When I arrived at the floating castle, Ariel was having tea in the garden.
The one serving was Silvaria, but Perugius was nowhere to be seen.
In his place, the one seated across from Ariel was
Well, at least the tea party looked leisurely enough.
That was what I thought for a brief instant, but that wasn't the case at all.
Ariel had the face of a burned-out office worker.
Master and servant alike seemed to be in exhaustion mode.
On the surface, they were putting up a graceful front, but you could see faint dark circles under their eyes.
She looked thoroughly cornered.
Even in that state, she was directing an aura toward Nanahoshi that screamed, "Listen, will you? I'm asking you what's going on!"
As for Nanahoshi, she was ignoring Ariel entirely.
She just looked extremely uncomfortable.
She wouldn't refuse to drink tea together, but she probably didn't want to get caught in the crossfire between Ariel and Perugius.
What a listless protagonist type.
The reason she hadn't left was probably because Ariel was among the people who'd helped her when she'd nearly died from that illness recently.
Ariel had only provided magical tools, but she had still cooperated, that much was certain.
"Oh,
That was why her expression softened just a little when she saw me.
"Could you come over here and sit down?"
I did as Nanahoshi asked and took a seat between her and Ariel.
The moment I sat down, Silvaria poured me some tea.
The way she set the cup on the table was a bit rough—unusual for the elegant Silvaria. When I looked up, I felt a cold gaze from behind her mask.
Was she angry about the time I'd summoned Arumanfi?
Sorry about that...
"...Well then, Rudey. I'm counting on you."
Thanks to Sylphie's arrival, Ariel's face seemed just slightly more relaxed.
I caught a glimpse of Luke at the edge of my vision as well.
I'd gone over things with Luke just before this meeting.
When I told him I'd be cooperating with Ariel, his face had lit up beautifully.
"Lord Rudeus. It's been quite some time. I'd like to offer my congratulations once more on your joining Dragon God
Ariel had no spark in her eyes.
Her words came out halting.
Maybe it was because Sylphie had given her a pretty thorough negative briefing about Orsted beforehand.
"Thank you. When you serve under someone that powerful, it puts your mind at ease."
"Lord Rudeus is himself a powerful figure... Indeed, it seems powerful people naturally gravitate toward one another. Someone like me wouldn't even register..."
Oh dear. Ariel was putting herself down.
She'd really fallen into a dark place.
"Hey."
Nanahoshi poked me in the side.
"Orsted came by yesterday."
"Oh? How did it go?"
"He apologized and she forgave him. Said she'd continue relying on him."
"That's a relief."
Short as those words were, Nanahoshi looked like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
They say "if sorry worked, we wouldn't need police," but in most cases, sorry actually does work.
If it were me, though—tricked, set up, nearly killed—I wouldn't let it go with just an apology.
I'd chalk it up to Orsted's magnanimity.
"I also had the privilege of seeing Lord Orsted," Ariel chimed in, her voice like a ringing bell.
As always, a pleasant voice.
She had a strange charisma that made you want to follow her.
And she was beautiful to look at.
The most gorgeous golden hair I'd ever seen.
If you were to manifest the word "breathtaking" as a human form, this was what you'd get.
There were plenty of beauties and lovely women around me, but if I were scoring objectively, Ariel would take first place.
Not the kind of beauty you'd find in a person, but the kind you'd find in a painting.
A work of art.
Though right now, without any spirit in her, she even had the weary allure of a tired widow.
...Maybe that charisma was its own kind of curse.
"Lord Orsted is a terrifying person. Even just seeing him from afar, I felt my life was in danger..."
"He's not the type to suddenly attack someone out of nowhere, so you don't need to worry."
So Ariel had seen Orsted too.
In that case, I probably shouldn't mention that I was acting on Orsted's orders.
But she already knew I'd joined Orsted's service...
"Indeed.
Yesterday, Lady Nanahoshi had tea with him before he left, but despite looking sour the entire time, he didn't fly into a rage even when Silvaria spilled tea on him."
Silvaria spilling tea on Orsted.
Surely that wasn't on purpose.
No, Silvaria must have been so nervous her hands slipped.
"I felt quite a tense atmosphere, but seeing Lady Nanahoshi laughing so cheerfully for a change, I think he must be far more tolerant and magnanimous than his appearance or aura would suggest..."
...Huh?
That was the impression she got?
Was the curse weak against Ariel?
Either way, this worked in our favor.
Or maybe it was the work of the
Come to think of it, for the Man-God, manipulating Ariel would be the most efficient approach.
