Chapter 180 – Praise – 2
—Since we’re close, I’ll write casually. Are you doing well?
The letter started just as Lize would, with a style that seemed to teeter on the edge of comfort and appropriateness.
And I preferred it this way. If it had started with all sorts of formalities and flowery language, it would have felt even stranger. Just like it was written in the letter, since it’s between Lize and me.
—I felt a bit cheesy about conveying my feelings in a letter, so I wasn’t going to write, but suddenly something came up that I really needed to tell you.
‘Something you really need to tell me?’
Did something happen? If Lize used such an expression, it must mean it’s something very important.
—I’m pregnant.
“Cough, cough! Cough!”
“Eek! A-Are you okay?!”
As soon as I saw that short sentence below, I choked and let out a violent cough.
With a sound so rough it felt like I was about to expel my insides, Nix, who was next to me, jumped in surprise and hurried over. Her dainty hands patted my back.
—Just kidding! I thought maybe you’d take it seriously, so I tried joking a bit. How was that? Feeling a little less tense?
“Well, thanks a lot for that.”
Holding my chest that felt like it was about to tear from the intense coughing, I trembled along with Nix’s soothing pats on my back. I never expected her to pull such a petty prank.
At this rate, I might not live to tell another joke. I grumbled internally and continued reading the letter.
—We’re doing just fine, so you don’t need to worry about us. You know this is the Imperial Palace. What kind of incident could happen here? That’s actually why we’re here.
‘…True.’
In terms of both setting and in-game, the Imperial Palace is the most fortified location in the entire Empire.
Not only are there protective magic circles set up everywhere including traps, but there are also five boss-level knights, ten mid-boss knights, dozens of elite knights, and even hundreds of regular knights.
To top it off, the emperor herself is one of the most powerful beings among humans, alongside the Popes and Minerva, so incidents don’t easily occur in such a place.
‘Two characters are managing to cause incidents, though.’
One is the protagonist of the human antagonist route or the life-extinction route, and the other is the commander of the Golden Dusk Knights.
The latter can be quickly suppressed depending on player actions, whereas the former is practically akin to a natural disaster.
—Ah, but the atmosphere has been a bit tense lately. You know that guy who got half the knights taken from him? His condition keeps worsening. Nowadays, he doesn’t even acknowledge us.
‘Looks like his true colors are starting to show.’
Since everything’s following the game exactly, it wasn’t really a surprising development. That NPC has a character filled with inferiority complex.
When we first met, he showed a rather boisterous side, but that was only because he had no reason to show his true self in front of the protagonist.
The Silver Dawn Knights were torn apart and absorbed under him, and the commanders were pushed to a low position at the Empire’s borders, so why would he feel the need to act petty towards a mere low-ranking knight like the protagonist?
—Our kids say the atmosphere of the Golden Dusk Knights is also getting worse by the day. Well, what can the subordinates do when the commander is throwing tantrums?
Of course, acting boisterous can last only as far as the third meeting.
If the player diligently progresses through the Silver Dawn Knights route and starts to catch the emperor’s attention, that guy will gradually reveal his true character and start openly envying the player.
From there, as the story advances a bit more and events are triggered, he won’t be able to withstand his inferiority complex and will cause a major incident, appearing as a boss mob.
—Looking at him, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dark Night Order doubles in size soon, so how about preparing a little for that? Oh, will you end up working in the Imperial Palace when that time comes, Delta?
“…….”
Whether I should be happy about this or not was uncertain.
—Lastly, there’s one more thing. This is the real reason I’m writing to you, Delta. And it’s also the thing I mentioned earlier that I absolutely had to convey.
Seeing the words ‘absolutely had to convey,’ I adjusted my posture slightly. This meant that from here on was the crux of the matter.
—How did you charm Iris again?
What in the world does this mean?
‘Charm Iris? Me?’
I glanced back at the letter. The round handwriting was clearly showing signs of being pressed down with force. It was evident she wasn’t writing this down by mistake.
I wondered if this was another joke and checked the next sentence.
—He’s my man, but he really has talent. Right? How did that stiff kid confess to me saying that he thinks he likes you in just a few days?
Unfortunately, there was no line that corrected this as a joke. My eyebrows twitched as I read on. My head felt like it was throbbing.
—Thanks to you, we’re in chaos. Iris can’t even look me in the eye anymore, Claudia is laughing and saying that you’re not the one who’s going to charm me, and Erica says not to worry because she absolutely won’t fall for you.
‘Why is it pre-assumed that I’m the one doing the charming?’
Doesn’t that sound a bit odd?
—But you know, in my experience, the ones saying things like that tend to be the first to fall for it. If you want, you can charm Erica too and have all three of us together. Isn’t it a man’s dream to have a sister and a lover at the same time?
