The Quiet Silence Was Quickly Broken
The quiet silence was quickly broken.
“Your Majesty, please raise your head.”
The black-winged woman known as Ruin spoke gently to Lei.
“Um… Ruin? I’m not a queen anymore…”
“To me, the queen of the black-winged tribe will only ever be you, Your Majesty.”
“And… I ran away after leaving the queen’s position to you… So the queen is you now, Ruin, right?”
“I only inherited the position about ten years ago, so I am no longer the queen either.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. And Your Majesty worked hard for our sake. I understood the situation the moment I was summoned. If anyone owes an apology, it is us of the black-winged tribe.”
If you only listened to the words, it would have sounded like an ordinary conversation. But the actual content revolved entirely around queens and queenship. On top of that, the fact that both of them had once held the title made even their casual exchange radiate a noble aura.
This is the dignity of those who once were queens…!
That said, Lei somehow still came across as a little sloppy. By contrast, the woman called Ruin gave off a strangely reassuring presence. Her frame was slender—the sort of build that made you want to protect her—yet she projected an aura of solid reliability.
“Um… You don’t hate me, do you…?”
“Having sat on the throne myself, I understand. It must have been incredibly burdensome. We never realized that and simply leaned on Your Majesty’s power. I am truly sorry.”
“No, no. I was happy because you all took such good care of me… But it slowly became too much, so I ran away…”
“Your Majesty guided us more than enough. After you left, I led the revival of the black-winged tribe, which only proves how insightful Your Majesty’s decision truly was.”
“Really…? Are the black-winged… living well…?”
“Yes. We are living more happily than any other race.”
“That’s a relief…”
Listening to them, it really did seem Lei hadn’t actually done much of anything. Thanks to her trait, everything simply worked out as long as she existed. And the black-winged tribe had doted on her all the while. Ruin, on the other hand, showed little emotional fluctuation, maintained a near-perfect poker face, and excelled at everything. That was why the tribe respected her as queen even while finding her intimidating.
When Lei fled here, she left a note naming Ruin as her successor, so Ruin had become queen and ruled. Whether because of Lei’s trait or because Lei had trusted her completely, Ruin had carried out the duties of queen with stoic efficiency for seventy years and successfully revived the tribe. After growing old, passing the title on, and living another decade, she reached the end of her life. Just before death, she had begun searching for Queen Lei, wondering why she had never appeared even once. The moment she thought she at least wanted to ask why she had been chosen, she heard the summoning call and accepted it. Thanks to the spacetime-transcending summoning, she had regressed to the physical prime of her youth. That was Ruin’s story.
“Lei really did mess up.”
“Hing… I know that, but my lord, it hurts when you say it so bluntly…”
“My lord, Her Majesty committed no wrong. That note was surely another act of grace from Queen Lei.”
Ruin’s attitude bordered on religious devotion. Even though Lei hadn’t actually done much, constantly being revered like that could feel suffocating depending on the person. Some might enjoy it, but Lei clearly wasn’t one of them. If the entire black-winged tribe had acted that way, I was confident I would have run away too.
“Still, it all worked out. No one else from the black-winged tribe seems to want to come, so Lei staying here is pretty much decided.”
“Fufu~!”
Lei puffed out her chest with an expression that practically screamed See? I told you it would be fine.
Now it was time to decide how to treat Ruin.
“What about you, Ruin? What do you want to do?”
If she stayed here she would live; if she returned she would die. Ruin surely understood that, which was why I didn’t spell it out.
“My lord, I request equal treatment as well. As for how I should be handled—with this new life I have been granted, I wish to serve Her Majesty once more.”
“Is that so? Then we’ll go with that.”
A migrant wishes to affiliate with the territory.
Residents affiliated with the territory will behave differently according to their satisfaction levels.
Iron Wall Queen Ruin of the Black-Winged Tribe, who led the revival of Heugildo
Target’s Satisfaction: Very Satisfied.
The Lord must look after the territory and its residents.
The residents must protect the territory and the Lord.
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Her expression was impossible to read, but the satisfaction meter showed she was extremely pleased. Meeting the queen she had revered for so long must have been the biggest factor. I had no idea how much blind faith it took to reach that level, but it was now Lei’s problem to deal with.
“Ah, Ruin! I’m not a queen anymore, and you used to be one too. Let’s just live comfortably together from now on, okay?”
“That cannot be permitted…”
It had been eighty years since Lei fled to this place. Ruin’s body had returned to its youthful prime through regression, but her mind belonged to an old woman. Yet Lei charged forward as if none of that mattered, while Ruin looked visibly troubled.
Lei took one step closer until she stood right in front of Ruin. Ruin instinctively stepped back from the pressure.
“Huh? You won’t? But I’ve wanted to get closer to you for so long!”
“Th-that is… I cannot…”
Every time Ruin retreated, Lei advanced. Realizing that stepping back would be rude, Ruin broke into a cold sweat yet held her ground.
“Do you dislike me, Ruin?”
“Kuh…!”
Ruin was slightly taller, so Lei had to look up at her. But even from the side, Lei’s eyes sparkled like stars. Ruin clutched her chest as if her heart were in pain.