Rather than using Luke to guide Ariel around, it made more sense to move the figurehead herself directly.
Orsted hadn't hinted at that possibility at all, though...
Was there something that prevented the Man-God from controlling Ariel?
"I hear it's just a curse that makes people dislike him, apparently."
"Is that so? Then perhaps I should have said a word or two as well... Even from a distance, he was so terrifying I was trembling. If I'd heard his voice up close, I might have wet myself."
Ariel said that and giggled.
Wet yourself...
"Of course, wetting yourself in public has a certain thrill to it..."
"Huh?"
"Princess Ariel!"
Sylphie sounded like she was about to shout "Shame on you!"
I could have sworn I just heard someone say that wetting yourself felt good...
Well, let's pretend I didn't hear that.
The nobility and royalty of the
Yeah.
Still, hearing it from this walking work of art made it sound awfully scandalous.
"Rudey! Stop staring and drooling in front of Princess Ariel!"
"Yes, ma'am."
I accidentally touched the area under my nose.
Had it actually been long...?
Look, I know I'm a pervert, but I basically only want to look at the girls I like.
Like Sylphie, for example.
Well, not that I'm asking her to show me anything.
"Whoa..."
Nanahoshi looked completely put off, but I'd deal with her later.
"Ahem. In any case, upon hearing that Lord Rudeus had become Lord Orsted's subordinate, I felt things fell into place."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because I believed that anyone who could command Lord Rudeus would have to be someone of considerable power."
Did he really?
Controlling me couldn't be that hard.
If Sylphie said to me at night in bed, "Hey Rudey, there's something I want you to do," I'd go along with whatever she asked in a heartbeat.
Not that I was expecting Ariel to do anything like that.
It just meant my desires were base and petty.
I'm a man driven by money and women.
Anyway, it was about time we got down to business.
The matter of cooperating with Ariel.
"Someone of considerable power... such as yourself, perhaps, Princess Ariel?"
I hinted at it a bit indirectly, and Ariel covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes narrowing.
"My my... even Lord Rudeus stoops to such flattery."
It wasn't flattery, though.
I'd grown somewhat numb to it lately, but Ariel was still a princess of the Asura Kingdom.
If I were to draw parallels to my previous life, she was something like the Crown Prince of England.
You might see them at ceremonies, but you'd never exchange words with them, and an opportunity to sit around a table together like this was virtually nonexistent.
You might be lucky enough to become acquainted, and right now was precisely that lucky occasion.
But beyond her station, Ariel had accomplished a great deal.
Of the people currently holding important positions in the magic city Sharia, almost none were beyond Ariel's reach.
The headmaster and vice headmaster of the magic university.
The higher-ups of the Magicians' Guild.
The head of the magical tool workshop.
The chief of the merchant guild.
The branch master of the Adventurers' Guild.
That was about the extent of what I knew, but drop Ariel's name and just about anyone would treat you well.
At the very least, you could safely say that Ariel had already dusted her influence across every major industry in Sharia.
In other words, what I'm trying to say is...
Connections count as power.
Ariel was a powerful figure.
"I... once considered making Lord Rudeus my subordinate as well, you know."
"Oh?"
"I gave up almost immediately. There were various reasons, but the main one was that you seemed far beyond my ability to manage..."
Ariel looked off to the side.
Beyond the beautiful garden, a sea of clouds stretched out like the surface of the earth.
Together with an endless expanse of blue sky.
Gazing at that, she murmured softly:
"'You who possess power beyond your station—perish.'"
For a split second, I thought she was talking to me.
But she wasn't.
Ariel slowly turned back to me and continued:
"It was a line from a play I saw as a child in the Asura royal palace—spoken by Kishirika Kishirisu, the Empress of the Demon World."
That was definitely a lie.
Some fabricated piece of history someone had cooked up.
There was no way Kishirika said anything that cool.
"When the Golden Knight Aldebaran defeated Kishirika, as she lay dying, she cursed him with those words."
"...I see."
"Afterward, Aldebaran became king of the humans, but was feared by those around him, and was ultimately killed by a betrayal from his own subordinates."
Quite the human drama.
And completely different from the history I knew.
"That play is performed at every milestone birthday of the Asura royal family."
Milestone birthdays—so at five, ten, and fifteen, presumably.
In the Asura Kingdom, they threw lavish parties at those ages.
Being royalty, they'd naturally stage a play or two as well.
"Of course it's not historically accurate, but I was told that it encapsulates everything it means to have the resolve of an Asura royal."
