CHAPTER 323: CHAPTER 31 - A SWEET CEREMONIAL

Several days passed quickly.

The long-awaited military expedition that had been delayed for several days was about to begin.

Just before the sun rose and shone brightly in the sky, Marquess Rommel’s residence was bustling with military ceremonies that would confirm me as the second in power after Marquess Rommel.

Under the symbol of Marquess Rommel’s flag fluttering in the wind, I received the command baton from my father and officially became the second-highest-ranking officer after my father.

With the official confirmation through this military ceremony, I had to prepare myself to give a welcoming speech to all of Marquess Rommel’s soldiers who would be accompanying me on the military expedition.

In the bright light of the magic lanterns, waiting for the sun to rise, I walked to a wooden platform that had been prepared for this military ceremony. With the magic staff in my hand, a magic circle was created in front of me.

"Good morning, everyone, I hope you’re not too excited about this upcoming expedition," I said after standing on the wooden platform and casting a magic circle to amplify my voice.

By wearing the military uniform that my father had prepared and carrying the command baton in my left hand, it was enough to show my position as representing Marquess Rommel himself.

"The chaotic political situation forces us to undertake a military expedition to seek new alliances in an unexplored forest. This will be a formidable challenge, especially with outdated and limited information about the dense forests within our territory."

"As the Great Heroes said, information is the first key to understanding something, and the second key is to act based on information that is not fully trusted. The information we received is that dense forest within Marquess Rommel’s territory has new inhabitants of the Elf race, and we will try to build good relations with them."

"If this military expedition fails, then we will just go home and survive, until the war between the nobles over."

I gave a speech filled with hope and fear of failure.

I don’t want to emphasize this military expedition must succeed in allying with the Elf race, it would force the soldiers to work hard and do something in vain if it fails.

The pain of failure will remain in their memory, but it will be a valuable experience for them.

"Don’t push yourself too hard and always remember... this is a military expedition aimed at getting to know the dense forest within our territory well."

"Don’t do anything that will cause a disaster..."

The moment I said those words, I suddenly felt a pair of eyes fixed on me, and my twin sisters, who were smiling with satisfaction after waking up this early without feeling sleepy.

Glare...

Glare...

Glare...

The gazes of all the soldiers who were part of the military expedition seemed to doubt my words and forced me to add one definite rule about this.

"Except for a disaster caused by me or my twin sister," I continued to say to defuse the cynical stares that doubted my previous statement.

For some reason, I felt doubted by the soldiers I was to lead personally, especially the stealth slime herd participating in this military expedition.

All the soldiers who were lined up fragrantly let out their quiet breaths, as if my twin sister and I were always going to do something that would trigger a disaster.

I’m not too angry about this, because it’s an undeniable fact after I repeatedly doing something equivalent to a deadly natural disaster.

"I hope... this doesn’t end up causing another deadly natural disaster," I said in a low voice.

This hope, which is also my prayer, makes me be careful in doing something that will make the soldiers who are taking part in this military expedition suffer.

"I hope you all can carry out this military expedition well and return home safely," I said to end my speech.

I hurried down from the wooden platform and headed towards my parents, who were preparing to see me off on my military expedition.

Tap...

Tap...

Before I met my parents, Sebastian came to ask me some important things, before I going away from the Main Mansion for a long time.

"That was a wonderful speech, Lily-sama. I’m touched by your sincerity in wanting to build a new alliance with the Elf race, who have established settlements within the dense forest. Will things be alright after Lily-sama leaves on a military expedition?" Sebastian asked, whispering, as if to ask something as important as this.

"Are you worried about something, Sebastian?" I asked, glancing at him as he walked beside me.

"Yes, there are some things involving these slippery rats that hunters can’t handle, and little bit difficult to stop them. Normally, the hunters can find them and kill them, but this time... if they try to kill them, it will cause political problem, Lily-sama," Sebastian replied, informing me a rats who will take advantage of this situation.

At this moment, the only thing they fear from Marquess Rommel is my presence, who is still residing in the Main Mansion and only sending rats that can be replaced at any time.

That clever and brilliant tactic would make them realize I wasn’t inside the Main Mansion. It would lure them into using even bigger rats than before.

I could already guess this was coming after several high-level adventurers were seen inside the Adventurer’s Guild and seemed to be in different noble factions.