Having read this far, I took a moment to remove my eyes from the letter. I needed some time to cool my head. The temperature difference from the previous sentence was just too massive.
I had this reaction, and Nix was once again hiccuping and glancing at me.
I decided to pat her head to calm my nerves. This would have to do for now. Nix, who was just checking my response, was now laughing happily.
‘…Should I say it’s typical of Lize.’
She still had no hesitation in that direction.
‘No, but still.’
What kind of sister suggests trying a 3P with her brother by charming their little sister? I truly wondered if Erica knew about this.
Suddenly curious how Lize would react if I said that I had already indulged in such a sisterly affair in the Holy Kingdom, I decided to let that curiosity remain just that. It was better not to poke at that wound.
—I have a lot to say, but it’s just uncomfortable to write it down in a letter. Let’s talk later when we meet, okay?
The ending was surprisingly normal. The problem was that everything before that was anything but normal. With a sigh, I folded the letter twice and tucked it into my pocket.
If I had known this would happen, I would have asked Stella to catch Iris when she ran away on her own. If only I had explained things properly, this wouldn’t have occurred.
I left her to her own devices, thinking she wouldn’t assume anything strange, only to be caught by surprise myself.
‘This situation has taken a strange turn.’
For some reason, it felt like Lize wasn’t affected much, but Iris seemed to be the only one who was flustered.
Or maybe something had already happened between them.
“Um, um… Are you okay? Hehe.”
Nix, who had been rubbing her face in her hands while giggling, cast a glance at me.
“Well, it’s hard to give a clear answer. It’s an internal Knight matter, so I’m sorry.”
“Hehe… Then I guess there’s nothing to be done. Understood.”
Nix again clung to me with a gloomy smile.
‘I have no idea what to say to Lize later.’
For now, it didn’t seem like she was mad that Iris did such a thing. Or perhaps her feelings had calmed down after something had already happened.
It was probably closer to the former. She had just said she wasn’t concerned about having multiple women, and on top of that, she even wrote in the letter to charm her sister.
‘Should I clear up the misunderstandings first?’
I was thinking about whether there was any letter paper left in the castle.
“Commander! Commander!”
I heard someone knocking on the door with a loud bang. It was urgent. It was Laksia’s voice.
“Laksia? What’s going on?”
“You need to come out quickly!”
“…What’s happening?”
“The Imperial Palace has sent a lot to praise you for your accomplishments!”
‘Ah.’
Only then did the decree from Kaiquilia, which I had forgotten for a while, come to mind. It was the decree stating they would commend me for defeating the demon.
‘…Did that just arrive?’
The timing felt as if they had planned it together. I thought, now I wouldn’t have any more room to store it in the castle, and followed behind Laksia toward the training ground.
“Hello! Delta!”
“…Lize?”
And then I spotted Lize, who was smiling brightly and waving from atop a carriage.
The armor was neatly placed beside her, and she was dressed in the Silver Dawn Knights’ uniform. With thin white sleeveless clothes, her chest moved in sync as she waved.
Lize jumped down from the carriage. Her chest shook vigorously before regaining its usual calm. The well-hidden, still taut buttocks and thighs beneath her dolphin shorts were the same.
“Did you get my letter?”
“I did, but… how did you get here so fast? It feels like I just received it 10 minutes ago.”
“Hmm? That’s because I purposely made sure it arrived like that.”
“You did that on purpose?”
When I asked back, Lize nodded.
“Considering the time it takes to get to you, I arranged for it to arrive about 20 minutes before I got here. I wanted to surprise you. So? Were you touched?”
“…I don’t know about touched, but I was surprised.”
“Then that means I achieved my goal!”
Lize was followed by a line of double carriages stamped with the Emperor’s seal. I counted them. Including the one she was on, there were exactly ten.
How could things sync up this much?
We all wore blank expressions. It was natural since what happened early this morning was happening all over again. Especially Laksia had that face of not knowing whether to be happy or sad.
“What’s wrong with your faces?”
Since we were the ones receiving gifts, Lize also looked puzzled. I thought it would be better to show her than explain it with words, so I led her to the warehouse.
As soon as I opened the door, Lize made the exact same expression I had when she saw the overflowing treasures that seemed like they would spill out. It only got more plentiful the deeper you went inside.
“Um… what is all this?”
“Things we received from the Holy Kingdom. Also, they arrived about six hours before you did.”
“Received from the Holy Kingdom? Why?”
“…There was a reason.”
“Hmmm…”
Seemingly unsatisfied with my answer, Lize squinted her eyes at me, then turned her body, indicating she understood.
—Click.
The sound of the warehouse door locking echoed.
