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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

Gonsu Says It's a Pinch, Gonsu!

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

Elna looked at the letter in her hands, her eyes wide.

She read the sentences, then read them again, thinking she must have misread. Then, overwhelmed by suspicion, she let out a strange sound, 「...Eh?」

—The true nature of the letter that arrived was, unbelievably, a love letter filled with passionate affection for Cross.

The addressee was, of course, a woman. And it wasn't just one-sided adoration; it seemed Cross had responded to her feelings in the past, as the letter meticulously recounted old memories.

Crush, she heard the sound of her fingers tightening. Above her head, the hamster trembled slightly, whimpering.

「Heh... So you gave permission for this to be delivered all the way to the King's office.」

「Mhm. Surprising, isn't it? Actually—」

「Yes, I am surprised.」

Elna strongly cut off the words Cross was about to say. At that moment, Cross, who had been averting his gaze, looked directly at Elna's face for the first time and felt a rare cold sweat trickle down his back.

Her eyes were devoid of emotion—no, they were even colder than that.

「Yes, I'm surprised at myself, I mean.」

Her tone was flat, and she slammed the letter onto the desk, palm and all.

Of course, the hamster bounced slightly along with the letter.

「I said I'd become your wife, but Cross, you're royalty. It's not strange to have one or two concubines—or just good people, for that matter. I haven't even been told I'll be the official Queen. I'm surprised I didn't consider that possibility.」

「Wait, Elna.」

「It's fine, honestly. You don't need my permission in the first place. My thinking was shallow. That's all it is.」

Elna turned her back on Cross. She strode toward the door, and Cross, panicking, tried to reach out his arm, claiming, 「It's a misunderstanding!」—but.

「I have work to do. Could you... not follow me?」

Glared at by those chilling, draconic eyes, he could not move any further.

「What is it? What, what, what is it?」

A feeling of anger swelled within her. Elna, still wearing her maid's uniform, marched through the streets.

「What is it, what is it, seriously, what is it?」

She felt like screaming her head off, but of course, she couldn't. She kept the voice lodged in her throat and swallowed hard. But still unable to bear it, she spat out, 「Idiot!」 and then, tears spilled over.

She felt utterly pathetic for crying. Taking a breath, she lowered her face. As she roughly wiped her eyes, she saw the Hamster Spirit peeking out of her pocket worriedly, so she gently stroked the hamster's head with an still-awkward hand. As she rubbed his fluffy head with her index finger, she gradually calmed down.

She couldn't stand in the middle of the road with red eyes, so she sat on a bench and thought.

Cross had certainly said, 「It's a misunderstanding.」 That meant there must be some reason behind it.

In that case, Elna really had no right to be angry. Cross was the King. As she herself said, it wasn't strange for him to have a concubine or two, and the reason Elna told Cross she would be his wife was more than just wanting to sever ties with the Calzeed family—it was because she wanted to support him.

There was no necessity for her to be the official Queen.

Even though she understood this, the emotions swirling in her chest felt frustrating and painful.

「...Alright, I'm calm.」

She stood up and slapped her cheek.

She knew it wasn't true at all, but saying it out loud made her feel genuinely energized. It was a fact that she had work to do for Cross. She had been asked to run an errand to the usual shop, and although she had wasted some time because she couldn't go with a face that showed she'd been crying, being upset was no excuse to be lazy about work.

「Let's see, to the Sunflower Store, I need to...」

As she walked a few steps, reconfirming her destination, a voice shouted from behind, 「Now!」 At that instant, Elna's vision was engulfed in darkness.

***

「So! What are we going to do after kidnapping her!」

「What do you mean 'what'? We're going to see the King! If she's his favorite maid, he'll at least listen!」

「But going to see the King, wouldn't we just get turned away at the gate?」

「That's why! We kidnapped this woman!」

Vigorous arguing was coming from young men. Counting them, there were seven. There might be a few more if lookouts were included. The bandana-wearing, brown-haired youth who seemed to be the leader continued to shout, flashing his canine teeth.

Elna, tied up with rope and sitting on the ground, observed her surroundings.

When she was carried away with a cloth bag over her head, she thought she was being taken to some hideout, but the area, simply surrounded and concealed by stacked logs, felt more like a secret base than a hideout. Looking up, tiny birds fluttered beneath the blue sky, and the cheerful sunlight was warm. By the way, Elna's pocket was currently empty.

「I saw it, I did! I saw this woman walking with King Vaid at Lady Elnalfia's birthday festival!」

The bandana-wearing leader continued to point at Elna and assert his claims to his companions. If Elna's hands were free, she would have buried her face in them.

(So that's what this was about...)

「Hey, Maid! How do we get to see the King!」

「How do you get to see him...?」

「You're the King's favorite, aren't you! That means he'll do anything you ask!」

Elna was starting to feel dizzy.

「So, let me confirm. The only reason you kidnapped me is to secure an audience with the King?」

「That's right! And then we'll make him do whatever we say!」

「How ridiculous... No, I'm the most ridiculous for doubting that there might have been a deeper meaning.」

「Huh?」

The youths widened their eyes as Elna stood up abruptly, sighing, ignoring the glare of the bandana-wearing youth. 「Hey, don't move without permission!」 the youngest boy said, approaching Elna with a threatening tone. 「The Leader is talking!」 The boy couldn't finish his sentence. Because the boy was sent flying.

Seeing the boy flying backward along the path they came, eyes rolled back, and lying supine, his companions could only gape, unable to comprehend the situation, shifting their gaze from the fallen boy to the girl they thought was just a maid.

The ropes that had bound Elna fell in torn pieces at her feet.

