Chapter 58
Chapter 58
“…….”
A strange standoff took place for a brief moment.
From a distance not even a finger joint apart, Elysia and I stared at each other in silence.
Since it was the first time I had ever faced her at such proximity, I momentarily forgot what I was supposed to say.
Her crimson eyes were beautiful enough that the word slipped out unconsciously, but they showed no sign of retreat, as if declaring firm resolve.
Faced with that clear and vivid conviction, what was I supposed to say?
The fact that she was pressuring me like this despite knowing my status meant that her concern for her territory was just that great.
‘Demons, huh.’
At present, the name demon was somewhat unfamiliar on this continent.
Until Part 3 began and the gate connecting the Demon Realm and the Middle Realm opened, they only appeared in ancient legends from the distant past.
Still, I couldn’t simply ignore Elysia’s attitude as she looked at me with that expression.
So I let out a small sigh and raised both hands in surrender.
“Alright. I’ll talk, so step back a bit. If you shove your face in like that, it’s uncomfortable no matter how beautiful you are.”
“…My apologies.”
It seemed Elysia had only then realized just how close we were—close enough for our noses to touch—as she took a step back with an embarrassed look.
I perched myself on a rock jutting out from the wall behind me and opened my mouth.
“I’ll tell it exactly as it was. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”
“Understood.”
She nodded with a firm reply.
Thinking that level of resolve was probably enough, I continued.
“Just before the monster attack began, a strange presence stirred me. As if it were saying, ‘If you’ve noticed, hurry and come.’”
After that, it was nothing more than a simple sequence of events.
The place the suspicious figures called me to was near the teleport gate.
One of the two figures claimed to be a demon named Rammas.
“…A de, demon?”
“That reaction’s only natural. I couldn’t believe it at first either. But the guy was real.”
Violent demonic energy surged, and a fierce battle broke out.
Over by the walls, they must have been too busy fighting monsters to notice.
I cut Rammas down, but he didn’t die and rose again.
“Thinking about it now, he might’ve died and revived.”
“…I’ve heard that defeating demons is difficult with ordinary methods.”
“Right. If it hadn’t been this.”
–Come forth, Excalibur.
With my hand outstretched, I called its name in my mind.
In response, Excalibur answered my summons and appeared in midair, accompanied by brilliant light.
“…Excalibur.”
Elysia gazed at its mesmerizing form with an expression of awe.
Being from Britain, she must have heard the legends of Excalibur so often growing up that they were etched into her ears.
To her and the people here, Excalibur would carry special meaning.
Showing her that display on purpose had been intentional.
“As the legends say, Excalibur is a holy sword that boasts absolute power when facing demons. There were too many eyes on the walls to use it, but with this sword’s power, I was able to defeat them.”
Shrugging as if that were the end of it, I saw Elysia gently touch her lips, looking lost in thought.
She muttered several words—demons, teleport gate, Excalibur—as if trying to find the connection tying them together.
But with almost no clues to go on, drawing any conclusion was close to impossible.
No matter how sharp she was, there were limits.
“…I’ll have to speak with Father.”
“Well, take care of that as you see fit. So, are we done here?”
When I gestured that I wanted to head back, Elysia nodded, saying she would return as well.
“A commander who tells the soldiers to stand by on the walls until dawn but goes home alone?”
“…What’s with that tone.”
Elysia replied with a sulky expression.
What a shame—if I’d said that to Alice, I would’ve gotten a better reaction.
“I asked the mage at the estate to connect a communication with Father. It’ll be an after-the-fact report, but we have to contact him regardless. And you’ll be there too.”
“Make sure you tell him properly. Especially about the achievements I earned.”
“…When you say it yourself, I really can’t tell if you’re joking or serious.”
When I shrugged and said I was completely serious, she let out a small laugh.
Arthur Pendragon was a slightly burdensome existence for me.
His appearance and personality were those of a hearty middle-aged man, but his doting nature toward his daughters was famous even in the original work.