So it wasn't historically accurate after all.
Well, naturally.
It was completely different from what I knew.
The Golden Knight Aldebaran and Kishirika Kishirisu fighting to a draw.
Actually, it had been the Dragon King Laplace and the Fighting God, right?
Well, whatever.
"Everything it means to have that resolve, you said?"
"Yes. To fight, to win, and to rule—all that it means to be a king."
"..."
"But then why was Aldebaran betrayed, and why did he die?
The king who commissioned that play—was he telling the next generation to bring about their own destruction?
As a child, I didn't understand.
But when I turned fifteen, it suddenly dawned on me.
That everything might be distilled into those words: 'You who possess power beyond your station—perish.'"
With that, Ariel once again gazed at the distant sky.
"Excessive power only accelerates the path to ruin.
Therefore, one should not possess excessive power, and should operate only within the limits of one's ability.
To control every ounce of power at your disposal—that is the way of a king.
I still believe that to this day."
...Ariel lowered her gaze.
Her long lashes cast a shadow.
"I understand. Both Lord Perugius and Lord Rudeus are power beyond what I can handle."
Ariel wore her usual gentle smile.
But she looked like she was about to cry.
"I intend to make one last appeal to Lord Perugius, and if that fails, I'll give up."
"Give up?"
"Yes. Of course, I only mean giving up on having Lord Perugius as my backer. I have no intention of giving up on the path to becoming king. The throne of the Asura Kingdom—that, I believe, is not power beyond my station."
"..."
What a sigh-worthy sentiment.
Too much power, not enough power.
"Princess Ariel."
"Yes? What is it, Lord Rudeus?"
"Where exactly is this power of mine that's so extraordinary?"
Extraordinary this, special that.
Sure, I'd dreamed of being seen that way—back in my previous life.
And thinking that way had led to nothing but failure.
So in this life, I'd made a point of not seeing myself as special.
I didn't think I was wrong about that.
"The list of Lord Rudeus's accomplishments is endless, but...
Above all, it's your total mana capacity."
"Mana capacity."
That part, I supposed, was above average.
Thanks to whatever they called Laplace Factor, my mana reserves were absurdly vast.
I might be in a realm that ordinary people could never reach, no matter how hard they tried.
It was true that had been useful plenty of times in my life.
But it hadn't solved everything.
What had solved my problems was something else entirely.
"If my total mana capacity had actually solved every problem I've ever faced, then maybe I'd think of myself as extraordinary too."
"Do you have some kind of trouble?"
"Trouble is my daily life. Lately it's been so bad—trying to figure out how to explain to my family what's going on—that I feel like I'm going to collapse."
Terrified of the Man-God.
On edge around Orsted.
Having no idea what to tell my family, lying and hedging day after day.
Me? Extraordinary? Give me a break.
"I don't know about Lord Perugius... but at the very least, I'm not extraordinary. I'm just Sylphie's husband, a magician with a slightly unusual amount of mana and a slightly strange circle of acquaintances, who's always fretting about something."
I almost blushed at my own blunt words.
But I meant every one of them.
I took Ariel's hand where it rested on the table.
Soft.
Her fingers were thin, like they might snap.
I could see Sylphie pouting out of the corner of my eye.
"Princess Ariel. The reason I came here today wasn't for small talk."
"Oh? Then are you here to woo me?"
Even with me suddenly holding her hand, Ariel's expression didn't change.
A gentle smile.
A slightly weary smile, but still.
That was her poker face.
"If you'd fall for it, that would be quite appealing, but...
It was Luke and Sylphie who asked me."
Ariel turned around with a rare look of surprise.
Behind her stood a composed Sylphie and a slightly flustered Luke bowing his head.
"They asked me to help you, Princess Ariel."
The moment those words left my lips, Ariel's grip tightened.
A strength you'd never guess from those delicate fingers—enough to hurt.
"The two of them... asked you to do that?"
"I'm not trying to say 'beg me for help' from some position of superiority. What I want to say is something entirely different."
Holding her hand out of the blue and saying something like that.
How would the usual Ariel have reacted?
"Would you let me cooperate with you as well?"
When I said that, a single tear traced down Ariel's cheek.
A beautiful tear.
For some reason, it surprised me to see Ariel cry.
Why was that?
Ariel quickly wiped the tear with her free hand and put on an expression somewhere between a smile and tears.
"That's the first time anyone has ever said something so moving to me."
You could tell it wasn't serious—that it was just a quip—because her face was dead serious.