That’s more than enough to cause heart palpitations.
“I-I understand…!”
“And speak casually!”
“Ugh…! O-okay…!”
“Really? I like you so much, Ruin!”
“Hup…!”
In the end Ruin surrendered. Lei pulled her into a hug. Ruin stretched both arms out stiffly, completely at a loss.
It was the exact moment when someone holds a tiny creature that looks like it would shatter if they apply even a little strength.
Her nearly blank face showed a complicated mix of happiness and utter confusion, as though the expressionless mask might crack at any second.
“All right, Lei. Ruin looks uncomfortable, so let her go now.”
“It’s not like that, my lord! Ruin is enjoying it, right? Right, Ruin?”
“Ah, uh, um. Yes. I like it.”
Ruin’s speech glitched like a broken machine. Still, Lei beamed as if even that counted as a positive answer.
Clearly Lei had been a lofty queen when she was first summoned yesterday. Yet at some point she had transformed into an energetic, tail-wagging puppy. That latter personality was surely her true self; the former had only been a mask to preserve queenly dignity.
“It’s already evening. We should get some sleep soon. That means we need to prepare a place for Ruin too.”
“A place for Ruin? You don’t have to worry about that, my lord. She can just sleep in the same room as me, right Ruin?”
“S-such an honor…!”
What would a believer’s reaction be if the god they worshipped suddenly approached them wanting to be friends? It would probably look exactly like Ruin babbling over there right now.
I left the two of them to work it out and stepped back. The conclusion was that they would share a room. There were plenty of ToroToro cushions, and although the room was fairly small, the cushions alone could fit four people lying down. That was more than enough space for two.
“Really? Then I have a request for both of you. Would you take care of Heugildo for me?”
“My lord?”
“Lord, what do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. This island is part of my territory too. I’m still an inexperienced lord and can’t manage every single place myself. So I’d like you two to handle this one.”
They had both been queens. They weren’t the type to run around doing manual labor. If they needed anything I could provide support. It might keep them a little busy, but judging from their personalities they didn’t seem to want much. Right now it simply felt like they wanted time to talk with each other.
“I will strive to live up to your expectations, my lord.”
“Lord, I will protect this place together with… Lei.”
“Good. We’ll head back over there, then.”
We had only set a general direction; nothing concrete had been decided yet. The only clear thought in my mind was that I needed to be careful so my abilities wouldn’t become known to the world. To do that, I first had to restore normal function to the two islands that had become bottlenecks.
“Miya? Time to wake up~”
Before anything else we needed sleep, so I tried to wake Miya. Even after grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, she kept purring away in deep slumber. Just how weak to alcohol was she to pass out completely after a single glass of beer? I made a firm resolution never to give Miya alcohol again.
“Can’t be helped. Asne, may I ask you a favor?”
“Hehe… Of course.”
At my request Asne lifted her index finger. Miya immediately floated up from the chair. Once she was hovering in the air, instinct must have kicked in because she curled into a neat ball.
Cats really do love that position.
Thus the aerial purring transport was complete. We crossed the sea with Miya floating like a flying saucer and arrived at the house on Nohwado. I placed her, still curled up, inside her own house.
“Thank you, Asne.”
“It was nothing difficult.”
“Aren’t you going to sleep now too, Asne?”
“After you retire for the night, my lord.”
“I’m not fully digested yet, so I thought I’d look at the stars for a bit before sleeping.”
“Is that so? Then may I stay beside you?”
“Of course.”
I found a suitable spot at the broken pier and sat down. Asne came over and settled gracefully beside me.
Miya, Asne, Lei, Ruin… It’s already been four days.
The crescent moon floating in the sky gave off a soft glow. Because it wasn’t full, the surrounding stars twinkled even brighter, painting the heavens beautifully. Back in the city that faint starlight had seemed lonely. In truth the stars had always been there; it was only that so many had been hidden from view.
Yeah… What is happiness anyway? I simply hadn’t noticed it. Happiness is ultimately something you feel for yourself.
When I worked at the company everything had just felt difficult and depressing. The only people I could talk to were my family, so I only ever complained to them. The family that gently embraced that version of me—I had never realized that was happiness.
Tomorrow… I should take care of my family too.
Asne simply watched over me quietly from the side the entire time. Normally I would have found it burdensome, but strangely I didn’t mind at all. I sat there blankly gazing at the sky until digestion was finished and the clock passed two in the morning.
“Asne, thank you for staying up so late.”
“It is something I do because I enjoy it. I have been happy ever since I came here.”
“Really? Then I’m glad.”
With digestion complete and sleepiness setting in, I stood up. Asne gave me a beautiful smile and said she was the one who was glad.
“Let’s head inside and sleep.”
“Good night, my lord.”
“Sleep well, Asne.”
“Yes.”
We returned to our respective homes. I took a quick shower and surrendered my body to the bed. Just as I had felt earlier, the cozy comfort was impossible to resist. Until a few days ago I had been so full of worries that falling asleep had been difficult. But now it was different. The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell into a happy, contented sleep.