Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Return
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"You're late."
Those were the first words out of Aurora's mouth as she eyed me with a peculiar gaze.
Instead of the uniform I'd worn to meet the emperor, I had on my usual city mini-look from lounging around the mansion, and the dress was white this time.
Of course, I wasn't wearing any underwear. Because of that, faint pink protrusions seemed to faintly show through the modestly swollen mounds.
A short distance away, Iris, Erika, and Claudia were exchanging glances with Lize, their expressions a complicated mix. Lize waved her hand breezily, utterly unconcerned.
Word of our relationship must have spread through the Silver Dawn Knights, because the knights' faces bore warm smiles. It was less the look you'd give a captain and more the gaze of fathers eyeing their daughter.
What the hell had Lize been up to on the regular to get treated like that?
The 55 members now affiliated with the Jet-Black Nocturnal Knights also seemed to have caught on to our relationship, their stares equally odd. I ignored them as best I could and replied.
"I'm sorry for being late, my lord. There were circumstances."
"Circumstances, naturally. The important thing is how many times, right?"
I pondered the meaning behind Aurora's words for a moment before realizing it soon enough, my face twisting in disbelief.
Aurora smirked as she watched my expression sour.
"It's a joke. I'm saying I'm not mad about the delay, so relax."
"You could've just said it plainly, then."
"Saying it plainly that it's fine would be no fun. Gotta get some value out of making all these people stand around here, don't you think?"
"......Did you wait that long?"
I'd thought I'd arrived early by appointment standards. Should I have hurried more?
"Nah. I've only been here five minutes myself. Arrived around the same time as them. And we've still got about thirty minutes till the appointed time, so whoever shows up early takes the blame, no matter how long we wait."
Aurora pointed at the Silver Dawn Knights and Jet-Black Nocturnal Knights with her finger. If there were thirty minutes left, why were they all out here waiting already?
As if reading my mind, Aurora added,
"I figured you'd show up early, Delta. So I got here even earlier than that."
She'd predicted that, huh.
"Anyway, enough chit-chat. You done saying goodbyes to the captains? If you've got more to say, go ahead. We've got time."
"I finished everything up yesterday, so nothing really—"
"There is something."
A chillingly cold, imperiously haughty voice rang out, freezing every face present.
Aurora included, the Silver Dawn Knights' vice-captains and members, the Jet-Black Nocturnal Knights' vice-captains and members, and even me—we were all tense as could be.
It was only natural.
"That is precisely why We have come here in person."
The voice belonged to Caikilia, after all.
Caikilia approached us alone, clad in her usual uniform. Just her presence made the air feel like it was freezing over.
Aurora recovered from the shock first. Ignoring any dirt on her dress from the garden soil and grass, she hurriedly dropped to one knee.
The moment we saw that, we snapped out of it and knelt a beat late, bowing our heads in haste.
'Why the hell is Caikilia here?'
My thoughts raced. What reason did the emperor have to come all the way here? She'd literally just told us yesterday we could return to the territory.
"Aurora."
"Yes. Speak, Your Majesty."
"Call Us 'Aunt.' We have come not as Ribanus, but as Caikilia."
"......Understood, Aunt. What brings you?"
Caikilia stepped up to Aurora. Her high-heeled leather boots crushed the garden grass without mercy.
Seeing them together like that really drove home how much Aurora and Caikilia resembled each other. Probably because the mod creator had reused the same model.
Except for Aurora seeming a touch more immature, they had faces and figures so similar you'd swear they were identical twins. Not a single differing feature.
"Farewell."
"Understood."
With that curt exchange done, Caikilia turned away as if she had no further business with Aurora.
'That's it?'
She'd come all this way just to say goodbye?
As I reeled inwardly in absurdity, the turning Caikilia glanced at me with her signature arrogant, domineering smile. Then she slowly started walking my way.
As expected, it couldn't have been just that. I was probably the real target. The greeting to Aurora was just a bonus since she was here.
Caikilia only stopped when she was right in front of me, close enough to count nose hairs.
"Look upon Us."
I slowly raised my head.
It was the same angle as our first audience—the one where her palm-sized black lingerie was fully exposed. That's how close Caikilia had come.
Her face held a hint of arousal as she slowly spoke.
"We have heard the news. 'Captain of the Jet-Black Nocturnal Knights.'"
"......Yes, Your Majesty."
"You named the order but reported it not directly to your emperor, instead sending a subordinate. Why was that?"
