137 – Platinum and Sunflowers – (4)

Along the way, I went down the stairs to bring her a meal for her.

After going down a few more floors like that, I saw the kitchen. Originally, the kitchen, where countless maids of honor were supposed to cook food to be distributed throughout the imperial palace, was dark because the lights were off.

“Hmm.”

It was because it was temporarily closed due to the spirit raid incident not too long ago.

Since the employees cook only at set meal times in a strictly controlled environment, it was virtually impossible to bring meals.

Above all, in order to prevent the threat of poisoning, the food served to Lyncia required several steps of verification, so even if she asked for a meal from now on, it would only come up to her bed after a couple of hours had passed.

Now that it’s like this, I should make at least simple food myself. Fire can be used as much as possible through magic tools, and food materials are the backbone of the empire, so no one will notice if they disappear a little.

Since I’ve been living on my own for a few years, I’m not someone who can’t even make simple food.

With that thought, I pushed the door open and entered the kitchen’s food storage.

And.

Brush.

“… ….”

There was a noise from the bottom of the cupboard.

A normal person would not notice the sound. But Fried’s hearing picked up even these small noises.

I gulped, put my hand on the scabbard, and turned the corner.

“What is this?”

“…… *Mush*”

There was a woman with purple hair and elf ears.

As soon as she checked me out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head away and munched on a piece of hard bread.

Even in the middle of this, you can’t stop eating.

I was dumbfounded and froze for a while trying to find the right words.

“So, Sir Eina.”

Eina, the elf whose name was called, flinched.

“What the hell were you doing here?”

“… ….”

“You made this mess because you were hungry?”

I lean against the cupboard and check the state of the kitchen.

The food ingredients were scattered all over the place. A little later, I could see the maids in tears as they went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

I’m hungry and I have nothing to eat, but I don’t know how to cook, so I guess I was satisfying my primal appetite here.

I was on the verge of tears of sympathy for a person named the grand duke’s vassal who had nothing to eat in a kitchen like this, chewing on hard bread.

“… ….”

Eina’s cheeks are flushed as if she knows how shy she is.

She raised her head slightly and then she laughed bashfully.

“Don’t try to jump over it. This person, no elf.”

She yanked the piece of bread in her hand.

When she squeezed it, it was as hard as if she had picked up a jade stone.

It’s actually bread that is supposed to be eaten with soup or used as a plate, but you’re eating something like this because there’s nothing to eat.

It was pitiful, so I didn’t even ask for more.

“…… Hiccup.”

Eina hiccupped and narrowed her eyes.

Judging from the look in your eyes, you were hungry too, so you crawled into the kitchen and said, “Why are you naeronabul?”

“Ha ha.”

In the end, I let out a sigh.

Then I spoke to the elf knight who was making an expression like an unfair bastard because my rice bowl was taken away.

“Please go to your seat. I will prepare the food for you.”

At that, Eina opened her eyes wide and she smiled wide.

I always feel it.

Is that a 140-year-old grandma?

*

“Here it is.”

The food itself was ready in no time.

Thanks to the abundance of marinated chicken left in the warehouse, I was able to make a simple chicken soup.

From noble mtl dot com

Chicken, carrots, onions, herbs, a little wine, and the expensive pepper and salt were beaten terribly.

It was typical food to suit my taste, but Eina seemed to like even that, hurriedly took up a spoon and started scooping up the soup.

“Oops. You hit it well too.”

She tried to be sarcastic, but Eina calmly pulled her bowl toward her.

“I won’t steal it.”

“… ….”

Even if I said this, they wouldn’t raise suspicions, so I had to elaborate.

“Your Majesty has a bad cold. So I missed the meal, so I just came to prepare it separately. I didn’t sneak in because I was hungry like anyone else.”

“… ….”

Eina tilted her head as if this had been the first time.

Didn’t you hear that? Or maybe she just simply listened but let it out in one ear. If it’s Eina, this one has more credibility.

By the way.

She said, “I hear you helped a lot in stopping Lautrec.”

I heard that she, along with Millia, confronted Lautrec, who took control of her body while Yuri Erd blocked her spirits.

The strongest knight in the present kingdom and the strongest knight in the past. A timeless collaboration between the two. Just hearing the story made my heart melt.

As if Eina was proud of my words, she smiled and puffed out her chest.

I see her right hand tapping her chest.

“Did you get a prosthetic hand?”

Eina looks at her hand holding her spoon.

She had her brass-colored prosthetic hand attached to where her arm had been cut off during the engagement with Atral.

