T/N: Yellow Leaves -> Golden Leaves

While Zenjirou was checking the progress of the Golden Leaves with Princess Freya in Valentia, General Puyol applied for an audience with Queen Aura.

With a military post as general and as a minister of civil affairs, he certainly has every right to request an audience with the ruler at any time, but he rarely exercises that right.

It goes without saying, but the posts of minister or general are only held by high-ranking n.o.bles and the main authorities of the country. For better or worse, high-ranking n.o.bles are shackled by various obligations and factions. As such, their actions are limited in the long run.

Those that try to clumsily do things on their own tend to be chided with the words You lost your composure or Its an act not befitting your standing.

However, not paying attention to such common sense and judgemental gazes is what makes General Puyol General Puyol.

I hoped that he might mellow out a bit after getting married, but I guess its the same as usual with him. (Aura)

The secretary with the slender face waiting next to the sighing queen replies expressionlessly as always,

General Puyol mellowing out is as unlikely a future as Your Majesty becoming ladylike, isnt it? (Fabio)

Hoh, so basically youre saying that theres a future where General Puyol will settle down? (Aura)

The secretary raises his thin eyebrows with a twitch, smiling.

Oh? It seems as if Your Majesty wants to say that you have become ladylike? (Fabio)

Of course, thats what Im exactly saying. You don't know, dear fool, just how womanly and graceful I become when I'm alone with my husband. (Aura)

I have never been so thankful that I havent had the chance to step into the inner palace as now. (Fabio)

What do you mean by that? (Aura)

Please pardon me from an explanation. I dont want to be arrested for lese majeste yet. (Fabio)

If I held you to the normal standards for lese majeste, it wouldnt be enough even if you had several heads. (Aura)

As the queen and her secretary crack their usual jokes, theres a knock at the door, and the strong voice of a man from the other side.

Excuse me! General Puyol has come for an audience. Is it alright to let him in?

The queen answers the guarding knight with clear yes,

Show him in. (Aura)

Hearing her voice, the door was opened with a clank.

Excuse me. (Puyol)

The one who entered was a man in the prime of his life, the military uniform of the Carpa Kingdom barely containing a huge frame that had been trained to the limits General Puyol Guilln.

Its nice of you to have come. Please, have a seat. (Aura)

Yes, Your Majesty! Excuse me! (Puyol)

With the queens permission, the general calmly strides into the room, and sits down on the sofa opposite of the queen.

The sofa, which was made for an ordinary person, definitely shouldnt be suitable for the giant General Puyol, but his sitting posture is not awkward at all.

Probably because he has such control over his body.

Queen Aura, moistening her throat with a sip of tea, gets right to the point and asks,

So, whats your business with me? (Aura)

When dealing with General Puyol, whos slightly disconnected from n.o.ble conversation etiquette, this much is fine. This man opposite of me vastly prefers a point-blank conversation that doesnt waste any time.

Just as she thought, General Puyol didnt utter a single complaint towards the queens blunt words, and said,

First Id like to extend my congratulations. (Puyol)

Hmm? If youre congratulating me for my pregnancy, I remember that I received it a good while ago already, though? (Aura)

The general smoothly continues despite the queen's fruitless efforts at playing dumb,

Thats not it. Rather than Your Majestys auspicious pregnancy, Im expressing my congratulations towards Zenjirou-sama grasping Teleport. (Puyol)

So, as expected, its about that, huh?

The queen clicked her tongue inside her mind.

Its been a mere few days since Zenjirou succeeded in invoking Teleport.

They still havent announced that fact yet.

Nonetheless, there are several eye-witnesses such as the guard knights and the maids working in the royal palace. They havent been forbidden to speak about it in particular.

Hence, its not all that strange that n.o.bles, who have sharp ears, already know about the fact that Zenjirou has grasped Teleport.

However, even if the news spread, there still has not been an official announcement. To apply for an audience in this gap and start talking about congratulations is something that only General Puyol could do.

The queen deliberately sighs dramatically and glares at the man sitting across from her.

You do have very good ears. Even though I had planned to announce it officially once the situation settled down a bit more. (Aura)

The spell Teleport accounts for an exceedingly large percentage of the s.p.a.ce-Time Magicthat the royal family uses. The existence of this spell might very well be defined as the reason the Carpa Kingdom could become a major power that reigns supreme over the west of the southern continent.

