His Majesty cleared his throat from behind her, snapping her to attention. “We have both only just arrived. Let’s not spend all our time chatting here.”
Panamera hastily corrected her posture and bowed, a tinge of embarrassment evident in her actions but none on her face. To the people around us, it must have seemed like she was being courteous.
“Now then, I would like to enjoy Seatoh Village’s wonderful bathhouse. Baron Van, can we use the large one near your manor?”
“Yes, of course. One of my people will show you the way if you wouldn’t mind waiting for just a moment. Khamsin, do you mind?”
“Yes, Lord Van!” Khamsin enthused. He dashed off to fetch the young man who was basically the leader of the guards at the gate. The man was clearly super nervous, even as he bowed deeply to the king.
“Th-th-this way! P-please watch your step!”
“Mm. Baron Van, I am counting on you to take good care of my men outside,” His Majesty said. Then he followed the young man triumphantly.
I watched him leave with Panamera standing next to me, looking shocked. “I cannot believe His Majesty is so relaxed. That speaks volumes of the trust he has in Seatoh Village,” she said with a nod and stroke of her chin.
I turned to her. “Ah, Panamera, my apologies, but His Majesty has asked me to take care of his men. So…”
“Hmm? Just tell them where to set up camp. Then, if you can, guide them to where the commanders and higher ranked officers can stay. Obviously, I’ll be staying here in Seatoh Village. That won’t be a problem, right?” Her explanation was brisk; she seemed raring to get to the bathhouse.
“No, of course not. But…” The troubled look I gave her made her tilt her head. That was something she rarely did.
“…What’s the matter, boy? It is unlike you to be so fidgety.”
I decided to be honest. “It’s just, well, Dee and Esparda aren’t around, so I was hoping you could come with me, is all. Ten thousand is a lot of men, so…”
Frankly, I was scared of going somewhere by myself in the company of only brusque, unfriendly older guys. Panamera’s eyes went wide, and then she burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! Are you serious, boy? You’re scared of the Chivalric Orders?! What happened to your usual boldness? Are you suddenly timid without Sir Dee around?”
She was pointing at me and cackling in front of so many people! I felt my cheeks turning bright red, so I quickly tried to shoot down her words. “N-no, that’s not it at all! It’s just that my Chivalric Order isn’t full of super tough-looking guys. These people never smile, and they have scary looks in their eyes.”
This only added fuel to the fire. Panamera was laughing so hard that she was starting to tear up.
The coming military campaign would likely be a long one. I had yet to learn His Majesty’s plans, but speed was going to be key to our invasion, and that meant we would be working with an enormous group of nobles. And if nobility were coming from all over the nation, then we had the perfect opportunity to show them Seatoh Village’s magnificence.
With that in mind, I began thinking up floor plans for a hot spring facility by the lake. For whatever reason, the image I had in my head was of that place from that one super famous animated film. You know, the one where all the gods hung out. The only problem was that I had no idea what its framework was like, so with no other options available to me, I decided to instead visualize a hot springs inn that I had been to before. It wasn’t connected to a lake, but I was going all out, so I decided to have this one protrude over the water.
An interesting bit of architecture, if I did say so myself.
It would be two stories tall and fairly long as buildings went. An open-air bath on the outside of the first floor would give it a nice cozy vibe. The problem was that if I went too hard, construction would take me nearly a week, and we also wouldn’t have enough hot water to go around.
“I doubt the hot springs inn will be ready in time, so I guess I’ll build it once everyone leaves the village,” I whispered to myself.
Up front, Panamera turned her head to look at me. “What is it? If you’re so worried, would you like me to ask His Majesty to join us as well?”
“I swear, that’s not it!”
Panamera chuckled, pleased to have successfully teased me. I pouted, trying to show her I was angry, but she just kept laughing. At this point she was just bullying me.
Maybe I’ll double how much I charge her for weapons…
As I brainstormed ways to retaliate, Panamera turned her gaze from me, still smiling. She looked at the knights forming lines on the side of the road and took a deep breath.
“You have orders from His Majesty!” she yelled. “Chivalric Orders from across the land will convene here, and in the meantime, he wants you all to camp outside the village and rest! We will be discussing supplies and campground locations, so I need all commander-class officers to gather here at once!”
Backed by His Majesty’s will, her words spurred ten thousand people into action…although the way her voice traveled probably didn’t hurt. I had a front-row view of Panamera’s leadership skills at work, and I was impressed. Once the commanders and other nobles had assembled, she quickly selected fifty high-ranking individuals and sent them into the village.
The campgrounds lay between the adventurers’ town and Seatoh Village, so there was no fear of monsters attacking, but knowing Panamera, she probably wasn’t thinking about that. It was more likely that she expected the men to defend themselves if anything went down; they were the ones making camp, after all. Either way, I was happy to have found a way to deal with His Majesty’s insane request.
Panamera smirked at me. “So, boy, how have things been going with Lady Arte?”
Her question was so abrupt it confused me. “Pardon?”
Simultaneously, I heard a short, panicked yelp from behind me. “L-Lady Panamera?!” Arte squeaked in terror, her face apple red.
This, of course, only made Panamera laugh and slap my back. “Ha ha ha! Something definitely happened, am I right??”
“Uh, Panamera, are you drunk or something? Please stop teasing us.”
She ignored my complaints and kept smacking my back. By this point Arte had taken refuge behind Till, so I was Panamera’s singular punching bag. “Now, now, don’t be upset; I’m just teasing you. Ah, I know! Shall we get something to eat? I would love to hear how things have been going for you both, and I bet that would go well with some fine alcohol.”
“No way. You clearly just want to mess with me.” We kept on that way, bickering, as we returned to Seatoh Village.
The next day heralded the arrival of Arte’s father, Count Ferdinatto. Unlike last time, he had a lot of soldiers with him.
When I went to greet him, Ferdinatto poked his head out of a conspicuously large carriage and, noticing me, promptly exited the vehicle.
“It has been some time, Lord Van,” he said. “Arte, have you been well?”
I bowed, smiling at his somewhat clumsy greeting. “Indeed it has, Count Ferdinatto.”