Volume 3 Chapter 3 Time Limit
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Sistemador Perspective
hrough the secretary, I requested a meeting and was led to the queen’s office.
It’s been a while since I entered here, but… the room seems much more cluttered than before.
”Your Majesty, I apologize for intruding during your busy schedule. There’s something urgent I wish to discuss…”
Noticing my gaze on her desk, Queen Asuka smiled wryly.
”It’s a mess, isn’t it? All of this is paperwork awaiting my approval. I’ve already made quite a dent in it. Honestly… it piles up quickly without the chief secretary.”
”Oh, please take care of yourself. So…”
I reported on the status of meetings with Reina and consulted the queen about obtaining Baron Tethyrkan’s assistance to investigate trends in past naturally occurring gates.
”I see. I can request Baron Tethyrkan to visit the Royal Capital. However… unless we can pinpoint the lost magic tools and equipment, discovering the gate won’t help us, right? Is there anything you need on your side?”
”…the most troublesome part is… when capturing a naturally occurring gate, we need to generate a large amount of energy from mana to channel into the magical tools. We can’t just carry a lot of mages around, so there was a magical tool that could store energy converted from mana for transport. Creating it requires considerable time and effort. The military joint research institute took 5 years to make one.”
”I see… understood. Then I will request cooperation from Baron Tethyrkan. Please proceed with the development of those magical tools as quickly as possible, Sistemador.”
”My Queen. May I have a moment?”
Then Chancellor Rainsheyn entered. And behind him… Senate President Weinbecker?
”Well, I’m going to leave now,” I said, but Senate President Weinbecker stopped me.
”Wait, Lord Sistemador. It would be convenient for you to hear this as well. So, Your Majesty. This is the consensus of the Senate, but I would like you to cease the research related to the gate that Lord Sistemador is currently involved in!”
”Eh!?” The suddenness of it has even Queen Asuka flabbergasted.
”Ah, I apologize. I spoke too harshly. I mean not to say cease, but rather to revert to the budget and policies prior to the gate’s damage.”
”But Senate President… Assistant Claudel and Mr. Yuuta are…”
”I am fully aware of that. However, it has been a year and a half since the two went missing. In a normal disaster, we would have declared hopelessness long ago. Given that the Chancellor’s daughter is involved, everyone has turned a blind eye until now, but to summon engineers from neighboring countries and require 3 times the military budget… how can we allow this given the current state of the nation!?”
”Ah…” It was indeed a sound argument, leaving Queen Asuka speechless. Still, she tried to find her words.
”But Senate President… we have finally gained assistance from Emperor Balmstra, and we are just getting started…”
”That doesn’t justify trading it for the Chief Secretary Puruun! The communication between the legislative and executive branches is already showing signs of strain. Her role is not insignificant! Therefore, as a parliament, we recommend withdrawing the imperial support team and reclaiming the Chief Secretary. And Your Majesty, regarding your pregnancy, the lords are finally settling down, so allocating too many national resources to the gate could be interpreted as your own greed regarding Lord Yuuta, causing future troubles!”
Having been told so much, Queen Asuka stood motionless, tears streaming down her face.
”Well, well, Senate President. Even so, it concerns my daughter… At least another year, or 6 months will suffice. Could we maintain the cooperation with Lord Sistemador and the Imperial Technology Guild? The budget will be based on the previous one; I will manage within my research expenses…”
Chancellor Rainsheyn said, throwing a lifeline.
”Hmm… I see. If you can work within that budget, I’ll explain to the assembly. However… 6 months! Please provide some results within that time. After that, it’s a premise that you’ll bring back Chief Secretary Puruun! Also… oh, right. We’re proceeding to have Viscount Aaron officially file the marriage registration with Lady Akari. If not, the framework I’m explaining to the lords and citizens may come under suspicion…”
With that, Senate President Weinbecker left.
”Queen… I’m sorry for summarizing things without permission.”
Chancellor Rainsheyn apologized to Queen Asuka, looking regretful.
”No… Chancellor Rainsheyn. Thank you. The assembly’s concerns are quite valid… I believe that’s the best we can do. However…”
Queen Asuka seemed to be holding back tears; her feelings were painfully clear to me.
Yet, “That’s right, Your Majesty. I also intend to do my utmost to manage with the resources provided,” I said, but working with the previous budget felt quite harsh, making it seem nearly impossible within 6 months.
Now, how should I explain this to Reina…? Pondering this, I left the queen’s office.
* * *
*Asuka Perspective
”Look, Your Majesty. I brewed some herbal tea for you.”
”Oh…Thank you Ms. Beyond…Did you hear it just now?”
”Yes, that’s true. But it’s still a problem. Even the Queen can’t ignore the parliament and spend a huge amount of money.”
”That’s right… The chancellor did say he’d cover the costs if necessary, but 3 times the military budget is… And in 6 months… Ah, Mr. Yuuta. Ms. Claudel. I’m so sorry…”
Ms. Sharlin, who had been quietly standing behind me, spoke up as I sobbed.
”Your Majesty, please don’t be so down. It’s alright. It’s Yuuta we’re talking about, so he might be over there getting along with Lady Claudel, maybe even having a child!”
”Wha! Stop it, ShaSha! That’s not encouraging!”
Ms. Beyond panicked. But thinking like that made me feel a little better.
”Hehe, that’s true. Thank you, Ms. Sharlin. As long as they’re safe and doing well, that gives me some relief,” I smiled again, and Ms. Sharlin looked a bit relieved too.
”No, Your Majesty. I was very rude… But that gate really is a tough problem, isn’t it? I can’t quite understand, but I thought something like… could be done with magic easily…”
Right?
If magic could handle it easily, that would be the best… But what would Mr. Yuuta do in this situation?
Probably, knowing him, he’d try every possible method one by one.
Humans can’t use magic, yet they can do so many things…
Ahhhhh!!
Oh, I see.
That possibility exists.
Speaking of which, somewhere… I hurried over to the mountain of documents piled on the desk in the office.
Right, since it wasn’t for approval, I set it aside… Ah, there it is.
This is it!
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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