Prologue: On Your Side

"Liscia, hold these documents for me," Souma said.

"...Okay. Got it," I responded.

Lately, Souma had been acting strangely.

As I took the stack of documents from Souma, a thought occurred to me.

Recently, Souma had been working on paperwork with even greater zeal

and enthusiasm than before. It was as if we'd returned to that time shortly

after my father had abdicated the throne to him. He shouldn't have been as

busy now as he was back then, but it seemed to me as if he was seeking out

work and packing in more of it than he reasonably could.

And yet, when he suddenly found himself with free time, he didn't do

anything in particular, just stared vacantly out the window. Before, when

he'd had free time, he would have come to my room and worked on dolls,

or on cute outfits to dress Tomoe up in, but he didn't even do that lately.

I watched Souma silently processing documents.

The change was a subtle one, and I was sure that hardly anyone else in

the castle would have noticed it.

I started to speak.

"...Hm? Is something the matter?" Having noticed my eyes on him,

Souma looked up.

I said, "...No. It's nothing." With just those words, I turned around and

walked out of the governmental affairs office.

"Ah! Hey, Liscia."

I could hear Souma's voice from behind me, but I couldn't bring myself

to turn back. Or, rather, I couldn't bear to look at Souma as he was now.

That night, Juna Doma came to my room.

"So, Princess, His Majesty's behavior is strange... that was what you

wanted to talk about, right?" she asked, tilting her head to the side

questioningly.

I had called out to her as she was preparing for a Jewel Voice Broadcast

program, and I had her come back to my room when the broadcast finished.

I was grateful that, when I told Juna that there was something strange about

the way Souma had been acting, she had come with me, despite the late

hour.

"Have a seat, Juna." I sat on the bed, gesturing for Juna to sit next to me.

"Excuse me," Juna said, taking her seat next to me.

I got down to business. "I don't know how to say it... He seems

distracted. Sometimes it seems he's more absorbed in his work than ever,

but the next thing I know, his head is off in the clouds and he's staring

vacantly outside."

"...I see. I think I can understand, if only a little." Perhaps Juna had

some insight as to what was going on, because she nodded with a

mysterious look on her face. "I've seen the same. When I had a meeting

with His Majesty about our broadcast program, his mind seemed to be

elsewhere. Though, I couldn't tell you how long he's been like this."

"I think it's been since we came back from the God-Protected Forest," I

said.

It had been just two weeks ago. A landslide had struck the home of the

dark elves, the God-Protected Forest, which was also the homeland of

Souma's bodyguard, Aisha Udgard. Souma had led the unit he was with at

the time to carry out a relief effort.

When notice of the disaster arrived, I had been asked to come back to

the capital to call in reinforcements, so I hadn't personally participated in

the rescue operation. Souma, however, had been there with Halbert, Kaede,

and the other Forbidden Army soldiers, carrying out relief operations in that

hellscape of a disaster zone.

I felt like that was the point when Souma had started acting strangely.

"Maybe it was after that relief effort that he started to act strangely, after

all..."

"But I heard that His Majesty accomplished a great deal while he was

there," Juna said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I think he did a good job there, too."

I'd heard that he'd used his ability, Living Poltergeists, to control

wooden mice and had had them search under the dirt and sand, helping to

find many people who'd been buried alive. However...

"But that's not how Souma feels about it. Maybe it's because he saw so

many bodies, he thinks, 'Couldn't I have handled things better?'"

"I don't think it's bad, in and of itself, for him to think that way,

though..." Juna had a complicated expression on her face.

It was important to reflect on things. However, excessive reflection

could lead to self-hatred, and that would be counterproductive.

"That's exactly why I want you to encourage him for me." I took Juna's

hand, placing my own over it.

Juna's eyes went wide. "Y-You want... me to?"

"You're about the only person I can ask to do something like this.

Aisha's still in the God-Protected Woods, and Tomoe's still little. Even so,

if I were to ask Mother or Serina, they aren't close enough with him."

"But, if that's the case, wouldn't you yourself be an even better choice to

do it, Princess?" she asked. "The two of you are betrothed, and I can see

that you're concerned for him."

"I... can't be the one," I said, lowering my eyes. "I'm younger than

Souma, so he probably thinks, 'As a man, I don't want to show her my

weaknesses.' When he's in front of me, Souma puts up a strong front."

"...I'm the same age as His Majesty, too, you realize?'

"You may be the same age, but the way you act is more mature," I said.

"I think you would do a fine job of indulging a young boy who's trying to

put up a strong front."

As I sat up straight, Juna bowed her head.

"That's why, Juna," I finished. "That's why I'm asking you to take care

of Souma for me."

"Princess... I understand. I may not be of much help, but allow me to do

all that I can," Juna said, bringing a hand to her chest and nodding.

◇ ◇ ◇

After leaving Liscia's chambers, Juna went to the governmental affairs

office, which doubled as Souma's room. Things were hectic here during the

day, with all the bureaucrats coming and going, but late at night, it was

quiet enough to make the memory of all that daytime hustle and bustle seem

like a lie.

Two guards who were there to protect Souma stood on either side of the

door.

Right, Aisha isn't here, Juna thought. That's to be expected,

considering...

It wasn't the case that Aisha stayed by Souma's side 24-7, but she was

with him often enough that it felt unnatural to not see her there protecting

him.

Juna walked up to the door, giving a slight nod to the guards. Perhaps

Liscia had already spoken to the guards, as they made no attempt to stop

Juna.

It's a bit late to bring it up it now, but it's a rather bold move for the

princess to be sending a lady to her betrothed's chambers late at night...

