Chapter 156: Mei, Becoming Small
The Divine Soldier subjugation ended in the blink of an eye, and the situation settled down to us setting up camp for a while to watch for the enemy’s next move.
If it had come to that, then we weren’t needed.
In that case, what concerned me was the outcome on Mei’s end.
I knew she wouldn’t die, and it was hard to imagine her failing. But I suppose it’s human nature to still be worried.
“Mei, we’re done over here, but are you okay over there?”
…Strange.
This was the first time she hadn’t replied when I called out.
Don’t tell me Mei was defeated?
No, no, that’s impossible. The Ark main vessel wasn’t just one anymore. On top of that, the number of sub-units had also increased.
As long as even one remained, Mei wouldn’t die.
I’d heard that from her herself.
So I believed she was safe, but if I couldn’t contact her, what should I do…
“The Teahouse Screen, I wonder if it’s still there…” Yuri murmured.
“Ah, right! I don’t know, but let’s just go and see!”
At Yuri’s words, the four of us entered a room in the half-destroyed teahouse.
The screen was there. Good. Mei was safe.
I was relieved, but I still didn’t know why I couldn’t contact her.
The video showed her perspective, alternating between Ver-san and old footage of him.
It was showing, but…
“Aren’t they getting along a little too well? I mean, it’s a good thing, but! Even so…”
In the video, the two of them had their arms around each other’s shoulders amicably and were singing while swaying.
“Lalalaaan, lalalalaaan! Yaaay!”
“Wahahahaha, yaaay!”
Before her, three opened 1.8-liter sake bottles were lined up.
I didn’t know if they’d drunk it all, but the two of them were definitely drunk.
“As expected of Mei-dono. She calmly does things I could never do…” Ignat commented.
“I’m surprised. I’ve never seen Mei-san like this before,” Yuri said.
“Is it possible to act to this extent…?” Kai wondered.
Probably not. I’d asked Mei about it before.
She’d said that if she was told she was free to do anything except actions that touched upon forbidden matters, she was no different from a human.
“The more freedom of action my master gives me, the more human-like I will appear, I imagine,” she had said.
That’s when I’d asked her if she could get drunk on alcohol.
At that time, she had answered, “Yes, I can get drunk.”
So, while muttering, “This is probably her true self, huh?” in response to Kai’s comment, I watched Mei and Ver-san, who were excitedly waving maracas and getting into it, with mixed feelings.
It felt like I was being shown my usually stern older sister getting super excited at a mixer party.
“Is it really okay for us to be watching this?” Yuri asked, trembling at the sight of the usually stern Mei looking far too uncomposed.
I was also a little uneasy about what kind of character Mei would adopt after this.
But right now, the movements of the Ancient Race were more important.
“I don’t know, but it’s our first contact, so I think we need to know about it…” I replied.
And so, we continued to observe Mei’s uninhibited state on the screen.
Eventually, Ver-san and Mei, completely drunk, fell asleep, practically piled on top of each other.
“Mmmmmm… what should we do now?”
We’d finished watching, but the atmosphere was indescribable.
Things had rolled in such an unexpected direction that I couldn’t figure out what I should prioritize now.
“Um, it seems there are no problems, so a report at the Castle in Yamato, perhaps?” Yuri suggested.
“Ah, right. Is it okay to prioritize that now? What about Ignat and his men?”
Mei had taken the Airship, but Ignat and his men could now fly on their own.
I called out to them, thinking they could cover this distance quickly.
“If we are permitted, we would like to return to defend our territory as is,” Ignat stated.
“Ah, understood. We’ll also head back once our business here is concluded. We can contact you from our end, so let us know if anything comes up.”
I said this, pointing to the badge-like communicator I’d first received from former Prime Minister Aso.
I told him that if Mei recovered, it would connect automatically, but we could still communicate in this state.
And so we went to the Castle. Upon entering, we found it was built like an old Japanese castle.
A spacious room with tatami mats.
The place where the lord sat was elevated and lavishly decorated in various ways.
In front of it, retainers’ seats were arranged facing each other, forming an aisle.
And where we were guided to were zabuton cushions placed to face the queen.
It was a country where women held superiority. Naturally, the central figures were all women.
I felt nothing but out of place in a space where, aside from me, there were almost only women.
“On this occasion, thank you very much for your assistance, Crown Prince Louis von Belfast-denka, and your fiancée, Yurishia von Rasbel-sama. Thanks to the assistance of you both, many of our people were saved. As the Queen of Yamato, I offer my deepest gratitude.”
