Chapter 108: who's this weirdo

Middle Earth Month, 10th Day, 600 AGG

'Reality ensues,' Draudillon glanced up from the book she was perusing in a spare moment of rest. Sitting at the desk nailed to the cabin's floor were Yuriko and a diviner, one Martin had dispatched to accompany them a few weeks prior. 'Ahhh… well, it's hard to fault him for his concern.'

They ah, hadn't been as productive as they should've been, and a chaperone did much to correct that. She'd never admit it to her Prime Minister's face though, of course.

"Haaa…" Yuriko buried her face in her hands. The diviner from the capital remained still, perfectly inscrutable beneath the layers they wore. To be honest, Draudillon doubted she'd be able to divine—suppressing a snort—their reaction even in the absence of the concealing cloak and mask. "I don't remember bookkeeping being this hard."

"You let too much of it pile up," Draudillon savored the way Yuriko's face scrunched up even further. "It's to be expected."

"It'll be easier if I had a spreadsheet program to work with…" The angel grumbled before returning to work on the accounts they'd been asked to balance. "Why can't Silas and them do this? Or the people working for the Treasury? They're a lot better than me, and I bet I've already made a couple mistakes."

"That's true," and that wasn't to mention the whole issue of Yuriko possibly acquiring poorly selected levels. Even with the option to 'wipe the slate clean' with『Wish Upon A Star』, valuable time would still be lost in gathering the experience needed to level. Knowing that, was nudging the angel towards learning how to manage the people under them truly a wise decision? 'Gaining levels in some 'rulership' class cripples her fighting potential, and she only has, what, five? Five left to allocate. Is five enough to develop skills that make such a trade-off worthwhile?'

Furthermore, there was zero guarantee Yuriko could get such classes and skills to begin with. They couldn't participate in ritual magic, so what if similar restrictions existed when it came to level acquisition—

"Since you agree, shouldn't I be shoving this off to them?" Her beloved's grumbling brought her back to reality. Efficiency, effectivity, the cold calculus of nurturing talent made only colder by knowledge of the World's underlying laws…

Were those—should she really be viewing her partner this way? Making serious considerations of how to structure and limit their life? After the life they'd lived in another world with its own fair share of suffocation?

'If it was just me, I could stomach it, easily,' she put the book aside, leaving its pages open. 'If it were my courtiers, the loyal vassals of the Crown, I could come to tolerate it for the good of the kingdom. But Yuriko…'

"Is that what you want to do?" In spite of her softened tone, the diviner stiffened. Worried about potential conflict, probably. The dragon queen made a dismissive gesture with her hand; the diviner was all too eager to exit the cabin. "Dear?"

"I mean, this is stuff I need to know anyway, so it doesn't matter if I—"

"Even if it doesn't matter to you, it matters to me," Draudillon firmly interrupted. "What do you want to do with your life? What do you want to become? Nobody else should make this decision for you."

"Sounds just like my homeroom teacher…" She barely caught Yuriko's muttering. "When did this turn into career guidance?"

"Since a few seconds ago."

"… you're not funny."

"Excellent. Being humorous wasn't my intention."

Draudillon paused for a beat, eyes looking up and finger on chin. "Although I do remember a certain someone laughing during a meeting because of what I'd said."

"Fine, you can have a temporary comedian's license then," the angel pouted. "Courtesy of the Commission."

"What kind of commission has such a lax process?"

"Mine," her beloved laid their quill to rest and slumped face-first against the desk. "Because I can't deal with more of this admin crap."

"You don't have to. Not if you don't want to."

"Look, Drau… I—later, please?"

"Yuriko."

It was a difficult question. Draudillon knew that.

After the past few weeks of visiting the Flinean Marche had brought the beastmen-wrought havoc to the forefront of their attention, it was—and she hated, hated phrasing it like so—expected that her beloved would begin blaming themselves for things of which they held no fault.

'But that's why it's important I remain attentive. To not only be there for her, but to listen to and understand, to endure and enrich.'

Seeing that the dragon queen wasn't content to let the matter slip by, Yuriko slowly sat up and began speaking in a cautious cadence. "I guess it would make the most sense to go for Cleric, Priestess, or anything that's good for casting divine spells."

That made sense from a solely utilitarian perspective. Branching out into other specialties wouldn't raise the height of their 'ceiling' which was much more important than the breadth of their 'floor.' Defeating a mass of untrained peasants in melee combat was meaningless when the same could be accomplished with summons and spellcraft. 'Unless branching out can produce worthwhile synergies, it'd be a waste.'

"My caster level increases," Yuriko counted on their fingers, warming to the topic. "Expands my spell-list. I dunno how stat allocation works here, but doing priestessy stuff probably has a decent shot of putting them into Mana or whatever. Don't think I'd get too many new skills though; my angel levels sorta substitute for basic jobs in that field."

"No clue on rarer prestige classes?" In this world, such vocations were the domain of insular groups like Ijaniya, the legendary group of assassins rumored to be based in Baharuth, and state-controlled troubleshooters like the Theocracy's Six Scriptures. 'Speaking of which, I should make a reminder to look closer into the beastmen's once everything's settled.'

"Um, nope, not really. Well, the ones that would work for my build, at least," about as she'd expected. "Cleric's pretty straightforward, so I think it's fine? I dunno."

"Mm, you did give some compelling reasons. Do you think you can be happy, living the life of a cleric?"

"I'm not unhappy," she waited for them to continue. "Being able to help so many people in a way you can really see is… it's a nice feeling. Hearing everyone say 'thank you' and really mean it, y'know? Maybe thinking that way is a little selfish though."

