Chapter 47 - Vesteria Kingdom and Elite Guard [10] (2/2)

After Allen and Ria left, Gris heaved a loud sigh amidst the quiet throne room.

「Damn, I should have made a more direct『set-up』… Remember, Allen-Rodore…! At the next opportunity, it will be not explosive chemicals but explosive powder…!」

He, who was boiling in anger towards Allen, slammed his fist onto the throne.

When Claude saw his bad temper, she spoke as though squeezing out the words from the bottom of her stomach.

「…I am very sorry, Your Majesty. This blunder despite being the captain of Ria-sama’s personal elite guards …I will accept any punishment.」

After seeing Claude, who hung down her head, Gris asked a question which had been puzzling him for a while now.

「Claude. Just what happened at that moment? In my eyes, it looked like you made a poor decision and self-destructed…」

He asked about the reason why Claude, who was in an absolute dominant situation, suddenly decided to blow herself up with〈Avio Troop〉.

Then Claude started with,「It may sound like an excuse, but…」and then she said it clearly.

「Regarding that decision – it was the absolute best decision.」

「Fumu… continue.」

「If I had made the wrong decision and tried to cut down Allen-Rodore… I probably would have been – No, I definitely would’ve been killed.」

Gris widened his eyes at the unexpected remark that came out of her mouth.

「W-What do you mean? Explain it in detail!」

「Yes! The moment when my sword was just about to cut him, his spirit core, which I didn’t feel even the slightest sign of during the match, emerged out to the surface for a brief moment. A man with a ferocious face and white hair – even now, just remembering it, sends chills down my spine. That thing – Allen-Rodore’s spirit core, is a genuine monster…」

Her pressing voice echoed loudly throughout the throne room.

「Nuu… A spirit core that even you judged as such… I don’t care even if it’s your personal opinion. How would rate it’s『rank』?」

Claude, who was asked so, indecisively spoke with a heavy tone.

「…Even at minimum, I think it would be at the same rank as Ria-sama’s Fafnir.」

「D-Do you mean the same as the current sealed state? Or the same as the『Awakened Fafnir』?!」

「…The same rank as Awakened Fafnir.」

Gris stood up and raised his voice in panic.

「R-Ridiculous!? That kind of spirit core in a brat like that…!? Claude, you must be mistaken!」

「Your Majesty… It’s very difficult to say this, but it’s the same class as Fafnir at the very minimum. And it most likely, exceeds Fafnir.」

「…!? That’s not a joke or a lie, right!?」

「Yes…」

From Claude’s serious look, Gris understood that it was all true.

「No way, such a thing…」

He sat down deeply on the throne, murmuring something.

「…Which reminds me, wasn’t it Leia who leaked the love relationship between that guy and Ria?」

「Yes, that is so.」

Gris then put his hand on his chin and thought about it.

「I see… so this was all devised by that girl!」

「……?」

Unable to comprehend the intention of the remark, Claude silently tilted her head.

「She purposely leaked the information to provoke me, and gave a warning in the form of Allen-Rodore! What a nasty move…」

Gris grumbled while gritting his teeth strongly.

(Damn, just how much has she grasped…!? If I make a smart move, can I pull Allen-Rodore to our side? Or is he already Leia’s puppet? In any case, we have to speed up our plans…)

「Anyway – as long as they have a Fafnir class spirit core, we need to strengthen our national defenses too!」

「It is as Your Majesty says.」

「What about the mission given to the Royal Guard Knights?」

「Yes! According to the report I received earlier, the production plant of Spirit Pill found within Vesteria Kingdom has been destroyed!」

「What of the mastermind, the Black Organization?」

「Unfortunately, the plant was already deserted… The whereabouts of the Black Organization, which is the mastermind behind the large-scale manufacturing of spirit pill, have not been grasped at all.」

「Nuu… so those guys got away…」

Gris clicked his tongue loudly, and immediately changed his mind and gave the next order.

「…Well, that doesn’t matter. Two people… No, three people should return to Vesteria Castle and the rest will continue to pursue the Black Organization.」

「Yes, understood!」

Claude, who received Gris’ command, immediately moved into action.

Gris, who was the only one left in the wide throne room, sank into his thoughts while massaging his goatee.

「A spirit core of Fafnir class… Allen-Rodore, is that guy possibly… No, I’m overthinking it…」

■

After the meeting with His Majesty, I finally got out of the throne room and was able to take a breath of relief.

「Fuu, we were saved… We have to thank Claude-san.」

If she had reported our master-servant relationship… It would have been a more troublesome situation.

However,

「Uun, she seems to have been blowing half-truths to my father’s ears… so I can’t honestly thank her…」

Ria didn’t seem to be very convinced, and she was complaining a little with her arms folded.

「Ahaha, that’s quite harsh.」

「Like I said, Allen is a little too kind, aren’t you? …Although, that is also a good thing.」

While chatting as such, we temporarily stepped out of the castle.

And then,

「N-Nee… Allen. Father thinks of us… as lovers, right…?」

Ria timidly asked me.

「Judging from the earlier discussion, it would seem to be so.」

「If that’s the case, then… if we don’t do something that normal lovers do… Don’t you think it would be a little suspicious?」

「… I see, you are right.」

As soon as I nodded,

「R-Right!?」

For some reason, she said with a sense of joy.

「A-Aa… But, what is it that lovers normally do?」

It’s not something I’m proud to admit publicly, but I’ve never dated a woman before.

In fact, I made friends of the same age, regardless of gender, for the first time after entering Thousand Blade Academy.

「A-Actually, I have a good idea… will you hear me out?」

「Aa. I’m all ears.」

Then, for some reason, she took a deep breath and adjusted her breathing.

And then,

「U-Umm… shall we go out on a date…?」

Ria blushed and said with a smile.