Chapter 65

Snapping back to his senses, Lucas turned around to find that the voice belonged to Erich.

After his period of being frozen stiff, Erich had apparently processed Elma’s various remarks as “Royal Capital-style jokes.” Looking as if he’d broken through a mental barrier, he slapped Elma on the shoulder.

“Boy, the way you city folk word things is way too roundabout for me. In short, you’re just being humble, right? And this is the setup,¹ isn’t it? The ‘come worship my great deeds’ bit!”

“Eh?”

“I’m just an unrefined farmer who’s done nothing but stare at dirt. Do me a favor and give it to me straight next time, yeah?”

“Wait, no—”

As Elma began to panic, Erich—having already finished his mental processing—remained unshakable.

In fact, with the rustic simplicity and boisterousness typical of a peasant, he began calling out to the people surrounding the pavilion before anyone could stop him.

“Hey, hey, you lot! Listen up! This girl—this young lady—is a miraculous apostle who came from the Royal Capital… no, who descended from the heavens! With a single song, she calms the Magic Moths, and with a single step onto the stage, she builds mountains of gold!”

“What?”

“What’s he talking about?”

His theatrical sales pitch blended perfectly with the festival atmosphere. The spectators, already drunk, began to stop one after another, their interest piqued.

Since the commotion at the pavilion had already been drawing eyes, a dense crowd formed in an instant.

Buoyed by the attention and helped along by his natural generosity, Erich grabbed a handful of gold coins from the hemp sack and scattered them in all directions.

“I’m sharing the miracle that happened to me with all of you! Worship and praise the great power of the Apostle Elmael!”

“Ooooh!?”

“I-It’s real gold!”

The people caught the flying golden lumps by sheer reflex. Upon realizing what they were, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

It was the first time they had ever even seen such a vast amount of money.

Already in full festival mode from the wine and dancing, this final blow caused their reason to vanish completely.

An excited crowd and an even more excited instigator—a street rally was formed in the blink of an eye.

“Look at this extraordinary skill, earning a fortune in just half a day!”

“Ooooooh!”

“Um, excuse me—”

“And she did it all just to help us, people she has no connection to, simply because we were in trouble! Look at this transcendant benevolence!”

“Ooooooooooh!”

“Wait, hold on—”

Elma’s shoulders shook in shock at the crowd, which was heating up at a terrifying pace of its own accord.

She couldn’t hide her impact at the fact that Erich—whom she had interpreted as being perfectly calm until now—had suddenly undergone a sea change, hurling words like “extraordinary” and “transcendant” at her.

“S-Saying such things is a bit much—”

“And the best for last! Look! And worship! This inhuman beauty that makes one feel the glory of God—!”

“Wait…!”

Just as a master assassin cannot escape the innocent, sudden embrace of a baby, even Elma—who could slay a dragon in a single blow—could not dodge an “attack” made entirely of goodwill, affection, and momentum.

As a result, her glasses were easily snatched away, exposing her true face.

“Oh—”

The spectators, who had been shouting cheerfully, fell silent for a moment, their eyes widening.

After a silence that lasted about three full breaths—

“…Uoooooooooooooooooo—!!”

They let out a roar louder than anything heard before. It was so intense one might have hallucinated that the ground was shaking.

In a frontier land, a face that collected the very pinnacle of beauty—the kind a common citizen would normally never lay eyes upon—was revealed.

Damp eyes that looked as if they were brimming with faint tears, a well-defined bridge of the nose, perfectly symmetrical lips, and cheeks like blushing roses… people screamed at the delicate allure radiating from every feature. Even as they screamed, they stared; and even as they stared, they couldn’t help but scream.

“An angel has come to Frenzel!!”

Among the shrieking crowd, there were not only men but also many young women of an age to admire a beautiful member of their own sex.

Elma stood dazed as people, regardless of age or gender, stared at her with singular focus and began to chant “Banzai” like madmen.

In the midst of all this—

“As expected of Lady Elmael… To think your charm and greatness would finally become known throughout the land…”

Only Deborah was nodding with a knowing look.

The shock of her family’s tax revenue being surpassed so easily was long gone. As the most radical fanatic among the Elma-cultists, she had recovered from the state of shock faster than anyone else in the Frenzel house. In fact, she began barking orders at the citizens who were merely shouting instead of taking concrete action.

