While I'm still frozen in place, realizing in horror that Ilina's gone full yandere, she calmly releases me from the hug. She turns to face the crowd, her expression shifting into a polite smile. Without hesitation, she speaks to the swarm of elves below, ignoring the absurdity of her recent actions.
"As you've heard, Mizuki has kindly agreed to build more trains connecting Avalon and our noble territories. To be more specific, over the next week, he will build one train per day to the cities in question, and spend the remainder of each day as a guest to a noble house, meeting with the citizens that have not traveled here for the Royal Announcement. And..." (Ilina)
She pauses for a moment, her smile turning into something...softer.
"...I will be by his side throughout the process." (Ilina)
The excited whispering, which had persisted within the crowd following the information about the trains' construction, dies down, and a silent mix of confusion and disbelief replaces it. The gears turning in the audience members' heads are practically exposed, their struggle to discern any hidden meaning in the Princess's words clear as day. As if you can see them mentally replaying the image of her hugging me, hear them mulling over the sound of my name on her lips without honorifics, feel their suspicion about the potential intimacy of it all teetering right on the edge of a conclusion.
As for me, all I can do is sit here sweating buckets, listening to Nina's cackle telepathically at Ilina's performance.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Below the unfolding political disaster, the Elven Queen stands with regal composure, her expression the epitome of mature grace, as if the trifling matters of the world are beneath her.
Inside, though? Her thoughts are a graphic mental simulation of strangling her daughter, replayed on an endless loop.
'Is there any sense at all left in that girl's head!?'
When her daughter first committed to being in a relationship with Mizuki, she supported it, made plans to accommodate it. Alas, that alone wasn't enough for Ilina, who insisted on making Mizuki her official husband for life, throwing all of Elira's prior plans into chaos. Yet, while it'd taken some time to adjust, she eventually supported that as well.
She made new plans, resigning herself to the slow, methodical work to acquire the nobles' support for the relationship. She thought her and Ilina were on the same page about how to proceed. Then, her impatient, lovesick, naive daughter blew those plans to hell as well, declaring her love for the damn boy without warning in the middle of a nobles' meeting!
And still, despite her better judgement, she forgave her daughter for that, too. Out of love, and an understanding that Ilina's renowned intelligence has a habit of vacationing whenever Mizuki's involved. Then, even though it annoyed her to no end, even though it was a bottomless source of stress, she agreed to support Ilina's absurd plan to garner the public's approval for their engagement on an ambitious timeline.
A plan that, once again, she's watching Ilina light a match and burn, seemingly on a whim. The sight causes an odd mix of fury and helplessness to bubble inside her. What can she do, without making a scene and potentially validating the rumors she can already hear being whispered among the crowd below them? Left with no other recourse, a whisper escapes her lips like a soft hiss.
"Deralt..." (Elira)
After a moment, a detached voice whispers back, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, it's source invisible.
"Yes, child?" (Deralt)
She has the instinct to snap at him indignantly that she's not a child, but she suppresses the urge. Given how old she suspects the ornery spirit that's been guarding the palace for several days to be, she doubts correcting him would be received as anything other than a tantrum.
"Can you discreetly get her to stop this possessive display of hers, before there's no explaining it away?" (Elira)
There's a brief pause.
"I'm afraid that is outside the scope of my agreement with the young demigod. I also see no real harm in her actions...their love will be accepted or it won't, based on opinions most of your denizens have already formed. Besides, if your story earlier is to be believed, would their union not produce another being like the one most revered in your history? Would your people not rejoice at such an heir? In either case, it is hardly a kingdom-toppling consequence...a minor succession shift at worst." (Deralt)
Deralt – who is quite up to speed on the relevant context after days of eavesdropping – delivers the assessment with the ease of a seasoned insurance agent rejecting a claim, causing Elira to grit her teeth.
'Overturning the succession is not minor!'
Nevertheless, she knows a futile argument when she hears it. She reluctantly drops the matter, resigning herself to helplessly watching whatever will unfold now. A weary sigh escapes her, shoulders sagging.
'A Nephilim son-in-law, an unruly Crown Princess I can barely punish, Elder Dragons wandering my palace as they please, and now a Greater Spirit babysitter...am I even Queen anymore?'
Ilina's amplified voice interrupts, drawing her attention back to the resolving crisis.
"Now, with these exciting matters officially addressed, we will take our leave! Please prepare your attention for our Queen, who has a final announcement to make." (Ilina)
Elira's gaze sharpens, her typical composure reasserting itself.
'I guess there's no delaying this further...it's time.'
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
In the air above the proceedings, invisible to the senses of every being in attendance, the Author floats with cold indifference. His eyes scan Ilina, Mizuki, and Nina as they float back down to the palace steps under Mizuki's influence, the makeshift platform dissolving behind them. Seeing Ilina, the corners of his mouth twitch in a rare display of amusement.
'I wonder...if she'd been first, how would things be different? With that attitude, Nina and Ciri would never have Bonded...'
