Chapter 58
“…….”
A strange standoff took place for a brief mont.
From a distance not even a finger joint apart, Elysia and I stared at each other in silence.
Since it was the first ti I had ever faced her at such proximity, I montarily 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 like this despite knowing my status ant that her concern for her territory was just that great.
‘Demons, huh.’
At present, the na demon was sowhat 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 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 seed 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 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 . As if it were saying, ‘If you’ve noticed, hurry and co.’”
After that, it was nothing more than a simple sequence of events.
The place the suspicious figures called to was near the teleport gate.
One of the two figures claid to be a demon nad 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 thods.”
“Right. If it hadn’t been this.”
–Co forth, Excalibur.
With my hand outstretched, I called its na in my mind.
In response, Excalibur answered my summons and appeared in midair, accompanied by brilliant light.
“…Excalibur.”
Elysia gazed at its srizing 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 aning.
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 ho alone?”
“…What’s with that tone.”
Elysia replied with a sulky expression.
What a sha—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 achievents 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 burdenso existence for .
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 beco since returning here gave a headache.
‘Well, it’s not like I did anything to be blad for.’
He wouldn’t suddenly beat senseless under the pretense of a sparring match like so protagonist, right?
The next morning, the warti state was lifted.
Only so 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 warti 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 sha, 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 welcod by both the won and the n.
She seed 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 ti, 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 recomnded, 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 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 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 , 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 , she cautiously sat down beside .
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 ti together so casually.
“With the Sheffield family, there must be plenty of people eyeing you.”
“Yes.
Whenever I ford connections with people, I always had to think about gains and losses, and worry whether this person might betray , whether they were soone I could trust.”
“You’re a complicated woman.”
“Exactly.”
Leysias let out a sigh, saying that if she hadn’t t , she would have spent her entire academy life trapped in that frawork, leading a bleak existence.
“Then why not play a bit more actively?”
When I said it was a once-in-a-lifeti 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 tead up with Maria to splash Werner with water, turned her head at my call.
Seeing my gesture, Alice quickly cut through the water and ca over.
“What is it?”
“Take this shy young lady with you and go have so 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 ca 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 movents, 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 deanor, 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 montarily at a loss for words, then cautiously got to her feet while glancing at .
“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 with the scent of salt, tickling my skin.
“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
At that mont, hearing a voice from above my head, I opened my eyes slightly to see a familiar face co into view.
“Elain, is it.”
“I bought so food. Would you like a bit?”
“Gratefully.”
I was quite hungry, so I accepted the food she handed .
Eating the at from a plastic container with chopsticks, a familiar barbecue flavor spread across my tongue.
Seeing things like this gave a strange sense of reality.
Beach parasols, swimsuits, and even this food.
Seeing elents you’d find in the real world mixed in just right made realize, inevitably, that this was still a novel.
“Oh, right. Father said he’d be back around the evening. I thought he’d co right away, but it seems it takes so ti 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 sothing 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 deanor, 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 so secluded spot by the walls to talk about sothing, 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.
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