Conversation With The King; The Grim Reaper’s Gentle Touch

“Then, please wait a little longer until preparations are complete.”

The place Jonah and Carlo were led to upon arriving at the royal palace was a reception room.

Well, it was only natural—there was no way the king would be fully prepared and waiting specifically for them.

“Master Jonah, please.”

“Ah, thank you very much.”

Taking the cup, Jonah sipped the tea Priscilla had brewed for him.

Perhaps it was the fatigue from the voyage. The warm tea sweetened with honey loosened Jonah’s tension a little, and he let out a soft sigh.

“But man, did you see that thing? With that, we can take down the guardian deity no problem!”

“Y-yes……”

Ever since disembarking, Carlo had spoken of nothing else—this was already the eighth time.

As far as Jonah was concerned, even if there were ten of the magitech weapons “Fire of Judgment,” they would not work on the Guardian Deity.

After all, a being that could be defeated so easily would never become the stuff of legend.

“There are other magitech tools we purchased from Duke Langheim. Ideally we could mass-produce them right away, but… that’s not so easy.”

Saying so, Carlo shrugged.

Jonah had been shown the other magitech tools as well; they were designed to amplify ordinary magic and were intended for one-on-one combat.

However… the “Fire of Judgment” included, they were, in short, weapons made for killing people.

The clever Jonah fully understood that the world did not run on pretty ideals alone, yet whether he could accept such things was another matter entirely.

Above all, Jonah could not forgive the fact that the Langheim house had secretly manufactured such things, hiding them from the Empire.

“Crown Prince Carlo, Master Jonah. His Majesty the King is ready.”

“Got it.”

“Y-yes.”

Carlo and Jonah stood and followed Federico toward the audience chamber.

That was what Jonah had assumed.

“My apologies for receiving you in such attire.”

The room they were shown into was not the audience chamber, but the king’s bedroom.

King Maximiliano was lying in bed.

Yet… the King’s cheeks were sunken, and dark circles lay beneath his eyes. He was likely suffering from a very serious illness.

“Crown Prince Carlo, reporting for duty.”

“I-I am profoundly honored to be granted an audience with His Majesty the King.”

The two knelt before King Maximiliano and bowed their heads.

“This is no formal occasion, so stiff greetings are unnecessary. Besides, seeing you like that makes my back itch.”

With that sarcasm, King Maximiliano broke into a broad smile.

Yet the gaze he directed at Carlo was extremely gentle; surely the two normally enjoyed an excellent father-son relationship.

Jonah, who had never even met his own father Duke Langheim’s eyes, felt envious of them… of Carlo.

“Ugh… I was trying so hard to act properly princely in front of Jonah, and you ruined it, Dad.”

“What are you talking about? It’s because you did something unnecessary that Jonah is troubled.”

As Carlo reverted to his usual demeanor, grimacing and scratching his head, King Maximiliano shrugged.

“So… how were the Empire’s magitech tools?”

“Right, right! Listen to this, Dad!”

Carlo excitedly explained the test results of the Fire of Judgment, gesturing wildly.

Beside him, Jonah thought, “Ah… here we go again,” and looked down with a frown.

“Hmm… then this time, it seems we really can take down the guardian deity.”

“Yeah…! I absolutely won’t let that thing live…!”

“Now, now, Carlo. The battle with the guardian deity is still to come.”

It seemed the power of the Fire of Judgment was more than enough to satisfy King Maximiliano, and he nodded repeatedly.

Yet from the way he gently cautioned the over-eager Carlo, the King still appeared calm and composed.

However, it was certain that they were misunderstanding the legend of the Guardian Deity of the Central Sea.

“Understood. Carlo, continue preparing diligently for the subjugation of the guardian deity.”

“O-okay…”

As if to say their business was finished, King Maximiliano signaled with his eyes for Carlo to leave.

That would leave Jonah alone, so Carlo gave an ambiguous reply, unsure what to do.

Yet the King clearly did not want Carlo present; in fact, he gave off an atmosphere that Carlo was in the way.

With no other choice, Carlo stood and approached Jonah’s side.

“Jonah, I’ll be right outside the door. If anything happens, shout for me, loud.”

He whispered this, then left the room.

“Now then… sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“N-no, not at all.”

Why had King Maximiliano deliberately arranged to speak with Jonah alone?

Back when he was with the Langheim house, he had been nothing more than a ‘failed’ ducal heir, and now he was merely a commoner.

“Haha… no need to be so nervous. Carlo spoke so highly of you that I simply wanted to meet you.”

According to King Maximiliano, when Carlo reported his return three days ago, he had barely finished explaining the magitech tools before eagerly talking about Jonah with great excitement.

Carlo was naturally friendly and approachable, beloved by many citizens, yet he was aware of his position as crown prince and usually kept a certain distance from others.

Yet this was supposedly the first time he had ever taken such a strong liking to someone.

Though it felt a little embarrassing, Jonah couldn’t help but smile.

“Jonah, I’ll be counting on you to look after Carlo from now on. That boy has flexible thinking and courage, but he does tend to get overheated.”

“Ah, ahaha…”

From the way King Maximiliano spoke, it seemed he had some expectations of Jonah serving as Carlo’s close aide.

Since Jonah intended to leave once the matter of the Guardian Deity of the Central Sea was settled, he didn’t know how to respond and simply gave an awkward smile.

“I’m not telling you to stay in Benedia and serve Carlo. I’m simply saying that if your paths should cross again in the future, I would ask you to look after him then.”

It seemed the King had seen through Jonah’s thoughts from the very beginning, and he said this with a smile.

But… regrettably, even that would not come to pass.

“Phew… listening to Carlo’s nonsense has tired me out. Jonah, I truly enjoyed speaking with you.”

“Y-yes.”

King Maximiliano quietly closed his eyes.

Jonah slowly stood, signaled with his eyes to Federico who had been waiting nearby, and quietly left the room without making a sound.

“…You saw it too, Jonah. Dad doesn’t have much time left.”

Carlo, who had been waiting in front of the room, muttered this with a pained expression.

Jonah didn’t know what to say and simply nodded silently.

“That is why… I want to prove to Dad that I’ll protect the country he loves, that I’ll succeed him and keep it safe, by defeating the guardian deity.”

“…………………………”

“Haha, what am I even saying? To you, Jonah, this must sound like none of your business.”

“That’s… not true…”

Jonah shook his head at Carlo, who laughed self-deprecatingly.

Precisely because Jonah had parted ways with his own father, he looked at Carlo—who could say such things—with envy.

“Well, your first sea voyage must have worn you out. Rest well tonight.”

“Yes.”

Jonah bowed to Carlo, who had escorted him to his room, and slowly closed the door.

At that moment—

“Ah… guh…!”

A sudden, intense dizziness and nausea assaulted Jonah.

More than that, his heart began pounding fast and hard.

“Ugh… medicine… the medicine…!”

Jonah staggered toward the trunk case.

But he collapsed onto the floor right there, writhing and reaching out, unable to grasp it.

“…!? M-Master Jonah!?”

The ones who flung open the door were Aurora and Priscilla.

The two rushed frantically to Jonah’s side—

“Ah… ugh…”

Jonah, shedding torrents of sweat and tears from the pain and suffering, clung to Aurora’s chest and lost consciousness.