She wasn't blushing, and she wasn't crying.
She had on her princess face.
"It's certainly a generous offer... but"
Ariel didn't agree right away.
She drew her chin in, looked at me from slightly below, and peered into my face.
As if trying to read my true intentions.
"I hear Lord Rudeus has entered Lord Orsted's service. Would something like this even be allowed?"
"I've already discussed it with Lord Orsted."
"So you're acting on Lord Orsted's orders, then?"
Ariel didn't seem particularly affected by Orsted's curse, and part of me wanted to just tell her outright that we were cooperating.
But per the plan, I'd keep Orsted's objectives under wraps.
"That's not quite how it is. When I told him I wanted to help Princess Ariel, he told me to do as I please."
"...I see, understood. Please convey my gratitude to Lord Orsted."
I caught Sylphie pursing her lips at the edge of my vision, but there was nothing to be done about that.
"Then I look forward to working with you, Lord Rudeus."
"As do I."
I released Ariel's hand, then re-gripped it in a different way.
A handshake.
---
Well then.
With the cooperative arrangement in place, let's move the discussion forward.
"In order to make Princess Ariel queen, requesting Lord Orsted's help is certainly an option... but
he has virtually no influence over the Asura Kingdom,
and he probably won't be of much use in that regard."
Having said something rather presumptuous upfront, I laid out the agenda.
"Therefore, I believe Lord Perugius's assistance remains the key."
"Indeed."
Ariel straightened in her chair, her expression serious.
Sylphie and Luke seemed to have grown more serious too, or maybe that was my imagination.
Persuading Perugius.
Orsted had said that was the important part.
It showed just how enormous Perugius's influence over the Asura Kingdom really was.
But how were we supposed to persuade him?
I was pretty sure Perugius had said something once.
I repeated those words aloud:
"'Tell me what the most important quality of a king is—if Ariel can answer that from her own mouth, I will lend you my aid.'"
Ariel's eye twitched.
It was the question she had agonized over and never been able to answer.
"What exactly is the most important quality of a king, I wonder?"
I'd been asked the same thing and given what I'd thought was a decent answer, only to be told it wasn't good enough.
In other words, my answer hadn't been the right one.
If what Orsted told me was true, then a man named Derrick Redbat had supposedly given a similar answer to a similar proposition.
Well, the history was different, and the question might not have been identical.
I should ask about this Derrick fellow.
But how to bring it up without it sounding weird?
I couldn't exactly say I knew who he was.
"Oh, before we discuss that..."
Ariel cut the conversation short and glanced at Silvaria.
"Perugius can hear everything we're saying here—is that all right?"
"...? I imagine he's enjoying the discussion, isn't he?"
"Is it really acceptable to consult with others on a question about what it means to be king..."
Ah, I see.
So a king was supposed to wrestle with these questions alone.
Was that really the case?
I looked at Silvaria, and she gently fluttered the wings on her back.
"Lord Perugius will lend his aid if Princess Ariel arrives at the answer on her own, so long as that answer is correct."
He was, after all, a magnanimous person.
That was the attitude she was giving off.
"So from the start, it would have been fine to consult with someone...?"
"On the contrary, Lord Perugius found it very puzzling that she was tormenting herself alone."
Ariel gave a wry smile at those words.
"Assumptions had been narrowing my options all along..."
She murmured that, then stood up as if to reset her state of mind.
She swept her hair back with both hands, flicked her golden locks in a flash, then clasped her hands together in a big stretch.
She cracked her neck side to side and slapped her cheeks.
Not exactly the gesture you'd expect from a princess.
"Right! Sylphie, Luke. Take your seats."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Understood."
The two of them sat down with obvious enthusiasm, and Nanahoshi's discomfort doubled.
"Then let's begin the meeting."
Ariel spoke with the same confident voice she'd had when we first met.
Should I applaud?
No, better not.
Instead, I raised my hand to speak.
"Before we start, I'd like to get on the same page about something. Is that all right?"
"The same page?"
"Yes. Come to think of it, I don't actually know anything about you, Princess Ariel."
"Well... what would you like to know?"
Ariel blushed slightly, and Sylphie shot me a sharp look.
It wasn't like I was asking for her three measurements.
This was a serious discussion.
"First, I'd like to hear why you want to become queen."
Ariel wanted to become queen.
I'd caught a glimpse of the reason before—something about those who had believed in her and died.
If I followed that thread, the name Derrick should come up.
"I believe I've mentioned it before?"
"Huh? Did you?"