Just increasing the number of users for this spell by one holds great significance for the current Carpa Kingdom.

Basically the royal family offers the use of Teleport for domestic and foreign n.o.bles as long as they receive a fixed compensation.

Because after the great war, apart from Queen Aura, no one could cast it, opportunities to use it dropped sharply. Now that the prince consort, someone with a lower standing than the queen, had accomplished it, the rich high-ranking n.o.bles will expect to be able to receive his favor.

My husband is currently in Valentia. He will probably come back within a few days, but the places to which my husband can transfer to with Teleport are still very limited. (Aura)

The queen scowls and uses those words to remind him of Zenjirou's newness to the spell, believing that the aim of General Puyol, who went as far as requesting an audience for the express purpose of congratulating Zenjirou, might be to book Zenjirous Teleport before anyone else.

However, the general responds to her remark without showing any particular discomfort.

I am well aware. Zenjirou-samas wishes should be most important when discussing Zenjirou-samas Teleport.

Zenjirou-sama always said that he wanted to head to the Twin Kingdom as soon as he grasped Teleport, didnt he? (Puyol)

Yes, thats true. (Aura)

The queen honestly confirmed the generals question.

Since we constantly declared that Zenjirou would travel to the Twin Kingdom, theres no reason to hide it at this point in time.

There is only one reason why Zenjirou-sama would want to go to the Twin Kingdom so badly. It must be his worries for Your Majestys body. Once Zenjirou-sama is able to go to the Twin Kingdom with Teleport, he will also be able to bring a healing pract.i.tioner of the Jilbell family in an emergency after all. (Puyol)

Yesindeed. (Aura)

The queen confirms this since she's quite aware of that fact herself, but hearing about her husbands pa.s.sionate love from someone else makes her feel a bit embarra.s.sed, too.

Just as Zenjirou-sama worried, you are now pregnant, Your Majesty. Taking that into consideration, its my humble opinion that Zenjirou-sama might want to head to the Twin Kingdom at once. (Puyol)

I dare say thats very likely my husbands wish, but its a pointless exercise. After all we are now in the Rainy Season and afterwards we will enter the Hottest Season. Traveling to the Twin Kingdom will have to wait until the Vibrant Season, right? (Aura)

Aura said, shrugging her shoulders.

Theres no need for Zenjirou himself to adhere to the seasons since he can be transferred with Auras Teleport, but its different when it comes to his personal guards and the maids who are going to take care of his personal well-being.

Because Aura doesnt have the spare time to cast Teleport for all that personnel, they have no other option but to travel the land route. For this reason they cant escape the seasons conditions, no matter what they do.

Traveling during the Rainy Season when the roads turn into mud or rivers due to the heavy rain is out of the question. Traveling during the Hottest Seasonis also fairly difficult, accounting for the time lost in the middle of the day to the siesta.

Long-term travel should be done during the Vibrant Season if at all possible, especially if the journey is expected to include unfamiliar terrain, like traveling to a distant country in the central region of the southern continent.

Even General Puyol should know this, however he still bends forward and objects.

However, Your Majesty, you are already in the middle of your pregnancy. Do you think that Zenjirou-sama has the mental fort.i.tude to wait until the Vibrant Season ? (Puyol)

If all goes to plan, Aura should give birth to her second child around the middle of the Vibrant Season, according to Doctor Mich.e.l.le.

Carpa Kingdoms Vibrant Season is equivalent to autumn and winter in j.a.pan. In other words, the Vibrant Season lasts for half a year.

With simple arithmetic, if they leave as soon as the Vibrant Season starts, they should have three months before Aura's scheduled delivery, but life isnt that simple.

An expected delivery date is nothing more than just that. The possibility of a premature delivery naturally exists. The dangers for a pregnant woman arent limited to just the birth either. Its not wrong that the delivery is the most dangerous period, but it is quite possible that her physical condition will suddenly deteriorate even before the delivery.

If you consider that, General Puyols opinion that Zenjirou-sama should go to the Twin Kingdom as quickly as possible, as he desires is completely correct.

Understanding that, the queen becomes serious.

