Leveling up Wyndia, in truth, wasn’t supposed to take much ti. Fighting high-level monsters with as her power-train, she could hit the required threshold by the end of the sa day we started. Solo grinding from scratch would’ve taken at least a week — at least in my case — but with pulling her along, and the bonus stats from the slave crest, she was playing by entirely different rules.
Alongside her training, I was also quietly putting another plan into motion.
"Night."
"Master?"
"Try to transform in front of people now and then. Make it look natural."
"Understood." Night nodded without question — as expected. But when it ca to a less ideal mber of our team...
"Eh? But why? Wouldn’t people start talking about you?"
"That’s exactly what I want. We’re kicking off Plan Trap-Bait. Rember this, Wyndia: Every hunter wants to know where the loli— Filolial hides."
"...I don’t get it. And what was with that pause?"
"It’s fine. Only a true hunter would understand." I blatantly ignored her confusion.
Wyndia stared at for a good five seconds, completely baffled. Then, realizing she wasn’t going to get anything sensible out of , she gave up.
Everything was going according to plan. Riding on Night, we passed by a village near lromarc. During a brief break, and just so happening to catch a few villagers watching, Night casually transford back into a human. After lingering in that form for a bit, she returned to Filolial shape and we continued on our way.
And that happened again. And again. At every stop.
I needed people to talk. I needed rumors to spread — to reach as far and wide as the voices of villagers could carry.
Along the way, of course, we were also clearing out monsters. Since Night had already hit the level cap before Class Advancent, she wasn’t gaining any experience — so it all went to Wyndia and . Not that it ant much for ; monsters at this level gave almost nothing even with all my buffs. But Wyndia? She was leveling in real ti. Visibly. In every sense.
She used to look about thirteen — now she looked closer to sixteen. It was strange. Raftalia’s growth always felt more... accelerated. She went from a child to a grown woman in what felt like re days. Wyndia’s growth, while still fast, didn’t feel nearly as extre. Why exactly that was... I had no idea.
By midday, without ever dismounting Night, Wyndia had climbed to nearly level thirty. I’d been feeding her the strongest monsters in the region, so the results were exactly what you’d expect. I had another matter to discuss with the queen, so I wanted to wrap things up today. At so point, I even stopped making rest breaks — it felt like we might run out of ti otherwise.
But we made it. Barely.
Six hours of nonstop monster slaughter later, Wyndia hadn’t touched the ground once. We’d even had to teleport partway through — we literally ran out of monsters to kill. But the job was done.
"N-never... again..." Wyndia wheezed, wincing as she rubbed her aching backside.
"Oh, co on. That was fun. We have to do it again soti. All the way to level 100. What do you say?"
"N-no way! Over my dead body!" Her eyes went wide as saucers.
"You just don’t appreciate the joys of life." I shook my head in disappointnt. "Anyway, you’ve hit the cap. But I’d like you to hold off on the Class Upgrade."
"Huh? Why? I an, I’m not in a rush, it’s just..."
"I want to do things right. And the standard Class Upgrade just doesn’t cut it. I’m hoping we’ll soon have access to sothing special. That’s when we’ll go for it."
"Alright... I trust you. And I..." She trailed off, clearly hesitating on her words.
"I know. I told you already, didn’t I?" I gave her a crooked smile. "You’re free to do whatever you want. You can stay with Pelgue, do whatever makes you happy. He’s fine with having you."
"...At Lord Pelgue’s, I found sothing I truly enjoy. But you, Lord Nott... you saved , and... and you’ve done so much!" Wyndia balled her fists and looked up at , her voice wavering slightly. "I want to be useful to you... but I’m just not sure I can be."
"Don’t worry about it, Wyndia." I smiled and gently patted her on the head. "Not every action needs to be paid back. I did what I wanted to do — I don’t need anything in return. Just... consider it a fleeting whim. Learn to accept kindness when it’s offered, and stop worrying so much."
"I..." Wyndia squeezed her eyes shut and stepped forward, hesitating. "Thank you, Nott-sama. Thank you for everything." Then, gathering her courage, she suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around .
"Such a sentintal girl. I’ll try to visit now and then, but I’ll be pretty busy over the next few days."
"I understand. You’re not obligated."
"You’ve grown in more ways than one, huh?"
"Of course! I’m not a little girl anymore!"
"Yeah, yeah. Even your chest is starting to look pretty mature. Is that why you’re so clingy lately?" I chuckled.
And just like that — in the blink of an eye — Wyndia launched off like a startled arrow. Her face turned so red you could probably light a torch from it.
"Y-you’re such an idiot! That’s not— I wasn’t thinking anything like that!" She scrambled to cover her chest with crossed arms, as if she were standing there naked.
"Sure, sure. And here I thought you were trying to seduce ."
"As if!" she huffed.
Yeah... she really had grown. Physically, she looked at least seventeen by now. And ntally, she did seem a little more mature than before. Of course, she still had her childish monts — but that was just a matter of ti. No magic can instantly give soone life experience.
Unfortunately.
"Alright. Let’s head back."
"Mm."
I teleported us back to the castle. Dusk was settling over the city, twilight bleeding into night — but that wasn’t an issue. The queen had already given word that I could show up at any hour and be treated as expected.
After saying my goodbyes — at least until morning — and leaving Wyndia in one of the guest rooms, I left Night in the sitting room and headed off to see the queen. I could still sense that Mirelia was awake, so I figured there was no point putting things off.