Oichi-san said so and bowed deeply.
Following her, the retainers also bowed, but many had expressions showing they weren’t convinced.
Why would she reveal our names at this timing? Still bewildered, I spoke up.
“Um, I… no, I came here as a mere mercenary, so…”
“Yes, I am grateful for your consideration. However, as our blunder has caused you trouble, we must offer a formal apology. It was all our incompetence. I apologize once again.”
“No, that’s already in the past. Let’s just consider it as if it never happened…”
I said that, thinking there was no need to deliberately dig it up and stir discord, but she said that as queen, she still had to rectify it.
Apparently, the person entrusted with appointing the guide hadn’t chosen Miyori-san. It seemed someone had used their authority on the appointed person and forced a change. The story was that to punish such a person according to the gravity of the matter, it had to be made public.
“To our honor, the renowned King Belfast desires friendship with our country, does he not? As the one receiving it, I cannot simply ignore such a visible injustice.”
Oh? Pops has become a renowned person at some point.
Well, he is a king, so I guess that’s to be expected.
He beat Mildrad, after all.
“If that’s the case, then we have nothing particular to say. Please do as Her Majesty, the Queen of Yamato, sees fit.”
When I conveyed that and bowed as well, most of the retainers flanking her changed to satisfied expressions.
I could somehow tell just by looking: the faces of those thinking for the country, and those only concerned with their own dignity.
It wasn’t like I could clearly distinguish them, but there was an atmosphere suggesting quite a few strange people were around.
Man, Oichi-san seemed to have it tough.
“Oh my! I am grateful for your magnanimity.”
“No, we are also very pleased with Her Majesty the Queen’s consideration. Also, I apologize for this, but one of the conditions for accepting the request from the Kyoto Faction was to cooperate while concealing our identities from the country. Therefore, it will take the form of us returning once to ask His Majesty’s intentions, is that acceptable?”
When I conveyed that, the Queen’s expression changed completely.
She looked considerably troubled.
“Um… is there some problem? If it’s something minor, I can be flexible?”
“N-no. I was not aware that was the arrangement. But yes, that’s right, isn’t it? Without being a formally allied nation, you can’t openly stay for an extended period, can you?”
Hm? Hmm?
I didn’t understand what she was troubled about.
Yuri, do you get it?
When I looked at her, she indicated it was likely about us as a fighting force against the Empire.
Ah, I see.
Now that they knew the power of the Divine Soldiers, was it bad if the Queen’s words led to me leaving? To Yamato, who didn’t know that the Empire couldn’t deploy them again without abandoning their defenses after being crushed so badly, they were too great a threat.
But that was the failure of the anti-Kyoto Faction, right?
In that case, was she more worried about the actual decrease in military strength rather than her position?
“Um… there are a few things I can tell you precisely because of this position. The Empire’s Divine Soldiers no longer have the spare capacity to send them on the offensive without abandoning their defenses. They will be forced to defend for the time being.”
“I-Is that true?!”
The one who raised her voice was Midori-san.
“Yes. According to our country’s intelligence, there’s no mistake that over sixty percent of them have been lost. If you intend to move to break the Empire’s deadlock, I recommend establishing relations with the Ignat Family, which has become independent from the Empire. They left because they hated the Empire. One of my friends is also in a key position in that family. Whatever you decide, I believe it’s worth talking to them.”
A relaxed atmosphere spread at the information that they had no spare Divine Soldiers to deploy, but everyone similarly frowned at the latter proposal.
“The Marquis Ignat Family, you say? I heard they declared independence, but…”
Oichi-san also had an “that’s a bit much” kind of vibe.
Was it really too difficult to team up with the Ignat Family?
“It’s merely one option. If it’s unnecessary, please disregard it.”
“Thank you for the information. I feel relieved for now. But, um, does this mean you cannot attend the victory celebration either…?”
“Um… if it’s just a stay of one or two days… I can arrange it.”
When I replied so, her eyes sparkled.
“Then, I will hasten the preparations. The venue is mostly ready, so tomorrow night.”
Did she dislike being misunderstood as having angered us and made us leave?
Oichi-san immediately ordered her attendants on the spot to hurry with the preparations.
Well, this much wasn’t a problem.
Or rather, my saying I had to return immediately was half an excuse.
