「Anyway, Straf… You said you had some news too?」

Cycelia lightly shakes her head, and with it her confusion, too.

「Yup. Which one do you want first?」

Straf shrugs his shoulders. Cycelia momentarily glances at the maid, who is shielding herself from Straf with the queen's presence by the throne side.

「Well… How about we start with the bad ones, and end it on a positive note?」

The queen shifts a little in her throne as she thinks, then says with her index finger raised. A gentle smile beams down at Straf from her throne.

「Okay. We're going to the beach in let's see… Three days' time?」

Straf snaps his fingers on his healed hand, pointing his finger at the throne from the hip. He then rubs his chin for a brief moment as he glances aside to think.

「…The beach?」

Cycelia asks, tilting her head with a slight delay. She blinks at Straf with her brows furrowed.

「Yeah, the beach. Don't tell me we're landlocked, Lia. I barely remember that map from before, but I'm fairly sure I saw a body of water on it…」

Straf says and shrugs, then once again thinks out loud as he rubs his chin.

「No, we do have sizeable access to the sea, and even a large port city, but… Why a beach, Straf?」

Cycelia's brows furrow further as her confusion only grows.

「That's obvious, isn't it? To relax and slow down. Things are getting a little too snappy for me, managing finances of a fai- Troubled state is pretty draining, Lia. Aren't you tired as well? And it's more like an official business trip.」

Straf spreads his arms as he explains as if the matter was obvious from the start.

「Ah… Now that I think about it… Sorry, Straf. I've been working you like a slave. If there is anyone deserving of a rest in this kingdom, it would be you.」

Cycelia's shoulders slump, and her confused expression shifts into a frown full of guilt. Her green emerald eyes drift down into her lap as she twiddles her thumbs.

「Yup, I'm the hardest working guy in this country. Maybe the world, even…」

Straf snaps his fingers, catching any and all praise sent his way with a shrug of his hands and a smug smirk.

「…We haven't had a classic harem point A to point B adventure in a while, haven't we, Lia? I bet you're tired of signing all those papers and listening to everyone's problems. It's a good chance for you to catch a break, too. How about it?」

He continues, and places his fist on his hip as he presses Cycelia further.

「…To be honest, I miss traveling with you a little, Straf. But I also have a duty to my subjects their queen, and as a heir to my father's kingdom. I still need to officially announce Millie is the rightful ruler of the Ostris' land, and I will have to organize the voting in a week's time… And then count the votes…」

Cycelia meekly explains herself, tapping her fingers together with her form shrunken in the throne. An outsider witnessing this exchange would likely believe the queen is Straf's subject, despite the crown on her chestnut head and her fur-trimmed mantle.

「I'll count the votes for you, don't worry about that Lia.」

Straf quickly chimes in, pointing his finger up at the throne.

「No no no, I can't do that to you, Straf. You are indeed overworked, and counting the votes isn't even your responsibility-」

She shakes her head and hands, but Straf cuts her off.

「I'll do it, Lia. I'm used to working like a slave, and if that gets you onto the beach with me, I'll do it with a smile.」

He says with an insistent tone, and a serious expression.

「Straf…」

《…It matters that much to him?- Used to working like a slave? He's this hard-working always?》

Cycelia softly utters out, and her fingers idly drift to her matching medallion as she looks at Straf's serious, handsome face.

「Don't tell me you're turning me down-」

Straf says, sounding almost disappointed. The queen immediately cuts in.

「No, no! It's not that! I want to go, too! But… It would have to be after I hand the government off to the winner. No less than a week's time, Straf…」

She shakes her head in vehement denial, and explains the situation.

「…But when that's done, I'd really like to spend some time with you. Like when we met, just the two-」

Cycelia says meekly, quietly, tapping her fingers together as she finds herself unable to look into Straf's eyes.

「Great. So in a week it is, then. I'll invite Lily, too.」

Straf snaps his fingers, and the queen's heart almost snaps in half as well.

「Lily?- Ahh… Yes… The more the merrier…」

She weakly nods along, quietly agreeing.

「…But, how is that bad news, Straf? I thought-」

「It's bad news, because this might be the only beach episode I'll ever get. It has to be perfect, Lia. Pack something good for swimming, unless you're seriously going to the beach just to avoid the water.」

「…Episode?」

Cycelia tilts her head, blinking at Straf in confusion again.

「Now, the good news is… The drakes are spreading, Lia! They'll be trading them up north in the Whatever-You-Call-It Kingdom! That's going to be a big boost to their credibility, and oh boy, will we need that right now!」

Straf nonchalantly ignores Cycelia's befuddlement, and continues with his news rundown.

「…Rankor Kingdom?」

Cycelia asks, and Straf snaps his fingers in response.

「…It may have been called that, yes.」

He nods, and says with a smug grin while pointing up at her.

