—Aria wore a look of exasperation, alone in a room within the Rusworth estate.
The reason was simple. Lael had come to the Rusworth estate to deliver a letter. Had that been all, there would have been no problem whatsoever. None at all.
But upon receiving the letter, the queen and mistress of the Rusworth estate, Elza, picked up the gift from Lael with visible delight.
It was a piece of clothing. Saying it was too light to be something a queen would wear might not be the right way to put it, but it was closer in style to what the women in Baim tended to wear.
It was far too casual for a queen. Aria had her doubts about Lael's choice, but Elza, who had accepted it, looked genuinely thrilled. She was trying to hide how flustered she was, but she looked ready to slip her arms through the sleeves at any moment.
"Ah, sorry about that. I keep making you prepare gifts for me."
Elza's face was flushed, and she wasn't putting on her usual icy composure. She looked like a lovestruck maiden.
It was awkward for Aria to watch.
But Lael, seemingly oblivious to any of that, spoke to Elza with a bright smile.
"When I stopped by Baim, I asked around about what was in fashion. As for the size, I got that from Novem, so I don't think there should be any issues. Ah, I didn't ask about the size myself, by the way. I just took the note, handed it to the shopkeeper, and picked up the clothes."
He'd thought of everything. Aria's exasperated expression was understandable—she couldn't help but think that if he were this attentive all the time, things would be a lot easier.
Elza picked up the clothing.
"W-will it suit me? I've always admired this kind of thing, but I've never actually worn…."
Lael smiled.
"I'm sure it will. Though, unfortunately, I'll need to leave right away. Next time I visit, let me know what you think. Ah, it'd also be nice to see you wearing it."
Aria's cheek twitched, wondering how words like that could just roll so effortlessly off his tongue. As someone who knew the everyday Lael, she almost couldn't believe this was the same person.
Elza's cheeks flushed as she mumbled, "O-okay. Next time you come…." and looked down.
Aria felt it was all so silly, but watching over Elza as her bodyguard was still her job. Novem was in a separate room handling paperwork and wasn't here.
"R-right! I need to write a letter! I'll write my reply quickly, so just wait a little!"
Elza carefully placed the clothes on her desk, then picked up a pen and pulled paper from a drawer.
Riel watched her with a smile.
Aria approached Riel.
"Oh? Planning to win over Elza next?"
Despite Aria's sharp words, Riel's smile didn't falter. However, Aria sensed, just for a moment, that Riel was smiling while struggling with something. And he looked a little lonely.
"You can tell? I don't need to win her over or anything, but I do want to get along. Oh right — I have a souvenir for you too, Aria."
With that, Riel pressed something into Aria's palm.
When Aria looked at it...
"...Hey, are you treating me like a kid with candy or something? Even Shannon wouldn't get excited over this."
What had been placed in her palm was candy — wrapped in paper, three pieces in total.
Riel rested his chin in his hand.
"Hm? When I gave some to Galleria, she was pretty happy about it. That girl's pretty simple, you know."
Aria could easily imagine Shannon getting excited over candy, and she pressed her fingers to her forehead.
"Yeah, she would be, wouldn't she. My mistake... No! Why is my souvenir candy?!"
When Aria shouted, Elza looked up from her letter and glanced over at the two of them. Then Riel told Elza it was nothing and got her to go back to writing her letter.
"Keep it down, will you? That stuff's actually good. And it's expensive too."
Apparently it was quite popular, and for candy, the price was said to be two to three times higher than normal. Even Aria...
"Wait, really? Then I guess I'll have one... Ah, it's actually delicious."
Aria, who had been looking displeased just moments before, managed to recover her smile over three pieces of candy —.
—Elza's letter.
"It has been a while."
"We have been exchanging correspondence more frequently than before, and relations between both countries are progressing smoothly."
"I hear there is not much difference in climate between here and there, but we have been having many hot days lately. Please take great care of your health."
"Also, I delivered my thanks to Lord Laiel for the cream from before. I hope he was pleased to receive it."
"Now, regarding the main matter — as expected, there are those in Rusworth who fear punishment and are fervently hoping for war so they can prove their innocence on the battlefield. With the prime minister gone, I believe all lines of communication with the Galleria lords have been cut off, so it would be wise to remain vigilant."
"We are planning to mobilize in two weeks. The numbers will be less than half of last time —"
— A letter from Gracia.
"Last time, I received the honey. I tried it spread on bread, and it was exquisite. I heard it is a Rusworth specialty, and that honey is truly delicious. My younger brother said it was good, too."
"As for the main matter, we are ready at any time. The lords are desperately trying to scrape together arms and armor, but merchants from Baim have apparently been coming and buying everything up at high prices."
"According to Lord Laiel, those are surplus stocks left over from the previous defensive battle."
"Also, regarding the timing —"
— A letter from Elza.
"Recently, I have taken an interest in someone."
"However, when I asked a friend about it, it turns out he is already seeing multiple women. Apparently the count is nearly in the double digits now. Should I give up on this romance?"
— A letter from Gracia.
