"I'll have to check if Gloria still loves her brother-in-law. ......"

After Fritz had apologized to them and left, Jin and Erza continued their discussion.

"He also said that he seemed to have given up on the idea.

"That's because the next country we're going to is the Kingdom of Klein."

"Oh, yes, that's right. Maybe we'll have a chance to meet. We'll check it out then.

Hmmm...

But today is the day of the luncheon meeting.

The two of them are tired for some reason, even though they've been taking it easy.

It'll be about an hour before the car comes to pick us up.

Please have some tea.

Reiko offered them a cup of tea in front of their tired faces.

"Oh, thank you."

It was a fragrant hojicha tea.

Drinking it slowly, I felt at ease.

"I think it will be easier for you since you said that only people you know will attend the luncheon.

"I hope so."

Reiko's words reassured Jin a little.

"By the way..."

Something occurred to Jin during Fritz's visit.

"I think I asked you before, but is it OK if Elsa doesn't visit her parents' house?

This is it.

Elsa's parents live on the other side of Lake Tosmo, and <> is only a short flight away.

"Yes, that's fine."

But Erza denied it again.

"I'm in the middle of traveling around the world. So I've decided that my personal affairs will wait until I'm done with them."

"Is that so?"

Is that so?

Jin thinks that there is no need to be so formal about it, but he also thinks that this is Erza's way of being modest.

So, I decided to respect Elsa's idea on this point.

* * * * *

Well, the time has passed and the ...... car arrived in front of the .

Fritz is among the 10 or so people accompanying the caravan.

"<>, we are here to welcome you.

Flora Heckerath von Merante, a female knight of the Shoro Imperial Guard, seems to be the leader of the group.

There are five female knights led by Flora and five soldiers led by Fritz.

"Thank you for welcoming us.

Jin bade farewell, took Elsa's hand, and got into the car. Reiko followed him and the car started to drive away.

Unlike the parade, the roads had been cleared of people, and we arrived at the palace without any problems.

We drove directly to the Inner Palace.

From there, Flora and Fritz led Jin, Elsa, and Reiko.

The group arrived at a secluded room in the palace.

It was a bright hall with a high ceiling and wide windows.

On one wall hung a wall hanging embroidered with the Shoro emblem, a pattern of three barleys, and against it sat the empress.

"Welcome!"

The empress stood up and welcomed Jin and the others,

"We really want to keep this a light, informal tea party, so please try to act as normal as possible," she said.

She said, "I'd like to keep this a very informal tea party today.

"So I would like to call you Jin-kun, Elsa. Is that okay?"

Jin thought it would be easier on his shoulders, so he agreed.

"Yes, then."

Jin was not sure how he should behave as the Kunlun-kun, so he was honestly grateful for this offer.

For the moment, the guests in this room are the emperor, Jin, Elsa, and Reiko. Fritz and Flora are outside the room.

"One more guest should be here soon.

A few dozen seconds after the emperor said this, the person arrives.

"You look well, Elsa. Congratulations on your wedding."

"...... mother."

The guest was Marlene Randall von Nefla, Elsa's foster mother.

"Elsa will probably not return to her parents' house until she finishes her tour of the countries, so Her Majesty has invited me. Her father is still not well, so he's staying behind.

Marlene tells her smilingly.

At first Elsa looks surprised, but gradually her face turns into a tearful smile.

"Oh, Mother, my dear. ......"

"Elsa."

Mother and daughter took each other's hands.

Jin, Reiko, and the emperor warmly watched them for a while.

The luncheon meeting went on peacefully.

The luncheon proceeded peacefully.

The menu was light and consisted mainly of porridge, and miso soup with onion and dried bonito flakes.

The dishes were a testament to the hard work of the chefs at Miyagi Prefecture.

The tea was served with a choice of aromatic hojicha tea or richly flavored sencha green tea.

Jin and Elsa chose hojicha, while the emperor and Marlene chose sencha.

"You look happy, Elsa."

"...... yes."

Marlene smiled softly and looked at Elsa and Jin with narrowed eyes.

"You seem to be following what I taught you before, that's why His Majesty gave you this opportunity."

Marlene turned to Jin as if she were explaining something to him.

"The women of the Shoro nobility are taught to give priority to their wives.

In other words, if you get married, you should put the circumstances of your marriage partner first, not your own feelings or circumstances," she added.

"That's why I thought that I would probably come to my parents' house only after the official events were over," she says.

And the emperor,

"I saw that you two didn't seem to be going back to Randall's. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see them. I took the opportunity to invite Marlene to come with me. I asked Fritz to escort her.

I've asked Fritz to escort Marlene here." I felt safer knowing that my own son was escorting her.

"I see. Thank you very much."

Erza bows deeply while still seated.

"It's okay. I want her to be happy.

The Empress smiled softly.

"I would like to take this opportunity to tell you both, especially Erza, something.

Now the Empress began to speak.

"Our country's coat of arms is the three wheat..." she said.

She turned around and pointed to a wall hanging on the wall behind her.

"It comes from the first emperor of this country.