A few moments later, in the Royal Reserve Bank…

With his hands in his pockets, Straf strides in through the door. Niklaus is slouched on his desk with his face hidden in his forearms, appearing asleep. Nona beside him is laying slumped with her head on her arms, holding her hat by its brim on the desk.

「Ah! Straf!」

Her bored, half-open amber eyes drift to Straf. She jumps up, straightening out, and quickly flicks the peaked cap back onto her head.

「Yeah, me. I see this guy is still not taking his job seriously.」

Straf replies, and walks up to the desk. He looks down at Niklaus with his mouth aslant.

「No, that's not the case! He caught an armed robber that was being a huge pest lately! The boss is working really hard, you just catch him at the wrong times!」

Nona defends Niklaus, pointing her finger at him, looking at Straf with huge orange eyes from beneath her cap.

「Nona, third party excuses are still excuses. Let's see what he has to say for himself.」

Straf says, and lifts his fist in preparation to hammer the desk.

「Waitwaitwaitwait! Let him rest! Look, if he's not working, then that would mean I am not working! And I'm working really, really hard!」

Nona exclaims, sliding onto the desk in front of Niklaus, erratically waving her hands at Straf to get him to reconsider. Niklaus somehow continues sleeping through the commotion, and the two look each other in the eyes.

Straf sighs, and places his hand back in his pocket.

「Is that right?…」

Straf asks, looking at Niklaus, then at Nona.

「Yes, it is!」

Nona nods her hat with fervor multiple times, and crawls her way back off the desk into her chair.

「Alright. I'll believe you, because I sure damn won't believe the head of security here.」

Straf shrugs, and nods his head at Niklaus.

「Ahahaha… Am I so trustworthy?…」

Nona giggles softly, hiding her grinning face a little behind her cap's brim.

「Crime never sleeps, but the law sure likes to nap… So, you're working, huh? How's your conviction rate?」

Straf grumbles for a brief moment, and asks, looking Nona straight in her amber eyes. They escape sideways, and she gains a nervous grin on her face.

「Uuuhhhh… Ummm…」

She groans softly, slowly tapping her finger on the desk, avoiding eye contact.

「Ahhh… Well… You see… I messed up a little bit… And I'm a little worried I might be in trouble…」

She quietly say, grinning awkwardly while hiding her lowered face behind her hat.

「…Will you be mad at me?」

Nona asks, innocently tapping her fingers together as her amber eyes rise up to Straf's.

「The last time someone asked me that, I was mad… What is it? You no longer have a perfect conviction rate?」

Straf sarcastically scoffs, scrunching his mouth to the side.

「Well… Yes.」

After a quick side-glance, she hesitantly nods her head. Straf rolls his eyes, and shrugs with his hands.

「That's it? Wow. You really got me. I thought it was going to be something serious for a moment there.」

Straf scoffs, shaking his head as he puts his hands back in his pockets.

「Huh? You're not mad?…」

Nona asks, tilting her hatted head and blinking rapidly in surprise.

「Why would I be? It was a statistical inevitability. In fact, I'm impressed you managed to keep a perfect conviction rate for so long. I guess that uniform just intimidates people into spilling it all.」

Straf chuckles softly, grinning at Nona. His smile washes her worries away, and she returns a large smile of her own.

「Ahaha… I'm glad, this was on my mind the whole time you were gone…」

Nona giggles softly, slowly scratching her cheek with a large smile.

「Ah! You were gone for a long time, now that I think about it!」

She adds, looking at Straf with her eyes wide and her brows raised, but hidden beneath the cap's brim.

「Really? Didn't feel like it. It was just one day at the beach, though the ride back and forth and the inn stay stretched that out…」

Straf shrugs, idly looking aside at the bank tellers.

「…With the queen?」

Nona asks, and props her head up on her hand.

「…Yeah. And Carrothead, his twerp friend, their girlfriends, and a bimbo exhibitionist.」

「Bimbo exhibitionist?…」

With his brows gently raised, Straf returns his eyes to her, looking at the grinning skeleton on her hat. Nona narrows her eyes, tilting her head a little.

