Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 123
The next morning, I headed to the palace early.
I felt a twinge of guilt going to the palace without an appointment, especially since they must still be busy with post-war affairs.
But for now, I would allow myself this selfishness—to accomplish the final purpose connected to this war.
“Good morning, gatekeeper.”
“Same-sama…! I will relay this immediately!”
The gatekeeper’s reaction had now become no different than for a dignitary.
Yesterday’s events were surely not unrelated. Right now, this country must truly feel like it’s “on the brink of collapse in its relationship with both the Brigade and Same.”
Indeed, as Still said, it’s “unhealthy.” But it’s also inevitable.
This is the price of me hinting at the existence of the fictional organization, the “Brigade,” and allowing its affiliated characters to take action.
While convenient as a setting, giving an organization with an unknown structure too much power is… dangerous.
If Still hadn’t taken away all the attention and caution, who knows what might have happened.
The impression that “even the Brigade’s strongest forces can lose, they’re still only human” was significant.
But at the same time, Silent’s achievements, and the accomplishments of the Brigade, were also huge. For a while, I’ll have to accept being somewhat restricted.
“By the way, Melt… it’s okay if you speak now.”
“Mm! Right! I still need to greet people. I forgot to greet the gatekeeper!”
…Perhaps Still considered my care for Melt when planning this strategy. He himself seemed to quite like her.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Today, we’ll be shown to the conference room.”
“Who is gathered there?”
“Only Her Majesty the Queen and Kokuri-sama.”
Good. Personally, I’d like to trust others, but Still seemed to suspect even Bark, the head of the general guild.
…I recall Still had talked to the assailant. He concluded that someone on the guild side had arranged to let the assailant escape.
That narrows down who could have prepared such an elaborate setup.
But what if someone judged that “breaking someone out would benefit the guild or country”?
Honestly, there might be choices that modern knowledge, common sense, or laws cannot predict.
Even something simple like “undercover operations” exists… though in this case, the environment they were left in was terrible.
“Please wait a moment.”
Lost in thought, we arrived at the conference room.
Since it wasn’t the audience chamber, many people must now be inside the palace, and there’s likely traffic in and around the main hall.
Perhaps they judged it faster to move to an empty conference room than to clear people from the main area.
“Same-sama, Melt-sama, I’ve brought you.”
“Same! Same…! And Melt-sama too!”
“Shh.”
Their treatment of us seemed higher than before. Melt looked a bit happy.
Inside, as expected, only the Queen and Kokuri were present.
The room was thick with anxiety—the Queen’s worry seemed to fill the air.
“Long time no see, Your Majesty. First… congratulations on the victory in this war.”
“…Yes, thanks to your efforts.”
“I won’t deny it. Though perhaps we acted a bit too boldly this time.”
“…I don’t know how to properly apologize. Perhaps we relied on you too much.”
By now, they likely realized my topic would concern Silent’s “death.”
“Indeed, we may have gotten a bit too involved with this country. That might be a little distorted from the perspective of a nation. I am just a single citizen, and the Brigade is only a wandering entity. Now that the war is over, may I assume our services are no longer needed?”
“Of course. Your contributions… and Silent-dono’s dedication… will never be forgotten. We shall speak of you as our nation’s heroes for generations to come.”
It should be about time. The country seems to understand that things had been somewhat distorted until now.
“No, please stop calling us heroes. Silent would absolutely hate that.”
“I see… If you say so, it must be true. Same, I deeply apologize for the loss of your valuable forces and important people this time.”
“Your Majesty… I’m afraid I cannot accept that apology…”
Immediately, a shadow crossed the Queen’s expression, and Kokuri bowed deeply.
Here comes the reveal.
“Because Silent is not dead. Your Majesty, Kokuri-sama, this is the report on experiments carried out by the suspected masterminds that Silent stole from Golda Castle.”
I presented the report Still had retrieved from the treasury—data from experiments likely led by Hus.
King Golda probably only formally allowed the report to be submitted, uninterested and unwilling to leave it in plain sight, so it was stored in the treasury.
“What…! Silent is alive!?”
“The experiment data on the forces behind Golda… that’s very concerning indeed…”
“Silent had been wary of a mysterious man named Still, who was targeting him. So, he devised a plan: he faked his own death, secretly investigated within Golda Castle, and stole research materials—led, it seems, by someone calling themselves ‘Hus’—including studies on modifications for heroes. Even so, he sustained severe injuries and is now focusing on recovery at the Brigade headquarters.”
