Chapter 182: “The Three of Us Read the Letter”

It’s unthinkable that the Crown Prince of the Empire would send me a letter.

I’m someone who was exiled from a ducal house.

Moreover, I clearly stated in front of Imperial soldiers, “I abandon my house and the name of the Regas family.”

There’s no way the Crown Prince of the Empire would have any business with me…

“It’s reassuring that Princess Sophia is on my side.”

I said that to Agnis.

Rukie nodded. She seemed to trust Princess Sophia as well.

“What does the letter from the Crown Prince of the Empire say?”

“I haven’t opened it yet.”

“We wouldn’t dare read it without you present.”

“…You could have read it, though?”

Seriously, they’re so proper—both Rukie and Agnis.

I wouldn’t have minded if they had checked the letter from the Crown Prince first.

“We already received the content of Princess Sophia’s letter verbally.”

Agnis said.

“She mentioned that Princess Liana is coming from the Empire, and they’d like to arrange another meeting.”

“So that’s what it was about.”

I see, Princess Liana is coming. I’m looking forward to it.

This time, maybe I’ll have enough time to hear more about the holy sword.

Once I complete the “Ultra-High Vibration Blade” using “Psycho-Reactive Material,” I plan to craft a magic sword for Rukie.

Princess Liana’s story should be helpful.

Thinking that, I opened Princess Sophia’s letter.

As Agnis had said, the content was as follows:

‘Liana has received permission to come to the borderlands. May I request some time to speak with you again?’

—That’s what was written.

After that, she added thoughts as a sister—about how Liana can be careless or lacking in words, but also has good points.

Perhaps Princess Sophia wants to talk with me… about Princess Liana.

Once the matter with the “Pseudo-Smartphone” is settled, I’ll try visiting the town of Nosa.

“As for the Crown Prince’s letter…”

To make sure Rukie and Agnis could follow along, I opened the letter on the table.

It was sealed with wax bearing the imperial family’s crest.

This isn’t something you’d normally send to a banished noble’s child.

Just what could it say—?

“…Is this… a formal notice or something?”

The Crown Prince Diaz’s letter contained simple wording:

‘On an auspicious day, we wish to send an envoy to Demon Lord Rukie Evergard.

The schedule will be relayed via Sophia Dolgaria in the town of Nosa.

Thor Canaan is to purify himself and dress formally to receive the envoy.

Afterward, he is to guide the envoy to the Demon Lord’s domain.’

—That was all it said.

“Purify myself and dress formally…”

That’s etiquette for receiving a letter from the Emperor.

An envoy from the Empire, bringing a letter from the Emperor? To Rukie?

Which means—

“The Demon Lord and the Emperor of the Empire are going to exchange letters directly…?”

“What…?”

“This is… a major incident.”

As far as I know, there’s never been a direct exchange of letters between the Demon Lord and the Emperor.

Of course, letters have been sent from the Demon Lord’s domain to the Empire.

During the incident with the new type of magical beast, we even sent a letter of protest.

But the replies always came from ministers or similar ranks in the Empire.

Even when renewing the “Non-Aggression Pact,” no one from the imperial family was present.

The Empire maintains the stance that it does not have formal diplomatic relations with the Demon Lord’s domain.

So, for the Emperor to send a letter to the Demon Lord’s domain is truly exceptional.

Well… there’s no guarantee the letter is actually from the Emperor.

It’s possible I’ll go through all the formalities only to be handed a letter from someone of ministerial rank.

But the letter addressed to me bears the name of Crown Prince Diaz.

And if that letter includes the etiquette for receiving an imperial letter, it carries a certain weight.

If it turns out to be a minister’s letter addressed to Rukie, it’ll be the Empire that ends up embarrassed.

“Please listen, Your Majesty, Agnis-sama. If this letter is genuine, an envoy from the Empire will come to Your Majesty. The ‘purify yourself and dress formally’ part refers to noble etiquette for receiving a letter from the Emperor—”

I explained the contents of the letter and its implications.

Taken at face value, it means we’ll receive a letter from the Emperor of the Empire.

But since it’s the Empire, we must remain cautious.

We must also consider the possibility of ulterior motives.

Therefore—

“How about asking Princess Sophia to mediate?”

I suggested that to Rukie.

“Princess Sophia is connected to the Grand Duchy. Let’s inform her about the envoy from the Empire and request her cooperation. If we go through her, Princess Liana might also lend her support.”

“I see. A good idea.”

Rukie nodded with satisfaction.

“Even the Empire would not dare disgrace both of them.”

“I believe Princess Sophia will cooperate.”