What are you suggesting that we do then? (Aura)

Yes. As expected, I must admit that traveling for an extended period of time during the Rainy Season is suicidal. However, I believe that its not impossible if you choose trained soldiers and dispatch them at the beginning of the Hottest Season. (Puyol)

Hmm, the beginning of the Hottest Season, you say? (Aura)

The queen didn't immediately reject General Puyols proposal, mulling it over.

Although its coined as the

Hottest Season

, obviously it's not as if the same temperature persists the entire three months.

The temperature rises the most during the middle month. The months before and after it are more or less easy to bear.

But then again the easy to bear is only in comparison against the worst month, when the temperature is only a little over 35 C rather than 40 C.

The queen considers these facts and shakes her head again.

No, even then its still no good. I admit that the possibility for success is fairly high, but there are also many dangers that cant be ignored.

The journey to the Twin Kingdom pa.s.ses through unknown areas. Its not just a problem of distance either. Its not like you dont know that, right? (Aura)

Just as Aura pointed out, traveling along an unknown path and a well-known path are completely different issues.

The fast and slow dragons of this world are leagues above horses and donkeys in regards to transport ability. Moreover there's still the ultimate cheat skill that is magic, which the old Earth is no match for, but even so, various problems await such a long-term travel.

How long do you have to follow the road until you reach the next human habitat? Where can water sources be found? Traveling without such information is extremely difficult. To say nothing of the reduced travel speed due to needing to take a rest during the day in the Hottest Season. Moreover, the necessary amount of water will increase the higher the temperature becomes.

Information about watering places and feeding grounds for the dragons is indispensable, too.

Even though those can be compensated with magic, that also has a limit.

General Puyol completely agrees with Aura but has more to say,

Yes, youre right. It will be dangerous if it's just us. But, if theres a guide familiar with the route, those issues should be solvable.

Therefore I propose using the pretext of allowing about half of the guards of Prince Francesco and Princess Bona, who have come from the Twin Kingdom, to be replaced and return to their country and have them accompany us in the process. (Puyol)

What? (Aura)

That was an unexpected proposal.

The general continues explaining to the queen, whose eyes are wide with surprise,

By the next Hottest Season, it will have been a year since Their Highnesses have come to the Carpa Kingdom. Its probably a time when the escorting soldiers will start becoming homesick.

They will very likely accept this proposal if our side shoulders the expenses caused by the travel, dont you think? They are the ones who most recently traveled the route we are trying to use, albeit from the opposite direction. Its my humble opinion that we might be able to keep the issues during the travel at a minimum, even during the Hottest Season, with them as guides. (Puyol)

Hmm (Aura)

As its an extremely pragmatic though unexpected suggestion, Aura carefully considers it once more.

Certainly, if they are accompanied by the people of the Twin Kingdom, who have traveled the route already, there will be significantly fewer problems.

Thinking back, Prince Francesco and Princess Bona arrived from the Twin Kingdom right before the

Vibrant Season

, during the

Hottest Season

.

Its certainly true that this also serves as proof of them having successfully arrived in the Carpa Kingdom.

Besides that, General Puyols opinion is very likely not mistaken.

Spending a year in a completely different culture, experiencing varying degrees of homesickness is completely normal.

The proposal of allowing half the guards to return home should be greeted with approval, at least among the soldiers present here.

If the Carpa Kingdom takes charge of the financial burdens as General Puyol suggested, even the higher-ups of the Twin Kingdom shouldnt object. And if the Carpa Kingdom can buy its soldiers safety with money, that is an acceptable expense.

With this, Aura completely changes her att.i.tude and begins tackling this problem with a positive approach. Leaning forward on the sofa, she cross-examines the general.

I understand your proposal. Certainly, if we follow it, it will improve our chances. However, that also creates another problem. The representative of the guard unit for the prince and princess is naturally a fairly high-ranking knight.

If our side doesnt appoint someone of equal position as a representative, the leaders.h.i.+p of the journey will be entirely reliant on the other side. (Aura)

For Aura that was a question she believed had to be answered before all else.

That concern is very natural. Therefore, with your permission, I would like to personally take this task. (Puyol)

And General Puyols answer was just as Aura had expected.

If he becomes the person in charge of the guard unit, he will always be near Zenjirou during the stay in the Twin Kingdom.

For someone trying to curry favor with the prince consort Zenjirou, thats an outstandingly good opportunity.

