「Please wait here a little while. You may use the things in the room, but please don’t break anything.」
Rei looked around the room as Widele spoke.
It was a simple cabin that one would never expect to find inside the castle of such a powerful country like the Bestir Empire.
(Is this what they would call a log house?)
The exterior, which was built from logs, exactly matched what Rei imagined a log house to be.
The inside was also built to match the exterior.
「Well, it really is a building that doesn’t suit a castle.」
「That may be true. But, in the first place, it was built as a place for Princess Frizione to relax at when she was tired. If she wants to do that, it wouldn’t be relaxing if it were as luxurious as the castle, right?」
「……I guess so.」
Rei had a lot thoughts in his mind, but there was no point in saying it out loud. On the contrary, it might even cause a rift between him and Widele if she perceived his words to be making fun of Frizione.
Considering that, he wasn’t in a position to make careless remarks.
「As for food……I have some dried fruits and nuts, so you can eat those until I can call for Frizione-sama. I’ll arrange for some food to be brought over, but……well, you have an item box, Rei-sama, so you probably don’t need to eat those if you don’t want to.」
「Really? I actually quite like nuts and dried fruit. Anyway, I just have to quietly stay here until you come back?」
「Yes, please. Please don’t leave the cabin.」
「The cabin……huh.」
Looking around, Rei nodded in agreement.
「I understand. I’m a bit tired, so it would be good to relax.」
「Tired, Rei-sama? You’re saying some interesting things again.」
「……I should say that it’s not like I never get tired. Despite how I look right now, I’m quite tired.」
Rei spoke as he looked over at a sofa in the room.
Just as he said, Rei did feel slight fatigue.
However, the cause of his fatigue wasn’t physical. It was due to his previous encounter with Kabajid.
A mysterious man. That was Rei’s impression of Kabajid.
Rei wondered if his true identity had been seen through or not.
(No, he has probably realised……I think.)
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to talk about Rhodes.
(But, considering that, he hasn’t bothered with me at all after that……why?)
He wondered, but there was no one who could answer.
「I see. Then get some rest. I will deliver Prince Mercurio’s letter to Princess Frizione and give my report. I think she will probably come over around evening……」
Rei nodded in understanding.
It wasn’t just the letter or the information Widele had learned at the rebel camp. There was much more that needed to be shared and discussed.
In particular, one of the conditions that Mercurio had set for Frizione to join him was that she had to serve under him. Even Rei, who wasn’t very knowledgeable about politics, knew that this would be a big point of contention.
Naturally Widele understood that as well. To be honest, she would much rather just laze around here like Rei.
But, as someone who served Frizione, is was something she couldn’t do and she eventually left the cabin.
「Well then……I guess I’ll take it easy for now.」
Muttering to himself, he lay down on the sofa, showing off to the gazes directed at him.
Rei had noticed those gazes before he entered the cabin. It had started as soon as he had reached this general area.
However, the gazes hadn’t been particularly hostile or murderous, so he reached the conclusion that they were the ones who took care of the cabin……in other words, people under Frizione’s control. As a result, he relaxed himself without minding the gazes.
He was a member of the rebel army……and someone considered to be their greatest strength. As such a person, now present in the Imperial Capital, Rei had expected that he would be kept under observation……
(If you looked at it from another perspective, they probably serve as guards as well. So as long as they don’t do anything unnecessary, it will be to my advantage.)
Rei muttered to himself as he enjoyed the soft sofa.
「I have to say, it really is soft. It feels like my body is sinking into it, or rather, it’s barely supporting my weight……I guess it’s worthy of something being used by royalty.」
It was so comfortable that he wanted to give himself over to the sofa and take a nap.
But, as he was currently in enemy territory, he couldn’t be that careless.
Resisting the urge to close his eyes, Rei decided that he would definitely fall asleep if he stayed on the sofa and hurriedly got up.
Even so, his sleepiness wasn’t something that would go away that easily.
Furthermore, as a cabin built for Frizione to relax on her own, it was naturally built to facilite that.
It had to have been designed to easily spend time here.
Convinced that he would still fall asleep if things remained as they were, Rei opened a window to try to wash away the sleepiness that was starting to hit him.
A cool autumn breeze blew in.
Unlike warm spring breezes, the cool wind didn’t make him sleepy but woke him up instead. Rei squinted his eyes as he looked around.
Gazing at the trees that had started to change to autumn colours, he glanced over at a guard who was pretending to be a gardener as they blended in with the trees.
(No, he’s not pretending. He’s probably a real gardener as well. More like a guard and a gardener.)
As a gardener, they would be able to freely roam around the castle. It wouldn’t be unusual for them to be carrying some sort of bladed tool around at the same time.
Along with those vague thoughts, he thought of the Oniwaban, a ground of undercover agents who served under the direct command of the shogun back in Japan.
He only remembered them from a TV show or something, but it was probably something similar.
(These guys must have been the ones staring at me.)
Rei thought to himself as he waved his hand lightly towards the gardener, who bowed towards him.
That said, as he had thought about earlier, it wasn’t a bad thing as they were closer to being his bodyguards in this situation, as long as he didn’t do anything careless.
Especailly since Kabajid might have seen through him.
