While Kaito was in a trance watching the musical…… At the venue of Hydra Kingdom’s Founding Festival, the majority of the participants were gazing at the sea…… looking at the sunset. The reason was simple, the sun never seemed to sink below the horizon no matter how many times passed. In order for her to watch the sunset together with Kaito, Shallow Vernal had stopped the sun at that spot, but of course, only the people concerned would know that.
This clearly unusual sight gradually began to cause unease, but at such a moment, King Laguna broadcast a message to the entire royal capital via Loudspeaker Magic.
“The current unsinking sunset is a miracle specially arranged by Shallow Vernal-sama in honor of the Founding Festival and the achievement of the First Hero. Originally, the Hydra in our Hydra Kingdom held the meaning “the sun that never sets” in the old language, and this is the result of the reproduction of such a fact. This miracle will last only for a short while, so let’s be grateful to Shallow Vernal-sama and mark this wonderful sunset within our memories.”
With those words, the anxiety of the participants disappeared. It is easy for the God of the World, Shallow Vernal, to keep the sun from setting, and it’s widely known that Shallow Vernal has performed miracles all over the world at previous Founding Festivals.
On this memorable day, when a message from the First Hero after over a millennium arrived, the participants understood that this must have been specially arranged, and doing just as Laguna had said, many of them imprinted this miraculous scene in their minds, offering prayers towards the setting sun.Although it can’t be said that such a broadcast had completely resolved the situation, the panic of the participants of the Founding Festival was completely prevented, making Laguna sigh with relief. Seeing her state, Lilia called out to her.
[……I suppose…… You’ve somehow managed to deal with it?]
[Yeah, we should be fine for the time being. It was helpful that young Lilia immediately confirmed with the Goddess of Time to reveal Shallow Vernal-sama’s name.]
[It seems that Chronois-sama and the others judged it as unavoidable under the current circumstances. Due to the Authority of the God of Thoughts, similar notifications will be made in places other than the royal capital, so it’s unlikely that things would turn into a big commotion. Moreover, as is the case during the previous Festival of Heroes, there will likely be devout individuals who would get excited about how miraculous of a day this is……]
[Umu. Thanks to the thorough preparations by the Gods, communication throughout the entire capital was smoothly handled through Loudspeaker Magic, and handling troubles like this is all about the initial response to it. The ability to respond promptly was significant…… but the problem is that we still don’t know if that really settles it……]
Laguna, Lilia and the Gods have some understanding of the situation regarding Shallow Vernal stopping the sun for Kaito and her to watch the sunset, but they aren’t sure if it ends after they watch the sunset or if something else will happen afterward.
In fact, they really were just going to watch the sunset together at the clock tower, but it’s understandable that people around them were jumping at shadows.[Well, this is an incredible foil for our country, and the economic impact of being a place Shallow Vernal-sama had bestowed a miracle upon is extremely large. Overall, it’s a profitable situation but…… this is really rough on my psyche.]
[I understand how you feel. The benefits I received from my connection with Kaito-san are extremely significant, but in exchange, the pain in my stomach is also considerable, so I can’t honestly be happy…… Well, leaving that aside, I didn’t know there was such an origin behind the name of the Hydra Kingdom.]
[No, we obviously can’t have such a convenient origin. I was just spouting out random things, you know?]
[……Eh? I- Is that so?]
[Umu. If I claim something’s an old word that’s lost in history now, there’s no way they’d be able to look it up. In a situation like this, it’s better to have a bit of embellishment to it. Besides, we can just come up with as many interpretations later as we want. If they start searching, they might find folklore that kinda sounded like what I claimed, and they could even look for ancient crafts resembling the sun…… Well, being a noble yourself, young Lilia should also learn to occasionally tell convincing lies when necessary..]
Seeing Laguna chuckle, looking like her prank was a success, Lilia looked genuinely impressed.
It is true that Lilia herself is unable to tell lies, but there was a sense of admiration in her expression, having witnessed Laguna’s power throughout the millennium of her reign as king.
[As expected of the King who is strongly supported by her citizens. What a brilliant ability.]
[……Haahhh…… I really want to quit being King though. I’ve now, or rather, all this time today, I feel like quitting more than ever before……]
Although the day has not yet ended, they still can’t afford to be complacent, but having overcome a significant moment, the expressions of the two were somewhat calm.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [……One of the Optimistic Flag Three Musketeers seems to be feeling like things are over…… Ah (Guessed)]
