Chapter 321 (Self Edited) – Welcoming the Morning in the Royal Capital

The moment Soma woke up, he felt a sense of incongruity.

However, it was natural that the sight reflected in the field of view was unfamiliar and the strange ceiling was spreading. Rather, it was surprising to be familiar with the place where he stayed for the first time, so the sense of incongruity that he felt wasn’t there. There was no sign that she should be next to him.

The memory before sleeping was still vivid, and there was no evidence that someone invaded while they were sleeping. If so, he should have noticed and awakened.

Then, the possibilities left were limited. He turned his face to check, and… that was when their eyes met.

“Hmm… what are you doing?” (Soma)

“…The greetings that you should say are good morning. Did you forget that?” (Aina)

Of course, he remembered, but when he looked for a girl who was supposed to be sleeping right next to him, she was hiding half her face across the bed. If people were watching their situation, the first thing they would say was probably what was happening.

However, Soma agreed that the morning greeting was important.

“Good morning, Aina.” (Soma)

“…Good morning.” (Aina)

“Are you dissatisfied with something?” (Soma)

He was asking that since she was looking away when he greeted her. When he muttered that he couldn’t understand why, he noticed that Aina let out a sigh even though half her face was hidden.

“…Why can you act so normal?” (Aina)

“Hmm? Well, it’s as you can see. I am the way I am. Hmm… are you angry with something?” (Soma)

“Haah… Somehow, this feels absurd. Well, yes, you’re that kind of guy… haaah…” (Aina)

She said so and let out a sigh. Then, she suddenly stood up. She started walking as it was, while Soma was tilting his neck.

“For now, let me change clothes first.” (Aina)

“Got it.” (Soma)

He still tilted his neck to her. He probably wouldn’t get any reply if he asked the question. As he murmured ‘hmm’, he raised his body and stretched up.

He turned his eyes toward the window. A clear blue sky spread out. It was natural. The sky didn’t change whether it was the Holy City, this royal capital, or the royal capital of Radeus.

Soma let out a breath, thinking that he would be able to do something as always.

—

By the way, they had woken up, so what should they do now? Soma suddenly had that thought immediately after they had changed their clothes.

By the way, the sleepwear was already prepared when they got into the room, and his original clothes had been washed by Aina’s magic. Before the scene where his clothes were washed, Soma reaffirmed the benefit of magic and had jealousy displayed in his eyes. Anyhow, Soma and Aina were wearing the same clothes they wore yesterday, and they were in a clean condition.

Then, it happened when he was wondering if they could return home as it was. The door was knocked several times.

“Hmm… Is it yesterday’s servant?” (Soma)

“I guess so… I wonder if he will guide us to breakfast or let us know what to do from now on.” (Aina)

While saying that, Aina went to the door without so much thought and opened it. No, it was closed back. Soma reflexively looked at Aina, and he tilted his head.

“Somehow, I think I’ve seen something that shouldn’t be seen right now.” (Soma)

“It’s strange. I also felt like I was seeing the same thing.” (Aina)

It would be nice to say that they were imagining things, but it wouldn’t go so well. This time, the door was opened from the other side, and a person appeared.

“Fuhahaha! Were you surprised because of my face!? Well, it’s no wonder when my beauty is suddenly appearing in front of you!” (Victoria)

It was definitely Victoria who appeared with a loud laugh. Well, it wouldn’t be strange when considering that she was the owner of this castle, but it would be strange for her to come alone to this room.

“As you expected, I was really surprised.” (Soma)

“There are few people who aren’t surprised by this situation, you know…” (Aina)

When Soma glanced to the side, he saw Aina pinched her cheek to the point she was about to scream, even though this situation couldn’t be possible at this moment.

However, as long as the empress was before them, it wasn’t possible to scream. She might be screaming if Victoria wasn’t there, but it was a pointless assumption since he wouldn’t be surprised in the first place without Aina.

Soma was certainly surprised, but he didn’t expect that surprise. On the contrary, that feeling was temporary. If he accepted that the empress was here, those feelings would disappear.

Therefore, what remained in Soma’s mind was questions.

“So, I was wondering why the empress came to the guest room? Do you really want to surprise us? Well, if that’s the reason, your objectives have been achieved.” (Soma)

“…If it’s you, you’re not really surprised. Well, it’s a fact that it happens a lot.” (Aina)

“Nothing is going to happen if you keep being surprised. So, what is it?” (Soma)

“Hmm… of course, it makes sense for me to come all the way here, right? However, half of the purposes have been achieved.” (Victoria)

“Half, is it…?” (Soma)

With that said, Soma tilted his head, but he couldn’t think of anything. If she said half of the purposes, they could be two more.

However, he couldn’t think of anything other than to make them…

“Hmm, first, I want to see you being surprised. And the second purpose is I want to look at your face. Even though it was already night yesterday, I couldn’t help thinking about it. That’s why I came to see you.” (Victoria)

“–!?” (Aina)

Aina opened her eyes wide to Victoria’s words. She was surprised, but it wasn’t probably what Aina was thinking. It wasn’t beauty that she saw in Victoria, but a child who was so excited when toys were lined up before her.

Aina thought she had a different attitude from yesterday, but… well, it didn’t really matter.

“Hmm… I see. What are your third purposes?” (Soma)

“Hmm… I can’t accept that reaction of yours. Well, it’s alright. I wonder if there are many opportunities for you to know about my charm from now on.” (Victoria)

“Hmm…? From now on…?” (Soma)

“Before we discuss that, why don’t we have breakfast first? It’s the third purpose of coming here.” (Victoria)

There was no mistake that she was thinking of something. Soma wondered if there was a problem, but… he couldn’t come up with anything when he thought about it. Anyhow, he was hungry.

When he looked at Aina, he nodded.

“Well, I wonder if there’s a reason to decline.” (Soma)

“Yes. It’s necessary to prepare for it somehow. If you can do it for us, it would be nice.” (Aina)

It would be nice if that was the matter, but Aina would be aware of that. Besides, it was hard to think of doing something else now. They would have done something yesterday if they intended to do something.

It might be possible to say that he should stay alert, but if he mentioned that, he couldn’t do anything. To begin with, even if he was in the enemy’s territory, it was necessary to fill his belly.

“Hmm, I’ll prepare to the best of my ability. You should expect something good, you know.” (Victoria)

Victoria smiled at them, but he couldn’t see her emotions, just like yesterday.

‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

Soma squinted as he shrugged the mundane phrase that entered his mind while looking at Victoria’s smile.