Shaking his head, his gaze moves to the moron in question, and his expression morphs into one of profound, visceral disdain. His eyes linger on Mizuki's frame, holding a million words he wants to say but won't, before he forces himself to look elsewhere.
When his gaze lands on Nina, it softens, his eyes flickering with something...conflicted. However, he quickly looks away, as if he can't bear the sight of her any longer.
By this time, Elira has retaken the spotlight before the crowd, and she finally picks up where Ilina left off. Even at this great distance, the Author's senses allow him to hear her words.
"People of the Kingdom. I am certain that the things you've heard here today were...unexpected. Perhaps they even frightened you at times. Yet, you have all met it with calm, patience, and good faith, and for that, you have made this Queen proud." (Elira)
She pauses, allowing chuckles and amused murmurs of agreement to sweep through the crowd.
"However, I must impart one more announcement. One that may also frighten you, yet I must ask you to meet with the same calm and grace. As we face it together, know that I carry the unshakeable resolve that the elves will persevere as we always have." (Elira)
The crowd's mood had finally lightened into something more relaxed, excited even, the revelations of the day settling in their hearts with an acceptance few of those planning the announcements had anticipated. But hearing Elira's ominous words now, sound of shuffling feet and anxious murmurs fill the plaza.
Elira's voice quickly cuts through the mounting tension, her voice blunt, clinical.
"We have received credible intelligence that the humans' Ralzen Empire has turned its gaze towards our Kingdom with aspirations of conquest." (Elira)
The crowd falls deathly silent...before it erupts. Fear can be heard in the voices of those in attendance, first as terrified whispers, and eventually as cries of hysteria. Despite the facts that their soldiers are better trained, their mages more skilled and knowledgeable, and nearly a fourth of able-bodied elves are in military service...they all know the threat.
Elves, especially high elves, have far longer lives, greater vitality, and better magic than humans, yes, but their fertility is also disproportionately lower. So, even after a hundred thousand years on Azura, their total population remains less than half a million elves. By contrast, the number of Empire soldiers alone is rumored to be as much as double that. Can their country really hold out against ten-to-one odds?
No matter how much confidence their Queen projects, they doubt it. Elira knows this all too well, which is why she's quick to interrupt the rising fear.
"Elves!" (Elira)
Her voice rings out, sharp and commanding, and the crowd seems to freeze. Their expressions are still contorted with fear, but their cries fall temporarily silent, every eye moving to their Queen.
Elira takes a deep breath before continuing, not wanting her anxiety to show.
"I sympathize with your alarm, but please, remain calm while I finish explaining. There is more to tell of the situation, and...there is a reason the other announcements came first today." (Elira)
At those words, brief confusion overlaps with their anxiety, before realization causes many in the crowd to turn their gaze towards the previously innocuous human standing off to the side. Noticing the shift in their attention, Elira interjects, making her voice forcefully reassuring.
"That is correct. The trains are not the only support our country's Nephilim has offered. He has already pledged to defend us himself, should the Empire act on their aspirations. Also, the Elder Dragons, Nedonera of Earth and Cerilia of Ice, have also pledged their assistance at his request." (Elira)
Naturally, the last part is just something she made up. While it's true that Nina and Ciri would offer their assistance without hesitation if Mizuki asked, they've had no such discussion, nor has Mizuki thought of doing so. In his mind, there's no need...he alone would be more than enough.
However, while he and the royal family know that, the same cannot be said for the common elves. After all, it is one thing to be told he's a demigod and see him flaunt some power, but it is another to immediately have complete faith that he can protect them from a million-man army they have long feared. By contrast, the Elder Dragons' power is old, unfathomable, and deeply cemented in their heads...Nina alone once repelled the Empire. Hearing of their involvement, even if they've logically been told it pales in comparison to Mizuki's, is of far greater relief. A fact that Elira is painfully aware of.
True to her expectations, the white lie causes visible relief to spread through the crowd. While their fear is not completely alleviated, it's pretty close, allowing the atmosphere to return to something more appropriate for the festivities that will follow. Seeing the shift, Elira allows herself a satisfied smile, completely unaware of the incredulous look being directed at her by Mizuki, and the irritable glare from Ciri herself.
After the crowd calms down, Elira continues, confirming rumors about Belmod's death and revealing Mizuki's involvement, before discussing the additional security measures being taken by the royals and nobles as a formality.
Still floating above, the Author watches it all with an aloof expression on his eerily handsome face. Eventually, his eyes drift elsewhere, towards a single elf watching quietly from the sidelines, blonde hair framing her stoic face, cold blue eyes seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing Alto, the Author's composure finally cracks, his expression twisting with unbridled rage. The reaction is so severe that, for the briefest of moments, an unfathomable aura leaks out of him, causing the surrounding space to distort, before he manages to control his emotions.
Yet, those milliseconds of lost control are enough...
A short distance away from him, the space begins to distort, the Author's senses detecting the emergence of another presence. He purses his lips in annoyance, sighing regretfully.
"It seems he sensed me...what a bother." (Author)