Volume 3 - Ch 26
Its been a week since Yumiela #2 and the evil god debacle.
I was finally getting back into decent shape after not feeling well for a while.
Things have been peaceful here ever since. Eleanora, who was in high spirits, came into my room.
Yumiela, heres a souvenir for you! Its Kuma-sans bread!
Thank you. Where did you get that?
There was a baking event at church for children. A teacher invited me to help out.
Not for participating?
Nope! Im on the management side!
Whether true or not, she is a frequent visitor.
And I have never been there. As a Lord, I have met with the priest whom Eleanora calls her teacher, but the meeting took place in this mansion.
The priest is lovely, but the church
Someday I will have to visit the church, but I keep putting it off for one reason or another.
Eleanora has become like family to me, and I am grateful that she can bridge the gap between politics and religion.
This is where we should work to our best ability. Eleanora, youre doing great!
Thank you for your hard work. It must have been a lot of work.
Not at all! I only helped a little at the beginning!
What are you helping with?
I was the one who was in charge of measuring the ingredients! The teacher said it would be easy for me to do the math as a royal academy graduate.
Perhaps the teacher dreamed too much about the royal academy. That is where the nobles are forced to go to make connections for the future. People who are interested in studying are usually apprenticed to scholars.
The majority of students can at least look at a bread recipe and calculate the quantities?
The young lady continues to talk excitedly.
But Kai-kun isoh, Kai-kun is an older boy. Kai-kun said a princess shouldnt have to work, so he did it for me.
Well done.
I couldnt refuse his offer to act like a knight.
I see. Thats why you have nothing to do.
Kai-kun said I look like a princess.
Thats right. Shes a princess. Although the dresses are simpler than before, only nobles would wear something like that.
I feel there is some sarcasm mixed in with Kais comment. Since I didnt personally witness the scene, I wont say anything.
Seeing Eleanora looking the same as ever was a relief. I can understand well why Sanon cares about her.
Besides being soothed by Elanora, I need to finish up the accumulated work.
While walking down the hallway, I noticed a shadow from the corner of my eye that caught my attention. The shadow formed by a tree in the garden stretched from the window to the mansions hallway.
Hmm?
Casually, I stuck my hand in, and it went into the shadows.
The shadow shook like the waters surface. Inside, the shadows feel as if they were underwater.
Ah, I found it.
Searching for what I was looking for, I grabbed him and pulled him up.
A dark-haired boy emerges from the shadows. He is upside down by the ankle. Ah, I thought it was his wrist. Sorry.
Haa this was my private area. Why oneesan always do crazy things on a hunch?
Whats the deal this time?
How rude! When have I ever caused trouble?
You huh?
Suppose you ask me, maybe not. The image of a black-bellied person was too strong, and I misunderstood.
He laughed boastfully. No, its just normal trespassing.
While messily setting him down on the floor, I asked what was bothering him.
I see. You were back this way. Sorry, I left you in #2s world.
Its okay. Ive been lurking in your shadow since time rewound.
Please dont go inside peoples shadows without permission. Next time you do that, Ill deal with you.
The shadows are my territory. No one should complain about which shadows Im in.
You know what? Isnt territory something you can take if you win a war?
Im sorry, Ill take care oneesans neighborhood.
If nobody had detected it before, it means that Remn had been able to peek into peoples private lives as much as he wanted.
Was he some kind of peeping god? He could have been peeping into my bath. Pervert.
Eh? Eh? Remember you said youd be considerate? Why do you look at me with contempt?
Anyway, you can contact yourself from the parallel universe, cant you?
Yes, but why?
I was wondering how #2 was over there.
And I would like to know what action Yumiela #2 took after that.
Timeline-wise, the battle to defeat the Demon King should have been about to end. Is she planning to graduate from the academy, or is she about to leave for a new place?
Still, its only been a week. There might not be much change.
Ah, the other side. It sounds like things have been tough.
Tough? But its only been a week.
Oh.
Remn makes a surprised expression.
What happened in the short time? Which one is he referring to, Yumiela #2 or the world? I think it is the latter, given this god of darkness nature.
I think we should go to see whats going on.
No, no, no! Dont distort space-time carelessly!
But something was going on, wasnt there?
Not that there was any in a short time. A force at work tries to ensure that time is uniform between parallel worlds. Time flows relatively quickly in the other world and slowly in this one I guess were on the same timeline now.