"......"
It had been a decision born of wanting to avoid being alone with Caikilia as much as possible, but no way in my right mind could I say that. I stayed silent.
Trying to avert my eyes naturally drew my gaze between her legs. The ultra-thin fabric let the contours beyond show through perfectly, and the black lingerie was steadily soaking up more moisture.
In proportion, the eerie smile and flush on Caikilia's cheeks deepened. Her expression held a touch of ecstasy, too.
After a long moment, when I could faintly smell peaches, Caikilia took a step back. Her thighs trembled faintly.
"If you will not answer, so be it. This once, We shall show mercy."
For some reason, she seemed inclined to let it slide.
"Thus, you must never disappoint Us. Understood?"
"I shall keep it in mind, Your Majesty."
"Good. Hold that loyalty eternal, until the day your life ends."
As the conversation seemed about to wrap, I inwardly relaxed.
But just as I did, Caikilia leaned down slightly, gripped my chin, and pulled it up. I straightened my upper body, awkwardly lifting my head.
She yanked my face up close to match her eye level, leaned in, and brought her lips to my right ear. Minerva had been left, Caikilia right.
"That name... We like it. Quite the discerning eye, aren't you?"
This time it really was the end. Releasing my chin, Caikilia flashed her usual arrogant grin, left behind a faint peach scent, and turned to head back into the palace.
Finally over for real. Since the game emperor had named it herself, it made sense it'd appeal to Caikilia too. Lucky it passed muster.
Once her uniformed back vanished beyond the palace gates, we cautiously rose. The warm atmosphere from just before the emperor's arrival had evaporated.
In the end, we muddled through the goodbyes, gathered to use the teleport scroll, and the captains and members led by Iris awkwardly saw us off.
I held the teleport scroll, drew up mana to encircle Aurora and the knights in a ring, then tore it. A blue pillar of light shot into the sky. A floating sensation enveloped me.
Now it was really time to part from the four of them for a bit. Never imagined a day like this would come.
As always, the floating faded quickly. I opened my eyes. We were back in the lord's mansion garden. Aurora stretched long and luxuriously as she looked around.
"Welcome home, Lady Aurora."
Having seen the blue pillar, the mansion doors burst open, and Lana led a rush of all the maids. They lined up neatly before Aurora and bowed.
"Any incidents?"
"None...... Ah, one thing."
"Yeah? Tell me."
"A woman with hair half purple and half green came looking for you, my lady."
Unfamiliar hair color.
With every appearance overhauled anyway, even seeing her face wouldn't let me ID who she was from the original game, so knowing wouldn't have helped much.
"Hair half purple and half green? Never heard of that."
Aurora seemed clueless about her identity too.
"Didn't say who she was?"
"No."
"What'd you tell her?"
"That you were away. She muttered something about you still not being back, then left while talking to someone. But we couldn't confirm who."
"Hmm...... Yeah, not knowing who she was, that was probably the best call. Good work, Lana."
"Just doing my duty."
After the brief talk, Aurora dismissed us to return to the castle. Come to the mansion alone late tonight once it's sorted, she added.
I led my knights toward the castle that was no longer the Silver Dawn Knights'. Leading people felt downright weird.
Entering the now-magic-free, ordinary castle, the knights were mildly surprised at its scale, then doubly shocked that just five people had occupied this huge place.
I roughly explained the stables, training grounds, basement dining hall, and such, told them to pick rooms, then moved my own to the top floor—formerly the other captains' level.
Probably best if they didn't share a floor with the captain.
Finally, I tidied the cooling meat soup and bread in the basement dining hall, jotted a supply list for Aurora, and summoned all the vice-captains.
"Laxia, my first order as captain."
"Yes. Speak."
"How about uniforms?"
And my inaugural order as captain was picking uniforms.
Not for me to wear, but for them.
The vice-captains first tried passing it off to me saying anything was fine, but when prodded, said they'd consult the members and left.
Honestly, I wanted to choose. Who knows what outlandishly lewd rags they'd pick calling them uniforms.
But considering past precedents, my picks might chafe them. My tastes and this world's natives' weren't aligned.
Nothing restricts action like uncomfortable clothes and shoes. Especially for knights layering armor over uniforms and swinging weapons.
All I could do was pray inwardly they'd pick something normal.
But defying my prayers...
"......"
The "uniforms" the vice-captains brought were a sight to behold.