Chapter 50: Sky Throne (part six)

Pure white petals fell down in the white city.

It looked like angels’ feathers were falling down and fluttering about.

In the sky above the city, dozens of dragons and dragon knights were taking turns in circling and scattering the petals.

It was one of the important events of the Advent Festival which gave an image as if angels were swooping down upon the city.

Under the sky which was watched over by the angels, this year too, people were making sure that they said their unchangeable gratitude towards the angels.

☆

It seemed that the Lucanrant’s doctor was good at what he does.

The wound on my cheek disappeared in about an hour without a trace.

After finishing the treatment, I went out to the city where it became a festive mood.

A few meters away from me, Otou-sama was escorting and watching over me.

I had used up the magic tool to prevent kidnapping, so it was reasonable.

Rather, I should thank him for allowing me to go out even though such a thing happened to me.

I wanted to look around freely, but I would keep quiet so as not to worry him.

『Even so, to stop the movement of pirates without any regard for injuries.

Having such a courageous friend, I am proud.』

『What are you saying.

Erica is a woman, so her face is very important.

Rather, it is good because there is no trace left....』

At my feet, Tirnanog and Palug were quarrelling.

I guessed Otou-sama didn’t hear them thanks to the bustle, but I didn’t want to risk it.

The current Tirnanog’s equipment was made with several sheets of armor that barely escaped from damage.

I re-used the alchemy characters that I had originally carved and reconstructed him while I was undergoing the medical treatment.

Since the time and material were not enough, I somehow managed to make a simple version of his original armor.

The two fellow beasts who had become my companions had their combat strength decreased drastically.

I had no choice but to pray that nothing happens until we returned to Aurelia territory.

『GRRAAH! Shut up, cat!

What’s wrong with giving praise for my friend’s hard struggle!』

『Ahahaha! Such a slow punch will never hit me!

Such a slow serpent, you must not think that you can defeat me, the King of the Beasts!』

Circling around me over and over, the two started chasing each other.

Tirnanog swung his claw and Palug dodged it when it was within a hair’s breadth distance.

Although I was sure that it didn’t hit her, when I saw she kept provoking him, I felt anxious.

His current armor was small, but if it hit the body of a kitten, it would be a deadly.

“Both of you, Otou-sama is nearby, so please be quiet.”

『Umu. I understand.』

『Ye~s. I will be careful not to be found out.』

With reluctant looks, the two stopped their battle completely.

Their breaths were synchronized.

Yup, I guessed they were on good terms with each other.

I put both of them on my shoulders and walked again.

Drinks such as alcohol and fruit juice were distributed around the city.

Together with the words ‘Thank the Angel’, people knocked their cups together.

Adults, children, nobles, and commoners as well.

Everyone smiled and made a toast.

Unlike the aristocratic feast held in the royal castle, the difference in status seemed to have nothing to do with the banquet of the day.

It was a festival that seemed to make the gap between nobles and commoners thinner.

In this country, fundamentally, equality was the only thing under God which was stained.

I also received a cup of fruit juice and decided to participate in the event.

In the cup that I had received, a piece of petal lightly floated.

(Ah, how beautiful.)

I was fascinated by the beautiful image that somehow seemed to be a sign of luck.

Someone knocked my cup in a surprise toast.

“Thank the Angel. It seems that your wound has completely healed, I’m glad, Erica.”

“Hyah!? O....Onii-sama, when did you–!?”

“Just now, I saw you playing with the cat and golem.”

Dangerous.

If I was late in stopping the phantom beasts, they would have been caught by Onii-sama.

Onii-sama seemed to make eye contact with Otou-sama.

Otou-sama nodded and left with some escort alchemists.

That was the way to the square in front of the cathedral.

“The report to His Majesty has finally been completed.

Finally, I can walk around the festival slowly together with my cute Erica.”

“What about Otou-sama?”

“Father seems to have some business with His Majesty. From here on, I will be the one to escort you.”

“Thank you very much.”

In contrast to Otou-sama who had the tendency to leave me on my own device, Onii-sama seemed to be escorting me at close range.

I had to be more careful so that the identities of Tirnanog and Palug wouldn’t be exposed.

Especially the cat whose eyes were hearts.

“When you say ‘reporting’, it was about the investigation with Klaus-sama, right?”

“That’s right. With the exception when they were explaining the situation, Louis’ faction was dramatic in various places.