The time we rewind in the second world was about a year. If it is back to normal, does another year has passed over there?
As he tells me to calm down with his hand, Remn says,
They already settled over there. Theres no need for you to go, okay?
If it has been a year, Id like to see what #2 is up to.
It has been a year since #2 said she would do better this time. Wonder where she is, who she is with, and what she is doing.
It is not because I am worried about her or anything, I want to tease her.
Thats not good nor evil. Were leaving now.
No matter how much you want to visit, you cant. Im the one who keeps the pruning sword.
Youre not going to give it back.
The pruning sword was not something that could be thrown around. Not having confidence in my ability to manage it, I decided to leave it with Remn again.
While he would never return it to me for personal use, he would always return it to me when it came to a global crisis. Hes shady, but I trusted him.
And without it, I cant open the gateway to another world. Its impossible without the sword. Impossible?
If only there were a substitute. Whats the alternative to Gods pruning swords? My bare hands? Can I do it with my bare hands?
I got it.
Whats going on with your body?
Moving both hands to pry open the empty space in front of me caused a spatial distortion.
As I thought, when in trouble, you can always rely on your physical strength.
The fact that I made it inside the mansion was a bit of a mistake. Patrick would show up at the most inopportune time and find out about this.
Why is that thing inside the house?
He said it has been a year over there! Lets go check on #2.
In these situations, you have to push through. What I like about Patrick is that he understands and accepts my intentions.
He is probably wondering whats going on with #2. Im sure hell be on board.
She has her own life. It wouldnt be good to intervene too much, would it?
Eh? Are you not coming? Maybe we can laugh at #2 who opened a coffee shop, and no one came?!
Why cant you just be honest?
Honest? What are you talking about? All I want to do is mock #2.
When an amateur suddenly opens a coffee shop, there is no way she will manage it well. It is unexpectedly normal that #2 would want to be a trendy coffee shop owner or something. Let me, as an amateur, give you a run for your money.
Assuming that he would naturally follow me, Patrick shook his head.
Id better not go because youll get into another fight. I know youre worried, but she has her own plan for her life.
Ill go even if you stop me. You were the one who told me you like my strong, unshakeable heart.
I shouldnt have said that.
Patrick sadly agreed to come with us. Thats how he spoils me, and I get away with things.
We jumped into the spatial distortion with nothing but our clothes and traveled to the second world.
The scenery may be familiar, but this is a different world. Must you be on your guard huh?
Where are we?
I dont know this place.
Although it was the same parallel world, the location changed as we moved around.
The gateway was opened in a meadow near Dolknes town and led to the royal castles balcony. Where am I now that I have opened the gateway inside the mansion?
We are outdoorsno building within our sight.
Luckily, we found carriage tracks on a well-maintained road. It must lead to somewhere.
Should we walk along the road?
If we walk for a while, we should find where the people are.
Together we walked side by side along the street.
Judging from the road, there seemed to be a lot of traffic. But we never encountered anyone.
No people? No, did Yumiela #2 make the same mistake again
Look! Its a carriage.
They were regular people.
#2 isnt so clumsy as to fail so badly that it wishes for the worlds destruction twice. At most, the coffee shop went bankrupt, and she spent her days going to the dungeon to pay off her debts or something like that.
She said when we parted, she would beat me in strength, social status, and lover.
None of those seem plausible. There is no way she becomes stronger than me, Im a Countess, and I have Patrick as my lover.
The carriage was approaching. The peddlers ojisan was leisurely holding the reins.
Nice to see that hes at peace. He gave me information about #2 no, first I must ask where we are.
Even though the peddler looked suspiciously at us standing in the middle of the road without our luggage, he immediately smiled and stopped his horse.
Good afternoon. What are you doing over there?
Oh, we are
If you go straight here, youll arrive at Lysdamia. You could find a place for the two of you to live there, and he could find a job.
Work?
I know its tough, but hang in there. As long as you support each other, youll be fine in a new place. There are no adults in Lysdamia who will try to keep you apart.
Huh, does he think we are eloping?
A young man and woman walk silently along the road without any traveling attire. It sure seems like it, I agree.
The peddlers misunderstanding was quite correct. Lets talk and ask him some questions.
