539 – The Golden Crown and the Queen of Refan

“Don’t move! Identify yourselves! Who do you serve!?”

Just when I thought we had finally reunited with Steph, soldiers inside the castle surrounded us, spears at the ready.

Well, we are undeniably intruders. Plus, I’d already dispelled [Mirage], and all of us—including Sue—had been seen in full view.

Should we escape using [Teleport]? No… My daughter was taken care of here. As her parent, I should at least thank the Queen of this country properly.

Well, given our ages, no one would believe I’m her father, so I guess I’ll have to go with “relative.”

“Stop! These people are Steph’s family! They’re not enemies!”

Before I could step forward to explain things to the soldiers, Steph rushed in front of us and stood protectively in our defense.

The soldiers looked at one another, clearly unsure of what to do. Eventually, the one who seemed to be the captain gave the order to lower their weapons.

“If they’re the family of Lady Stephania, our guest commander, then it can’t be helped. Although… it would’ve been preferable if you’d entered through the main gate.”

“My apologies. We weren’t sure what kind of situation Steph was in.”

I offered a sincere apology to the captain for his somewhat pointed words. Fair enough—he had every right to be suspicious.

But even if I had shown up at the gate saying, “I’m Steph’s relative, let me in,” I doubt they would’ve let me meet her that easily.

Also—hold on a second—Steph’s a guest commander!? Is it really okay for a kingdom to make a five-year-old a commander?

“So… can we take Steph home now?”

“W-Wait! Please wait a moment. If Lady Stephania leaves, the castle may fall!”

The captain’s voice sounded desperate. Just as I suspected, the Queen’s side is relying entirely on Steph to hold the line.

So, if we take her back, they’re screwed. But that’s their problem—not ours. We don’t owe them anything.

“Tou-sama, meet the Queen. If it’s you, you can find the ‘Regaria,’ right?”

As I was contemplating how to bring Steph home, she suddenly turned to me and said that out of the blue.

Regaria? She must mean Regalia—the proof of royal authority. Like Japan’s Imperial Regalia or China’s Imperial Seal. Does Refan Kingdom have something like that too?

“C-Can it be!? You can find the Regalia!?”

“Well, I can use search magic, but it’s not like I can guarantee—”

“Magic!? The same kind of Lady Stephania uses!? Then you must speak to Her Majesty the Queen!”

Ugh… I just want to take my daughter and go home already.

I must’ve made a sour face, because Steph tugged at my sleeve.

“Tou-sama, please? The Queen was nice to Steph. I owe her a ‘debt of gratitude’!”

“Whoa, that’s heavy!?”

One night and one meal's worth of debt!? That’s more like yakuza code than five-year-old talk. Who the heck taught her that!? Wait—it was probably me, wasn’t it!? Damn it, future me!

Gah. I’m not cold enough to ignore my daughter’s plea. I looked over to Sue, her mother, for reinforcement, but Steph had already moved in on her, too.

“Kaa-sama, please?”

“Mmm… yes, you’re right. We owe them for taking care of our daughter. Let’s at least hear what they have to say, Touya.”

“Yes!!”

Just like that, Sue gave in to Steph’s request. Actually, she’s doting on her so hard I barely recognize her. Maybe she’s just overwhelmed from finally being reunited with our daughter.

Sue’s right, though. Even if they had ulterior motives, it would be rude to leave without at least expressing our thanks. I don’t want to set a bad example in front of the kid.

“Then, this way please.”

With that, we were led deeper into the castle by the captain to have an audience with Her Majesty the Queen of Refan. And of course, one golden golem followed us, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Hey, Steph. I’ve been wondering… is that golem the ‘Gold’ Crown?”

“‘Gold’ [Crown]? That one’s just Gold, you know?”

Steph tilted her head like I was speaking nonsense. Hmm, how should I ask this? In the future, Alburs, the ‘White’ Crown, should’ve been at Brunhilde Castle, but I don’t think anyone called it the ‘White Crown’ on a daily basis.

“So, where did you meet Gold?”

“Umm, near the town of Paisu, I think? Gold fell down from the sky!”

“…Huh?”

According to Steph’s explanation:

She had appeared in the forests near the southern region of Refan Kingdom—specifically in the Colson Region. Despite Tokie Obaa-chan giving her all kinds of warnings beforehand in the dimensional gap, she was so excited by the new world that she ran wild through the forest.

She beat up bears and wolves that attacked her, and in the process… dropped her smartphone.

Oh, come on…

According to Yoshino, Steph often dropped her smartphone even in the future, so I guess that’s just her being her. When she’s focused on something, she completely loses track of everything else.

Anyway, after getting hungry, she decided to bust out of the forest. She activated her [Prison] barrier and went full throttle with [Accel], mowing down trees as she charged straight through.

We seriously need to teach this kid what environmental destruction means…

And along the way, she found a spot where there was a hole in the sky.

“A hole?”

“Yeah! It went gugugoooo, then buwawaaa, and bachibachi! And then it went guruguruguru! Right up in the sky!”

…Yeah, I’ve got no clue what she’s talking about.

◇◇◇

“Golem!!”

A golden golem had fallen from a hole in the sky, and Steph approached it without the slightest hint of caution.

Of course, her barrier skill, Prison, which deflected everything, was already active. Steph unconsciously kept Prison activated at all times.

To Steph, Prison was like clothing—she would never remove it in unsafe places.

And for Steph, a "safe place" meant anywhere her family was. Outside of that, she didn’t even turn Prison off when sleeping.

