The very fact that Orjef Rhoda was the vice commander of the elite Third Royal Order was a testament to his talents as a knight. He was also capable of handling clerical matters, as evidenced by how he used to take care of the paperwork and odd jobs that Aresh had avoided before he met Seiichirou. Finally, being one of Aresh’s blood relatives, he was the only member of the knights who could speak frankly to the commander. He was an invaluable man indeed.
“The prime minister has ordered that you serve as a guide for the Egorovan envoys who will be arriving in four days,” Seiichirou answered for the still-dejected Aresh.
Orjef turned his auburn and blue eyes in Seiichirou’s direction. “That sounds backward. Wasn’t it that you were supposed to be the guide and I was supposed to be the guard?”
“Given my involvement in the movement spell project, I expect that I will be tasked with explaining the logistics to the diplomats. However, we are dealing with a large nation, and apparently the main diplomat will be the third-born prince of Egorova himself.”
“Say what?!” Orjef blanched—he’d only heard that the diplomats would be from Egorova, not that they were royals. After a pause, he said, “…Okay, now I get it. So I’ll be the one in the line of fire and I have to protect you.”
“I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake.”
Orjef was right.
Although Seiichirou was unusual in the sense that he was from another world, he was no Holy Maiden. At the end of the day, he was just a civil official. He was not a good fit for guiding the prince of a foreign nation around. At worst, it might be interpreted as a slight.
And so Orjef, the vice commander of the elite magic knights and the son of a count, would ostensibly serve as the guide, while Seiichirou would offer supplementary explanations…but the reality was the opposite. Seiichirou was the guide, and Orjef was his guard.
This way, Seiichirou would be squeezed for all he was worth while Romany’s two most powerful magic organizations would equally shoulder the burden. And hierarchy would be observed as well, which would keep Egorova happy.
“All right, I get the Prime Minister’s thinking. But why me and not Aresh? Isn’t the Sorcery Department’s director showing up personally?” Orjef asked bluntly.
Aresh’s head sprang up. “Exactly!” was practically written across his face.
“Don’t be like that, Aresh. Remember what you were told?” Seiichirou reprimanded him softly.
“……” Aresh said nothing. He looked away again, his brows knitted in consternation.
“What was he told?” Orjef posed the obvious question.
After a short silence, Seiichirou answered:
“Aresh and I are too close.”
Camile’s reasoning was more or less the same as when he assigned Seiichirou to the church investigation.
“You see what I mean?” the prime minister had said in the office. “I’ve told you before that your closeness to Seiichirou, an otherworlder, could be seen as a political bias. And that would be a problem, wouldn’t it?”
It could cause needless misunderstandings and interfere with the project. As someone who prized efficiency, Seiichirou felt tempted to apologize for the trouble.
“Besides, this job is going to affect future international relations. We wouldn’t want to expose the weakness of one of our most valuable players to a foreign country, now would we?”
“Good point…”
“I have to admit…”
It bore mentioning that Seiichirou assumed that the “player” was referring to Aresh, the young and brilliant commander of the Third Royal Order. Meanwhile, Aresh assumed that this was about Seiichirou, whose wit and ability to get things done had sparked a revolution in the kingdom.
For just a moment, Camile’s face flickered with an indescribable expression—he had an inkling of what the insufferable duo was thinking.
He sighed, and his next words made the two men stiffen.
“If you’re going to be like that, you might as well get married and make your partnership official.”
“…………”
“…………”
Both Seiichirou and Aresh fell silent after giving Orjef a very brief summary of that conversation as explanation. Orjef eyed them suspiciously as they looked away, but that perspective had quickly made sense to him.
It’s clear as day that Seiichirou’s completely under Aresh’s protection, he thought, so of course a lot of people would get the wrong idea.