After leaving a man and woman alone at night, what did she intend to do

if "something" were to happen? Did she believe nothing would happen? Or

was it that, even if "something" were to happen, she was prepared to accept

it if that cheered Souma up?

...Somehow, I get the sense that it's the latter.

Juna let out a sigh of admiration. Lately, when she looked to Liscia,

there were times when she could see a queenly dignity in her. When her

sudden betrothal to Souma had first been decided, there had been some

awkwardness between the two of them, but now she seemed to have

accepted the reality of the situation.

She's truly a magnificent individual.

For each day she spent with Souma, Liscia grew a little more attractive

as a woman. Someday she would make a splendid queen, as well as a good

wife and a wise mother. Juna couldn't help but respect her as a fellow

woman.

The princess asked this of me, personally. I, too, must do my duty.

Firming up her resolve a little more, she gently knocked on the door to

the governmental affairs office, and called, "Your Majesty, it is Juna Doma.

Are you still awake?"

She kept her voice low enough that, were he already asleep, she would

not disturb him.

"Juna? Come in," she heard Souma say from inside the room.

When Juna opened the door with a "Pardon me," and entered, she found

Souma looking through some paperwork by candlelight. Souma laid the

document down on the desk, turning a somewhat wearied smile to Juna.

"What is it, so late at night? Are you sleeping over at the castle?"

"Ah... Yes, I am," Juna said. "It's been decided that I'll be staying in the

princess's room tonight."

"Having a girls-only party? That sounds like fun."

When he gave her that frank and unguarded response, while Juna may

not have been lying, she still felt guilty. "No... Anyway, what are you up to,

sire? I had heard you were finished with your government work for the

day."

"Ah, I did lie down to go to bed... But I just couldn't get to sleep, so I

started looking through the papers I was going to go over tomorrow. I

figured, maybe it would help me feel a little more sleepy," Souma said,

glancing to the stack of papers on his desk. Juna could see the tiredness in

his expression.

"Could it be... You're not sleeping, lately?" Juna asked.

Souma scratched his head a little awkwardly. "My body's tired, but my

mind just won't let me get to sleep, you know. When I close my eyes and

try to sleep, I end up thinking about all sorts of things. About everything

I've done, about everything there still is to do, about whether the decisions

I've made were right, about whether the decisions I'm going to make are

right... It all whirls around inside my head, and I just can't get to sleep."

Souma gave a weak laugh.

Juna remembered that ever since Souma had been summoned to this

world, he had been forced to carry many heavy burdens: getting the country

back on its feet, resolving the food crisis, and providing relief to the disaster

area. Any one of these would have been too heavy for Souma, who had

been a student until just recently. And now, this time, he needed to find a

solution to the friction between him and the three dukes, along with the

problem of the Principality of Amidonia's maneuvering in the shadows.

All that pressure must have been keeping him up at night. When that

occurred to her...

"Oh! ...Pardon me, a moment." Juna took Souma's hand and had him

stand up.

"Huh? Hold on, what?" he stumbled.

Paying no mind to the flustered Souma, Juna pulled him by the hand,

tugging him over to the simple bed set up in a corner of the room, then

pushing him down on it with a thud. As Souma lay there, eyes wide, having

just been laid down on the bed, Juna spoke to him in a quiet tone.

"Please, sleep."

"Huh? J-Juna?"

"Please, just sleep." Juna, who always wore a warm smile, had an

unusual expression on her face. It was like one she might use to scold a

naughty little brother, stern, yet at the same time full of concern for the

person she was talking to. "I know things are difficult, but please take care

of yourself. Princess Liscia is worried, too."

"Liscia is?" he asked.

"Yes. She saw right through your front, sire. She knew something was

wrong, and sent me here. She asked me to do my best to indulge you."

"...Well, darn." Souma looked up at the ceiling, a wry grin on his face. "I

had thought... I was working hard and doing my best, you know..."

"You are working hard, sire. However, you work too hard." Juna sat

down on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on Souma's forehead. He could

feel Juna's cool hand robbing his forehead of warmth. While enjoying that

pleasant sensation, Souma closed his eyes.

As she watched Souma, Juna began to sing quietly:

Go to sleep, for tonight. Sleep until tomorrow.

When you wake, walk.

When you tire, sleep.

The longer you walk, the more hands there will be to support you.

It wasn't a song from Souma's world, but a lullaby from this one. A

song mothers sang to children who had learned to walk. A song that prayed

that they would walk a lot, sleep a lot, and grow up healthy. However, the

line "The longer you walk, the more hands there will be to support you"

touched Souma's heart, bringing forth tears.

Souma put his arm over his eyes, hiding them. "...Sorry. For letting you

see me look so uncool."

Juna smiled. "It's okay for you to whine now. Because I, too, am on

your side."

As she said that, she gently stroked Souma's head.

"I can understand why you don't want to look bad in front of the

princess," she told him, letting her gentle voice stroke Souma's ears. "It's

because of those feelings that you're able to work hard and try to be strong.

However, when you grow tired from that, call me. On the nights you can't

sleep, let me be there to sing for you."

Not long after, Juna heard his shallow breaths as he drifted off to sleep.

His body and mind were both more than exhausted enough for it. He must

have fallen asleep the moment his heart had been set at ease.

Juna rose from the bed, checked that Souma was fully asleep, and pulled

a blanket over him. Then, she headed for the door to make a silent

departure, reached for the handle, and... suddenly, she stopped. Juna made a

U-turn back to the bed, and pulling the hair hanging over her ear back, she

brought her face to Souma's ear and quietly whispered:

It's okay. I am on your side. If the princess brings out your strengths,

then I will hide your weakness.