It's a sad conditioned reflex.
In the reception room of Christia Castle, I was sitting formally on my knees. In front of me were… my brother and a friend who was like an older brother to me, Alphage-sama.
"Rosarin, explain."
"Miss Rosarin, explain."
"Gladly!!"
I explained everything I could.
"... For once, Rosarin isn’t at fault."
"Yeah… I was prepared to give my usual lecture since it felt like Miss Rosarin was at the center of the commotion again, but aside from the part about the Marchioness taking the lead in battle, there’s nothing wrong this time."
"I couldn’t help it. Human lives come first, and in the end, no one else but us could have taken them down. Also, what do you mean by ‘Rosarin is at the center of the commotion’!? It’s offensive to treat me like I’m always causing trouble!"
""You’ve done too much in the past to deny it.""
"Ugh..."
Well, I can’t really deny it. I’ve caused chaos before, like resurrecting an evil god, among other things! Even this time, though I wasn’t at fault, I was still in the middle of the mess and expected to be scolded!
"The countermeasures involved Rosarin’s weapon, right? Because you used the Light Rose?"
I nodded.
"That’s probably the case. It’s not impossible to mass-produce them, though..."
"Please don’t. Rosarin-sama’s weapon is far too powerful. If misused, it could lead to war—worst-case scenario."
"Right, right~ I’m a perfectionist, so if I’m going to make something, I’d want to do it properly."
"… Oneechan you’re already famous as a legendary magical weapon artisan, you know."
"Seriously?"
I froze at the unexpected news from Jend.
"Yeah, quite a few knights and adventurers have tried to request weapons from Rosarin through me."
Dirk confirmed it. I’ve never heard of this before! Apparently, Dirk had been turning them down.
"Seriously!?"
"Yeah. It seems like you’ve become quite famous."
"Seriously!?"
"Now that I think about it, when people asked whose mark was on my weapon, I mentioned that it was made by my master."
(……………………)
You’re the cause of this, aren’t you!? Stop doing unnecessary things, old man!!
"Geraldin-san, no snacks for you for a while."
"!?? Kyuun... kuun."
When I told the sorrowful old man that I would let go only this time, I got scolded by the Protectors of the Amethyst for being too soft. What am I supposed to do!? He looked so sad, it made me feel bad!
The conversation had gone off track, so I decided to steer it back.
"Ernst, since magic’s power is unique, is it possible to predict its occurrence? We already know the location of the dungeons, so what if we set up an alarm to go off when there’s an abnormality in the magic power? If we can detect the abnormality quickly, we could contain the Stampede to a smaller scale."
Ernst thought for a moment and nodded.
"Yeah, predictions should be possible. We’ll mass-produce the magic tool Rosarin mentioned at the Magic Court. If we can predict the magic power fluctuations, the damage can be minimized. Should the monitor be placed in the Magic Court, the Knights’ Order, or the Royal Palace?"
As expected of Ernst. Alphage-sama nodded in agreement.
"If it’s within our own country, the Magic Court or the Knights’ Order would suffice. But if we need to notify other nations quickly, it should be installed in the Royal Palace. Let the Royal Guard monitor it in shifts. Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve had something worthy of negotiation."
Wow, Alphage-sama’s smile looks downright villainous... As long as Alphage-sama is here, Christia will be safe.
"Miss Rosarin, what if there’s a country that refuses the installation of magic tools?"
"Let’s involve the Adventurers’ Guild and apply pressure. Adventurers are the ones who suffer the most, so if they refuse, we’ll have the adventurers evacuate. We could easily do that with a request from Geraldin-san or us."
"Haha, as expected."
"Oh no, I’m nowhere near your level, Alphage-sama."
We exchanged dark, sinister smiles, chuckling together.
"Aniue and Rosarin are such good friends."
"Aldin-sama, this isn’t exactly something to find heartwarming."
Rabisha-chan pointed out, interrupting the radiantly white Aldin-sama. He’s as pure as ever.
Come to think of it, Rinka hasn’t returned yet. I have a bad feeling about this.
What do you think about this chapter?
