Following Elsa to the balcony was the Minister of Industry, Delight Domus Hanks.

"What are you doing here?"

Elsa asked, wiping her face.

Yes, my office is right next to this balcony. I heard you running down the hallway, so I took a peek and saw you.

She said that she did not usually run down the corridor and that she peeked in to see if something urgent had happened.

"...... I'm so embarrassed."

Elsa turns over and blushes. Delight looked at her a little strangely, but spoke to her in a calm voice.

"It's already evening, and the wind is cold here. I'm sure there may be some complications, but why don't you come to my office for now?

After calming down a little, Elsa took him at his word and went to the office of the Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Delight. Edgar stood outside the door and was in charge of telling Jin if he came looking for her.

There was a chic table set by the window, and Delight offered Elsa a chair.

"I was just finishing up. Please have a seat."

"...... thanks."

Elsa sits in the chair by the window. The balcony is just a few feet away from her window. Elsa is embarrassed to think that she has been seen in a lascivious manner, but she is relieved to see that she cannot see the balcony from here, because the wooden box is in the way.

"Well, let me make you some tea. It's ...... not poisoned, you don't need to worry."

Delight brings up the subject of poison, perhaps hoping to make Elsa, who is still looking a little difficult, laugh.

"...... see, these are my assistants."

"......Ah."

Delight's assistants were two golems, one of them about the size of an adult male, and one of them was just about to make a pot of tea. One is about the size of an adult male and is about to make a pot of tea.

The other one was a burly golem about two meters tall, and was used for heavy work. This one was standing at the back of the room.

The other one was standing at the back of the room. "I ask the grains in the back to do the heavy work such as carrying luggage, and Rekar here to help me in my daily work.

"I see..."

Elsa looked at the golem named Rekar without looking at it, and noticed that its movements were sophisticated, and was a little impressed. It was quite a well-made golem.

"Here you go."

The tea was an herbal tea with the scent of roses and a slight sourness in its sweetness.

Elsa took a sip and exhaled. Delight drank the same tea and smiled.

"Well, have you calmed down a little?

"......Yes, thank you, thank you."

"I'm glad to hear that. I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my life. I hope I can repay you even a fraction of what you've done for me.

Taking another sip of herbal tea, Delight opened her mouth again.

"...... since it seems to be a rare opportunity like this, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Uh, yes."

Erza responded half-reflexively to the polite tone of his voice.

"......This country is in tatters. ......"

Delight's tone changed, becoming heavier.

"......The king is sick, the nobles have their own interests at heart, and even the weather has abandoned us."

"......"

"You are from the Kingdom of Shoro. I would like to hear your honest opinion. Do you think there is a future for ...... this country?"

It was a very serious question for Erza.

But now that she had traveled with Reinhardt, seen many countries, and gained many more experiences with Jin, she could answer.

"Yes, I think so."

Delight's eyes seemed to widen in surprise for a moment, as if the words were unexpected. But he quickly calmed down.

"Well, why do you think so?"

Elsa answered, choosing her words carefully.

A nation is a people. There may be some people in the ruling class of the Klein Kingdom who are not good people. But there are also those who are trying to rebuild the country. And the people are living hard. The country is not dead yet. It will not die, I think."

"......"

"............"

Delight listened to Erza's words with her eyes closed.

Her head went cold from the unexpected questions and conversation. Delight feels that she thinks the future of this country is bleak.

In her mind, the various events of the past were recalled and connected. The puzzle of solving the riddle, though somewhat incomplete, is being assembled.

The position of Minister of Industry, the weak poison, the King's illness, the food problem, the successor .......

Some pieces are still missing and the whole picture is not yet complete.

Meanwhile, Elsa was casually looking around the room. Suddenly, her gaze stops at the window.

On the window sill was a simple vase. There were flowers in the vase. There were several purple, elongated, armored-like flowers. There were no leaves on them.

"Aconita?"

Delight's eyes widened when she heard those words. His eyes were a little bloodshot.

"Elsa, do you know this flower?　I don't think it's a flower that is not found in the Shoro Empire either."...... around here...... No."

"...... Yes. I know a little about medicinal and poisonous plants.

Elsa slowly looked back from the vase and began to speak.

"......The poison that Mr. Delight drank the other day was probably a leaf of this plant."

"......"

"Mr. Delight, why is there not a single leaf on this flower?"

I said one unnecessary word in an attempt to find out the important piece of the puzzle.

As soon as he heard those words, Delight's expression changed.

"...... I see, so you do know that much."

"What?"

* * *

Jin was looking for Erza, who had run away.

The knight in the corridor told him that she had gone through the corridor toward the stairs.

