Elira's face turns bitter for a moment, then she lets out a defeated sigh and slips her ring back onto her finger.
"Tch…I should've known. Very well, Mizuki, I'll remember this promise when the time comes." (Elira)
I direct an amused smile at Elira.
"I'm looking forward to it! Now, regarding that unfortunate situation with the Empire…is there anything else we need to discuss?" (Mizuki)
Dargo nods, and Elira groans loudly and flops back onto the couch.
"Ehem…yes, Mizuki. Since this happened during an official summons by the emperor, and you left a witness, news will spread even to our kingdom that you were involved in killing the ruler of another country. Naturally, the nobles will want to discuss this. I'm sure they're also aware of the train, and letters are bound to start pouring in any day now. So, it's best to just convene another nobles' meeting." (Dargo)
Elira sits forward on the couch with an angry expression.
"Dargo's right, and since you are at the center of this mess, I'd like for you to show up and suffer through it with us! I didn't want to host one of these meetings again for at least another century, Mizuki, and thanks to you I won't even get a month between them!" (Elira)
Crap…that's going to suck.
I groan outwardly, but I nod my agreement to Elira dejectedly.
"That's fair…I'll attend and do what I can. Cara Egris is in Eden right now, so we'll let her and Alara know about the situation. When will this meeting be taking place?" (Mizuki)
Elira raises her eyebrow at the mention of Cara, but she doesn't comment.
"We will make it a priority, so exactly one week from today. We'll send out summons first thing in the morning." (Dargo)
I nod my acknowledgement.
"Okay, we'll make the necessary arrangements on our end. Anything else?" (Mizuki)
Elira snorts.
"Yes, actually…try to avoid any other regicides until then, Mizuki. Justified or not." (Elira)
I roll my eyes at Elira, and I rise from the couch.
"We'll strongly consider it." (Mizuki)
Elira and Dargo give me bewildered looks.
"Mizuki, where do you think you're going?" (Elira)
I return a puzzled expression.
"Uhm…home?" (Mizuki)
Dargo's voice becomes shrill.
"Absolutely not!" (Dargo)
Elira nods emphatically.
"Exactly, you'll be staying here and privately celebrating our daughter's engagement with us! It's bad enough we were kept in the dark this long!" (Elira)
I stare at them both blankly, then glance to my party. They're all smiles, and the verdicts start rolling in.
"Yes, Mizuki, let's stay and celebrate! It'd be nice after the stress of the past couple days." (Alto)
"Fufufu…indeed, I could go for some wine." (Nina)
Zara just nods approvingly. I turn my attention to Ilina, and she smiles at me expectantly.
"I'd appreciate that, if you can spare a few hours tonight?" (Ilina)
I mean…I can't think of any reason why not. I smile at everyone widely and nod approvingly.
"Well…let's get this party started!" (Mizuki)
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
My head is killing me.
It's a couple of hours after sunrise, the day following our meeting with Ilina and her parents. I've just dragged myself into the family room of our mansion, and I am now laying haphazardly on one of the couches. I ended up drinking way too much wine last night, and I have a massive hangover.
I groan and rub my temples. I try using a healing spell on myself, but it doesn't seem to help. I hang my head miserably and sigh deeply.
"Fufufu…you're quite the pathetic sight, little brother." (Alara)
I glare at Alara, who is drinking tea on the couch across from me with an amused expression. Currently, we're the only two people here, but we're supposed to have a meeting between Alara, Cara, and my party soon. The exception is Nina, who said the meeting would be boring and went out exploring instead.
"Thank you, Alara. I don't suppose you know a spell that cures this, huh?" (Mizuki)
Alara snorts and directs a smirk at me.
"Of course. It's called not being a lightweight." (Alara)
She knows I can just teleport her to whole other continents, right?
I shake my head at Alara, then regret it due to the sensation.
"That's too bad. I was planning on making you a spell ring this morning to thank you for all your hard work, but I don't think I can focus like this." (Mizuki)
Alara's eyes go wide in shock, then after a moment they narrow at me suspiciously.
"You don't mean that…do you, Mizuki?" (Alara)
I shrug, and then flash Alara a smirk. Her expression becomes bitter, but we're interrupted before she can respond.
"Fufufu…that is too bad, they are quite wonderful." (Zara)
Zara materializes on the couch next to Alara, presumably dropping the invisibility spell from her ring. She's wearing an uncharacteristically smug expression, directed at Alara. I make a mental note that I need to start scanning with magic sense to confirm invisible people aren't around.
