Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Chaos in Fort Astra! - (2)

Three hours later.

"Your Majesty, it's almost time—"

Even before Katherina was done, there was a light knock on the door. Neinhart gave her permission to enter, then Olivia who was carrying a big crate in her arms appeared. The Death God girl who was the curse of the Empire had an incredible face, so Katherina was stunned. Neinhart had a similar reaction when she first met Olivia, and felt a sense of camaraderie towards her aide.

(Because there are similarities between them, they are friends/allies. The equation between them is 'the reaction first met Olivia'. Maybe it's an idiom)

Claudia who was behind Olivia had a flat face as usual. Olivia greeted him cheerfully, and placed her coffin on the table.

"… This is...?"

Neinhart turned her gaze between the chest and Olivia as she asked.

“Lapor— this gift for Brigadier General Neinhart!”

Olivia then smiled brightly. Neinhart frowned at it. With how unstable the Kingdom was, there were many people who offered him bribes by disguising themselves as gifts. From merchants to nobles, they came in various variations. After being promoted to Brigadier, the frequency increased even further, which made Neinhart annoyed to no end.

But Neinhart knew very well that Olivia did not have such ambitions. From what she remembered, Olivia was only interested in food.

Given what he knew, Neinhart was curious about what this gift was.

“Can I open it?”

"Of course!"

Olivia seemed eager for him to open it, so Neinhart removed the cover. And...

"Fish…?"

He saw a lot of shiny gray fish inside. When looked at more closely, they are a type of river fish called Sarau. From the clarity of their eyes, they had just been caught.

Neinhart was surprised by this unexpected gift.

“I worked hard to catch them all!”

Olivia puffed her chest out proudly. An awkward air enveloped the office. Katherina coughed softly, and Neinhart regained her senses and said:

“Mayor Olivia, are you a master baiter?”

(Feeders, anglers, fish catchers. Where is it)

Neinhart immediately regretted asking that. He didn't want to know the answer at all. To calm himself down, Neinhart sipped her tea.

"I'm just a regular baiter. My self-taught fishing skills."

"I-I understand."

"Brigadier General Neinhart, you like fish, right?"

"Well .. I don't hate them."

Given a choice between fish and meat, he prefers fish. Winter is the perfect season for the Sarau river fish that Olivia brings. Their meat will taste the most delicious all along, and just roasting it alone is enough to make them delicious.

Anyways

(I don't remember telling Major Olivia that I like fish.).

He said nothing when they first met at the office of the commander of Fort Gallia, and he did not address such a topic when he visited him to thank him for taking revenge for Major General Florenz.

They met a few times at Castle Kasper, but he doesn't remember anything related to it.

(Could it be... Claudia told him?)

Their relationship was far away now, but since they were about the same age, they were quite close when they were young. The shadow of Claudia who followed him with the wooden sword was still fresh in his mind. It was no wonder that Claudia knew what kind of food she liked.

At this moment, Neinhart looked to the left, and saw Claudia hanging her head with slightly trembling shoulders.

"Lieutenant Claudia."

"-what?"

Claudia raised her head and replied with a serious face like before.

“Did you tell Major Olivia about this?”

“... You must have misunderstood something. I don't know what your favorite food is, Neinhart-nii. This is a sincere gift from Major Olivia, I hope you enjoy it.”

"By the way, what's with this sudden visit?"

“Mayor Olivia's looking for you, I'm just accompanying her. He needs your help with something, Neinhart-nii. ”

"My help?"

She looked at Olivia, and she suddenly bowed with her eyes wide open. Her movements were so sudden that Katherina almost fell down.

“I want to go to the library! Can I?"

“—Hah? A library?"

Olivia's words confused Neinhart, and Katherina whispered to him, "Maybe she wants you to vouch for her?" Neinhart knew that, she just did not understand why Olivia wanted to visit the library.

After she asked for further explanation, Claudia started explaining on behalf of Olivia who did not state her main point—

“-I see.. I understand now. I won't ask why you're so obsessed with the surname you inherited. I'll contact the Royal Library immediately."

Neinhart looked at Katherina. He received the message, and left the office.

“You mean, I can visit the library now? - Ah, no, do I have permission to use the library facilities now?”

Rarely saw Olivia this big.

"Yes, please."

"really?"

"Rubber. As I said before, Major Olivia helped me by avenging my good friend Major General Florenz. I've always wanted to return the favor to you, and this will be a good opportunity. Considering your merit on the battlefield, this is just a trivial matter.”

Entering the library usually required a lot of documents, but the victory of the Seventh Army went through this process. Moreover, Olivia was the key figure to win this victory.

Neinhart would not hesitate to use her authority in this matter.

"Thank you! —Ah, no, thank you very much !! Thank you too, Claudia!”

The beaming Olivia hugged Claudia's arm. Claudia smiled awkwardly and muttered: "It seems that I don't need to curl Neinhart-nii's head."

******

[Sacred Peoples of Mekia, Holy Capital of Elsphere, La Shaim Castle]

The Holy Capital of Elsphere is surrounded by double city walls.

There is a main tower in the middle, and 8 watchtowers around it. The jade-colored roof, the clean white walls and the neat streets were clearly visible from there. This is La Shaim castle.

Not only is the landscape outstanding, La Shaim was established to be an impenetrable fortress regardless of the cost, by importing augite, the toughest and strongest stone in the world. It is funded by Mekia's abundant rare mineral reserves.

In one corner of the place known to residents as the impenetrable castle, there is a courtyard filled with flowers and a statue of Goddess Citresia right in the middle. The statue was made with a rare ore called 'Blue Quartz'.

(I wonder why I can't find him, so he's here.).

Lara Mira Crystal found her target next to a beautiful round table as she entered the courtyard. As the butterflies flew among the flowers, the person sipped the tea gracefully.

Lara sighed and walked to the round table.

"Lady Holy Angel."

"Hmm? So you found me."

The ruler of the Holy Land of Mekia, Sofitia hel Mekia, shrugged like a child stuck in the middle of her prank.

"Why do you sound so disappointed when I find you? And you didn't bring a guard. What if something happens? Please be more alert to your position?"

Lara glared at the officer nearby as she said that. They could not hide the doubt in their hearts, and lowered their heads. Some even trembled in fear.

After all, Lara could have taken their lives so easily.

"Don't be too rude to them, I'm the one who forces."

"But-"

"Enough about that. The weather's good today, why don't you have some tea?"

Sofitia beckoned with a teacup in her hand and smiled faintly. A gentle breeze blew away her sparkling purple hair.

...****************...

...To Be Continue's...