"More people ought to be selfish in that case."

Yuriko's smile carried a hint of wry self-deprecation. "Maybe."

They glanced away with a contemplative expression, and Draudillon found herself regretting forcing the issue here and now.

"Are you getting along with the helpers Martin assigned?" The dragon queen changed the topic, not missing how Yuriko's shoulders relaxed. "I haven't heard any complaints on their part, but I'd like to know your thoughts on this as well."

"Y-Yeah, they're great!" Yuriko replied with visible relief. "Way better than me; companies back in the old world would've snapped them up."

'Their training is progressing smoother than I was expecting,' she knew they were working hard to improve themselves, but seeing the administrators' efforts firsthand rather than merely benefiting from their developing skills made for a striking realization. "Is that so? It's relieving to hear our project turned out fine."

Given how rushed it was… yes, the kingdom was fortunate to have received the results it did. Perhaps the duties the Court prepared the administrators for fell under the purview of a basic 'fundamental' class? Paper-pushers and managers of property were present even in the Beastman Country, after all. ' 'Steward?' 'Clerk?' Well, we can worry about the exact details later.'

"Ehhh, it's more of your project though? I didn't do much—actually, I didn't have anything to do with it," Yuriko scratched the back of their head. "Don't get me wrong; I'm happy their builds turned out alright. Not the kinda thing you get take-backsies on."

"Your aid has expedited a variety of projects," she clamped down on the urge to point out that 'take-backsies' were absolutely on the table. Neither Yuriko nor herself were willing to go so far as to delevel people simply because their build wasn't the perfect fit for a role. "Without you, the kingdom wouldn't be in the position to pursue such uncertain gains."

The angel didn't immediately respond. "It's because everybody's doing their best."

"Yes, and that doesn't diminish the magnitude of your contributions," Draudillon admonished. What use were ideas without the strength to see them through? Strength that Yuriko provided without any desire for proper compensation. "Nor does it diminish that of others. Everyone involved deserves some manner of credit for their efforts."

"Just let me beat myself up in peace…" The angel half-heartedly complained. A pang of affection twinged in her chest, but she restrained herself in case the diviner was loitering within earshot. It wouldn't do for them to report to Martin and cause the implementation of stricter measures. "It's just, watching everyone else doing stuff and being good at it while I'm standing around doing nothing kinda sucks, y'know? It feels bad."

"Is this about our time with the Marquis?" Outside, activity surged with the patter of the crew's footsteps upon the Halihal's flooring. They must be drawing near to the next stop on their itinerary: the barony of Oltenesta, semi-randomly selected from the many smaller demesnes sworn to Flinea for its easy access to the Ordelia. 'Sadly, paying a visit to each House isn't feasible…'

With the total count coming to around ten-thousand, doing so was the work of decades. Draudillon idly contemplated the point while waiting for Yuriko's answer. 'It was a worthless question.'

"Sorta kinda," the angel vaguely replied, seemingly eager to escape that line of questioning as well. "Did we get our stuff all packed?"

Draudillon raised an eyebrow, directing a pointed look at the conglomeration of 'stuff'—mostly parchment and paper—scattered over the desk Yuriko was still sitting at.

"O-Okay, okay, besides this!" Her eye twitched as they made to sweep the documents into extra-dimensional storage. Thankfully, Yuriko stopped to reconsider and somewhat organize the items into stacks before carefully stowing them away. "Now we're good, right?"

"Right," Draudillon withdrew a hand-length steel scepter from her Bag of Holding and waved it over the bed. "『Clean』."

"Um, was that dirty?" Nervous energy forgotten, her beloved tilted their head at the pristine sheets and covers. "Didn't look like it to me."

"Hm, I wonder…" When they first boarded the ship, they had also brought along furniture and other articles for personal use. The crew was competent, but that hardly meant she'd been satisfied with the provided quarters and furnishings. Now with the kingdom's emergencies well in hand, she felt more comfortable indulging in pettier wants; although, having summons do the bulk of the heavy lifting eased her conscience a bit too.

Her General Multipurpose Tool returned to the bag. She doubted the sailors of the Halihal possessed the audacity to do something as bold as what she was thinking, but— "For peace of mind, I suppose. I'll inform a crew member that this cabin doesn't require any attention."

Yuriko turned away from the bed and towards her, confusion coloring their mien. "Well um, okay? Less work for the staff is good?"

"We can settle with that explanation," Draudillon agreed. Yuriko stared at her for a moment longer before shaking their head like she was the odd one. Hmph. "Before we head above deck, have a summon watch over this room and the rooms of the other people accompanying us. The ship should be docking soon."

Unless the tide was low, in which case, wings were going to yet again prove themselves to be convenient appendages.

The pair navigated through the narrow passageways, the few people they encountered hastily clearing the way with respectful bows and greetings that she couldn't quite catch over the ambient sounds of the ship itself. Draudillon gave slight nods in response, acknowledging their presence before passing by just as quickly.

Another step saw them outside under late-afternoon's waning orange glow and in the midst of the river's vibrant scent. She tossed her gaze into the distance and noticed a smaller ship tugging a hawser connected to the Halihal's kedge anchor. It appeared the water was high enough to moor themselves closer to the shoreline.

"You needn't have gone out of your way again, Captain," Draudillon addressed the straw-blond man approaching them. "We could've flown if necessary."

