The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 265
Returning to the Central Continent on that day.
The mansion was noisy from the morning.
It was because of Ryuna hanging onto my trouser leg.
“Daddy, don’t go! Don’t go!”
She was crying and throwing a tantrum, somehow knowing that today was the departure day.
Yumir, unable to watch anymore, forcibly separates her and scolds her sternly.
“Stop! You shouldn’t make things difficult for your father!”
“Waaaaaah!”
For me, it was painful yet incredibly admirable.
I’ve been noticing how quickly the children grow, but I didn’t expect this level of attachment.
Yumir went up to the second-floor room, seemingly intending to completely separate Ryuna.
I asked Eonia.
“Eo, have you packed everything?”
“Yes, I’ve packed it in the bag. Should I bring it down?”
“Just bring it when we’re departing.”
We decided to leave at noon.
They said it was the most stable time for magic in the atmosphere, or something like that. Since we were using the teleportation magic circle in the basement, it didn’t matter much, but good is good. We decided to depart at noon.
When noon arrived, I said goodbye to the people in the mansion.
“Yumir, what’s Ryuna doing?”
“She was throwing a tantrum earlier, but now she’s sleeping peacefully in her room. Should I bring her?”
“No, there’s no need to wake her up.”
At that moment, Mother called Yumir from the kitchen.
“Yumir? Could you watch the stew for a moment?”
After Yumir left, Mother came to the living room and hugged me tightly.
“Please tell the family that I’m doing well.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely convey that.”
At that time, Eo, who had gone up to the second floor, came down carrying a large bag.
“Why did you pack so much?”
“Well, I didn’t pack much myself… It seems Yumir or Estelle might have put things in it.”
When I put the bag on my back, it was incredibly heavy.
After saying our goodbyes, we headed to the royal palace.
At the royal palace, Ash and Lucretia were bickering and arguing. Elena just shrugged, saying she couldn’t stop them.
Rosa, who came to see us off, spoke with a complicated expression.
“Ars, are you ready?”
“Completely.”
“Oh, I’m worried you won’t come back like this.”
“That’s why you attached Luc to me. Don’t worry, I have no intention of disappearing while leaving my vassals behind.”
“That’s true. Will you eat lunch before departing?”
“No, I get nauseous when teleporting. I’ll leave without eating lunch.”
“Ah, what a shame…”
Soon, Juras also showed his face.
He looked at me and my backpack and scoffed.
“You’re departing quite noisily.”
“The teleportation magic circle will operate smoothly, right?”
“Well… It should be possible for about 6 people. We’ve prepared enough magic stones.”
“6 people? It’s 5 people.”
“…Hmph, shall we go right away?”
“What’s the point of delaying? Let’s go immediately.”
We went down the spiral stairs to the royal palace’s basement.
During this, Juras explained what we needed to do in the Central Continent.
“If possible, try to mediate between Calliper and Tunkai. If left as is, it will escalate into a continental war.”
“Even if I can somehow handle Calliper… I find it hard to believe I can stop Tunkai.”
“That part is up to Ash Payton. Please step forward. As the prince of Tunkai, you might have some influence.”
Ash makes a bitter expression.
“I’ll try. I’m not sure how much I can do, being treated as a disgrace of the royal family.”
Sophia, who was following along, kept wanting to say something.
Ash nodded, understanding.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Sophia. I’ll also investigate the well-being of the Beckavia royal family.”
“…Thank you, Ash. I’ll ask you to do it in my place, since I lack courage.”
“Why do you lack courage?”
There seemed to be a subtle atmosphere between them.
I was about to make a snarky comment, but for some reason, Lucretia first changed the subject.
“More importantly! Erina, you said you were a young lady of a ducal family there?”
“Yes… That’s right.”
“Indeed, I thought there was something uniquely refined about you since your time as a maid here. So that was the reason.”
Soon we arrived at the underground space where the teleportation magic circle was installed.
The court mages had apparently already set the coordinates, and the magic circle was glowing.
