100 Visiting the grave
――The next day. We woke up late and we all had dinner together.
Change into formal clothes and carry a bouquet of flowers. Go to the back of the house.
"here--"
My mother's grave is not far from my house. It's a slightly open area in the forest.
In spring, flowers are in full bloom. Grace and I chose a place that Mom loved and buried her there.
I thought I would have to start by shoveling the snow, but the area around the grave was clean.
A tombstone is erected in the middle of the open area. The gravestone that Grace and I erected was nothing more than a piece of wood, but later my father made it into a magnificent gravestone.
"Theo. Have you come?"
My name was called and I turned around. Dad appeared with several knights from the earldom as an escort. There are two children I don't know... could they be brother and sister? The father told the knights to wait here and approached with his children.
"Oh, dad."
“I received a report that the dragon cage seems to have arrived at Lisa’s house.Wouldn’t it have been difficult to move around in the dragon cage in winter?”
"We have magic, so the cold won't be a problem."
"...That's right."
Dad smiles bitterly.
“What about those two?”
"They're Harold and Cynthia. They're orphans, though. They volunteered no matter what, so I'm asking them to be the graveguards."
“Gravekeeper--”
I look at my mother's grave. The tombstone and its surroundings are beautiful. I could see that it was well managed.
"……thank you"
"Those are useless words."
The two of them bowed their heads as well. This brother and sister are probably also citizens of the earldom.
I have no intention of saying anything to a child who wasn't a party at that time. Moreover, if he was an orphan or volunteered, it would be easy to guess his motives.
“I’m home, mom.”
With that said, I place a bouquet of flowers at the grave. Then, each person in turn offered a moment of silence.
Grace, Ashley, and Dad. Then there are the siblings who are the guardians of the grave.
I'm sure each of you has something you want to say or think. I quietly closed my eyes and faced my mother's grave marker.
Marlene puts her hands together in a gesture that resembles prayer. Both Sheila and Irmhild pray quietly. I'm glad that you came to my mother's grave like this.
When I do this, many old memories come back to me. I guess he often came to this place with his lunch.
I quietly closed my eyes like that for a while, but...
"-Are you going to return to Termwills soon?"
It was Dad's words that broke the tranquil atmosphere.
"……yes"
I nod. I know that if I stay in that house for too long, I'll either become unbearable, or I won't want to leave.
Besides... I don't want to meet the people of the earldom on a day like today. I probably don't have much tolerance for them.
Even the knight my father brought as an escort was an unfamiliar face to me despite my young age. They say they are choosing the gravekeeper...I feel like they are being very careful about this.
Naturally, my father probably understood that as well, as he nodded without saying anything to my words.
All that's left to do now is load up the things in the study, get on the dragon cage, and head home. Since there are materials, magic stones, and equipment in the materials, it seems like the dragon cage will be a little cramped on the way home. Well, if I use Levitation to reduce the burden on the flying dragon, it will probably work out somehow.
After that, I plan to stop by the Barony of Shirn on my way home. In that case, I wonder if I'll have to spend another night in the baron's territory. Ashley herself doesn't have a particularly bad relationship with Kennel or the people of the territory, so there will probably be some things that will build up.
"Well then, let's go."
Everyone nodded and left one by one. I looked back as I was about to leave.
"Mom. I'll borrow the things from the study. I'll come back next year."
Bow your head towards the grave marker. Then I followed everyone.
“Old man!”
“Miss Ashley!”
On the way home, I also dropped off the dragon cage at Ashley's mansion in the Barony of Shirn, and also showed my face at the kennel.
Ashley, who came out of the dragon cage, smiled happily and ran from inside the mansion to Kennel, who had come out into the courtyard.
Kennel's eyes widened at Ashley's sudden visit.
"It has been a while"
"Oh. This is Theodore-sama."
When I called out to Kennel, he bowed deeply.
“I heard about the recent situation from Verine-dono. He seems to be doing a great job in the center.”
“Well, a lot of things happened.”
I don't think it would have turned out like this if it hadn't been for everything with the demon.
"Sasa, please bring your companions with you. Are you going to stay the night tonight?"
"That's my intention."
"That's more than anything."
Kennel enters the mansion with a smile on his face.
"Please, Mr. Theodore, everyone."
