Chapter 476 - Episode 3: Eleos's Study Abroad ①
Summer of the eighth year of the Public Calendar. Noein stood before the mansion, facing his ten-year-old eldest son and heir, Eleos.
"Well then, Eleos. Are you mentally prepared?"
"Yes, Father. I will cherish this opportunity you have given me and learn much in Lichthagen."
Eleos answered his father's question in this manner. Seeing his child's dignified appearance, Noein nodded with satisfaction.
Clara, who had been standing beside Noein, walked up to Eleos and hugged him.
"Go and study hard. And take care of your health and stay well. I love you."
"Thank you, Mother. I love you too, Mother."
Eleos, hugging his mother back with a slightly embarrassed, wry smile, proceeded to hug Matilda and his younger sister, Philia. Since Philia was crying and did not want to let go of Eleos, Matilda gave a faint, wry smile, picked her up, and stepped back to Noein's side.
Eleos was now departing to study abroad in Lichthagen, the capital of the Kingdom of Rhodeberg. He would enter the Royal High School, where perhaps the most advanced education in the southern part of the continent could be received, and study there for several years.
He would take a long vacation and return home during the winter when school was out, but otherwise, he would be unable to see his family for the majority of the year. Such a life would continue for the next few years.
When the eldest son of a nation's sovereign studies abroad, he naturally does not go alone. Retainers of the same generation accompany him as attendants. As close aides, Yakov, the son of Yuri and Mai, would accompany Eleos and study together at the High School, along with Nikolai, the son of Pence and Rosetta; Sasha, the daughter of Radley and Gina; Amanda, the daughter of Bart and Michelle; and Theodore, the son of Edgar and Anna.
In front of the carriage, where preparations for departure were complete, they too were exchanging greetings with their respective parents, reluctant to part.
And finally, the time for departure arrived.
"My precious Eleos. Have a safe trip."
"I'm off, Father."
After a final embrace with Noein, Eleos climbed into the carriage of the Grand Duchy of Arqvist.
The accompanying children followed, and the carriage door closed. When Henrik the driver flicked the reins, the carriage slowly began to move.
Surrounded by the escort unit, the carriage gradually receded into the distance.
"...He's gone, hasn't he."
"It will likely be an enjoyable study abroad experience for Eleos and the others, but as a parent, it's still lonely, isn't it."
Not only the fact that he would be living apart from his child for a while, but also that his child had grown enough to study in another country's capital and had begun to leave his own hands. As Noein spoke while thinking this, Clara nodded in agreement and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Beside where Noein and Clara spoke, the retainers who had also seen off their children each had loneliness seeping into their expressions.
"Ah, it's really going to be lonely."
"But we're probably the only ones who feel this lonely," Michelle said with a wry smile, even as she shed tears, to Gina, who was muttering while sobbing.
"Yes, indeed. The children themselves are probably just looking forward to it."
"Honestly, they have no idea how a parent feels~"
Mai also spoke while laughing, and beside her, Rosetta spoke while puffing out her cheeks.
"My son is already of adult age, so he should be fine, but you're probably worried. Sending a precious daughter to a large foreign city."
"Hmph, if anything, I'm more worried about whether she'll get into a fight with some child of a Rhodeberg Kingdom noble and injure them," Radley answered with a snort to Yuri's question. Sasha, his and Gina's daughter, was known for a spirited personality, to the extent that she had declared, "In the future, I will succeed Father and become a martial attendant."
"The one who's really in trouble is Bart. It's fine for now since he's accompanying them to the capital, but once it's finally time to part with Amanda, that man will cry his eyes out."
"True. After all, Amanda has that talent similar to her father's. Bart might be the one most worried about his child."
Amanda had inherited her father Bart's talent and possessed a personality that was easily liked by those around her; in the past, several boys, including Nikolai, had even engaged in mock duels over her.
Yuri remembered how Bart had been seriously worried that when she returned after finishing her studies in a few years, she might bring a husband back from the capital.
"...Well, there are various worries, but even so, they are the children of the Grand Duchy's key figures. With His Majesty Oscar and Lord Arnold there, it will work out somehow."
Yuri muttered while gazing toward the carriage that had finally disappeared from sight.
...
"Hey, hey, what do you want to do first when we get to the capital? I definitely want to eat delicious things that you can only eat in the capital. I heard from Rosetta-san before that there's a shop that serves tarts full of fruit."
