Chapter 542 – The Water Dragon and the Mermaid Queen

“It seems Lasnote has taken an interest in you as well,” Pernas said. The small Water Dragon appeared to be named Lasnote.

After staying like that for a while, Lasnote gently pulled away. After a few beats, she looked up at Pernas and Invel and asked, “Then… may I introduce Queen Eldorene and Eckels and the others?”

“Yes. Please do,” Invel replied, closing her eyes and giving a small nod.

Receiving those words, I went to greet everyone in front of the Water Spirit Hall. Passing through the narrow path leading to the Spirit Hall, I headed toward the Magic Light Water Vein plaza where everyone was gathered.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back, both of you.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Grace responded with a gentle nod as Claudia thanked her.

“How did the discussion go?”

“Well. The Water Dragon parent and child are just as they were when we met before. They said they’d like to meet and talk with everyone too,” I answered Ashley, who looked somewhat worried, and she smiled and nodded.

Hearing that they were unchanged, relief mixed into our companions’ expressions. After all, everyone was acquainted with the Water Dragons.

That said… Queen Eldorene and Eckels and the others still had tense expressions.

But I thought that was fine. While I had paved the way as an intermediary for the meeting, what came after was something Queen Eldorene and the others needed to speak about in their own words. At this point, it was probably best not to say too much.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

Queen Eldorene took one deep breath before answering, “I am. What about all of you?”

“Yes! We’re ready at any time.”

“Good. Then shall we go?”

Together with everyone, we retraced our path and returned to the Water Spirit Hall.

Although this was Queen Eldorene and the others’ first time visiting the Spirit Hall, they only had a moment to be captivated by the sight before noticing the Water Dragon parent and child. Queen Eldorene and the others bowed deeply.

Queen Eldorene might have been keeping her inner turmoil from showing, regardless of how she truly felt. Or perhaps—her duties as queen compelled her to do so.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Eldorene, leader of the people of Grantios. Please forgive the rudeness of having Theodore-dono arrange this meeting.”

“I am called Pernas. Theodore likely did so out of consideration for the Verdgar royal family as well. There’s no need to concern yourself with that matter.”

“Thank you.”

“I am Invel. This is my daughter, Lasnote.”

Queen Eldorene introduced herself, and Pernas and Invel responded. Queen Eldorene then introduced the military officers accompanying her.

“The military officers Weltes, and then Eckels and Gymnos.”

As the military officers were introduced one by one, they bowed and stated their names—then Eckels and Gymnos dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.

“Eckels and Gymnos. I see… So it’s you two.”

“Yes. We’re grateful you’ve granted us this audience,” Eckels replied while maintaining his position.

“Now then. What should we do? I’ve heard you intend to follow our wishes… Yes. First, could you tell us your current thoughts?”

“From the beginning… I am one who has been allowed to live by mercy. There’s no doubt I wielded my spear under the Demon, and as someone who held the position of Captain of the Royal Guard, I understand I bear responsibility. Even if punishment were to be given, it might be a fitting retribution. However…”

“However?”

“Now, I serve Grantios. So if my existence were to damage Grantios’s trust, then I must work to regain that trust.”

“…I see.”

At Eckels’s response, Pernas closed his eyes. Indeed… if viewed from the perspective of the Subordinates, Eckels was a defeated general, and among the current former Subordinates, he held the highest position.

While that was partly because his superior had died in battle, judging from that general’s manner of speaking, he didn’t seem to be in a position to influence policy decisions.

And now, as someone serving Grantios, huh? There was no doubt he was grateful for the queen’s mercy.

Then Queen Eldorene stepped forward.

“The decision to accept them was mine. And I have a duty to provide the people of Grantios with as much protection as I can. Therefore… the responsibility should fall upon me.”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Eckels and Gymnos widened their eyes at Queen Eldorene’s words. Weltes, Pernas, and Invel also seemed surprised by this.

But… Pernas shook his head.

“No… We don’t wish to speak of punishment or assigning blame. Certainly, we have a history with the Demon. However, if you had no connection to Waldom or Oberk, then seeking punishment isn’t our role.”

“That’s right. Moreover, you’re now trying to walk a different path. We don’t want to interfere with that. We simply… were worried when we heard that someone who had served the Demon was beside our precious friend. So we wanted to see that person directly and hear their thoughts,” Invel said, looking at Queen Eldorene and Eckels and the others waiting behind her.

“And we’ve seen your resolve. We hope these words will be upheld.”

“Please raise your heads and stand. We welcome the people of Grantios.”

Then Pernas and Invel narrowed their eyes. From their impression, it seemed they were smiling softly.

—And so, the meeting between the Water Dragon parent and child and Queen Eldorene and the others seemed to have reached an appropriate conclusion.

Queen Eldorene released the Humanization Spell and showed her true form as a Mermaid, sitting by the shore and telling Pernas and the others various things—about Grantios’s situation, stories about the Motherly Figure, and tales ranging from our meeting to the battle with Waldom.

“So such things happened outside… Since we’ve been secluded in the Labyrinth, we’ve grown out of touch with worldly affairs.”

“I’d like to meet Marl too. Since we were in hibernation, our sense of time is a bit different from ‘a long time,’ though.”

The two listened to Queen Eldorene’s stories with interest. Hmm. As expected, they were acquainted with Marl too. They were both involved with the Orb’s Seal, after all.

“I’ll tell Marl about it when we meet next.”

“That would be helpful,” Invel nodded with a cheerful tone at my words.

“I wanna meet Marl too,” a voice that gave the impression of being slightly tongue-tied echoed. It wasn’t a normal voice but rather, like Pernas and Invel’s voices, one that resonated through the surroundings. Probably Lasnote’s.

When I turned my gaze toward Lasnote, she spoke somewhat shyly.

“The magic for talking with people… I just learned it and I’m not very good yet. Is it weird?”

“Not at all,” I replied, and Lasnote narrowed her eyes happily.

Lasnote seemed to be shy by nature, and with more people around, she had been cautiously hiding behind Invel, but she seemed to be gradually getting used to it.

But I see. So she was using magic to speak. Given Lasnote’s shy personality and having just learned the magic, she might not have spoken until now.

“For us to speak human language normally is somewhat tiring, you see. With our large bodies, we have to adjust our voice volume too,” the Water Dragon couple said.

“The structure of our bodies isn’t well-suited for handling human language. Since we can communicate using magic, it’s probably better to learn that from the start.”

“Lasnote seems interested in the outside world too. While we don’t go far even when leaving the Labyrinth, the time will come when Lasnote must stand on her own. It would help us if you could tell her various stories.”

“If that’s the case, we’d be happy to.”

We’ve traveled with considerable variety—through Verdgar territory, Silvatoria, Baharzard, and so on. We certainly don’t lack for conversation topics.

Although we have plans for later, I’d like to spend a bit more time interacting here. This is also important time for building trust between Grantios and the Water Dragons.

“This is Marlene. I’m Rosemary. I’d be happy if you called me Marie.”

“I’m… Lasnote.”

“Mmm. I’m Sheila.”

“I’m Seraphina.”

Marlene grabbed the hem of her skirt to greet Lasnote, and Rosemary introduced Marlene’s name in place of the non-verbal Marlene as they exchanged self-introductions.

And… just as everyone finished introducing themselves to Lasnote, Irmhild began playing her Lute, and Lasnote blinked her eyes in slight surprise.

Hmm. I brought the Lute thinking it would help build friendly relations between Grantios and the Water Dragons… Judging by Lasnote’s reaction, it seemed to have been the right decision.