Once Queen Aura sighs dramatically,

Youre a cornerstone of the royal army, arent you? Whats going to happen if you irresponsibly leave the work here to your subordinates? (Aura)

She repeats a lecture she had given many times before.

Under the queens scolding, the general ponders for a bit, and then answers,

Thats a valid point. In that case; theres a promising guy among the young battalion leaders of the Dragon Archer Cavalry. This time I will leave the practical business to him and devote myself to being a figurehead, except for times of emergency. (Puyol)

At the general's carefree declaration that, Its important to foster young talent early on, the queens face cramps up a bit.

In essence, he was saying that Im going to send a subordinate, but I will come along as well.

Listen, Im telling you that, as a central part of the royal army, you cannot stay in a foreign country for as long as you like. (Aura)

General Puyols response to Aura's exasperation was something completely unexpected.

Im also well aware of that. Thats why Im planning to return to the Carpa Kingdom through Zenjirou-samas Teleport after Zenjirou-sama arrives in the Twin Kingdom. (Puyol)

What? (Aura)

The shock of hearing that suggestion causes Queen Aura's mask to slip in front of the man that may as well be her political opponent.

However, thats only natural. General Puyols words were just that unexpected.

After a short silence, the queen speaks as she tries to process the information.

In other words, what? You head to the Twin Kingdom as commander of the guard unit. And as soon as my husband arrives there, you yield the command to that young battalion leader and return to our kingdom through my husbands Teleport. Thats what youre saying? (Aura)

Yes. However, since I will need to make sure with my own eyes that my successor is capable of fulfilling his guard duties without problems, it probably wont be right after Zenjirou-sama arrives. (Puyol)

General Puyols arguments were sound in all respects.

Thats why it feels so suspicious to Aura.

This set of proposals is beneficial for Aura and Zenjirou, and General Puyols gains will be small.

Of course, if he delivers the guard unit safely to the Twin Kingdom, it will become a splendid achievement, so its not like theres no benefit for him at all.

However, its unnatural for General Puyol, who always aims for the very best outcome and is insatiable in his quest, to say, I will return to the royal capital, by himself.

Zenjirou will be there without Aura. And General Puyols official position will be that of commander of Zenjirous guard unit.

It should be the most suitable situation to indoctrinate Zenjirou and make him agree to any demands. The General Puyol Aura knows would do just that, without hesitation.

And yet he deliberately says that he will return as soon as possible.

How to put it; I cant believe these words coming out of your mouth. Whats gotten into you? (Aura)

The queen, having given up on thinking her way out of the conundrum, tries hurling her doubts directly at him like that.

General Puyol answered her with a bold, broad grin.

Although it might be belated, even I am aware that Im a cornerstone of the royal army, just as Your Majesty said not long ago.

In order to serve as cornerstone of the royal army in due form for a long time to come, I have judged that what I just proposed would be the best course of action. (Puyol)

! (Aura)

With that answer Aura was able to grasp General Puyols aim.

And yet there are still many more questions left, but even just understanding his objective is a boon.

I see. Thats an admirable view. I appreciate your opinion. Your proposal on this occasion is very promising. I shall consider it positively. (Aura)

Upon the queen saying, You may withdraw, the huge general obediently stands up from the sofa.

Yes, Your Majesty! Please excuse me then. (Puyol)

With those words and a handsome smile, General Puyol leaves.

Once General Puyol leaves the room, only Queen Aura and her secretary, Fabio, remain.

Relaxing slightly on the sofa, Aura sighs deeply and then asks the secretary next to her,

What do you think? (Aura)

Its very likely as you imagine, Your Majesty. (Fabio)

He answered in his usual emotionless, detached way.

General Puyols aim is the rank of Marshal. (Aura)

Yes, I dont think theres any doubt about that. (Fabio)

Theres no other way to interpret the words, serve as cornerstone of the royal army in due form for a long time to come.

Puyol Guilln targeting the armys highest rank marshal is an open secret. Even he himself doesnt really try to hide it.

His request itself isnt all that strange, but the problem is the fact is he's taking concrete action now.

As it's her second pregnancy, Aura is well aware of the dangers to the current system.

