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Due to the influence of the letter from Ruden, we set out for Ruden earlier than initially planned.

In reality, we only moved our schedule up by a week from three weeks later, but if I hadn’t been tasked as a Lesser House, we might have left even sooner.

Who would have thought I’d feel grateful for the many responsibilities I had? Life really is unpredictable.

As the time to go to Ruden approached, my mood had improved significantly compared to when I first received the letter. Perhaps it was because I saw Elena’s delighted face upon receiving the letter. I decided to take a more relaxed approach toward this whole situation.

That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be nervous, but it didn’t mean I needed to weigh my heart down with too much thought either.

One of my chronic issues was that I always focused on the negative aspects when facing new tasks, which is also my greatest strength. But in this case, I needed to act differently. I figured that easing up a bit and shifting my thoughts toward the positive side could be helpful.

If I kept fixating on the bad, I might end up making silly mistakes when I actually faced things.

In that regard, wrapping up my work before leaving was a useful time to collect my thoughts.

It wasn’t a task that required much thought, getting everything organized for my father, who would take over in my place, so allowing myself some distractions was within my acceptable limits.

“Brother! Can I… can I go too?”

“What?”

“Um, it’s just that… I’ll be going to the Academy one day when I’m older, so I thought it might be good to tag along for some prep work! And since the branch house in Ruden has been vacant for a long time, I thought it’d be nice for someone from the family to check it out.”

That request from Alphonse, who wanted to follow us, was like a little happening right before we headed to Ruden.

I didn’t need him to say why he wanted to go; I already understood.

While I’d heard many times that he was dense, it wasn’t like he completely lacked sensitivity. It was evident that this time going to Ruden, it wasn’t just me and Elena. Hailey was also included in the group.

From what I remembered, Hailey was in the Academy with Elena as well, but now, unlike the original story, she was progressing to the Department of Knights instead of the general department. With the improvements in her physique from Elena’s training and having awakened her aura, there was no reason for her to give up on her dreams anymore.

Having spent a long time as Elena’s maid, it was only natural that she had to train her body up until entering the Academy, and during that period, the person she became closest to was Alphonse.

The two of them would meet early in the morning for training, and eventually, they found themselves continuing to train together in the training grounds as the sun rose.

Since Alphonse was the first to discover Hailey’s secret, their relationship seemed particularly close. At one point, Alphonse had been asking me for constant lessons, but now he was willing to cut that down in order to train with Hailey.

I felt a bit upset then, but looking back now, it didn’t seem unreasonable.

When given the choice of who to spend time with, a beloved neighbor girl or an older brother, the outcome was obvious.

Alphonse, who only asked me for things related to swords, had all his other requests focused on Hailey, showing just how much he liked her.

Unfortunately, this time, I couldn’t grant him that wish.

As a result, there was no way Alphonse could come with us to Ruden. It was because our family’s decision-maker, my father, had explicitly forbidden it.

And he had his reasons for that.

“There are three reasons why Alphonse cannot go to Ruden.”

“Three reasons?”

“Right. First, Alphonse is too young to go to Ruden. He’s just started to step outside the walls of Lord’s Castle, and I can’t send him that far away. I know he’s quick to learn and clever compared to kids his age, but he’s still not even ten. He still has a lot to learn and needs to grow up in a protected environment rather than exposing himself to the outside world.”

“Still, it seems safer than sending him for monster subjugation in winter…”

“Is Alphonse like you? We only let you watch from afar during the last winter; you weren’t sent on the hunt. Moreover, sending all the heirs of the family out at once is far too risky. We nearly lost two heirs of the imperial family during the last hunting tournament. Luckily, everything ended well, but it was still a serious concern. I don’t want to take such risks and don’t even want to think about it.”

What he said made sense.

Although Alphonse was indeed clever and outstanding, that didn’t change the basic fact that he was still a young boy who needed the protection of his parents.

