“I’m sorry. That wasn’t exactly the most graceful side of me to show,” Amelia said softly as she sniffled, finally pulling away after the long embrace. She took a quiet breath, straightening her posture in an attempt to regain her composure.
“No, not at all,” I replied, shaking my head. “But… um, are you two sisters?”
“Yes. Half-sisters, technically,” she answered.
“Oneechan is the queen’s daughter, and I’m the daughter of a concubine,” Helen added with a small smile. “It’s pretty similar to how things are with Blud.”
“I-I see…”
I blinked, trying to process what I’d just heard.
Who would’ve guessed there were two members of royalty sitting quietly in Class F all this time?
The realization hit me harder than I expected.
While I was still trying to wrap my head around it, Amelia turned to face me, her expression growing serious again.
“Seiichi-dono, I know I’ve already mentioned this, but you truly did save us. I mean, the way you handled the situation was totally unexpected, but still…”
“…”
“That’s exactly why we have to reward you properly.”
“I didn’t do it expecting anything in return,” I said quickly, raising my hands slightly in protest.
“You may feel that way,” Amelia continued, her voice calm but firm, “but the truth is we were saved. If we fail to repay you in some way, it would tarnish the kingdom’s reputation. Of course, I’m not saying we’ll just steamroll over your wishes for the sake of political protocol, but—”
“N-No, it’s okay. I’m not going to demand anything, especially not something that’d interfere with national business,” I said with an awkward chuckle. “Honestly, we can just drop the whole reward thing…”
This reminds me of the time I helped out Landzelf. The same reward talk came up then. People in charge of countries really have it rough, huh? I can’t imagine having to think through this kind of thing every single time something happens. It sounds exhausting.
I just helped because I wanted to. Why does it always have to become some formal ceremony? Can’t it just end with a simple “thank you” and a smile? Well, complaining about it wouldn’t change anything. And as I’d already said, I wasn’t about to bulldoze over national protocol just to push my own selfish ideas. Honestly, I can’t even do that; I’d break under the pressure in seconds.
At my response, Amelia let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then, straightening up once more, she adopted a thoughtful expression.
“Whew… I appreciate your understanding. But I’m still contemplating an appropriate reward for you. I mean, you stopped a war by yourself. What could possibly measure up to that?”
“Seriously,” Helen added, her voice filled with awe. “We’re talking about a full-blown war between the Kaizell Empire and the Varcia Empire… And you ended it singlehandedly, Seiichi-sensei.”
“Exactly,” Amelia muttered, resting her hand on her forehead. “There’s no such thing as an ordinary reward that could possibly be enough.”
The two of them groaned in unison, burying their faces in their hands.
Okay, yeah. I’m sorry about that.
But truth be told, I didn’t have anything in mind that I wanted anyway.
I’m not short on money. I don’t need new weapons or armor. I have everything I need.
When Landzelf had asked about the reward, I’d managed to smooth things over by agreeing to learn magic from Florio. At the time, I still couldn’t use magic properly, but somehow, that arrangement had been enough to satisfy everyone.
Now, standing behind Amelia, both Leyll and Swinn seemed equally troubled, their brows furrowed as they too struggled to come up with an appropriate reward for me. But it was clear none of them were getting anywhere.
The silence dragged on for a while before Amelia finally let out a weary sigh.
“No good. Nothing comes to mind. And I apologize for asking, but… Seiichi-dono, would you be willing to stay at the castle for just one more day?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t mean this as a replacement for your reward, of course, but we’d like to give you the best hospitality possible while we take a little more time to think. We’ll try to have something figured out by tomorrow. So, what do you think?”
“Uh…”
Well, the fighting’s over, so it’s not like I have anything urgent going on. I guess I should at least let Saria and the others know what’s happening.
“Yeah, I think that’s fine.”
“Really?! Oh, thank you!” Amelia’s eyes sparkled with relief. “Then please, stay in the same room you used last night! We didn’t exactly have the luxury of time yesterday, but this time we’ll prepare a real feast. And the castle has a huge bathhouse we’re quite proud of. Please, make sure to enjoy that, too!”
She beamed at me, her excitement palpable.
Come to think of it, Landzelf’s castle also had a bath. I suppose large baths are just a standard feature of castles. Maybe they serve as a symbol of power or wealth, or something along those lines.
As I was contemplating the connection between bathhouses and nobility, everything started moving faster than I could process. Before I realized, a maid had appeared and was already guiding me back to the guest room I had stayed in the previous night.