“More specifically… perhaps we should time our invitation to coincide with the envoy’s arrival, and invite the two of them to the Demon Lord’s domain.”

“Yes. Princess Sophia has done much for us. It would be a good opportunity to treat her with hospitality.”

Rukie said as she clapped her knees.

“Then, I shall send a letter to Princess Sophia. Once the ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ matter is resolved, we’ll invite her to the Demon Lord’s domain.”

“I’ll also inform my father of the situation, from my side.”

“Yes. I’m counting on you, Agnis.”

“As for the reply to the Crown Prince of the Empire… I plan to draft it with the Prime Minister. We must send a response, and the wording must be precise so we don’t leave any room for them to twist it. It’ll be a bit of a burden on the Prime Minister, though.”

“Negotiations with foreign powers fall under the Prime Minister’s office. It can’t be helped.”

“…Right.”

The discussion was settled.

First priority is analyzing the “Pseudo-Smartphone.”

We’ll investigate it thoroughly once it finishes disclosing its data.

After that, we’ll send a letter to Princess Sophia.

We’ll explain the situation and invite her to the Demon Lord’s domain.

Even aside from the envoy, Princess Sophia had wanted to visit, so she’ll likely be pleased.

“There are a lot of issues, but… it looks like we’ll manage.”

“Indeed.”

“I feel relieved as well,” Agnis added.

After that, Rukie, Agnis, and I took a break and enjoyed some tea.

Then Rukie, as if suddenly inspired, said,

“It seems things will get busy from here on. So, how about sharing with me and Agnis the story of your journey now, while you still have the time?”

“The story of my journey?”

“You spoke with the ‘ancestor,’ didn’t you, Thor?”

Rukie leaned forward with interest.

“Regarding the ‘Ancestor,’ various studies were conducted even in the Demon Lord’s territory. However, no one had ever exchanged words with them. Thor, how did you manage to communicate?”

“Did something like that really happen, Thor Canaan-sama!?”

Even Agnis was surprised.

It seemed that being able to talk with the ‘Ancestor’ was quite an impressive feat.

“I understand. I’ll explain. I can also do a demonstration using the item, which would you prefer?”

“It would be better to have a demonstration.”

“Yes, please!”

“Alright, I’ll get things ready.”

From my “Ultra-Compact Simple Storage,” I took out a spare “Woof-Meow Friendship Talk Pendant” (which I had made on the way back to report to Rukie) and two sets of “Roleplay Pajamas.”

Then, I handed one of the pajamas to Agnis.

“Now then, Miss Agnis, please put on this dog-shaped pajama.”

“Y-Yes.”

“I’ll put on the pendant for translation. Your Majesty, please observe the interaction between me and Miss Agnis. I think this will help you understand how I was able to communicate with the ‘Ancestor.'”

“V-Very well. I understand.”

Agnis and I each went into separate rooms.

Once we had changed and returned, I began to explain to Agnis.

“This ‘Woof-Meow Friendship Talk Pendant’ allows mutual understanding by taking on similar appearances.”

“I-I see.”

“Since the ‘Ancestor’ was a wolf, Mabel wore dog-like ‘Roleplay Pajamas,’ and the pendant was activated.”

“So that means, I should play the role of the ‘Ancestor,’ right?”

“Yes. I’ll play the role of Mabel. But this is just a simulation, okay?”

“Yes. But I’ll take it seriously. I’ll do my best to become a wolf!”

Agnis clenched her fists with determination.

“So, what kind of person was the ‘Ancestor’?”

“They were a very kind individual. Not the slightest bit pretentious and approached casually. It might sound rude, but they felt like a gentle large dog.”

“Understood! Then, Agnis will give her all to play the ‘Ancestor.’ I can’t let this chance to be of use to His Majesty and Thor Canaan-sama go to waste!”

“Thank you, Miss Agnis.”

Then, we turned to Rukie, who was sitting in a chair watching us.

“Now then, Your Majesty. We’ll begin the demonstration. Please watch.”

“Agnis will seriously act like a wolf!”

“Yes. I’m counting on you.”

And then, I began demonstrating how I had translated the ‘Ancestor’s’ words.

I wore the “Woof-Meow Friendship Talk Pendant” on my chest and put on the same dog-shaped “Roleplay Pajamas” as Agnis.

However, I didn’t pull up the hood. I still looked human.

The dog-like features were limited to beast ears and a tail.

Agnis, on the other hand, used the “Roleplay Pajamas” to fully transform into a dog.

She took the form of a large dog with red fur.

She stood a bit apart from me, staring intently in my direction.

