「Mister Redas?!」 「Haha! Miss Inglis, good day to you.」
Redas gave Inglis a courteous bow.
「B-, brother! What are you doing here? Are you worried about me again?! You don’t need to, go back to your duty already.」
Silva looked slightly annoyed.
「That’s not it. Your brother is here on duty. Silva, I am checking upon Miss Inglis, not you.」 「Inglis? But why?」 「Mhm. Miss Inglis here has promised His Majesty that she will come to aid in the event of a national crisis. Therefore, to prepare for such emergencies, we are to create a communication system where she can respond immediately. For that reason, Miss Inglis, we of the Imperial Guard Order will be visiting you from time to time. Best of regards.」 「S-, sure…」
It was a bit of a hassle, but Inglis welcomed the fact that they might summon her if something really went wrong. There would always be a good fight at the heart of an incident as huge as a national crisis.
「Still, it will be troubling if you keep watch on me all the time, so please be moderate with it.」 「Of course! We will cause you not a single trouble!」 「That’s good and all, but you can’t peek on her either, okay!」
Added Rafinha.
「No, no, that’s outrageous! Not to mention, I am sure a person of Miss Inglis’ caliber would be able to sense the presence of others, so such an act would prove impossible.」 「That’s not true though? Glis keeps forgetting herself when she’s in front of mirrors, so she’s always defenseless!」 「Rani……! You don’t need to say that!」 「Hou! I see now, so Miss Inglis is defenseless in the presence of mirrors…… Well, well——」 「Brother, I don’t understand what’s going on. Why would you be attending Inglis!」 「Hm. Miss Inglis has been a huge benefactor for His Majesty the King and the Imperial Guard Order during the last incident. His Majesty was greatly pleased by her performance, and wished to install Miss Inglis as the Commander of the Imperial Guard Order.」 「「「「EEEHHHHH?!!! COMMANDER??!!!」」」」
Yelps of surprise, almost like a scream, rose up.「Inglis, the Commander of the Imperial Guard Order?! Wh-, what a promotion—」 「I-, it is unprecedented……However…」 「In terms of competence, she’s befitting……? She perhaps is, but…」 「But——taking account of various ramifications it might invite, she had declined the offer.」 「「「「DECLINED?!!」」」」
Again with the exclamations.
「Nonetheless, she has promised to help us in dire times. Hence why we’re establishing the communication line.」 「B-, by the lords……Are you fine with that, Inglis?! No, personally speaking, I am glad you declined, as my brother wouldn’t be demoted from his position, but still!」 「Hah. You think small, Silva! Miss Inglis possesses superior fighting skill, level-headedness, and even eloquent beauty! I cannot measure up to her in any single aspect! Thinking about it, I wish to serve under Miss Inglis! Ma’am, if you ever change your mind, the seat of the Commander will always be ready for you!」 「N-, no, thank you.」 「If so, then I shall come to visit from time to time! Even with the current circumstance, I can still watch your figure and listen to your voice; it seems as if my daily fatigue goes blown away!」 「I-, I see……」 「It has been a while since I have been devoted to something other than looking after my brother Silva! It’s as if I’ve regained my youth!」 「——In a way, you really saved my skin, Inglis.」 「What do you mean, Senior?」 「My brother is overprotective of me, you see. You stealing his attention means I can have some degree of freedom.」 「…………」
Well, indeed, it was an objective truth that Inglis’ appearance was extraordinary, calling her an out-of-the-world beauty was not an overstatement, and she herself agreed with it.
Her fighting skill also substantially eclipsed that of the members of the Imperial Guard Order. At the very least, those that Inglis had met.
Therefore, it wasn’t hard for her to understand why anyone would be infatuated with her. It wasn’t hard at all, but… That was in theory, and when she experienced that infatuation in practice, it wasn’t the most pleasant.
「S-, still, turning down the position of a Knight Commander is just too big of a waste! It would have been the greatest honor anyone could have asked……」 「B-, but, it’s Inglis! It’s her we’re talking about, so I kind of expected her to decline, too……」 「H-, hold on! Wait a minute, Miss Inglis! Can we talk……?!」
Beckoned Principal Miliera.
「Yes.」
When she walked over, the Principal leaned to her so that only Inglis could listen.
「G-, give me an explanation, please……! Why did you turn down such a marvelous offer?!」 「It will be a long story…」 「Ah. Then, please make it short, just give me your real reason, straight! It’s alright, I won’t get mad no matter what you’ll say……」 「Let me see. To put it briefly…」 「Mhmm, mhmm——」 「It’s bothersome, so I don’t want to.」 「Ahahaha……I-, I see now! That can’t be helped then……」
Principal Miliera let out strained laughter.
「S-, still, a student of the Knight Academy, the one place that nurtures people into Knights, said that becoming a Knight of the highest order was a hassle……S-, so, may I ask what are you doing here, Miss Inglis? We’re just talking about your philosophy, yes, philosophy……」 「I’m here to watch Rani’s growth and to improve myself by experiencing numerous battles. I think this is a good environment for both.」 「N-, no, Miss Rafinha has a firm and concrete standing on things, in fact, I think she is heftier than you are in that front, you know……?」 「Thank you very much for your compliment for Rani.」 「Haah……There was one more thing that I said after that, but you ignored it, huh…」 「Yes. I don’t have the intention to change my standing, after all.」 「I-, I see……」
While Inglis and Principal Miliera were having such a conversation, Redas was trying to negotiate with Count Weissmall.
「And so, Mr. Weissmall! If Silva won’t do it, then I will! Fufufu, with Miss Inglis……Gufufufufu——」 「I refuse!」
Gross. Heck no. She didn’t want to do it with anyone in the first place, but now she was even more appalled.
「Nuu……?! However, if that’s what Miss Inglis said, then I comply! In which case, I cannot allow such an insolent plot to happen! Mr. Weissmall, I’ll have you revise it!」 「Ooh……」
That was quite the change of attitude, but it worked in Inglis’ favor. If Redas could get rid of the kissing scene, that means Inglis could eat as much of the bribe as she wanted without any worries.
「I shall not! It’s a necessary part for the artistic expression」
Count Weissmall seemed to be very particular with it. He was adamant.
「We will take the Heroine’s opinion into account when we are selecting the personnel——but, the plot remains the same!」 「Hmm……」
What do I do? Is there some way I can leverage the situation at all?!
As Inglis was pondering, she caught Yua’s murmur nearby.
「How envious——」 「Eh? What’s the matter, Senior Yua?」 「I mean, you can kiss any good-looking guy that you want, right? How nice」
It seemed like that was what the situation looked like to Yua. She was the kind of person who wanted to make her breasts bigger to become popular in the first place.
「Then, why don’t you take the——Aaah……! No, wait……! That’s not it……!」
Suddenly, Inglis felt like a strike of electricity struck her brain. An ingenious idea. This was really ingenious. A wonderful approach just popped up in her mind!
「That’s right, you don’t take the role——We’ll play together……!」 「?」 「Count Weissmall! I have a suggestion for the personnel selection」
Chirped Inglis.