Interlude 15
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Chancellor Madison still remembers him. Each time, it pains his heart.
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It was about two weeks and a few days after he had been summoned to this world.
King Arcana called him for a private meeting, saying he had concerns.
Of all places, the message said to meet in the private room behind the king’s office—a place known only to the king and his closest family members.
Since this had happened only a handful of times before, the Chancellor worries that political opposition might be maneuvering without his knowledge, or that the Empire or the Holy Nation might be interfering with their country again. He frets internally, hoping it’s not another troublesome matter.
However, his concerns turn out to be completely unfounded.
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The King and the Chancellor bring their respective wine collections. As the King fumbles for words, the Chancellor, while internally sighing, actively pours wine for the King to help loosen his tongue.
Finally, as the King starts to speak haltingly, he then begins to sob.
Bracing himself for something serious, the Chancellor is taken aback when the King’s words are, 「Princess Puffy is in love. What should I do?」
When the King consults him with such a childish concern, he’s left slack-jawed and at a loss for words.
However, upon hearing the full story, things become clearer.
Princess Puffy’s love interest—it seems to be one of the young men summoned to their world.
It’s the very youth that even the Chancellor himself had internally given his stamp of approval to, believing he would become a remarkable individual if things continued as they were.
Usually, the Chancellor wouldn’t hesitate to offer his opinion to the King when necessary. But in this case, he chooses to avoid saying anything negative about the young man and instead lets the matter slide.
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As the King becomes more intoxicated, starting to string together words like 「what to do,」 「my daughter,」 「Puffy,」 「hate the guy,」 「but,」 「don’t want to be disliked」 like an automatic sentence-generating bot, the Chancellor internally smiles.
He knows the strength of the young man’s desire to return to his original world.
The Chancellor understands that this is the driving force behind the youth’s harsh training.
Therefore, he realizes that the stubborn young man is unlikely to remain in this country—the Arcana Kingdom.
However, if by some chance the youth wishes to stay in this country and spend his life with Princess Puffy, the Chancellor dreams that he himself could become the young man’s guardian and watch over the couple’s future.
And then there’s the problem of the King before him.
What should be done if the King exercises his authority and doesn’t allow the two to share their lives together—
If the princess is off-limits, that’s fine too.
The Chancellor, who supports this country, has two beloved daughters of his own.
So perhaps he could marry one of them to the young man. No, that might be even better. They would become family that way.
With his level of thoughtfulness, toughness, and vitality, he should succeed in any field.
Acquiring such talent would be beneficial for their country as well.
The Chancellor, thinking that the sooner the better, stands up, but in doing so, his feet tangle and he falls right on his backside.
He himself, like the saying 「the doctor becomes the patient,」 had long since been affected by the alcohol while encouraging the King to drink, and his reason, which should have stopped his runaway thoughts, had loosened.
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Chancellor Madison remembers what happened even after sobering up. So when he returns to his senses the next day, he understands his thoughts from the previous night but is also exasperated. 「You went too far, you fool,」 he thinks to himself.
「Those who interfere with others’ love affairs should be kicked to death by a horse」 was a saying passed down by a previously summoned hero.
The Chancellor himself had some ulterior motives, thinking that if the young man stayed in this country, and if things went well, maybe with one of his own daughters… But following this maxim, he decides to avoid interfering with the young man’s love life as much as possible.
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However, even so, on that day, at that time, Chancellor Madison couldn’t completely suppress his own emotions.
He felt as if all the blood in his body was boiling.
Words like passion and fury were the most appropriate to describe his intense emotions.
It was the day the young man was departing.
The Chancellor will never forget the intense emotions of that day.
I was shocked by Princess Puffy’s bold confession to the young man and ◄nexp℮ct℮dly f℮lt my h℮∂rt sk¡p ∂ b℮∂t. I c○uldn’t h℮lp but f℮℮l ∂ wh¡rlw¡nd ○f ℮m○t¡○ns, my m¡nd sp¡nn¡ng ∂s I tr¡℮d t○ pr○c℮ss wh∂t w∂s h∂pp℮n¡ng. D℮sp¡t℮ my b℮st ℮ff○rts, I f○und mys℮lf ○v℮rwh℮lm℮d w¡th ∂n un℮xp℮ct℮d s℮ns℮ ○f j○y. ▲s I w∂tch℮d th℮ sc℮n℮ unf○ld, ∂ll th℮ r℮sp℮ct ∂nd ∂dm¡r∂t¡○n I h∂d h℮ld f○r th℮ pr¡nc℮ss s℮℮m℮d t○ cr∂sh d○wn ∂r○und m℮, y℮t I c○uldn’t br¡ng mys℮lf t○ ℮xpr℮ss ¡t ○utw∂rdly.
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It was the day the young man was departing.
The Chancellor will never forget the emotions of that day.
I was surprised by Princess Puffy’s bold confession to the young man, and
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It was the day the young man was departing.
The Chancellor secretly shed tears at his parting words.
And when Princess Puffy made her bold confession to him, the Chancellor inwardly cheered, thinking they were truly a perfect match.
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After the young man’s departure, his achievements became so tremendous that they are now known to all citizens.
And yet, why—
The Chancellor reflects.
When did the tide turn?
Was it perhaps after the news of their conquest of the ‘Blade Dungeon’ arrived?
The nation’s core was involved in supporting the hero’s party, and the future of the country depended on their success. There was no way the country wouldn’t monitor the party and gather information.
The information collected about the young man from the time they set out until after the conquest of the ‘Blade Dungeon’ seemed like it couldn’t possibly be about the same person.
It’s a story from the past.
Everywhere they went, he would brush off people’s troubles with a laugh, saying things like 「Come on, don’t worry about that」 or 「Don’t cry, you dummy,」 and help solve their problems—to the Chancellor, he was noble and, above all, beautiful.
Such a person no longer exists anywhere now.
Indulging in debauchery, living in luxury, hurling abuse at the people.
This is who he is now, almost as if—he’s been possessed by the Holy Knight who left the party.
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Chancellor Madison’s worries continue.
The devoted Princess Puffy, in addition to the usual dowry, has been regularly sending money to the young man by dipping into her own funds.
However, there are rumors that all this money is being squandered on the luxurious lifestyle of the other young Holy Knight…
By the way, when Chancellor Madison heard the amount Princess Puffy was sending to the young man, he doubted his own ears.
The sum that fell from her beautiful lips was so unreasonable and enormous.
Thus, the Chancellor agonizes over whether to reprimand the princess.
But even that is now a laughing matter.
The problem wasn’t just Princess Puffy.
The King, who would nod to almost everything she said, was also part of the problem.
After conquering the ‘Blade Dungeon’ and taking a much longer rest than the previous intervals, the young man headed to Lemone, the largest and closest town to their previous base, to explore the next dungeon.
From this point on, the young man became even more unrestrained than before, making several irreversible mistakes in judgment.
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