Chapter 77

It's a month before the book's release!

I planned to post it on New Year's Day, but since it's within three days, it's still safe!

Writing it from the 29th was a bit too much...

It was when she decided to hold an event and went to ask about the schedule from various places.

"So, I've entrusted the stage preparations to Opus."

"There's no other way. I'll prepare something special."

"Thanks a lot—"

She was the only daughter who was puzzled by the unusually cheerful head of the family.

The memory that resurfaced, "Ah, this is a bad one," told the whole story.

It was the same with her own birthday and the day she first used magic.

For the upcoming celebration a few days later, Kena asked the elf maid, the cat-eared maid, and the cat-eared butler to prepare the food, and set out to invite others.

The elf maid, called by Opus, almost never follows the original master's instructions.

As a result, she has settled into a position similar to the head maid in this house. Well, it's an old story now.

"Then, Miss Luca, let's all make the food together."

"Make the food, together?"

"Yes, Miss Kena will gather everyone, so I'm sure it will be a noisy feast."

The elf maid, Siren, smiled and encouraged Luca.

While showing a loving smile to Luca, she didn't forget to throw a spatula at the cat-eared maid and butler, who were sending murderous glares with ingredients in their hands.

As expected of the head maid of this house, she has a thorough grip on the subordinates. But who influenced her to throw cooking utensils?

The first place Kena visited was the Felskeiro temple. Her purpose was to meet her son there.

Unlike when they first met, Scalgo, who had married, should have calmed down in his display of affection towards his mother.

Probably. Hopefully. As an optimistic prediction.

Kena, who rarely does so, knocked on the high priest's office door, and a cute woman's voice replied, "Yes," and the door opened automatically.

The one who appeared was not a maid but a lady-in-waiting, someone Kena knew.

She bowed her head upon confirming Kena and called out, "Miss Kena has arrived," before inviting her in.

"Mother!"

Greeting her with sparkling effects was a mountain of documents piled high on the desk.

"Welcome, mother-in-law."

Bowing in the room, Mairine Luskeiro, who had just married Scalgo and become Kena's daughter-in-law, greeted her. She is the first in line to the throne of Felskeiro and a current princess.

Thanks to this, Kena's position has become quite peculiar.

First, her occupation is an adventurer. But she has connections with the royal families of various countries and a strong pipeline with merchants spanning the continent.

Furthermore, she is a High Elf, a race that is almost divine to the elves. If anyone were to harm her, it would turn the entire continent of elves against them.

Add to that the mother of the next Queen of Felskeiro.

It's no wonder she is treated like a sore spot by everyone except her close friends.

Well, that's not really relevant this time.

While Mairine was relaxing in the high priest's office, it was just right for Kena to take care of her business.

"Mai, are you here from the morning?"

"No, I finished my own work and then came here."

"You seem to have become more capable since you got married."

"Is that so? I don't really feel that way myself, but I'm glad you say so, mother-in-law."

"Being called 'mother-in-law' by someone I used to think of as a friend is really awkward..."

"That's just a formal thing, so you'll have to get used to it."

With a smile, Mairine folded her hands in front of her chest, and Kena could only nod with a face that looked like she had bitten into a bitter pill.

It's a noble custom, but for some reason, she couldn't accept it.

"So, what is it you need, Mother?"

The mountain of documents asked, and Kena, who had been pretending not to notice, turned to face it.

"Isn't the successor thing still not settled?"

"No, a few candidates have been decided, but now we're having trouble with the training methods..."

"Training methods?"

"Well, I don't really remember how I got to this position."

"...Hey."

Here, the aftereffects of the game era are showing up. Kena can only be speechless.

But that's Scalgo's problem now, so Kena decided not to interfere at all.

"Ah, by the way, Mai. Can you make it on the first day of the new year?"

"Whoosh!?"

"The mountain of documents is noisy. Just be quiet for a moment!"

"...Yes."

Mairine smiled wryly at Kena's rather rough treatment of her son.

"On the first day of the new year?"

It's not that far off. In fact, it's just a few days away.

"Usually, Father gives a new greeting to the people from the balcony in the castle, and then it's Scalgo's sermon."

"Hmm, hmm. You should get used to calling him by his name now that you're married."

"Y-Yes. After that, the nobles who live in the capital come to greet us, but I think it will be over by the fifth bell."

