Oceanic Lantern

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry I was so surprised so I just stood there and looked at him seriously. Despite my strong gaze, the other party wasn’t fazed. Ars-san isn’t wearing his usual rough clothes. He has on form-fitting dark green jacket and black pants. It’s a set of clothes I knew well. --Is he a knight? “It’s been a long time, Harutia-sama.” (Hamuti) Hamuti-sama welcomed me in. “Yes.” (Haruka) I was so shocked that any words of greeting are blown away. Rather, for a moment I forgot about Hamuti-sama’s existence. What is this? Why is Ars-san here? Is Hamuti-sama’s subordinate? Was it his instruction to follow me? “Please have a seat.” (Hamuti) I could not get out of my confusion so I sat down on a nearby sofa. Hamuti-sama also came over and sat across from me. “I’m sorry for having you come all the way here. Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s my guard, but for this situation he’ll be here as well. I’m sure you already know him.” (Hamuti) “Ha...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry The day of the visit came earlier than I expected. Ordias-san, who seems to be unmotivated, works quickly. I was instructed to go around lunchtime so I asked for a day off from work before I made my way to the royal palace. The place I headed for was the usual magic lab. Since I’m a commoner, I can’t directly walk into Hamuti-sama’s office. I plan to meet up with Ordias-san at the magic lab and we’ll make our way over together as we did before. Ordias-san still seemed hesitant in going with me. I don’t know how much information he shared with Hamuti-sama. Maybe Ordias-san really doesn’t know anything. I thought about it but it’s something I can’t help thinking of. Now I just want to focus on meeting with Hamuti-sama. “Let’s go.” (Ordias) While I was thinking, Ordias-san grabbed my arm before I was ready, my vision distorted. There was no way to prepare for the sudden dizziness. The scenery before me completely changed. -...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry A few days later, I finally succeeded in catching Ordias-san at the magic lab. Every time I went to the lab to deliver bentos, I’ve asked Cory-san and Luna-san to tell Ordias-sama I’ve asked for him. Ordias-sama finally decided to show his face. “So what’s the matter?” (Ordias) As expected, Ordias-sama, who was forcefully called, is in a bad mood. “I’d like to speak to you for a moment.” (Haruka) “Well… “ (Haruka) I scratch my head with an awkward smile. If you look closely, Ordias-sama looks a bit off because he is slightly tanned since he usually has a pale face. I feel a bit tired. I realized that this topic is something that is really pushing me so I tighten my expression. “Can you arrange a meeting with Hamuti-sama?” (Haruka) I ask Ordias-san in a straightforward manner. As expected, Ordias-san’s facial expression distorted at once. That’s right, nobody would be happy if another person causes them troubles when ...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! It’s been a few days since then but the rain continues to fall. When the weather isn’t clear, your mood won’t be good. Still, work is work. I pack up the bento in the basket as usual and leaf for the royal palace. I haven’t seen Ordias-san in the magic lab. According to Luna-san, there seems to be a lot of work that needs to be done regarding the heavy rain damage in rural areas. Ordias-san said he might not appear in the lab for a while because he will be busy dealing with those work. “It was really hard cleaning up the bank. There’s rarely an opportunity to use magic. I’ve already used up too much of my energy. It’s like a bird who ate too many seeds and doesn’t want to see seeds for a while.” (Luna) Luna-san stretches her shoulders to stress about how hard the reinforcing work for the collapsed bank was. “Using a little bird is a bad analogy.” (Cory) Cory-san raises his voice while takes out the bentos from the basket. ...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! It began to rain heavily the moment I enter the diner. Just in time too! That was dangerous. I managed to get home before it rained. It’s raining so much that wearing a rain cloak would’ve been useless. “It’s unlikely for us to have customers tonight.” The owner muttered while looking up at the sky. No matter how close we are to the royal palace, there’ll still be a limited number of customers who would bother to visit the diner in this weather. “Let’s reduce the amount of preparation tonight. Haruka-chan can rest in her room.” After the quiet day business, preparation for the night business has begun. I was told to rest because of the owner’s concern. I believe I can do anything but he thinks I should preserve my energy and motivation at this time. He said that if I sprint all the time, I could get hurt. Eventually, I reluctantly retreated to my room without anything to do aside from looking out the window. At times like t...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! A few days later. It was cloudy that day. Looking back, I don’t remember the weather being so bad since I came to this world. “I haven’t heard of that.” (Haruka) “For now I’m going to the magic lab. Just in case someone might still be there.” (Haruka) Normally it doesn’t rain as much as Japan but it hasn't rained since I’ve been summoned back. The weather is so strange these days so the customers now have conversations talking about the lack of rain. I wonder if it’s finally going to rain today. I look up at the sky while holding a basket containing the bentos.  Although the rain itself is pleasing, it’s troublesome for those who deliver the bentos. Let’s make it a quick lunch delivery before it starts raining. Just in case, I put on a rain cloak in the basket and walked out of the diner. When I arrived at the royal palace, everyone was more in a hurry than usual. Not all of them are but there seem to be some offi...