“Unbelievable… I heard Silent single-handedly defeated over a thousand Golda soldiers, but not only that… he even brought back this kind of information…!”
“Is it possible that Hoos and Still belong to the same faction?”
“That’s unlikely. From Silent’s investigations, it appears those two were definitely antagonistic toward each other. That Still man… he’s undoubtedly a third—no, a fourth—force altogether.”
Still’s strategy needs to be reinforced. His intentions and kindness must not be wasted.
“I see… I will investigate these materials on my end. It’s truly good news that Silent is safe. A friend of mine was a bit down over this.”
“…About that, please keep Silent’s survival as confidential as possible. One friend is fine, but make sure to emphasize: ‘No one is to ever leak this fact.’”
“Understood.”
“…Even if it’s a prominent figure or someone you are close to in this country.”
“I see. You suspect there might be other ‘insiders’ within our country. Very well, I promise full confidentiality.”
Now, onto the main topic.
“That concludes our report. May we move on to the next matter?”
“Please do.”
“Regarding the authority over Golda’s upper echelon that Silent requested as compensation. I understand King Golda has already been brought here. I would like to speak with him directly on Silent’s behalf. Is that acceptable?”
“I grant permission. From the start, I intended to hand him over once you arrived.”
“Then could you prepare a place where it’s just the three of us—myself, Melt, and King Golda? A place where absolutely no one could eavesdrop?”
“Understood. I will arrange it immediately. …Also, I promise that even if you harm former King Golda, there will be no repercussions.”
In other words, they may be indirectly allowing me to execute him if necessary.
If the content of the discussion is especially harsh… I may have to resort to physical action—punching or kicking.
Not intending to, but acting if needed. As long as he lives, that’s enough. At worst, I will do just that.
“That’s all from me.”
“Understood. Same… Even though Silent survived, I sincerely apologize. As you said, our country has relied entirely on you, from providing the dungeon core onward. Even if offered in good faith, it created a situation where our country made you feel indebted. I promise not to make unreasonable requests again.”
“Hm… as long as it’s just consultation, that’s fine. After all, I am a citizen and adventurer of this country.”
“I see. Ideally… I hope no problem arises that requires your intervention again.”
“Agreed. Surely… it will be that way from now on.”
On the surface at least, there shouldn’t be any further crises threatening this country.
Of course, there will still be issues related to ruling Golda’s lands or the nobility.
Other countries observing this war will also factor in, and from the perspective of the nation’s leadership, challenges remain numerous.
But that no longer concerns me. Originally, I am just a single citizen.
“Please rest in the reception room for a while. We will prepare the meeting space.”
Thus, Melt and I were led to the reception room, preparing to meet the former King of Golda.
“I’m a little nervous, after all.”
“Yeah. Melt, you’ve already decided on the questions, right?”
“Yeah, I have.”
“If he acts rudely, don’t hold back—attack him without mercy. I’ll probably do it, though.”
“…Yeah, I’ll leave that to you.”
Why does Golda hate beastmen so much?
It’s probably related to the fact that he sacrificed Melt’s homeland as a scapegoat.
Still had predicted that “Golda saw Melt’s clan as a potential threat.”
Honestly, I had considered that too. I am the only one who knows about the Silver Fox Clan.
But being with Melt, I can strongly sense just how capable she is.
“She is outstanding in learning ability in every field”—that’s the essence of it.
The violin, cooking fried shrimp—she masters them too quickly to just call it practice.
Even in combat, though she probably has experience fighting monsters, she still acquires various techniques and skills just by reading books.
And then there’s her vast knowledge of plants and alchemy, along with the almost万能 (all-purpose) power of natural magic.
Even without favoritism, Melt could easily be called a genius.
If that were a trait of her entire race… yes, it would indeed be a threat.
However, Melt once told me, “The Silver Fox Clan is a wandering people; sometimes we take in abandoned children to increase our numbers. This is a ritual to create a family.” Then she did something like a mysterious handshake with me.
As a result, she even gave my original form, Shizuma, the skill “Blessing of the Silver Fox.”
I hadn’t fully confirmed its effects, but that, too, must be part of her clan’s secret.
Perhaps… the true strength of the Silver Fox Clan lies in that power.
“Melt. You said you would leave King Golda’s fate to the queen, and I intend to respect that. But even I have my limits. There may be something I simply cannot tolerate.”
“That goes for me too. I hate him—I resent him the most. But we’ll decide after hearing everything first.”
For the final conclusion of this war.
The meeting with King Golda—who caused my life-changing summoning and Melt’s life-altering dungeon transformation—is finally about to begin.