「Alsoo… Short-term, our budget hole is probably patched with those gold mines finally producing something.」

「That's great! That's a relief! I had to make some really unpopular changes to make sure we have enough to pay for everything on time.」

Cycelia claps her hands together in joy, as a smile reappears on her face youthful face. She takes the cup of coffee from the maid's tray, and takes a sip that now doesn't burn her tongue.

「…Unpopular changes? Such as?」

Straf furrows his brows, lightly turning his head out of surprise.

「Ah, I had to dismiss all of the cavalry troops and sell off most of the military horses to private ownership.」

Cycelia bluntly declares with a relieved smile, and takes another sip of her coffee.

「Wha-?」

Straf's jaw drops, and he blinks at her smiling face in disbelief.

《So the reason I had to bust my ass and make-do with what I had is budget cuts!? Their cavalry was wrecking our shit and we had none because the economy is crumbling!?》

Straf rubs the bridge of his chiseled nose in frustration with his fingers, and sighs.

《Is this girl an idiot?- No, she can't be. This was the right move. The sale of high-quality military horses kept this shithole afloat long enough for me to fix it. But what sort of an airhead would pawn off military power during a period of political instability!?》

Straf stares at Cycelia in silence. The expression on his face plainly displays pity for the young girl incapable of fully grasping the depth and complexity of it all.

《Ah. Wait. If a fucking soda company can become a naval power this way, then maybe the truth is stranger than fiction…》

Straf sighs and shakes his head, his mouth almost naturally gains a diagonal slant.

「Straf? Is something wrong?」

Cycelia notes the extended silence, and the apparent exasperation Straf is experiencing.

「No, no… Anyway, I have an official request for you as a finance minister.」

Straf says, and opens his [Portable Storage]. He pulls out an ordinary piece of paper, and approaches the throne. The maid shivers, and the captain of the guard nervously look on from the other side of the throne.

「Ahem… Yes?」

Cycelia showily clears her throat, straightens out in her throne, and makes an attempt to sound less casual.

「Read this. It's important for the budget in the future.」

The paper rustles softly as Straf hands it into Cycelia's delicate hands. Straf places his hand in his pocket and takes a step back, glaring at the maid. The coffee cup clatters on the tray again.

「…Market? Exchange?…」

Her brows furrow and she mumbles quietly as she reads a confusing statement, but continues regardless.

「STFD…Ticker?」

Cycelia says, in a confused, questioning tone.

「Yup. Think of it as a short name.」

Stolen novel; please report.

Straf shrugs his shoulders, waiting for Cycelia to finish reading.

「Strafdrakes? Company? There's so much I don't understand…」

Cycelia lowers the paper, and looks up with green puppy eyes into Straf's.

「It's okay if you don't understand, Lia. You just need to give the people a quick rundown of what's written here, get the town criers on it. I also have a few things for you to sign.」

Straf says, and pulls out a quill, and inkwell, and a few pieces of paper out of his [Portable Storage]. He gives the quill a quick dip in the ink, and hands it to Cycelia.

「Sign this here.」

Straf hands Cycelia one of the papers, and points to a line with text stating signature.

「Sure…」

Cycelia furrows her brows, but does as Straf says without delay.

「And this one… Here.」

Straf hands her another paper, and points to a similar line. Cycelia signs it without a word of protest as well.

「And the last one, same thing.」

He says, pointing to the line on another paper.

「Straf, what exactly is this?」

Cycelia asks as she signs the paper. Straf takes it all away, and throws it back into the purple whirl.

「The first one is just an official authorization for the stock market. Y'know, so nobody can say I'm just stepping outside of my authority.」

Straf shrugs as he explains.

「I see…」

Cycelia nods, expecting Straf to also say a word about the nature of the other documents.

「The second one makes me the minister of war.」

Straf nonchalantly says.

「Eh?」

Cycelia blinks with a light grin, almost certain she misheard something.

「And the third turns every sewer in every city in the kingdom into a state-ran rat breeding facility operated by the city-.」

「What!?」

Cycelia's eyes widen in shocked surprise when she realizes she misheard nothing.

「What? It's already the case, I'm just making it official on paper. Come on, Lia. You were there with me. You think those sewers exist for any other purpose than breeding rats, and training adventurers? I'm just cutting the middle man out, on my authority as the minster of war.」

Straf shrugs, completely unfazed by Cycelia's shock.

「But why!? Sewer rats are pests! The adventurers have to cull them periodically-!」

「And now that it's official, they won't have to. Trust me, Lia. The specifics are a state security secret, it's best we don't discuss it here.」

Straf says as he walks down the throne's steps.

「Ahh… Why did I sign everything without reading it?」

She places her palm on her face in frustration.

「Because you know things just work out when I'm behind them, Lia. I need to go somewhere and do something, elsewhere, but I'll be back in a few days. I'll count those votes, and then we're off to the beach, right?」

Straf points at the queen with his back turned towards her as he's mostly facing the exit.