  Translated by Shufen  Unedited. Sorry! When I returned to the diner, the diner owner was preparing to open for dinner at night. There’s no particular change while the diner owner husband and wife work silently together. ...However, the appearance looks strange somehow. It’s not clear why it’s strange. However, the atmosphere is heavy with invisible discomfort. “I’m back. What’s going on?” (Haruka) I secretly asked Sena-san who was working some distance away. Sena-san nodded with a smile. “The atmosphere in the store is obviously dark, isn’t it? I think after we opened the diner, the diner owner and wife were in good shape. Then we receive bad news from the royal palace.” (Sena) “Bad news from the royal palace?” (Haruka) My heart jumped. Whenever we talk about the royal palace, I can’t help but think that something might have caused trouble for me. “For a while, there were soldiers who harassed us, right?” (Sena) It’s a series of events that ended up as ...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! At the exit, there was a man who called out to us. Well to be more precise, it was at Noel. We turn around and there’s a slender man slowly approaching us. “Noel-sama, thank you very much.” (Rayburn) “Rayburn.” (Noel) I was familiar with the name Noel said. I know this person. The thin gold hair is nearly white with slightly long hair. Although he is tall, he is a delicate person with a neutral appearance. The white loose-fitting clothing worn on the body is proof of the higher priests. Rayburn is one of the young priests that stands out. Even though he is a servant of gold, in the world of priests, it is necessary to have a good family with connections to move up to upper management. In other words, he is a promising man who is blessed with an abundance of magic. I’ve met him several times as the Priestess. However, we’ve only exchanged a few words of greeting without knowing much of one another. At the time, I wasn’t a soc...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! “What are you thinking about?” (Noel) Thankfully as soon as I left the room, Noel’s lecturing mood disappeared. There’s a lot of things to talk about so we took a detour to the exit to the residential area. What is this situation? “Didn’t Ordias-sama tell you to be careful around the Priestess?” (Noel) “...I didn’t expect this to happen.” (Haruka) There are people around so I muttered begrudgingly. Of course, Noel didn’t miss that mutter. “Sotini-dono asked you to deliver the bento. Didn’t you know she was one of those priests with Aldina-sama?” (Noel) “I didn’t know at first. When I found out, it was too late.” (Haruka) “We should’ve cut ties when we knew it was impossible. You didn’t understand anything I said that night.” (Noel) Noel’s tone was terribly frustrating. “Even so, you don’t have to get that angry…”(Haruka) “Who do you think made me so angry?” (Noel) Eh...I’m sorry. “...At least don’t hit Aldina-sama.”(Ha...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! Noel immediately noticed me. His lips pressed together with a serious expression. ...This feeling of being stared at so seriously. Scary. “Ah, Noel. Why are you here?” (Aldina) “I rushed here because I heard you asked to meet the young lady.” (Noel) Noel took his eyes off me and turned to look at Aldina-sama who stood up in amazement. He walked over to stand by her side. “Why did you invite a stranger into your private room?” (Noel) “I’m sorry. I really want to talk to Haruka-san.” (Aldina) Noel continues to give her a strict expression while looking at Aldina-sama. “Why on earth do you want to talk to her?” (Noel) “It’s…” Aldina-sama kept silent. Apparently, Noel kept it a secret that he eats our bento. Noel is a pretty tough guy so if I knew, I wouldn’t forgive him. Besides, I also know that he is scary when he is angry. I felt like air so I quietly sat down on the chair. Of course, I should be standing because th...

  Translated by Shufen Unedited. Sorry! This is bad. This is very bad. This is normally impossible. Why is this happening to me? It’s kind of funny how I’m only here to deliver bentos to Soniti-san and somehow end up in this situation.   After all, don’t you think it’s better if my existence was put to the side for Aldina-sama? So…for her to ask for me while I make my bento delivery surprised me. Why is she looking for me? Am I in the way of her? Is she is trying to eliminate the former Priestess? If it’s for that reason, that’ll explain the situation. In that’s the case, will I be able to escape from Sotini-san? However, the priests are familiar with magic. The female priests who were my companions were able to use magic. Sotini-san should probably be able to use magic too. She should have mastered many techniques that can probably stop me. I should wait and see what happen. My right hand is still wearing the bracelet Ordias-sama ga...