"What a coincidence. I have also taken an interest in someone."
"My friend vouches that he has the means to support multiple women."
"Besides, my brother admires him, so I have been thinking lately that it might work out, in a personal sense."
"Oh, by the way — my brother will be seeing his first battle in the next war, so I would appreciate it if you could show him some consideration."
— A letter from Elza.
"That is wonderful news."
"Capability, you say? Indeed, a man's capability is important."
"Also, regarding the matter of your brother — it would be unnatural for me to handle it directly, so would it be alright if I instructed my subordinates to have them charge into your brother's camp? After the clash, we would time our own attack so that both sides pull back."
— A letter from Gracia.
"Capability is important, isn't it? With a title to his name, the other lords should accept it."
"If that doesn't work, I'm also considering a show of force."
"Also, regarding the younger brother — Lord Rael says it will be difficult. Given that both sides are eager to claim credit, I think we should limit it to having them pull back and expose him to the atmosphere of the battlefield."
"I can't do this anymore~ I don't want to work."
Collapsed over my desk, I had been spending my days shuttling frantically between Galleria, Rusworth, Rolfis, and Baim.
Perhaps because of that, my body's exhaustion had reached its peak. Despite how terrible a state I was in, May was in high spirits.
At the house we used as a base in Rolfis's village, May was eating bread drizzled with honey — a souvenir from Rusworth.
The Fifth Generation was watching from inside the Jewel as she stuffed her cheeks, eating with obvious delight. No doubt he had a lovestruck look on his face.
"Man, she's great, isn't she? So soothing. I wish I could feed her even more."
With me this exhausted and unable to move, the atmosphere inside the Jewel was subdued. The Third Generation, who was usually the mood-maker, was lacking his usual energy.
Rather than lacking energy, he seemed to be deep in thought about various things. Mireia was only interacting with the Seventh Generation — was she now just watching the Fifth Generation's lovestruck demeanor?
"I mean, doting like that in front of his daughter, with a young child right there — it's a little..."
The Seventh Generation said, laughing.
"She's not exactly at the age of a daughter anymore. Ahahaha — hah!"
A gunshot rang out from inside the Jewel, but it was the same old pattern, so I stayed slumped over my desk without moving.
Stuffing the last piece of bread into her mouth, May clapped her hands to brush off the crumbs and looked my way.
"Laiel, are you still not feeling well? You're supposed to fight at Rusworth the day after tomorrow, aren't you? More importantly, you haven't even eaten."
I looked at the honey-drizzled bread sitting on my desk.
"...I don't need it. I'm not hungry, so go ahead and eat it, May. And no, I definitely don't need it. Why do I have to go to the battlefield? I didn't take the job, and there's no payment. If anything, I'm borrowing money from Vera to go fight out there."
From inside the Jewel, I could hear Mireia-san's giggling.
"Really, that Laiel — making his own woman fund him just so he can spoil some other girl. What a scumbag."
Glad she's having fun. But if I just sit here and listen, I sound like the worst person alive. No, I probably am the worst. Actually, yeah — I definitely am.
May picked up my bread and took a big bite.
"If Laiel doesn't go, we can't move. We need you to give orders. There's a lot to coordinate between both sides, right? Besides, that little brother of yours was really worried about you."
The "little brother" she mentioned must be Leold.
I appreciated that he looked up to me, but apparently, whenever Leold's innocent eyes were staring at the Successive Heads, they felt unbearable guilt. He was someone they'd rather avoid, apparently. So the Successive Heads did have consciences after all — I was re-confirming that.
After all, while both Galleria and Rusworth were being rebuilt, our plan was to earn their gratitude so they'd fight for us.
They weren't cooperating out of goodwill.
"...Ugh, I'm the worst. The worst kept man alive. Fine, let's have Novem and the others do the fighting on the battlefield. Seriously, being a kept man is fine. Actually, I don't want to do anything at all — that's what being a kept man is about. Right now, I feel like I could become a kept man nobody could beat."
Then, from inside the Jewel, the Seventh Generation spoke up in shock.
"What on earth is wrong with you, Laiel! You were so motivated just a few days ago, and now suddenly you're spouting nothing but pathetic nonsense!"
The Fifth Generation was also taken aback by what I'd said.
"You, saying something like that right when the Fourth Generation vanished..."
The Third Generation, however, stayed silent. Mireia-san had a somewhat ambiguous air about her.
"Perhaps you pushed yourself too hard and burned out? Well, you did overdo it a bit. Some rest and recovery should fix things right up. You'll go back to your usual self in no time."
I could hear everyone's exasperated voices, but more than anything, my body refused to cooperate — I didn't have the energy to move, let alone argue.
The sensation of having no strength in this body, and the complete lack of motivation to do anything — energy just wouldn't come.
This had never happened to me before.
"Sigh… I just want to be supported by Novem and the others now."
May said, eating my bread.
"Wow, this is really bad."
She stared at me as she said it. Back at the house, the Valkyries from Number One through Number Three watched me from behind cover with blank expressions, their eyes fixed on me unblinkingly.