Because of her pregnancy and childbirth, her actions will become limited, resulting in a stagnation of the national politics. For that reason Aura decided to intentionally reduce her own authority, appointing a Marshal and a Prime Minister, and place them in charge of politics and military matters respectively.

General Puyol expressly requested an audience at this stage, when Aura is preparing for those appointments, to appeal that hes the most suitable candidate for becoming the marshal.

One can only imagine how General Puyol caught hold of the information that Aura intends to a.s.sign a marshal soon.

The queen ponders while wrinkling her eyebrows in displeasure.

Honestly, I cant believe that Puyol obtained the information at this stage. (Aura)

I agree, but its still a fact. I think at this point we should probably consider How did General Puyol get hold of the information? (Fabio)

Aura nods and says, I know, upon her secretarys suggestion.

At present, they are hiding the information as much as possible, but still, when it comes to appointing a Marshal and a Prime Minister, they have no choice but to give instructions to the civil officials about things such as preparatory doc.u.ments, tools used for the ceremonies, and arrangements for the location.

Of course the civil officials have been forbidden to speak about it, but its impossible to completely prevent others from seeing any of the preparations.

However, to deduce that Queen Aura is planning to establish a mashal just from that is difficult.

Countless rumors that mix truth and falsehood together acc.u.mulate and circulate in the royal palace. To be able to carefully scrutinize these and extract the truth of whats going to happen in the near future requires a substantial level of resourcefulness.

General Puyol doesnt possess that resourcefulness. After a.s.sociating with him for a long time, Aura can confidently a.s.sert that.

Next the queen says,

In the first place, the order of topics was weird this time. If we a.s.sume that General Puyol knew that Im about to appoint a marshal, he would normally have started from there at the foremost. Hes that kind of man by nature. (Aura)

Certainly. Trying to push his own agenda as far as possible before compromising was General Puyols modus operandi until now. (Fabio)

Seeing the queen nod in response, he continues,

But, this time it was different. He proposed to dispatch soldiers during the Hottest Season to the Twin Kingdom which will be a benefit for us, swept away our concerns by saying that he will return right away, and moreover only insinuated that hed like to become marshal at the end. (Fabio)

She groans while he says so.

Speaking frankly, this times proposal by General Puyol can be accepted without any issues.

Its completely different from his usual requests of Gimme, gimme, gimme everything I want so far.

In conclusion, General Puyol's behavior today is an anomaly.

Puyol Guilln has raised his ability to gather intelligence. What do you think is the reason for this? (Aura)

The secretary answers the queen,

Theres little hope that his own ability has gone up all of a sudden. I believe we should consider the possibility that he has won over someone possessing that ability. (Fabio)

and the queen continues with,

Puyol Guilln has raised his ability to negotiate. What do you think is the reason for this? (Aura)

He most likely prepared himself in advance. With General Puyols character, its difficult to believe that he did something like that by himself, thus we should probably a.s.sume that someone else wrote the script. (Fabio)

and asks once more,

Puyol Guilln never mentioned the word Marshal to the very end. He was well-mannered beyond belief in comparison to his behavior until now. What do you think is the reason for this? (Aura)

General Puyol is a person with extremely strong ambitions, but hes definitely no fool. In theory, if he was given a reason like, A person, who takes the conversation in such direction, will reach their ambition more easily, he can and will do so. Though theres no one close to him that can persuade him to do that, is there? (Fabio)

(Aura)

Aura's questions were more because she did not wish to believe the conclusions that she had come to, rather than out of any true confusion.

But, no matter how unbelievable it might be, its the duty of a countrys ruler to accept the truth for what it is.

Lastly Queen Aura asks,

The owner of a good information gathering ability. A person who advised him on the negotiations. Someone who managed to rein in the overly ambitious Puyol. Do you think that its possible that all of these were one and the same person? (Aura)

Rather than him coincidentally obtaining three small game pieces in such a short time, the possibility of him having obtained one big game piece is still much bigger, dont you think? (Fabio)

Fabios reply was reasonable. Above all, the number of people at Puyol Guillns side recently has only increased by one.

The queen considers her secretary's answers for a while, eventually giving an order.

Gather information about Lucinda Guilln, the legal wife of Puyol Guilln, again. Investigate her abilities of course, but also her personality. (Aura)

As you wish, Your Majesty. (Fabio)

The secretary bowed courteously upon the queens order.