Rukie sat in a chair positioned between me and Agnis.

Since she was in her Demon Lord form, I shouldn’t be able to tell her expression… and yet, for some reason, I felt like she was glancing at me now and then. Maybe she was curious about the beast ears? Come to think of it, I haven’t worn the “Roleplay Pajamas” much in front of Rukie.

“Alright, let’s begin. Your Majesty, please watch.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Woof woof.”

I raised the “Woof-Meow Friendship Talk Pendant.”

Agnis was fully motivated, completely immersed in the role of a wolf—or rather, a dog.

Of course, this was only a reenactment of the conversation scene with the ‘Ancestor.’

Even if Agnis barked, the pendant wouldn’t actually translate it.

Still, I thought we could convey the atmosphere of how the conversation with the ‘Ancestor’ happened.

“Ruff ruff!”

“Um. I’m Thor Canaan, an alchemist. Could you tell me your name, Ancestor?”

“Oh, both of you are really getting into character.”

“Ruff-ruff. Woof!”

“I came to the elf village in search of ‘psychic resonance materials.’ Do you know where they can be found?”

“Ruff! Ruff ruff!”

“Oh. Agnis, in her dog form, is shaking her head. She seems to be indicating a direction.”

“Woof woof. Woof!”

“Hmm. I see. So that’s what it was.”

“Yes, yes. Agnis is moving closer to Thor. Perhaps to improve the accuracy of the translation.”

“Ruff ruff ruff! Woof woof!”

“I understand. Yes.”

“Yelp yelp. Woof!”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to get that close, I can hear you just fine.”

“………Hey, isn’t that a little too close?”

“Yip yip. Ruff ruff.”

“Um. Miss Agnis. Don’t you think you’re getting too into character?”

“Ruff! Ruff-ruff!!”

“…Hey, hey! Agnis, what are you doing!? Why are you pushing Thor down!?”

“Woof woof woof woof woof! Wo-oof!”

“Wait a second! It’s weird for a wolf to be hugging me, right? And… are you maybe using the Health-Enhancement Pendant on low output!? I… I can’t resist it! Um, hey…”

“Woof woof woof woof—woof!”

“Oh, c-calm down, Agnis! You’re acting too much like a dog! Hey—!!”

“Woof woof woof woof—wooooof!”

Agnis was being serious.

She put on a dog-shaped roleplay pajama and was earnestly pretending to be the Ancestor.

She got so into her performance, she forgot she was in human form.

As a result, she became so immersed in being a dog that she stuck to me and wouldn’t let go.

“Hmm. But the Woof-Meow Friendship Talk Pendant isn’t responding. I thought maybe it would work since Agnis-san was acting so seriously… but it seems like it really won’t translate unless it’s an actual dog or cat. Rukie-sama.”

“Is this really the time to be analyzing the item!?”

“Woof woof—woof.”

—After that, it took an hour before Agnis returned to normal.

“I-I deeply apologize, Your Majesty.”

After taking off the pajama, Agnis turned bright red and bowed repeatedly.

“I got too absorbed in the role… It’s embarrassing, so…”

“Well, it was because of Thor’s magic item, after all. Can’t be helped.”

Rukie forgave her easily.

And with that, the demonstration of how I communicated with the Ancestor came to an end.

Starting tomorrow, I was supposed to focus solely on countermeasures against the Pseudo-Smartphone.

—Or so I thought.

“…Thor.”

After Agnis stepped outside, Rukie called out to me.

“What is it, Your Majesty?”

“About that demonstration earlier… I didn’t quite understand it.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Should I ask Agnis-san to do it again?”

“No, this time I’ll be the one playing the ‘Ancestor’ role.”

“…No, I really can’t ask the Demon Lord herself to pretend to be a wolf.”

“I’ll just do it as plain old Rukie, so there’s no problem.”

Rukie said that with a sly smile.

“I’ll come see you later as just Rukie, so be prepared.”

“Uh, by that… you mean…”

“It means I want to drink tea in secret.”

With that, I understood what Rukie was trying to say.

Later, she would come to my room, and we’d have tea inside the Simple Storage.

She’d take off her mask during that time and want to redo the demonstration.

That’s what she was really saying.

“Knowing you, Thor, you and Mabel probably both dressed like wolves and listened to the Ancestor, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Did I tell you we shared the pendant?”

“You shared it?”

“…Ah.”

“…So you did share it?”

“………Yes.”

“…Hmm. I see. We’ll talk more about that later.”

And with that, the conversation in the reception room ended—

Back in my room, I started working on extending the chain of the Woof-Meow Friendship Talk Pendant (spare).

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