Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 8: Chapter 9

Kyle joined everyone at the hall a few minutes after his meeting with Sharidan, where he just witnessed the Galgan Empire and Country of Taihon engaging in a bit of banter.

“My, oh my, if it isn’t Prince Sharidan. I didn’t expect to see you here. How is his Majesty Mordau doing? I pray for his recovery from the bottom of my heart,” said Korodes, as if he wanted to emit pressure.

After all, a forceful king like Mordau was a much easier opponent for him, so he provoked the prince.

“Luckily, his life does not seem to be in danger, but he remains unable to return to his duties…Hence, I will have to represent my dear country here.”

“I see…Well, if there is anything we can do to assist, don’t hesitate to inform me. I consider you fine people from Taihon our good friends, after all.”

In the end, their conversation was devoid of any kindness or genuine care. The people around them obviously knew about this relationship, trying not to get involved too much. Kyle watched for a moment, and right as he wondered if he should start breaking them up, a voice called out to him.

“It has been a while, Kyle-san.”

The person showing Kyle a warm smile was a beautiful woman wearing a relaxing dress. From her choice of words, it was obvious that they had been acquainted already, and as a matter of fact, Kyle recognized her face, as well as the voice. However, he couldn’t quite attach a name to it.

“Erm…”

“See, I told you he wouldn’t realize, Mira.”

Another voice reached Kyle, colored in a faint sense of enjoyment. It was Milena, and the nickname she used was all too familiar.

“Is that…you, Miranda-san?”

It was the ambassador for Zilgus, working in the mining city of Carran—Miranda. Kyle could barely believe his eyes. She had changed so drastically. Partially because she had taken off her glasses, but even more so because her smile was nothing like the strict and diligent one that Kyle had grown accustomed to.

“…I wouldn’t know that myself.”

Even as she showed a bashful reaction, Kyle could not connect the two.

“You just changed so much, that I…Well, you’ve certainly become beautiful.”

“Well done with that,” Miranda accepted Kyle’s genuine compliment as a sign of good manners and laughed it off. “Your rumors have reached me too, Kyle-san. It has only been a bit more than a year since you left, yet you accomplished so much…”

“I was just running around like a maniac. But it looks like Gazas-san couldn’t make it.”

“Yes, I am here today as his representative.”

The mining city Carran was pretty much under Zilgus’ reign, but as it was an independent nation, he was invited to this meeting as the mayor.

“I would have loved to meet him again…How are things with him?”

Kyle asked this, knowing that Miranda and Gazas were a thing, which made Miranda blush.

Love can really change people…Or is this who she really is? Pretty cute, despite being Mom’s age.

To Kyle, Miranda was someone he fought together with in his previous life, but she had never shown a single smile. Granted, the situation didn’t exactly allow for it, but at least he got to make up for it now.

“I see. I’m glad Gazas-san and Gou are doing good.”

“Yes. That said, Gou-kun has been so busy lately that he’s barely even come home. Even leaving Carran at times…”

“What a blooming conversation,” Milena jumped in.

“I-I’m sorry, Milena-sama.”

“It’s fine. I expected as much.”

Milena didn’t mind at all and began further idle talk with Kyle. It seemed almost like she did this so that Kyle couldn’t approach Sharidan and the country of Taihon, offering his help in the discussions. But that was to be expected. When Milena was involved in the civil war within Galgan, the ones who attempted to use that were from Taihon, after all. Though more accurately speaking, that was the Mera Cult pulling the strings to strengthen the faction following King Mordau, wishing for a war between them and the Empire. Worse of all was the fact that Princess Milena was practically imprisoned in the Empire, and if it had come to a war, she might have been in great danger. Toward the end, she managed to escape with Kyle’s help, so Zilgus didn’t join any war.

Immediately, Sharidan blamed and punished those who acted rashly, but because of this incident, the relationship between ZIlgus and Taihon worsened drastically. Taihon would have needed the support of Zilgus to stand against Galgan’s overwhelming might, so they wanted to make up no matter the cost. But, how would they go about doing so? Kyle personally would prefer if those two countries returned to their supportive relationship so that they could keep a balance in the distribution of might on the continent. However, because he wondered what to do, he was obstructed by Princess Milena. Although, he couldn’t exactly stop either, so he had to be clear right here, right now.

“Milena-sama, about Prince Sharidan…”

“Kyle-sama.”

Rarely enough, Milena interrupted Kyle.

“That incident was brought into existence by Orgis…And so, it was my fault for trying to get rid of the old rule of Zilgus.”

The old rule must be referring to the late King Remonas and his followers. During this whole civil war incident, it was Minister Orgis who tried to get rid of the new queen Milena, trying to use Taihon to his advantage. Having made it back home alive was probably a badge of honor for Milena.

“Including that…No matter how I may feel, the ones who have been directly involved right now don’t think they can immediately reconcile with Taihon just yet.”

The opinions of those standing at the top of a country should be considered, but they aren’t absolute. If they ignored the feelings of those they cared for, their rule would eventually break down. Milena seemed rather troubled by this current balance of affairs, so much so that even she couldn’t keep up a pretend smile. Being rejected like this, Kyle really wanted to sigh, but he apologized immediately.

“You are absolutely right. Please excuse my careless words.”

“No, it is nothing you have to apologize for. More importantly…”

Milena ended this topic and immediately changed to a new one.

After that, Kyle walked around, greeting all the other participants of the meeting as the host of the evening. Of course, it never ended with just a greeting. Some were not picking sides with either the Empire or Zilgus, others offered presents for him, whereas some tried to invite him to their country. One even introduced his daughter and princess to Kyle. For each, Kyle chose an appropriate response, trying to remain vague but polite all the same. He tried to end it quickly, but the numbers were nothing to scoff at, and by the time he finished the final greeting, the banquet was about to end.

