Chapter 173

Today’s exchange game was a very fruitful event for me.

Through the hand-to-hand combat with Hyde-san, I was able to learn what I was lacking and how to deal with various weapons, which clarified my issues for the future.

I also met with the knights of the Kingdom of Calm Helio and the sky-blue knights of Samaria, but as I expected, each of them had their own unique fighting style, and I learned a lot from them when I met them.

The night after the exchange match.

After dinner and a meeting of sorts, I lay down on my bed at the inn and thought about what was said in the meeting earlier.

“So the meeting will be over tomorrow, huh?”

If nothing happens, the meeting will end tomorrow.

If there were any obstacles or conflicts, the meeting would have been extended by a few days, but since the sense of crisis against the Demon King’s Army in each kingdom was higher than expected, and Lucas-sama assisted in making the meeting go smoothly, it looks like we’ll be able to finish the meeting earlier than expected.

In a situation where the Demon King’s army could attack at any time, it was desirable for us to be able to finish the talks quickly.

As I was thinking about this, the door to my room was suddenly knocked on.

“…… hmm? Is it Kazuki?”

Or is it senpai? No, it can’t be. If it’s her, she’ll be shouting, “U-SA-TO~KUN!” like some primary school trip where you barge into your friend’s dorm.

Tilting my head, I put my hand on the doorknob of the room and opened it.

“Hey, Usato. I’m here to play.”

A person who was too unexpected appeared in front of me, and I reflexively closed the door and slapped my cheeks hard.

What was that? Was I dreaming? I felt like Lucas-sama came to my room dressed in a rough outfit.

I even heard an auditory hallucination that he was here to play.

After taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the door and saw Lucas-sama with a big smile on his face. ……

“Hey, Usato! I’m here to play!”

“What are you doing here, you ……?”

Lucas-sama smiles at me like a child who has successfully pulled off a prank.

“This is a traditional technique that only royalty is allowed to do, it’s called a ‘secret surprise’.”

“There is no such traditional technique!”

“Oops, don’t worry! I’ve brought my own guards with me.”

I don’t think that’s the point.

Why is this person so carefree?

No, thanks to Lucas-sama, the meeting is proceeding without a hitch, which I’m really grateful for.

“Speaking of which, how’s Eva doing?”

“Oh, if it’s her…….”

As I tilted my head, I could hear the conversation in the hallway through the open door.

[Good evening! Suzune-san! Let’s deepen our friendship!]

[Ueeeeee!?]

“She’s playing with Suzune right now.”

“Oh, I see.”

Why is it that I can easily imagine senpai being purified by Eva’s innocence?

At any rate, I invite Lucas-sama into the room while inwardly sending a cheer to senpai, who will be pushed around by Eva, and Eva, who is trying to get along with senpai.

“Please, come this way.”

“Hahaha, there’s no need to be so awed. I’m the one who barged in.”

“No, even without that, you’re a king ……”

I pull the table and chairs out to the center of the room and encourage Lucas-sama to sit in the chair I’ve prepared.

I decline as well, then sit down in the chair across the table from him.

“First of all, let me give you my thoughts on today’s exchange game. To put it simply, I’m relieved to see that you’re still the same.”

“I don’t think…….”

No, I am the same as ever.

In the past, in front of Lucas-sama, I subdued a few knights with healing magic bullets with my bare hands, and even though it was my first kill and with Nea’s assistance, I sank Fegnis-san, the strongest knight in the kingdom.

“The reason I came to visit you today is because I wanted to discuss something with you.”

“If you want to talk, you can come …… during the day.”

“It’s a little more complicated than that on this one. I can’t do it in the presence of uninvolved people.”

Can’t do it in the presence of uninvolved people. …… So you’re saying this is about me?

The only things that come to mind are the curse of Samaria, the previous heroes, or Eva.

And then there’s …… Fegnis.

“You may have a few things in mind, but what I want to talk about is Fegnis.”

“…… What’s he doing now?”

“He’s in jail. He’s calmed down more than he did after the incident, but he still won’t open his mouth.”

In jail, huh?

It’s not hard to see why, considering what he’s done ……, but the look on Lucas-san’s face as he talks about it is somewhat sad.

“Indeed he has committed a crime. Even though he knew about the existence of the curse, he overlooked Eliza’s disappearance, and to top it off, he sacrificed Eva and tried to bind you to Samaria.”

“Yes.”

For Samaria’s sake.

That was Fegnis-san’s purpose.

But I, too, was on a serious mission, and more importantly, I didn’t want Eva to be sacrificed, so I destroyed what he had protected and freed the souls of those who had been cursed and bound for hundreds of years.

“I certainly shouldn’t allow that. But at the same time, I still consider that guy to be a friend.”

“……”

“Even if he betrayed me or cheated me, I can’t change the memory of how he helped me to rule my country.”

I thought it at the time, but Lucas-sama and Fegnis-san were really best friends.

That’s why, while I was shocked at the fact that he betrayed hhim, I couldn’t help but hate him somehow.

“Usato. I’d like to ask you who was involved at that time. Can I forgive …… that guy, Fegnis?”

It’s not an easy question to answer, so after pondering for a while, I chose my words as best I could and replied.

“If I may say so, he had his own beliefs. No matter how twisted his means may be, I’m sure that what he was trying to do was not for personal gain, but for the sake of the people of Samaria. That’s why I think you should exchange words with each other …… regardless of whether you forgive or not.”