「Did you do anything… Special with the queen?」

She asks, with a completely different mood than before. Her mouth is scrunched into a light pout as her orange eyes stare at Straf.

「Not really… We splashed around in the water, ate a fish, ice cream…」

「So you had fun?」

Nona coldly asks, in an almost accusatory tone of voice. Straf tilts his head a little, and furrows his brows.

「I wouldn't go that far, but it was a nice break. Now it's time to get back to work aaand I've got you a souvenir at the beach…」

「A seashell?…」

Straf says as his [Portable Storage] opens. He reaches in, and pulls a metal sledgehammer out.

「…Better. A big hammer. You didn't really think I'd forget about you, right?」

He asks, and presents『Magecrusher』to Nona, holding it in one hand.

「You got this at the beach?」

Nona says as she straightens out, somewhat surprised by the warhammer, and Straf's claim.

「Yup. It's really special, too, just like you.」

Straf nonchalantly declares with a grin, shrugging his shoulders.

「Wha-?」

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Nona's jaw drops, and she stares stunned wordless at Straf with an open, awkward grin. She abruptly stands up, and walks up to his side.

Tap.

Without a word, she delivers a quick jab in Straf's ribs.

「Ow. What's your problem?」

Straf asks, looking at the metal dragon spreading its wings on her hat, as she hides her lowered face behind it.

「Y- You can't casually say something like that to a girl.」

Nona says, holding the brim of her hat, almost using it as a mask with no eye holes.

「Huh? Why not?」

Straf asks, tracking Nona with his head as she walks to the front of the desk behind him.

「…Because you have to mean it. Aren't you and the queen dating? You have matching necklaces, and everything…」

Nona abashedly replies, and lifts her peaked cap off her face enough to sneak a side-glance peek at Straf's face.

「Hm? Ah, this thing… Kind of embarrassing, isn't it? It was Lia's idea, though.」

Straf holds his ruby-set medallion up on his fingers momentarily, and drops back to let it hang off his neck.

「W- Well…」

《…Actually, it's cute. It's super, super cute. I want a matching pair too. How can he be such a two-timing bastard? Just because he has a handsome face?… Or is it because of me?》

She pouts, looking at the ruby in Straf's medallion.

「…Anyway, just give me this thing already.」

Nona says, holding her hands out, ready to receive the sledgehammer.

「You sure? Lia said it's heavy.」

Straf asks, moving the hammer's shaft over her waiting, open hands.

「It can't be that heavy-」

Nona says, shrugging her shoulders. Straf drops the hammer into her hands.

Thud!

「Ugh, it's heavy!」「Wha-!? Huh!? Straf!?…」

As soon as Straf lets go, it sinks onto Niklaus's desk. Despite the short drop and Nona doing her best to lift it, the hammer's head impacts the desk with a loud thud. Niklaus wakes up, entirely confused. He grips at his dagger, looking at Nona and Straf with dazed eyes.

「…I'm not sleeping- I was just…」

Niklaus mumbles half-coherently, and rubs his face.

「Huurgh… Okay, it's a little heavy…」

Nona says, lifting and resting the sledgehammer onto her shoulder.

「Yeah, I warned you, didn't I? If it's too heavy for you, maybe I can-」

Straf shrugs with his hands, looking at Nona with his mouth aslant.

「Huh!? Too heavy!?… Don't be ridiculous! I may not look like it, but I have some muscles on me!」

Nona proudly declares with a straining voice as she walks back to her chair. Niklaus looks at Straf with half-open eyes, with dark bags underneath them.

「Niklaus… You better be grateful to Nona for covering your ass this much. Now that you're awake, tell everyone in the Ministry that they'll be getting their uniforms and badges soon. Have them check at the bank tomorrow noon to see if they're available.」

Straf instructs the drowsy man as Nona returns to her chair, and carefully sets the heavy hammerhead down on the ground between her feet with a soft clunk.

「Uhhh… Ugh… Got it, boss…」

It takes Niklaus a few extra seconds to process Straf's words, but he ultimately nods and acknowledges him.