"Hey now, we're not going there to play! This is studying abroad. We have to bring the contents of the Rhodeberg Kingdom's High School studies back to the Grand Duchy!"
The one giving such a lecture to the cheerfully speaking Amanda was Nikolai.
"Eh~? But I heard it's a shop of memories from when Pence-san and Rosetta-san strolled through the capital together. Isn't it the shop that served as the catalyst for your father and mother to unite? How about going to a shop like that with me?"
When Amanda spoke with a glamorous expression unbefitting a young girl, Nikolai flinched for a moment, but then averted his gaze from her as if stubbornly persisting.
"Hmph! How many years ago do you think it was when I liked you! Don't get carried away!"
"I see~ what a shame. Well then, maybe I'll just go with some young gentleman who's a child of the Rhodeberg Kingdom nobility."
Nikolai tried to maintain an air of indifference to Amanda's words, but there was no hiding the way his shoulders shook with agitation.
"...Eleos-sama, what do you want to do in Lichthagen? Other than studying."
The one who asked quietly was the gentle-natured Theodore. At his question, Eleos thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
"I heard there's a huge Royal Library in Lichthagen. I want to try reading various books there. Perhaps there are rare books that even Father has never read."
"Even after going to Lichthagen, you want to read books? Eleos-sama really is a bookworm!"
The one who spoke while crossing her arms and snorting was Sasha. Normally, when she made such gestures, her mother Gina would tell her, "Stop imitating your father," but now there was no such worry.
"Calling him a bookworm... you shouldn't speak to the Crown Prince like that~"
"Speaking plainly is also a duty of a retainer! If you say things like that, you'll never become a retainer that Eleos-sama can rely on!"
Sasha shot back vigorously while still crossing her arms to the flustered Theodore.
"And what about you, Sasha? What do you want to do?"
"Training! In a Lichthagen High School with so many people, there should be plenty of strong guys, like the children of the Kingdom's nobility! They say there are martial arts classes too! I'll fight and train with the strong ones, and when I return, I'll surprise Father!"
"I agree with that! As a future Guard Captain, I'll acquire a strength befitting the position!"
When Sasha answered Amanda's question, Nikolai also joined in.
"...Hey, everyone."
At that moment, Yakov called out to the children from the open window. Yakov, who had become an adult this year and was already participating in the Grand Duchy Army's training, was accompanying them this time on horseback as part of the escort.
"What is it, Yakov?"
"Ah, Eleos-sama. Since the inside of the carriage was very lively, Lord Schoenberg asked me to tell you not to make too much noise and tire yourselves out. There is still a long way to go, and carriage travel consumes more physical strength than one would expect, so he thought it would be tough later if you continued like this."
"Hmm, I see... Well then everyone, since that's the case, let's talk a bit more quietly."
"Yes, Eleos-sama!"
"Roger that!"
"Okaay. I'll be careful."
"I-I'm sorry..."
When Eleos called out, Sasha, Nikolai, Amanda, and Theodore each responded.
Having confirmed this, Yakov returned to the escort formation.
"How was it?"
"Since Eleos-sama called out, everyone replied obediently. They'll likely be quiet for a while."
"Hahaha, I see. Good work."
Nodding with a laugh at Yakov's report, Pence turned back to face forward.
Behind the two of them, Bart, who was accompanying them as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, let out a melancholy sigh, imagining the parting from his daughter in the capital.
The continuation of this side story is planned to be updated next week.
Announcement.
The 4th volume of the novel "The Happy Tale of the Twisted Lord" and the 1st volume of the manga adaptation were released on July 25, 2023.
Volume 4 of the novel depicts the Great War arc with a large volume of significant additions. Once again, Takashima Shoa-sensei has provided wonderful illustrations.
In Volume 1 of the manga adaptation, the beginning of Noein and the others' pioneering is depicted by Fujiya Izuko-sensei. Please pay attention to the expressions unique to manga and the pop and cute worldview...!
Also, Volume 1 of my other work, "The Coronation of Rutile Quartz," will be released on August 9 by DRE Novels.
It is an internal affairs war chronicle fantasy depicting a young man who went from a commoner to the next king of a small country. The cover art has already been released and reservations have begun, so I would be happy if you could check that out as well.
I humbly ask for your continued support of Enoki Surume's works.