“Everyone, your heads are too high! If you wish to show respect to Lady Elmael, kneel and kiss her feet! Give her a crown! A throne set upon the furthest heights, fitting for her glory!!”

Elma was now being treated as if she were a King or a Pope.

Normally, one shouldn’t be able to summon a crown or a throne so instantly, but today the situation was a bit different.

One of the women staring entranced at Elma suddenly touched her own hair and raised her hand with a “Yes!”

“I have one! There’s a crown right here!!”

The people around her were struck by the realization.

That’s right. We may not have golden crowns, but we have flower crowns—the symbols of the Goddess of Fertility—

“Ple… Please use my crown too!”

“H-Here, there’s a crown here too!”

“Yeah, you can use my wife’s as well!”

“What are you talking about, man? Give her your daughter’s too!”

If they could get this Angel (Elmael) to wear their flower crown, perhaps there would be some sort of divine blessing.

No, even that didn’t matter anymore.

If even a part of their own flower crown could be used by this beautiful girl, that alone would make them feel happy.

The people, starting to harbor such delusions, approached the girl with a frantic look in their eyes.

“Wait, um… E-Everyone, please calm down—”

“Now, now, Holy Angel! Please wear my flower crown!”

“No, wait.”

“Or shall we make a new one!? Yes, let’s do that! Leave the making of the Holy Angel’s crown to me, Friede!”

“No, to Julia!”

“No, to Marga!”

“Wait…!”

Elma: a girl who could read expressions like a con artist, slaughter enemies with the strength of a berserker, trample over bioethics with the skills of a mad scientist, and brainwash, seduce, and bring anyone she met to their knees.

However, this girl—who was like the ultimate trump card (The Joker)—had one single, fatal weakness.

She was terribly weak against the emotions known to the world as affection or goodwill—those simple, rustic feelings as common as a Three of Spades, which even powerless, ordinary people possessed.

“Irene…!”

At her wit’s end, Elma instinctively called out her friend’s name and turned around.

“What am I supposed to do about this!?”

How could this be?

The mission was in its final stages, yet not only was she failing to get an official “ordinary” endorsement, she was somehow on the verge of being abducted—

Irene stared intently at Elma as she reached out with a gesture that clearly conveyed her bewilderment.

‘…This girl just relied on me for the first time.’

Rather than swooping in to save Irene and everyone else with her usual transcendent air, Elma was properly flustered by the absurd situation, letting out a small shriek.

“……”

Irene softly stifled the smile welling up within her.

‘You can act “ordinary” just fine when you want to, Elma.’

It felt good.

Ever since they met, Irene felt she had done nothing but be overwhelmed; now, she felt she had finally reclaimed her original temperament.

“Well now,” Irene said, spreading her right hand with a flourish and flashing a grin. “Wasn’t it your dream to wear a flower crown and attend a festival? I’d say this is the perfect opportunity. Go ahead, people of Frenzel!”

She swept her right arm down, egging on the women with a shout that sounded like an order from a villainous executive.

“Aaaaright!!”

“Everyone!? I-Irene!? Wait, stop, hey, ah…!”

Accompanied by the muffled screams of the girl being abducted by a sea of beaming women, Irene watched Elma go with a profound sense of accomplishment.

“Then again, it’d be a pity to just leave her like that. Your Highness, I shall go and check on things!”

“I shall accompany you!”

Following Irene’s lead, Deborah offered to go with a forwardness that bordered on lunging, and the two chased after their friend.

Left behind were the spectators watching the sequence of events with cheers, the men of the Frenzel house who were still stuck in a state of shock, and Lucas.

“…How should I put this?”

Eventually, Jonas cleared his throat and spoke up.

“You possess a subordinate… who is quite remarkably superhuman, Your Highness.”

The way he incessantly stroked his jaw made the effort he was putting into calming himself painfully obvious.

Since he could deeply sympathize with the agitation and impact that came from contact with Elma, Lucas gave a concise nod filled with a thousand different emotions. “…Yeah.”

“She’s a girl from a… complicated background, and she’s lacking in various forms of common sense. I’m often swung around by her—or rather, every single day I receive a shock equivalent to being floored—but she’s saved me just as often.”

“I can certainly imagine so.”

Jonas nodded quietly.

