Has It Improved a Little?
Um.
Mikaela, the first princess, quickly flipped through the newspaper in her hand.
As expected, it was packed with the train kidnapping and terrorism attempt incident that had happened yesterday.
Mikaela was a member of the imperial family. Not a concubine, but a legitimate princess.
Still, hearing about the Empire’s affairs through the newspaper was all for the sake of the imperial family.
If she gave the impression of having an interest in the Empire’s affairs, wouldn’t that put the crown prince in a difficult position?
The only way to avoid unnecessary suspicions was to clearly show that there was no greed in politics.
Even if the crown prince wasn’t that sort of person, being cautious in demeanor was not a bad thing.
‘Brother must be having a headache over this matter.’
Looking at it this way, it was really fortunate that I hadn’t been born first.
If I had been the crown princess, I would have been twisting my body in this chaotic situation.
Right now, the image of my older brother pulling his hair out with “kuuuuu…” was vivid in my mind.
The only saving grace was that the matter had been resolved thanks to one man.
The person who subdued the train kidnappers is Sergeant Karl Adelheit!
The Medal of Honor recipient. Once again saved the citizens of the Empire!
Count Friedrich. Even while being extremely sparing with words, he expressed the opinion “My son is proud.”
What a great man.
I had thought he was no ordinary person the moment I saw him receive the medal.
The fact that he felt ashamed of his own achievements and put others before himself had left a deep impression.
And now that same person was active not on the battlefield but inside the Empire.
“Your Highness.”
“Ah. You’re here?”
When a woman curtsied politely, Mikaela received the greeting with ease.
“I heard the news, Rika?”
“Yes. I heard.”
The woman’s expression was far from pleasant, stiff and rigid.
It was not Mikaela ignoring her or finding her uncomfortable.
The reason was that, more than anyone else, the princess knew exactly why.
‘Even when my little brother was in the army, she had that exact expression? She must be worried sick.’
That’s overprotection. This girl. The words nagged at the back of my mind.
She had enlisted as a soldier, been sent to the front, and not only survived but rescued hundreds of her comrades.
She claimed it was purely luck, but how could that be true luck alone?
She clearly possessed extraordinary skill. She was a top-tier elite soldier who could survive anywhere.
Right away, she had single-handedly subdued and killed the terrorists in the train kidnapping incident.
Yet she was still so worried. As a friend who shared the same little brother, it was a bit ridiculous.
But Mikaela decided to ease her expression with different words instead.
“Your little brother. He seems truly amazing.”
“…”
“He saved hundreds and thereby saved thousands of futures. He stopped the incident without causing major damage this time either, preventing countless lives from flowing away again. I wish all the young men of the Empire were like that.”
“Hmph. Hmph.”
Look at that. When you praise her little brother, her lips practically dance.
So you think your little brother is great, Rika? Worried every day and wanting him to be amazing every day?
“Not that I’m not worried. I was thinking of going to the Academy once.”
“Why there?”
“Our Karl… hmph! Hmph! That damn little brother of mine hasn’t contacted me at all, went through something like this, and never once said he was fine! I have to go and scold him properly!”
“…”
You? From my perspective, it looks like you’d burst out the moment you see him, asking if he’s okay and checking if he’s hurt anywhere?
Inspecting her older brother’s body, who was a head taller than her, while sniffling was just an added bonus.
“It might be better not to go.”
So, with all sincerity, as a friend I gave her some advice.
“I’ve already made the schedule.”
Of course, it wouldn’t have any effect.
“…Go and scold him appropriately. Got it? Your little brother is all grown up now. He’s a man who’s been through the army. Rika.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll scold him appropriately.”
“No… scold him appropriately… fine. Let’s drop it.”
How many years had I been saying this?
Mikaela shook her head and turned her attention back to the newspaper.
“Sergeant Karl Adelheit!!”
“Please give us a statement!!”
Kiiieee! Zombies! Zombies are chasing me!
If those things grab me, my precious Sunday will be gone forever!
They won’t stop asking questions! With eyes full of madness!
“Please respond to the interview for the sake of the Empire’s citizens!”
“Are you really sure you got involved in that incident by pure coincidence, Medal of Honor recipient?! Or is it!”
Damn it. Damn it! What kind of stunt is this? A chase in the Academy!
Even though I had the stamina from the army, I was confident.
Even after running like crazy for almost thirty minutes, those humans didn’t give up.
“Ah! I have nothing to say! Stop chasing me!”
“Beyond receiving the Medal of Honor, you stopped the terrorism…”
“There are doubts about whether cooperation with the elves is possible—”
Don’t ask me that! I’m not a soldier anymore, I’m just an ordinary person, an ordinary person!
Stop harassing the ordinary Academy returning student. I already have enough trouble because of the Four Idiots!
Reporters chasing me no matter where I hid or ran.
By the time I wondered how those humans had even entered the Academy,
“Karl!”
From in front, Selena peeked her head out and waved at me.
“Here! This way! Hurry!”
The person I had just parted ways with had reappeared in front of me. What did this mean?
