What Lies Ahead?
Aurelium's Saint Claire Imperial Palace. Wow... As expected of an imperial palace. It was incredible. The buildings stood on a truly massive scale, and even the white marble floors sparkled brilliantly. I could only wonder how diligently they must clean the place on a daily basis. Anyway, following the maid's guidance, we proceeded to have an audience with the Emperor.
"Oh. Come in, come in."
A table piled so high with luxurious dishes that its legs looked ready to snap. Emperor Valderic, seated there, welcomed us warmly.
Gulp. Perfect timing—I was hungry anyway. I quickly approached, knelt on one knee, and bowed with proper respect.
"Your Majesty. It is an honor to be summoned before you."
"Honor? Nonsense. If anything, I am the one in your debt. Miss Charlene, please take a seat at the table as well. You must be tired from the long journey. I've called the prince and princess too, so let's all dine together."
To think that I—a commoner teahouse owner drowning in debt just last year—would now be sharing a meal with the imperial family. Life really was full of surprises once you lived long enough.
Meanwhile, Charlene showed no particular reaction. She was too busy glancing around the palace interior, taking everything in like an eager tourist.
"Master? The palace interior is quite nice. Don't you think if we made our teahouse this sparkling, customers would flock to us? Oh my. I wonder what those golden wall decorations are made of?"
......This girl is a maid to the bone. Ignoring the Emperor's words completely while pondering teahouse improvements based on the palace decor. Sigh. I should probably give up on teaching her proper etiquette for dealing with important figures.
Anyway, Prince Cassian and Princess Mage soon arrived.
The moment he entered, Prince Cassian offered a light bow only to His Majesty and Charlene before taking his seat at the table.
.......This prince definitely ignored me on purpose.
That aside... Oh. Princess Mage's dress was stunning. So this was what a princess wore inside the palace. As expected, Princess Mage truly embodied the role.
"Mage. What did you do while staying alone in Marenost?"
Once everyone had settled around the wide table, Emperor Valderic spoke. Princess Mage, sitting with graceful poise, offered a bright smile in return.
"Father. During my rather lengthy stay in Marenost, I built a close friendship with Mr. Kailon and Miss Charlene. There were quite a lot of memorable events. Isn't that right?"
Her meaningful smile carried layers of emotion. F-friendship? Hmm...... Was the empire's princess being semi-coerced into working as a maid by Charlene what counted as friendship these days?
Still, I needed to read the room and answer carefully.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty. Charlene and I have grown somewhat closer to the princess. Haha."
Fortunately, His Majesty looked satisfied with my response.
"Good. That's well. And you've arrived in Aurelium at the perfect time—we truly need you. Lately the Demon King's army has been appearing again across the empire. Our forces can still handle the current numbers, but if the same overwhelming horde from last time returns, I'm at a loss for what we should do."
Even if you ask me that... What was I supposed to say? When the Emperor suddenly dropped such a heavy issue, I could only open and close my mouth in panic.
As an awkward silence stretched, a familiar voice suddenly cut through it.
"Oh my. This apple pie is delicious. What kind of flour did they use? No, tasting it, it doesn't seem like ordinary flour at all... Nom nom..."
Ugh...... Charlene. When the Emperor is speaking, could you at least pretend to listen? Please!!
I shot her a quick glare. Fortunately, His Majesty didn't seem particularly offended. He simply chuckled heartily.
"If Miss Charlene enjoys the food, that's wonderful. How is it? Does it suit your taste?"
"Yes. It's very good. Could you share the recipe? I've been worried about our teahouse menu being too limited..."
Princess Mage cut in with a mocking tone.
"Miss Charlene seems to enjoy eating. Still, is it wise for the teahouse's signature maid to neglect her figure like that?"
"Oh my, Princess. No need to worry. I take excellent care of my figure separately."
"Really? How strange. To me, Miss Charlene looks like she has quite the thick waist—"
"Who are you calling thick-waisted?"
Ugh. This wasn't good. I needed to put a stop to these two women's childish bickering immediately.
"Y-Your Majesty. If the Demon King's army is appearing again, isn't that a serious problem?"
"Indeed. We don't even know where Demon King Apocryon and that wicked mage Sephirot are hiding. If his army appears now, it will be extremely troublesome. After all, we know nothing."
Prince Cassian spoke up.
"Father. Grant me command of a knight order. I will lead them and repel every last one of the Demon King's forces."
"Oh? Cassian? You?"
Right then—
"That's pointless."
Charlene stabbed a strawberry with her fork and spoke. Every eye at the table turned toward her.
"Pardon? Miss Charlene?"
"The Demon King's army is summoned to this land through his magical power. They can be produced infinitely according to that power. The empire's knight orders aren't infinite, are they? It would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit."
Charlene's answer suddenly struck at the heart of the matter. Her tone carried such natural authority that everyone couldn't help listening intently.
His Majesty asked, clearly flustered.
"T-then, Miss Charlene. What do you suggest we do?"
Still resting her chin on one hand while staring at the strawberry impaled on her fork, Charlene replied.
"The top priority is finding Demon King Apocryon as quickly as possible and resealing him. Do you know the magic spell capable of sealing Apocryon?"
At her question, His Majesty, Prince Cassian, and Princess Mage exchanged glances, their faces filled with confusion. They offered no answer.
What? They didn't know? Damn it. What exactly had these imperial people been doing all this time?
After an awkward silence, Prince Cassian answered hurriedly.
