Chapter 72: The Imperial Capital and Underhanded Persuasion

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ll direct your attention to the left, you’ll see the capital of the Luresia Empire.”

“…Since when did you become a tour bus guide?”

Hijiri simply shrugged from the driver’s seat.

“You get bored after driving for this long.”

Meanwhile, Luka and the others had completely ignored our conversation.

The breathtaking scenery outside the windows had captured all of their attention.

“Whoa!! Is that the ocean!?”

“It’s even bigger than a lake!!”

“That ship is huge!!”

“Father!! There are seagulls flying in the sky!! They’re so cute!!”

Stretching far beyond the horizon was an endless expanse of brilliant blue sea.

Not a single cloud blemished the vivid azure sky overhead, while a dazzling white sand beach curved gracefully along the shoreline.

It was the kind of breathtaking view that made you instinctively stop and stare.

On the opposite side, to the east instead of the beach, lay an enormous harbor.

Countless massive ships were anchored there, filling the port as far as the eye could see.

Among them, one particular sight immediately caught my attention.

“…Wait… are those steamships?”

Some of the vessels moored at the docks had smokestacks instead of sails.

At least, they appeared to.

From this distance, I couldn’t make out any cannons mounted aboard them…

“As expected of the nation of the sea. Their naval technology is decades ahead of the Kingdom of Elde’s.” Hijiri smiled thoughtfully. “Then again… perhaps that’s thanks to the otherworlder who lived here until five years ago.”

“…Huh? Another otherworlder?”

“Hm? Didn’t I mention it? Luresia had someone summoned from another world just like me. He passed away already, though.”

That…

Was completely new information.

“His name was Aoi Hase—Hase Aoi. He was already quite elderly when I met him. We only crossed paths once.”

“…An old man? Did he die of old age?”

“Nope. Apparently he stole Luresia’s newest prototype warship, set off on a voyage… then Leviathan attacked him and sank the entire ship with a tsunami.”

“…Wow.”

“…He was way more hardcore than I expected.”

…Wait.

The first half of that story had been so absurd I’d nearly glossed over the second part.

Leviathan!?

“Leviathan is a legendary sea monster said to measure over a hundred kilometers in length.”

“…A hundred kilometers?”

“I… can’t even picture something that big.”

Hijiri chuckled.

“If you ran an entire marathon, then turned around and ran all the way back, it still wouldn’t quite cover its length. That’s how enormous it’s rumored to be. Of course, it’s only a rumor. The only source is the lone survivor who served as Hase’s attendant and sailed with him. Plenty of people even question whether the creature exists at all.”

Well…

If something over a hundred kilometers long really attacked you…

Even a steamship—far faster than any sailing vessel—would probably be destroyed in seconds.

As Hijiri and I talked, Eve tilted her head with an amused expression.

“No, no. I seriously doubt that monster goes around attacking human ships. It spends almost all of its time sleeping on the ocean floor and snoring.”

“…Huh?”

“…Wait, Eve…”

“Have you actually seen Leviathan before?”

“Yep.”

She answered as casually as if we were discussing the weather.

“It was about fifty years ago, right after I became the Demon Lord. I figured I’d conquer the seas too, so I went to challenge it.”

“…”

“…Oh.”

Picking a fight…

With a legendary monster over a hundred kilometers long…

That wasn’t even “Demon Lord behavior.”

That was…

No.

Let’s call it exceptionally courageous.

“…S-So… what happened?”

“It completely ignored me.”

Eve sighed dramatically.

“I dove all the way to the deepest part of the ocean and punched it thousands of times with everything I had. Eventually it opened one eye, glanced at me for a second, and its expression basically said, ‘Huh. There’s some tiny little creature here. Bullying something that small would be mean, so I’ll just leave it alone.’ Then it went right back to sleep.”

Apparently…

The whole encounter ended with Leviathan yawning.

The resulting tidal current alone swept Eve helplessly away.

…That really put things into perspective.

This was the same Eve who had wiped out an entire flock of dragons in the blink of an eye.

Yet Leviathan hadn’t even considered her worth dealing with.

Its sheer absurdity was almost impossible to comprehend.

…I’d very much like to go my entire life without ever meeting that thing.

“So if Leviathan didn’t actually attack him…” I said slowly, “does that mean Hase-san might still be alive somewhere?”

“Hmm…”

Eve folded her arms.

“Hard to say. Leviathan’s a pretty heavy sleeper. If it just happened to drift into shallow waters with the current while asleep and rolled over, that alone could easily create a tsunami. Someone caught in it might assume they were attacked.”