What do I do… I don't even have the energy to tell them to stop.
——Several days later.
At the border between Galleria and Rusworth, both armies had deployed with a modest but noticeable number of troops.
The two trump cards of each army — the Valkyries Gracia and Elza — were stationed to the rear, and the units that were typically positioned in the back had now moved forward, facing off against each other across the field.
In the midst of this tense standoff, inside the command tent of the Galleria army, Gracia's heart fluttered at the sight of her younger brother.
The armor he had ordered from Baim had arrived, and its craftsmanship was flawless, with elaborate ornamentation to boot.
Leord, clad in the unfamiliar armor, spoke up.
"I heard you won't be taking the field this time, sister, but are you truly sure about that?"
Gracia herself was also equipped with her combat gear, and nearby, a lance fitted with a large shielded grip lay horizontally on a stand.
"No problem. This time, we're just going to clash lightly and pull back. Starting this winter, I'll be counting on you to fight in earnest, so there shouldn't be any major wars for a while."
From the very beginning, both sides had prepared to deploy their traitors against each other. Once the traitors had been weakened and withdrawn, both armies would suffer a significant loss of strength.
The problem that had plagued them for years was finally resolved within the last few months, and Gracia was in high spirits.
Inside the tent where the siblings stood, Miranda was stationed at their side as their guard, and Shannon was there as well, assisting Miranda.
Shannon tugged on Miranda's sleeve.
"You can spoil me just a little, you know, big sis."
Miranda smiled and gave Shannon a flick on the forehead.
"Save the nonsense for your dreams, Shannon. Now then, honestly, it wouldn't be strange for Laiel to come over to our side… but I suppose with Monika here, they must have planned to stay on that side from the start."
The one who overheard Miranda's remark was Leold, who admired Laiel.
"Laiel will be coming?"
Shannon bobbed her head up and down.
"That was the original plan, actually. But I told them there wasn't really a need."
Leold replied,
"Is that so… That's a little disappointing."
He gave a bitter smile. It seemed he had wanted Laiel to witness his debut performance up close. Sensing her younger brother's feelings,
"…Wouldn't it be fine for him to participate on our side, at least a little?"
Gracia said something to that effect—.
In Rusworth's tent, Aria was shouting at Monika, who had brought a homemade lunch over from Galleria.
"Monika! What on earth were you thinking?!"
Monika then displayed a function unnecessary for an Automaton — welling tears up in her eyes.
"But! Because that Chicken was moping around without eating or doing anything! I was worried about his nutritional balance, really worried! I wanted to bring him Monika's special bento!"
Aria grabbed the left side of Monika's twin tail and told her to go back immediately.
"That doesn't matter! It's a hassle dealing with things when you're not over there! Even with the Valkyries around…"
As long as there were mass-produced Valkyries, the line of communication could be maintained, allowing Laiel to gather information. That had been the plan, at least.
Monika turned her gaze away from Aria.
"...Hey."
"That's not me! It wasn't me! Those guys were mumbling in their sleep about how if I was over there, they must be over here, and..."
The Automatons had started acting on their own ever since Laiel's poor condition came to light, and Aria was getting a headache over it.
That was when Elza, who had been inside the tent, started fidgeting. Today, unlike usual, she was wearing specially made combat attire. She seemed to be looking forward to seeing Laiel.
"H-He should have arrived by now, right? Then I should go visit him as well..."
Aria held up a hand to stop her.
"Novem has gone to pick him up, so please be patient. Besides, if you don't show your face here, the others will start to wonder—"
Before Aria could finish, Monica freed her twin tails from Aria's grip and stood up. Then she gave a beautiful bow.
"Welcome home, Master. ...How about that? A flawless performance, right, Chicken?"
It seemed Laiel had entered the tent.
When Aria looked toward the entrance, she was struck speechless.
Laiel was radiant. With a fresh, bright smile, he looked nothing like someone who had collapsed not long ago. He turned to Monica.
"That's the spirit — ready to welcome me anywhere... Monica, I'll give you a hundred points."
Aria immediately realized this wasn't the usual Laiel. She shifted her gaze to Novem, who was standing just behind and to the side of him. Novem hung her head and shook it slightly.
"A hundred points! A hundred points for this Monica? Wait — that's not the ceiling of a thousand-point scale, is it?"
Laiel flicked his blue hair back with the tips of his right-hand fingers.
"Don't be ridiculous — a hundred out of a hundred. And I'll even throw in a star sticker for good measure."
Watching Laiel like that, Monica began to tremble and rattle.
"He's back! My Chicken has come back... It's FEVER TIME!!"
Ignoring Monica as she let out a thunderous shout inside the tent, Aria buried her face in both hands.
"...Why are you always like this when it really matters?"
Novem nodded at Aria's words.
"When I went to pick him up, it was already too late... All we can do is try to muddle through as best we can."
Aria despaired, Novem gave up, and Monica began doing a little dance. As Laiel started cackling loudly, only Elza remained seated in her chair, unable to make sense of the situation——