"So why am I in a bed?" (Fia)
My memory of last night ended when I was drinking with Commander Savis, so I sat up in bed and tilted my head.
"This is bad, my memory of yesterday is interrupted halfway through. I remember drinking a bottle of wine at Commander Savis's suggestion, but I have no memory of anything after that. Hmm, I don't think even half the food had been served at that point, but the reason I don't remember anything after that is because I came back in the middle of the meal...but that's not the case, right?" (Fia)
Because there's no way I'd give up the meat and cakes of the royal castle.
No, I didn't remember eating meat and cake, so I didn't know if it was actually offered on the menu.
As I was thinking this, I glanced at the position of the sun and, unfortunately, frowned, realized that it was likely that I had been eating late.
It was already close to noon.
Even though today was a holiday, the fact that I slept so late was probably because I drank a fair amount of alcohol, and the fact that I was not hungry despite sleeping for so long was probably because I ate and drank alot last night.
After thinking for a moment, I made up my mind, "In a situation like this," and turned to face Zavilia, who was curled up on my lap.
"Zavilia, I have something I want to ask you, but first let me say that I don't want the complete facts, just the facts that won't make me despair. I don't need the harsh truth. So, how was I last night? Did I say anything?" (Fia)
Zavilia looked at me, then tilted his head as if thinking.
"Fia was in a good mood last night. I think you said, 'I told Commander to rely on me if you need me!'" (Zavilia)
"What? There's no way I'd say something so bold to the head of the Knights! I'm more of a know-it-all type than that... that's for sure." (Fia)
Although I denied it immediately, I had no memory of yesterday, so I thought again that I might have said something like that depending on the situation.
"Well, if I really did say something so big, I wonder what the context of the conversation was. I wouldn't have said something like that unless it was an appropriate occasion, so something really big must have happened." (Fia)
I crossed my arms and tried my best to remember what happened last night.
"Did I encounter a situation where Commander was in trouble? Hmm, if so, what kind of situation could that be? For example, did he lose a drinking contest with me? ...No way. Commander has an extremely high alcohol tolerance. If so, could it be that he was troubled by the strange behavior of Captain Quentin or Captain Desmond? ...That seems possible. The other day..." (Fia)
As I was muttering to myself, Zavilia added some additional information as if he had just remembered something.
"Now that I think about it, he told you, 'You probably won't remember anything from this evening because you've had too much to drink,' and you replied, 'That's a healthy way of thinking,' you said in a good mood." (Zavilia)
"What! Did I say that?" (Fia)
That was very important information, so I asked Zavilia again.
"Yes, that's what you said. Fia was happy, but I was listening to your thinking that you probably didn't mean it as a compliment, so there's no doubt about it." (Zavilia)
"……I see" (Fia)
The latter part of Zavilia's conversation was unnecessary, but overall, I had learned some great information and I hugged him with joy.
"I did it, Zavilia! I told Commander that drinking alcohol makes me lose my memory. That's perfect!" (Fia)
"Is that so?" (Zavilia)
Zavilia tilted his head in confusion and asked, and I nodded vigorously.
"That's right! Commander Savis is an understanding superior, so since I have declared that, he should not take my drunken remarks as a guarantee that I said so at the time." (Fia)
So, it didn't matter what I said.
Yay, now I don't have to worry about what I said last night!
While I was rejoicing at this thought, Zavilia muttered in an exasperated tone.
"Fia certainly has a healthy mindset." (Zavilia)
"Well, even Zavilia praised me!" (Fia)
I stroked Zavilia's head in a good mood.
Then, feeling much lighter, I got changed and headed to the dining room for a late breakfast.
As I left the girls' dormitory and walked towards the dining hall, I ran into Captain Desmond.
I exchanged cheerful greetings and tried to leave, but for some reason he followed me to the dining room.
So I glared at him, hoping he wasn't trying to steal my food again.
"Captain Desmond, as I’ve said many times before, this is the dining hall for ordinary knights. There is a separate dining hall for knights, where the captains have access to delicious meals specially prepared for them!" (Fia)
Captain Desmond heard what I was saying and, pretending not to notice, picked up the tray and quickly placed plates of food on it.
It seemed like he really wanted to eat here.
"Fia, a dining hall is a dining hall. It's not like the food is being served to royalty at the royal castle, so there shouldn't be much difference." (Desmond)
Oh my, that's a bit of a catchy expression.
While I was thinking that, Captain Desmond came and sat down in front of me, carrying a tray loaded with food.
