Rosens Full Course (12)
I silently stared at the chamberlain. He met my gaze with unwavering eyes.
Yeah... the chamberlain had been looking after Elua since she was a newborn, right up to now. So of course he couldn't just stand by and watch her slowly losing her mind.
The Holy Sword had to be nearby... And since only I could wield it, that meant I had to stay by her side.
"I understand perfectly. But I can't enter the royal palace."
"Then how about keeping a dimensional gate open at all times? At the very least, couldn't she sleep here?"
"You know the palace is protected by the Vengeful King's blessing—no dimensional gates can open around it. The closest we could manage is right in the middle of the capital. Do you really think Elua could commute back and forth from the palace to downtown every morning and evening?"
"Then, regrettable as it is, why not just store the Holy Sword in the palace?"
He didn't respond to that. No need—he knew better than anyone that I'd never do such a thing.
"Let me make a counterproposal."
"Go ahead."
"Have Elua abdicate the throne and come live here. Tell her to stay at the inn."
"Mr. Balder. That's not possible. I told you—the moment she steps down, she'll become a target for everyone."
"What do I have to worry about with me here at the inn?"
The chamberlain shook his head.
"You think it'll just be some lone assassin or a single army?"
Fair point. They wouldn't kill her outright, so they'd lure her out on her own terms. Strangle Rosens in red tape, or hit the inn with every sanction in the book until it collapsed. Sure, I could snap and go on a rampage, smashing the palace or the noble council to bits... But even if I did, the kingdom would plunge into chaos, and the fallout would hit the inn hard. Worst case, the neighboring countries salivating over us might invade. And I'd have to step in again? I'm not the Vengeful King—there's a limit.
"Or do this instead: Fake her suicide due to madness and sneak her out."
"Hmm... That might be the best option. Though it has two big flaws."
"What are they?"
"Political backlash would bring a bloodbath to the palace, and it's unclear if Elua would even accept it."
"Then there's no solution. I can't abandon the inn to shuttle back and forth to the palace. Better to just have her visit occasionally."
At that, the chamberlain looked ready to drop to his knees again, his hips twitching.
"No, please don't. I'll think it over for now. If Elua's condition worsens, I'll drop by the palace occasionally."
"Really? You'd do that?"
The chamberlain's voice carried uncharacteristic hope.
"I can't promise, but... if she goes completely mad, it'll hurt business for sure."
"Then... I'll take that as a yes. I'll send Brione whenever needed. Of course, all travel expenses and arrangements will be covered by the palace."
"I'm not committing to anything."
"Anyway... thank you."
Finally, the chamberlain lifted his glass and downed the apology wine in one gulp.
Seeing him like that, I felt a pang of pity... I wanted to help, but making bold promises might just inflate false hopes. Besides, living in the palace was out of the question. Moving the inn to the capital and making this a branch? Not appealing yet. Leaving Rosens, handing it off to someone else—it filled me with dread. And to compete in the capital, we'd need at least hotel-level facilities. No matter how good our service, the rich prioritize prestige—they'd stick to hotels. Even scraping together every coin and using Marquis Kekers' introduction for a loan, building or buying a hotel-grade property there was impossible. Would the palace foot the bill? Still, leaving Rosens was the sticking point.
The chamberlain set down his empty glass, thanked me once more, and headed upstairs.
Once he was fully gone, I turned, knelt before the Holy Sword, and offered a prayer.
"Goddess. Can't you cure Elua's mental illness? It's starting to drive me crazy too."
The Goddess responded immediately.
"Ah, yes... um...? I'm looking into exactly what it is..."
I was shocked—it wasn't her usual "Leaving it alone sounds fun~" type of response.
"What do you mean, looking into it?"
"It's in the realm of the gods—you don't need to know."
Hmm... fine. "Got it. So I just wait?"
"No. I have no desire to get along with Elua. I'd probably just get eaten."
"No, no. Don't come down yourself, Goddess. Come later. With the cardinal and chief saintess here, it'd be a real mess if you showed up."
The Goddess smiled sweetly.