"No, uh, it wasn't any trouble at all, Your Majesty," Niluf Halihal scratched his bristly cheeks with all the air of a man in dire want of sleep. Sympathy welled up within her; she'd have to add a tip for dispensing their duties so diligently. "Just a pinch of luck, catching the flood tide, and it's good practice for the new boys on board. Having angels helping out sure doesn't hurt either."

"Is that so…" She quietly murmured to herself while her thumb rubbed the back of Yuriko's hand. In the background, angels directed by sailors began hauling in the anchor that had been dropped, pulling the ship closer to shore. "As expected of the captain of a merchant vessel."

"Forgive me for the presumption, Your Majesty!"

"There's naught to forgive," she dismissed his apology. "Lady Yuriko was the one eager to extend the services of her summons."

"That's—erm, yes! Of course," the blond shot a cautious glance at said Lady who waved back. "We're very grateful, my Lady."

"It's no problem!" Yuriko gave an enthusiastic thumbs up accompanied by an equally energetic grin. "This is useful practice for them too!"

Even summons were capable of gaining familiarity with mundane tasks, it seemed. Though if a hypothetical 'Sailor' class demonstrated esoteric skills, then learning those would be impossible. 'Summons possessing permanence opens some interesting avenues of research, but a necromancer's thralls can do much the same anyway.'

"She won't put you out of business, Captain," Draudillon watched the blood drain from his paling face. Scant few would take such a revelation with perfect disinterest. "That isn't where the kingdom's best interests lie, and it'll be a shame to sail with a mute crew."

"U-Uh, thank you, Your Majesty?" The man hesitantly took a step backwards. "There's some details for me to supervise, if I may…?

"Go in peace," she nodded. Captain Halihal bowed, hesitated, then bowed again to the angel beside her. "Perhaps I shouldn't have said that."

"There's no way he didn't know though," Yuriko pointed out. "All you did was remind him about something he was worrying—ah, I guess that wouldn't feel great…"

An amused snort escaped from the dragon queen. Aside from angels, there was nobody else nearby to hear the undignified noise. "Well, I hope I laid his worries to rest."

"Aren't some of the angels already transporting stuff? If he's in the same line of business, then the summons are going to be some tough competition."

"We can always decrease your summons' involvement with whatever field is being unbalanced," Draudillon reassured. "Don't fret; the Royal Court and I have taken great pains to ensure disturbances to the people's livelihoods are kept to a minimum. As of present, they're only being assigned responsibilities that the general populace still can't quite bear. Once the kingdom is fully back on its feet, redistributing them won't be an issue."

"What about the travel services?" The crowd on the dockside was making quite the commotion, one that grew clearer and louder with each second. Draudillon couldn't recall making a public announcement, but she supposed her people had eyes and could see the angels hovering around the Halihal. "Like the merchant escorts and the uh, airplane-kinda thingies?"

"Those will be kept for the foreseeable future," she confirmed, not taking her eyes off the people of Oltenesta. "Reliable security controlled by the Crown reduces reliance on adventurers," who were expensive whereas angels were cheap for the client and also generated income for the Treasury. "While your 'airplane thingies' aren't something that any group in our vicinity can maintain on the scale you do."

There was Baharuth's Royal Air Guard and the Wyvern Riders of the Scalewing Confederacy—along with the beastman clans that practiced the same discipline—but none could spare the manpower to establish a nation-wide aerial postage system. 'Not like ours is completely free of wrinkles.'

However, such was a test of patience and not an exercise in vain daydreaming, of that she was confident. Infrastructural expansion was going well, the cities were more or less fully repaired, projects were progressing, and everyone from beastmen left behind in the war's wake to displaced villagers were settling into this new state of affairs.

Developments to consider later, Draudillon thought as the ship came to a stop at the wooden pier. Residents of the town continued to trickle in, eager to watch this surprise—for them—visit from royalty and divinity both. 'Though I don't think they're aware I'm here. Yet. Most aren't likely to recognize me on sight either, both before and now, but I suppose that's irrelevant since there's already a gathering.'

"Ehhh… this feels awkward…" Yuriko mumbled under her breath.

"Didn't you say it was a nice feeling?" Her mirth couldn't be fully repressed; the slightest upturning of her lips revealed as much. "Being thanked and whatnot."

"Th-That's, I didn't mean it like that!" Their face grew red. "More like, erm, it'll be better if they sent fan mail instead…? Although I guess I already get a lot of thank you letters…"

"A hopeless wish. Anyone going through the effort of sending mail wouldn't forsake the chance to see you in person," Captain Halihal tentatively waved at them, unkeen to interrupt a conversation between the highest authorities of the land. "Either way, the time for making first impressions is long past."

"But you help a lot of people, and I don't see a bunch of mail on your desk," the pair followed the sailor to the gangway that would see them disembarked. Slowly, the assistants, retainers, and the diviner too, began to exit the hold, delayed by virtue of not having a nigh bottomless sub-dimension to cram personal belongings into. She felt bad since her own things were kept with Yuriko's, but whereas keeping track of the possessions of two was easy, that of fivefold was not.

"Yes, because they're too preoccupied sending petitions," Draudillon took Yuriko's hand, allowing them to help her down the gangway. "Don't trip."

"Trip—?! I won't!"

Fortunately—unfortunately?—Yuriko indeed avoided tripping this time around. Their flustered squeaking when she'd caught them mid-fall clung to her mind even now…

'Her eyes had a good look to them too,' a soft hum accompanied the fantasizing as she scanned the gathered group cheering from the dockside. 'Hm? Ah, is that Lady Oltenia's entourage? I don't recall requesting her to meet us here.'

"Captain," she temporarily set the thought aside to focus on Captain Halihal who had been trailing directly behind them. "You have our thanks for escorting us."