“…Oof.”

“…That’s actually… kind of adorable.”

“I see.” Hijiri nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s where Luresia’s mascot character, ‘Levi-chan,’ got the whole ‘oversleeps and has terrible sleeping habits’ personality.”

“…W-Wait, Hijiri!?”

“Did you just say… mascot character!?”

“They made the monster that supposedly sank one of their own country’s ships into a mascot!?”

…Their resilience was unbelievable.

Back in Japan…

That would be like turning earthquakes themselves into a cute mascot character.

There’d be outrage before the merchandise even hit store shelves.

“And while we were busy talking…”

Hijiri spread his arms dramatically.

“We’ve arrived at the capital of the Luresia Empire—Imperial City Silcy!!”

By the time the sun had begun sinking beneath the western horizon, our long journey had finally brought us to the nation of the sea.

Hijiri still had official negotiations to conduct with the Emperor inside the imperial palace.

As for me…

I planned to enjoy seeing the ocean in another world for the very first time.

◇ ◆ ◇

“You tricked me, Hijiri.”

“I didn’t trick you. I just… neglected to mention it.”

Grabbing Hijiri by the collar inside one of Luresia Castle’s guest rooms, I shook him violently.

The moment we’d arrived in the Imperial Capital…

He’d immediately dragged me off to change clothes.

Apparently, I was expected to attend a grand banquet hosted by the Emperor himself.

Meanwhile, Eve, the children, Grandpa Rondelion, and the rest of the adult group—everyone except Hijiri and me—had already checked into a luxurious inn to rest after the journey.

Hijiri merely wore his usual suspicious smile.

“Come on. By the time we reached the capital, it was already sunset anyway, wasn’t it? You can enjoy the ocean starting tomorrow. Humor me for just one evening.”

“…It’s such a hassle.”

“You really are pretty lazy sometimes, you know?” He gave an awkward laugh before scratching his cheek. “…Besides… I’m in an unfamiliar country. Being here alone is honestly a little nerve-racking. Help me out?”

…That was unfair.

How was I supposed to refuse after he put it like that?

“…This banquet… They’ll have good food, right?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

He nodded enthusiastically.

“All kinds of delicious seafood.”

“…Well. In that case, I guess I don’t have much choice.”

“Thanks, Eight-kun. I’ll treat you to something next time.”

Just then—

Click.

The door quietly opened.

Stepping gracefully into the room was Raphiel.

She wore an elegant silver-white evening dress that shimmered like moonlight itself.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Eight.”

“R-Raphiel…?”

“…?”

“Is there something on my face?”

“N-No… it’s just…”

Raphiel was the Saint.

At first, she’d insisted there was no need for her to attend the banquet since we were traveling incognito.

But after much persuasion from Hijiri…

She had reluctantly agreed.

I had always known Raphiel was beautiful.

After living together for so long, there was no denying that.

But…

Apparently…

I still hadn’t fully understood just how beautiful she really was.

She wore only the faintest touch of makeup.

Just enough to accentuate her already delicate features without overpowering them.

Combined with the shimmering silver-white gown that seemed almost divine in its elegance…

She looked less like a human girl…

And more like a goddess who had quietly descended from heaven.

“Th-That dress…”

“Oh, this?”

Raphiel lightly smoothed the fabric of her gown.

“The maid helping me change at Luresia Castle suddenly became incredibly enthusiastic the moment she saw me.”

She gave a confident nod.

“Well… that’s only natural. After all, I’m a beautiful girl.”

For once…

I couldn’t argue with her even a little.

“Eight. Tonight, I’m simply too beautiful. I suspect several of the guests may attempt to flirt with me. So…”

She looked directly into my eyes.

“Please don’t leave my side. I would rather not have any unnecessary insects buzzing around me.”

“Eh…? Ah… y-yes.”

“Then… I’ll be counting on you to escort me.”

“…E-Escort!?”

I’d never escorted anyone in my life!!

As I stood there completely flustered, not knowing what to do, Hijiri quietly clenched his fist in triumph.

“This… This is exactly the lovey-dovey scene I wanted to see!!”

“W-We’re not being lovey-dovey at all!!”

“…?”

Raphiel simply tilted her head in complete confusion.

Right.

I’d forgotten.

Hijiri’s brain was permanently wired for romance.

…Don’t tell me. He hadn’t invited us all on this trip to the sea… just so he could engineer moments like this…had he?