Chapter 13 - To the Third Country

A few days later we are now in front of the gate of the royal castle.

“Then, Prince of the Elves, have you finished your preparations?”

“Yes. Thank you very much, your Majesty”

I lowered my head to the king who pushed his old body and came to see me off personally.

At first he was suspicious of my story, but now he was friendly.

Surely he is also wanting this world peace in his heart.

But as a king, he cannot afford to make people who came all of a sudden to see him.

I'm thankful that we have settled our discussions well.

“But was it really all right with just this?”

That said, there was a horse-drawn carriage ahead of the king.

It’s a bit small, but it’s made well.

It is large enough for five people to ride.

The king had prepared this for us for the next trip, as it was necessary.

The horse hasn’t been connected yet, but he will prepare it later.

“It's already too much for us, your Majesty, and above all this is purely dependent on my ability.”

"Surely it is. No matter. Use it well"

The Country of Elves up to here is a road full of rocks and obstacles.

But from here, it is paved and maintained path, literally.

Now is certainly a time to use a carriage.

I'm sorry. I'm somehow being a nuisance……"

Next to me, Helena gave us an apology.

Perhaps she thought being a race with weak constitution such as herself is holding us back.

"Don't worry about it. It's that our members are a little too special"

Cecil and I are elves that can keep running for many kilometers with our physical ability.

And Effie is someone who can fly to the sky.

Well, she might crash if she ran out of magic, but there is still a wide difference in mobility in hers to us.

Even our speed are like worms compared to hers.

“Besudes, now that we have a carriage, we can now cope with sudden weather changes.”

Fran followed me up, to cheer Helena.

You might not notice it on the first glance, but she can be reliable at these times.

"She's right. Plus we can expand it to a tent and cook in the rain"

"Now that you mention it, I haven't tasted yet Cecil's dishes for a long time"

We weren't able to carry bulky things as we are moving on foot.

In that sense, I'm also thankful that we have a carriage now.

"Heee, Cecil, you can cook?"

"Of course! I have confidence in my recipes!"

"When we were at the castle, didn’t you have the chef at the castle teach you?"

I knew that Cecil occasionally visits the kitchen.

Though I have actually eaten her cooking in our trip, it was far from the taste of something professional.

"Then, can I taste the dishes of Elves too? I'm looking forward to this!"

"I have already bought something similar to the shops here, so I think I can make something similar."

“If so, I will help. Once I lived alone before this, I'm good with housework”

"Uhm, is it okay for me to see you cook? I am quite interested in it too……"

Somehow, it became noisy suddenly…….

Well, I should have expected this in a gathering of women.

Alan, you seem to have it hard too"

"Haha…… Well, because I have gathered quite the companions after all"

I gave a bitter smile to the King who's observing us in his direction.

Then, where do you plan to go next?"

To that question, I gave the answer I have decided.

"I want to go first to another Country of Humans. I want to get information about the Country of Demons after all"

What I am most cautious about in this trip is the Country of Demons.

Since ancient times, demons with powerful powers have been arrogant and have been in a vicious relationship with their neighbors.

The result is the previous war.

But with the cooperation of elves, humans and spirits, we managed to fight them off.

We succeeded in reducing the scale of the demons that were invading around the globe into one country left.

After that was a ceasefire, and no large-scale wars happened anymore.

However, the demons still kept being unfriendly after that.

"They aren't the type to relax your guard after all, so we'll be cautious"

“Yes, but I am more concerned about the other country.”

I was surprised at those words.

“That’s…… more than the Country of Demons…?”

“In a way, you are correct”

"May I hear the reason?"

The king began to talk about it.

“That country is the same country of humans as Bivnaheim, but its nationality is not the same.”

"You mean they are pro-war?"

"That I cannot say. It is a country where everyone can live better, for humans that is"

For humans, I feel bad about words.

"Don't tell me……"

Yes. In that country, there are severe policies on other races except humans"

“That is…… really troublesome.”

Even more so that I'm establishing friendship of all races here.

“Bivnaheim is located between that country and the country of elves and spirits.”

"So this is a buffer zone?"

This is a country I visited because it was nearby, but it seemed to have played an even more important role than I thought.

"Yes. And some of them even hated the demons more than the elves and the spirits"

Maybe they had a bad experience with the demons in the previous war.

But a long time has passed since the war.

It seems that hatred does not go away that easily.

That's why I have to make peace with the branches of the King Tree.

Because this is only the common sense of values to the entire species of Algarde.

"However, it's all just diplomacy. I can't poke my head to other countries' affairs very much"

"I already know"

"For now, let's tie a horse to the carriage and send it at the gate of the castletown"

"Affirmative"

"This is all I can do. I wish you good luck"

"Same to you, your Majesty. Please stay healthy until we come back again."

After bidding our farewells, we left the castle.

We passed through the bustling town, and headed toward the exit gate.

“Onii-san, what did you talk to your Majesty?”

“Oh, a little bit about the country we will go from here”

I answered Helena's inquiry.

By the way, we have already met with the king, so we don't have to cover our identities anymore.

I appreaciate the fact that we won't be using that cumbersome hoods anymore, but we are being stared by many people from the surroundings now.

Especially Effie, who has her wing and vibrant hair color, is now the center of attention.

"Ara, are you going crazy about me? Fufufu, I haven't even used my temptation magic yet"

Well, she looks happy, so it's good for now.

Contrary to her was Fran, who has very little tolerance to the public's eyes.

Wait, or is it that Effie is just that numb to shyness?

"Allan-kun, is there something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing"

I waved my hand to her who noticed my stare at her.

"The country that we will go hereafter seems to be not that open to other races"

I spoke to everyone.

"It doesn't matter. My duty is to follow Allan-sama"

Cecil gave a natural smile.

"Me too, I won't leave the prince's side no matter what"

Changing completely from the time we met, Fran's eyes, now filled with strong willpower stared me bck.

"When that time comes…… Just a little sprinkle of magic and poof! Done! Fufufufu"

Good grief. We aren't here for attraction……

Well, Effie's optimism is also a part that I like from her.

"M-me too! I'll do my best to accompany you!"

Helena, who has already acquired the mascot role, made everyone smile.

“It will be more difficult from now on, but everyone, lend me your powers again”

All members nodded firmly to my words.

We thus departed for the third country.