She turned her arms around with her proud expression as she listened to her words. She moved according to her Eina’s will as if it were some kind of magic tool.

In fact, it seemed that a knight well-versed in mana management could move a prosthetic arm like that of his own body.

“Still, it’s good that you can wield a sword again.”

I sipped her soup and bit her chin as I watched Eina’s dewy figure prick up her ears.

Eina Agathon. A vassal of the Iron Blood Grand Duke Harzfeld.

This is the information revealed in the original Raising the Empress. In real life, Aina was very different from her existing image.

An old dumb elf who ate too much. However, she is a female knight who made a name for herself as a guardian knight of the kingdom along with Yuri Ad in the past.

In the original work, Eina appears as the main character in the third act, and she does not appear after that. There was no description or mention of her dying, so she may have joined in the final battle.

She’s not perfect, but thanks to her prosthetic arm, she can help in battle, so she’s lucky.

Because our power was tight to rot such talented people as Eina.

“Huh.”

When she thought so, she became gloomy.

What Lincia said just a moment ago was absolutely right. We had to continue walking on the thorny road.

You defeated Atral, the Apostle of Stinginess, and Phedras, the Apostle of Abyss, and stopped their plans. Aranion’s invasion was also stopped in advance.

We also sought the cooperation of the two Archmages, and succeeded in capturing the insiders of the church as well.

However, despite these numerous achievements, there were still many dangers on the road ahead, and the power was insufficient to prevent them.

Above all.

“…… Oath.”

The shackles of foreign media contracted by Freed before being possessed.

In front of Lynchia, I boasted vaguely that it would be possible to solve it, but I also did not have any countermeasures.

Entourage, the 100th ending of Raising the Empress.

It seemed as if that scene was still hovering in front of my eyes.

“I’m going crazy.”

My mind was dizzy.

I slammed my forehead into the table with a sense of helplessness that seemed like my heart would break.

From the moment I possessed it until now, I ran frantically to survive, but it seemed that I was getting out of hand.

I was moaning softly with my face covered.

“… ….”

Sseudam sseudam.

Suddenly, I felt a warm touch on my head. With her head resting on her table, I pulled her chin in and lifted her head. Eina raised her left hand and stroked her hair.

Still, it was strange that her prosthetic hand was putting her chicken soup into her mouth.

“…… What, what is it?”

“… ….”

“Are you comforting me?”

Eina silently nodded at my words.

She blankly looks at that face and smiles.

I never thought there would be a moment when I was comforted by Eina, who wasn’t even Lincia.

Eina smiled and moved her hand harder, as if my reaction was funny. The top of the head becomes hot due to friction.

Still, well, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

“hahahaha. Thank you.”

If you think about it, for the past half year, there has been a continuous wave of incidents without time to put your mind at ease. Of course, it was still the same today.

Thanks to the reflection of Fried’s original personality, I’m not agitated at all, but I’ve always been a normal person.

I felt like I needed to rest a bit.

While doing so, Eina pulled my hair and tilted her head.

What was the reason?

“No big deal. I’m just a little tired.”

“…… ?”

“What can I say? I just ran like crazy, but it feels like the finish line is still far away.”

He laughed while talking gibberish.

“Nothing. It’s just a futile complaint.”

Then Eina also continued to stroke my hair without saying anything.

After feeling the touch of her elven grandmother for a while, she began to feel drowsy.

The original purpose of bringing food to Lynchia had long been forgotten.

The spicy herbal smell of chicken soup and the touch of Eina’s grandmother. And the weather on a warm summer afternoon, as if her whole body was drooping.

All of that was mixed together and Suma naturally snatched my body away.

In my fading consciousness, I heard a woman’s voice for the first time in my life.

“Freed is still doing well.”

… ….

At that moment, my eyes flashed open.

I hurriedly got up and looked around.

But the only people in the kitchen right now are me and the elf in front of her.

“No way.”

I blinked her eyes and stared at Eina.

Did this person speak? Dumb Eina Agathon?

“Did you not hear the voice?”

But she just tilted her head as if asking for some reason.

I frowned at her calm expression.

I don’t think Fried’s hearing is wrong.

Then who the hell said that?

I thought about it, but no answer came.

“Ah.”

In that moment, I remembered the original purpose.

I had to bring Lynn Sia her meal.

“Sir Eina. I’ll just go.

In the end, I hurriedly packed my food and left.

Perhaps it was an auditory hallucination in sleep. I decided to think so.

“… ….”

And with my back as I opened the kitchen door, Eina’s strange gaze caught me.