Today’s Work Was A Late Arrival For An Executive

“All right, there, there, Lumina. You’re as fluffy as ever. Scritchy-scritch-scritch.”

I ruffled Lumina with both hands as she lay sprawled on the bed in my room.

Lumina, still lying on her back, tried to catch my hands with her front paws.

In response, I used the hand opposite the one she had pinned to stroke her whole body… and then Lumina tried to pin that hand too… so I used my freed hand to stroke her all over again.

This endless loop… I could keep doing this forever.

I was spending a soothing moment like that, but when I saw the time shown on the desk clock, I came back to my senses.

“…It really should be fine by now.”

I eased the hand that had been petting Lumina and scratched behind her ears with a softer touch than before.

“Well then, Lumina, I’m off to work. One of the maid girls will come right away.”

After saying that, I stroked Lumina… and then, after about another five minutes passed, I left the bed and went out of the room.

Several maids were standing by outside, and all of them bowed their heads slightly.

…The soundproofing in this room was perfect, so that disgustingly doting voice unbefitting of an Overlord should not have leaked outside.

The maid girls did not seem to be holding back laughter either.

“I’ll head straight to the site once I change. I leave the clothes to you.”

“As you command.”

Led by one of the maids, I headed to the dressing room.

Having a separate room for changing apart from my own room felt terribly luxurious… Was this what they called a dressing room?

Basically, I only wore whatever the maids prepared for me, so I had never really felt much gratitude for this room.

I was generally indifferent to clothes, but even I could not go outside while covered in Lumina’s fur. Especially since today’s work was… diplomacy… or something like that.

While I was thinking about that, the maids finished changing my clothes, and then they put my armor on me.

It was not as though I would be fighting today… but well, it was probably a matter of appearances. It was Kiriku’s order, after all.

After a while, an Overlord wearing jet-black armor and a mantle, with a sword at his waist, appeared in the mirror.

Even I had no choice but to say… that I looked cool… I wanted to stand a little sideways and strike a pose, but the maids were watching, so I merely checked my whole appearance lightly and left the dressing room.

Now then… I supposed I should head to where Kiriku and the others were.

I had kept them waiting quite a while… but this too was, naturally, Kiriku’s order.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Lord Fels.”

“No matter. I was looking forward to today’s event as well. I have high hopes.”

“Yes, sir! We will do everything in our power to meet your expectations, Lord Fels!”

When I teleported to my destination, a village located in eastern Einheria, Kiriku, Lynferia, and roughly two hundred summoned soldiers were waiting there.

“Are the preparations already complete?”

“Yes, sir! The guests have already moved to the hill.”

“I see. I certainly hope they enjoy themselves as well. Now, it would not do to keep them waiting too long… Let us go.”

“Yes, sir! I will guide you this way.”

Guided by Kiriku, who looked extremely fired up, we traveled for about thirty minutes and arrived at a hill some distance away from the village.

There were several hundred summoned soldiers there, as well as several hundred unfamiliar soldiers in armor.

And, as though protected by them, there were several open-sided tents… the kind with only a roof that people use at school sports festivals… Inside them were several men and women, all taking a posture of respect toward me.

“Your Majesty, King of Einheria. I thank you for holding such an event today for the sake of the retainers of our Lufelon Holy Kingdom.”

When I approached the tent, the girl who had been bowing her head… Efaria, the Holy King of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, greeted me.

In her country… the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, we had brought down the chancellor who had been scheming in various ways, and then proceeded with reforms such as dismissing more than half of the people in his faction from important posts… and roughly one month had already passed since then.

During that time, our Einheria had annexed the Duchy of Yuran, the Kingdom of Fregis, and the Kingdom of Largray… We had advanced the installation of mana collection devices and moved to solidify our rule.

Those who were useless were dismissed without hesitation, nobles had their peerages abolished… and those who were useful were appointed as governors… Well, this was basically the same course of action we had taken in the Lumoria Kingdom.

In principle, the kings were not executed but placed under house arrest, and we were using them as bait to gather rebels. However, while the Kingdom of Est and the Kingdom of Fregis were one thing, the Duchy of Yuran seemed to be moving in a somewhat suspicious manner, and according to Kiriku’s reading, they would rise up in response to the movements of the Kingdom of Sorakil.

Well, we had a perfect grasp of both the Kingdom of Sorakil’s and the Duchy of Yuran’s movements, so they probably would not be able to do anything beyond our expectations.

The Kingdom of Sorakil in particular seemed to be becoming rather suspicious, and apparently that crazy psycho prince had started making moves to aim for the throne, leaving the upper leadership in a state of agitation.

Meanwhile, we had various things to do on our side as well, so I wanted them to keep causing trouble over there for a while… As for intervention… it would depend on Kiriku, but it would probably come a little later.

For that reason, today’s event was something like part of our effort to solidify our footing.

“You have done well to come all this way, Holy King. Today’s event is meant to put the people of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom at ease. I hope you enjoy it.”

At my words, Efaria raised her face and nodded with a smile.

“Yes. We will be shown one glimpse of the strength of the Einheria Army, which protects us, the people of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom. Together with my retainers, I have been looking forward to this day very much.”