Duchess Kaori, who sent several high-level adventurers, seems to be cornered by the increasing number of adventurers within Marquess Rommel’s territory.

"That’s a normal course of action. I’m sure Marquess Rommel and Marchioness Amagi have prepared for this. You just need to be aware of every situation that is happening; the Black Maid unit has also been deployed, and it will cause a big hunt from behind the shadows. Moreover, several stealth slimes will stay in the Main Mansion and become my main liaison for long-distance communication. I can return anytime by using teleportation slash. So don’t worry, Sebastian," I said to calm Sebastian’s worried feelings while walking towards my parents.

"I understand this, Lily-sama. As much as possible, I will monitor the situation that has occurred, on the military side, or the political side in the Aurora Kingdom’s Capital," replied Sebastian, who looked calmer than before.

Tap...

Tap...

My footsteps had arrived in front of my parents, who were still hugging Alice and Alyssa.

"Alice, don’t bother Lily too much by doing something that will hinder the progress of the military expedition," my father said to Alice while gently stroking her hair.

"I know, Father. How could I do something that would be a bother and hinder Onee-sama? I’ll just be left behind when I wake up in the morning!" Alice replied in a cute, grumbling voice.

"Well, that’s what Lily would do. I would do the same thing if one of the soldiers was still sleeping in the tent," my father replied in a relaxed tone.

"Father, it turns out that Onee-sama has caught your cruel nature, huh?" Alice looked at my father with a cynical look in her eyes after finding out about this.

"Lily could be even crueler than me, don’t forget that."

It was as if my father was scaring Alice by giving her false warnings that I could be more cruel than my father.

I smiled wryly at this and glanced at Sebastian, "Do I look like that to you, too, Sebastian?"

"No, it must have been just a joke from your father, Lily-sama," Sebastian replied calmly.

"A joke, huh? I doubt that..."

While I was smiling sarcastically like this, I noticed Alyssa, who was receiving some advice from her mother.

"Listen carefully, Alyssa. The main goal of this military expedition is to mapping the dense forest that is within Marquess Rommel’s territory and to establish cooperation with the Elf race that is rumored to exist within the dense forest area," said my mother in a firm tone to Alyssa, who seemed to be listening to this carefully.

"Don’t do anything that will bother Lily-chan while you’re in the forest and force yourself to wake up in the morning with an electric magic chant that will wake you up quickly," my mother continued while giving her some pretty extreme advice.

"I know, Mama. I’ve been practicing waking up early. Something as small as this won’t bother Lily-nee, who is already carrying a big responsibility. How could I bother Lily-nee, who is already busy like that? I’m not her troublesome little sister," Alyssa replied with a sweet smile at her mother.

"Yes, that’s much better than troubling Lily-chan all the time. Make sure to take care of Alice, too."

"Eh? Why do I have to take care of Alice, too? I’d better take care of myself first."

Plookk...

My mother looked like she was slapping her forehead hard after getting such a shocking answer.

"Because Alice is your twin sister. It’s only natural for you to help each other before helping Lily-chan, right?"

My mother seems to have a good reason for this.

"A-Alright, even though it will be a bother for me, it’s okay, as long as it doesn’t bother Lily-nee."

Alyssa responded well to this and obeyed her mother’s words.

After my father and mother gave some advice to my twin sisters, it was now my turn to get advice from my parents.

"Oh, Lily..."

"Lily-chan..."

My father and mother waved their hands at me as if they wanted to give me some important advice that could help me in leading this military expedition.

Caress...

Caress...

My father and mother stroked my head at the same time, which made me feel their love and affection.

"Well, I don’t know what advice to give you other than don’t force yourself to carry the heavy burden and responsibility alone," said my father while stroking my head with his big, rough hand.

"This will be a heavy burden and responsibility for me in the future, right?" I replied with a warm smile to my father.

"Yes, but do it slowly and don’t rush... enjoy the progress," my father continued with advice that felt ordinary.

"What Rom-chan said is true, Lily-chan. Don’t be too hasty in making an important decision, and don’t think that you can solve all the problems alone. It is indeed your responsibility as the leader of this military expedition, but remember... You are not alone in this," my mother added to complement my father’s advice.

"I understand this well, Father... Mother..."

Teeett...

Teeett...

The sound of the trumpet was the signal for the military expedition to begin.