There was no lie in the conditions, but there was no need to rush back right away either.
There was another main reason I was trying to return immediately.
It’s because I’m thinking that now, with Mei keeping Ver-san in check, isn’t it a situation where we can make a move on the Osaka forces?
I don’t know how many friendly relations Ver-san has built in the Empire, but the Osaka forces are holed up in their den, so they shouldn’t have any direct contact.
Judging by how those two were yesterday, it should be fine even if we make a bit of a move.
If we can just take down King Nagira and suppress the Osaka forces, the Empire won’t be a threat at all.
If the Osaka forces are neutralized, the Church, having lost its Temple Knights, will lose both its backing and its military strength.
If that happens, the war should naturally come to an end.
In that case, the Empire will be hit with demands for reparations from all over the country, so they’ll instantly be drowning in debt and unable to do anything.
It’s because I want that to happen, and I want to move quickly, that I made up a reason to return.
However, I can’t just make a move without consulting Mei, and if it’s possible with Ver-san, I want to talk it over with him before acting.
Thanks to Mei, I’ve managed to establish a connection, so things probably won’t turn out badly. Or so I think…
I wonder when she’ll wake up.
Our business at the Castle was finished, and we were back at our lodgings, relaxing, eagerly awaiting Mei’s recovery.
By the way, it was a different room, but even so, the servant kids said they had replaced all the tatami mats.
Yeah. It was a shocking sight, after all. Can’t be helped.
When I told them that I’d mentioned at the Castle how well these servants had treated us, they were deeply moved.
“What should we do… Sleep? Wait?”
“Um, let’s take care of our personal business and then sleep. It’s too late to make a move now anyway.”
And so, after finishing our meal and bath, we went to sleep in our futons.
The next day, when I woke up, there was something moving in the shadows.
Hmm?
Something’s there… Something really small…
Rubbing my eyes, still blurry from sleep, I strained to see what it was.
As my eyes adjusted, I could see a small, holographic Mei hiding behind a pillar and peeking at me.
“What’s wrong? No… seriously, what happened!?”
“I-I’ve made a terrible blunder…”
“Eh!? You two were sleeping piled on top of each other, but did something happen after you woke up?”
“Kuh… I beg of you. Please forget about it…”
Little Mei covered her face with both hands and crouched down.
“Cute.”
“Stop it!”
A laugh escaped me unintentionally.
“Ahahaha, it’s fine, isn’t it? Mei, you’ve seen tons of people like that, right?
I think it’s perfectly normal for you to be like that too. You had fun, didn’t you?”
“…I plead the fifth.”
It was just that she was so drastically different from the usual Mei; people who drink, sing, and make a ruckus are everywhere.
I said that, intending to tell her not to worry about it, but for some reason, she just sat seiza-style, her lips pursed, and remained silent.
It’s okay to say you don’t like things you don’t like.
The way she frankly accepted those words and was now using them without reservation was endearing.
Or rather, various things about it were just too endearing.
“Cute.”
“I’ll tell Yurisia-sama, you know!”
“I don’t particularly mind?”
Yuri was awake. Faced with this unexpected ambush, Mei once again covered her face with her hands and curled up.
“”Cute.””
“This is bullying! This is the darkness of modern society!”
“No, yeah. Sorry.
I won’t say it anymore, so please return to your normal size. I have something serious to discuss.”
Since we were just going in circles, I promised not to say it anymore and had her return to her life-size form.
Then, I told her about the rough plan I’d thought of yesterday.
“He’s still sleeping, so I’ll consult him when he wakes up.”
H-He…
Come to think of it, this Mei isn’t her main body.
C-Could it be that they’re still sleeping piled on top of each other?
“Muuu! You said you wouldn’t say it anymore! Please don’t make such weird assumptions!”
“O-Oh. Eh? No, I didn’t say anything?”
If you don’t want me to say it, then maybe don’t act so suggestive in the first place…
“You’re implying it!!”
“No, but my thoughts…
No, if you can read thoughts, then you should know I don’t think it’s anything embarrassing, right?”
“…I’ll contact you again later.”
Mei said that and disappeared.
“Is it… spring for them, I wonder…”
“Nah, I wonder about that. Given how she was acting, even if it is, it looks like a long road ahead…”
While I was relaxing with the futon as a lap blanket, Yuri rested her head on my shoulder, so I put my arm around her waist, and the two of us continued our idle chatter until we were called for breakfast.