Arc 22: If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Chapter 181: The East-West alliance, and Skating

After The Restia Knight Kingdom had joined the western alliance, the name [Western Alliance] was changed to the [East-West Alliance]. And today, Hilda’s big brother, who is also the new King of Restia Kingdom, Holy Knight-King Reinhardt is being welcomed at the meeting.

「I may be immature due to being inexperienced, but please treat me well」

「Oh well. Let’s set aside the formal greetings. This is a place where everyone shares their opinions, confer and help each other out equally」

The Pope gently smiles at the Knight King who is bowing courteously. This place has somehow become an activity club for kings. Well, I think that’s fine because they properly discuss the issues that need to be addressed.

「I am also a new King myself, so best regards to you too, King of Restia」

「Thank you very much, King of Rynie」

The Kings of Rynie and Restia firmly shake hands as fellow new young kings. They are likely to learn a lot from each other as the new kings. I am also a new king myself, but I don’t think that I can be a reference in different meanings.

「I thought about it with Restia too, but…… I have heard it, Touya-dono. You have enlisted the tribes of the Great Forest Sea as your allies, haven’t you?」

His Majesty the King of Misumido says that when I am listening to the two. The information does travel fast, I suppose. Well, Misumido has a lot of beastmen, and the news should have transmitted due to what seems to be their exchange with the tribes in the Great Forest Sea.

「Rather than saying that I have enlisted them as allies, the outcome can just be interpreted as their gratitude after I assisted them. I didn’t particularly plan to have them as such」

For the time being, I tell them what had happened in the Great Forest Sea. It is not like there is anything that I particularly need to hide.

After that, the talks proceed to the situation of the refugees that have flowed from Yuuron, the Frame Gears being rented to deal with impassable highways due to landslides. Then, after that line of talk was finished, everyone dragged the Knight King Reinhardt to the stadium right away. There’s a baseball game between the Rifurisu Empire and the Regulus Empire in a name of it being a welcome game to be held today.

As the escorting soldiers for each nation were going to the stadium in groups, an idea hit me for a moment, and I called out to Her Eminence the Ramisshu Pope. I approached and secretly whispered to her.

「Your Eminence…… As a matter of fact, there are currently two human（they tentatively changed into humans, therefore it is [Two people]）deities residing in this castle. Would you like to meet them?」

「Eh!?」

I took her Eminence the Pope who was continuously nodding while being surprised along to the seats where Karen-nee-san and Moroha-nee-san were having tea. I introduced her Eminence the Pope to the two, and then I introduced the two to her who was overly tensed.

「They are my older sisters…… even if they are called such, they are the Love Goddess-sama and the Sword Goddess-sama」

「I feel kinda bad when Touya-kun adds -sama ~noyo……」

「That’s right. It feels somewhat restless, you know. Aaah, listen, you shouldn’t humble yourself so much. Take it easier, more casual」

Her Eminence the Pope, who tried to prostrate herself on the floor, was made to stand up and directed towards the table by my older sisters. After this and that, all of them seemed to enjoy their talk as her Eminence the Pope asked a lot of questions without hesitating about things such as Kami-sama, the world of gods and so on, and my big sisters answered her questions while lightly chewing on the cookies in their hands. As expected of fellow women, I guess they open their hearts to each other more freely?

Isn’t this also an interference with the human world? But even if I think of that, the so-called [The Power of God] is not being used, so I guess it should be fine. Though this situation looks strange, it can also be interpreted as one receiving either an oracle or god’s teachings. The subject soon turned to grumblings like [the god of commerce is stingy] or [the god of liquor quarrels with anything regarding liquor].

I entrust her Eminence the Pope to the two of them and transfer to the stadium.

The people in the stadium are excited about the once-a-month championship game. I can see a considerable number of people here and there who apparently came not only from our country but also from Rifurisu and Regulus as well. The popcorn sellers and beer sellers seem busy running in between the audience seats. The audience is glad about how the game is progressing. However, I didn’t think it would be accepted this far.

At the VIP seats, the Knight King of Restia has already become captive of baseball and was watching the game as if devouring it. Ah~ the same thing happened during the time with the King of Rynie…….. Sometimes, he asks the King of Rynie who is sitting next to him while nodding to the neighbor’s responses.

Is it because both of them are new kings? It seems they have already become good friends. If possible, I would like if they become best friends like the King of Belfast and the Monarch of Rifurisu.

If the first princess of Rifurisu saw this scenario, she would definitely have a nosebleed while writing some suspicious book. Both Princes (They’re Kings though) are handsome men on white horses……. Shit. Even though I have many fiancées, I’m still jealous of handsome men. Errr.

While I was becoming sullen, a loud crack of the bat suddenly erupts and cheers wrap the stadium. A player from Regulus side has shot a home run. As expected, the audience favors the players who make such shots.

The Knight King of Restia also got excited and stood up. Conversely, the Monarch of Rifurisu and his best friend, the King of Belfast, look beaten while having a regrettable face.

In any case, I’m glad everybody seems to be getting along well. Shall I give a baseball kit to the Knight King as a present when he goes back home?

