It had been several days since Chris fell to her dark side. My rehabilitation was progressing smoothly, and my physical stamina had recovered to the point where I could go about my daily life with almost no issues. However, as my recovery progressed, Chris's emotional state had become increasingly unstable.
The cause was Canon. Canon pursuing Lion was one thing, but after seeing the two of them interacting so casually, Canon had apparently arrived at the notion that "Chris might have feelings for Lion" — or alternatively, "Could it be the other way around?" — and so she competed with Chris at every turn. Sometimes she would flaunt her closeness with Lion (touching Lion, fussing over her), but each time she did, Chris's dark side only grew stronger.
To be fair, the other women besides Chris had tried explaining Chris and Lion's relationship to Canon, but so far it didn't seem to be helping.
"Grandpa, Chris is in a seriously bad state. And while we're at it, Lion and Canon too."
"Those two are an afterthought, are they... Well, I suppose it can't be helped."
"I'm sorry about our Canon..."
From where I stood, Chris was the victim and Canon was the perpetrator. Lion was the root cause, the real villain. That said, if you observed Chris's usual behavior, you could understand how Canon had gotten the wrong idea, so I couldn't bring myself to blame Canon alone. Which made Lion the worst of them all.
So I told Yuri she didn't need to worry too much about it. It was all Lion's fault.
"Well then, what should we do..."
"Why don't we just leave Lion behind? Yuri, when the Border Baron's reply comes, as long as we have—
Lion—
that's all we need, right?"
"Yes, I was able to hear what Tenma had to say, and after that we just need to follow the Border Baron's orders... Honestly, if the relationship we worked so hard to rebuild with Tenma falls apart again because of Canon, I'll have no choice but to impose a severe punishment on Canon from my position. Besides, my own body won't be able to take it..."
As she said this, Yuri was pressing a hand against her stomach.
If Yuri were to collapse because of the deterioration in our relationship, the public backlash against Canon would be severe. There might even be expulsion from the Border Baron's territory.
Expulsion might be a bit of an overstatement, but the Haustru Border Territory had a history of economic decline and hard times stemming from its damaged relationship with me. It wouldn't be unusual for the people around the Border Baron — if not the Baron himself — to overreact.
"In other words, we... or more precisely, the quickest solution would be for Chris to leave Russell City. In that case, why don't we leave Lion behind and move on? If we just hand her the itinerary, Lion will catch up on her own."
When you considered everyone's happiness, Lion taking the short end of the stick was unavoidable. If Lion had been more levelheaded in the first place, none of this would have been necessary.
"But is that really okay for Lion's happiness?"
"If it's between Lion's happiness alone, or everyone else's happiness plus Chris's good mood and Yuri's stomach, then I'm sacrificing Lion."
"You might sound cool saying that, but in the end, you're just dumping it all on Lion, aren't you?"
"Well, it's Lion's fault in the first place... and if the rest of us got caught up in the fallout, that'd be unbearable."
"Then again, meddling in other people's love lives is always a headache... I suppose this is the best way."
With that conclusion reached, we decided to inform the rest of the group—everyone except Lion. As it happened, everyone except Grandpa, Yuri, and me was currently split up: Albert and Cain were with Lion and Kanon, while the girls were with Chris.
The plan was for Albert or Cain to explain the situation with Chris to Kanon when Lion wasn't looking, while the girls took Chris out sightseeing around town to help calm her nerves. As for the costs, the guys were splitting them evenly. The idea was that in exchange for the girls doing the hard work of looking after Chris, the guys would foot the bill. Though honestly, the girls were probably planning to enjoy themselves just as much. Still, the guys intended to quietly bill the Margraviate for everything Lion's side of the group spent, so ultimately it would all fall on Lion's shoulders. After all, if Lion had just been a bit more sensible in the first place, none of this would have happened—or so we all believed—so the guys (unanimously, and without Lion) decided this was a fitting punishment.
"That's right! That's the best option!"
