I looked up at the heavens, wrinkling my brow. Well, that's certainly true. ....... But is it something we have to do now?
I try to get my head around that thought.
My office in the capital of Agartha. In front of me stood the king of Maintia with a good mood on his face. This king had come to me unexpectedly without making an appointment. You'd be surprised. .......
He came into the room without knocking, and then he unannouncedly suggested that we go to King Poseidon's. It was as if he had asked me to go to the local convenience store to buy some juice.
Let's go right now. ....... With his eyes blazing, King Maintia invites me to join him. But I am the king of Agartha, after all. I have my own work to do. I have a stack of papers piled high in front of me, and I'm putting them away one by one. In the afternoon I have meetings, in the evening I have a meeting with Knogen and the other leaders of the Agarthan army, and in the evening I have to play make-believe with Eryl and Alyria, and afterwards I have to hug Mei. Unfortunately, I don't have time for this king.
"Your face says that you don't have time ......, doesn't it?"
Without losing his smiling face, he sharply reads my mind. His words make my eyes widen.
You're right. It will be difficult for a while.
"How long is a while?"
"Uh, ......."
Tomorrow, as I recall, I will take Sidi and Piatris to the Dwarf King of Niza and the Deer God, and we will return at night. I will be hugging Siddee as I go, so there will be no time to spare. The next day I will go to the village of Cyrus to visit Soleil and talk with Rico when I get back, and the day after that I will visit Matkal. Then, I will be able to visit .......
"It's going to be difficult for the rest of the year, isn't it?"
He looks clearly discouraged by the answer.
"Don't you know anything about gratitude?"
"What do you mean?"
"Was it not through the power of our brother King Poseidon that Agartha was able to achieve such a great victory in this battle, even if not directly? Didn't you have the Crimean-Nazi army suppressed by storming the sea? Was it not the gift you gave him that saved Lord Lafayence's life? You didn't even thank me for that. ....... Don't you have a human heart?"
His expression is soft, but the words he is saying are quite harsh. I sigh and look at him.
"No, I'm not saying I won't go. It's just that King Poseidon is busy, isn't he? Isn't that why we promised that the next time we meet will be in five years? No, I'm coming. I haven't forgotten my debt to you. If King Poseidon has time, I'll go whenever he wants.
As if he had been waiting for me to say something like that, King Maintia spread her hands wide, as if to embrace me.
"Then let's go now! Brother Poseidon said we would always be welcome!"
"No, ...... that ...... is the schedule for your ...... destination. ......"
"No problem."
"I'm sure Ruara's ready to go to King Poseidon's. ......"
"No problem."
"No, she'll be busy. Besides, General Lafayence is ......"
"No problem. Come in."
With these words, Luara and Lafayence entered the room. Lafayence was smiling, while Ruara's eyes were completely dead. I was left with my mouth hanging open, unable to say anything for a while.
In the end, I thanked him and promised to come back soon. I forced Luara to take a paid vacation and ordered her to go visit her mother for a day. Rico was to do her work for her. Luara didn't like the idea, but Rico said it would be a nice change of pace, and despite the sudden request, he gladly accepted. She promised Luara that she would not make her start over, and she was finally ready to leave her job.
The three of us dive into the deep sea. King Maintia has become a much faster swimmer and is going as fast as Ruara. As one would expect from a frequent visitor to King Poseidon, he has become an accomplished swimmer. I am sure that my swimming has become much faster than when I first started ....... I still can't catch up with Luara who swims as fast as she can, though.
Soon we arrive at the palace of King Poseidon. This time we are able to enter without being stopped by the gatekeeper. Moreover, the two of us walked through the palace. Without asking for anyone's guidance, they opened the doors one after another as if they were in their own house. After a dozen or so minutes of walking, they opened the door for the first time, and there was King Poseidon.
"My brother, you are in a good mood.
With these words, King Maintia shook King Poseidon's hand. He, too, is smiling.
"Oh, you two have come! Welcome. You too ...... have come well."
He smiles at us as well. He's a great guy, as always. He smiles and waves his hands in the air. Then, out of nowhere, a group of half-fish-like men appear and set up tables and chairs. Looking at them, Luara bows and says she will go to her mother's and leaves.
"Sit down."
He sat gracefully in his chair and crossed his legs as he motioned for us to be seated.
"Brother, I'm so glad you could ......"
King Poseidon, still smiling, quickly raised his hand to stop him from speaking and turned his attention to me and Lafayence.
"I'm glad to see you are well."
"King Poseidon, I have come to thank you today. Thanks to the items you gave me when we met the other day, Rafaience was able to prolong his life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"We are brothers in arms. It is not right that he should lose his life in battle. The box I gave you, the box of Kansulayiwa, you must keep it with you. It will protect your life from the evil one in the future.
"Haha! Thank you. I cannot thank you enough, Lafayence.
King Poseidon nodded his head in satisfaction as the old general bowed reverently.
"Now ...... our brothers are able to meet together like this. Tell me something more interesting."
King Poseidon speaks to us in sweet, gentle tones. King Maintia leans forward and begins to speak, as if she has been waiting for him.
This time, I will tell you the story of how I met my eighteenth wife.
No, I want to change things up this time.
What do you mean by a change of scenery?
The Main Tier king is shuffling his body impatiently. He seems to be anxious about the subject that King Poseidon is going to give him. He slowly opens his mouth, looking at each of us with a calm expression on his face.
"This time, I want to hear about your lost love. I want to hear something sweet and sad, something that will make my heart tighten.
"Sh...... heartbroken......?"
King Maintia is shaking his head slowly, his eyes wide. He shakes his head slowly. "Brother, I didn't expect that story," he says. He closes his eyes and looks up at the heavens, groaning. Well, he has never experienced a broken heart since he used to take any interested girl to his room as soon as he found her. Next to him, Lafayence is pensive, stroking his mustache.
...... has fallen silent. I wonder why neither of them is talking. As I was thinking about this, my eyes met King Poseidon's. He smiles softly and does not take his eyes off me at all. Huh? ...... me? My broken heart? No, no, no, that's why I don't have much experience in love! No, I do, don't I? If you want to talk about a story like ...... where a girl hates me one way or another. But that's not what you're looking for, is it? I don't have that kind of sweet, sad heartbreak story!
I look at Lafayence next to me as if to ask for help ......, look at me. You've got a few stories of heartbreak, don't you! You just have to give it a shot!
"After all, this is King Agartha."
Suddenly, the king of Maintia opens his mouth. Seriously, you should shut your mouth.
"Hmm. Such quaint talk, my king. I'm sorry, but I'm counting on you."
...... General? General? No, keep your head down. ....... Wait a minute. No, seriously, give me a break!
I'm upset. But King Poseidon nods slowly, quietly. Why? What the hell is going on? Silence fell again in King Poseidon's room. .......