"If you're having breakfast at such an odd hour, it means you drank very heavily last night. That's fine. The question is, what did you say to Commander at dinner? According to reports from the knights who were on guard after dinner, Commander went out into the garden for a long time and gazed at the moon. That's not something he usually does!" (Desmond)
"Huh!" (Fia)
I wondered how Captain Desmond knew that I had had dinner with the Commander, then remembered that the Captain was well-informed.
Captain Desmond always had all kinds of information and used it to give me sermons, just like today.
...As I was drifting off into thought, I felt a sharp gaze on me and raised my head.
Captain Desmond seemed dissatisfied that I hadn't replied and was thinking about something, as he glared at me with sharp eyes.
So, I was forced into the completely unsettling experience of being glared at while waiting for a reply, and in order to end this unpleasant moment as quickly as possible, I desperately tried to remember what had happened last night.
But no matter how hard I thought about it, I just couldn't remember what I didn't remember.
"Um, well, I'm an exemplary knight, so I probably would have said things like, 'Commander is handsome,' or 'The drink Commander chose for me is delicious,' or something like that, praising my superior." (Fia)
Even though I gave a safe answer based on what I could remember, Captain Desmond had an incredulous look on his face when he heard what I said.
"Did you really just say that?! Even if you thought the Commander was handsome, you wouldn't normally say it out loud! He's the Commander of the Knights!?...And what do you mean, you want him to choose you the drink? You should choose it yourself!" (Desmond)
"What?" (Fia)
I was surprised when someone pointed out something I never thought of.
If I was going to be criticized for saying something I thought was perfectly common sense, it would probably be best to keep quiet about saying, "Commander has clothes other than his knight uniform, doesn't he?"
Thinking about this, Captain Desmond sighed.
"Well, it's fine. Generally speaking, it's problematic behavior, but considering your behavior, it's within the normal range. I'm sure Commander would accept it. So, instead of that, you must have said something more outrageous. What exactly did you say that would make Commander stand in the garden for such a long time?" (Desmond)
That's a story I wanted to hear.
"Let see... I think I told him to rely on me if he was in trouble..." (Fia)
"What?" he muttered under his breath, and Captain Desmond's eyes widened.
"That's it!! Did you say that to Commander!? Aaah, Commander must have been shocked that he thought he had to rely on someone like you. Fia, calm down!! Even in 100 years, Commander will never rely on you." (Desmond)
Captain Desmond's confident judgment made me feel annoyed.
"Thank you for your kind words, but Cerulean and Dory have been relying on me a lot lately! So, Commander, who is of Cerulean blood, should..." (Fia)
Captain Desmond paused, smiled triumphantly, and opened his mouth in disbelief.
"Hey, you...seriously, don't go after Commander! Commander can do anything on his own, so he can do it on his own without your help. If you get involved and Commander goes crazy, I'll complain about you for all eternity!!" (Desmond)
Well, I wondered how long Captain Desmond's future was, since he's a bit of a hothead and didn't seem to be able to focus on one thing for long.
"I understand. Although I love Commander, I have to give in to Captain Desmond's threats and step down." (Fia)
"I'm sorry," he said meekly, holding one hand over his mouth. Captain Desmond then seemed extremely angry as he started yelling.
"Fia, you're saying that on purpose! I know you didn't mean it that way, and you..." (Desmond)
However, Captain Desmond interrupted him and covered his mouth as if he had just had an idea.
"Oh! Now that I think about it, at the meeting the other day, Clarissa said that your favorite is..." (Desmond)
Captain Desmond was once again at a loss for words, and looked at me with a blush on his cheeks like a young girl.
"What? Are you serious?!" (Desmond)
"You mean stepping down? Of course I'm serious. But if I did that, there would be no one to entertain at the celebration, and it would be a problem. I'd like to ask Captain Desmond to take responsibility for this, and find a replacement..." (Fia)
I was about to say that I would hand over the role of performing with Cerulean to Captain Desmond at Commander's wedding celebration, but the captain looked away from me and started staring behind me.
This left me feeling amazed at how little concentration I had.
I stared at him intently, intending to express my dissatisfaction, but Captain Desmond, who was surprisingly laid-back, didn't seem to mind and just pointed behind me.
As a result, he complained that he was just about to have an important talk.
"Captain Desmond, if you see something interesting while we're talking, please don't divert your attention away from it." (Fia)
Captain Desmond waved his hand to say that this was not the case.
"No, it's not that, it's Saint Priscilla." (Desmond)
"Huh?" (Fia)
Surprised by Captain Desmond's words, I turned around to see Lloyd and Priscilla standing at the entrance to the dining hall.
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading.
Novel volume 8 and ZERO volume 2 are scheduled to be released simultaneously on Wednesday, February 15th.
We will let you know as soon as the details are decided, so please look forward to it!