Along with the report, I handed him over to a reliable person of Ignitia royal family.”

“Aah, I see.”

“Even after this, the investigation of Ignitia’s territory in Karkinos is waiting for Louis’ escorts.

It really hurts my head.

I need a fresh air for a while, or the frail me is going to collapse.”

“That is....thank you for your hard work.”

When I looked at him, Onii-sama who was full of energy turned around and smiled sweetly at me.

Even though he himself was lively, there was no doubt that the investigation was serious.

I would like for him to maintain his vigor during this short break.

“Speaking of which, why did Onii-sama undertake the top secret investigation?”

“Aah, it was by chance, that’s right....do you remember the collapse accident of the Ruins of Visitor two months ago?

After that, I asked for an estimation on how much money needed to drill the surrounding rocks.

Then, even if we estimate the minimum, it seems that it will take ten times as much as my pocket money.”

“I-it takes that much money, huh....”

It was a fact that my careless mistake at that time caused such a serious damage.

I put a smile on my face hurriedly so that my upset didn’t appear on my expression.

“It was impossible to continue the investment alone.

I have just gotten the cooperation agreement from the researchers of Leandez Magic Academy, so it was a shame.”

“That’s truly regrettable.”

“But at such time, His Majesty Henry talked to me about the top secret audit.

Under the condition that His Majesty will become a sponsor of the excavation project, I undertook the audit.”

“I see....if the King joins, other Ignitia aristocrats are likely to contribute together.”

“That’s right.”

As expected of Onii-sama. It was a wonderful work.

He turned anything into profit.

If I thought about it, unless the case at the Ruins of Visitor happened, the events on the Island of Messenger would have been different.

Eduart-oniisama wouldn’t audit Louis and continued the ruins excavation.

Tirnanog/Zaratan who was sealed at the deepest part of the ruins and fused with Ann, who died, would be kept unknown.

Klaus who was in a shock after losing his sister, wouldn’t reoccur for a while. Naturally, he wouldn’t be a part of the audit.

No matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t have been able to stop Auguste’s contract ritual without their power, nor could I clear the suspicion that was held against Auguste.

The fact that I stepped over the trap of the ruins was going around and solving the problems in Ignitia.

It was said that fortune was unpredictable and changeable, and that disaster and happiness were two sides of a rope.

“Good grief, for the time being, it seems that I will have my hands clear of Louis’ investigation.

When this work is over, I’d like to think about eidolons in leisure.”

“It would be nice if you could enter the Ruins of Visitor.”

“That’s absolutely right.

But instead of that, I’d like to investigate about the beloved cat of the Founder King, Cath Palug.”

“Ehh!? Palug!?”

I was surprised when the name of the phantom beast came out from unexpected person.

I almost dropped my cup in surprise.

Palug herself who was on my shoulder also moved her ears with a twitch and watched Onii-sama intently.

“The truth is, I heard interesting stories between the audit of Louis.”

“What kind of stories?”

“It seems that there are also folklores of some monstro in Ignitia.

Variation are rich with lions, leopards, and cats, but they all seem to be monsters with the appearance of a feline.”

“H-heeh....”

historical

“For some reason I was interested and searched for the remains of the scattered lore while doing some light investigation on one hand. Then, I found something interesting.”

“Something interesting?”

“The group of monsters recorded as countless figures and names may actually be one eidolon.”

“No way....”

“A young King and an eidolon who guides the Hero always appeared in the turning point of Ignitia’s history....thinking from an outsider’s point of view, they seem like completely different folklores and it’s interesting.

Aah, perhaps the powerful awakening of His Highness Auguste’s ability was also because that eidolon was involved.”

“Onii-sama’s ideas never fail to surprise me.”

It roughly matched.

What an incredible reasoning power.

It was understandable that Louis who should have been doing the collusion for a long time couldn’t escape.

“It’s not a bad idea to have a track record of investigating Ignitia’s eidolon first.

Fund procurement seems to be going smoothly from the royal aristocracy as well, and researchers who understand about eidolons also can be increased.

It’s a good thing.”

“About the cat monsters, Auguste-sama knows about the details.”

“Oya, His Highness Auguste?

I see, then I have to talk to him about this.

—Also, about the reason Erica very familiar with him.”

“Eh?”

I see, it was certainly a concerning point.

