“Prince Romeo was cute and had little magic, so he allowed him to remain close, but Romeo was his enemy after all. I gave up on seeing his expression shift ever again after that.”
“I remember that... He always reacted coldly, without expecting anything good from others. I decided that if he would protect our nation and bring Galé together, then the least I could do is support him.” Arthur quietly interjected in agreement.
Then he became emperor just as all his melancholy was lifted.
“We had been prepared to be governed by fear. We all had guilty consciences over how we had treated him in the past. But he was completely indifferent to his subjects and eagerly began preparing to receive you. I thought to myself, maybe the reason he even became emperor was just to ensure he could live peacefully with you.” Regueid smiled. “To be quite honest, I think all an emperor needs to be is strong. It’s crucial that they’re stronger than any other nation’s. But when I saw him being affectionate with you, I thought...maybe the people will be happier if he smiles sometimes.”
One of the kids fell down in front of Regueid. He helped them up before continuing. “Things have been rather chaotic since you arrived, but I can’t help but find it interesting. The emperor looks so beautiful, so human, when his face shows surprise or concern. I like this version of Galé...” He chuckled. “I can allow it because both of you are as strong as you are.”
He met eyes with me. “Please, take care of yourself. If anything happens to you, the emperor will fall apart. You’re his treasure, his one and only desire. Now that he’s known that joy, the despair of losing it would be...immeasurable.”
After Regueid had told me all he’d cared to, he left for the next thing he had planned. Arthur followed him to see him off.
“I guess he went through a lot too,” said Lou. “That would explain why he has that messed-up personality and why he’s such a good match for that messed-up Asu.”
His past was darker than I’d ever imagined. If that was how it looked from Regueid’s point of view, then I could only imagine how much he had suffered and lived through. And he had been all alone, unlike me...
“I want to...surround Gillain with something gentle...”
“Hmm. If you say so, then I’ll help you out.” Lou licked my cheek. It tickled.
The kids came over with a rope. I’d taught them how to jump rope the first time I’d come here. As I sat on the bench, swinging the rope in circles with one of the boys on the other end, everyone hopped over it.
“All right, three minutes on the clock. Go for a new record! Your goal is two hundred! Go!”
“How can the kids get so fired up over jumping rope?” Lou asked.
“Because they’re kids?”
The kids settled down after using up all their energy and sat around me.
“Director, show us your magic!”
“Ooh, I wanna see!”
“You do?”
I’d stopped hiding my magic as soon as I’d returned to center stage. I had been afraid of Prince Schneider tracing my magic, but he almost definitely knew by now that I was in Galé, so I had no reason to hide it anymore. It wasn’t like the magic academy was going to scout me either. I was in a different league now.
I had no clue what would be a hit with the kids. For the time being, I used earth magic to make a hand that crawled around on the ground, opened, and closed. It was like a monster from the RPGs in my past life! This oughta do it!
“What...?”
“Weird...”
One of the kids started crying.
Oh, the quality was too low! Better try a red one next.
“Stop with the hands!” Lou snapped. “Nobody’s into them!”
Wha?
“Do something cute! I want a bird!”
“I want a butterfly!”
That earth magic was pretty hard...you’re telling me I could have just used my transmission butterflies?!
I took out several pieces of paper and cast transmission magic on them. Butterflies flew out of my hand. I usually made them blue to match Lou, but this time, I’d added cute white, pink, and yellow ones.
“Wow!” The kids ate it up this time, and they started chasing the butterflies.
Transmission magic was the correct choice, apparently.
“Peaceful, right, Lou?”
Lou silently gazed into the sky to the north. I took the glass paperweight out of my pocket and held it up to the sun.
It’s as shiny as ever, Nick...
Just then, there was a sudden flash in the sky. Wondering if I’d really seen it, I blinked. There really was a point of light in the blue sky. It was gradually approaching.
Is that...a UFO? I thought this was a fantasy universe, but what if it’s science fiction? Shoot, are we gonna get abducted? Should I evacuate the kids? I turned my magic up to maximum power.
“Calm down, Sere!”
Really?! It’s here!
“Get down, everyone!”
I cast defense magic on all of the kids. Damn it, I should have learned barrier magic from Gillain!
A bright ball of light fell in front of me. The light silently disappeared as soon as it touched the ground.
“How...?”
“You taught me a long time ago that the speed of light is the fastest anything can go. I travel on light all the time.”
Strong, familiar arms embraced me. Inside them, I felt a magic just like my own; I smelled the sunny Granzeus scent of my childhood.
“Brother...”
“Serephione... You’ve grown.”
My brother smiled at me, his green eyes shining. I wanted to get a good look at his face...but the tears filling my eyes got in the way.
“Br-Brother... Ahh, waaah...”
I wrapped my arms around his back and gripped the fabric of his clothes tightly. Completely understanding, he just held me and rested his cheek on my head. He knows that’s what I want right now...
The kids resumed jumping rope. Arthur came running over to see what was wrong, and he froze when he saw me sobbing and clinging to my brother.
“He’s my brother,” I muttered to him. Arthur gave my brother a good look, nodded, and backed away.
We went to the bench I’d been sitting on before.
To be completely honest, when I’d released the butterflies for the kids before, Lou had mixed in the letter I’d written to my brother and not sent. I hadn’t realized he’d recovered it.
“It’s an honor to see you after all this time, Lou. And thank you for making arrangements. I wouldn’t have been able to come see Serephione if not for you. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Mhm. You’ve gotten strong, Larouza.” Lou patted his head. My brother grinned.
I looked up from the same place I’d always been in, his lap.
My brother had clearly grown in power. His magical aura was stronger than ever before, maybe because of the light travel magic, or just because he wasn’t hiding it. He was the future Count Granzeus, a demon lord in his own right. His white shirt and black pants were the ones he’d worn when he worked in our domain. The stubble he’d had last time I’d seen him was shaved clean. His hair was long, as it always had been, and it was tied back...with my black ribbon.
“I knew you were in Galé, but I didn’t know what the situation was like inside the country. When you contacted me, I finally knew where you were...and I could come running to hug you without worry.”
He hugged me from behind and rubbed his cheek against me. I felt a bit shy after all this time...but I was happy.
“Did I interrupt anything for you by calling you here? I know I’m always causing issues...”
“Don’t say that... I’m sorry, Serephione. I wasn’t able to protect you when it was most important... Even though I swore it to our mother...!”
“No! I should be saying sorry for making you worry about me! Are you really able to just drop everything to come to Galé right now? Ah, but I’m the one who caused everyone trouble by fighting the royal family and running away...”