"It was an honor, Your Majesty," his waist bent at a ninety-degree angle. "While the local Lady is attending to you two, shall we prepare the quarters for your return?"

"Leave those be if you would," an excellent reminder. The good Captain was proving his abilities with each and every word. "The same applies to the living spaces of the other passengers affiliated with the Royal Court. Lady Yuriko's angels will also be watching, so don't feel obligated to risk your safety to protect our privacy."

Sneaking past the angels standing guard was a laughable prospect, but giving advance warning was basic courtesy.

"I understand, Your Majesty," Captain Halihal straightened up and dipped his head. "May the gods watch over you."

"I'm sure they are," she dryly quipped, ignoring the unimpressed glance Yuriko shot her way. "Let's not keep our host waiting any longer, dear."

The delegation strode down the pier, one of her retainers picking up the pace to reach the front before they arrived at the harborside. Once near, he stopped, took a deep breath, and then announced:

"Announcing Her Majesty, Queen Draudillon Oriculus!" Only the slightest tremor could be detected in the voice of House Sturdza's second son. Worrying himself sick over the order, she figured. "And the venerable Lady Yuriko!"

If the cheering had been loud earlier, it was positively—well, perhaps not deafening, but significantly louder than one might expect from a group of the size that had come to meet them. Draudillon smiled in return, raising her free hand to the excitement of the onlookers.

A brunette pulled away from the crowd and came to a halt at a distance reminiscent of that between petitioners in Court and the dragon queen's throne.

"Baroness," Draudillon released the angel's hand. "We weren't expecting your presence so soon."

When greeting royalty, it would've been enough for Lady Oltenia to await their arrival at the gates of her residence. Going so far as to travel to the harbor must've been a sign of how nervous the Baroness was. 'Meeting her face to face, she's younger than her correspondences suggest.'

"Your Majesty is like an angel of the gods," Lady Oltenia's head remained lowered. "How can this lowly servant dare keep her waiting for even a second?"

'This… she's completely serious,' the response was slightly excessive. Of course, all of her vassals—even Uncle now—were respectful, but this sort of display leaned far enough into 'respect' for her to feel off-put. 'Could it be due to Yuriko's presence?'

"The Baroness has worked hard," Draudillon decided on saying. "Thus, she oughtn't refer to herself with such humility. Raise your head."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lady Oltenia obliged, indecipherable emotions flashing across blue eyes before being hidden behind the ever so familiar facade of composure. "Forgive me for this failing, but I fear I lack the carriages to accommodate everyone—"

"We can fly!" Yuriko helpfully butted in. The Baroness's mouth twitched downwards for a split second even as Draudillon's retainers winced and paled. Was high-speed flight truly that harrowing? "With my summons. If there's not enough, I can summon more!"

"… So I had wagons rented, though their quality surely falls short of Her Majesty and her servants' standards," Lady Oltenia continued as if she hadn't heard the angel at all.

"Nothing that requires an apology," the noblewoman didn't seem to mesh well with her beloved. As for the reason, it was usually a cocktail of fear and nervousness, but Draudillon had the niggling feeling that wasn't quite on the mark. A personal grudge? That would be bold to show so outwardly. "The fault lies on our behalf for failing to inform you beforehand with regards to our travel details, Baroness."

"No!" Draudillon suppressed a flinch at the Baroness's sudden outburst. "E-Excuse me, Your Majesty… what I meant was that there's no wrongdoing on your part. My shortcomings shouldn't be borne by others."

"Then let us leave the matter at that," Draudillon gestured towards Yuriko. "Bringing your vehicles along won't be a problem."

"I'll need to take out a few more angels, but yeah, it's fine," a downcast mood surrounded Yuriko; their host's apparent coldness had put a damper on her usual cheer. "Just gimme a few seconds…"

"Summoning, please," Draudillon gently reminded. The less people knew about the functions of Yuriko's 『World Item』, the better. Same went for their list of spells and skills, but they mostly stuck to a few mainstays anyway.

Her beloved's face flushed in contrast to the midnight orb that always accompanied them, the telltale light that indicated the retrieval of angels from its depths winking out as Yuriko raised her arm instead. "『S-Summon Angel Fifth』,『Summon Angel Fifth』,『Summon Angel Fifth』,『Summon Angel Fifth』,『Summon Angel Fifth』."

One by one, hunched over masked angels with numerous weapon-bearing limbs sprouting out their backs materialized from the coalesced radiance. Rivulets of golden ichor crept down porcelain-like cheeks, never quite hitting the ground, only adding to the foreboding silence that had inadvertently come with them.

'I think,' Draudillon noticed her retainers were doing their utmost to keep from grimacing—while Lady Oltenia was doing so outright—and the slacked jaws of the rest of her citizens present. 'I think I'd forgotten that it takes some time for people to become accustomed to these.'

In spite of the Principality Slaughter's unnerving appearance, Draudillon had encouraged their use throughout the Draconic Kingdom because one simply didn't refuse to employ loyal summons capable of scything through armies on account of aesthetics. True, there were stronger angels with 'holier' features, but the mana efficiency of the Principalities were too high to pass up.

On the flipside… well, the silence was enough of a sign that the good men and women of Oltenesta weren't very taken with—

Her train of thoughts was cut off by a renewed surge of enthusiastic applause. 'Ah, right. This region was on the frontlines.' Of course they, who had personally weathered horrific atrocities firsthand, would receive the instruments of their salvation with exuberance regardless of appearance.

