While I was relaxing at my home and thinking about the seaside trip, one of Cliff’s servants knocked on the door, completely out of breath. He must have run all the way here.
Once he caught his breath, he told me to come to the mansion immediately.
I asked him for the reason, but it turned out he didn’t actually know why.
Just what was all this about? Had I made Cliff angry or something?
I always asked Cliff for permission before going out with Noa. The only thing I could think of was the lack of the Sacred Tree’s tea leaves I got from the elves, but Lala-san had told me just the other day that Cliff was keeping the promise of having one cup a day, so they should still have some left in their storage.
I kept pondering it as I walked, but couldn’t think of any plausible reason for this emergency.
Once I arrived at the mansion, I was promptly brought to Cliff’s room.
「Oh, you’re here. Sit down, please.」
I did as I was told and sat down on a chair he gestured at.
I glanced at Cliff, and he didn’t seem angry, so maybe I wasn’t called here because of something I did?
Still, what else could it possibly be?
「So, what is it that you need me for?」
I went straight to the point.
「A letter from His Majesty just came to my residence. He asks you to come to the capital.」
「Huh? So, what you are saying is that I’m actually being summoned by His Majesty and not you?」
To think it was the king that was behind this abrupt interruption of my relaxation time. What could he possibly need me for? This was the first time he ever summoned me, so I really had no idea. He had already lectured me about the school festival, so it clearly wasn’t that.
「There was something I wanted to confirm with you before you leave. You defeated the Kraken, right?」
「The Kraken? I thought you knew that already, Cliff. Don’t tell me you’re doubting me? Well, I don’t really care if you believe me or not.」
「I just said I wanted to confirm it with you, not that I don’t trust you.」
Okay, so why was he confirming it with me now?
「Anyways, what happened with the Kraken?」
「I defeated it.」
「I know, but I heard you got the Kraken dismantled, so what happened to its water magic stone? I figured you must have kept it for yourself.」
「The Kraken’s magic stone? Yes, I still have it with me. The old man who dismantled it for me said I should take it with me.」
I had first planned on giving it to Mireera to aid in its restoration, but Atora-san said that magic stones were the proof of subjugation, so they couldn’t accept the stone.
Because of that, the Kraken’s magic stone had been gathering dust inside my Bear Box as I had no real use of it as of now.
「Do you mind showing it to me?」
I took the stone out of my Bear Box and placed it on the table. The stone had a beautiful blue ocean-like shine to it.
「So, this is the Kraken’s magic stone, huh. It’s quite big.」
I could barely cover the stone with both my hands, so yeah, it was quite big.
「So, what is this all about?」
「Yuna, I’m sorry, but could you please take this and bring it to His Majesty?」
「You want me to take this magic stone to His Majesty?」
Cliff held the blue magic stone and looked at it.
「Yes. In his letter, he wrote that if you still had the Kraken’s magic stone, he needed it to be immediately brought it to him.」
Was this going to be a bigger pain than I had thought?
Had something bad happened, for him to need the Kraken’s magic stone?
「I know you can get there quickly with your bears, so could you?」
With my Bear Gate, I could go in an instant. Of course, I couldn’t tell him that, so simply nodded my head to agree.
「Was the reason for it written down?」
「I’m sorry, but he only wrote that you need to bring it to him. I guess he must have some use for it.」
Cliff went through the trouble to confirm whether I still had it, so even I could figure that out without him telling me. I just wanted to know what the king needed the magic stone for, but it seemed like that information hadn’t been written down in the letter.
I was a bit troubled that he wanted me to come immediately. While our trip to the sea was still a ways off, I had promised myself that I wasn’t going to the capital for some time. I really wished to stay away for a while longer.
「Will you take it there?」
「Not like I can refuse, can I?」
「Thank you. I appreciate it.」
Cliff said and bowed.
「Why are you lowering your head at me?」
「Obviously, because this is a letter from His Majesty. There is no way we can refuse his orders. If you said no, then I would have to go apologize to His Majesty personally.」
「If that happened, why not just forcibly take it from me or simply force me to go?」