From the viewpoint of others, it should look like we got along too quickly and that was very surprising.

From the viewpoint of a guardian, it would be very worrisome.

My contact with Auguste in the public place was when I said the poem about angel the day before yesterday.

“Don’t worry. There is nothing to be guilty about.

Auguste-sama is a friend of mine.

When I happened to be in the cathedral, we hit it off when we were talking about the old paintings.”

“....Friend? Are you just friends?”

“Of course—”

“Of course, we’re not just friends!”

“Wah!?”

Suddenly someone’s arm caught my arm, and my heart was about to jump out.

When I turned around, my eyes met with familiar purple eyes.

Ah, that was surprising. So it was Auguste, huh.

He changed his clothes from the riding outfit to the formal wear of a prince in the middle of the incident.

But this prince, to suddenly appear and cut in our conversation.

“Heeh....Your Highness, if you’re not ‘just friends’, then what is your relationship with Erica?”

“Um, you mean that you’re my good friend, right, Auguste-sama?”

“Yes, yes, Erica and I, we are good friends.

Only for the moment though, Onii-sama.”

“Is that so. That’s good.

By all means, please be good friends with Erica forever.”

Onii-sama and Auguste smiled sweetly at each other.

Both of them should be smiling, but the atmosphere between them were unsettling.

And Auguste too, why would he said something that could be misunderstood?

Combined with Onii-sama’s siscon tendency, it became an explosive situation.

For a while, the two of them were staring at each other silently.

In the end, Auguste seemed to have lost and took his hand off of me.

“You are a shrewd person, Sir Eduart.”

“I’ll accept it as a compliment, Your Highness Auguste.”

After saying such words, the tense atmosphere was slightly loosened.

Goldberry appeared somewhat late to her owner and landed on Auguste’s shoulder.

She threw the piece of meat she was holding in right above her, snapped into it and filled her mouth with it.

“Yosh, yosh, you already ate enough, Goldberry.”

“Kyurururu?”

“Yeah, it can’t be helped. Today is special but from tomorrow you have to moderate yourself so you don’t gain weight.”

“Kuaa.”

Goldberry rubbed her cheek on Auguste’s, narrowing her eyes and swishing her tail back and forth.

Tirnanog was also cute, but the dragons of Ignitia were also cute with their cat-like gestures.

When I was thinking about such things, Goldberry caught my eyes and stopped moving around.

Palug who was on my shoulder stiffened.

Apparently, Goldberry seemed to stare at her kitten form.

『Oh no....I forgot to delete the memory of that child....』

Palug muttered in a quiet voice that could only be heard by me.

She jumped to the ground and hid behind my skirt to escape Goldberry’s line of sight.

『Cat....what a foolish guy.』

“Kyu....? Kyurururu!”

Tirnanog muttered in a low voice and shrugged his shoulders.

Goldberry was staring at Tirnanog this time.

Somehow, it seemed to resemble the atmosphere of Palug when she encountered handsome men.

She quickly flew over to my shoulder and put her forelegs on the face armor of Tirnanog.

Speaking of which, this child was curious about the content of Tirnanog since the start.

『!?』

“Kyuaah....?”

『Stop it! I, I am a golem! There is nothing inside!』

Tirnanog whose face armor was almost opened, twisted himself away and clambered down to escape.

When Tirnanog reached the ground, Goldberry immediately descended to the ground and followed him.

As they started chasing each other, soon Palug also joined in.

The three of them went about circling around me, then passed under the table and kept running.

“Oi~, don’t tease them, Goldberry.”

“Don’t go too far, alright?”

When we called out to them, those small beasts had already disappeared.

Oh well.

Goldberry was strong, and she was clever even if Tirnanog and Palug were also weakened.

Or rather, it was more dangerous for the identity of Palug to be exposed to Auguste through the sense of Goldberry.

I hoped that it would work out fine.

“That girl, she really likes Erica’s golem.”

“It looks like it.”

“I’m also interested in the construction of Erica’s golem.”

“No way, it’s embarrassing to show the internal structure to Onii-sama.”

“I see, that’s too bad.”

This was troubling....Onii-sama became interested.

But, if Onii-sama observed it carefully, it would surely be exposed that the content was a living being.

In addition, it could also be said that Tirnanog was a homunculus.

It would be difficult, but I had to gloss over it somehow.