======================Scene Change===================

The next day, I woke up with too much cold. It was a snowscape all over when I looked outside the window.

There’s snow and it has fairly fallen. It wasn’t to the extent of being called “heavy snow” but it seems not less than 10 cm of snow has piled up.

Training can’t be done in such circumstances, so everyone from the knight order is removing the snow from the barracks and training grounds. I was thinking whether it would be fine to melt the snow with fire attribute magic, but I was told that the area around will be flooded. I suppose that’s natural.

When I go towards the town for inspection, the adults were shoveling the snow in front of their houses like the knights, and the children were playing something similar to a snowball fight.

Since they invited me to play, I decided to make a simple sleigh from empty boxes and planks, and a slope with shoveled snow running downhill. While being in high spirits, we started to slide on sleighs.

When I parted with the children and went out to the highway, I noticed that the road is in a state wherein I can’t tell where it is due to the thick snow. I wonder, won’t peddlers not be able to come here for a while because of this? Well, it should melt in two or three days anyway.

Still, it is a long-awaited snow. I then head towards the stadium while thinking whether I can do something. Upon reaching that place, I flatten the mound of snow that has piled over and freeze it to make something similar to a rink.

「Un, it has frozen quite smoothly hasn’t it!?」

The moment I take one step inside the rink, my leg slips, and I fall down splendidly. Damn it! Is this the curse on me for using Slip up until now!? Ooouch.

「What are you doing?」

It seems they have come to shovel the snow at the stadium, I was perfectly seen by Logan-san and a bunch of the knights with shovels in their hands. Say something if you have come here……..

「Well, I thought of making a rink for skating」

「Suketo?」

「Huh? Is there nothing like this here? How should I put it? Skating is a form of running while attaching a blade on the soles of the feet?」

「Ah, is it a gliding technique? Now that you mentioned it, I heard that in the Elfrau Kingdom to the north, they slide on frozen canals during winter」

Is that a way of moving rather than something done for fun? It certainly seems faster traveling that way during winter. I wonder, don’t they enjoy it when they slide?

For now, I try making a blade and attaching it at the shoe’s soles. I stepped into the rink and smoothly glided for a while.

I heard the voices exclaiming “Ooh~”, but it’s not a big deal…….. I glide for several laps and then try to rotate for a little bit. Don’t make a light of me who grew in the northern part of the country, okay? Though I’m sensitive to the cold since I lived close to the Pacific Ocean’s side.

I make more blades and hand them to Logan-san and the rest. The blades are not the type that is integrated into the shoes, but rather the type which is attached to them. They timidly got into the rink and fell in fascinating ways. Ku-ku-ku. With this, they can’t laugh at me now who fell before.

However, everyone started to slide normally after a while. Aren’t they quickly getting used to it!? The people over here have good reflexes, don’t they…..

Before long, people from the city came too and started to watch us who were gliding. Using this opportunity, I make blades for them as well and let them glide freely. I have made extras in advance since it will be troublesome to hand them one by one. I also made sure that they can use them as they like.

「Muu……。Why did it turn like this……?」

I groan while sitting on a bench inside the stadium. A short time later since then, the standing out figures of several couples and spouses could be seen gliding on the rink. This place has completely become a lovey-dovey spot.

The singles, who weren’t been able to stay, left the rink and the couples who received their blades went up to the rink. What a very sad cycle.

There were also those brave souls among the singles that stayed who sharpened their skills in gliding without breaking their hearts and were trying to invite women.

What a strange dating spot I ended up making. Though children are genuinely enjoying it and gliding in it.

A woman who can’t glide awaits on the side of the wall and a man who can slide calls out to her. Before long, they join hands and start to glide, this scene has repeated itself several times already. Oi-oi, is this a flirting?

(TLC: flirting refers to this Nampa. For the lack of better word, we are leaving it like this for now)

Or how should I say this? Can it be like that? Aren’t they boldly joining hands under the reason of teaching someone to skate? Definitely, there isn’t anyone who won’t use this method.

Do the women know of this as well? I saw people here and there pretending not to be able to glide on purpose. Well, some things will be better left unsaid, right?

「Just when I was thinking that it was somehow noisy, it was you, Touya-san, after all, right?」

「I am a little concerned about “after all” part, but well, you are not wrong」

I let what the words of Yumina, who came here before I noticed, wash away. Though I don’t think that I am the ringleader that causes commotions all the time.

Oh well, it’s fine. I give Yumina the blades as well. With this, I also have a partner and can step into the rink without any reservation.

「Shall we glide then, honorable princess?」

「……Is this safe?」

I lead Yumina, who is a little scared from the anxiety of gliding for the first time, and step into the rink. We glide bit by bit while connecting our hands so that she won’t fall over. Even though she was staggering, did she gradually get used to it? She began gliding smoothly soon. Really, aren’t the people here having way too good reflexes? No, our world is too convenient. I wonder if we degenerated in various ways.

There’s no way I wouldn’t have known at that time that this scenario would become a standard in Brunhild Dukedom.