310 - Picture Diary
――Shannon was keeping a picture diary in her room.
Though Shannon was blind, she could see the flow of magic. To her, letters and drawings were basically meaningless.
However, recently she had started keeping a picture diary using ink and colored materials provided by Monica and the others. Miranda had half-forced her into it, saying that if she did nothing, her reading, writing, and calculation skills would decline.
Thus, with the support of the Valkyries, Shannon was keeping a picture diary.
Month ○, Day ×.
"Today, Lariel was being chased around by Fidel-san."
"Apparently, he forgot about Vera-san or something, and as she chased him, Lariel kept apologizing."
"Once released, Lariel vowed revenge on Erhart, who told her where he was."
"Actually, I was the one who told her. Lariel is mistaken."
"But thanks to that, I received lots of sweets from Fidel-san."
"I felt bad, so I gave some sweets to Erhart. He tilted his head in confusion, but I hope he'll forgive me with this."
Above the written entries in the diary were drawings of sweets, a drawing of Lariel being chased by Fidel, and a drawing of Erhart.
Even though she was receiving support, Shannon seemed to have an artistic sense, as she was able to draw figures that were reasonably recognizable. Since she could read the flow of magic and grasp the shapes of things, she could capture the forms.
However, colors were a bit tricky, and she had the Valkyries help her with the details. As a side note, the Valkyries helping her belonged to the Sarkrai Sisters Faction.
"Haa, finished~"
As Shannon stretched, a Valkyrie spoke.
"Your hands are dirty, so please wipe them first. Still, you've improved considerably since before. In that case, shall we provide you with a slightly better picture diary?"
Shannon rested her face on the desk.
"I don't want to. Before, three lines were enough, but now the amount is increasing, and I'm told to draw the pictures properly."
The Valkyrie dried Shannon's picture diary.
"Miranda-san would be happy, wouldn't she? Still, it was surprising that you had an artistic sense."
Shannon brushed back her hair. The Valkyrie said, "Ah, there's ink in your hair..." but she didn't care.
"As I thought, I really do have talent. See, a talented woman? That's why."
Watching Shannon show off, the Valkyrie felt a sense of warmth.
"That confidence, and those flawed parts of you, are the best. I pray that Shannon-san's Little Chick-sama inherits the flawed parts through the hybrid with the Master."
Shannon finally felt she was being made fun of, but what she wanted to ask was about the latter half.
Tilting her head.
"Normally, wouldn't you not want the flawed parts to be inherited?"
At that, the Valkyrie moved exaggeratedly. Since her expression didn't change, it felt somewhat ambiguous.
"That's not true! The more flawed they are, the more rewarding it is to serve them! By the way, Shannon-san is the most popular among the Valkyries."
Shannon thought.
(I wonder what this is... it's an evaluation that doesn't make me happy at all.)
As she was thinking that, Miranda returned to the room. She looked exhausted, likely because the meetings being held in South Banseime had continued for days.
The meetings continued without much progress, perhaps because there was no clear culprit. It was no wonder she was tired.
"Oh, just finished your picture diary? Let me see."
Miranda took Shannon's picture diary in her hand and read it.
"...Lariel was making a fuss about appointing Erhart as something called a Free Knight, but I wonder if this was the cause?"
Shannon received her picture diary back from Miranda.
"Free Knight?"
Free Knight――she understood the knight part, but she couldn't understand the free part. Then, Miranda took off her clothes in the room. As the Valkyrie collected the clothes, Miranda changed into the loungewear she had prepared while in her underwear.
"A knight who holds a knightly rank but has no liege lord, perhaps? Look, the guild is completely under Lariel's control. That's why he brought up the idea of giving knightly titles like that to trustworthy adventurer parties or mercenary groups."
Shannon found that strange.
"Giving a reward to someone he wants revenge on... it makes no sense. Or is it actually a terrible position?"
Miranda grinned.