Yeah! I found a place to hide! Instead of chasing me! Huff! Hah!
Without a moment’s hesitation, I followed Selena and turned sharply.
Then Selena grabbed my hand and started running.
“Sergeant Karl Adelheit…!”
“This way! This way—”
Even from behind, the voices of the reporters could still be heard. They were chasing like they wanted to reach hell.
What if I got caught? What should I say? While I was worrying about that,
Selena turned this way and that, and the voices gradually grew distant.
“Did I lose them? How?”
“Of course. Karl, you’ve been running away to places with holes all this time. You should go to a place where it’s hard to follow so those people can’t chase you.”
“Ah… I see.”
“Just hide here for a bit and then come out. From what I saw earlier, those reporters were just running straight ahead, so if we go that way we’ll come out on the opposite side of here.”
“You know the paths really well?”
Then Selena said “That’s right.” and suddenly her face flushed red. Why? Why?
“…That’s right, of course. I’ve been here at the Academy the whole time. Karl, you were in the army.”
“Ah. Ah! That makes sense?”
It was strange that I knew the paths after dropping out a month after enrolling.
I was glad Selena was here. If not, I would have been chased for hours.
“Thanks. You saved me. Selena.”
“Uhn…”
With an unsatisfying reply, Selena fiddled with her fingers.
She seemed to be waiting for an answer about what had happened earlier.
“Selena.”
“Y-yes. Karl.”
“What you said earlier. About forgiving me.”
Her face became tense. Watching that Selena suddenly made me want to laugh.
Why are you apologizing? Why are you asking for forgiveness? You didn’t do anything wrong.
“There’s no need to forgive or anything. Rather, thank you. For saying that.”
At my answer, Selena blinked her eyes and stared at me blankly.
It seemed like she didn’t understand what I meant, but in my position it was only natural.
“I was also worried that you might feel uncomfortable with me. Not just as friends, but even as lovers. Honestly, I went too far by confessing in front of everyone. I never thought about your position.”
“…”
“So, there was never anything like ‘forgive me’ or ‘I forgive you’ between us. It was just that the situation was ambiguous, and we were all still young and immature at the time. Rather, that incident helped us grow. Let’s think of it as a good thing.”
Selena lowered her head and then answered shortly with “Yeah.”
Thank goodness. The awkwardness and guilt we both felt had been erased.
I had been worried about how to get through the next half year, but it turned out better than expected.
“Um, but Karl. I’ve wanted to ask since earlier… What’s the situation now?”
“Huh? Ah. Right now this.”
“It looks like reporters from the newspaper company. Is something happening?”
Seeing it like this, it seemed Selena didn’t know the current situation well.
I had heard that the graduating class was always busy, so maybe that was why.
Even though Selena had said she had some free time, this was too much… What about those four?
“Schlippen, Wilhelm, Alexander, Joachim. So… from now on I’ll call them the Four Idiots. Anyway, you know they tried to enlist as soldiers?”
“Yeah. I heard that.”
“I went to the Empire’s Army Recruit Training Center on Friday to persuade them.”
After half a day of persistent persuasion, I finally succeeded in sending them home.
But I spent too much time, so the next day, Saturday—meaning yesterday—I returned!
Selena patted my shoulder, saying she had worked hard to hear up to there.
“So the reporters came because of them? Schlippen, Wilhelm… Ah, really? You persuaded those Four Idiots you were talking about?”
“No way. Would I do that over that? When I returned, the Gganf bastards had kidnapped the train. Their final goal was apparently a station explosion terror. After dealing with that, they’re making a fuss over this. It’s nothing, yet they’re making a big deal of it.”
“Ah. I see… Wait, wait. Hey, Karl. What did you just say?”
*
Um. At this point it seemed about right. Eloise looked around.
Even though she was still on Empire soil, in this kind of forest she could have evaded any pursuit.
She hadn’t even been pursued before, but it was good to be cautious.
Dodo dot!
Eloise caught a squirrel that appeared from somewhere, looked around once more, and opened her mouth.
“Eloise Roengrang. Waiting~”
After a moment, the squirrel’s eyes strangely opened, and another voice was heard.
“Received.”
“Task completed. For now, the train terror has been made as if it never happened.”
“Survivors?”
“The Empire took them.”
“Exposed?”
“A little. I was about to start work when some strange man had already taken care of everything.”
“Name.”
“Karl. I don’t know the surname yet, but if it’s a special point, he’s a Luzens War veteran. Suspected of being a sharpshooter with exceptional marksmanship. Top-level hand-to-hand combat ability. Finally, he’s very handsome!”
After a moment of silence, the squirrel opened its mouth again.
“Confirmation result: The person named Karl is estimated to be ‘Karl Adelheit’.”
“Ah. I see… Wait. Hey, is that man…”
“A recent Empire Medal of Honor recipient.”
Hee. So that’s how it is. No wonder, I thought he was too good for an ordinary returning student.
A strange smile “uhi hi!” formed at the corner of Eloise’s mouth.
The squirrel, who had been staring at that scene stupidly for a moment, continued.
“Snap out of it. Eloise. There is a next mission.”