He understood that high society was full of people who would nitpick others and make up stories to drag them down. Aresh was impervious to such talk, but the frail otherworlder was bound to attract negative attention. To be fair, it was too late to backtrack given that people had seen them eating together in the dining hall every day. Nor was it a secret among their acquaintances that they lived together. But if the story got out in a more public way, then yes, there could be trouble.
“In any case, let’s find somewhere to talk. There are a lot of things I ought to tell you, Vice Commander Orjef,” Seiichirou said more stiffly than usual, in an attempt to dispel the slightly awkward atmosphere.
Instead of the man who was being addressed, Aresh reacted first.
“Hang on. This is a fine enough place for a meeting. Why do you have to leave?”
“This is your office, Aresh. I’m sure you have work to do, so I ought to take my leave.”
“It’s fine. You can stay.”
Seiichirou took a deep breath. “……No. I need to check some documents which I don’t have on hand. My apologies to Mr. Orjef,” he said, turning to the man, “but we must go to the Accounting Department…”
“R-right…”
A fresh recruit would have flinched under the pressure of Aresh’s foreboding silence, but Seiichirou did not budge an inch. Orjef was the one getting secondhand psychic damage from this exchange.
“Uh, isn’t this office fine?” he blurted out, cracking under the pressure. “Aresh said as much.”
But the frail-looking otherworlder curtly dismissed him. “No. There would most definitely be interference. Let us go.”
Interference? He had to be talking about Aresh, no two ways about it.
Orjef was baffled. He had never seen anyone treat Aresh like that.
“I have four days,” said Seiichirou, before correcting himself. “No, I must assemble all the paperwork for the meeting with the Royal Sorcery Department by tomorrow. I’ll need to brief you as well, if only on the basics.”
Even if Orjef was only there for appearances, he’d embarrass the Romany Kingdom if he couldn’t answer simple questions.
In any case, time was of the essence. Seiichirou had to focus on the job.
Orjef left the room, glancing at Aresh’s sour expression as he went. Then, as he made for the Accounting Department, he looked down at the man walking beside him.
He had a plain face and an unremarkable hair color. He was a fragile man whose fatigue was evident in the permanent bags under his eyes. Just by looking at him, it was impossible to imagine that he had been chosen to represent the kingdom in an interaction with a foreign power.
But…
“Vice Commander Orjef, as I mentioned to you before, I will be meeting with Director Zoltan of the Royal Sorcery Department in two days. I ask that you attend.”
“Er, um, sure.”
“I have until tomorrow to hand in all the documents. Today, I’ll be compiling information about the movement spell’s efficacy and the research and labor costs.”
“……” Orjef said nothing. He was starting to truly understand this man’s brilliance.
“Is something the matter? Would you like to drop out as my guard?” Seiichirou asked smoothly, as if he thought nothing of it.
Something clenched in Orjef’s heart.
“No. Why would you even think that? And hey, even if I wanted to drop out, who would replace me?” he asked, knowing full well that they needed someone who excelled in magic, came from a good family, and was strong enough to protect Seiichirou. There weren’t too many people around who fit the bill. “Aresh can’t do it.”
“I have been told that the Third Royal Order has many knights from reputable families,” Seiichirou replied nonchalantly, his eyes betraying no hint of emotion. “Any one of them would suffice. Yes, how about, say, Harvey or Matthew?”
“What?!”
It was only natural that Orjef’s breath caught in his throat.
Harvey and Matthew were young knights who had once assaulted Seiichirou because of a personal grudge. Although it was Seiichirou’s own decision to let them return to the Third Royal Order after a short suspension and a hefty fine, he had to possess unbelievable nerves to elect people who had attacked him as his bodyguards.
“Of all the…! What the hell goes through your head?”
“I get that a lot. I believe it is what makes me suitable for my job.”
“Damn… For a guy who looks so meek, you sure have a mouth on you…”
“Is that what you think?” Seiichirou’s expression was as blank as ever.
Orjef would have to spend at least a week with this man. Just the thought of what he’d have to put up with made him sigh in earnest.