'It's only natural, isn't it?' She looked upon the crowd with a sad sort of fondness. Above, the angels that had followed the ship from the sky descended, causing the people to struggle between choosing austere reverence or mobbing the summons. "Still, this isn't so bad."

"Is something the matter, Your Majesty?"

"A stray thought," Draudillon shook her head even as Yuriko gave her a concerned look, furrowed brows and all. She was fine, really! But being read by them with such ease—that wasn't a terrible feeling either. "Take us to your carriages and wagons, Baroness. We'll have them flown back to your estate along with the rest of us."

"You alright?" Yuriko waited until Lady Oltenia turned away before whispering into her ear.

"I am," she reassuringly squeezed their hand. "Just got reminded of the past. Things are better now, in case you were wondering."

"They sure are if you can joke like this…"

"I jested before your arrival too, you know?" The couple watched the humans and angels work to load everything up. "Humor isn't solely reserved for peaceful times."

"Mm, that's true," Yuriko paused and scratched her neck. Nervousness then. "I don't think she likes me very much."

'Lady Oltenia,' it was clear who the person being referred to was. "I can try speaking with her if you'd like, but I'm unsure how likely it is she'd give a straight answer."

A part of her found it ironically amusing that her beloved, a person of miraculous means, would fret over who amounted to a complete stranger: a stranger who lacked the ability to do them any conceivable harm, no less. Humans really were vulnerable to social pressure in the end, for better and worse.

"Na, it's okay. You've said she's good at her job, and I don't wanna force people to get along with me if it's not super important. Like, I'm not gonna see her in person much anyway? Or work directly with her? It's fine."

"Tell me if you ever change your mind, dear," Draudillon nodded with all the solemnity she could muster. "I'll praise you until even your zealots start blushing."

"E-Eh? Don't do that…"

"I won't," she turned her attention back to the rest of the busy group. A line had formed from the ship to here, summons ferrying chests out the ship and unto the wagons. "As you've said, it's not important that you two make friendly."

The delegation's luggage was nearly all stowed away now, only mere minutes since their disembarkment. Her retainers and Lady Oltenia's were getting situated as the Baroness, who had yet to climb into one of the vehicles, looked at her questioningly. "Anyhow, it's about time we go. Do you have the map information on hand?"

"Yup," Yuriko easily picked her up, arms comfortably underneath her thighs and back. "I also memorized the direction plus landmarks just in case."

"You're improving quite a bit at that," the dragon queen remarked. All the angels were airborne, bearing their loads with an impassiveness at odds with the apprehension of the passengers.

"Matching stuff on maps to real life is sorta fun," her beloved shrugged. Three pairs of wings unfolded and a luminous halo rematerialized before they joined their thralls in the skywards ascent. "Alright, I think we're set!"

"Fly slower this time," Draudillon advised. "Since you won't endear yourself to the Baroness by making her vomit everywhere."

Spells could mitigate most undesirable effects, mental and physical alike, but was saving on a little bit of travel time worth the mana? She herself preferred swiftness, but most people apparently thought otherwise, and buffs did naught to change that.

"Oh, yeah. Blergh…"

"Blergh yourself."

"No way~!" Yuriko replied in a singsong. "No way I'm blerghing myself~"

Well. Slower trips were fine too.


"I should've expected this, staying in that position for so long," Draudillon grumbled into the couch and tried to absorb the fireplace's heat from where she lay. "Why is the estate so far from the town anyway…?"

'Complaining is absurd,' honestly, the stiffness wasn't the unbearable affliction she was making it out to be. In fact, the aching was positively mild and already fading away, so Draudillon supposed her griping was an insult to the physical laborers of the world. "I've been spoiled by healing magic."

The temples kept a close eye on their income streams, and her past self didn't have the political leeway to develop divine casters beholden solely to the Crown like how Jircniv did with a number of his Imperial Knights. Slane's leadership wouldn't have been pleased with a 'mongrel' like her flouting their monopoly—although, it wasn't as if they were ecstatic with the current state of affairs anyway.

But now the Draconic Kingdom more or less had free reign to do what they wished concerning the domestic priesthood. Strength begot strength, and weakness, an ever-waxing fragility; the only difference being that this time, they were the ones at the top of the wheel.

It was, admittedly, a pleasant feeling. To no longer live and die by the whims of the Beastman Country, the Empire, Theocracy… even if she was once again entrusting the kingdom's security to someone else, at least this time it was to somebody who gave a damn.

'Speaking of which, I'll have to check on the local vicar tomorrow or sometime this week,' Draudillon rolled over onto her side. Thoughts of her beloved invariably heralded musings on the temples that were always close to follow shifts in the realm of faith. 'A priestess dedicated to Alah Alaf. Should I bring Yuriko along this time as well?'

Being the Queen, her presence alone would pressure Aylin Charline Volkan into compliance, but there remained a marked difference between a ruler of men and a perceived god. Bringing her partner would make it all the more likelier the priestess would let slip secrets and inner thoughts they might otherwise not. 'Because, 'what man considers hidden, the gods see and hear as a common truth.' '

Did 'gods' want to see and hear such things though?

'Too late,' ignorance was hard to dispel and harder still to reclaim. 'She wouldn't ever have accepted standing from afar, pretending nothing was happening. The way scars have been carved into our people's memories… the children from the beastmen's ranches… every bit of the aftermath. She's seen it all.'

This, this trip, it was just a reminder for Yuriko who was already—every day, every day—reminded of what the Draconic Kingdom had suffered. To them, it wasn't an impersonal, distant disturbance.