「Say, Straf… Why a hammer? Couldn't you just bring me a seashell, or something? I'm not saying I don't like it, but…」

Nona asks, resting her hands on the shaft's end, and her chin on her hands.

「Two reasons…」

Straf snaps his fingers, and points at Nona's face.

「One, it's special. Its inn-」

「How so?」

Nona interrupts Straf nearly right away, tilting her head as she asks.

「Tsk. I was getting to that…」

Straf replies, placing his hand back in his pocket with his lips pressed together into an annoyed, tight-lipped grimace.

「Ahaha… Sorry…」

She giggles softly, tilting her head the other way with an innocent grin.

「As I was saying… It's special. Its exact workings are a national security issue, so I'm not telling you a thing unless you have to know.」

He sighs, and explains, looking at the hammer resting on the ground in Nona's hands.

「Woah! Is it really okay if I keep something so important?」

Nona straightens out, glancing at the hammer at her feet before looking up at Straf with surprised amber eyes.

「I don't really have any alternatives. I want to keep it somewhere close to the bank, but I don't trust this slacker here to handle it.」

He looks at Niklaus with a tight-lipped grimace, before returning his gaze to Nona.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

「You're the best fit for it. Now… Second reason is, I need to keep it away from me, and preferably at the bank.」

「Why?」

Nona bluntly asks, tilting her head again.

「Tsk… I would have told you if you had to know.」

Straf replies, and sighs. He leans in, placing his hand on Nona's shoulder. Albeit a little confused, she turns her ear to him to listen.

「Look, I don't want to leave this to rot in my inventory, but it's dangerous to me. Just do your reasonable best to keep it away from me, alright? Another important thing is, always keep hold of it, okay?」

He says into Nona's ear with a hushed voice, and straightens out, placing his hand back in his pocket.

「Uh… Okay? I'll do my best!」

She nods, then tips her cap at Straf with a bright smile.

「Right… And you, write a notice about an IPO for new companies and nail it to the noticeboard outside. Straf Trading Company, Straf Publishing, and Straf Metallurgical Research Corporation. I will deliver the certificates and the details in a note, later.」

Straf says, looking at one of the bank tellers, pointing his thumb at the door over his shoulder.

「Yes sir…」

The bank clerk nods, takes the quill, and she begins scribbling something down on a paper.

「Meta… Logical?」

She asks, looking at Straf with furrowed brows.

「Metallurgical. Get it right.」

Straf rolls his eyes, and replies.

「Yes sir. Sorry sir…」

She nods, apologizing quickly, and returns to scribbling on the paper.

「Riiiight. I have a lot of work to do before I leave for the Academy with Lia. Remember what I said, Nona-」

Straf snaps his fingers and points one at Nona as he heads for the exit.

「You're leaving?」

Nona asks, and Straf stops in his tracks. He nonchalantly shrugs.

「Yeah, I forgot to tell you. Lia asked me to go to the Academy of Magic with her, so in about a week's time we're going to see a stupid entry exam, bully some magic nerds, and deal with some contrived mystery plot. I'll be counting on you again.」

Straf says, placing his hand back in his pocket. Niklaus stares at him with dazed, blank stare, and Nona lowers her head.

「…You barely came back, and now you're leaving again?」

She asks, sounding almost angry. The brim of her hat covers most of her face as she leans onto the hammer's shaft.

「Hey, I couldn't turn down an opportunity like that. Besides, I have to keep the pace snappy.」

Straf scoffs as he shrugs with his hands, explaining his decision.

「…And you'll be there with the queen?」

Nona asks, keeping her amber eyes hidden behind her cap's brim.

「Yup, Lia made a promise to a dead old guy that she'll go. She asked me on the beach, since apparently, they're about to take new students in.」

「…For how long?」

Nona continues asking, still hiding her face behind her cap, and in the same tone bordering anger, but not quite.

「Uhhh… One term, I guess? I don't want to be stuck at the Academy either, that would suck. Too much of air can kill you, y'know? Everything in moderation.」

Straf rubs his chin as he thinks, then replies with a shrug of his hand and shoulder.

「…I see.」

She bluntly states, nodding her head a little.