"Yes, at your wedding with Sylphie."
"If you could, I'd like to hear it again."
Ariel answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world:
"Because I cannot face those who believed in me and died unless I become queen."
"I see. Those who believed in you and died...
Would you tell me more about them?"
Ariel smiled gently and tilted her head.
"What does that have to do with the proposition?"
Ah, that was a refusal look.
She didn't want to talk about it.
"I don't know if it's related or not. But to my eyes, it looked as though Lord Perugius was testing you, Princess Ariel. If that's the case, digging into your inner self might help us find a thread to follow."
"I see."
A plausible-sounding answer had come out, though it was a bit of a stretch.
But honestly, I had no idea what it truly meant to be a king.
I'd only ever seen it in some novel or other once.
"A king lives for the people—no, rather, one who guides the people is a king," or something like that.
There was no way I was going to come up with an answer by furrowing my brow over it.
"You're right.
That said, there were many who died.
Especially the thirteen who perished as we fled the Asura Kingdom...
Four knights: Aristea, Karam, Dominic, Cedric.
Three mages: Kevin, Johann, Babette.
Six retainers: Victor, Marsland, Bernadette, Edwina, Florence, Corinne.
I will never forget these thirteen names for as long as I live.
We shared a difficult journey together, fought together, and overcame hardship together.
And every one of them wished for me to become king, and every one of them died."
Huh?
Derrick's name hadn't come up.
That was strange...
Orsted had said he was dead.
Was he not that important to Ariel?
No, if Derrick had survived, the hints might have come from these thirteen.
"Could you tell me about each of them in detail?"
"Of course. It will take some time—is that all right?"
"Not at all. Not a single one was a wasted person."
When I said that, the atmosphere in the room softened ever so slightly.
Ariel smiled, Luke looked surprised, and Sylphie seemed quietly proud.
Only Nanahoshi still looked uncomfortable.
"Very well..."
Ariel spoke slowly, telling the story of all thirteen.
Where they'd grown up, what kind of lives they'd led, how they'd come to meet Ariel.
What they were like, what they loved, what they hated.
What they were proud of.
What conversations they'd had, what made them laugh, what made them angry, what made them cry.
Who was close to whom, who loved whom, who couldn't stand whom.
And how each of them met their end.
Each one had their own drama, each one had been a living, breathing person.
Ariel's account alone was more than enough to convey who each of them had been.
To top it off, Luke and Sylphie chimed in with additional details along the way.
All three of them must have known these thirteen so well that they could each tell roughly the same story.
Even those two maids who weren't present here...
According to future diary entries, Sylphie had followed Ariel because I'd gone downhill.
But even if I hadn't, would Sylphie have ended up following Ariel anyway?
The bond between them was that strong.
A little pang of jealousy.
But they had died for their person.
They had shielded their person with their own lives.
I knew the weight of that all too well.
The fact that Sylphie understood that weight was a good thing.
"That concludes my account."
"I see..."
Unfortunately, nothing in those thirteen stories had sparked any insight about the essential quality of a king.
In a way, I did wonder whether that very bond was the mark of a king.
King Arthur's Round Table was said to have had thirteen seats, after all.
Well, the numbers didn't quite add up if you included the people who'd survived around Ariel too.
"Lord Rudeus, did you discover anything?"
"No... unfortunately."
"I see..."
Ariel let out a quiet sigh.
Silvaria promptly refilled her tea.
I'd had a cup myself midway through the conversation—a tea with a deep aroma and bitterness, with a hint of sweetness. Reminiscent of coffee.
As for Nanahoshi, she'd slipped away to the bathroom at a natural pause in the story and simply never came back.
Hearing how each person died was probably too much for her.
"Now then, what shall we discuss next?"
"Indeed."
I wanted to ask about Derrick Redbat.
I wanted to ask so badly.
But without his name coming up naturally, there was no way to broach the subject.
Should I just throw the name out there and then have Sylphie coordinate with me later?
Asking once was a momentary embarrassment.
While I was deliberating, Ariel suddenly rested her chin on her hand.
"Oh, this is completely unrelated, but something just reminded me of the old days."
"...Oh?"
"Do you remember, Luke? When I was about ten, we used to have tea in the palace garden practically every day."
Sylphie tilted her head, but Luke's eyes softened with nostalgia.
"Yes, though it wasn't every day. At most, perhaps once every three days?"
"Right. Back then, I was being pulled into all sorts of events.
On free mornings, drinking tea in that garden in the sunlight had become a habit.
For me, Luke, and Derrick..."