「……Even so, there’s nothing to do here.」
It wasn’t possible for him to train and it was dangerous to sleep.
There wasn’t a need to maintain his weapons and armour either as long as only used the Death Scythe and Dragon Robe.
「Even if I want to play any games, I’m alone.」
Rei wished that Set could be here at this time, but it would be impossible to play Set’s favourite game either……throwing a wooden stick as far as he could for Set to retrieve.
Thinking about it, he decided that he should at least eat something, before he remembered that he hadn’t actually had lunch yet.
「I’m sure Widele said that it would be okay to eat anything inside this cabin. Since this cabin is used by the Princess, there should be something here, right?」
Muttering to himself, Rei started to search around.
It was only a single room cabin. There wasn’t anything like a kitchen, so it didn’t take much time to search the place.
As expected, he found a box of dried fruits in a corner of a cabin.
However, what surprised Rei more than finding the dried fruit was the dried meat close to it.
The fact that there was dried meat wasn’t surprising in of itself.
However, the fact that this cabin was built for Frizione meant that this dried meat was also intended for Frizione to eat.
「,,,,,,Does the First Princess also eat dried meat?」
Thinking about it rationally, it wasn’t a surprising fact.
But still, a princess eating dried meat didn’t quite seem to match in his mind.
「Well, she is Vihera’s older sister, so it’s possible they have a similar sense of taste.」
He had traveled together with Vihera and shared meals on many occasions.
Recalling that Vihera had regularly eaten dried meat then, it no longer seemed strange to him that the First Princess might also have a preference for dried meat.
Thinking that, he returned to the sofa as he used a knife that was inside the box to cut the dried meat into bite sized pieces before popping them into his mouth.
「……This is……」
Those were the only words Rei could speak.
The most delicious thing Rei had ever eaten had been the dried meat from the Eternal Sky Pavilion.
The dried meat from there was made with a generous amount of spices and a pickling sauce made from countless fruits, the meat of a high ranking monster, and a magic item designed to make dried meat.
Naturally, it costed a fair amount of money, but Rei wasn’t someone who was short on money and felt that it was worth more than its price.
But……the dried meat he had just eaten was clearly even better than the ones made in the Eternal Sky Pavilion.
The flavour of the meat and the taste of the various spices and fruits spread through his mouth without overpowering the rich taste of the meat. No, on the contrary, it felt like the flavours enhanced each other inside his mouth.
Dried meat……yes, it was only dried meat, the but delicious taste rivaled that of a main dish from a high class restaurant.
Next, he reached for the dried fruit, which also turned out to be very good.
It had a sweet taste, but didn’t linger in his mouth. The rich sweetness spread through his mouth before changing to a slight sour taste.
It was just one piece of fruit, but the taste changed with each bite.
It was also the most delicious dried fruit Rei had ever tasted.
「Appearance aside, the taste is beyond belief. As expected of something only royalty can eat.」
Rei muttered to himself as he reluctantly put down the piece of dried meat he had been holding onto the table near the sofa……
「Don’t you think so?」
He called out towards the door to the cabin.
After a few seconds, the door opened without a word.
On the other side of the door was a person taller than Rei and relatively tall for a woman.
In her hands, she held a plate covered with cloth.
「It doesn’t seem like you’re an assassin or anything like that. Your way of hiding your presence is too poor.」
「I see, it seems I need to train. ……Let give my greetings first. I am Angela Luxinova, the leader of the White Rose Knights. I’ve heard that you’ve been a great help to Widele and my subordinates, Rei-sama……thank you.」
「No, don’t worry about ti. It’s true that we’ve benefited from it in various ways. And, it’s thanks to Widle that I was able to come to the Imperial Capital.」
「Fufu, you certainly seem to have the personality that Widele told me about. I’m still a noble after all.」
Although Angela said she was a noble, the expression on her face showed that she was rather interested by Rei’s seeming lack of care for the matter.
(According to Widele’s report, Her Highness Vihera has feelings for Rei-sama. I see, perhaps it is precisely because of this personality that Her Highness Vihera and Rei-sama get along so well.)
Considering Vihera’s personality, Angela seemed convinced that she would get along well with Rei.
As she nodded with a small smile, Rei seemed puzzled over what she was smiling about and spoke up.
「So, what’s the leader of the White Rose Knights doing here? Well, I was feeling quite bored, so you’re more than welcome here. You didn’t come here to kill time though, did you?」
「Yes. I’m not that bored after all. I brought some food for Rei-sama, but……it seems you’ve managed by yourself. ……That said, those are reserved for Princess Frizione, so I would prefer it if you didn’t eat them.」
「……I guess it was expensive stuff after all. It’s understandable if it’s this delicious. ……But, it was just left lying there.」
Angela turned her gaze to the dried meat and fruit on the talbe and her smile turned into a bitter one as she entered the cabin.
「Well, that can’t be helped. This cabin was originally prepared for Princess Frizione’s use alone. ……If you could, please eat this instead of the dried meat.」
A plate filled with sandwiches was placed onto the table.
Although there were enough sandwiches for three people, to Rei, it was more of a snack.
「Princess Frizione is currently considering the matter she heard from Widele. I believe she will be able to come here sometime today, but……」
「It will take a while, huh.」
Rei reached for a sandwich as Angela nodded at his words.