Ashley also smiled and invited everyone in.
Now. This will probably be my second time coming to Ashley's mansion.
We were all taken to a common room and decided to drink tea together.
The dragon cage is getting smaller because there's more luggage to load on the way home. It's making me feel a little cramped, so I want to stretch out and relax.
``How's it going over there? I'm planning to stay one more night in the Barony of Shirn before returning home.''
While drinking tea and relaxing, I tried sending a message to Alfred. I received a reply shortly after.
``The Knights are making inquiries in the city. There don't seem to be any eyewitness accounts of the demon, but it seems like there have been ghost disturbances all over the city since that day, when the sealed door opened.''
...I came with a ghost.
As for the relationship with the "things left behind" that Lecelliage was talking about... I should doubt it.
``What about the actual damage? ”
“Right now, nothing in particular has come out. I think it's a little too warm for it to be a devil's trick... but it's a bit of a concern given the timing.''
``I think we should keep an eye on it while collecting sighting information. I would like to get rid of it if possible.''
"Yeah. If it's an undead like a ghost, you shouldn't have any trouble once you encounter it.''
...If it's just a ghost. It is difficult to judge where no damage has been caused.
I'll think about that after I get back. I also had a problem.
It's deciphering the code of the research my mother left behind.
It seems that the form of encryption is done using symbols and hidden words. I think there is some sort of code book in the books in my mother's study that I refer to for deciphering.
Well, I guess I'll just have to take it slow. Communication with Alfred ends in moderation.
“What has been the situation in the barony since then?”
I asked Kennel. According to Verine in early autumn, the ratio was good.
“It seems that the ants have overwintered, and the situation has calmed down. Since then, there have been several battles between large numbers of ants and mixed forces of adventurers and soldiers. There has been little damage, and the numbers have been decreasing, so it seems like things are mostly coming to an end."
"I see...that's good."
We have an expert, Verine. Misreadings like that don't happen often, do they? Just in case, I think it would be better to be able to grasp the situation in the barony territory. Although the communication device was a prototype, it was clear that its accuracy was sufficient.
Later on, I'll send a prototype to my father's place and Kennel's place, and ask King Melvin to try it out myself.
Since the prototype model can only communicate one-on-one, there is no need to worry about the contents of the communication being intercepted by a third party. At the moment, it has more than enough usefulness to be used by feudal lords in various places.
It can be said that it is a revolutionary means of communication between bases. It would be a good idea to leave it at Dad and the kennel's place in order to ensure that the secret of the prototype is kept strictly confidential.
"Please be worried about us. Please take good care of Ashley."
"--Understood"
Kennel bowed deeply, and I nodded.
Received a warm welcome at Ashley's mansion.
As planned, we left the Barony of Shirn the next day.
The trip in the dragon cage went smoothly, although it was packed with luggage and became cramped. After lowering the dragon cage in front of the house and landing on the ground, I stretched out my stiff body.
"Hmm...it's my first time in a dragon cage, but it really goes by so quickly."
Irmhild, who descended from the dragon cage, expressed these thoughts while stretching her body.
It's not affected by terrain or road conditions and can move in a straight line. If we didn't move along the highway, it would probably be possible to do it faster.
"Well, the flight was fine. I think the return trip was a bit narrow and difficult."
"Hehe. It's a keepsake of your mother, right? It's something important."
, Irmhild laughs. Well... that's true.
I carry the items my mother left behind from the dragon cage into the house.
After carrying their luggage in, Lindblum and the others raised their voices and returned to the royal castle. Hmm. I really don't have to worry about it.
"Where should I take this luggage?"
"I have a spare room, so I'll let you use it as a study. I'll take the large pot and equipment to the workshop later."
answered Sheila, who was holding a pile of books. Sheila nodded and went into the house. Lavigne, who was holding her cloth bundle in her mouth, Caduceus, and Marlene, who was holding a book to carry as much as she could, followed in a line.
I'm planning on getting the bookshelves etc. ready. It would be a good idea to keep the large pot by the eaves so that it can be moved quickly. It would probably be more convenient to keep alchemy equipment and equipment in the workshop.
Now. It wasn't a very long trip home for her, but she was able to return to Term Wills safely... but I feel like she has more things to do. Let's do one thing at a time.
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