I rubbed my sleepy eyes in front of the Great Gate of Garou Amalia.

　The sound of bells ringing ...... sounded awkwardly in my sleepy head. A peculiar dull pain, like a hangover, crawled up my body from my heels and ran up my spine.

You didn't have to go to the trouble of calling me, did you? I'm not sure what to say, but I'm going to say it.

　In response to my words, a rather disapproving voice tickled my ear.

If you're not going to show up now, where are you going to get your lines? My lord has come to see me. My lord has come to visit me, and it is my duty as a knight to be the first to greet him.

　The girl in front of me, Erdis, smiled a smile that made her cheeks break out in spite of her words. This is not the illusion that appeared in Garou Amalia in the past, but the real her standing here now.

　Erdis. Officially, now that she is a queen, the title of Finn has been added to her name, and she is now known as Finn-Eldis.

　She is the mistress of Ghazalia, the Hanging Gardens of the Elves, and, like Caria and Fialaat, was once part of the party that traveled to save the world.

　But now, her appearance and the atmosphere that emanates from Erdis is far removed from what I once knew.

　In any case, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she used to be somewhat out of her mental equilibrium. She was a being that had no interest in anything other than the savior, Heldt-Stanley, and looked at the world with cold eyes, as if everything else was meaningless. A symbol of bottomless fear or destruction itself. That was the image of the girl Erdis that still existed in my mind.

　But what about the Erdis in front of me now?

　Those sparkling blue eyes with their clear will. Her gestures are refined, down to the very tips of her fingers, and her choice of words is weighty.

　The atmosphere she wears is unmistakably that of a leader. The cold-heartedness that she once showed during her travels, and the mental fragility that she showed when she laid hands on me in Gazalia, are very hard to see in the Erdis of today.

　As she stood in front of Garou Amalia with a considerable number of soldiers and vassals in tow, she showed the unmistakable appearance of an elven lord.

　I've heard that she was born of royalty, but if she has the responsibility and awareness of being a queen, she will change like this.

　I myself felt that Erdis had a kind of cowardice or weakness deep inside her, similar to mine. This transformation was a bit surprising. Of course, it wasn't a bad thing, but I couldn't help but feel like I was the one being left behind.

　But if she was going to act like a queen, she wouldn't have bothered to call me up when I was under house arrest. In fact, wouldn't that bring disgrace to Elddis?

　Such thoughts must have been exuding from her words and attitude. Erdis said, still somewhat unhappy.

"Listen, Lugis. Today is a joint meeting between Gazalia and the heraldry, and you are on my side.

　It was as if a shopkeeper was slowly telling an unlearned apprentice.

　I wondered if Elddis's vassals around me found her tone of voice unusual. They rolled their eyes and listened for a long time to the conversation between me and Elddis.

　I stroked my lips with my fingertips, squinting to encourage Elddis to speak.

"Then there's a certain attitude you should take. Listen, Lugis. That's what I'm going to try to make clear today.

　Erdis's words seemed to twine around my extremities and were a little different from the usual breeze caressing, ear tickling voice.

　I felt a sense of foreboding creeping up my spine. Didn't Anne say that Erdis was asking for my handover? That's why she asked me to clarify my attitude. That's what Erdis is implying to me.

　But there's one thing I can't figure out. Elddis is going through the trouble of asking for my handover.

　And why is that? That's what I can't figure out.

　It is true that Erdis and I once joined forces in Ghazaria to defeat our common enemy, Erdis' uncle Finn-Rhagias.

　But that's all there is between me and Erdis. We lived in the same tower for a little while, exchanged a few words, and that was about it.

　No, what. I'm not exactly a tangent tree. The backstreet world is a place where you can't live if you're not sensitive to others. To be sensitive to the emotions and fluctuations of others is more important than anything else to survive as a poor person.

　That's why I understand that Elddis seems to have some special feelings for me. Of course, there is the possibility that I am mistaken. In that case, I alone should be ashamed of myself.

　But I still don't understand why. At any rate, I used Elddis for my own purposes. I seduced Erdis, who did not have such intentions in the first place, and used her words to make her soldier.

　How can there be a basis for a pleasant feeling there?

　I can understand if he swears at me. I can understand if someone stares at me like I'm the enemy. But when I'm confronted with such not-so-bad feelings, I start to feel upset and even guilty deep in my gut.

　A faint sense of guilt that I may have somehow deceived her without her knowledge scarred my brain.

　Elddis dismounted in front of the Great Gate of Galuamaria, hoping that I would take her by the hand.

　As I and the Gazarian civil servants rolled our eyes and returned our gazes to see what she was talking about, Elddis took my hand and walked forward.

　Naturally, I had to join her in her walk. Rather, I was forced to follow her steps because she was holding my arm so tightly.

　I still don't know, and because I don't know, I'm afraid. Every time I blink, I can't help but see the image of Elddis that I once saw on my journey.

　The same feelings that I felt when I thought that Kalia and Fialaat had special feelings for me were now in my heart.

　It was an almost awe-inspiring feeling that I might have made a tremendous mistake somehow. A shudder ran down my spine as I wondered if I had made the wrong choice and ended up where I was now.

　My dry lips quivered.

But what... You've become quite the queen and mistress, haven't you? It's a far cry from when you were cowering in your tower.



　He said this in a quiet voice, as if to hide the trembling of his lips and the agitation in his chest. It was so quiet that only Erdis, who was close by, could hear it.

　At any rate, if her vassals heard her telling Elddis that she had become a splendid queen, they would not remain silent. Rather, they could be killed on the spot for their disrespect.

　For a moment, Erdis looked as if he had been caught off guard by my words, wondering what I was talking about. She seemed to be really, really surprised.

　Did I really say something so strange? I merely let slip the words that came to my mind.

　Erdis replied with a bit of doubt.

What are you talking about, you said it. You told me I was going to be a great queen, and I'm just keeping it that way. Or did you have other instructions for me?

　I could see Erdis' beautiful, sparkling blue eyes looking at me. Her grip on my arm tightened. The look on Erdis's face must have been a really natural question.

　I didn't really know what to say to her. The only thing I could do was to let a raw reply escape my lips as I slowly walked down the path to the floor.

　I've already made my decision. All I had to do was say the word. And yet the words slipped down my throat with a strange weight.