Presents

It was nice to have people worry about him, though a little embarrassing.

Queen Tianis cleared her throat, and Anatia reluctantly let go and returned to her seat.

"Even so, to think such a dangerous monster appeared within the kingdom… It would have been brutal if we'd had to form a subjugation force."

"Ordinary soldiers would have taken heavy casualties. The only reason we made it through without losses was because we kept it to a small, elite group."

"All I can do is pray it never happens again. We've only just gotten to a point where we can start thinking about the future."

He agreed. He could only hope he'd never feel that way again, and that no one else would ever suffer the same fate.

"On that note, I brought souvenirs."

He took out the large diamonds he'd received from Kitan.

He selected three of the finest specimens and lined them on the table.

They were uncut, but even so, their brilliance was unmistakable. Top-quality stones.

They were sure to be a hit.

"Wait, are those diamonds!?"

Yupe was the first to rush over.

Her discerning eye lived up to its reputation, studying the diamonds with a deadly serious gaze.

"They're gifts from Representative Kitan, as thanks for resolving their problem. I thought Your Majesties might appreciate them."

"Oh, I'll say. Large diamonds are famously hard to come by."

She slipped on silk gloves and gently lifted one with her right hand, holding it up to the light.

"If it looks this good uncut, once it's been worked, it'll catch every eye in the room with even the faintest light. I'll take this one. I'll have my personal jeweler cut it… At this size, a necklace would show it off better than a ring."

"Honestly, do whatever you want…" Queen Tianis said with an exasperated look at the giddy Yupe.

She didn't seem particularly interested in gemstones.

Come to think of it, she never wore much jewelry.

Though the crown alone meant she could never be called plain.

"Yohane-san, may I have one as well?"

"Of course."

"How lovely. It would have been even better if it were a personal gift, though."

Anatia picked up one of the diamonds.

Giving someone a gemstone out of the blue would probably raise suspicions about his motives.

A birthday or something like that would be a natural occasion, though.

"I think I'll have mine made into a ring. You don't mind?"

"Not at all. I'm glad you like them."

"I'll wear it always. Fufu."

She seemed to have taken quite a liking to it.

Better to share than to keep them all for himself.

After that, they updated him on recent developments.

With cooperation from other nations, recovery from the disaster's aftermath had progressed rapidly, to the point where the scars were barely noticeable.

On top of that, an economic boom had arrived, bringing prosperity across the kingdom.

All signs pointed in a positive direction.

But looking toward the future, things weren't so rosy.

As long as the Solar Union existed, there was always the possibility they'd drop another meteor.

The Royal Capital had reinforced its barriers, so it might withstand another strike, but if one hit a different city, it would be reduced to rubble.

If that kept happening, the kingdom would crumble.

The prevailing assumption was that the sheer scale of the attack meant they couldn't fire them off in rapid succession, but no one wanted to see that scene again.

It had to be prevented.

To that end, Duke Baroba was preparing another offensive against the Solar Union.

This time, he intended to push deeper, all the way to the temple where the Sun God was enshrined.

At minimum, the threat to the kingdom had to be eliminated.

A portion of the reorganized royal army would join this campaign.

They'd also hired that Dragonslayer as a mercenary.

Securing cooperation from other nations for an invasion was difficult.

Other countries wouldn't commit to anything beyond rear support until the threat became unambiguously clear to them as well.

If those meteors started falling beyond the kingdom's borders, it would be a different story, but…

All he could do was wish them well.

It wasn't as though he could join a war, after all.

"With that in mind, Yohane, I want you to continue operating as a government official, resolving issues in various regions. You're free to conduct your own business in between."

"That's fine by me."

"I hate to use you like a utility, but we can't exactly hand proxy authority to just anyone when we're not in a position to afford that yet. Give it a little more time and things should ease up."

"I am being paid for it. And it gives me access to all sorts of information."

The government official salary was quite generous.

It probably factored in the abilities of Azu and the others.

At the very least, it was enough to keep him motivated when work came his way.

"Before the next assignment, though, I'd like to visit Evalin-san once more. Could any new work wait until after that?"

"That's fine, but… Is there still something to attend to?"

"She agreed to take a look at the Wind Elemental Stone for me. If anyone can do something about it, an elf might be our best bet."

"Oh right, you do have a Wind Elemental Stone. Honestly, just having the power of the other three spirits, couldn't you live comfortably without ever working again?"

He'd thought about that before.

The Earth Elemental Stone alone had extraordinary capabilities.

The income from Luido using it was substantial.

But sitting in a chair watching money flow in felt hollow.

If he was going to have free time, he might as well work. He'd earn more that way, and money earned by his own hand was always the most satisfying.

"Might as well try to collect all four while I'm at it. Could come in handy."

"Maybe it's a good thing they're ending up in the hands of someone free of greed… Or maybe that's how it's meant to be."

Queen Tianis seemed to be mulling something over.

The power of the spirits was immense.

He was only borrowing their strength. Controlling or freely wielding it was beyond him.

Still, to those who didn't know better, it must have seemed threatening.

He had no intention of misusing it, of course.

She seemed to trust him on that front.

He finished his report and left the castle.

From there, he used a portal to return home, grabbed the Wind Elemental Stone, and set off once more for the Northern Great Forest where Evalin resided.