Chapter 205: At the side of the sleeping priestess (1/2)

“…Right. I didn’t meet the Emperor in Gritonia, but I have already met the King of Limia…so I should have known.”

After returning to the guest room that was given to us, a sigh and a reflection leaked out.

My head was heavy as if something was weighing down on it.

It was a sensation as if I had been studying for a long period of time, and I stopped my concentration for a bit.

We did an audience with the Limia king, and had a talk with nobles(that were probably influential).

The moment we came to this country, I was already prepared to have talks with nobles, but in Gritonia, the only ones I met were the princess and the hero, so at a corner of my mind, I thought that maybe I won’t be meeting the king.

It seems like with the excuse of having saved them at Rotsgard, they began an audience as their thanks.

Personally, I wanted to go visit the priestess-san that had suddenly collapsed, but in that part, they politely refused.

I was bothered by it, but I had no choice but to ask Mio and Lime grasp her state.

Thanks to my experience in the audience with the Demon Lord, I was somehow able to overcome it, but the number of nobles that came to talk later were more than I expected, and it made me abnormally tired.

I spoke a bit with prince Joshua,and after that, I thought that Hibiki-senpai had various things to talk about as well, but to my surprise, she didn’t show up.

And there’s also the Hopelace household.

The feudal lord said that he would be waiting for me in the capital, but I had a bad feeling about actually meeting him.

He was calm and told me about the opinions of other nobles, so in the surface, he had a cooperative atmosphere, but…

At times, he directed unpleasant eyes at me.

That’s what I felt.

I don’t think it was my imagination, and I felt like the nobles that were close to him also directed a good amount of those gazes.

There were several times when I felt like they were keeping each other in check, and it might be just as the rumors say that the Limia nobles are ridden in political strifes.

For now, in the talks of today, there was not a single topic about having the Kuzunoha Company placing a store.

There’s plenty possibility that in the Merchant Guild of this country and the nobles there has already been some sort of talk between them. This is the guess of Lime, but I think that’s correct.

“Good work, Waka-sama.” (Mio)

“Good work, Boss.” (Lime)

Mio and Lime; the two of them were in the room and welcomed me.

“I am back~. Senpai was not there, but the talk with the king and the nobles was incredibly tiring.” (Makoto)

“About the priestess that Waka-sama was worried about, it seems like she saw an hallucination because of overwork.” (Mio)

“Yeah, right now there’s nothing wrong and is calmly sleeping.” (Lime)

“So she was tired to the point of seeing hallucinations…a girl as small as that… Senpai must be worried as well.” (Makoto)

I feel like being in the hero party of the Limia Kingdom is a very successful career, but is it an exhausting job?

It seems like Senpai is standing at the frontlines in the war with the demon race, so maybe it is a given.

In this world, kids are working as if it was natural after all.

“Also, a messenger came and said that prince Joshua is waiting for you. It is not urgent, so after you have made your arrangements, he wanted you to tell the people that are at the corridor.” (Lime)

“…Hey Mio.” (Makoto)

“What is it-desu ka?” (Mio)

“About the priestess-san, I feel like she collapsed when she saw you and I though. You didn’t do anything, right?” (Makoto)

“I haven’t done anything-desu wa. In the first place, from all those people, she was the only one that ended up like that, you know? Even if it is me, I wouldn’t go out of my way to target my spell at a small girl.” (Mio)

“…Right, sorry.” (Makoto)

“It is not something to apologize for. In the first place…” (Mio)

“Hm?” (Makoto)

“Waka-sama, Lime, and I haven’t done anything, so the reason should be on the other side. If that girl was trying to do something to us and ended up in that way, even if she is a girl, it just means she got her just desserts. Whatever the case, it is not something that merits Waka-sama to be troubled over.” (Makoto)

Mio was laughing gently.

When she is with Tomoe and I, she normally acts emotionally, so this is unusual.

She seems to have a lot of composure, and how to say it, she looks calm.

I felt that in this journey I would be depending on Lime, but Mio’s beginning to look like a dependable person.

The Arkes show remarkable growth, but maybe Mio is like that as well.

I don’t think there will be that many complicated talks and decisions in Limia, but if that time comes, I am happy that there are two people I can rely on.