「Huh? Wha-what...? Why are the ropes...?」

「I was told there was a rumor circulating in the streets, so I let myself be kidnapped on purpose to find out if it was related, but it seems not. I'm truly disappointed.」

「Ha...」

Elna's words referred to Cross's warning about the rumor that the reincarnation of Elnalfia was living in the castle, but of course, the young men didn't understand.

When faced with an incomprehensible situation, people react in various ways. The first thing that welled up in them was anger. Some were confused, but dragged along by the leader, who was quietly shaking with anger, saying, 「What the hell did she do to him, hey...」 the companions quickly pulled out knives from their waistbands and held them.

「You... you have magic? But you're not a magician, you're just a palace maid, right? How many of us do you think there are?」

「You know, I learned a lot from that incident the other day.」

The incident she referred to was the unforgettable event at the church.

The Priest had been replaced by a demon's agent, and the people he controlled were just lumps of clay. Unaware of this, Elna was forced to struggle against the constantly rising lumps of clay. She couldn't kill people. No, she didn't want to kill them. The memories of Elnalfia, who witnessed countless deaths, and Elna's current emotions were mixed, and this had become an unyielding principle.

However, she couldn't let that principle hinder Cross.

「So, first, one hit. I decided to strike hard at the stomach. If they lose consciousness, they're just human. If not, they're something other than human. Then I'd just turn them into ash without holding back.」

「A-Ash...」

「Don't be scared! She's all talk!」

The leader shouted, trying to encourage his backing-away companions.

「Hey! All the lookouts, get over here! Right now!」

When the youth shouted, more people gathered, wondering what was happening. Elna smiled and clenched her fist.

「But this confirms you're all human. I can punch you without worry.」

「Stop talking nonsense!」

Seeing the leader fiercely pull out his knife, Elna's eyes widened innocently. The youth smirked, satisfied with her expression, but Elna immediately smiled just as she had before, which briefly threw the youth off balance.

Keeping the smile only on her mouth, Elna narrowed her eyes smoothly.

「Come on. I'll make sure to hurt you ever so carefully—enough so you won't think of doing anything foolish again, but not enough to kill you.」

***

Cross arrived at the scene shortly after. Leading only his most trusted Royal Guards, they arrived to a miserable sight: a large number of young men beaten up and lying supine, with only Elna standing.

「Oh, you came?」

「Gonsu!」

Turning around, hands on her hips with a cheerful expression, was the usual Elna. Cross felt momentarily dizzy seeing her rocking slightly and tilting her head cutely, her maid's uniform fluttering in the wind.

Elna squatted down and caught the Hamster Spirit that jumped toward her with both hands, petting its head affectionately. The Hamster Spirit looked angry and beat Elna lightly with its small hands.

—The Hamster Spirit had burst into Cross's office just half an hour ago.

Even though he could speak, he was so agitated that he was just saying, Ham-ham gonsu is gonsu, gonsu says it's a pinch, gonsu!—no one could understand what he was saying. Calming the spirit, who was doing the eisa-ho hamster dance, and hearing that Elna had deliberately let herself be captured and taken to the headquarters to investigate her kidnappers, made Cross's blood run cold.

「I should have run away too, gonsu! Gonsu!」

「Sorry, sorry. Look, I've always regretted taking you with me when I fought the Priest at the church. I thought I dragged you into something dangerous.」

「If you do it again! I'll make it so you can never enjoy eating sunflower seeds again, gonsu!」

「That's not a threat at all, but if you're angry, I'm sorry.」

Elna was careful to keep her voice low as she scooped the Hamster Spirit in her palms and conversed with it, ensuring those around couldn't hear. The Royal Guards Cross brought were initially confused by the situation but immediately rushed to handle the ruffians. 「Hey, stand up! Come here!」「Ow! Stop it!」 Voices and the clatter of armor could be heard everywhere.

「Elna.」

When Cross called out, his brow furrowed, wondering what to say, Elna turned to him, looking quite refreshed. ...Cross stared at Elna in silence, thinking, She probably feels better after venting her anger, doesn't she.

「Is something... the matter?」

Since there were people around, Elna likely changed her tone, considering the chance of being overheard, but a faint pang of loneliness crossed Cross's mind. Such an emotion was utterly illogical.

Those kinds of feelings were slightly troublesome.

It can't be helped. It's the weakness of being in love, Cross thought without changing his expression. Just as he opened his mouth to check if she was injured, 「You-you, no, no way!」「Wait! Where are you going!」 the bandana-wearing man, who had escaped the Royal Guards' restraint, ran toward Cross in an awkward, almost falling manner.

Elna clutched the Hamster Spirit to her pocket and clenched her fist at the same time Cross quietly reached for the hilt of his sword.

「P-Please, make me—no, make us—your knights!」

However, the man's action differed from Cross's expectations; he prostrated himself right in front of him. 「Please!」 he shouted at the top of his lungs, continually striking his forehead against the ground.

「You! Before His Majesty, what are you doing!」

「I'm doing it precisely because it's in front of the King!」

He was immediately captured, lifted by his armpits by the Royal Guards, but his forehead was red and swollen from rubbing it too hard.

「...Elna, did you ask these men the purpose of kidnapping you?」

「Well, something like... they wanted to make the King do whatever they said.」

「So, the wish they wanted me to grant was to become my knights...?」

Overwhelmed by the turn of events, Cross strongly closed his eyes and massaged his aching temples.

The bandana-wearing man, while being dragged away, passionately spoke of how, because Elnalfia had reincarnated, even ruffians like them felt a mission to do what was necessary to protect this country, likely never realizing that the person they kidnapped was the reincarnation of Elnalfia herself.

「Your Majesty. What shall we do with these men afterward?」

「Hmm... For now, order them to be put in a cell for the night to cool their heads...」

Feeling strangely exhausted, that was the most Cross could offer in response to the Royal Guard's question.