Chapter 252
Sperion and Frau, along with their undisclosed companions Amria, Yachiyo, and Fuuko, made safe and peaceful passage to Bern village. The Romal Empire bore no intention of harming the crown prince of Arkrest Kingdom thus far for a simple reason. There was no way they could bear the consequences of any unwanted mishaps befalling Sperion or Frau. In the event that either royalty was hurt or killed, this could be used as an excuse for delaring a war beyond the empire’s capacity to handle.
The only possibility of an attack during the journey would be an attempt by Grand Duke Linosart to trick Princess Asteria or vice versa that the other party had attempted an assault on the crown prince.
The special order of knights and magic users working in the shadows of Arkrest Kingdom had ensured that all hostile forces in the country were in check, preventing any major retaliation from their end. The elite forces, cream of the crop in the kingdom, who were escorting Sperion and his companions were fortunately left with no special tasks to attend to during this journey from the royal city to Galois.
This situation was rather uneventful for the folks of Arkrest Kingdom, which had been on maximum alert, though they were not letting their guard down. Unlike the journey where Amria was accompanied by Sperion and the rest, there was an increased possibility of slip-ups and mishaps once they entered the barony of Bern.
The reason for such caution was due to the efforts by the Grand Duke and Crown Princess to curb each other and the disappearance of spies from both parties who had infiltrated or attempted to infiltrate the barony of Bern thus far. There was no doubt that the allies of these spies were more vigilant than ever.
The three artificially constructed girls—Lynette, Gundeus, and Kyrlinne—had led the efforts behind the vanishing of these spies. However, even this fact had yet to reach the ears of those in the empire, leaving them even more wary of the present situation.
The personnel of the Governor-General’s office greeted the crown prince and his entourage who had arrived at Galois. Numerous Galois citizens had also lined up on both sides of the street to catch a glimpse of their future king.
Galois’s population had already increased due to the influx of people heading to Bern, but there was an extraordinary crowd with the addition of folks drawn to the territory for the celebrated visit of the prince and princess.
A number of students of Dran and Christina’s alma mater, Galois Magic Academy, were among those who turned up for the unusual event. Surprisingly enough, they were also joined by Lenia, someone who did not seem to have the slightest interest in the crown prince.
With Lenia’s temperament, having her join in the crowd was akin to throwing a torch on a sack full of gunpowder and highly flammable oil. Those with her understood this well and opted for renting a private room on the second floor of a cafe facing the street to watch the crown prince’s entourage.
Lenia was in the room with Irina, and this duo had been recognized to be a pair stuck at the hip by the students at the magic academy. Irina let out an exclamation of admiration, a rather ordinary reaction and one that she had expressed since setting eyes on the crown prince for the first time since last year’s Magic Tournament.
By Irina’s side, Lenia held a snack wrapped in paper in her right hand as she watched the procession below with a hardened expression. Her snack for now was a meat hamburger with ground hamburger steak seasoned with salt and pepper sandwiching a thick slice of ham.
This particular hamburger was a meat dish for meat lovers by meat lovers, made entirely of meat except for the seasoning of salt, pepper, and a few spices.
Lenia’s lips were parted so delicately that only a small spoon would fit as she took a bite of the hamburger. She enjoyed the texture of the ground meat and thick ham as it crumbled in her mouth, as well as the juices that overflowed from the meat and the tangy flavor offered by the spices.
Irina had finally recovered from her starstruck moment and returned her attention to Lenia, who was presenting a very gallant scene of dining. Curiosity was in her voice as she popped a question.
「Lenia-chan, Lenia-chan.」
When Lenia’s heard her darling Irina call out, she swallowed the meat in her mouth before answering. After she had been reborn as a human, she had since been educated that it was rude to speak with her mouth full.
「Yeah, Irina? Are you bored of watching the prince?」
「That’s not the case, but you know, I thought it was strange that you wanted to tag along to watch His Royal Highness’s procession. I was just wondering if there was some other reason for this.」
Nelneshia and Fatima would have certainly agreed with Irina’s question if they were present. This interest in Sperion’s entourage was certainly not for Sperion, Frau, or even Amria, Yachiyo, or Fuuko.
「That’s what you’re wondering? Well, it’s natural that you’ll be confused considering my usual attitude. I’m not particularly interested in the crown prince and his sister, nor anyone in that bunch. I’m just a little curious about their backgrounds, or rather their ties. Perhaps it’s because he’s the crown prince, but that party has a history that your mind and stomach would do better without knowing. Besides, they’re a group that are likely to cause some commotion in Bern.」
Irina immediately gave up prying further after hearing Lenia’s reassurance that she was better off not knowing. A warning from someone like Lenia, with her unusual senses and values, was enough. Irina was convinced that divulging such histories to an ordinary person like her would only trigger a stroke in her at best or even render her hurling up blood at worst.
It was a wise and swift decision from Irina, but she had certainly gone through many hardships and trouble at Lenia’s hands to have achieved such judgment abilities.
Nonetheless, Irina remained with Lenia out of her own preference. It was no problem since she was much happier than tortured by this situation.
「Bern? That’ll certainly be a hassle for Dran and Christina, and I can see why you’re concerned. I sure hope there won’t be any danger…」
「With Dran’s personality, there’s a chance that he’s fretting over the not entirely impossible situation where one of the innocent citizens in his territory gets injured. Even though I’m displeased at having to watch the very cause of his added worries pass by without being able to do anything, the very least I can do is witness this moment with my own eyes. Right now, I’m desperately dissuading myself from meddling with them unnecessarily since Dran will handle them on his own.」
「I see. Dran and the rest might have their own plans. Even if your intervention was out of the goodness of your heart, you could be ruining whatever tactics and stage they had laid out thus far.」
「Exactly, that’s what I’m telling myself, and I’m barely managing to stay put. Irina, keep on talking about the disadvantages my sudden involvement with that bunch will cause to Dran. If I have your opinions in addition to my self-persuasion, there’ll be more voices of reason holding me back from any foolishness.」
In the face of Lenia’s earnest request, Irina could sense that Lenia was merely putting on a calm front as her thoughts and feelings were in utter turbulence. This awareness then led Lenia to list all the reasons she could think of for Lenia to avoid interfering in the procession.
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