"Not really. For an adventurer, it's the ultimate proof of trust. They're a knight recognized by the state. It's advantageous for entering official service, and the level of trust is different when doing work. Well, from Lariel's perspective, it seems he's saying that since he appointed them as knights, they should work hard for the sake of the world and the people. It's not even decided what kind of reward will be provided, so it might actually be quite a hassle. I would refuse it."
Shannon thought.
(Knowing Lariel, it probably isn't all benefits. Haa, maybe I should apologize to Erhart properly.)
"But I was the one who told him where Lariel was?"
When Shannon spoke awkwardly, Miranda waved her hand.
"Ah, it's fine. Apparently, Erhart actually cooperated with Fidel-san. You know, he was forced to take on those female adventurers before. It seems Erhart cooperated with Fidel-san as payback for that. He says he can't forgive that. If I recall... he said something like 'I'm working hard, so you work hard too' before. Well, it's just playful bickering between comrades."
Shannon thought. It wasn't that Erhart was just Erhart, or that she didn't understand why Lariel was angry, or anything like that.
(I didn't need to give him sweets. I'll rewrite the picture diary.)
Feeling frustrated, Shannon decided to rewrite her picture diary――.
"I'm working hard too. You work hard as well. Also, let me say congratulations, Erhart."
"You bastard, don't screw with me!"
South Banseime Adventurer's Guild.
Inside the cramped guild, I visited Erhart, carrying a small medal I had a craftsman prepare. I had gone through the trouble of calling him to the guild.
However, once I spoke, Erhart began to fume.
"I don't understand why you're angry. I'm simply evaluating you and promising appropriate treatment. The details aren't decided yet, but I've prepared a status as a knight without a liege lord. There's a reward as well."
The reward in the leather pouch was gold coins. It couldn't be called a lot, but to other adventurers, it was surely a large sum of money.
"Don't do unnecessary things! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!"
"I don't know what you mean. But with this, you'll be popular again. It's as if you've achieved the goal you had when we first met. Honestly, I'm envious."
In truth, I didn't feel envious at all. I just enjoyed being able to harass him. Erhart, who was worrying over women's problems――I was doing this knowing exactly that.
The Third Head inside the Orb also looked amused.
'In this world, revenge means doing things the opponent hates. Lariel, it's not revenge unless you do the thing that the individual hates most. A wonderful reward!'
I agreed with the Third Head's opinion.
Erhart, who was chased by Fidel-san and helped her――this bastard, despite saying he wanted a harem, he got furious when I provided one for him.
Moreover, he even retaliated. He returned a favor with enmity.
"Well, your future is secure now. As expected of the best adventurer in South Banseime. I'm looking forward to your future efforts. Ah, right... you can't refuse the acceptance. This is a system where the guild that produced a Free Knight also receives benefits. The guild is overjoyed."
With a smile, I pinned the medal on Erhart.
I had several prototypes prepared and chose the most suitable one to bring. From now on, this will serve as proof of being a Free Knight.
A Free Knight who has no liege but protects the powerless across national borders. I certainly hope they become something everyone admires.
The Third Head spoke with a serious tone.
'Well, it's no good to just tighten the leash on adventurers. It's important to show that there is hope like this.'
Erhart was looking past the guild counter. There, Marianne-san, whom Erhart admired, was looking our way.
The fact that she was waving her hand slightly with a happy expression was likely because Erhart received a medal and was recognized. Additionally, there were various benefits for the guild, so as a manager, she should be happy.
It was a proposal from the Third Head that created an atmosphere where he couldn't refuse, but seeing Erhart's frustrated expression, I felt happy, thinking it was a success.
...Well, a position as a knight that everyone admires. Moreover, since his future was secure, the surrounding adventurers were watching with intense interest.
From Erhart's perspective, he might have thought he didn't want to stand out any more than this.
After making sure the people around couldn't see my face, I grabbed both of Erhart's shoulders.
It had become warmer, but since he was wearing a tank top, his shoulders were exposed.