Ever since the Lufelon Holy Kingdom declared that it would become Einheria’s vassal state, Efaria had begun to show me the courtesy of a retainer in public.

Apparently, this was to make it known both within and outside the country that they were a vassal state, but since I had spent more time interacting with Efaria in private, it barely felt strange. When we met personally, she was the same Efaria as before… Well, as for that, it was probably because I told her she could act the same as always.

“I am glad you came as well, Lord Guriel.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Your Majesty, King of Einheria.”

I called out to Guriel, the regent of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, who was standing diagonally behind Efaria… but the bags under his eyes were incredible…

“…You look somewhat pale. Are you resting properly? If you, the regent, collapsed, it would be a great crisis for the Holy Kingdom.”

“I would say I have rested somewhat. The chancellor’s downfall affected a wide range of matters… After only a month, we are still in the middle of the chaos. If I do not take the lead and act, it could very well become truly disastrous.”

“I see…”

Well… If a king suddenly announced that the country would become a vassal state, of course it would cause great confusion… On top of that, the chancellor who had controlled various things was gone too…

“Even so, thanks to Lord Kiriku and Lady Ilmitt, things have been made much easier for me. In particular, I can receive various information quickly, which has truly been a great help.”

“Information-gathering ability and the speed of communication are among Einheria’s strengths. Rely on them as much as you need. Also, take this.”

After saying that, I took a small bottle from the little bag at my waist and handed it to Guriel.

“This is… medicine?”

“Yes, it is medicine manufactured in Einheria. It can be used to treat injuries, but it is also effective for recovering from fatigue. Our governors have praised it highly, so try it.”

“…Then I shall gratefully accept.”

After saying that, Guriel drank the medicine… the potion, with his expression stiffening slightly.

…Was it bad that I told him to try it? I had not meant it in the sense of making him a test subject. No, perhaps he simply disliked medicine and such. Potions were not very delicious either… or rather, they were more on the unpleasant side.

While giving a wry smile at Guriel, who drank the potion with a look of determination, I asked him.

“How is it? The taste is not much, but the effect should be immediate—”

“Wh-what is this!? The effect is tremendous, Your Majesty, King of Einheria!”

Guriel shouted with wide eyes before I could finish speaking.

“I am glad to hear that. However, that medicine only recovered your physical fatigue. It does not heal mental exhaustion. Your work efficiency will improve if you rest properly, you know? Do not push yourself too hard.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty, King of Einheria. By the way, regarding this medicine… would it be possible to import it…?”

With a splendid through pass, I pushed the work onto my subordinate. Such was I, the Overlord.

“Thank you. Still, this effect is… If possible, I would like to have a small amount for personal use as well.”

“Is it that incredible?”

Efaria asked Guriel, who was smiling with color returned to his face as he stared at the bottle that had contained the potion.

“It is very incredible. My body, which had felt heavy, now feels unbelievably well, and while His Majesty, King of Einheria, said that mental fatigue would not be healed, I feel as though my head has also cleared.”

“Looking at your complexion, I can immediately tell that your body has recovered, but…”

The bags under his eyes had vanished easily too… I thought the effect was almost frightening.

Efaria stared at the small bottle that had contained the potion with a somewhat serious expression.

“Incidentally, no side effects or anything of the sort have been confirmed, so rest assured.”

“Ah, my apologies… I do not mean to doubt Your Majesty, King of Einheria. I was simply wondering how much such a secret medicine would cost…”

Ah, so she was concerned about the price when importing it.

“I do not know the exact price either, but I believe it was a little over two hundred gold coins.”

“…Two hundred. That is somewhat expensive to drink casually.”

“That is the price when selling it… but for you, Holy King, and for Lord Guriel, I will send some personally. Of course, no compensation is needed.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. This medicine is originally used more for treating injuries than recovering from fatigue. I recommend carrying it in case of an emergency. Setting the sale price aside, the production cost is extremely low. Use it without reservation. If you run out, I will give you new ones immediately.”

“…We are grateful for your exceptional consideration.”

The two of them bowed deeply, but from my perspective, it would be more troublesome if something happened to these two.

If I could buy peace of mind with something on the level of potions, that would be cheap.

“However, handle them carefully. Even within Einheria, this medicine is only given to those who can be trusted.”

““…””

At my words, the two of them tightened their expressions and bowed their heads.

Since potions likely had all sorts of religious implications, I was handling them carefully… but Kiriku seemed to be setting something up.

It would be bad if I made a clumsy move here… For now, I should report to Kiriku later that I gave potions to Efaria and the others.

Reporting, communication, and consultation were important… for the sake of dodging responsibility!

“Now then, let us proceed to today’s main event.”

When I sat down on the chair prepared inside the tent, Efaria sat beside me.

Seats had been prepared in tents other than the one we were in as well, and important figures from the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, along with a scattering of Einherian governors, were seated there. Naturally, guards were stationed at every tent, so it would be fair to say the security was flawless.

Incidentally, Lynferia was my guard, so naturally she was beside me, but Kiriku, who had guided me here, was not in this tent.

After all, he had an important job to do.

I looked down from the hill at the land spread out before my eyes.

There, a total of twenty-five thousand summoned soldiers had split into two armies, formed ranks, and were glaring at each other.