The place he mentioned sounds familiar. Although far from Dolknes territory, it is a provincial town in the Balshine Kingdom. The area was like a large Count territory.
I am not sure it could be the same name in a different country. Lets feign ignorance and find out.
Thank you for your concern. I just wanna ask you one question. Is Lysdamia a town located in the Balshine Kingdom?
Hahaha, of course. Ah, its not the Balshine Kingdom. Its different.
No longer part of the Balshine Kingdom? Lysdamia is not a territory that is located along the border. Has this world become disorderly that the line dividing the countries moves so much?
My mind immediately became tense. I could sense some nervousness from Patrick as well.
So, where did we end up? With a good-natured smile, he continued.
Its the same thing, though. This is the Holy Dolknes Empire, Lysdamia is located in Balshine province.
The Holy Dolknes Empire?
Oya? Havent you heard the news of the century sweeping across the continent?
Sorry, Im not up to date on worldly affairs.
Huh? Huh? Huh?
Disregarding our confusion, the peddler speaks with a theatrical gesture.
Her Majesty the glorious and one and only Emperor Yumiela Dolknes has accomplished an unprecedented feat! She has brought five great nations and numerous smaller nations to this continent, all under her rule! The birth of the united continental nation that the past rulers have longed for!
Amazing! What the?
My thoughts cant keep up anymore. In response to our stunned reactions, he shyly scratches his cheeks.
Havent you heard of this? I heard it everywhere.
This is my first time hearing about it. This Yumiela, she became the emperor, right?
Yes. Maybe people back home didnt know what the Emperor looked like? Emperor Dolknes has dark hair, just like yours. About the same age and gender? If they were against your relationship because of your hair color
Heheh, Her Majestys hair is black too. Let me think about it for a minute.
It was destroyed before I could formulate a theory about another person with the same name. Its definitely #2. What is she doing?!
What kind of country is this Holy Dolknes Empire? #2, are you doing fear-mongering? Are you forcing them to work and build large tombs? Youll get stabbed in the thigh.
Without further ado, I ask him about the situation.
A lot has changed since the empire was built, hasnt it?
Hmm. My surroundings are not that different, I guess. Besides, it was the old Balshine royal family that was essentially running the government.
Are the former kings in good health?
The changes would be along the border of each country. The emperor would have noticed if we were to start a war as we have been in the past. Oh, we are under the same empire, it should be called conflict, not war. There is more cross-border traffic than there used to be, which is good for business.
This is a story I read in a book once. In the Balshine Kingdom, conflicts between territories are less likely to escalate to extremes. If the local nobles fight each other excessively, the royal family will intervene and impose penalties on both parties. This can only be done because the royal family has a large central military force.
Yumiela #2 has done it on a continental scale. Most likely, she is only using her body and strength.
The people may love her, but the kings and nobles will resent her. She will have to fight to the death against all desires for domination in this world.
One person is responsible for the entire system in the empire. Its no longer a person but more like an institution.
Is she really happy now? If the empire ends up being ruled by a lonely emperor, I will destroy it.
We should meet #2 first. Before that, Ill ask about her personal reputation.
The empire is amazing. What kind of person is Her Majesty?
The latest news is that the emperor is holding a lover audition?
Yes?
The emperor is looking for a lover on a grand scale. She said she would gather beautiful men from all over the continent and choose a husband from among them. This ojisan wants to be Her Majestys husband and have an easy life.
That girl, sigh. She just does whatever she wants. All she does is obtain power and indulge in her desires. Stupid! I dont know anymore!
We then thanked him and parted ways with the peddler. The conversation we had was brief, but it was exhausting. It feels even more tiring than when I rewound the world.
We stood there and watched as the carriage got smaller and smaller, stunned.
I was too busy collecting my thoughts to notice that Patrick hadnt said anything. He probably has a lot more on his mind than I do and is too exhausted to think about it.
Haa, Holy Dolknes Empire.
I wonder, which parts of it are holy?
Is that the first thing youre concerned about?
Theres more.
#2 did a hell of a job.
I have no energy to see her anymore. Shall we go home first? If possible, I would like to go home, sleep and forget about it.
Silence ensues. Without a second thought, we start walking in the direction we came from.
Shall we go home?
Okay.
However, Im glad to hear that Yumiela #2 is doing well.
Thats whats important, right?