Alara directs an annoyed expression at Zara.
"Alara…out of curiosity, what spell would you ask for if I offered you a ring?" (Mizuki)
Alara snaps her focus back to me excitedly.
"Whatever spell you use to instantly move between places!" (Alara)
I shake my head at Alara sympathetically.
"Ah, that is one of the few spells I can't put in a ring. Another is the spell that Ilina used to pin you to the ground during your fight. They're both too complicated for a spell ring. I'm sorry, you'd have to think of something else if I give you one." (Mizuki)
It's the truth…I can only create spell effects with consistent spatial relationships to the ring. For example, a teleportation enchantment would always send you ahead of your outstretched hand, or a gravity spell affect a spot in front of you. That's not very useful.
Alara becomes disheartened, then looks off thoughtfully.
Several minutes pass in silence, then Alto and Cara enter the room in quick succession. Alto sits down on the couch right next to me, then leans against my shoulder miserably. She looks like she feels terrible, probably for the same reason as me. I guess we're both lightweights.
"Fufufu…so, you feel as terrible as I do, Alto?" (Mizuki)
I absentmindedly push Alto's hair out of her face as she leans into me pathetically, and she shoots me a surprised glance. I quickly realize my mistake.
"Oh, right. I got carried away and treated you like my little sister again. Sorry for that, Alto." (Mizuki)
Alto shrugs and gives me a halfhearted smile.
"I'll let you off the hook this time." (Alto)
Cara, who sat on the couch next to Alto, raises an eyebrow at the interaction.
"Mizuki, I don't suppose the reason you've sidestepped my advances is because you're already sleeping with Alto, is it? I admit, it's somewhat strange that you're the only man in a house full of beautiful women." (Cara)
Everyone looks to Cara in bewilderment. Before I can respond, I hear Alto snort next to me.
"Pffft…Mizuki sleeping with me? He doesn't even seem interested when we bathe together. I'm happy to say that we just have a very comfortable friendship." (Alto)
Wait a second…is that the 'research' she was talking about when she climbed into my bath unannounced!?
Cara directs a surprised expression at me, then addresses me with a teasing tone.
"Mizuki, if you're so familiar with the women you befriend, you're welcome to platonically keep me warm in my bed tonight." (Cara)
I roll my eyes at Cara.
"First of all, it's not all my female friends, it's just Alto. Second, even when she joins my baths uninvited, she respects my personal space way more than you do. Most importantly, she's never once tried to sleep with me. You two are not the same, Cara." (Mizuki)
Cara clicks her tongue at me and sighs, while Alto looks at me curiously.
"Mizuki, out of curiosity, if I didn't want to sleep alone one night and asked to join you for the company, what would you say?" (Alto)
I snap my head to Alto in bewilderment, and everyone else seems to echo my sentiments as well. She just stares back at me expectantly, with an amused expression. I sigh deeply.
That's unexpected, even as a joke. Still…I'm a little worried about her after she killed that slaver yesterday. If there's any chance that she's having terrible nightmares or something, and isn't completely joking, I should be genuine.
[Assuming that Nina and Ilina wouldn't mind, you can sleep in our room, Alto. I'm not sure if you were joking, and I don't know why you'd ask me that, but I'm your friend and you can always come to me for anything. If you're having trouble sleeping or something, let Nina and I know so we can help.] (Mizuki)
"Obviously I'd tell you that I decline being experimented on in my sleep, Alto." (Mizuki)
Everyone rolls their eyes or chuckles, then moves on, but Alto maintains my gaze with a mix of surprise and appreciation on her face.
Alara makes a much-needed redirection.
"Ehem…Mizuki, moving on, what did you call us here to discuss?" (Alara)
I nod to Alara appreciatively, and I look around to meet everyone's expectant gazes.
"Of course, sorry. Alto and Zara are already aware of this, but there will be another meeting of the nobles six days from now. Queen Elira will be sending official notices to the nobles this morning." (Mizuki)
Alara and Cara both look surprised, then Cara narrows her eyes at me suspiciously.
"What is this meeting for, Mizuki? Does it have anything to do with why you were all gone the other day? Also, when did you travel to Avalon and get a meeting with Queen Elira? While we're at it, how did you travel? You returned far too late last night for it to have been by train." (Cara)
Jeez…how closely has she been watching me? Oh well…honestly, it might be about time to loop her in. After this mess with Belmod, I won't be able to fly under the radar much longer.