「…Alright. Like I said, I'm counting on you. You're definitely the employee of the month!」

Straf declares, pointing his finger at Nona as he disappears through the door. With her head still lowered, she clicks her tongue.

「Tsk… They're sure perfect for each other, aren't they?…」

Nona bitterly mumbles under her breath, with a hidden frown…

…

A few hours later, in the throne room…

Cycelia is glumly sitting in her fancy chair, looking down at nothing in particular on the floor, with a sullen expression.

「Ah, your highness, there you are…」

A voice from the center of the throne room says, and Cycelia turns her emerald-green eyes towards it. A maid approaches, and does a curtsy at the throne's steps.

「Yes?」

Cycelia asks, furrowing her brows at the maid.

「A message from the king of Rankor Kingdom came. I was searching for you, your highness, but couldn't find you, so I delivered it to your room.」

The maid explains, standing at attention with her hands together low in front of herself, looking at Cycelia with a serious expression.

「From Rankor?… What could he want? It's not a declaration of war, is it?」

Cycelia gets up from her throne and with furrowed brows walks down the steps in a hurried pace.

「I do not know, your highness. The message is sealed, and I dare not open it. But…」

The maid responds, following Cycelia side by side as they approach the doors together.

「…I believe the letter has amiable intent?」

The maid adds, tilting her head a little as she looks into Cycelia's confused eyes.

「Amiable?… Well, that's good. Thank you, I will go read it right now.」

She says, and the maid politely bows, standing in place as she's left behind in the empty throne room…

…

A few days ago, in the Rankor Kingdom…

A young, distraught king sits at a desk in a study with a quill in hand. Countless crumpled up papers littler the ground beside him. With his elbow on his desk, and his head resting propped up on his hand, he despairs over the mostly blank piece of paper in front of him.

「…Your beauty is- No, no, no! We haven't even met! Why am I writing about her beauty!?」

Crrkrkkkr… Khwack.

He noisily crumples up the almost blank paper, and throws it aside. He takes another piece of paper and sets it down in front of himself on the desk, despairing over it once more. The door to the room abruptly opens.

「King Nide, is it ready?-」

「No! Come back in an hour!」

A middle-aged, mustached man in a tuxedo peeks his head into the room and asks, only to be shouted at before he can fully finish his sentence by the young king at his desk.

「…Understood.」

The man bows out, and shuts the door. The king grits his teeth, taps his temple with his finger, grimaces heavily as he thinks.

「…Dear Queen Cyce- No, no… That's too friendly, we were at war just now… To your majesty, Queen Cycelia… Better.」

On his desk, a candle's flame dances away through the night. He mumbles and grumbles, and scribbles something down on the blank paper.

「…I write to you in a good faith effort to restore the relations our kingdoms have held for so many years…」

He speaks words out loud, writing them down as he goes. Then, he pauses.

「The war between our kingdoms has been weighing- No, no… That's too impersonal… The war between us has been weighing heavily on my heart and my consci- No, wait, it's better if… On my conscience, and on my heart…」

He pauses himself mid-sentence for a second, rubbing his chin. He continues, changing the order of the words, and altering the tone in a minor, but significant way.

「Tsk… Shit, what now?…」

He clicks his tongue, and thinks. He thinks, and thinks, and thinks. Several minutes pass as he taps his temple with his finger to no avail.

「…In the past, I said I will re-negotiate the terms of our peace, but after I gave it some thought how much I wronged your-」

He writes down more, and pauses. He once again thinks in silence for a few moments, staring desperately at the half-empty paper.

「…How much I wronged you, I have decided against it. I would like to ask you to give friend- No, no… If I say friendship, it's already over… Hrrgh…」

He once again scribbles a few words, then stops. He groans and mumbles some more, thinking for a few moments.

「…To give me a chance to build… A pleasant relationship with you. Heh.」

The young king writes down another sentence, and lets out a smug, self-satisfied chuckle.

「…With this letter, there should be a gift attached that a lady such as yourself may find agreeable. A bouquet of most beautiful roses picked from my palace garden…」

He adds another line quickly and without an issue, but then pauses. He thinks heavily, and his mouth moves left and right as he grimaces a little.

