Vol 3 Chapter 56 – Round Table Conference at the Ignia Estate【Empire War Arc】

The next day, Roy woke up and caught his breath when he looked beside him. Long black hair spread across the sheets, and a face that was both refined and adorable faced him.

Her mouth was half-open, and her dewy lips were terribly alluring.

Her emphasized chest moving with regular breathing made Roy’s throat tighten.

“Yukino, you’ll catch a cold… Sigh, can’t be helped.”

Roy began buttoning up her disheveled nightgown. But—suddenly, his hand was grabbed.

“Hehe, so Roy-san is a boy too. But you musn’t play pranks on sleeping girls, okay?”

From the situation, it could look like Roy was unbuttoning her clothes. The truth was the opposite, but to Yukino, who’d just woken up, it didn’t look that way.

“N-no! You have terrible sleeping posture, so your buttons are always coming undone. You should be grateful that I button them back up every time.”

After Yukino’s eyes widened, she smiled slightly.

“Yeah, that’s the kind of person Roy-san is, isn’t it? Thank you very much.”

“Good, as long as you understand. Well then, let’s head to the dining hall soon.”

“Yes! Let’s do our best today too!”

Roy and Yukino quickly prepared themselves and headed to the dining hall.

☆☆☆

The dining hall, where a massive round table exuded magnificence.

Roy’s personality was basically to arrive earlier than scheduled, so only Roy, Yukino, and a few others were seated. Then Dart, representing Stark’s active combat forces, appeared.

“Roy-dono, Yukino-dono, good morning. You’re early.”

“Yeah, morning.” Following Roy, Yukino also replied, “Good morning.”

“Our party makes it a rule to arrive at least thirty minutes early. Preparation is important, right?”

“Wonderful. In a normal party, at least one person is late, so this is surprising.”

“Nah, we’ve got a latecomer too. It’s just that I wake her up, so she makes it on time every time, right?”

When Roy asked Yukino, she answered with a very dissatisfied expression.

“Ugh~ I only oversleep sometimes!”

Hearing Yukino’s protest, Dart started laughing.

“Pff! Hahaha, you two seem to get along well—I’m envious.”

While they chatted, the other members gradually began gathering. Whether meeting for the first time or not, everyone exchanged appropriate greetings.

Finally, the master of this manor appeared. Just like yesterday, he wore luxurious clothes with a white coat draped over them.

“Well then, everyone, good morning. I’m grateful for the fortune that brought us safely to this point. Now, long speeches are honestly tiresome, so first I’d like to hear about the objectives of Roy-kun, our greatest contributor.”

Roy stood up and spoke.

Recovering OOPArts

Searching for a method to return otherworlders

Protecting Haruto

He presented these as his goals.

“Of course, if these can be fulfilled, I intend to cooperate with Stark’s activities to a certain extent.”

At Roy’s words, Eiden nodded.

“Give and take, right? Yeah, that’s how we intend it too. So then, does the Shadow Clan chief have any requests?”

Shuten, chief of the Shadow Clan Ombra, stood and answered.

“Eiden-dono, you helped us with the intention of absorbing us, didn’t you? If so, I intend to repay the favor in the form of cooperation. We look forward to working with you.”

Then Eiden turned his gaze toward Ange.

“We’re just Ange and her fanatical fans, basically, so if you provide food, clothing, and shelter, we’ll cooperate.”

“Ha! We are fans of Ange-sama!” The former royal guards behind her asserted while striking the ground with their swords.

Everyone was intimidated. (At this rate, they’ll become fanatical fans. Even Ange is holding her head.)

With this, the Shadow Clan, Roy’s party, and the Kingdom’s elite knights had formed a cooperative relationship.

Then Eiden clapped his hands with a strained smile.

“First, I need to solidify my position. Can we postpone cooperation with Roy-kun until after that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Good, then everyone. Now that we’ve finished talking, let’s move on to meal time!”

At Eiden’s signal, servants brought out silver cloches containing food one after another. They were quickly served.

Incidentally, those who couldn’t sit at the table were guided to a separate room to take their meals there.

☆☆☆

Roy removed the silver cloche and despaired. Yukino immediately understood why.

“Roy-san, would you like to eat my bread? In exchange, I’ll have your tomato soup.”

“Sorry, that helps.”

Ignia territory’s specialty product was “winter tomatoes,” and half the dishes served used them abundantly.

Roy absolutely hated tomatoes. When heading to the Ignia estate, Roy had seen what appeared to be tomatoes growing bright red in the farmland, but he hadn’t thought they’d be served.

Yukino sensed it from Roy’s mood and offered to exchange for dishes that didn’t use tomatoes.

“There it is, acting like the main wife.”

Sophia, sitting to Roy’s right, griped.

“I-I just… because Roy-san can’t eat it…”

“If you spoil him, his nutrition will be unbalanced.”

Sensing the start of an argument, Roy said:

“Got it! I’ll eat just one dish—no complaints with that, right?”

“…Fine, as long as you understand.”

Sophia was satisfied, and Roy successfully settled the situation.