“Huh? That’s Eduart, right? Ooi~.”

While I was suffering, I heard a familiar voice.

Onii-sama turned towards where the voice came from.

I stroked my chest in relief at the lifeboat that had fall down.

The person approaching was a student of Leandez Magic Academy who had a big bundle held under his arm.

Messy silver hair, the uniform of King’s Scholar, and a gentle and na?ve smile.

It was Actorius-sensei.

What should I do, his glasses were crooked again.

While I was wondering whether I should point it out or not, Onii-sama fixed Actorius-sensei’s glasses position in a moment.

It was a quick work that only took a blink of time.

“You haven’t change, Elric.”

“Oya, I didn’t notice. My glasses have been crooked all this time, huh. Sorry for always troubling you, Eduart.”

Both of them felt somewhat accustomed with this.

I wondered if this kind of exchange had been repeated from long ago.

“Aah, excuse me, Erica-sama is also here, huh.

Uum....do I know the other boy too?

Ah that’s right, you’re the rider of Blackcurrant.

Congratulation for your win.”

“I am King Henry Ignitia’s son, Auguste.

Thank you for taking care of me during the tournament.”

“Eehh~~!? You are the prince?

I also thank you, I apologize for not recognizing you....I am a person named Elric Actorius.

I am Eduart’s school friend.”

Actorius-sensei hurriedly bowed towards Auguste.

As expected, Auguste seemed to be the winner of the tournament.

I guessed that was natural.

Louis who did wrongdoing using the enemy’s technology couldn’t be treated as the winner forever.

“You recognized him as Blackcurrant’s rider, but you didn’t notice that he was His Highness Auguste, Elric.”

“I was busy with the investigation of the violation that Louis did, so I didn’t hear the name of the winner~.”

“I’m sorry. Because of what my family member did, the school people faced some hardships.”

“No, no, don’t mind it.

This is the extension of our original work.

Even though it’s regrettable for the two dragons, I got some valuable data from them.”

When the topic of the two dragons—the White Dragon Camellia and the Purple Dragon Silvetica brought up, Auguste’s expression became clouded.

“What happened to Camellia and Silvetica?”

“I’m sorry. Right now, we have no way to save those two dragons.

We removed most of the Nails, but we couldn’t remove those stuck in some important organs.

It is regrettable that we cannot fully understand the biological structure of the dragons.

Besides, the embedded curse was the unknown kind specially manufactured for the dragons.”

“I see....”

“But, I will never let such tragedy repeat again.

For the two victims, we can certainly find a remedy.”

“....Aah, I will expect your success.”

To cheer him up, Actorius-sensei who always seemed so weak, strongly guaranteed it.

With that, a smile finally returned to Auguste’s face.

“Even so, Louis Ode-Ignitia....

I didn’t expect him to do something so terrible.

Even though I didn’t have a dragon, I would never do such a heartless thing.

Do you want to see the inspection results, Eduart?

All in all, centered on the spine, there are more than a hundred Cursed Nails—”

“Elric, taking about that in the main street during daylight is a bit....”

“Ah, that’s right, sorry.”

Actorius-sensei hurriedly covered his mouth.

Auguste was pale when I looked at him.

Even I felt goose bumps along my spine, it would be even more painful for the people of Ignitia who cherished the dragons.

“Louis wasn’t supposed to be a person who could do such a thing in the past.

At least, every participant could equip the cursed stirrup, so why didn’t he use the Cursed Nails instead?”

“No, Your Highness, I personally think that Louis didn’t have a part in the stirrup case.”

“Is that so?

If that is true, that makes me feel a little relieved.

Certainly he and I have a bad relationship, but I don’t want to think that I was so hated that he wanted to kill me.”

Auguste said in a somewhat lonesome way while looking down and concealed his eyes.

By the way, the King seemed to be trying to believe in Louis until the very end.

From my point of view, Louis was just a bad person.

But for Auguste and the King, he might not have been just that.

“Anyway, it’s surprising. Eduart is supporting Louis.

Did you find evidence that is favorable in some sort for Louis?”

“As of now, there is still no physical evidence found other than the stirrup.

I have no intention of supporting him.

But, Louis didn’t get any merit in placing the stirrup.”

“Wasn’t it because he felt that a person closer to the throne other than himself was an obstacle, he tried to murder His Highness Auguste while pretending that it was an accident?”

