Side Story: Another World – 1
“You’re back earlier than usual, Commander.”
As I entered the office of the Knight Commander of the Dark Night Order, which had become like Laksia’s own office, she said that.
I calculated the time I had been out for a moment. It took about 15 hours to find Aurora, around 18 hours to faint Nix, who kept sticking around while changing her personality, and finally, 1 hour spent nagging Eclipse.
“Seems like I came back at a similar time as usual?”
It sounded like a sarcastic remark, and if someone else had said it, I could have taken it as a jab at me.
But the one saying that was Laksia. Given her personality, she wouldn’t sneakily mock me; she would say it directly.
To prove my thoughts right, Laksia shook her head.
“No. This return was approximately 1 day and 9 hours earlier than average. I double-checked against my memories, and I’m certain.”
“…You remembered all that?”
“After all, it’s one of the vice commander’s duties to assist the commander. Honestly, I never expected it to be this difficult to see you. Plus, recently, we had an extra task to worry about, didn’t we?”
I already knew. I glanced reluctantly out the window.
I spotted people gathered at the corner of the castle, each praying in the direction of my room. Not just a few, but several hundred of them.
They were all pilgrims.
“I’ve heard the news. What on earth have you been doing in the Holy Kingdom?”
“……”
I wasn’t sure when it started, but the castle I resided in was being referred to as a kind of sanctuary.
At first, it was just a couple of individuals coming to pray and then leaving, but the numbers gradually grew until they reached hundreds.
Despite the continuous flow of hundreds visiting each day, interestingly, there were no complaints from the local residents living here. Well, of course, there wouldn’t be.
The Holy Kingdom had distributed an enormous amount of money to ensure every last one of them settled in other territories.
In other words, that meant the only ones residing in this territory were the Dark Night Order and Kaiquilia. Truly impressive actions were at play here.
“We’re treated no differently than the Holy Knights of the Raphael Holy Kingdom, rather than the Dark Night Order of the Aiternum Empire. I never thought holding such a position, with a living Holy One as our commander, would feel so burdensome.”
As a result, the Dark Night Order inadvertently became a sacred knight order guarding the sanctuary of the living Holy One. As if to express Laksia’s emotions, her rabbit ears drooped down.
The Dark Night Order’s outfit was still a bunny girl costume, but there was a major difference from before. They had switched the material of the bunny suit to transparent tights under the guise of ‘improved mobility’.
Currently, only a few were trying it out, but the reviews were so good that it seemed the entire Dark Night Order would soon switch to wearing transparent tights.
‘An outfit for enhanced mobility, huh?’
Shouldn’t I think about those high heels first?
Wearing heels that looked to be at least 7-8 cm tall, they still managed to run around, train, and show off various sword techniques without any ankle injuries. It was quite astonishing.
“By the way, what business do you have here, Commander?”
Laksia perked her rabbit ears up again and asked, with a suitably sized chest propped on the desk, barely covered by a sticker.
“I planned to go out somewhere with Kaiquilia. I wanted to inform you that we can reduce the security personnel stationed at the mansion for the time being.”
“Are you talking about Her Majesty the Empress…? No, I mean, that person? Understood.”
Laksia almost reflexively referred to her as the Empress but quickly changed her words, offering a wry smile.
“…I’m still not used to it.”
She wanted to approach it normally, but she couldn’t help but think of it as the same atmosphere as when she was an Empress, making it impossible for the Order to act that way.
‘The term “Senjé” was rejected because she dislikes it, yet calling her Kaiquilia normally seems to break the Order.’
What an ambiguous situation.
“Anyway, Kaiquilia doesn’t have anything to do here.”
“Yes. It seems she’s just wasting time these days.”
Ever since she stepped down from the Empress’s throne, Kaiquilia had been living an idle life, receiving care from maids at the mansion where Aurora had lived.
Had this place still been functioning as a territory, she might have taken on the role of a lord, but it had essentially become a sanctuary, leading to her responsibilities vanishing completely.
“Since you’re specifically mentioning it, it seems like you’ll be away for a bit longer this time.”
“Probably? I’ll come back occasionally, but for now, I might not return for a while.”
“May I ask where you intend to go?”
Laksia’s ears perked up.
“To my hometown.”
“You’ve handed the throne over to me just to go there, Aunt?!”
Aurora, clinging to Kaiquilia, struggled. Kaiquilia, unable to shake off Aurora easily, was in a bit of a bind.
