Leave a comment

Haumea and Cole were heading to the reception office, a clear tension visible on their faces.

It was a room used only when there was a need to show thoughtfulness during meetings with nobles and such.

Haumea thought she would never have anything to do with that room. As a matter of fact, in her long life, she had never set foot inside that room.

“Ugh, my stomach started to hurt.”
“So even Elves can be that tense.”
“Of course! Not to mention, the other party is the residential ambassador. In other words, they are something like a representative of his majesty the king of the United Alliance.”

“If something goes wrong, it could develop into an international problem and—”

“Please stop!!”

What the Guild staff that was leading them said was quite true. There indeed was the possibility of it leading to an international problem if this was handled poorly.

As she was an Adventurer, the Guild would probably handle cleaning up after her mess, but it would still be a negative influence to her future livelihood.

If she missed a single step in the interview that was to come, it could spell demise for her life as an Adventurer.

“Ugh, but I can’t ignore it either.”
“Please prepare yourself. We arrived at the reception office.”
“Okay…”

Haumea reached for the door with a tragic expression. Cole tapped on her shoulder and addressed her in a light voice.

“Calm down. You’ve already adventured long enough right? It might not be so bad to retire already.”
“But I wanted to enjoy my journey for a bit longer.”
“That’s fine too. But I’m just saying it if the worst comes to pass.”
“I understand that you’re trying to comfort me. Though I can’t say you’re doing a very good job at it.”
“Sorry, I’m bad at this stuff.”

Still, his words seemed to have eased her tension, and she knocked on the door with a bit brighter expression. Since the other party was a noble, she knocked politely on it twice, and then twice more. Normally, knocking thrice would have done the job. Or twice during urgent times like toilet break.

She had heard repeating it twice was considered good manners.

“It is Haumea.”
“Please enter.”

A dignified male voice answered her from the inside. The owner of that voice didn’t seem to be in a very good mood. She suddenly felt the urge to run, but doing that would lead to her becoming a wanted person.

Resolving herself, she opened the door.

It was a simple yet clean, tidy room, quite unlike the one she and her comrades normally used. There was a polished marble table and sofas facing each other.

There sat a man nearing elderly age with his grizzled hair combed down elegantly.

“Are you Haumea?”
“Yes, and this is Cole, my comrade.”
“I see. I am the residential ambassador of Raum. You may call me Balto. Um… Excuse me, but are you really the one?”
“Huh? Y-Yes, that’s right?”

The ambassador looked at her in doubt. She bent her head quizzically in response, wondering about his intentions, yet trying to not come off as rude.

“No, my apologies. It’s not like I was doubting—No, let me correct myself. In truth, you looked so different from how you were described that I ended up doubting you.”
“Different from how I was described?”
“Well, I cannot disclose too much, but… Right, please take a seat for now.”

Being unable to refuse, the two sat down on the sofa. At the same time, there was a knock on the door, and the Guild staff brought tea and snacks to the table.

And then, they left the room without even looking at Haumea and Cole, clearly not wanting to get involved in this.

“First, my apologies for calling you here. We the United Alliance are looking for a certain woman. That woman goes by the name Haumea.”
“Um, I am not very familiar with the United Alliance…”
“Is that so. I heard that this woman had brilliant silvery-blue hair and blue eyes. And she was not an Elf, either.”
“In that case, they are most certainly a different person. But may I ask why are you looking for them?”

Hearing about the silvery-blue hair, Haumea thought of Nicole for a moment, but her eyes were heterochromatic red and blue. They couldn’t have mistaken a feature so conspicuous.

With the question returned, ambassador Balto took on a troubled expression and wrinkled up his brows.

Thinking her question had displeased the other party, Haumea hurriedly followed up.

“U-Um, you do not have to answer if you cannot…”
“No, I have inconvenienced you by summoning you here, so telling you to go back without explaining anything would make me lose face. I shall explain, but please keep it to yourselves.”
“…Understood.”

Since she was the one who brought it up, she couldn’t go back on her word and say “nevermind then” now. Thus, she prayed in her heart that it was nothing dangerous, and urged him to continue.

“The truth is, our king—His Majesty Elliot’s loved one is called Haumea.”
“His Majesty’s loved one!? Then they are the future queen?”
“No, that person vanished from His Majesty’s side. It appears that she was Lord Maxwell’s spy.”
“That is, how should I put it…”

On one side was the king of the United Alliance, and on the other, one of the Six Heroes, Maxwell.

When the problem involved the world’s leading figures like them, she hesitated on whether it was right to comment on it.

In the first place, she was amazing to be Maxwell’s spy, so if Elliot fell in love with her on top of that, Haumea would have most likely fled in her place too.

Thus, Haumea suspected that her fleeing was exactly due to that.

“If I were to be honest, and I apologize if this sounds presumptuous… But I understand her feelings of wanting to run away.”
“You are quite right. Be it her position, or her backer, even I am racking my beans on how to deal with her. Moreover, I hear that she herself is extremely skilled.”
“Is she that strong?”
“Not just her strength, but we cannot even find a trace of her. One time she appears in Raum, and next time she is in the northern parts.”
“Quite like a phantom.”
“Indeed. When someone so skilled in mobility is concerned, people trying to misuse her would appear.”
“They certainly would. So this is why you asked me to keep it a secret.”
“Yes.”
“Understood. I shall not reveal this to a soul.”
“That is good to hear. I shall excuse myself then. It is unfortunate for His Majesty, but I have to report that you were a different person.”

Balto stood up with those words. Haumea also hurriedly followed after him.

“T-Then we shall, too.”
“Yes. Thank you for going to the trouble of meeting me today.”
“Not at all. I don’t mind this much anytime.”
“Oh? Then shall we have some tea next time?”
“Please spare me from that.”

Meeting an important person from a kingdom over and over like this would affect her mental health.

Thinking that from the bottom of their hearts, Haumea and Cole excused themselves.

　　◇◆◇◆◇