“Ugh. Can’t you sense that something’s off?”
“Eh?”
Before leaving Historia, this is what Modred said at the last banquet.
“Hmmm.”
I scratched my smooth chin and looked around.
Ellie was gobbling a steak whole with her fork.
Benny and Shadow were fighting over the last piece of meat, each claiming it as their own.
Lydia had her arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from falling, while I was sitting on her lap, sharing bites of food.
And at the round table, the High-Ranking Knights were struggling to eat with serious expressions.
“Oh? You all look so grim! Are you sad I’m leaving? Don’t be too heartbroken. My body may leave, but my heart will always be here in Historia…”
“Cut the nonsense. What do you think you’re doing, a grown man sitting on a woman? Get off and resume your meal quietly.”
“Hmm. Speaking of sitting on a woman, isn’t that a bit risqué? I never thought a ten-year-old little brother would make such lewd jokes.”
“W-what! Don’t slander me!”
“Lewd, you say… mentioning it suddenly is rather…”
“Is no one here? Someone shut up Gahel… er, Jonah!”
“Even adding in the naughty jokes… that’s your taste, huh, sister… notetaking…”
As I pretended to write something on Lydia’s chest with my finger, Modred and the knights clenched their eyes shut.
Finally, unable to bear it anymore, Ellie set down her steak with a sigh.
“Jonah.”
“Yeah?”
“Sit properly.”
“Lady Lydia is now officially my knight, and being a cushion is a knight’s primary duty…”
“Ugh.”
“Yeah…”
Jumping down with a slightly sulky expression, right as my feet touched the floor, Lydia whispered in my ear.
“I’ll continue later. At Fairy and Silver Coin.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
She smiled and returned to her original spot.
… It bothers me that my legs don’t reach the ground.
When will I grow taller? Or do I even need to? With all these blessings piled up, it’s kind of murky.
One of the effects of the Avatar of Love is being fixed in an idealized form, as one imagines.
But to think I’d be stuck in this form even after obtaining it.
Surely I don’t secretly desire to be treated like a helpless baby Jonah while living as such.
It has to be the Goddess of Love’s schemes at play. It’s definitely a dark plot.
Ugh!
The full-bodied Goddess statue cried as if feeling wronged, but it’s just my imagination.
I clapped my hands lightly and said, “Shadow. Footrest.”
-Crunch.
Shadow, who had just been growling over a piece of meat with Benny, sluggishly crawled over and formed an arch under my feet.
Perfect height for resting my feet. And just the right amount of squish.
Nodding happily, I cut my portion of steak in half and tossed it down.
Instead of the meat hitting the floor, only the sound of munching echoed.
“Did you just make your creepy familiar into a footrest that easily?”
“Truly a talent that enchants everyone…”
“Now! That’s not the Goddess’s blessing but the charisma flowing from the royal blood of Historia that even monsters bow down to!”
Among the murmuring crowd, a white-haired grandmother insisted it was indeed royal power.
I turned to her and, using my powers, gave my best boy-next-door smile as I nodded at Modred.
“Is that enough now?”
“… Let’s just treat it as done.”
In that short time, an exhausted Modred made a face and shook her head.
Only after she swallowed her bite of meat did she speak.
“It’s great that the land of knights serves plenty of meat dishes.”
“So, what are you planning to do now?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I see you’re getting ready to return. I’m asking about what comes next. You got help, so will you be heading to Elven Forest?”
“No? Lady Eve… I mean, the Queen of the Elven Forest is at Pangrave, so no need to go back to the homeland.”
“True. If you’ve made a connection with the Elven Queen, there’s no other place but Pangrave.”
“Exactly. I just plan to offer a simple thank you and then dive right into the Labyrinth.”
“The Labyrinth, huh…”
Modred lightly drummed the table, deep in thought before speaking.
“I haven’t entered the Labyrinth myself, but I’ve heard many tales about it from Sir Ellie during my childhood.”
“Oh. Now that you mention it, Ellie did say she once trained in Historia long ago.”
“True. I was still pre-coronation back then, so I had the freedom to visit Sir Ellie daily and share all sorts of tales.”
As her story began, Ellie hastily swallowed what she had been chewing.
“Your Majesty, I think you’d be rather well-liked in the Labyrinth.”
“Not bad. Honestly, how can a swordsman ignore the romance of slaying monsters with a sword and exploring unknown worlds?”
Modred chuckled but slowly shook her head.
“However, that’s not possible. My sword cannot pursue personal glory.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that.”
Ellie shrugged, sipped her wine, and then inquisitively asked one of the attendants something.
She seemed to want to know what kind of wine it was, as she appeared quite taken with it.
Watching this, Modred gestured to the attendant, who brought the wine in a crate.
“A gift.”
“Um… thank you, but it’s a bit sudden, Your Majesty.”
“Since he’s my brother’s strong ally, it wouldn’t hurt to make a good impression.”
Ellie shook her head like she’d seen something bizarre, trembling slightly.
What was the past Modred like? And what about the late king, my biological father?
Gahelis’s spirit is gone, and I, Kim Jonah, merely occupy this body without inheriting any memories… but there’s one thing I can be certain of.
Gahelis wouldn’t hold any resentment towards Modred or his father.
If he had wanted to, he could have resisted easily.
I can think of plenty of ways to resist, but how about Gahelis, who was born into this body and absorbed the mindset of this male-oriented world?
Still, he chose to leave for Pangrave, fully aware he’d never return.
… Well, he probably didn’t expect it to end so poorly.
Anyway, I’m the one who’s taken over Gahelis’s body.
The connections I made since I possessed this body— like Ellie, Lydia, Benny, Eve— they’re all fine because I met them as Jonah and built bonds as Jonah.
But Modred is a different story. She sees me as Gahelis, not Jonah.
As someone who has been given a second life by Gahelis, I must take on my minimal responsibilities.
After a moment of thought, I opened my mouth.
“Modred, sis.”
“Huh? What is it, Ga… Jonah?”
“Feel free to call me however you like. Now that you know my original name is Gahelis, let’s just say I have two names. Anyway, about what you asked earlier, what should I do next?”
“Aah. We were just talking about that. I veered off topic for a moment.”
“I’m going back to Pangrave to tackle the Labyrinth.”
“From what I saw during the last duel, you move superbly; your lineage shouldn’t go unnoticed. It may not have been the knightly movement, but then again, considering your age and size, it was expected.”
“Are you looking down on me after losing to me?”
“… If we fought purely with swords, I would have won.”
“What? I’d have to go into battle swordless then?”
“……”
Modred’s expression fell slightly.
Oops! That’s not what I meant, and it slipped out without me knowing.
Strangely enough, I wanted to tease Modred a bit.
Shaking my head, I shifted topics.
“Anyway. I’m going back to Pangrave to focus on conquering the Labyrinth.”
“Right. If it’s Gahelis, you’ll reach the Seventh Floor soon.”
“Yeah. But that’s just barely over half.”
“…… What?”
Modred blinked dumbly, and I couldn’t help but smile at her.
“Level 12. I plan to fully conquer the Labyrinth up to the last floor. And then I want to meet the Goddess of Love.”
All the knights participating in the banquet began to wear the same incredulous expression.
As if they couldn’t believe it or like they were hearing a child’s dream.
But I was serious. Just as always.
Ellie and Benny, who already knew, showed no reaction, while Modred’s expression grew increasingly serious.
Locking eyes with her deep blue gaze, I declared.
“I will become the god of a new world.”
“???”
Oops!
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