「Uh… Sure.」

Cycelia nods, despite everything.

「Okay, good… Right, before I forget. I have a favor to ask. Can you set me up a meeting with all the candidates? I need to know what their plan on economic policies is, and stuff.」

Straf heads for the exit, but abruptly stops and turns on his heel to face the queen again as he asks for a favor with a shrug of his shoulders.

「Um… Sure? They're all rather busy, but if I tell them the finance minister wants to see them, I think they'll find some time for you.」

Cycelia slowly nods her head, cautiously, to not overpromise too much.

「Great. A few days, Lia. Wait for me.」

Straf snaps his fingers and quickly points his index finger at her before heading out the door. The maid sighs in great relief…

…

Somewhere, perhaps even sometime…

「…But in your final hour, you have proven yourself to be the opposite of the man you thought you were. Even if you say you don't know why you have done that, I know it's because you are a good man shaped by a bad world…」

Athea comforts a dead man with kind words and a warm smile from her marble throne.

「No, me doing one thing right despite my whole life being wrong- I'm not any different from them.」

The dead man shakes his head, if he has one, not letting the goddess believe in a man like himself.

「You are. That's why… In recognition of the way you died, instead of the way you have lived, I will send you to a kinder-」

《Athea! Get your fat ass down here!》

As she attempts to explain something to the dead man with a soft smile, a familiar and annoying voice echoes in her head.

「…A kinder, gentler world-」

Her soft smile almost cracks as the voice of the annoying man continues pestering her.

《Athea! Don't ignore me! I've been busy! I'll pay more attention to you now, so get down here! I have something to discuss!》

「…Excuse me for one second.」

She says with a frustrated, tight-lipped smile and stands up from her throne.

「Eh?-」

The dead man doesn't get to finish his confused utterance before the goddess disappears from in front of him in a flash of golden light.

Fwwoooom.

Athea displaces the air in the room with her arrival. Her shoes clack on the floor, appearing just ever-so-slightly above it. The annoying man is sitting on the edge of his bed, already waiting for her.

「I am busy. Granted, you didn't bother me for a short moment, but what makes you think I am available at your every call and beckon?」

Athea asks Straf with her arms crossed in annoyance.

「The fact you're my harem member. Now that you're here…」

Straf says, and shrugs with his hand. Athea almost instinctively takes a step back.

「We're going to the beach in a week. You're coming with us.」

Straf nonchalantly declares.

「…Are you out of your mind?」

Athea asks a genuine question.

「What? Are you telling me you don't want to take a break? Go for a swim? Just laze around in the sun? You're really going to tell some dead guys why they died for a trillion million years without as much as a coffee break? Man, black company.」

Straf smirks at Athea, placing his hand on his plaster cast as he crosses his arms.

「It's not about what I want. It's about the fact I left a man who stayed true to his moral compass hanging for your inane fantasies. Do you expect me to spend a day at the beach and ignore everyone who dies in that time?」

Athea asks, glaring at Straf with her frustrated blue eyes.

「Time is all sorts of fucky here and there, isn't it? Who's to say anyone will die in the time you take one day off in… How many gogoolplex years of 24 by 7 work again?」

Straf asks, and Athea clicks her tongue without a second's delay, tapping her finger on her arm.

「What would I even do there? I'm a goddess, I don't need breaks. I don't need rest. It's not something you can comprehend-」

Athea looks at the rising sun through the window with a sour expression on her perfect face.

「Ah, bullshit. Yeah, you're probably not going to die from overwork, alright. But are you seriously saying you'll be happy working non-stop until the time runs out, or something? Big crunch, big rip, you'll keep slaving away? Or is that when you clock out?」

Straf mockingly asks with a grin on his face. Athea takes one glance at him, and clicks her tongue again.

「Again, you understand nothing. Your world is not the only world I handle. I handle all of them.」

「So you handle all that shit, and you're not allowed to take one day off out of how many, again? Because?…」

Straf spreads his hands, turning his head a little for the emphasis to his questions. Athea sighs.

「…If I appear for an hour or two, will you stop bothering me and let me be?」

Athea asks with a sour, tight-lipped grimace.

「Sure. You can stay longer if you find it fun.」

Straf shrugs, grinning again.

「…You said we, right? Who else will be there? Believe it or not, me appearing here as a blatant and genuine goddess is extremely rare. What am I supposed to tell those people?」

Athea keeps her arms crossed, though her expression softens a little.

「Just think of a cover story, not like it matters, right?」

Straf dismissively waves his hand in front of himself, with a ridiculing expression to mock her concerns. Athea sighs again.

「…Sometimes I wish I could care as little as you.」

Fwooompf.

Athea says with a completely ordinary tone, free from any disdain, and disappears upward in a golden beam of light.

「…Nobody is stopping you. Feel free to stop caring.」

Straf scoffs, grinning to himself…