Jin also goes to the stairs. Did she go up or down? Jin pondered and decided that he could not take too much time.

Even though he ran out of the room, Maron and Plum of the Secret Service are still guarding him, invisible. Edgar is with them.

Therefore, it is easy to find out where Erza went to via the old man.

The reason why I did not do so from the beginning was that I wanted to find her by myself without relying on Reiko and the others, but there was a limit in this royal palace.

"Reiko, check with the old man where Elsa has gone."

"...... I understand."

With a slightly dissatisfied look on her face, Reiko contacted the old man. The answer came back immediately.

"......It seems that he is in the office of the Minister of Industry and Delight on the upper floor."

"What are you doing there ......?"

At that moment, Princess Rieschen came in.

"What do you think, Jin?　I thought it would be difficult to search the castle alone, so I followed you. ...... have you found it yet?"

"Rhys. ...... No, not yet, but they're in the Delight Minister's office."

"Delight's?　Delighted? I'll go check it out.

Jin began to climb the stairs, guided by the princess.

"......I just remembered that Delight is also from the Kingdom of Cerroa. ....... I heard that he was groomed by the Hanks family a long time ago. His wife died a few years ago and he is now single.

Jin heard this and suddenly remembered the words of Minister of Industry and Trade Delight without any context.

(Come to think of it, he had called Elena an automata. ...... had he seen her before?

I don't think Elena would talk on her own. And I don't think that the Delight Industry Minister is good enough to recognize that she is an automaton.

This would mean that he had seen Elena in the past. Jin had a bad feeling.

The second floor is the floor you've been on, and the third floor is the offices of the ministers.

At that moment, Reiko interrupted their conversation.

"Father, Miss Elsa is in danger.

Father, Miss Elsa is in danger.

"You're very good. You are very good. I wish I could have persuaded her to come with us.

What the hell are you doing?

Delight gets up and stands in front of the door, cutting off Erza's way out.

"You do understand, don't you?　That the whole poisoning fiasco was a ruse?"

"I know that ...... aconita poison doesn't kill people."

"Yes, and if everyone there falls ill from the poison, your credibility will suffer. Then the king will not be long in coming. That's what I thought. I had no idea that he knew about Aconita, whom I had thought he would never know about."

"That poisoned tee caddy, you mean you brought it?"

"...... You're a smart guy. If I brought you back, it will make up for not following instructions.

"What, instructions?"

Elsa got up from her chair with a bad feeling. Edgar was outside the door.

"This country will not be here much longer. "This country will not be around much longer, just like our neighbor, the Kingdom of Franz. It would be better for it to be absorbed into the Kingdom of Cerroa and let it be ruled by the Kingdom of Cerroa.

Delight's tone had changed dramatically, and his eyes were filled with a hint of madness.

"...... I don't think that's right. The government of the Kingdom of Selroa would treat the Kingdom of Klein no better than their own if they occupied it.

Elsa has seen many countries. The last time she met with the selfish brothers and sisters of the Kingdom of Celuloa, she had a terrible time. I have also heard stories from Stearina and Vivian.

It was hard to believe that they would be ruled fairly.

"......Humph, the common people don't matter. What matters is whether we ...... can get me into a better position than I am now. ...... Reker, don't let that girl get away."

The golem Rekar, directed by Delight, approaches. Erza quickly used the table as a shield.

"Hmph, what a waste of time. Why don't you cooperate with us?　I don't want to be a hard man to deal with. I owe you a detoxification, even if it's just a ruse."

"...... Do you really think you're going to get away with this?　If you make a loud enough noise, someone will come running."

"Hmm. Is that what you're trying to do, buy time?　...... Grainne!"

With that one voice, the golem standing in the back also began to move.

"There's a golem just like this one in the hallway. No one can come.

Still, there's no way he can escape.

"You think I'm sloppy, don't you?　What if I told you I have a ...... hot air balloon too?"

"...... No way."

"The technology of the Kingdom of Cerroa is amazing. In exchange for 300 tons of wheat, they gave us a hot air balloon and five golems."

"...... you diverted precious foodstuffs?　...... You are an a**h*le. Selling your own country."

"Young man, I don't think you understand how attractive power can be. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be able to run your country the way you want. Besides, my homeland is ...... the Kingdom of Cerroa."

"...... I don't even want to understand. Power is just a pain in the ass.

Erza, now steeped in Jin's ideas, dismissed Delight's desire for power.

"Too much trouble, huh? She's a woman after all. You can't understand the joy of dominating others.

I'm a man, but I don't understand that kind of pleasure.

What?

Brother Jin!

The door to the room was pried open from the outside, and there stood Jin.