The bell is something that started ringing about a year ago in the border village.

Currently, in the border village, they ring the bell every two hours from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

It was set up because people were skipping lunch and not returning home due to the expansion of the fields.

The first bell rings at 6:00 AM, and the seventh bell at 6:00 PM.

It's unclear how it spread, but it seems that the capital of Felskeiro and the country of Helsper also started ringing the bell recently.

Kena, who visited, was quite confused.

"There's no banquet, right?"

"That's on the second day. It's called the Reward Ceremony, where we invite nobles and knights who have distinguished themselves in the previous year and give them rewards. The summoning letters have already been sent, so many people have been staying in the capital since the other day."

"Hmm. So, can you not come to the banquet at my place from when the sixth bell rings until late at night?"

"Your banquet?"

"Mother's!?"

Scalgo, parting the mountain of documents like Moses, showed her face with a waterfall behind her.

"Right, right. I want to gather the family, so if possible, could you invite the king, queen, and Denji as well?"

"Really!?"

"Just a bit. If we continue to have dealings with each other, I want to build some immunity to a certain fool. It would be good to do it now."

"H-Ha..."

"Just think of it as a casual get-together."

"I understand. I'll let Father and the others know."

"Thanks. Oh, and I don't think you need to come in a heavily decorated outfit. I think it will be mostly commoners here."

"H-Ha..."

Although the foremost commoner is right in front of her, Mairine, who has experienced that delving into it would lead to a dark, negative spiral, swallowed her words.

"Where are you going next, Mother?"

As Kena was about to leave the room with a wave of her hand, Scalgo asked.

"I'll go to Helsper after telling Mai."

"Eh...?"

Scalgo, who could guess the people she was going to invite from that answer alone, was confused. Mairine, who didn't notice her husband's frozen state, asked about something she had been thinking about.

"Mother-in-law! There's a possibility you might not be able to go out without a guard."

"Then a captain of the knights should be fine. He barely fits into the family category."

"Ah, I see. I'll check on that."

Kena said, "I'll come to the castle to pick you up on the day," and then went to Mai's place.

However, because the academy was on break, she couldn't find the baron's house in the capital and had to return to the temple again, which is a side note.

---

On that day.

After taking Keilina and Keirick to the venue (she invited Izuu as well, but he declined, saying he couldn't leave the Sakai household empty), Kena went to the castle to pick up the Felskeiro group.

The king, Tryst, and queen, Arna, the princess, Mairine, and prince, Diorc, the high priest, Scalgo, and the captain of the knights, Shining Saber, six people in total, were transported to the party venue by teleportation.

Mai and her husband, Rops, were already there, having been transported by Opus.

The first thing the people who landed in the venue saw was the green land spreading beneath their feet.

The floor, which seemed to be transparent, was so clear that it was hard to believe it was there.

Everyone thought they had been thrown into the air and let out pitiful screams, "Aaaaah!?" before sitting on the ground and feeling the floor with their hands.

Then, they regained their composure from the gazes of those around them and were greeted with warm eyes, as if to say, "I went through the same thing."

This was the starting point for a natural conversation.

Everyone felt relieved to share their experiences, and there was no hesitation in talking about what they felt.

"Look, with this calculated strategy, the barriers of status are removed."

"Isn't there a limit to that!?"

If Opus's calculation included being punched and flown away by Kena, then so be it.

This was a dome-shaped banquet hall with a transparent floor, set up about two hundred meters above the forest, slightly upstream of the Edge Great River from the capital of Felskeiro.

The venue was created and set up by Opus.

When asked why it was floating in the air, he said, "Well, it's 'connected' to this space, so it won't fall."

Everyone except Kena tilted their heads at this explanation, but when she explained it as "teleportation magic," everyone understood.

It was that simple.

"It's been a long time, Mother. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Y-Yes..."

"Yes, it's been, hii, fuu, mii, yoo... How many years has it been?"

"H-Ha..."

Immediately in a corner of the venue, a mother and her twin children, who hadn't seen each other in decades, were sparking.

"By the way, how many years has that child not seen a child's face?"

"That's not something a mother should say."

"Ah, right. Sorry."

Kena, whose muttered words were picked up by Katsutsu, apologized.

"Is this all of it?"

"Probably, in terms of family."

"Um, there are the royal family of Felskeiro, the great merchants of Helsper, and the royal family of Outarques... They're all such prestigious people, it's intimidating to invite them..."

