Theo’s gift

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 “Ojou-sama! Pull yourself together! Ojou-sama!”
 
 “… huh?”
 
 I was being shaken furiously.
 
 When I came to, Anna’s face was in front of me.
 
 “Are you ok, Ojou-sama?”
 
 My lady-in-waiting worriedly examined my expression.
 Behind her was the statue of Goddess Delia gazing at us with the evening sun to her back.
 
 “… what was that just now?”
 
 Anna tilted her head at my mutter.
 
 “What was what?”
 
 “What did I look like just now?”
 
 Anna worriedly wiped the sweat off of my brow with a handkerchief, letting out a small sigh.
 
 “While in a praying position, you were trembling with a blue face. Almost like you were having a nightmare in your sleep.”
 
 “I see…”
 
 I recalled the daydream I just had.
 
 I wonder, what on earth was that?
 
 
 
 Alvin, who when compared to the first life, looked older than the last time I’d seen him, and was wearing a crown.
 Duke Oswell, who should have been executed half a year ago in this timeline.
 And then, the blonde-haired 『Queen』, who I only saw from behind and couldn’t get a glimpse of her face.
 
 From the contents of their conversation, it was almost as if it were from the first life, like a sequel to the timeline in which I was executed.
 
 ——— snap
 
 “-!”
 
 I felt a pain run through my left temple.
 
 “Are you alright Ojousama?!”
 
 “… I’m fine. Just a bit of a headache.”
 
 “Then you’re not fine, aren’t you! Let’s go to the infirmary. Can you walk???”
 
 “I-, I’m fine. I’m fine, so let’s just go home for the day, ok?”
 
 “But…”
 
 “Please, Anna.”
 
 Honestly, I didn’t want to stay in this place any longer.
 
 With my words close on pleading, Anna nodded and said 『Understood』 with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.
 
 
 
 “Can you stand?”
 
 “Yeah.”
 
 I stood up with Anna’s help.
 
 And then, it happened right as I turned away from the goddess statue.
 
 “… huh?”
 
 For a moment, the twilight vermillion dyeing the chapel mixed with a blue light.
 
 I quickly turned to look back.
 
 “….”
 
 However, nothing had changed.
 
 With the setting sun pouring down from the window, the goddess statue gazed at us as usual.
 
 “?”
 
 Yet curiously enough, my head felt strangely clear, and the pain in my head had also gone before I realised.
 
 “What’s wrong?”
 
 “… it’s nothing.”
 
 I shook my head side to side, and left the chapel with Anna.
 
 
 
 In the end, I went to bed quickly so as to think as little as possible about that daydream.
 
 I felt that, were I to recall it, I would once again get a headache, and I was also mentally at my limit.
 
 I’ll think about that daydream once I’ve arrived at my destination and have calmed down.
 
 It seems it wouldn’t be good for me to bear this by myself, so I’ll have a 『Council of Bears』 discussion with Coco and Mel for the first time in a while.
 
 ——— Thus I put off thinking about it.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 The next morning.
 With breakfast over, we were sent in a carriage to the forest of the Holy City’s suburbs, where we then flew off north.
 
 “From here it’ll be a two and a half hour flight.”
 
 “Eh, the other day, I’m sure you said it would be close to five hours, no???”
 
 I giggled as Anna tilted her head to the side.
 
 “I said it the other day, didn’t I? Theo, you see, he sent me an amaaa~~~zing thing!”
 
 “… it’s His Highness the Meddling Bug again, huh.”
 
 Anna looked disgu~sted.
 Almost like she was looking at the black devilish something.^[1]
 
 “Geez. If you keep making faces like that, it’ll show on your face the next time we meet, you know?”
 
 “I don’t really mind though?”
 
 “But I mind! And also Oto—… His Majesty too!”
 
 I was about to say Otou-sama too, but stopped midway.
 On second thought, Otou-sama is on Anna’s side.
 I’m sure my brothers are too.
 
 Everyone, you’re going to end up picking a fight with the royalty of an allied nation, so I’d like you to please stop.
 
 “Anyways, we aren’t going straight to Nordland. We’ll go down to take a break midway, then eat lunch before heading to Nordland.”
 
 “Go down for a break… on the sea?!”
 
 “Well, something like that. Look forward to when we arrive☆”
 
 “???”
 