To them, who near-daily performed resurrections until even their massive sea of mana was drained to mere dregs. Who, for every successful revival, was met with numerous failures that even Ninth-Tier magic couldn't circumvent.

To them, the angel—human she'd fallen in love with, these tragedies were deeply personal. The burden which should've been reserved solely for Draudillon Oriculus, was now being shared with another.

'Ah. Everybody else is doing their best too,' suffering was a yoke that the entire kingdom bore, but the dragon's share of responsibility still fell to her— 'Running myself ragged with these thoughts is pointless. Just… focus on what we need to accomplish. On the people relying on us.'

"Downtime is no good if I'm by myself…" The situation was laughable, after a fashion. Before, she would drink herself unconscious. Now, she let herself spiral downwards until melancholy sapped whatever vigor she had left.

'Not all the time,' Draudillon weakly argued against herself. 'I read plenty of books when I'm free. In fact, I can do so right now. After I rest and recover from traveling.'

Most were related to her duties as the mother of the nation, but well—it was fine if she enjoyed it. Yuriko also agreed with the reasoning, albeit maybe with some slight reluctance, and the angel was apparently an expert on how to relax.

Draudillon hadn't the heart to tell them that sleeping and escaping reality by playing virtual games didn't sound much better. Then again, she would've never met them if not for Yggdrasil. 'Her being a superior relaxer is still blatantly false.'

She must have dozed off at some point, because when she groggily reopened her eyes, it was to a curtain of golden hair framing radiant eyes and a big grin that filled her with a fuzzy coziness.

"I'm done unpacking!" Draudillon shifted a little from she reclined on the couch. Yuriko took the invitation for what it was and laid themselves on top of her while making noises of contentment. "Drau?"

"Uhhh huh?"

"Praise me?"

"You've done a very good job, dear," she pushed past the fading drowsiness and patted their head. Ah, she should apologize to them too, shouldn't she? Her intentions on the ship may have come from a place of concern, but rushing them hadn't been necessary. "I look forward to the day I can introduce you as the world's greatest unpacker."

"How're you gonna know when I become the best? Is there a competition or something?" Yuriko peered up at her from her bosom. " 'Cause I dunno if I can beat someone with a buncha arms…"

"Then you best get to practic—" The angel's wandering hands were squeezing her bosom now. "Is it really that fun? Playing with my chest whenever you get the chance?"

"Mhm," their hands refused to relent. There wasn't any heat in her voice, after all. "They're squishy. And you're one to talk when you always mess with me."

"Okay, off you go," Yuriko's look of dismay as Draudillon lightly nudged them to the side almost made her burst out laughing. "What will you do now, hm?"

"Uuuuu…"

She sat up and buried her face into the top of Yuriko's head, inhaling her beloved's floral scent. A part of her was glad the conversation they had on the boat wasn't bothering them anymore. Most every other part was unhappy to leave it at that and sought to reach a clear resolution. 'Later. She's in a good mood.'

"You're tired," they settled for leaning against the dragon queen, head nestled into the crook of her neck. "There's been a ton of stuff to deal with recently, right?"

"That isn't out of the norm."

Obviously, her answer wasn't satisfactory, because Yuriko drew back with a frown. Their body heat went with them, and Draudillon felt a tad pitiful for missing it already. "Even if it's normal for you, it's okay to admit you're stressed out, Drau."

"Very well," she rolled her eyes. "The duties of my station have me rather stressed on occasion."

"Haaah…" Yuriko sighed and visibly considered something before patting their milky thighs. "Here, lay down for a bit. I'm gonna clean your ears, if you want."

If Draudillon was a little quick on the uptake, neither of them mentioned it. Such behavior from the sovereign of a nation was undignified in the highest, but well, they were in private and the time to care about those trivialities had come and gone. Furthermore, her peers absolutely indulged themselves in similar fashions, s-so there was nothing to denounce.

At all.

"Could you turn your aura on too?" She shamelessly requested right after getting settled. "This room is large enough to contain it."

"Am I a portable lamp?" Yuriko's complaint lacked sharpness as she toggled on the blessing anyway. Light suffused their surroundings with an almost tangible intensity, yet paradoxically mild in the gentleness of its embrace.

"You are…" Draudillon paused and savored the pout that graced the angel's features. "Many things."

"Good things?" They dug around their Item Box and pulled out an ear pick.

"All good things," the dragon queen confirmed, wiggling her toes while the tuft of cotton scraped the inner folds of her earlobe. "Including being a portable lamp."

"But sometimes you get frustrated at me," Yuriko's amusement undercut any accusation that might've laced such a comment. "So that means you're lying, Drau." They withdrew the ear pick, flipping ends to use the hook on the other end. "Eh? That's weird…"

"What is it?" She curiously asked. If Yuriko was saying something was odd, then… nevermind, that wasn't a metric applicable outside of the angel.

"Earwax is supposed to be dry. And I cast heals on you all the time, so what if, what if you're really sick—?!"

"My earwax has always been this way, along with that of everybody else I know," and then Draudillon added because the clarification was important: "Not that I make the effort to learn about their earwax, but I'd imagine it's the same throughout the kingdom."

"Oh," Yuriko eloquently said. "That's weird. Mine is, uh, was dry."

'How is that what surprises you?' She decided on diplomatic phrasing. "I think there's bigger differences to be shocked by."

"Mmmm, well I'm already expecting big differences compared to my old world, so the small stuff is what ends up surprising me," Yuriko performed a few experimental prods. "Like yeah, duh, of course there'll be big ol' tiger-people! Then because your brain's stuck on that, the sticky earwax catches you off-guard, y'know?"

