Chapter 38 – Invitation

“We’re back.”

“We’re back~! I’m really hungry~!”

Welcome home, El and Chrom.
A lot of work again today?”

It’s night, after we finished working on processing the flowers.

I return home with El, and the dinner that Miss Reina made is already on the table.

Every plate is decorated with colorful edible flowers, and the salad and yogurt have plenty of freshly taken pure honey and bee pollen.

This is kind of like the local cuisine of Almana, and that sweetness really hits the spot when I’m so tired.

“Ahh… I didn’t expect paperwork to be so exhausting.
Swinging a sword doesn’t get me this tired no matter how many times I do it.”

El’s father Mister Sirius is exhausted too for once.

He’s the feudal lord of this town, so he’s very busy this time of the year.

We keep having a nice, peaceful meal, until…

“I heard you put in a lot of work today, Chrom.”

“Eh?”

Says Miss Reina all of a sudden, like she’s teasing me.

“People are talking about it.
How apparently this year things are moving a lot faster because of you.”

“Ah, I heard that too.
People are fighting over what kind of work Chrom is going to do.”

“You’ve really become someone the townspeople can count on.”

“H-have I…?”

Someone they can count on…

That’s something that wouldn’t have even crossed my mind the first time around.

I couldn’t use magic, so I was called Chrom the failure and always felt embarrassed…

That really changed over the course of these ten days.

“But… That means tomorrow is going to be trouble.
El and Chrom are going to the capital.”

Says Miss Reina, and Mister Sirius scratches his silver hair.

“Yes… That’s tomorrow already.”

Yes, starting tomorrow, El and I will be staying in the capital for a while.

It all started five days ago.
A week ago, I saved my childhood friend Labrys from the Sorcerer Association… And I received an invitation to the Scarlet family mansion, obviously to thank me.

The Scarlet family is one of the four big houses of the Kingdom of Historia, so I can’t reject an invitation from them unless I have a very good reason.

And since Almana is peaceful and close to the capital, that reason doesn’t exist.
That means I accepted that invitation along with El, but…

“Are you done preparing to travel?”

“Yes, but it’s not like the capital is far anyway.”

“Geez dad, you worry too much.”

I feel a little relieved as we have a cheerful conversation.

(…It looks like this whole idea of going to the capital is going smoothly.)

This invitation from the Scarlet family is actually not a coincidence.

It all started a week ago, after I saved Labrys.

“…Chrom, you’re going to keep fighting the Sorcerer Association, right? I want to fight alongside you… I guess I’ll just be getting in your way in an actual battle, but I might be able to help in other ways.”

Proposed Labrys, and I answered.

“Well then, can I stay in your house? And can I meet your father?”

“…!? W-w-w-w-where did that come from?”

Labrys smoothed things over with her father very quickly, and two days later, we received an invitation.

(…Just when I want to go to the capital.)

Ende, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Historia.

In my previous life, it was destroyed nine days ago, but since I killed the demon king that destroyed it, the future changed.

Because of that, I can go there after the eleventh day of the fourth month, something I couldn’t do in my previous life.

A land I couldn’t step foot in before.

People and documents lost in that future are still there now.

The royal capital is like a powder keg.
Demon king transformation research is being done nearby, and according to documents I read in the future, the twelve sages sneakily come and go frequently.

Those people should be there now.

The twelve sages of the Sorcerer Association.

Twelve of the strongest people in the world, and the twelve who caused the destruction in that future.

And among them, two…

(…The seeds are already sown.)

The destruction in that future wasn’t a natural disaster, it was man-made.

That means I can’t just avoid incidents that happened in that future… I have to take the initiative and crush the key people responsible for leading the world to ruin.

The groundwork for that was done a week ago, when I fought the Sorcerer Association.

“…? Chrom? What’s wrong? You look all serious again.”

“Eh?”

Before I know it, El is peeking at my face.

Apparently I worried her because I went silent all of a sudden and looked very serious.

I play it off by laughing.

“I was just thinking about what to do there.”

“Is that it? But you’re right, I haven’t traveled in a while.
I’m really looking forward to it too.”

El innocently smiles.

I want to protect this smile.
I have to.

Status, fame, wealth… I don’t need any of that.

I just don’t want to lose this peaceful time.
I don’t want to go back to that future where I couldn’t save anyone.

Save everything.

That’s the whole reason why I came back to this time.