I carefully held the magic stone pouch that Juras gave me.
Without this, I wouldn’t be able to return.
“Are there any final farewells?”
“I’ve already said everything. Just activate it quickly.”
“Then I’ll begin.”
As we stood in the center of the magic circle, the court mages began to chant spells. It was similar to the spell Estelle had once recited as if possessed.
As the chant continued, the magic circle’s glow intensified.
Perhaps because of that.
Rustle!
I felt like the backpack moved.
“…Huh?”
But I, holding the magic stone pouch, couldn’t confirm it.
At that moment, with a loud noise, Yumir appeared.
“Young master! Ryuna is in that backpack…!”
Swish!
The space twisted, and my vision blurred.
After enduring that strange sensation for about 10 seconds, a completely different space unfolded before my eyes.
Thud!
We, who had been floating about 1 meter high, landed softly. In front of me, a Crossing Corps officer knelt and paid his respects.
“I am Officer Orin of the 1st Special Forces Unit. Greetings to General Wade!”
“Oh, yes… Thank you.”
After roughly greeting him, I handed the magic stone pouch to Ash.
Then I opened the backpack I was carrying.
“Kyahaha!”
There, Ryuna was curled up. Seemingly finding the teleportation sensation very amusing, she burst into laughter when our eyes met.
“Daddy!”
“Uh…!”
Dumbfounded, I could only stand there for a while.
* * *
Since things had turned out this way, there was nothing else to do.
I held the delighted Ryuna in my arms and went outside the teleportation magic circle installed in Crossing.
The teleportation magic circle was located in the suburbs of Cross Horn, the capital of Crossing.
After riding a carriage for a while, the royal palace of Crossing soon came into view.
“Really unmanageable. I can’t believe she was hiding in the backpack.”
Ash let out a wry laugh.
“What are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Right now she’s happy being with you, but later she might cry and look for her mother.”
“That’s probably true.”
Ryuna was particularly shy, which made things even more difficult.
There was no one to rely on except Erina.
Upon arriving at the royal palace of Crossing, I was able to immediately meet King Parain.
Perhaps because two years had passed, King Parain looked noticeably older.
“Oh… You’ve returned. Juras’s words about leaving for the outer continent were actually true…!”
Parain seemed to still not fully believe it.
“How have you been, Your Majesty?”
“I’ve been fine. Though the situation in the continent was not.”
“…”
“Those guys tried to take advantage of Crossing when they knew Juras was away.”
“Those guys meaning…”
“Bülang, Alvard, and Tunkai. We’ll discuss this gradually. But first, won’t you tell me about the outer continent?”
Parain was excited like a child.
The unknown continent where magic was used seemed to have stimulated his sensibilities.
After roughly finishing that conversation, I apologized to him.
“I truly feel ashamed about Princess Melodie.”
“Hmm, it’s okay. A spirited girl like her is surely alive somewhere.”
“Thank you for saying that. It gives me strength. Regarding that matter…”
I asked about an item closely related to Princess Melodie.
After pondering for a while, King Parain held out a comb.
“This is something she’s been using since she was three years old. Will this work?”
“If possible, I’d like you to prepare other items as well.”
“When did you say you’re returning?”
“In a month.”
“That’s quite soon. Understood. I’ll have things prepared. So, what do you plan to do now?”
“First, I want to meet my family. After that, I’ll probably need to go to Calliper.”
“Hmm, you should be careful. The current power structure in Calliper is likely very different from what you knew.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Afterward, I received documents about the continent’s situation from Crossing’s intelligence agent.
There were many stories about Calliper.
One part stood out,
– As King Gareths’ condition became critical, the princes began fighting for power.
– The Saleon Ducal Family, backing the second prince, seized national power. The Duke Hellian, who was fighting, was imprisoned.
– Gilbert Saleon, a former diplomat, became prime minister in place of Duke Hellian and took actual control.
Erina, also looking at this information, bit her lip.