“If he knew beforehand that His Highness would participate using the general purpose dragons, that line of thinking might have worked.”

To the words of Eduart-oniisama, Actorius-sensei tilted his head with a smiling expression.

It didn’t make any sense at all.

As a matter of fact, Palug thought that he would fail riding right until the match started.

Even though Auguste could have been expected to challenge the general purpose dragons, they wouldn’t have thought that he would compete in the main battle and ended up crossing swords in a decisive battle.

“Among the participants in the 20-meter class, there were many dragon knights who were regarded as winner candidates.

Nevertheless, it is strange to use a one-of-a-kind magical tool on a general purpose dragon that you don’t know who would ride it.”

“Onii-sama. At the very least, do you know the origin of the cursed stirrup?”

“Since there was a miniscule amount of some soil in the gaps of the decoration of the stirrup, if we analyze this soil, we might know the source.

I’m sending a fast horse to Harvan right now and I’m getting the samples of the soil at certain places.”

“Speaking of Harvan, does Sir Eduart think that this case is related to the grave robbery case?”

Auguste lowered his voice and asked around.

The grave robbery case of Harvan.

Indeed, it was supposed to have been a cemetery in the era of the Vampire Kingdom Cascadia.

If the damaged graves were the source of the cursed stirrup, I wondered if this incident was also caused by a spell of Cascadia.

It was too much to think of it as just a coincidence.

“I don’t know. But, assuming the worst situation, my actions could never been faster, right?”

“That would make no difference.

If the fact that vampires were involved is widespread, the people of Harvan and Lucanrant will be uneasy.

They are our important allies. I want to make them feel relieved as soon as possible.”

“His Majesty Henry also seems to think so. As expected, you guys are alike. Why haven’t I notice it until now, I wonder.”

To Onii-sama’s words, a pale rose color mixed on the cheeks of Auguste.

While he smiled bitterly, he still had a proud atmosphere around him.

Actorius-sensei nodded many times over the interaction between the two people and unpacked the package which he was holding.

From inside, a pair of stirrups with a heavy atmosphere around them showed up.

“Since these are very important, I have to be careful not to get robbed by someone.”

“Why are you the one carrying them, Elric.

I heard that a mage from the school is carrying them....

At least, let me guard them with you, or I won’t feel relieved.”

“I have no choice, because I accidentally got caught by an alumnus from school.

I don’t have too many acquaintances from Ignitia, so I don’t know who to ask.”

“Although I’m sure that is true—”

Eduart-oniisama’s line of sight wandered several times between me and Auguste.

Onii-sama sighed a little and said:

“Elric, you are very lucky. You know one skilled alchemist.

Your Highness Auguste, I will return soon, but please take care of my younger sister until then.

Because there is a possibility that someone hostile may still be hiding in this island.”

“I agree. I swear that only death will keep me apart from her.”

“Hahaha, you jest.

I will be back soon.

Now, let’s run. Hurry up, Elric.”

“Eehh!? Wait, Eduart!”

Towards Auguste who was telling a joke with a serious look, Onii-sama gave a sharp smile and left.

Behind him, Actorius-sensei who was holding the big package went on to chase him while tripping on air many times.

I became worried whether my older brother could get married properly.

He should be popular with noble women, but he was a severe siscon.

I hoped there was a good woman of marriageable age that resided in Aurelia who wouldn’t be perturbed with Onii-sama who had such personality.

“That person seems to be in a hurry to go there....”

“That’s true.”

“Oops, I forgot. Thank the Angel.”

“Yes. Thank the Angel.”

Auguste took the cup that was served nearby and hold it up lightly.

I brought my cup to meet with Auguste’s and said the thankful words to the kitten who ran away earlier.

“And also....thanks to my goddess of fortune.”

“Yes? Aah, you’re welcome.”

For a moment, I didn’t know what he meant by that.

Speaking of which, he did say something like that before.

Auguste reached for my cheek with the hand which didn’t hold a cup.

“Your wound, I’m glad it has been healed.”

“The doctor was skillful so I’m saved. I almost became a damaged good.”

“Hahaha. If that happened, I will take a responsibility.”

“Auguste-sama, please be careful with what you say.

If you keep talking carelessly like that, the crown princess candidates would surge forward in great numbers.”

“You don’t need to worry, I will only say that to Erica.

In that case, it’-->>

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