“Earlier, when we went into the forest, the guards thanked me. What was that about?”
Ivern, who had been pulling a cart loaded with fertilizer, said this as soon as he stopped the cart in front of us.
“Thanked you? Did you do something?”
“No, I have absolutely no idea. That’s why I asked you.”
“No, no, I have no idea either, and in the first place, I wouldn’t want to do anything that would make the people of this world thank me.”
“Well, that’s true for you. Then, what on earth is this about?”
Just as Ivern and I were tilting our heads in puzzlement,
“Ah, good work, Ivern-san. I’ll take the fertilizer,”
Nara-kun, who suddenly appeared in front of us, said, looking at the cart Ivern had been pulling.
That’s right, I had taught Nara-kun Teleportation Magic.
Now, as practice, he was going back and forth between this hidden village and the old Lindor farming village by himself.
“How’s the Teleportation Magic going? Have you gotten used to it?”
“Yes! I’ve constructed the Magic Formula many times, so I’ve gotten quite used to it!”
“I see. Well, just because you can teleport anywhere, don’t go wandering around, okay? You’re supposed to be dead, so especially don’t go to Admos, got it?”
“…That’s just a pretense…”
“It’s not. If you go, I’ll never let you set foot here again.”
“…What about Eva?”
“Leon and Aira are quite attached to her. She’ll probably stay here.”
“I absolutely won’t go!!”
What’s with that? It’s like I’ve taken Eva hostage.
It’s Nara-kun’s own fault if he breaks his promise with me and goes out on his own, right?
Though he hasn’t broken it yet.
Kids this age are at the age where they want to do the things they’re told not to do.
If you threaten them that something irreversible will happen if they do it, they’ll listen right away.
Well, that aside, I should ask Nara-kun too.
“Hey, Nara-kun. Have you been doing something in Weimar or something without telling us?”
“Huh!? No, no! I’ve seriously not gone anywhere except that village! What? Am I being suspected of something!?”
Ah, he’s panicking like crazy because I just told him not to go wandering around and that he’d be exiled if he broke his promise.
“Ah, no, no. It’s just that Ivern was apparently thanked by the guards in this forest. Neither I nor Ivern have any idea why, so I was wondering if it was Nara-kun?”
When I said that, Nara-kun’s face visibly relaxed.
“W-what… Ah, that scared me. I thought I was being falsely accused of something. I can’t win against Maya-san even if I resist, so I thought I was done for.”
“Sorry about that. So, does Nara-kun have any reason to be thanked by Weimar?”
When I said that, Nara-kun also tilted his head.
“No… I’ve seriously only been going back and forth between here and the farming village. I haven’t even been distributing the rice we’ve grown, and right now, I’m living more isolated from this world than Maya-san. So, I can’t think of any reason at all.”
“I see. Then, what could it be?”
“What is it?”
“What could it be?”
As the three of us were putting our heads together and tilting them, Meileen came out of the house.
“Everyone, let’s have tea!”
We waved back at Meileen, who was waving at the three of us, and decided to take a break.
“Nara-kun, put off taking the fertilizer for now and take a break.”
“Yes!”
And so, everyone in the hidden village gathered around the table for tea.
In these kinds of situations, the children usually make a fuss and the conversation tends to go in that direction, but today, I brought up Ivern’s topic to everyone.
Leon and Aira were being held tightly by their respective mothers, struggling to get away.
However, Meileen and Yulia had both been mothers for a little over a year.
They had gotten quite used to handling children, and while their attention was on us, they didn’t let go of the children.
“Oh, Ivern was told that? And you really have no idea why? Like, did you give the guards any gifts or anything?”
“If I did that, Kenta would glare at me. I wouldn’t do that.”
“I guess that’s true. Then, what is it?”
Yulia, are you really convinced by that?
Well, it’s true, though.
Looking at it this way, you might think I’m a narrow-minded person, but in reality, my heart is narrow.
Also, if you show mercy to someone you’ve once subdued, they might become arrogant.
Especially the people of this world are dangerous.
They get carried away easily.
So, I will never show mercy to the people of this world, especially those involved in politics.
Since the military is the country’s armed force, soldiers are also involved in politics.
I would never give them gifts.
And yet, I was thanked.
Why?
“Maybe something Kenta did has come around and benefited Weimar,”
“That’s the only thing it could be…”
Or, maybe the Weimar side is misunderstanding something.
Well, in that case, I don’t intend to point it out to them.
If they’re thanking me, even if it’s a misunderstanding, I’ll let them.
It’s more convenient that way.
So, just as I was about to leave this matter alone, Nara-kun shouted.
“I remember! That’s the Butterfly Eight thing, right!!”
“Butterfly Effect,”
What the heck is Butterfly Eight?
Are there eight butterflies?
“Ah, that’s it…”
We all laughed as Nara-kun’s face turned bright red and he shrank down, and this conversation came to an end.
However, a few days later, Ivern came to me with another strange question.
“Hey, there’s a rumor going around that you’re trying to take over old Lindor, what’s that about?”
“Huh?”
No, what’s that about? is what I want to say.