Prayer over, I gazed up at the Holy Sword, lost in thought. Looking into it... What did that even mean? The Goddess who created this world didn't know something? Or was there another meaning? Realm of the gods—beats me. Would I understand if I became a god myself?
At that moment, Elua's guest room door stood ajar by about a handspan. Dressed in black pajamas, her raven-black hair cascading down, Elua leaned against the doorframe, knees hugged to her chest.
She had overheard the entire conversation between the chamberlain and Balder.
"The chamberlain's spouting nonsense to Balder."
Elua addressed Grancis, who sat like a shadow in the corner chair.
"I don't want Balder by my side out of pity or some rational obligation."
Resting her chin on her knees, the queen murmured.
"I don't want him artificially bound to me. I want him to come to me because he chooses to."
Grancis said nothing, and Elua wasn't seeking a reply.
"I have a mental illness, Grancis. That's why I keep you in my bedroom. To stop myself from killing me in my sleep without realizing it."
She pressed her cheek to her knee, tilting her face sideways.
"But tonight, I think I can sleep soundly without you."
Elua smiled faintly, reminiscing about her time at the inn. It had been ages since she'd felt such peaceful joy.
She rose gracefully and headed to bed.
"Grancis. If I ended up living here at the inn permanently, what do you think would happen?"
No response came. Elua chuckled softly and lay down.
Abdicate and flee to the inn? Of course not. She wouldn't ignore the political fallout or burden Balder. She'd rise on her own power. Crush the noble council and Gobert, forge the kingdom she desired. Once the crown was on, she had to bear its weight—willing or not.
The next day, instead of some insane talk about staying longer, Elua bid us farewell. Hildeva and Lambert, who'd arrived at dawn, along with Celereja, paid their respects to the departing queen.
"It was a delightful time, Balder. Sorry for dropping in unannounced."
"Eh... no helping it."
Elua smiled and glanced at the chamberlain, who held a hefty pouch I'd been eyeing.
"This is a modest token of my appreciation."
The pouch he handed over was heavier than expected. This... more than covers two days of lost business...
Gauging the weight roughly, I bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, we're deeply honored. Please visit again anytime. We'll serve you to the best of our ability."
"I shall."
The palace entourage shook my hand, expressing regrets at parting.
"Faaarewellll... until we meet agaaain... if I even surviiiiive..."
The chief mage wheezed, gripping my hand tight.
"Balder, if the Goddess gives you any revelations, tell me too."
The cardinal pleaded repeatedly, eyeing the Holy Sword on the wall. I couldn't exactly say her "revelations" were things like "Can you clear the spiderwebs from my downstairs if I descend today?"
"Heh heh... take care..."
I yanked the flinching intelligence chief's hand and growled low.
"Not saying it twice. Get every intel goon out of Rosens. Or I'll hunt them all down and kill them."
"Eek...!"
Blaze nearly sobbed, hugging Idwild and peppering her cheeks with kisses.
"Stay well, Idwild. Always bright and bold, no matter what anyone says."
"Y-yeah... got it... but Blaze... sorry, it's hot..."
Blaze's holy power made her feel scorching to Idwild. Even parting, she grabbed Idwild's cheeks and stretched them.
"Aigoo, you naive thing..."
Brione waited by an open dimensional gate. She'd been stealing glances at me; our eyes met, and she looked away hastily.
Led by Elua, the palace guests filed through the gate one by one. Brione entered last, and it vanished.
The gate gone, sighs of relief erupted everywhere. I grinned at the staff.
"Good work, everyone. Let's close up and take the day off."
"Huh? What's up with you, Mr. Greedy Hero? Weren't you all about exploitation?"
The red commie lizard Aterugar squinted and grumbled.
"Shut it. We're playing hooky today. Order food from a city restaurant—no work."
"Yay! Awesome!"
The employees cheered excitedly.
At that hour, in some provincial fiefdom of the kingdom. Lords who had refused oaths of loyalty to Elua stood atop their castle battlements, scanning the distant plains.
"So the intel about the whole army coming was true."
"It's... immense..."
Trembling, the lords peered through telescopes at the far horizon.
"Are they really going to do it...?"