"W-we can search the imperial library. There's no information missing from there. Thank you for your valuable insight, Miss Charlene."
"It's hardly an insight. Well..."
Charlene answered casually and popped the strawberry into her mouth.
Argh. This is driving me insane. The way she acted in front of the Emperor, prince, and princess was the height of rudeness. I was breaking out in a cold sweat. I absolutely had to teach Charlene basic human-world etiquette next time.
Princess Mage spoke again, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"From what I saw last time, even you struggled quite a bit against Demon King Apocryon. Do you really think you can seal him?"
"Me? No. I can't beat Apocryon."
Her innocent reply dropped over the table like a bucket of ice water. The Emperor's face turned pale.
"M-Miss Charlene. You truly cannot defeat Apocryon?"
"Oh my. You saw our fight last time, didn't you? I barely managed by striking at openings, but it was never a situation where I could win."
"T-then shouldn't we call that unidentified blonde lady who defeated Apocryon in one blow last time?"
"Sister Annette? That sister isn't in the empire right now. I don't know where she's gone either."
At Charlene's innocent answer, both the Emperor and prince turned deathly pale.
......Delivering such hopeless news in that cheerful tone somehow made it even more terrifying.
Prince Cassian, fiddling with a glass of fine wine, spoke.
"......Miss Charlene. Then is there truly no solution to our current situation?"
"No. I think my master could defeat Apocryon."
?
All eyes suddenly locked onto me.
Me? Defeat Apocryon?
I quickly turned to Charlene.
"Ch-Charlene? What are you talking about? That I can defeat Apocryon?"
"Of course. Master, think back to what happened last time. Right now, the only one with the power to defeat Apocryon is you."
She was talking about the acolyte ritual with Annette. Ah, but even so, how could I possibly...
As if convinced by her words, the Emperor nodded.
"Good. I will trust only in all of you. If you provide significant help in defeating Apocryon and Sephirot this time, I will bestow generous rewards. What do you say?"
At His Majesty's words, Charlene simply shrugged.
"Master will decide. Right, Master?"
Ugh. When she put it like that... With the Emperor asking me directly, I couldn't exactly refuse.
While I hesitated, Charlene spoke again.
"That aside, it's rather strange that the Demon King's army has started appearing now."
"What do you mean by strange, Miss Charlene?"
When Prince Cassian asked, Charlene—still resting her chin on her hand while twirling spaghetti around her fork—answered.
"Right now Apocryon is probably still recovering. Is there any reason for him to summon his army again at this exact timing to start another war?"
"T-then...?"
"I don't know. It feels like there's some kind of scheme involved. For example—"
Charlene stared at the spaghetti noodles wrapped around her silver fork. After a long moment of thought, she added.
"Perhaps someone within this empire wished for the Demon King's army to appear."
"Pardon?"
"It's just my feeling. A hunch."
Hmm. What was she getting at now? Anyway, at those words, Emperor Valderic, Prince Cassian, and Princess Mage exchanged worried glances.
And so, the honorable dinner with His Majesty came to an end.
Whew. Charlene really was a walking time bomb. Maybe I needed to start teaching her proper etiquette for dealing with high-ranking people from the very beginning?
That night.
I decided to stay at the palace for the evening. Wow. To think I'd actually be sleeping at Saint Claire Imperial Palace in Aurelium. You really never knew where life would take you.
Lying in the wide, luxurious room, I began considering our plans going forward.
I'd received treatment far beyond my station from the Emperor and even been given a direct request. What should I do from here? The situation was so tangled that I didn't even know where to begin.
Dealing with the Demon King's army appearing everywhere would be a waste of time, just as Charlene had said. The priority was finding Apocryon and Sephirot, but those two were probably hiding deep. How were we supposed to locate them?
While I lay in bed alone, lost in these thoughts—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone was at the door. Was it Charlene?
"Yes. Come in."
When I answered, an unexpected face cautiously peeked through the slightly opened door.
Huh? Princess Mage?
Startled, I quickly got up from the bed.
"P-Princess? What brings you to my bedroom at this hour...?"
"Where is that foul-tempered Charlene?"
"She's unpacking and resting in another room. Why have you come so late—"
I looked her up and down and suddenly froze.
The princess was wearing an extremely thin nightgown that revealed the lines of her body. If it got wet at all, everything would be visible.
While I stood there flustered, Princess Mage gently closed the door behind her, covered her mouth with a light cough, and spoke.
"I came to discuss the matters ahead. At least conversation makes sense with you, Mr. Kailon."
"Huh?"
"Since Miss Charlene does whatever she wants, it's better to tell you everything, Mr. Kailon."
Having said that, the princess glanced around the room before suddenly walking over and sitting on the bed.
"......Princess. Instead of the bed, why don't we sit at this table to talk?"
"Huh? Oh my. I sat down without thinking..."
Without thinking? Anyway, we ended up sitting across from each other at the small round table beside the bed.
Princess Mage swept her hair back and continued.
"Anyway, first we need to secure the spell that can reseal Apocryon. Shouldn't we start with the most important task?"
"Huh? Ah..."
For a moment I was dazed just looking at her face and nodded without thinking.
"Y-yes. First the sealing spell..."
Right then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Another knock. Who could it be this time? Then a familiar voice came from outside the door.
"Master? It's me, Charlene. I have something to say for a moment—"
Ah? Charlene?
Hearing those words, Princess Mage's eyes widened dramatically.