「…Which, I am certain, fail to match your beauty. Heh. I am a genius.」

King Nide straightens out in his chair, and grins. His eyes drift to the golden drake on the desk, and Cycelia's imaginary portait on it. He looks at her ever-so-slightly smiling, serious face…

…

Now, in Cycelia's bedroom…

「…Which, I am certain, fail to match your beauty. My he's such an adulator… But what a nice letter! I'm glad he wants to put it all behind us!」

With a huge smile on her face, Cycelia sets the letter back down on her desk, and takes the bouquet of flowers into her hands. She gives the roses a few snifs, and lets out a contented sigh as she puts them back down.

「Ahh… I'll write him a response! Where was my paper?…」

She gets up, and hastily searches through cabinets and drawers.

「Ah! There it is!」

She pulls out a sheet from one of the drawers, and drops it onto the desk.

「I should also…」

She mumbles to herself, and pulls at a drawer. Glass clatters softly.

「Ah, there they are. Do they still smell nice?…」

Cycelia takes one of the colorful, small bottles into hand. She pulls at an elongated cork, and it frees itself with a soft pop. Embedded in the cork, a brush drips translucent liquid back into the bottle. Cycelia carefully shakes the excess off back in, and sniffs the bottle contents.

「…Good!」

She says with a smile, and starts to gently brush the oily liquid onto the blank paper.

《I'm glad I finally have a use for these! I haven't wore perfume since that stupid ball years and years back!》

She thinks, and finishes applying the perfume onto the paper. She places the cork back in, and places the bottle back in its drawer, closing it. She sits back down, and pulls her chair in closer to the desk.

「Right… Now, the letter… Dear King… Uhh… What was his first name again?…」

Cycelia looks up and aside as she thinks, pouting a little with a quill in her hand.

…

Sometime, somewhere…

Athea sits in her gold-capped marble throne, legs crossed at the knees. Resting her head on her fist and slouched a little to the side, she plays with a small copper coin in her fingers.

《…I shouldn't be keeping this here.》

She thinks with a light smile, and stops the coin between her thumb and finger. Athea sighs, and continues rolling it across her dainty fingers, every now and then hiding it in her palm as she looks into the vast, foggy nothingness.

《But should I really just leave it somewhere? It's not like his world will disappear overnight…》

She stops the coin between her thumb and finger again, taking a good look at it with a serious expression. Her blue eyes blink as she stares at it, in deep thought. A few moments later, she slides the coin back into her hand, fondling it, feeling for its hardness and rigidity.

《Wouldn't it be okay if I kept it just until he dies?… It's not like it will take long… Then, maybe I can return it to him…》

She sighs again, pensively looking aside at the misty, cloudy void.

「…What is he up to right now, anyway?」

Athea think out loud, snapping out of her thoughts. She swipes her fingers in front of herself, and a partially transparent runic screen opens.

「Wha-!?」

Athea stands up, staring in shock at the screen, squeezing her dainty fists in anger.

「You… This is what you meant!?…」

Athea opens her fist, scowling at the small copper coin in her palm.

「You bastard! I knew it! I knew you didn't change at all, all along! I knew it!」

She shouts, and throws the coin down onto the floor, if there is any.

Plink.

It lets out a hollow metallic ringing, before shooting up into the air, spinning wildly.

「Ah!- I have to return that!」

Just as she hears the coin bounce off the supposed ground, her eyes open wide, and she realizes she threw it in anger. Her eyes track the spinning copper while it flies off in a huge arc. She reaches her hand out towards it.

In a flash of golden light, Athea appears in middle of the air, horizontal, and intercepts the coin with her hand as it flies towards her. The next split second, she reappears at the throne with another flash of light.

「Phew… Spares me searching for this garbage.」

She sighs in relief, and glares disdainfully at the coin with her frigidly cold blue eyes, almost imbuing it with all her negative feelings.

「Tsk. I can't believe that bastard. That utter, unbelievable wretch. Just when I thought he's salvageable…」

Athea clicks her tongue, and shakes her golden head. She disappears in a beam of golden light downwards, clutching onto the coin…