I didn't let that word slip by.
"Derrick? Who's that?"
"He was Sylphie's predecessor as my guard mage—the son of the Redbat family.
A talented mage, but he died protecting me during the Teleportation Incident."
"Oh... could I hear more about him?"
Derrick's name had finally come up.
He'd died in the Teleportation Incident, just as Orsted had told me.
If he'd been caught up in it, he must have been in the Fittoa Region.
A detailed account of him might open up a breakthrough.
"..."
But Ariel looked surprised, and her mouth fell shut.
"What's wrong?"
"...No, it's just that, thinking back, I just remembered that Derrick's death was the reason I first wanted to become king."
Ariel pressed a hand to her mouth, as if realizing something.
"Could you tell me more about that?"
"Well, 'more' might be a stretch—it was nearly ten years ago.
I've mostly forgotten the details about Derrick..."
"Try to remember."
Ariel took a sip of tea, tucked her chin, and closed her eyes.
She was searching her memory.
She stayed like that for a while, then suddenly opened her eyes.
"Derrick Redbat was my guard mage.
He was always telling me that I should aim to become king."
"Oh."
"Back then, I had no thought of fighting my brothers for the throne,
and honestly, I found Derrick's words rather irritating."
"So you didn't particularly want to become queen at the time."
"No. Drinking tea like this, chatting with Luke about how to lure palace girls into our beds—that was enough for me."
"Nn-nnh?!"
Ten years ago... Ariel was still about ten years old, right?
Luke was about the same age?
Asura Kingdom nobility were... precocious, to say the least.
Well, to each their own.
"Ahem. There were people in the Asura palace who schemed to make me queen, but every single one of them was trying to use me for their own political gain."
Well, I couldn't exactly claim I wasn't one of those people.
"Among them all, Derrick alone was sincere.
I believe he truly and wholeheartedly believed that the kingdom would be better if I became queen.
At least, that's how I see it now..."
"Go on."
Ariel told us about the events that had transpired in the Asura Kingdom.
This was just before Sylphie had been teleported over.
When the Teleportation Incident occurred, Ariel had been having tea in the garden.
Derrick had stepped away to use the restroom, and Luke was the only one there as her escort.
Ariel had been completely unsuspecting—not the slightest thought that monsters might appear.
And monsters teleported right into that garden.
The first to notice was Derrick, who had just returned from the restroom.
He ran toward Ariel while chanting a spell.
The instant he saw the monster, he'd started casting an offensive spell.
But he stopped his incantation and shouted a warning at the top of his lungs.
Thanks to that, Ariel noticed the monster and managed to dodge the first attack.
But the distance was too close.
The monster was right in her face.
Luke was already moving, but it was too late.
That was when Derrick charged in, placing his own body between Ariel and the monster.
And Derrick took the monster's blow head-on, dying instantly.
After that, Sylphie teleported in and defeated the monster—but that was another story.
"If he hadn't stopped his chant, Derrick could have killed the monster and saved his own life..."
"But in that case, Princess Ariel would have died."
"Yes. There's no doubt I would have been killed or severely injured."
Derrick had literally staked his life to protect Ariel.
"Derrick's last words were:
'Please, become a king.'
That was the first time I truly felt in my heart that Derrick's conviction in pushing me toward the throne had been genuine."
Ariel continued:
"And then, facing the advancing monster, facing certain death,
for the first time in my life, I wanted with all my heart to become king—knew that I had to become king—
that I could not afford to die."
Ariel clenched her fist on the table.
Her eyes were wide, fixed on that fist.
"Why did I ever forget something like this... something so important?"
Ariel's shoulders trembled, and she bowed her head in anguish.
Regret.
Regret over having lost sight of her original purpose.
I didn't know what to say.
Neither did Sylphie or Luke.
But without anyone saying a word, Ariel raised her head.
She looked as though a weight had been lifted.
By returning to her original resolve, by remembering the conviction she'd started with, the knot in her heart had come undone.
That was a good thing.
"..."
Still, her story hadn't shed any light on the essential quality of a king.
I felt like I was back to square one.
Maybe I should ask Sylphie and Luke for their thoughts.
"It's a wonderful story, but I'm not sure it relates to the quality of a king... I'm not sure what to make of it..."
"No, Lord Rudeus."
Ariel slowly shook her head at me as I worried.
Her face was radiant, her smile so clear it seemed to shine through.
A smile so beautiful I couldn't help but be captivated.
Looking at me, spellbound, she said:
"I've found the answer."