“She has done nothing but surprise me, but the result is that in a mere few days, she drove away the Magic Moths. Not only that, she changed the values of the citizens as if the moths were beneficial insects, and cleared away the anxiety and dissatisfaction they harbored in the blink of an eye.”

He then turned a gentle gaze toward his son standing beside him.

“And it seems the children, too, have grown considerably through their encounter with her.”

At the end of his narrowed gaze stood his son, Kevin, with the Elma-made ocarina imitation hanging from his chest.

Standing with his spine straightened with dignity, quietly listening to the conversation between his superiors, there wasn’t a trace of his former pettiness or cheekiness. Instead, one could feel a budding aura fitting for a Lord’s son, which had sprouted rapidly over the last few days.

In Jonas’s view, this stemmed from the pride of being the only one capable of wielding the ultrasound in Elma’s stead.

Yes—Kevin’s late-blooming body was the only one in the family capable of perceiving (roughly speaking) the ultrasound effective against Magic Moths.

That fact had granted self-esteem and confidence to Kevin, who had felt inadequate due to his sickly and frail limbs.

“Deborah shed her skin after learning of her own sloth and true feelings, and my son learned to take pride in himself. …I cannot thank that girl enough.”

There was no falsehood in Jonas’s tone as he spoke with the gravity of a Lord.

His appearance was altogether thoughtful and affectionate—and since it didn’t seem like an act, Lucas furrowed his brows in suspicion.

The usual question welled up.

Why would such a brilliant Lord, who loved his people and children so much, go to such lengths to protect the Magic Moths, even at the cost of resentment from his family and citizens—?

The royal order to uncover the truth behind the Lord’s eccentricities and secure peace within the territory had already been fulfilled.

The motive—the reason why the Margrave of Frenzel took such a method to deal with the moths—was likely not a subject of Felix’s interest.

However, as an individual, Lucas felt he wanted to ask.

Before he knew it, he had opened his mouth.

“Lord Jonas. Why did you take such a roundabout method as using ultrasound and dietary improvements to deal with the Magic Moths?”

“…………”

Jonas raised his face slightly and stared intently at Lucas.

“Why, you ask?”

“When we of the Knights Order encounter the demonic, our first thought is not to drive it away, but to annihilate it. If one is the head of a territory whose main industry is agriculture, surely even more so. Rather than taking time to deal with it, one would think to dispose of it as quickly as possible. Isn’t that right?”

“…………”

Jonas said nothing.

Beside him, Lucas saw Kevin quietly catch his breath, listening intently to where the conversation was headed.

“You are brilliant. You must have known that the more time passed, the more risks and public unrest would increase. If you had the mind to do it, you could have easily begged the Royal Capital or the Knights for help to exterminate the Magic Moths.”

“…………”

“But you didn’t. Furthermore, you didn’t even attempt to explain the research you’ve dedicated years to to your people. Why? If you had only explained, the people would have at least been relieved to know their Lord hadn’t fallen to the demonic.”

Kevin stared at his silent father as if devouring him.

And, as if adding to Lucas’s words, he whispered softly:

“…Even to your family.”

He muttered.

“Father, you didn’t even explain it to us.”

There was no aggressive emotional turbulence in that voice, unlike when he had interrogated his father in the dining hall before.

However, there was a ring of heartbreak that seeped through even under his self-restraint.

“…I intend to strive so that, eventually, I can become a son in whom Father can place his full trust.”

That resolve was as heart-wrenching as it was pitiable.

Jonas widened his eyes as if caught off guard, then pressed his lips into a firm line.

Then, he let out a slow breath and finally spoke with a heavy tone.

“—I repeat, I have never once thought of you as an inadequate child.”

“…………”

“I have always believed in you, and even now, I consider you my pride and joy.”

Then why? Kevin’s eyes asked.

Jonas looked back at him, closed his eyes once as if steeling his resolve, and finally turned toward Lucas—and Kevin.

“—I shall speak, counting on the breadth of Your Highness’s heart… the heart of one who can accept a person who is beyond human.”

With that low, introductory remark, he began to tell the story.

“…The reason I could not kill the Magic Moths. It is because—my son… Kevin, is one who is linked to the demonic.”

He spoke the truth that he had kept suppressed in the depths of his heart for more than ten long years.