"I'm looking forward to your future efforts, Free Knight Erhart Baumann-kun."
A smile――I'm sure I was making a hateful smile, but I couldn't suppress my laughter.
In a whisper.
"Did you like my revenge?"
Erhart answered with a strained smile.
"Yeah, I loved it. I'll never forget this. Listen, absolutely never."
Around them, women were letting out squeals while looking at Erhart. Since he was active in South Banseime, he was indeed popular.
He'll likely become even more popular from now on.
The Third Head laughed.
'Doing good deeds makes one feel great.'
I thought so too.
A few days later.
In the skies above South Banseime, I was watching the ships leaving the port.
I was looking down at South Banseime from the back of Mei in her kirin form.
"Lariel, I heard you had a fight with Novem and haven't made up yet?"
A worried Mei spoke to me, and I nodded while feeling the cold wind high in the sky.
"It's more than a fight. I don't know what to do."
Then, Mei thought for a while and shook her head slightly.
"Humans are troublesome, aren't they? For us, we just get seeds from a strong male and that's the end of it."
"...Don't expect that kind of straightforward, or rather, dry relationship from humans. If that were enough, I wouldn't have to worry about a harem."
That's right. If everyone were that straightforward, I wouldn't have to worry about human relationships in a harem.
In stories, a harem is supposed to be gentler, or rather, sweeter. Yet, my harem isn't just bitter, it's clearly one step away from tasting blood. No, because we were inside the Orb, we've actually tried to kill each other for real.
One wrong step and it's a sea of blood.
"It would be solved if you just pinned them down."
"...Is it wrong to want us to reach a mutual understanding?"
Telling Mei my inner thoughts, I spent some time letting my thoughts wander high in the sky.
――Shannon's picture diary.
In it, there was a drawing of Lariel with a red face, drinking alcohol with Jule.
'Lariel said he wanted to have a drinking party and drank alcohol, ignoring everyone's attempts to stop him.'
'As expected, he collapsed before finishing his first glass.'
'Jule was laughing.'
'She said she'll bring weaker alcohol next time.'
'Ludmilla was also there, giving the collapsed Lariel a lap pillow.'
'Her friend Eliza looked conflicted. But she was stopped by her older sister.'
'Glacia and Ludmilla were glaring at each other, and it was scary.'
Shannon, who was drying her picture diary, was reading back through her previous entries.
"This happened too, didn't it."
Now she wrote in more detail, and her drawings had improved. She felt a bit embarrassed, but she kept it every day, and it had become a precious treasure.
Looking out the window――no, turning her face, she felt the sunlight on her skin.
Rather than warm, the hot sunlight made her feel exhausted.
The seasons had shifted, and it was now summer.
The grand meeting held to oppose Banseime.
Two months had passed since then, and it was already summer. Lariel and the others, who were moving with securing food as their top priority, were working busily in Lufence and Beim.
Shannon was working in the royal castle of Lufence, spending her days mainly doing chores.
"Once summer ends, autumn comes and the harvest, then――"
Then, it's finally time for the decisive battle.
They had defeated the strongest house in Banseime, the Walt family. Many of the nations participating in the alliance were optimistic. Still, it remained a fact that Banseime possessed an army of hundreds of thousands.
Even after the tomb for Meizel was built, Celes continued her atrocities in Banseime.
Scenes that made one want to cover their eyes were becoming commonplace in Banseime.
Voices from their allies calling for immediate action were also growing stronger.
However, it was also a fact that they didn't have enough food to move. Additionally, the reconstruction of the devastated Beim was an urgent matter.
Shannon checked her dry picture diary and closed it. Then, she leaned her face out of the open window and looked outside.
Through the flow of magic, she could know the surrounding situation.
She gazed at Lariel's camp, which was better prepared than before. There were many problems at first after dismantling the Walt family's army and reorganizing it, but now they were united in the goal of overthrowing Banseime.
The preparations were beginning to be complete――.