Well, there was likely a bigger reason behind my father’s decision.

“So what’s the last one?”

“Third, if Alphonse goes to Ruden, then I’ll be the only one left here, won’t I? Would you leave your father all alone here? At least one person needs to stay. With Elena also following you out of the castle, it’ll be quiet here for a long while. How can I possibly stand that loneliness?”

“Wow, I can’t say anything since you have good points. I’ll tell Alphonse he can’t go.”

“Don’t just say it casually. Tell him that the branch house is currently under renovations, so he can’t go. He knows it wouldn’t be polite to leave both of her children with your in-laws, so just saying that much should convince him. And then after dinner, tell him to come to the main house’s training grounds. I don’t know how much you told him, but it’s better to give him a proper lesson now.”

“…Please say that last part directly after dinner.”

He sure is oddly shy.

After that, contrary to my father’s predictions, Alphonse got genuinely sulky upon hearing he couldn’t go to Ruden. It wasn’t until I spoke to Hailey later that he managed to accept it, which was one of the discussions I didn’t bring up with my father until we left Sarham.

*

Ruden, known as the safest city in the world, has a very powerful barrier surrounding the entire city walls, in accordance with its reputation.

The reason it has never allowed external invasions isn’t just because it’s at the center of the empire; fundamentally, it’s because there’s no way to break through that holy barrier.

The holy barrier protecting Ruden was directly created by the Divine Lord Altair himself. It’s no wonder that Ruden is regarded as a sanctified place alongside the imperial capital. It’s essentially a location touched by the gods.

Because of this protective holy barrier, Ruden lacks the teleportation gates commonly seen in other territories.

On the surface, this may seem isolated, but in reality, it’s a space completely cut off from the outside world, so while teleportation within Ruden is possible, transitioning outside is impossible. The same goes for the outside. There’s no record of anyone successfully teleporting into Ruden.

The reason Ruden, the most prosperous place on the continent, lacks teleportation gates, which are standard in major cities, is due to this fact.

You might think it’s a completely isolated place, but it’s not quite so since there are priests at the edge of the barrier managing entry into Ruden, so as long as your identity is clear, access is quite free.

Aware that transportation is difficult relative to other places, territories nearby Ruden have set up teleportation gates for ease of travel. We also utilized them when Elena and I moved to Ruden.

Even if someone wished to break in from the outside, there’s no way to breach the defenses…

Holy Power isn’t something you can wield simply by believing in a god, so a city protected by such immense holy barriers like Ruden can genuinely be referred to as a place under divine protection.

While I think it would have been better if there hadn’t been any threat left in this world if they were going to offer such protection, I can’t help but feel—

“It certainly feels different being at the Emperor’s residence. Everything seems enormous, don’t you think? Elena, that clock tower over there seems to be half the size of the Magic Tower, doesn’t it?”

“Right! I wonder if it’s built so high to see the time because the surrounding buildings are tall too. There seem to be lots of shops near the clock tower; maybe we should go for a visit later.”

“Sounds good!”

Hailey, now back as the eldest daughter of House Hartmann from being Elena’s maid, no longer uses formal language when speaking to Elena. This casual conversation feels much more welcoming, and I turned my face toward the window, raising my lips in a grin, trying to stay unnoticed by the two.

The buildings in Ruden, visible through the window, were undeniably of a scale that surpassed anything I’d seen in other territories, just as Hailey said. It felt like the city was entirely composed of bustling urban areas.

From seeing the residential buildings aligned along the main thoroughfare starting at the city entrance, the ambiance felt far more modern, evoking a medieval European aesthetic, quite unlike what one typically imagines. If I were to exaggerate, it felt like time was on a different turn here.

Another curious observation was that there was a conspicuous absence of any impoverished areas, which are usually found in any city.

At least, I didn’t see any sign of it as I entered or during my tour around the city. Even the alleyways that looked sparse were surprisingly well-maintained, and the only sight of life was the occasional patrol of uniformed guards I spotted.