“That girl might have done something, huh. She is a priestess-san, so does she have a special sense or something, Lime?” (Makoto)

“Somewhat… Uhm…I think she is proficient at seeing the essence of someone when she sees them.” (Lime)

“Essence… more mysterious sounding stuff. From what I saw in her gaze, she didn’t look like she saw my Magic Armor, so is it the type that sees things that other people don’t?” (Makoto)

“…Yeh.” (Lime)

“Maybe I should try asking her when I visit her. It would be bad to make the Prince-sama wait, so I will be leaving soon. Ah, there’s no need to stay house-sitting. It is fine if you just return by evening.” (Makoto)

“If that’s the case, Waka-sama, I will go meet Hibiki-desu wa. I will be asking about the visit to the priestess in detail.” (Mio)

“Mio alone?” (Makoto)

Senpai and Mio.

Even if we are inside the castle, it makes me slightly uneasy.

“Then I will be taking Lime with me. It seems like there was a period of time when he was with Hibiki’s group in Lorel after all. Is it okay? We haven’t confirmed if it’s okay to go outside, so if possible, it would be better to receive permission for it first, and it would be better to take care of the business that can be done within the castle.” (Mio)

“…Yeah, I am counting on you.” (Makoto)

What with this? She is really reliable.

Did Mio evolve?

There was no notice of it.

It is true that we haven’t confirmed if it’s okay to leave outside.

This is bad.

I was thinking that it would be okay since those two can easily go outside without being discovered by the people of the castle.

It should be better to receive permission for going outside in terms of order huh.

I let it slip by.

“Go do it.” (Makoto)

“Yeah, I will.” (Mio)

I still had a sliver of uneasiness in my head, but I leave the room to head to where prince Joshua is, and tell the guards that were standing there about my intentions.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“Well then, let’s go meet Hibiki, Lime.” (Mio)

“Nee-san.” (Lime)

“…What is it?” (Mio)

“What did you do to Chiya? What did you show her?” (Lime)

Lime made up his mind and asked, and Mio who had a gentle smile, narrowed her eyes slightly.

“I didn’t do anything. Nothing at all.” (Mio)

“I reported Tomoe-neesan about the priestess’ eyes. Boss didn’t seem like he knew, but Nee-san should have known, right?” (Lime)

“Yeah.” (Mio)

“‘Yeah’, you say?! Don’t tell me, you intentionally…” (Lime)

“Waka-sama isn’t that good at expressing himself without words after all. Also…even if they learn of my identity, it will only deepen their understanding of Waka-sama. There’s no problem at all-desu yo.” (Mio)

“I-Identity…is it? Don’t tell me you are like Tomoe-neesan, a Superior Dragon?” (Lime)

Cold sweat ran down the face of Lime.

It wasn’t pleasant sweat.

When he was involved with Root and learned of his direct superior Tomoe’s identity, he was proud that he didn’t lose consciousness at that moment.

It was a situation that wouldn’t be strange if he did after all.

“Fufufu, that’s not it, but it is something similar-desu wa. Also, it is fine to just ask Hibiki about what that girl saw. I don’t know what she saw either after all.” (Mio)

“Just what’s Boss, seriously.” (Lime)

Lime began to get interested in what Chiya saw in Raidou and Mio.

Just how will she express what she saw with those abstract words of hers.

“Waka-sama is a gentleman that’s like a cat basking on the sun. With no evil and hostility. That’s only if he is not touched or woken up because of their own convenience, though.” (Mio)

“The reaction of Chiya didn’t seem like she saw a cute cat though. Definitely.” (Lime)

“Then she must have had a stupid expectation. Ah~, I don’t know what power it is, but it would be convenient if all the hyumans had that kind of power.” (Mio)

The gentleness disappeared, and Mio was now showing a smile that made one feel dreadfulness.

“W-Well then, I will contact Hibiki.” (Lime)

“No need. You know where she is, right?” (Mio)

“Eh…yes. I have the information of Hibiki in this, so I can tell.” (Lime)

Saying this, Lime points at the katana at his waist.

Lime had received a katana exclusive for him from Makoto via Tomoe, that has been customized with a variety of abilities.

That’s one of the reasons why he is able to tell the location of Hibiki without the need of investigating.

Lime explains the location of Hibiki to Mio.

It seems like Hibiki is currently in the middle of nursing Chiya.

“This is convenient. Well then, we are going. Let’s go.” (Mio)

“So suddenly?! We should at least send a thought transmission to—” (Lime)

“Ara. For a person that we have trained, given a weapon, repaired it, and even gave her the credit of several achievements, there’s no need to be reserved-desu wa.” (Mio)

“…That’s…it might be true but…” (Lime)

What Mio had listed was all true.

When lining it up again, Lime felt that they have done quite a lot for her.

“I will have Hibiki learn of Waka-sama in the time of our stay. By force, that is.” (Mio)

“Learn of…Boss.” (Lime)

Lime felt something ominous from those words.

His instincts were telling him that it was dangerous.