I left Albert and Cain to Grandpa and used "Explore" to find the girls. When I explained the plan, Chris agreed almost immediately. As expected—Chris had been stressed out thanks to Kanon, so she had no reservations about throwing Lion under the bus. Her face showed no trace that she'd once tried to prevent Lion from getting a boyfriend.
"Lion will probably kick up a fuss, but if we tell her there's an urgent message from Primera in Gunjou City—our next destination—I think we can convince her easily. The real problem is if the Margrave's reply arrives before we leave. If that happens, this whole plan falls apart."
"Then let's leave tonight!"
"Chris, we can't do it today."
"Yeah. Besides, we need to explain everything about Lion and Chris to Kanon—"
"properly—"
"so the soonest we can leave is early tomorrow morning."
When she heard what I said, Chris objected, saying we should just leave Lion and Kanon to sort things out on their own. But when you think about the bigger picture, it's better to at least give them a proper explanation. That was something I'd already decided on during my conversation with Grandpa and Yuri.
"The guys—minus Lion—will handle the explanation, and we'll make Kanon understand whether she likes it or not. If that still doesn't work... then we may never meet Kanon again."
When I said that, the girls looked shocked—or maybe frightened. It seemed like they'd misunderstood something, so I went into more detail, and they all came around in the end.
By "never meeting again," I meant we would do whatever it takes to keep Kanon away from us and from Lion—not that we'd kill her. Depending on the situation, we were even prepared to enlist the King's help.
Personally speaking, I don't really care who Lion ends up with. But when that someone is the current Kanon, I can't say problems won't arise. Right now, she's only jealous of Chris because she suspects Chris might have feelings for Lion. But if Kanon married Lion and became the Margrave's wife—and if that jealousy only grew stronger—she could easily start suspecting any woman on friendly terms with Lion.
If the target of her suspicion happened to be some powerless commoner, then—as harsh as it sounds—dealing with them wouldn't be a problem. But if the target was someone even Lion couldn't touch—say, a noble of equal or higher rank—then it could spiral into a factional conflict, or worse, a crisis that shook the entire kingdom.
They say I'm overthinking it, but the House of Margrave Houst also serves the geographic role of defending against invasions from neighboring countries, so we absolutely cannot afford internal strife or disputes among the nobility. That means in the worst-case scenario, I might have to advise the King to take measures against this.
"Isn't it perfectly normal at parties to dance or chat with an acquaintance's partner, regardless of whether they're nobles? If someone's jealousy is severe enough to make you think they could harm another person over something like that, I don't think they're fit to be a noble's wife."
After hearing my thoughts, Chris considered them for a moment before nodding. As both a Royal Guard and a noble herself, she had weighed the possibility of the kingdom descending into chaos against her own desire to distance herself from Kanon, and arrived at her conclusion.
"I understand what you're saying, Tenma. However, I won't be getting involved in this matter, nor do I have any obligation to. So by tomorrow morning, without my knowledge, educate her."
Not only did Chris declare she would have absolutely nothing to do with Kanon, but she also casually set a deadline of tomorrow morning. In other words, that meant we'd be departing Rassel City tomorrow.
Judging by her attitude, if we failed to persuade Kanon by then, Chris and Lion's relationship could fall apart as well. That would spell trouble for mutual acquaintances like myself, Albert, and Cain. We'd need to educate Lion too, but Albert and I might not have much effect on him — so I'd dump that task on Grandpa. Lion would probably listen earnestly to anything Grandpa had to say.
"Um... Reni, I'll hand you some money, so why don't you all go out and have a nice meal?"
After looking over the group of women in front of me, I decided to enlist Reni's help with supporting Chris. Both Chris and Amour voiced their objections, but I told Chris, "This is a fund for Chris's comfort, so I'm entrusting it to Reni, who's good with money — and not Chris," and asked Amour, "Can you manage money better than Reni?" The two of them accepted this reasoning just fine. One of them was beaming because my little encouragement had lifted her spirits, and the other was thoroughly shut down and looking a bit sultry... but once Reni started saying things like "The restaurant with the best reputation is...", she immediately chimed in with her own opinions, so there was nothing to worry about.