Just imagining what kind of reaction he’d have upon seeing how close Elysia and I had become since returning here gave me a headache.
‘Well, it’s not like I did anything to be blamed for.’
He wouldn’t suddenly beat me senseless under the pretense of a sparring match like some protagonist, right?
The next morning, the wartime state was lifted.
Only some rangers continued scouting the mountain range, and the soldiers returned to their daily routines.
Everyone in the group looked tired from what had happened overnight, but after breakfast, they were back to looking lively.
So we decided to tour Britain’s attractions as originally planned.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go.”
Elysia apologized to us with a regretful expression.
The sudden wartime situation had piled up a lot of work, and she said it was her duty to handle it as acting head of the family.
“It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”
Instead, Elain joined us.
She told her older sister that she would handle the acting head’s duties and urged her to go sightseeing with her friends, but the inflexible Elysia refused and asked her younger sister to guide us instead.
“Would it really be alright if I go?”
In the end, having lost to her sister’s stubbornness, Elain asked cautiously.
With her cute appearance, she was welcomed by both the women and the men.
She seemed to be trying to maintain a dignified attitude out of a sense of responsibility as the second daughter of the Pendragon family, but that very awkwardness only made her more likable.
“Then let’s head out quickly. I heard the sea here is really famous?”
At Alice’s urging, we hurriedly finished getting ready and headed outside.
Just as she said, Britain had many famous tourist spots, the sea included.
Fortunately, there was still plenty of time, and now that I had obtained Excalibur, I wasn’t in a rush either.
Since we weren’t fighting monsters, we dressed lightly and started by looking around nearby attractions.
From restaurants wafting mouthwatering food aromas to dessert shops that made the tip of your tongue ache just imagining them, nothing was lacking.
After filling ourselves reasonably well at a popular restaurant Elain recommended, we headed to the sea that Alice had been singing praises of, and before us spread a dazzling scene I’d never seen where I used to live.
Those who had worn their swimsuits under their clothes leapt into the sea in an instant.
I planted the parasol I’d brought in a suitable spot and spread a wide mat beneath it.
The warmth of the heated white sand seeped into my back.
In contrast, the sea breeze blowing toward us was refreshingly cool, making it nothing short of paradise.
“…There are more people than I expected.”
I’d thought it would be more sparsely populated because of the monster intrusion that happened overnight.
But countless people were splashing around and enjoying an ordinary vacation with carefree expressions, as if nothing had happened.
Lying on the mat and watching them gave me a slightly strange sense of déjà vu.
“For the people who live here, it’s probably just an everyday occurrence.”
At the familiar voice, I turned my head slightly to see Leysias handing me a cold drink as she spoke.
“Ah, thanks.”
“Aren’t you going into the sea?”
“As you can see, I’m tired.”
After expending a ridiculous amount of energy fighting demons and ogres and the like last night, I still felt a bit sluggish.
It was strange that they, who must have fought monsters just like me, looked so lively.
Werner and Diark were even continuing a swimming race way out there.
They said marine monsters appeared if you left the safe zone, so I kind of hoped they’d get eaten.
“…….”
As I grumbled inwardly and drank the beverage Leysias had given me, she cautiously sat down beside me.
Hugging her knees, she looked at the children playing in the sea with a dazzled expression.
“Honestly, I’m grateful to you.”
“…Huh?”
At the sudden remark, I turned my head.
Leysias spoke with a faint smile.
“I’ve never really traveled with friends around my age like this, or spent time together so casually.
“With the Sheffield family, there must be plenty of people eyeing you.”
“Yes.
Whenever I formed connections with people, I always had to think about gains and losses, and worry whether this person might betray me, whether they were someone I could trust.”
“You’re a complicated woman.”
“Exactly.”
Leysias let out a sigh, saying that if she hadn’t met me, she would have spent her entire academy life trapped in that framework, leading a bleak existence.
“Then why not play a bit more actively?”
