In a room in the royal palace of the Hydra Kingdom that is used for the
most extensive and important purposes.
This room, with a huge round table in the center, is where the council
meeting, which plays a large part in the government of the country, is
held.
The Hydra Kingdom has a parliamentary system, and the members
elected by the people are assembled here by vote.
Eight members are from the nobility, eight from the merchants and
commoners, and with the addition of the king, there were 17 people
within this room that are discussing various national issues on a daily
basis.
The people's vote lasts until the Festival of Heroes, which means that
the members present here have been in office for at least nine years.
Even though the members of the parliament are accustomed to this
kind of situation, they looked very nervous today.
The reason for this is obvious… It was because the Supreme God, Fate,
who rarely visits the Human Realm is sitting next to the King… or even
just the fact that she's here in this place.
[…Well then, how about we get started?]
[Yes.]
[If possible, I would be glad if we could move forward with the matters
involving the God Realm first?]
[I respectfully obey… In regards to the events that will take place in
various places with the incoming Light month…]
With Shea and Heart behind her, Fate's eyes were cold to the point that
chills ran down the spines of those who participated in the council
meeting, and her nonchalant voice holds no emotion at all.
Sweating under the tremendous pressure, King Hydra spoke the first
item on the agenda, and the King's subordinates, who were waiting on
standby in the room, handed out the materials to Fate and the council
members.
The first thing that came up on the agenda was the events for the
incoming Light month… The festivals within Hydra Kingdom that would
take place before the Festival of Heroes.
In the year of the Festival of Heroes, festivals are held in many parts of
the world, and even in the Hydra Kingdom, the number of festivals is
huge if you include the ones in small villages.
And the organizers of those festivals… to put it simply, they want to
invite the Gods to their festivals. Just their participation is enough to
make the name of their festival glitter in gold, so almost all of the
organizers of the festivals were asking if the Gods could attend theirs.
Originally, it was delivered to the low-ranking Gods who stayed in
various parts of the Hydra Kingdom, and after being checked by the
high-ranking Gods, the Supreme God, Fate, would make the final
decision.
However, since Fate has personally come to this place now, she will give
her responses to these requests here and now.
Fate slowly picks up the materials placed in front of her, and with the
eyes of the senators focused on her, she slightly lifts the stack of paper,
which must have been composed of a hundred sheets, with one hand
and releases her grip.
The material that fell from Fate's hand mysteriously returns to the
table, dropped straight down on the table, without a single piece of
paper disrupted from its order.
[…I give my approval for the 4th, 9th, 13th, 25th, 41st, from number 52
to 56, 76th, and 92nd request. God of Disasters, assign people to each
respective places.]
[Hahh…]
[Other than that, I don't feel that it is necessary for the Gods to
participate. If they really want to invite the Gods that much, tell them to
rework their proposals and submit it again… However, regarding #66
and #80, their outlines are too unrealistic. Tell them to review it from
scratch.]
[…Y- Yes. Thank you very much. We will do as you will.]
Fate had looked over all the documents in the few seconds just now,
and in response to the festivals that she would grant permission for, she
pulled out a form and gave it to the high-ranking God, Shea.
Moreover, the forms were already signed by Fate and it was already
completed as a document.
[…Then, next. Show me a list of all the citizens of the Hydra Kingdom
who have been blessed by anyone other than the low-ranking Gods
residing in the Hydra Kingdom.]
[Y- Yes!]
[…God of Disasters, give me the reports that you were about to submit
to me in the God Realm.]
[Here.]
As if to say she wasn't going to waste her time, Fate immediately moved
on to the next case… Supplementing the report about the people who
received blessings, she compared the report she received from the
Kingdom with the report to the God Realm.
[…There are three cases that were omitted from the list here. Two were
received in the Symphonia Kingdom, while the other was received in
the Archlesia Empire.]
[T- That is… Please excuse our incompetence.]
[It's fine, it's not like it's that bad… I've already checked these, so you
should validate and revise these by tomorrow… Can you do that?]
[Y- Yes! By all means!!!]
The senators and the King were silent as if completely overwhelmed by
the sigh of Fate's figure, who was dealing with one job after another
with terrifying speed.
This sight before them was a true testament to how out of the norm the
Supreme Gods are…
[…Well then, regarding the Festival of Heroes… About the rotation of
the Gods staying in the Hydra Kingdom. Where's the draft?]