"Well then, I'll go meet up with them over there... don't stay out too late, okay?"
With Chris's words confirming that departure was set for tomorrow morning, I separated from the group of women and headed toward Albert and the others, who were likely listening to what Grandpa had to say about educating Kanon.
"That's probably the best approach, isn't it?"
"It does feel a bit awkward to make use of Primera, but we can't afford to spend all our time in Rassel City... and besides, it's a real hassle when Senior Chris is in a bad mood."
"Then let's have Kanon's education done sometime tonight, and set departure for before noon tomorrow. By the way, did anything change with Kanon after the two of you explained things to her?"
At my question, both of them shook their heads. Apparently Kanon gave responses that suggested she was listening and understood, but she didn't really seem to believe any of it.
"If that's the case, we're short on time, so we'll have to resort to some rather rough methods to reform Kanon."
I glanced over at Kanon (who was making a beeline for Lion despite Grandpa being right there — it didn't seem to have much effect on Lion) and saw that Albert and Cain were nodding in agreement.
"The general outline would be: have Yuri call Kanon to the Guild Master's office, then the four of us — me, Albert, Cain, and Yuri — persuade her... or rather, lecture her. Meanwhile, Grandpa keeps Lion in check, and the women focus on keeping Chris in good spirits... I think something like that would work."
"That sounds fine, but I figured Grandpa Merlin would be better with Lion because he'd listen to what you say more honestly than he would to us, right? If that's the case, I think Tenma should go handle that part too."
"Rather than that, I'd like you to leave Kanon to me and Cain."
I told the two of them that I'd started this whole thing, so I should see it through to the end, but—
"This is aristocrat business, after all."
"Exactly. Kanon seems to have a rather dismissive view of the nobility. If Tenma is there, it's only going to get messy, so this time we'd like you to focus on Lion instead."
That was their response. The two of them were clearly quite furious with Kanon for refusing to listen to their advice. However—
"If you're talking about being dismissive, I think I come across as pretty dismissive myself, don't I… How does that factor in?"
When I said that, the two of them exchanged looks that were equal parts troubled and exasperated.
"Because the level of trust and importance is completely different between you and Kanon."
they said in unison.
"With you, Tenma, there's your contribution to the Kingdom, your high name recognition, and military strength that easily surpasses minor nobles. So while you're technically in the same commoner category as Kanon, the actual difference in value between you two is like heaven and earth."
"I don't want you to misunderstand, but the three of us will let loose and party like idiots with anyone, regardless of their station, and we won't say a word even if things get a little over the line—as long as they're friends. That's the condition, though, and Kanon doesn't fall into that category."
Incidentally, apparently Jeanne, Aura, and Amour all fell within the scope of "friends" for the two of them (setting aside what Jeanne and Aura might think about that), and whether Reni counted as a friend was a bit of a gray area—but since Reni was fundamentally polite and conducted herself in a way that showed them respect, she wasn't the type to get on their nerves over minor things.
"If that's the case, then I'll leave it to you… but don't overdo it."
"Don't worry, don't worry. Something like this comes up every now and then, so we're used to it."
"We won't go quite as far as you would, Tenma."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked Albert, and he replied, "Just look at what happened with Regil in Gunjou City or Podro in the Royal Capital—the word 'overboard' seems tailor-made for you, Tenma."
Hearing those familiar names that hit a little too close to home made me flinch slightly, but when I protested, "I just drove off someone who came at me hostilely!" Cain shot back, "Normally, a commoner doesn't repel a noble and then directly get involved in the collapse of that noble's entire family. At most, you'd leak information to a rival noble who's also at odds with them." And behind Cain, Albert was nodding repeatedly with a completely serious expression.