When I said it was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, she waved her hands with an embarrassed expression.
“Th, this is just right. It wouldn’t do for the eldest daughter of the Sheffield family to look too relaxed, and to begin with, revealing one’s skin in front of others goes against a noble’s decorum…….”
As she started rambling on, I abruptly sat up halfway, raised my hand, and shouted.
“Alice—!”
“Huh?”
She, who had just teamed up with Maria to splash Werner with water, turned her head at my call.
Seeing my gesture, Alice quickly cut through the water and came over.
“What is it?”
“Take this shy young lady with you and go have some fun.”
“O, Ostia!”
At my words, Leysias shook her head in flustered denial.
Alice, as if she’d grasped the situation, broke into a grin and took her hand.
“We came all the way to the sea, and if you just lie around like this guy, you’ll turn into a snail. And what’s with all these layers of clothes? You’re wearing a swimsuit underneath, right?”
“W, wait! Where, where are you touching?!”
With brisk movements, Alice stripped off her outer clothes.
Flawless, pure white skin was revealed to the world.
As I admired her better-than-expected figure, Leysias, her face red all the way up to her neck, hunched over and covered herself.
“D, don’t look!”
‘…This is another unexpected side.’
Given her always confident demeanor, I’d thought she’d show herself off boldly even with this level of exposure.
But her bashful, maiden-like behavior was completely unexpected.
“Leysias, drop the idea that every man in the world is staring at you. That’s self-consciousness run amok.”
“…Uh.”
Alice dismissed her attitude with firm words.
It was true, but for a woman like Leysias, it was only natural for attention to gather.
She was momentarily at a loss for words, then cautiously got to her feet while glancing at me.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
“Ahh, I’ll walk on my own, on my own!”
I lay back down and waved a hand at the air, telling them to have fun.
Leysias let out a small scream, but it didn’t take long for it to turn into cheerful laughter.
“…Ahh.”
Whatever the case, lying in the shade and letting my back roast on the warm sand felt indescribably good.
When sweat beaded on the bridge of my nose and threatened to run down, the cool sea breeze flowed over me with the scent of salt, tickling my skin.
“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
At that moment, hearing a voice from above my head, I opened my eyes slightly to see a familiar face come into view.
“Elain, is it.”
“I bought some food. Would you like a bit?”
“Gratefully.”
I was quite hungry, so I accepted the food she handed me.
Eating the meat from a plastic container with chopsticks, a familiar barbecue flavor spread across my tongue.
Seeing things like this gave me a strange sense of reality.
Beach parasols, swimsuits, and even this food.
Seeing elements you’d find in the real world mixed in just right made me realize, inevitably, that this was still a novel.
“Oh, right. Father said he’d be back around the evening. I thought he’d come right away, but it seems it takes some time to connect the teleport gates between here and there. He said he wants to treat his daughter’s friends to dinner at the estate. He also said he has something important to discuss with you, Ostia.”
“If it’s Britain’s hero, there’s no reason to refuse.”
“Is that so.”
At my words, Elain smiled pleasantly and brushed her hair back.
Watching her like that from the side, she really did resemble her older sister.
“Wh, what is it?”
When I stared at Elain, she flinched and took a small step back.
I waved my hand, saying it was nothing.
Then Elain, with a slightly hesitant demeanor, opened her mouth.
“Um, about that…….”
“What is it?”
What was she trying to say, drawing it out like this? After finishing the food, I lay back down and looked at her.
Elain continued, her face faintly flushed.
“I, is it true that you and my sister are, you know, in that kind of relationship?”
“…What?”
At the sudden question, I looked at her with a startled expression.
Elain continued speaking in a hesitant tone.
Apparently, many people had seen the two of us walking down the walls side by side last night.
That could be chalked up to being friends, but the problem was where we went afterward.
They thought we went to some secluded spot by the walls to talk about something, and then soon after, weren’t our bodies overlapping?
And that sight had been vividly witnessed by several hundred soldiers on top of the walls.