“My father…”
“It’s troublesome. From your father’s perspective, I’m probably like a thorn in his eye.”
Erina was startled and waved her hand.
“That’s not true! Even if it were, I would persuade my father!”
“You should be careful, Erina. If things go wrong, you might…”
He wanted to say ‘might be eliminated’ but the words didn’t leave his mouth.
We decided to disperse first.
Ash headed to Tunkai with Lucretia, Erina went to the main house of the Saleon Dukal family in Grancel, and Elena set out for the old site of the Kuravel Kingdom to visit her husband’s memorial.
The place I was heading to was Rainpol, our family’s territory.
With my disappearance, Rainpol had undergone significant changes, and the decisive factor was our family’s exile.
Our family had been exiled to the Crossing Republic’s side and was residing under thorough protection.
Perhaps because of this, the security was incredibly strict.
If I had not appeared with Special Forces Officer Orin, they would have tried to suppress me as well.
Knock, knock!
As I knocked on the door, a cheerful female voice could be heard.
I thought it might be a newly hired servant, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Who might you be?”
“Oh… Who might you be?”
She was a woman with distinctive freckles. At that moment, Officer Orin whispers to me.
“This is Cassandra Jabbeline, the wife of the second Miller, Elaine.”
“So brother Miller has gotten married?”
While I was surprised, brother Max appeared, holding some documents.
“Cassandra, who has come?”
“Brother Max!”
“Huh…! Oh, Ars!”
Brother Max dropped the documents he was holding and ran towards me.
“Is it really you, Ars!”
“Yes. I’m relieved to see you’re doing well, brother.”
The commotion brought out other people in the mansion.
Brother Max’s wife, brother Miller and my father. And the twin youngest sisters, Elsie and Chelsea.
My father, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looked like he had aged ten years.
He had quit his job, and with my mother having disappeared, he couldn’t help but look that way.
To ease those worries, I first decided to talk about my mother’s whereabouts.
After moving to the reception room, my father looks at Ryuna, who is in my arms, and asks.
“That child is indeed…”
“Yes, she’s my child with Yumir. Her name is Ryuna. Come on, Ryuna, this is your grandfather.”
However, Ryuna, who is extremely shy, buried her face in my chest and refused to look elsewhere.
Even as she became more clever, this aspect remained unchanged. Perhaps because she is clever, she might be wary of strangers.
“Mother is doing well while looking at the babies. She asked me to convey her regards.”
“Julia?”
“My sister, she’s sort of…”
“You haven’t found her yet, have you?”
“Yes. But I do have some leads. Father, is there something related to sister Julia, like an item?”
“Julia’s? Hmm… If there’s something, it would probably be the unit emblem she received when she was first assigned to the military. Julia treasures it like a precious item. Would that be enough?”
“It would be good if we could prepare more. I’ll take it when I come back in a month.”
“Understood. I’ll have it prepared.”
“Next time I come, I’ll definitely bring mother and sister Julia with me. So please don’t worry too much.”
“It’s okay. I’m more worried about you. I’m concerned you might be overdoing things.”
“Father…”
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Where is brother Ferge? Has he gone out for work?”
Then a meaningful silence fell.
Brother Max bites his lower lip and continues speaking.
“Ferge didn’t exile with us.”
“What…?”
“He’s a soldier. He thought he couldn’t abandon the kingdom as a soldier. So now he remains in the Calliper military. He’s accompanying the war with Tunkai in the Beckavia region.”
“Is he safe?”
“We only receive news occasionally. The news from a month ago said he was fine. But the battlefront towards Tunkai continues to intensify…”
“I’ll do whatever I can to look into it. If possible, I’ll bring brother Ferge back.”
“I’m counting on you. Ferge has a stubborn side. He might be getting misused.”
Hearing that brother Ferge was on the battlefield, I felt we had little time.
‘The only one who can change this situation is King Gareth.’
I decided to head directly to the royal palace of Calliper to meet him.
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