The angel's strength didn't lie in their physique, but it was still worthy of belonging to an adamantite-ranked warrior. Knowing that, perhaps the truly strange part of all this was the complete lack of discomfort on her part, especially when they were digging around in her ear. "I must admit, I would prefer the unexpected alien earwax over the Zoastia."

It might not be the case for others, but for her, predictability had been too cruel. The remark ushered in a period of silence, because really, what was there to say to that when both of them knew what they did?

Yuriko continued messing with the pick while Draudillon stared off into the distance, the ticking of an old grandfather's clock a steady companion to the crackling fireplace and its efforts to force back the autumnal chill. The lull in the conversation caused her eyes to wander over the room, noticing the impressive cleanliness of it all.

From the diligently set furniture to the shelves of dusted tomes and vases filled with fresh flowers, it was plain to see Lady Oltenia had spared no effort on their behalf. If they'd gone as far as to rearrange the whole apartment—and she could catch the tell-tale signs aside from the obvious ones—then holing up like she was decidedly wasn't the most polite course of action.

Rude or not, the current Draudillon truly had no desire to get on her feet and do anything else or go anywhere but here. 'I'll apologize for my absence come morning.' Rulers had to be conscious of their reputation among their vassals, especially since she was operating under hopes of easy cooperation.

Still, later. Mm.

"Did you remember to assign someone to look after Tarou?" Choosing a light-hearted subject would do her, and Yuriko, some good. "From what the breeder said, he's the type to require lots of attention…"

"I made sure! Wrote up a list of food he can eat, his sleep schedule, how he likes to play—"

"Do you really know how to play with Bunnias?" Draudillon blurted. From the moment Tarou came under Yuriko's ownership, she feared the rodent had been living in a perpetual state of terror. Preferences? Dislikes? In the Bunnia's eyes, his singular recourse was obedience to the superior power who could pulp him with a thought and insisted on taking him out for heart-pounding flights hundreds of meters above the steady earth.

Come to think of it, there was that vicious furball on their trek to the Beastman country as well… the creature hadn't gotten along with her oblivious partner either. Animals—monsters too, probably—seemed to display an innate aversion to Yuriko for some reason. 'If it's because she's overwhelmingly strong, then what about the humans she meets? Some of them during the festival displayed a surprising lack of survival instinct. Maybe she's just unlucky, or certain species have a sharper sense for this sort of thing.'

"Wha-What's that supposed to mean?!" Then again, the same person melted like butter if she so much as breathed on their neck. A sight intended for her, and her alone, she thought even while her own hands expertly returned the favor from earlier. "H-Hwah… Drau…"

"I'm simply suggesting that you might not understand Tarou as well as you believe you do," Draudillon's forefinger traced a slow path downwards. "He is your first pet, no?"

"I, I did my research," Yuriko protested as they squirmed, though hardly in discomfort. At this point, cleaning her ears had been forgotten. "Since I can't sleep, I have lots of time to study. Besides, you're the one who cuddles with Ryx whenever you're free…"

"That's a very different matter altogether. Where's the relevance to what I was saying?"

"What you said wasn't important anyway," Yuriko grumbled, and Draudillon halted the improper movement of her hands.

"My apologies," the angel hmphed without further response. "Won't you please forgive me?"

"I dunno!"

"My best effort was for naught. Ah, well."

"Y-You! Seriously…!"

She merely hummed and allowed the silence to stretch out. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but laying prone like this with somebody looming over her while both of them weren't doing anything surely made for a strange view.

In this position, considering she was in the mood for it too and had nearly done as much earlier, falling asleep would be too eas—

"Hey, Drau?" Yuriko's melodic voice, quiet and contemplative, brushed off the thin veil of drowsiness falling over her. "On the ship, when you were asking about what I wanted to do…"

"Yes?" Draudillon rubbed her eyes, hurriedly trying to regain some semblance of clarity. Whatever they decided, she was resolved to accept and support—barring anything dangerous, that is.

"Just, well, I didn't wanna talk about it earlier because… I'm not sure. Not sure what I wanna do," their nails began running down her scalp to satisfying effect. "And because of that, I was embarrassed. Silly reason, right?"

"Why would it be silly?"

"I mean, it should be obvious. What I'm doing is what I need to keep doing, and it's not like I'm in it by myself, y'know?" Yuriko weakly laughed. "I'm… relying on other people for so much. Worrying about small stuff like 'I don't know,' 'Is this the best way to do things?' 'What do I enjoy?' It feels like I'm not properly answering everyone's trust."

"Especially when you think everyone else has had it harder than you."

"Right. W-Well, don't they?"

Was it true? Draudillon believed so, and while that wasn't to disparage Yuriko's sacrifices, the hardships suffered by the average citizen of the Draconic Kingdom was as undeniable as the power her beloved wielded.

But regardless of what she believed, was saying that the correct choice? If it were 'merely' one of her vassals and not the woman she dearly loved…

'To love someone is to put their needs before yours. To be loved is to have your own placed above theirs.'

Her heart swelled with warmth despite the gravity of their dialogue. Yes, who would she be if she couldn't reply with the same sincerity?

"That's true," before Yuriko could open their mouth, she continued. "It's something you've always known, yet refuse to set down. Refuse to resolve. Whether or not others have it easier or harder… what's it matter to you? Will you purposely cripple yourself because of that? Perhaps if you were the type to live exclusively for your own pleasure and displeasure, but—"

Draudillon lowered her voice.

"—are you that person?"