As the meeting hall had now turned empty, Kyle was mentally and physically exhausted. Looking at all the leftover food, he remembered he’d barely gotten to eat something himself, but he wasn’t particularly hungry. And when he left the hall on heavy feet, attempting to return to his room, another voice called out to him. Reflexively, all his exhaustion vanished and he forced another smile. Waiting for him was Milena. She was probably waiting for him to leave.

“Kyle-sama, I wanted to see you one last time before you head off.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect you’d wait for me.”

She sure is coming at me hard—Kyle thought to himself, but he couldn’t exactly brush her off. She wasn’t the type to fool around like this, just showing their friendship, but Kyle remembered that Milena even suggested Kyle had the right to the throne, making him a marriage candidate for her. Kyle grew worried, thinking that maybe she was serious about that. Of course, Kyle liked Milena as a person, but he had no interest in any royal succession.

Behind her stood the usual guard knights, as well as the Royal Knights Order Captain, Kirlen. Of course, he couldn’t forget about the attendant Ninos. But no matter how well he knew them, especially Ninos had no positive feelings when it came to Kyle. Of course, she wouldn’t dare say something during a situation like this, but Kyle wanted to believe that the cold gaze she gave him was only his imagination. Milena must have sensed how exhausted Kyle was, as she left it with a simple greeting and then attempted to leave.

“Then, until tomorrow…I hope you get some good rest.”

She then headed off to the royal quarters, heavily guarded to ensure their safety for the night. Kyle also excused himself and watched her walk off, about to head off to his own room, when he felt another gaze. It was one different from Ninos’ gaze of jealousy and discontent. It was a lot…harsher and hostile.

“…”

Turning around, Kyle met eyes with a single royal guard following after Milena. And she looked familiar. Her name was Frederica, the little sister of Zentos, who died at Kyle’s hands. And she knew about this fact, too. It was necessary, and Kyle didn’t regret it, but it still hurt to be looked at this way. It was a long day, and yet he had to be reminded of this gruesome reality one last time, before he headed back to his room on heavy feet.

“Oh, you finally done?”

Contrary to Kyle, Seran had been taking it easy in the room all this time. He was ready to sleep, too. Lieze, Urza, and Shildonia were already present in a similar fashion.

“You got it easy, huh? I feel like my facial muscles are frozen from all the smiling.”

“You say that, but we won’t be of much help out there.”

“True.”

Seran and Lieze looked at each other. They were always reliable allies, but they knew that they wouldn’t have much value at political places like that. That was obviously the best decision, but Kyle still wanted to complain about being greeted like this.

“I’ve worked plenty already,” Shildonia was munching like always, saying it like it wasn’t any of her business.

But of course, she did work hard. In fact, the planning for all this, as well as adjusting the schedule for the participants, was all done by her so skillfully that everything worked out perfectly. If not for her and her wisdom, this meeting would never have taken place.

“For the love of…Imagine what would have happened if I was in need of sleep, too.”

“Are you sure you don’t have to sleep? And aren’t you constantly taking naps?”

“Sleep is still necessary for my mental wellbeing…And you really put me through the grinder,” Shildonia said with an exhausted expression, but Kyle knew better than anybody else how hard she worked.

“You’re right. You absolutely helped me out a lot.”

“Also, Kyle, Father and the others are ready to have their meeting with the dwarves come tomorrow. And they agreed to be present at the meeting on the final day.”josei

“Right…Thanks for convincing them.”

Kyle sighed in relief when he heard that. As the representatives of the forest of Evenro, Rifuaro and the other elves had already arrived at this fortress. However, they have no intention of participating in meetings relating to humanfolk or communicating with other powerful individuals. They simply agreed to have a meeting with the dwarves from Gilbohl. However, Kyle planned to discuss the demons and their danger on the final day of this World Meeting, so he asked for them to be present then, too.

“Kyle, there’s a letter for you. And take off your clothes, we prepared your outfit for tomorrow, so get some sleep.” Lieze was always trying her best for Kyle’s sake, so he didn’t have to worry about the small things around him.

Be it her, Shildonia, Urza, or even Minagi, they were all doing their best to support Kyle in their own way. Realizing this, Kyle felt embarrassed that only he was acting like he was the tired one.

“Well, that’s how it is,” said Seran, who really didn’t do anything over the past half a year.

Of course, each person had their strong and weak points, but that wasn’t the issue.

“…Princess Angela is late, so you’ll be looking after her.”

Princess Angela of the Galgan Empire had created many connections with the group, even having fought together. She seemed rather interested in Seran, so Kyle would usually send him after her.

“For real?”

Even Seran, known for being a ladies’ man, didn’t see her as a potential candidate. In fact, he would try to avoid her if he could.

“I wish you’d just give in…Or, what? Do you prefer Luiza-san?” Lieze dropped the name of the current Demon Lord, who also showed great interest in Seran.

“That one’s even more difficult! Why would I have to go through this…”

“It’s karma, no?” Kyle harshly pointed out, and everyone nodded.

Even though their conversation was without much gravity, it had almost a healing effect on him. Either way, the banquet that gave him a stomach ache was finally over. However, this was only the preliminary match for the World Meeting that would start tomorrow, and Kyle knew that better than anybody else.

“The real deal starts tomorrow…Maybe I should drink some stomach medicine beforehand.”

Kyle may have been feeling better compared to yesterday, but he really wished that he could just skip ahead of time.