 Followed by Anna with question marks floating above her head, I aimed straight for the destination pointed out by the navigation device.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 As soon as we flew over the northern mountainous region surrounding the Holy City, we could see the sea.
 
 We headed to the Northern Sea while looking at the beautiful town of Celeste Port, the northern gateway of the Holy City.
 
 The Northern Sea, which tends to be rough in winter, is clear now that it’s early summer.
 Visibility is good.
 It’s the ideal conditions for flight.
 
 Anna and I flew above the calm sea.
 
 And then about two hours passed since we set out to sea.
 
 “Now then. We should be able to see it soon… Ah, over there!”
 
 Anna followed with her eyes to the spot I was pointing.
 She then noticed its presence.
 
 “Is that… an island, perhaps???”
 
 “Precisely! Come, let’s head down.”
 
 Thus we descended towards an islet^[2] floating in the middle of the sea.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 This island was an islet at most the size of a primary school’s field.
 
 It was covered in trees except for one spot in the centre, so from a boat it would appear to be a deserted island.
 
 However, the scenery from above was completely different.
 
 The centre was open, where just a single building was built.
 
 
 
 “It’s quite atmospheric.”
 
 Anna nodded at my words beside me.
 
 “If it weren’t for the salty sea breeze, I would’ve forgotten we were in the middle of a sea.”
 
 Standing silently before us was a firmly built wooden bungalow with a 『solitary house amidst the forest』 kind of charm.
 
 If I had to say, the only discomfort I felt was the solid cobble path leading right up to the house’s door.
 
 “This island is a transshipment base for the Elarion Kingdom’s merchant fleets. Only certain people know of its exact location. This house is a camouflaged storehouse and rest area for the sailors. When Theo learnt that we were flying all the way to the Labyrinth Country, he secretly told me of this place.”
 
 Well, I say 『secretly』, but he properly got permission from his dad— from King Elarion.
 
 
 
 Elarion, a maritime nation, has not only the Atlantic route to the west and the inlet routes around their country, but also the northern route on the Northern Continent’s eastern side that goes around the east.
 
 Those routes are naturally long journeys, and midway, they pass by many of the Northern Continent’s eastern coast harbour towns on their way to the Northern Sea.
 
 But, if they were to even go to the Northern Sea, there wouldn’t be enough time to go around trading with each of the coastal countries.
 
 Therefore, several merchant ships are usually stationed to trade with each country, and the cargo is then exchanged to and from the merchant fleet going around the eastern route, making transportation efficient.
 
 Theo wrote in his letter that they had set up such a system.
 
 His gift, in other words, was a map of the Northern Sea with the exact location of this island.
 
 
 
 Having heard my explanation, Anna squinted her eyes.
 
 “I see, so that’s what it was. You’re trying to be cunning…”
 
 “Hm?”
 
 “No, no, it’s nothing.”
 
 Anna gave me a beaming smile.
 
 “Well then, I’ll quickly clean up inside and prepare lunch, so please wait a short while.”
 
 Saying so, my lady-in-waiting took out cleaning tools from the luggage on her back, and began cleaning while humming a tune.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 After a light lunch and a break, we once again set off northward.
 
 “Our destination is Ettelstad to the east of Nordland’s capital.”
 
 “Oh, so not the capital.”
 
 I nodded at Anna’s words.
 
 “Seems that the labyrinths in Ettelstad’s surroundings are especially for beginners, and is called the 『Town of Beginnings』. The 『Runefelt Magic School』 that I’ve enrolled at is there as well.”
 
 “Then, will an envoy specially come all the way from the capital to meet us?”
 
 “Probably. Although it is His Majesty’s consideration, I feel bad for all the people that have to deal with it.”
 
 I think they also need to monitor me, so I would really like to thank them for their efforts.
 
 
 
 Thereafter it took roughly two hours flying above the sea.
 
 “Ah! I’ve spotted land, Ojou-sama!”
 
 Anna’s words made me strain my eyes towards the horizon.
 
 Across the shimmering waves, I could see the colourful houses of the harbour town.
 
 
 “Our first landing on the Frozen Continent!”
 
 
 Just what kind of days await us, I wonder.
 
 
 With expectations filling my heart, we entered the Labyrinth Country Nordland from the sky.