135 CHAPTER XVIII -- REPORTING & GOOD WORK MEETING (2/2)

'Is it a kingdom: ....... Is the kingdom going to seriously go to war?　Maybe, but you can't win if the kingdom wages war on the Empire, can you?

I've heard that kingdoms are declining in power because the royals are rushing into private interests?

Yes, but that was when the Philibert family was on our side. But that was when House Philibert was on our side. Normally, I would ask for reinforcements from other houses while House Philibert held off the kingdom near the border, but next time I won't be able to do that. They won't fight at the fort and will come towards the imperial capital before reinforcements from other houses arrive in time.

'I see. ....... Sure, that's a tough one. Okay. I'll give it some thought.

Wow~ . Instead of being drawn into the war, we've been dragged into the heart of it.

This is something we need to deal with sooner rather than later.

Yes, please.

So I'll just go ahead and see what I can do. I'm going to go home to meet my friends.

Yeah, Sherry told me. I heard it's a farewell party for exams.

Yes. I've been studying hard all year.

'I'm sure you will. I've already received your scores in my ears, Leo, and I think you can look forward to it.

Oh, that's great news.

Really?　Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me.

Yeah, I'll see you later.

I bowed to the Emperor and then I moved into the house.

I'm home.

Welcome home!

Welcome home. You've made it to the Count at last. Congratulations.

When I got home, I was greeted by Sherry and Leena.

”Thank you. Is everyone here already?

Yeah. Take a seat and I'll be waiting for you.

Copy that. It's been a long time since I've seen that guy.

It's been almost two months.

Hey. How you been?

Oh, Leo. Long time.

'Master!　I've been fine!

Good to see that Frank and Hermann are still the same guy from two months ago.

Yeah, it's good to see you both looking good. Well, let's have a good time and enjoy the farewell party.

Then we took our seats and the food began to arrive.

The first thing that came out was suddenly dragon food.

They wanted us to eat it first, where our tongues weren't affected by any tastes.

Wow~. From the smell, it's absolutely delicious. Leo, is this the new dragon dish you were writing about?

The dragon is like a steak.

They spent two months researching grilling time and what sauce to use with the meat.

I've never seen it before and it looks really good. Well, let's eat.

”...

They all took a bite and then continued to eat in silence.

And in the blink of an eye, there were no more dragon steaks.

Yeah, it was really good. I'll have to thank Sam later.

You're the former sous-chef of the Forster family.

'It's even better than the last time you cooked a dragon.

''You're a master chef!

They all loved the dragon dishes.

I'm glad you liked it.

Thank you. So what did Frank and Hermann do over the holidays?　Are you back at home?

''No, if I was back at my parents' house, my vacation would be ruined just by moving around, so I was practicing my magic at the Teito's house.

I used to practice swordsmanship with my brother at Teito's house.

Yeah, it's true that without a transference like I have, it takes a lot longer to get around.

So let's just go home.

You two are so serious. Let's see how strong you've gotten.

'Look forward to it!　I beat my brother, who was my idol, for the first time last time.

Was Herman's brother the one who joined the Order of the Empire?

I heard that he's the only one besides Hermann who can do non-attribute magic among the brothers.

Hey, that's great. Can't wait for swordsmanship class.

Yes!

Really, you guys are so close. Speaking of which, is Hermann going to join the Order of Leo?

'What?　What is the Order?!

Shelley's words were biting off a lot of steam from Hermann.

'Well, ...... that's going to be a long story, so we'll talk about it later. I'll explain it to you slowly in Frank's room after school starts.

Let's just enjoy it now. You know, talking about the war makes the food no better.

Okay, sure. ......

Hey!　Why is this my room?!

Well, all right. Wouldn't you rather hear a story from my land?

Well, well, ......

I want to hear it!

Okay. Okay, I'll explain it to you then: ......

Then, over dessert, we talked about my territory reform.

Yeah, it's nice to have friends from school that I can talk to casually.