The sight of the two women, so alike they could be sisters or twins with just a slight difference in demeanor and atmosphere, clinging to each other was irresistibly cute.
Minerva was watching them, a smile spread across her face.
“Leaving me out and going to the Delta world! How is that fair?!”
Aurora was upset for a simple reason. Everyone else was set to visit the world I lived in, while she couldn’t leave her duties as Empress.
If it were the earlier version of Aurora, who knew nothing, she would have just left the aftermath to her future self. But now, she understood the potential consequences and could hardly bring herself to do that.
It was entirely different from Floretta or Luna, who only reacted positively to the thought of the Holy One and Pope developing a closer relationship while being away from the Holy Kingdom.
“…I didn’t expect this situation to arise, Aurora.”
“Liar! You didn’t think of this situation at all, did you, Aunt?!”
For once, even Kaiquilia looked genuinely apologetic and didn’t offer much of a rebuttal. It was a stark contrast to her usual demeanor, where she wouldn’t bleed a drop even if poked with a needle.
While struggling, Kaiquilia was relentlessly pressed by Aurora. Minerva, watching the two with a beaming face, leaned in close to me.
“Isn’t it time to tell her, kid?”
“You rarely see Kaiquilia looking like that. Let’s leave it for a bit longer.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Naturally, I had no intention of crossing over to my world without Aurora. The final version of Minerva’s doppelgänger magic, completed after endless biological experiments, would take care of Aurora’s duties.
Almost all of the responsibility for those biological experiments was borne by Ceres. In the end, I sent Ceres home using teleportation magic after she became unable to stand after countless experiments.
“By the way, kid. Why did you so suddenly propose a trip to your world?”
“Well… there was a reason for it. All thanks to the Goddess. Just like Minerva said, it was a sudden decision.”
One of the suggestions Eclipse made to escape my nagging was this idea. Just as I was starting to run out of things to say, it felt like perfect timing, so I readily accepted.
Of course, the real ‘punishment’ would be handed out later.
“Alright, let’s move on.”
I interrupted just as Minerva began to lose her battle against laughter, prompting the two to separate. Kaiquilia’s usually neat dark hair was slightly disheveled.
With a pout on her face, Aurora clung tightly to me.
“Delta! Are you really going to leave me behind? You can’t!”
“Of course not.”
“…Huh?”
When a response that was too cool came out, Aurora, who had been burying her face in my chest, looked up with a bewildered expression. Her golden eyes were filled with questions.
I nodded towards Minerva. Immediately, a doppelgänger identical to Aurora appeared in the air. The sudden appearance of something that resembled her startled Aurora, making her release her grip.
“D-Delta, what is this?”
“Aurora, it’s your doppelgänger. Made by Lady Minerva.”
As I explained about the doppelgänger, Aurora and Kaiquilia’s faces grew more complex. Minerva stifled her laughter, covering her mouth as she watched.
When I finished explaining, Aurora and Kaiquilia simultaneously made sulky faces.
“Why didn’t you say this sooner?”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
With appearances that could only be seen as twin sisters, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Because watching you two squabble is too cute? I just wanted to see more of it.”
“C-Cute? Hmph, do you think I’d fall for something like that?”
“Aurora’s right. I wouldn’t fall for such a shallow trick… but…”
Kaiquilia, who locked eyes with me, suddenly froze mid-sentence. A soft moan escaped through her fingers that were covering her mouth.
Before long, a subtle peach scent began wafting through the air.
Recognizing the identity of the peach scent, Aurora hugged me again with a shocked expression. Minerva also quietly wiped away her smile. I did the same.
‘Did I go too far back then?’
After spending nearly 13 hours together while stirring up bodies, it seemed that something had developed during that time.
Even so, isn’t it a bit extreme to give a peak just by receiving a compliment and making eye contact?
In the suddenly quiet atmosphere filled with the spreading peach aroma, Aurora’s doppelgänger moved into action. The doppelgänger bowed its head towards the four of us before disappearing out the door.
“…Shall we go, then?”
The three followed my words without a word. As Kaiquilia approached, Aurora subtly relaxed her grip. Kaiquilia filled the space left by Aurora with her slender arms wrapped securely around me.
“…Hug me tighter.”
As I embraced her trembling form with her face buried in my chest, we stepped into the teleportation portal that Minerva had opened.
Our departure was slightly delayed.
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