"… I dunno. Bringing this up over and over again probably gets annoying to deal with though, heh."

"It isn't, and the fact you struggle with this guilt is further proof that you aren't whoever you're worried about being," Draudillon trampled over the self-deprecatory attempt at humor. "You aren't the leaders from your old world. Whereas they are consumed by greed, you are a shining example of selflessness. You and them could not be any more different."

And then: "In the best way possible, of course."

Repeating such sentiments and feelings didn't trouble her in the slightest. Until Yuriko grew tired of hearing her praises, no, tired or not, she'd be incessant in the lavishing of her acclamations.

Because to her, without regard for anyone else's opinions, it would be a travesty for this person to ever think of themselves so lowly.

"Drau's way too dangerous when she talks," Yuriko muttered while maintaining the rhythm of their scratching. This sensation was too dangerous; it brought her too close to slumber, and the angel shouldn't be made privy to that knowledge—sleeping spells and their ilk aside. "You could probably scam a partner out of all their equity shares…"

"Yuriko is an amazing person, after all," she fired back. "I won't accept anyone badmouthing or doubting her, even if it's you."

"Uwaaa~ That's embarrassing…"

"You're embarrassing, dear."

"Guh—! What happened to not accepting badmouthing…?!"

"Who was the one that called me a scammer?"

"So it's conditional on pampering you, huh?! Plus, that was meant to be a compliment! A com-pli-ment!"

Draudillon sniffed in a pretense of sorrow. "My beloved must have had a truly turbulent career if her complimenting ability is only this high…"

"Oi!"

" 'Tis but a jest."

"No good! Even bugs don't fly away that fast!"

"Fine," there was definitely context that she was missing, but the gist of the exclamation was clear. "Since I'm too fast for you, a Tiger Zoastia should do. Or perhaps one of those birdmen."

"I don't wanna… I've never practiced making millet dumplings…"

"Are you calling me a demon?"

"The Demon Lord ends up living with me and my friends, so there's no problem!" Yuriko raised a thumb in approval, their other hand still scratching. "But ah, I don't have any demihuman friends, I think."

"One day, you will. After you master the art of dumpling-making."

"We're immortal, but that doesn't mean we're grannies yet, y'know?"

"Some people would disagree," the upward twitching of her lips grew more and more difficult to suppress. "Besides, I wouldn't be the one making the dumplings."

" 'Some people' are stupid," Yuriko scowled, the impromptu routine forgotten. "You're beautiful, and it wouldn't matter if you were a granny. Grannies are beautiful too!"

It wasn't anything the dragon queen had never heard before, or even something she'd yet to hear from Yuriko, but the casual, matter-of-fact way the angel said it almost caused her breath to catch in her throat. She rapidly blinked and took a moment to recover her bearings before carrying on, suppressing that strange cocktail of chortling and crying. 'Was there any reason to rush? Instead of pushing her to choose a path now, wouldn't she be happier developing naturally?'

"S-So are you."

"A granny?"

Draudillon sighed and grabbed their cheek. "Apologize to all grannies, immediately."

"A'm sho'ree."

She softly patted the fair flesh before releasing her hold on their face. "Yuriko. Are you feeling better now?"

"Nooo, my cheek hurts and my heart is in pain—"

"I'll take that as a yes," she cut off the beginnings of a spurious lament. "I have something else I wanted to say."

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry," Draudillon apologized. The words were a weight off her shoulders. "I shouldn't have been so forceful earlier today on the ship. What with the whole pressuring you on deciding your future then and there."

"It's okay," and hearing them say that with such a light expression really did make everything feel okay. "You were just worried about me."

The fingers scratching her head paused. "So I guess that means I'm supposed to say thanks?" A small giggle escaped from the angel. "Thank you, Drau. For caring."

'Always. I'll always care,' she closed her eyes again. "Again, someone has to."

"I'm still glad it's you then."

"Me too," Draudillon murmured. "Do you have anything else planned today?"

"Nope!" They answered without hesitation even though they both knew that was untrue. "I'm gonna be a slug with you and laze around 'til tomorrow~ Oh! Lady Oltenia asked if you were hungry, by the way."

"You're telling me this now—nevermind. I'm unfortunately unable to accept her hospitality at the moment," Yuriko nodded, probably sending an angel to inform the Baroness. Hopefully, non-verbal communication would get the message across. "Since a certain somebody has tempted me into becoming a slug with them, I'll make sure to eat something later tonight."

"That's good," she almost huffed at how Yuriko missed the innuendo. Well, she supposed a small supper couldn't hurt, especially now that they were aware she hadn't eaten yet. "And don't blame me! You definitely like this position."

"I do, yes," she wrapped her arms around the stomach of the woman who had so quickly become precious to her. "I like it very much."

"You're way too spoiled… No wait, actually maybe this is normal because you're royalty—ah. H-Hey, seriously, s-stop stopstop!"


AN: A quick notice—I've since come to realize that I've made a big whoopsies when it comes to Blue Roses and Evileye, namely how I wrote them to NOT know that the midget spellcaster is a vampire, which is… well, it's not adherent to canon and also messes with stuff I want to write in the future.

I've gone back and retconned this in all the relevant chapters (mostly those including Blue Rose POVs), but the story as a whole is unchanged (didn't have to rewrite most of the chaps of Blue Roses in the Draconic Kingdom during the festival), so don't feel like you're missing out on anything if you don't want to check it out! There's a couple of larger-ish rewrites which might be fun to read? Up to you!

Thank you all for reading, and there's more commissioned art by tacoykaii on the Ao3 version!