Given the size of the city, perhaps they could be hiding somewhere else, but at least in terms of general living areas, security didn’t seem to be a concern.

With all the accolades surrounding the city, it certainly lived up to the hype. It’s no wonder Orcus felt so confident.

‘It’s ironic that such a place becomes the center of so many incidents.’

I felt sorry for Orcus, but the massive cleaning effort had likely altered things beyond what I knew. However, now that Elena was here, it was highly probable that events would unfold at an alarming rate beyond what could be expected. Even if she wasn’t intentionally causing these situations, like most protagonists in stories, they tend to attract trouble, no matter their will.

Just looking at the events from the original story concerning the clock tower, which has just become a topic of conversation between Hailey and Elena.

The very spot considered the finest workshop of the Alchemy Forum and one of the most defensively fortified places in Ruden could simply be brought to ruins.

With such fortified defenses in place, who would have suspected that anything as drastic as an assassination attempt on the princess or the invasion of heretics would transpire at the Academy located within the castle, the heart of Ruden? Fortunately, thanks to the preceding events, everything has been tidied up on a large scale. If it hadn’t, my responsibilities might have increased significantly.

Reflecting on it, perhaps it was because I was Damian.

Considering past events, it felt like upon meeting Elena, a huge narrative had started to flow. Life until then had been relatively calm, but ever since meeting Elena, many changes had begun occurring.

It likely wasn’t solely because Elena was the protagonist; however, it was evident that since our meeting marked the beginning of visible events in this world. The introduction had changed, but the pages continued to turn.

In this context, what I should do as someone with more foresight than others is to try to alter the outcomes of upcoming events from negative to positive, just like I did last time.

The letters I exchanged with Orcus were part of those efforts.

Our correspondence wasn’t just about checking up on one another.

I’m confident, personally, that the current state of Ruden is one where many events that should have naturally occurred to Elena have been eradicated.

Given that I know what could happen in advance and have about a year’s preparation, it wouldn’t be too hard to eliminate a few potential troubles paving the way for significant problems.

Most importantly, having a useful ally like the prince by my side helps. Incidents occurring in Ruden wouldn’t bode well for the imperial family either, so they’d have to actively move to resolve these issues. The content I’ve sent also aligns perfectly, so Orcus can respond without hesitance.

“I truly hope nothing like what happened before occurs again.”

Being with Elena inevitably means getting tangled in all sorts of incidents, so it almost feels like a predetermined fate. However, I still wished nothing would happen.

At the very least, I hope I would be rewarded for the effort I had put in, but the outcome of that is something time can only reveal.

The voices of Hailey and Elena chatting filled the carriage.

It seemed everyone had been in high spirits since days before arriving in Ruden, but when I think about it, while I am living my second life, for them, this trip to Ruden is their first step toward beginning their lives at the Academy. I might not have lived a long life, but I know well enough how significant school years can be in a person’s life.

Observing the cheerful conversations between the two, I felt strangely less worried about the future and a more profound sense of duty to protect this moment.

“I think we’ve arrived.”

Just as I was gathering my thoughts, Elena’s voice beside me pulled my attention back to reality.

With her words, the diminishing speed of the carriage signaled that we were nearing our destination.

Seeing the emblem of the House of Edelweiss etched onto the gates of the mansion felt like having a bucket of ice water splashed over me, causing all the thoughts I’d been considering moments ago to evaporate as if they were never there. The thoughts I had been weaving together crumbled away like a sandcastle at the beach in an instant.

Oh dear.

Had I relaxed too much?

Focusing on these thoughts only made me more tense, and now that reality hit, I froze up. Surely, I had maintained a degree of tension when I first got on the carriage, but perhaps my thoughts wandered too far off the path, and I had forgotten something of utmost importance.

I was heading to meet my mother-in-law, wasn’t I?

 

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