it were me, I think I would have been just as excited if I’d seen a real baby dinosaur in my past life. Thinking of it that way, I can understand.
“Great Spirit.”
"I am not the main body, so it is not correct to call me that. What is it?"
“Regarding the damage the Empire suffered this time, Great Spirit, or rather….”
“You can just call him Levi!”
The human retriever Serena was bright and cheerful even toward ministers who were old enough to be her grandfather.
“Ahem. Levi-nim, is there perhaps a way…?”
"Did the Emperor say that?"
“Hmm.”
The ministers looked at me, gauging my reaction. It’s not like I’m the type to get angry just because a spirit doesn't show me proper etiquette. Besides, it’s an avatar of Leviathan, after all.
I waved my hand, signaling them to let it slide.
“…Yes, Your Majesty said so.”
"First, to give you the conclusion: I have no way to undo the damage that has already been done."
“Ah….”
"However, this is something I can give you."
After finishing, the miniature whale spat out several small orbs.
“These are?”
"Essences of Water. Water is the source of life. If you bury these in the damaged land, it will remain fertile for years to come."
Upon hearing that, the ministers’ faces brightened instantly.
“With this, in the long term, we can create gains that exceed the damage we’ve suffered.”
“There are quite a few of them, so let’s first distribute them to the damaged territories and then consider how to allocate the rest.”
“But what about the territories that need immediate support…?”
“Hmm.”
The gift from Leviathan’s avatar is certainly useful. Frankly, we could even plant the excess in the wastelands to revive the soil.
However, that is only from a long-term perspective. The problem is that it doesn't help the territories that need immediate disaster relief.
It can’t be helped.
“I will use some of my private funds.”
“Yo, Your Majesty?”
“I can just take some from my personal treasury. Minister of Finance, draft a budget plan for the necessary amount and report it.”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
That’s what imperial money is for, after all. Besides, I hadn’t been spending as much as I used to, so there was plenty left over. Enough that it wouldn’t even be noticeable if I dipped into it.
“If Your Majesty is willing to step in….”
“Then we must plan even more thoroughly….”
The ministers murmured. It’s true that they couldn’t just be purely happy when the Emperor himself was emptying his pockets to fill the budget.
Well, that’s a problem for them to figure out.
“More importantly, look at this.”
I took out the golden essence I had received from Leviathan.
“Your Majesty, what is that?”
“It is the essence of Leviathan.”
“Ye…?!”
The ministers’ eyes widened. The sphere of light, scattering a soft glow, possessed a divinity in itself.
“Leviathan handed this to me, saying I would need it.”
“To think that the essence of a Great Spirit would be needed for something.”
“……If it is the essence of Leviathan, the Great Spirit of Water, there would be nothing with greater purifying power even if you searched the entire continent,” Elizabeth said, narrowing her brows. She then fell into silence, twirling her hair with her fingers as if lost in deep thought.
Leaving her behind, I lifted the essence again.
“This can be seen as a kind of prophecy.”
The absence of God, Leviathan had said. It likely refers to the absence of the Goddess. And that was outside of my expectations.
Divine power is working fine, and the system is running, yet the Goddess is absent? What on earth does that mean?
There are probably two possibilities.
Either the Goddess is already absent, but the power she left behind through some means is still working. Or, the Goddess will be absent in the near future.
Either way, it seems she gave this as a gift in preparation for when the Goddess’s power disappears, but…….
“To think that the essence of a Great Spirit would be needed. What on earth could that be?”
“Hmm.”
I couldn’t say that here and now. Isn’t this a world with a single doctrine of the Goddess religion?
I wasn’t prepared to deal with the chaos that would ensue if I revealed that there was a problem with the Goddess’s status.
Tsk.
I’ll have to contact the Holy Kingdom soon. I might be able to obtain information related to the Goddess.
“For now, there is nothing we can know.”
“I will gather information. If the power of purification is needed, it must be related to contamination or curses.”
"Indeed, that is correct."
“Then, let’s end today’s meeting here. Everyone, go and do what you need to do.”
I waved my hand to dismiss the meeting. As the ministers scattered, only Elizabeth, who had been unusually quiet today, remained.
“Uh, well, then I shall…”
“Serena, you stay.”
“Ye, yes.”
Elizabeth caught Serena, who was trying to slip away. Serena sat back down immediately at the cold voice and began to look around nervously.
.
.
.
A silence followed for a moment. Elizabeth twirled her hair with her fingers. Her purple eyes were staring straight at me.
“Your Majesty.”
Elizabeth’s soft voice called to me. As I turned my head slightly, Elizabeth was staring at me with her eyes narrowed.
“What on earth happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“What on earth could have happened for—.”
Elizabeth glanced at Serena.
And then.
“……Well, I suppose there were signs of it from the beginning.”
She muttered to herself, seemingly convinced, and nodded.
“The training is almost over, so you’ll be assigning her directly under you, right?”
“That is the plan.”
I mean, she contracted with Leviathan, of all things.
Naturally, I have to keep her under my wing and put her to work.
Elizabeth smacked her lips as if she found it regrettable, then nodded.
“Hmm, alright. Then I’ll hand over her training to Lily.”
“Do so.”
“Wait, do I have more training left?”
“Well, if you’re going to serve His Majesty, you’ll need to receive training befitting that position, won’t you?”
“Hii.”
Serena trembled. Lily gently stroked Serena’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Serena-nim.”
“Li, Lily-nim.”
“Since these are things necessary to properly serve His Majesty, I will teach you with pleasure.”
“…….”
Hmm.
That doesn’t look very comforting.