"If you're going to put it that way, then fine—I'll leave it to you two. I'll do my best to keep Grandpa and Lion occupied and watched over."
"Tenma… don't try too hard, okay?"
"It's Lion we're talking about, so I don't think a little thing is going to break him… but he's still the heir to the Margrave family, so at least send him back in one piece."
I tried not to react and silently moved to regroup with Grandpa, but... before I knew it, I had Albert's head tucked under one arm and was gripping the back of Cain's collar with my other hand.
"If you can move that fast, then there's nothing to worry about on the road ahead... Sorry, just let me go and I'll apologize."
"G-Give... up... I-I think my strength has come back too... *cough*"
Cain, whose collar had only been grabbed, didn't seem to be in much pain, but Albert, who had caught a makeshift headlock, looked like he was in considerable discomfort.
"Unconscious actions really are terrifying."
"To unconsciously shut down two grown men at once—that's truly terrifying."
"That's only if it was really unconscious."
Just as Albert said, it wasn't actually unconscious... but I figured there was no need to correct them, so I just flashed the two of them a cheerful smile without saying anything. Both of them had slightly stiff expressions, but they quickly headed off to the guild master's office to speak with Yuri.
"There you are, Lion. Tonight, everyone except me, Grandpa, and you has other plans, so the three of us are having dinner together—just a heads-up. Also, I have something important to discuss then, so I'm sorry, but Kanon will have to sit this one out."
Using Search, I located Lion and immediately relayed the matter. Then, to Kanon, who was—as always—by Lion's side, I told her in a firm tone that she would not be joining us.
Perhaps because my tone was a bit harsh, Kanon looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded without a word.
That evening—
"Lion, what are you going to do about Kanon?"
"Huh? Kanon?"
After getting Lion nicely buzzed, Grandpa brought up the subject of Kanon.
"You've surely noticed that Kanon has feelings for you. Have you realized that by leaving her hanging like this, you're causing trouble for Chris, Albert, and Cain?"
"I mean, I do know that... I just don't know what to do about it."
Lion understood that he was causing trouble for the three of them, but apparently he had no idea how to go about resolving it.
"The quickest fix would be to cut ties with Kanon. If you reject her firmly, she'll give up. By taking a wishy-washy stance instead, you're giving Kanon the impression there's still hope."
Lion listened to Grandpa's dead-serious lecture with an open, receptive attitude. I was sitting next to the two of them, but there was no opening to jump into the conversation, so I just quietly listened while occasionally refilling their empty cups. After a while,
"Honestly, saying you can't date someone because their chest is small is ridiculous! If you're a man, you should say something like you'll make them bigger for her! Everyone has one or two flaws! Look at Chris! Small chest and fierce attitude! Yet she has such high standards for men that she's picky! Compared to that, Kanon is a prime catch, wouldn't you say?"
"That's true! Sis has too high standards and she's always trying to act cool, so she's popular with younger women, but I've never seen a man approach her!"
Grandpa had started saying some pretty outrageous things. I might have let him get a little carried away by pouring him too much to drink. Since I don't get drunk easily myself, the mistake was ordering stronger booze when I placed drinks for the two of them. Fortunately, this was a private room in the restaurant Albert and Cain had shown me before, so the soundproofing was solid and nothing was being heard by other customers... but if this had been an ordinary bar, I would have been dragging these two out the door and fleeing. That's how bad the situation was.
"Seems like we've gotten off track, but to get to the point — Lion, you're saying you'll take Kanon seriously, right?"
"Yeah! I can't keep causing trouble for everyone anymore!"
"Good. A man doesn't go back on his word, right? And make sure you apologize thoroughly to everyone — especially Chris, Albert, and Cain"
"Yeah! I got it!"
"Alright, understood! Now drink! Grandpa, you keep drinking too!"
Feeling worn out, I decided the best move was to get their verbal commitment and then get them good and drunk. Grandpa included. If I had to keep listening to these two any longer, my sanity was going to start unraveling.