[Omnomnom… Pfuaahhh~~ That was quite sumptuous!]
[T- That's great then.]
What's left in front of me now is what's left over after Alice finishes
eating… Piles of skewers and wooden plates stacked up like towers…
This woman seriously ate all of it.
N- No matter how I look at it, isn't that strange? The volume of the food
she ate obviously outweighs the size of Alice's body… W- Well, we're
talking about Alice here, so I guess it can't be helped?
[W- Well, anyway, with this… I guess we'll go on a date right after we get
back to the Symphonia Kingdom?]
[Okey-dokey~~! Well~~ It's been a long time since I ate lots of food~~
Alice-chan is satisfied.]
[I- I see… Wait, oi, oi, Alice.]
[…Ehh?]
Just when I was wryly smiling, looking at Alice with a satisfied smile on
her face, I saw that the corners of Alice's mouth were a bit dirty.
Well, if she's that greedy in devouring all the food earlier, her mouth
will certainly get dirty too. She's really a troublesome fellow.
Thinking about this, I took out a handkerchief and wiped Alice's mouth.
[Fuehh!? Mnguuh!?]
[Come on, stay still.]
[Nyaahhh!? K- K- K- Kaito-san!?]
[No, like I said, don't move…]
[I- I can wipe it myself! I said I can wipe it myseeeelllfff!?]
As I wipe her mouth, Alice flaps her hands around in an unusually
flustered manner.
When I put away my hand after overcoming her resistance, Alice looks
at me with her face bright red.
[…W- W- W- Well then, I will be g- g- going back to guarding you!!!]
[Ahh, wait!?]
And thus, she disappeared in the blink of an eye, and even when I called
out to her, she didn't respond.
Eh? Arehh? Could it be that she felt embarrassed? It might be the first
time I've seen Alice act like that other than that time she took off her
mask.
How should I say this… Seeing Alice's unexpected side, or rather, her
adorable side, I suddenly felt a smile leak out of my lips.
After that, I started walking again to head towards the inn.
As I go through the busy street, the scenery gradually changes to a
shopping street with a calm atmosphere.
It seems that there are many clothing stores around here, as I could see
many show windows like things here and there, where beautiful
dresses and high-quality clothing are displayed.
Come to think of it, I remembered Alice once said that the clothing
culture is developing in the Hydra Kingdom, so perhaps, there are many
shops like that around this area.
As I walked around, peeking into a few shops, slowly heading towards
the inn…
[…Arehh? Could it be… If it isn't Miyama-san!?]
[…Eh?]
When I heard my name being called, I turned around to see a young
man with black hair a short distance away, waving his hand at me.
The young man, who was wearing glasses and had a refreshing smile on
his face, has a well-groomed face that seems to be a combination of
childishness and maturity. It feels as if I've seen him somewhere
though… Though it also feels like I didn't…
[…Hello, it's quite unexpected that I would meet you here. Do you
remember me?]
[…E- Errr…]
The young man runs up to me with a bright smile on his face and lightly
bows his head to greet me.
If I were asked if I'm familiar with him… I feel like he is. I feel like he's
familiar but… I can connect his appearance with anyone I know.
He had his face, but I don't know if I could say it like the atmosphere
around him is different… Or perhaps, like a child who has become an
adult… But anyway, this young man is…
[…C- Could you be "Mitsunaga-kun"?]
[Yes! It's been a while!]
[E- Eeeehhhh!?]
I was right!? He's Mitsunaga-kun!? Didn't he change too much since the
last time I saw him!?
I- I mean, this might be a bad way of saying this, but the Mitsunaga-kun
I know was one of those people who study liberal arts, with their backs
always hunched over… Just like a good boy you can find among the
typical high schoolers… but when I saw him again, he had changed into
a refreshing, sporty ikemen.
N- No, no, it isn't just on the level of how boys apparently change if you
don't see them for three days, you know!? Eh? Is he really Mitsunagakun? This ikemen whose existence screams out riajuu? He's Mitsunagakun!? Seriously!?
…W- What the heck happened… in these last 5+ months?
Dear Mom, Dad——- In the Hydra Kingdom, I was reunited with
Mitsunaga-kun, who happened to be summoned to this world with me.
No, it's true that I was worried about Mitsunaga-kun, and meeting him
like this was a nice coincidence but… When we met again, Mitsunagakun—- had turned into a far greater ikemen than before.