It is too irresponsible to say that they should just talk and make up.

Even if Lucas-sama forgave Fegnis-san for his actions, the people around him might not. But even so, nothing can start until we talk about it.

I haven’t forgiven him for sacrificing Eva, but if he wants to take the right path after talking with Lucas-sama, I’ll accept his decision without saying a word.

“Yes, you’re exactly right. The truth is, I should have known it myself, but I just couldn’t bring myself to act on it. …… Maybe I just wanted you to give me a push, you know?”

“Oh, from me?”

“Yeah, after all, only a limited number of people know the whole story of that incident. I wanted to hear your answer, since you know everything.”

As if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Lucas-sama smiled and leaned back against the backrest.

“As a matter of fact, I told Eva the same thing you did.”

“What did she say?”

“[What does Father think?] That’s what she said to me. She didn’t hold a grudge against Fegnis from the beginning. No matter how little it is, but there’s more to him now than that.”

Well, that might be true.

Eva now has access to the outside world that she was not allowed to know for over a decade. Everything she sees may be full of things she doesn’t know, so it should be so much fun that she won’t have time to hold a grudge against anyone.

In the first place, I couldn’t imagine her, a kind-hearted person, resenting people at all.

“It was worth it to sneak out and come here, wasn’t it?”

“What do you mean by ‘worthwhile’? …… I didn’t say anything clever…….”

“No, you didn’t. I’ve been talking to you as a friend, and it’s given me the courage to step forward.”

…… Before Fegnis-san was thrown in jail, was Lucas-samas consulting with him?

If so, I’m glad I was able to help him, though I’m not sure I can replace him.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be restless if I stay too long. I’d better get going.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lucas-sama sat up, and I stood up as well.

Probably, after the meeting is over tomorrow, all the kingdoms will be busy preparing for the battle against the Demon King’s army. Samaria, which lacks a key member of the knight order named Fegnis-san, will be especially busy.

“Lucas-sama. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll help you as much as I can, so don’t overreact–“

“Yes, then you can take over for me—“

“When you’re ready to leave, please start from here!”

I had a feeling that the conversation was going to get complicated, so I stood up first and walked up to the door of the room and put my hand on the door.

He said it in a very light-hearted way, but his eyes were serious ……!　Seriously, I can’t let my guard down…….!

I pulled the door open, breaking out in a cold sweat, just in time to see Eva holding up her hand as if she was about to knock.

“U-Usato-san, …….”

“Ah, aah, Eva. You’ve come to call Lucas-sama, right?”

“Y-yes.”

Suddenly our eyes met, and Eva and I stepped back a bit, looking away.

Then, senpai who may have come with her, held her mouth and shivered as if shocked.

“D-Don’t tell me this is the kind of event where your eyes unintentionally meet when you open the door and you’re both embarrassed……?”

I’m sorry. She spoke so fast that I couldn’t catch half of it.

I regained my composure thanks to senpai and moved to the side to allow Lucas-sama to pass.

“Eva. I’m going home first, what do you want to do?”

“Well, can I stay at Suzune-san’s place?”

What, at senpai’s place?

I quickly looked at her and she gave me a thumbs up with a fresh smile.

However, if you look closely, you can see that her knees are trembling.

What on earth could be making her so shaky?

Or did Welshy-san give her permission? No, she’s surprisingly careless, so I’m sure she would have given me permission before coming here.

“Yeah, I don’t mind. Suzune, take care of this girl for me.”

“Yes. But I think you should have an escort, just in case. ……”

“Ah, no need to worry then. They’re lurking in a position where they can protect Eva at any time.”

When you say “they”, do you mean the sky-blue knights?

They’re hiding in a position where they can protect …….

I casually look around and find a few figures peeking at me from around the corner.

[Princess has a second friend after Usato….!]

[Don’t cry!　We are the princess’s bodyguards…….!]

[You can’t protect the Princess with tear-stained eyes. ……!　Hold on, me!]

I don’t think they’re hiding when I can see some of them from the corner. I thought they were suspicious because they weren’t wearing any armour, but from the faint sound of his voice I could immediately tell they were the knight in Eva’s guard.

I wondered if he had noticed my appearance and was lurking. Lucas-sama, who had shifted his gaze to the escort, nodded as if to say that he would leave the rest to me.

“That’s what I’m saying. Usato, you don’t have to worry about the escort.”

“Oh, I see. ……”

“Eva. I’ll send someone to pick you up tomorrow before the meeting starts. Have fun, but make sure you don’t bother Usato and the others.”

“Yes!”

She replied happily, and Lucas-sama nodded in satisfaction, then left with another guard who had been waiting nearby.

“Usato-kun, what are you going to do now?”

“Uhhh, what I’m going to do is go back to the …… room.”

“No, no, no, no, the long-awaited Eva is in front of you now.”

It’s true, though.

As I was wondering what to do, Eva, who had been watching our exchange, called out to me.

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble. I’d like to hear about your travels and stuff!”

“Travel stories, huh? There’s no shortage of topics to talk about, I like that. How about you, senpai?”

“I don’t mind at all. Oh, let’s invite Kazuki-kun, too. The more people we can talk to, the more fun it will be.”

Then let’s go call Kazuki. At this hour, I don’t think he’s asleep yet.

With that in mind, after inviting Eva and senpai into the room, I went to call Kazuki.

I was thinking that it’s not a bad idea to get together like this to deepen our friendship.