And an hour later...
"Finally, they're out..."
The two of them had finally quieted down. So I...
"Could we get some more food, please?"
...called over the staff and settled in for a leisurely meal. Incidentally, since Lion (in a dead drunk state) had said he was picking up the tab, I had secured his wallet before he passed out... but I figured Lion's wallet alone wouldn't be enough, so I had properly secured Grandpa's wallet (also dead drunk) as well. And furthermore...
"Slarin, Shiromaru, Solomon, Goru, Jiru — you've got permission to come out now. But don't cause any trouble."
And so, the banquet between me and my Familiars continued late into the night... Still, Goru and Jiru refused to come out of the Dimension Bag, yet they were ordering the most expensive items on the menu in descending order of price — the most merciless possible approach to draining Lion's and Grandpa's wallets.
And then the next day...
"Tenma, my wallet is empty."
"Mine too."
"What are you two talking about? When you kept getting carried away ordering expensive drinks, this was bound to happen. Besides, you refused to let me pay even though I offered. And now you've forgotten?... Carrying you two home was no joke. Both of you — stop drinking until you lose your senses. It's bad for your health."
The two of them noticed their wallets were empty, but when I said that, they thought for a moment… their hangover headaches made it hard to think, and they quickly lay down on their beds.
"Hey, Jeanne… do you think what Tenma is saying is true?"
"Shh! That's enough, Aura."
"Aura. Since we've accepted the bribe, we're accomplices with Tenma."
"That's right. We mustn't even think about it, let alone speak of it."
"Exactly. I feel sorry for Merlin, but Lion gave me such a hard time, so this isn't nearly enough."
The female group had already handed over the takeout food they ordered before leaving the inn yesterday as a bribe, making them my
accomplices.
Therefore, even if something seemed off, they wouldn't point it out. As for Albert and Cain, I'd given them the alcohol I bought.
The two of them had drunk the bribe alcohol until dawn yesterday because they'd stressed themselves out scolding Kanon while I was getting Lion drunk. They were still asleep.
"Still, are Albert and Cain still sleeping? I want to depart soon, so Lion… is dead to the world. Tenma, go wake him up for me."
It was apparently improper for Albert and Cain, who were nobles, to have Jeanne and the others enter their room while they were asleep, so I was ordered to do the errand. Well, I figured the two of them, who were mentally exhausted and sleeping, would have it worse being woken up than I did being used as an errand boy, so I listened to Chris's order without complaint.
"Alright, I've left a note for Lion, and I've asked the Guild Master, so there's no need to worry… Now, let's depart!"
At Chris's command, we set off from Lassell City.
Seeing us off were a tired-looking Yuri, a frightened Kanon, and Guild staff who were reluctant to part with Shiromaru and Solomon.
Kanon bowed deeply to apologize as soon as she saw Chris, and Chris accepted it, so on the surface it seemed reconciled, but… from the side, it might look like Chris had threatened her into apologizing, which could be a problem.
"Well then, Yuri. I'm leaving Lion to you. He's currently asleep at the inn, so when he wakes up and realizes no one is there, I think he'll charge straight to the Guild."
"Leave it to me… You did tell Lord Lion in advance that we were leaving first, right?"
When I said I had, Yuri looked relieved. If he'd been told beforehand, she probably thought his confusion would be temporary. Well, I did tell him while he was dead drunk yesterday, so he probably doesn't remember it himself… but since I did tell him, it's his own fault if he doesn't remember.
"Tenma! Hurry up and let's depart! If we stay here any longer, Lion might notice!"
Hearing Chris's words, Yuri let out a startled "Huh?", so I ordered Jeanne in the driver's seat to
COMMAND
her to get into the carriage and depart before we were found out.
It would take less than ten days to reach our next destination, Gunjou City, even with a few detours. At this rate, we might make it back to the Royal Capital before the snow started falling.
With those thoughts in mind, I ignored Yuri, who was still shouting about something, and we left Russell City behind.