But just as I approached her door...
"U-um... Hero-sama, if I may..." At the entrance, I was t by a maid standing right by the door. "Her Majesty, she—"
"It’s fine. Let him in." The muffled voice of the queen reached us from inside the room before the girl could finish her sentence.
"R-right." The maid blushed furiously for so reason, her eyes gleaming with sudden realization as she looked at , but of course, she didn’t dare disobey the command.
The door swung open easily with a gentle push. Stepping inside, I saw what looked more like an office than a private chamber. And I didn’t spot Mirellia right away, either. The bedroom part seed to be on the right side, where the bed was. But when I turned to the left, I finally saw the queen — hunched over a mountain of docunts, reading and signing them without pause.
"Burning the midnight oil?" A knowing chuckle escaped .
"Hm? Oh, yes... sothing like that." Mirellia didn’t seem to realize at first that I’d already entered.
"Hmm... I an, I fully support this kind of dedication, but your subjects might soon start suspecting things that, much to my regret, aren’t actually happening." I said this while shalessly eyeing the Queen of lromarc from head to toe.
"Hm? What do you an?" Mirellia looked up from her papers with a puzzled expression.
She glanced at my face — and sothing seed to click. Following my gaze, she looked down... and traced the line from her bare feet up to the black, rather revealing nightgown with its deep neckline. Her eyes lingered on that final detail for a good four or five seconds before she closed them, rested her elbows on the table, and buried her face in her hands with a long, weary sigh.
"I... apologize for my inappropriate appearance. Lately, I haven’t had the energy to think about anything beyond my responsibilities."
"Not at all." I gave her a smile and shook my head. "I’d say your appearance is more than appropriate. In fact, I’d say it’s beautiful."
At that mont, Mirellia — who had just begun to rise from her chair, clearly intending to go to the wardrobe — froze in place.
"But you really should consider the rumors that are bound to start spreading around the palace very soon. I believe I now understand the look your maid gave earlier."
"...That’s not a problem." Mirellia cast one last glance toward the wardrobe — where, I assud, her clothes were kept — then closed her eyes and sat back down.
And... what was that?
"Excuse ?"
"Such rumors hold no weight," she said, shaking her head. "They won’t affect my position in any way. As I’ve ntioned, lromarc is a matriarchy. Even as queen, I’m free to pursue my personal life however I see fit." A brief silence settled in the room. "And... as for my husband... what remains between us now is nothing but political obligation." Her expression darkened with sadness.
"Your husband is an idiot," I stated flatly.
"...But he’s the king." Mirellia’s eyes hardened, a flash of steel behind them.
"A kingly idiot." As if sothing like that could rattle even for a second.
"And what exactly... led you to that conclusion?"
"Leaving aside the ss he created — that much is obvious — I just don’t understand how soone could fail to appreciate a woman like you." Mirellia’s eyes widened slightly. "If I were in his position, I’d do everything I could to keep you by my side."
"..."
I glanced around and finally spotted a chair. I sat down, keeping a respectful distance across from her.
"You’re intelligent, wise, kind — though you hide it well — you have a remarkable appearance, and you rule a major nation. You’d have to be either a complete idiot or—" Mirellia choked slightly. "—gay, to not value a woman like that. And I’d rather not assu the latter, so I stand by what I said: your husband is an idiot."
"Kha-kha!" The queen coughed, staring at with wide eyes. That was, without a doubt, the most expressive reaction I’d seen on her face since we t.
"Y-you... certainly know how to choose your words, Nott-sama."
"What can I say? It’s a talent." I gave her a nod of agreent.
"...I never used to take it very seriously, but..." Mirellia paused for a mont, looking at with a strange mix of emotions. "Are your complints and... everything else... truly not just jokes or mockery?"
"Mockery?" Now I was genuinely surprised. "Your Majesty, you wound . Your appearance is the last thing I would ever joke about. You of all people must know you’re very attractive. And appearance is a key elent in diplomacy, isn’t it?"
"Yes, but... am I not too old for you? I can understand your interest — and even the desire to take to bed — but I have a daughter who, I’m sure, will rival in beauty in just a few years."
"If you an lty, she’s... far too young." I grimaced. "In every sense. She’s clever and sharp for her age, but still a child. I’m not interested in anything like that. And your older daughter... I wouldn’t consider her even as a joke, sorry."
"I understand. At least that much." Mirellia nodded. "But lty, unlike , will remain young for a long ti — while I... in five years, I’ll look very different."
"I don’t think age is really a problem in your world. Even I know at least one way to preserve youth."
"So you’re... serious about all this?" Her voice sounded almost hopeless, like she’d finally reached a point of resignation, her face suddenly lost in confusion.
"More than serious. You’re a remarkable woman in every way, and I don’t see a single reason not to tell you that."
Mirellia fell silent. For a long ti, she stared blankly at a page on her desk. I thought she’d respond, say sothing — anything — but even after a minute... then two... she said nothing.
Which ant, I suppose, that I’d gone a bit too far. Ti to shift the conversation back to why I actually ca here.
"Ahem. Your Majesty."
"Y-yes?"
"I didn’t co here just to shower you with complints. There’s sothing I wanted to discuss."
"Oh... of course. I’m ready for anything..." Mirellia blinked, as if even she hadn’t expected to say those words. "I an... I’ll do everything I can to help."
"Right... So. Do you happen to know anything about a nobleman who’s got a bloody dinosaur buried in his backyard?"
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