"In that case, it's best to pretend not to know them."

"......Ah."

Katsutsu's resignation came quickly, realizing that it was useless to say anything.

He understood that there was no end to criticizing Kena's motherly virtue? Or the virtue of a High Elf.

The venue was about a hundred meters in diameter, which was more than enough for a party of a dozen or so people.

The size was not noticeable when you saw the numerous play equipment lined up along the walls, as each one was large.

In the center, several round tables with white tablecloths were lined up for a standing party, and a variety of colorful dishes were arranged on them.

There were many rare dishes that could only be made with skills.

Siren and the others could use cooking skills properly, and the rest were made with Luca's leadership, as Kena had heard.

Nodding in agreement, Kena was pleased to see Luca's growth, as she was flying around everywhere.

"Aunt, I'm starting ahead of you."

"Sure, go ahead. You seem to be having fun, Sahara Shade."

"Yes, it's a relief to be away from official duties, even if only for a while."

Seeing the physicalized "hmm" flowing from her mouth, Kena smiled wryly.

Nothing has changed, she thought.

Actually, Kena hadn't planned to invite Sahara Shade, but Opus brought her along.

Despite being on bad terms with Sahana, her daughter didn't seem to have the same feelings. Kena's concern turned out to be unnecessary.

Sahana was contacted, but she didn't respond, so her participation was postponed.

Sahara Shade then joined the Felskeiro group.

"Ah, Kena. The food here is wonderful! If possible, I'd like to poach the chef."

"Y-You?"

"Ah, no, no. Of course, I hope you understand it's a joke."

It seemed Tryst and Arna were relaxed enough to display the power dynamics in their marriage.

Kena could only smile wryly, not knowing what to say.

Stepping forward from the side, Sahara Shade bowed slightly.

"It's been a while, King of Felskeiro. I deeply appreciate your assistance with the recent incident."

"Ah, Queen Sahara Shade. I didn't expect to meet you here. I apologize for the recent incident."

Trying not to get involved in politics, Kena introduced Sahara Shade to Tryst and the others, who might be wondering why she was there.

"Sahara Shade is my sister's daughter."

"What!?"

"Really!?"

Without mentioning that she was a "sister" in the game, Kena introduced her.

As the host, Kena didn't want to get involved in the complicated conversations between the royal families and left the scene after a brief introduction.

This was a family gathering, a casual event, and she hadn't gone through enough trials to be able to keep up with such formalities.

While making excuses in her mind, she avoided the crowd and picked up some food from a table at the edge.

Siren and the others were the only ones busy moving around the venue.

Kena had said they didn't need to take care of each individual, but she had entrusted them with the transportation and cleanup of the food.

She had promised them a 2-3 day vacation afterward, but since they considered doing what they liked as work, Opus planned to throw them into a hot spring villa fortress he had built in the mountains.

While watching everyone chatting and enjoying themselves, Kena was eating the food when someone approached her.

"What's up, Shining Saber?"

"I was told to guard, but I'm so out of place, I don't know what to do."

A silver dragon person in white armor was extremely noticeable.

Kena, exasperated, said, "There's no enemy here, you know. Don't you have any civilian clothes? Why don't you change?"

"It's just a formality. I won't take them off. I'll just hide my shield and sword."

Shining Saber, who had only removed his weapons, finally started eating.

For a while, the only sound was the two of them eating silently.

A few people were watching them from a distance, but Kena, who was relaxed, didn't notice.

Kena's inner key was observing the scene.

"Hey."

"What?"

"I want to clear up the misunderstanding about our relationship..."

"Oh, that. It's because you suddenly carried me princess-style!"

"No, I'm sorry. I've reflected on it. I was wrong."

It seemed that Shining Saber's mischief had led to the action, and he hadn't considered the long-term effects. As the captain, Kena sighed, hoping he would be more aware of how he was perceived by his subordinates.

"Ah!"

"What? What is it?"

"Why don't we really date and see how it goes?"

"......What?"

Shining Saber froze, and a golden and blue figure from the group watching them almost jumped out but was pulled down and silenced. It was an unfortunate accident.

Kena, with a suspicious smile on her lips, leaned close to Shining Saber.

The silver dragon person, who made a cracking sound and turned into a plaster statue, stiffened.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,