Satisfied with Floria’s reaction, Miriam turned her gaze to Kousuke and spoke.
“Since you have taken the time to meet with me, I assume this concerns something related to the King, but is there something you needed?”
Kousuke was quite surprised by Miriam’s sudden question. After all, no barrier had been erected in this place. Despite that, she had casually mentioned King Maxim. He worried if she was alright, as he believed the King’s condition was crucial for the country.
Therefore, Kousuke discreetly looked at Leonard, as a precaution. It was the same confirmation as before: should he erect a barrier? Leonard nodded once, silently, clearly indicating his desire for a barrier to be set up.
Following Leonard’s instruction, Kousuke turned to Kouhi, who stood directly behind him. Kouhi immediately erected a barrier without a word.
Watching their exchange, Miriam’s eyes widened for some reason. As soon as the barrier was completed, she looked at Leonard and exclaimed, “Oh my. How very strict.”
To Miriam, Leonard shrugged and replied, “This is unavoidable. It concerns my father, but it seems to involve the royal family itself.”
“Is that so?”
Understanding the gravity of the situation from Leonard’s words, Miriam’s smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression. Kousuke could tell she had always tried to be respectful in his presence, while also acting as a member of the royal family, but now she exuded an aura befitting the ruler of the nation. Kousuke thought this was the dignity of someone who had stood by the King’s side for many years.
However, Kousuke was unsure how much he could reveal. He intended to leave the initial explanation to Leonard and simply looked at him. As if he immediately understood Kousuke’s intent, Leonard recounted the story he had heard from Kousuke and Sylvia earlier.
“My word.”
After hearing Leonard’s full account, Miriam opened her eyes wide in surprise, uttering, “My word.” Still, she gracefully covered her mouth with her hand, which Kousuke found impressive.
Towards the surprised Miriam, Leonard repeated the same question he had asked Kousuke and the others earlier. “Mother, have you ever heard of such a mechanism in that room?” Miriam’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment at Leonard’s question. After pondering for about a minute, she shook her head.
“…Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of any such mechanism existing in that room.” Kousuke believed there was no lie in her words as she looked directly at him.
At the same time, Kousuke decided to discuss something different from what he had spoken of until now. “Is that so? I’ve been thinking a bit on the way here…” He paused for a moment, then continued, looking at both Leonard and Miriam. “It’s starting to seem like there isn’t a mechanism like a magic tool or a magic circle in that room.”
When Kousuke said this, the others looked astonished.
Floria, representing them, asked Kousuke, “Then, what exactly is in there? I assume no doctor or priest came and used magic, did they?” Leonard nodded deeply at Floria’s confirmation. Kousuke also shook his head, as he hadn’t thought it was the residue of someone’s magic or holy power.
“No, if it were the residue of magic, the effect would be too strong. Besides, we would have noticed it immediately if it were something like that,” he stated. The residue of magic is like the remnants after magic has been used, and thus only a very weak power remains. At least, it shouldn’t retain the strength Kousuke felt in that room.
Of course, Kousuke understood this. Yet, there was a clear reason for his preceding statement. “To maintain such a powerful effect, it would consume a considerable amount of magic power. It seems impossible to maintain it without the Crown Prince and Princess noticing. Furthermore, even if it’s designed to activate only when something happens to the room’s occupant, it would still use a significant amount of magic.” Simply put, if there was a mechanism, such as a magic circle or a magic tool, to cure or alleviate illness in that room, it would require a substantial amount of magic or holy power. The mechanism for that would also need to be quite large, and Kousuke found it strange that neither of them had noticed anything. However, this line of reasoning also had its flaws.
“For example, if an ancient royal had received such a Divine Tool from the Goddess, it might be possible to simply store their own magic power,” Kousuke continued, adding that it was merely one possibility, and looked at Floria with a slight smile. He was asking if something like that had ever happened in the Florece Kingdom.
Floria chuckled wryly and shook her head at Kousuke’s words. “I’ve never heard of such a story. While it’s not unthinkable that it could be kept secret due to its nature, such things would typically be made public.” Receiving a Divine Tool from a god would be an honor for the royal family, not something to be hidden. If it were not a Divine Gift, it might have been stolen in war, but in this world, such an act of violence would almost certainly be recorded in myths or legends. At least, no such past had been conveyed to the Florece Kingdom.
Kousuke seemed to have anticipated this, nodding at Floria’s words and continuing, “Well, it’s just speculation. If the castle itself has a large mechanism that naturally collects magic power, then it wouldn’t be strange to have such a mechanism.” Considering Vermilia Castle and the Lily Shrine, it wasn’t strange for such castles to exist in the world. Rather, to gather the amount of power Kousuke was thinking of, it was more natural to assume the mechanism was incorporated into a building as large as a castle. However, whether it was plausible that none of the royal family knew about such a magnificent mechanism was a subtle point. It was something important enough that it wouldn’t be strange if it were passed down only to successive kings.
Having spoken thus far, Kousuke looked at Leonard and Miriam. “So, what will you do? If you want us to investigate that power, we will. If you are content with the situation as it is, we will act as if we saw nothing and return.” Where they would return to was self-evident. Conversely, Floria was surprised by Kousuke’s proposal. It was likely that the one suffering from ill health was Floria’s uncle, but it was truly rare for someone to get so deeply involved in national affairs. Kousuke couldn’t tell if Floria was intrigued by the power in King Maxim’s room. Nevertheless, Floria was happy that Kousuke himself had offered to take action.
However, it was ultimately up to the royal family of the Florece Kingdom, not Floria, to decide the course of action. In the end, they accepted Leonard’s request to postpone the decision, and Kousuke and the others retreated to Alec’s mansion for the time being. The plan was to finish in ten chapters, but it seemed like it would extend by one or two more episodes. Still, the author hadn’t given up yet. For now, Kousuke and the others had returned to Alec’s mansion and would wait there until a response was received.