Because this was so normal for her, she lacked any real sense of caution. There was no need for it—after all, she was absolutely (well, not really, but close enough) safe.

She slowly approached the golden golem that was leaning against a tree.

There were no major parts broken, but cracks and fractures ran all over its body—it was a complete mess. As if it had been pounded again and again by some massive force.

The golem didn’t so much as twitch. Steph tapped on it a couple of times—kon kon—but there was no reaction.

When she looked up at the sky where the golem had fallen from, she saw the hole sparking and swirling in the air before gradually shrinking down, then with a shurun, it vanished without a trace.

"Did it break when it fell?"

Steph murmured as she looked at the unmoving golem, thinking of her older sister who adored golems.

If Kuhn-oneesama saw this, she’d definitely be thrilled. And surely, she’d fix it.

Suddenly, a memory of Kuhn maintaining her own golem, Parla, flashed through Steph’s mind.

That’s right… what was it again...?

“Umm, Open?”

Mimicking what her sister had done, Steph placed her hand on the golem’s chest and let her mana flow into it.

With a pshh, like air being released, the golem’s chest opened vertically. The G-Cube, the core of the golem, sparkled brightly under the sunlight.

Now that it was open, Steph had no idea what to do next.

Timidly, she reached out and touched the G-Cube. At least she knew this part was really important—her sister had told her that much.

She took out the G-Cube, which was protected by a gel-like sphere, but when nothing happened, she just put it back in.

"WARNING. Unable to register the Master information. Please try again."

“Waaah!?”

The golem suddenly spoke, and Steph fell on her butt in surprise.

It was just the voice guidance system for input support, but Steph thought the golem had really started talking to her.

"WARNING. Unable to register the Master information. Please try again."

Still wary, Steph stared at the golem. But when it just kept repeating the same words, she lost her patience and spoke up.

“What am I supposed to do?”

"Please insert a part of the person to become Master—such as hair, nails, or skin—into the G-Cube."

Following the instruction, Steph plucked a strand of her golden hair inherited from her mother, placed it into the extracted G-Cube, then slotted it back in.

Her sister had done something similar too, so Steph was sure she was doing it right.

"Rebooting. Would you like to delete data from before shutdown? Doing so may affect this unit’s thinking, behavior, and abilities. Do you still wish to proceed with deletion?"

“‘Affect’? ‘Delete’? Hmm… I don’t really get it, but sure.”

"Understood. Deleting data... Data deleted. Please close the hatch and channel mana once more."

The question had been, “Do you wish to proceed?” So, Steph just reflexively said “yes” without thinking.

What she had just done was a full reset of the golem’s brain, the Q-Crystal—but there was no way she could have known that.

Following the guidance, she closed the hatch on the golem’s chest and poured her mana into it again.

“Crown Series, Model Number CS-10: Seraphic Gold. Reboot complete. Please register the Master name.”

“Master name?”

“Your name, please.”

“I’m Steph. Stephania Brunhilde.”

“Registration complete. Master registration updated.”

The eyelid-like visors over the golden golem’s eyes opened, and its camera-eyes locked onto Steph.

It raised its battered body from the tree it had been leaning against, and the small golem slowly stood up.

“I am Seraphic Gold, your loyal servant. Please give your orders, Master.”

　　　　　　　　　　◇　◇　◇

“You formed a Master contract…!?”

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"Hey, hey, hold on. Are you saying Steph made a Master Contract with the Gold【Crown】?"

Yumina’s contract with the White【Crown】,Arbus, is just a provisional one. Yumina doesn’t have compatibility, but since her ancestor, Arthur, was once a Master, she’s made a Sub-Master Contract through bloodline connection.

With that kind of contract, she can’t use any Crown Skills that require a price, so there’s no need to worry.

But Steph is different. She made a full-fledged Master Contract. That means she can use Crown Skills that require a price...

"Are you the Gold【Crown】?What’s your Crown Skill?"

"Affirmative to the first question. Unable to answer the second. I possess no Crown Skill."

The one who answered from behind me was Gold. Come to think of it, Silver had mentioned that Chrome Lanches created golems without paying any price.

So does Gold, like Silver, not require a price either? That’s a bit of a relief.

Still, I can’t believe Steph actually made a contract with the Gold【Crown】...

Wait a minute. Arthur Ernest Belfast, the former Master of Arbus, is the ancestor of the Belfast royal family.

Which means not just Yumina, but Sue, too, carries that bloodline.

Silver, the Silver【Crown】,made a contract with Yumina’s son, Kuon. And now Steph, Sue’s daughter, has contracted with the Gold【Crown】...

Could it be that the compatibility to wield the【Crown】Arthur once had was passed down to Kuon and Steph? If so, this might have been inevitable from the start...

Either way, once we return, I’ll have Dr. Babylon and Engineer Elka run a thorough analysis on Gold. If the frame is too much for Steph, we’ve got to do something about it.

But if this really is the Gold【Crown】,then how did the Apostle of the Evil God get their hands on the Ark? Could there be other【Crowns】we don’t even know about?

"I understand the matter about the golem, but how did you come to know Her Majesty the Queen of this country?"

"Umm, you see—"

"Her Majesty the Queen is currently awaiting you."

Before Steph could answer Sue’s question, the captain who had escorted us cut in, stopping in front of a massive double door.

Well, let’s hear the rest from Her Majesty directly.

As the large double doors opened, one woman stood waiting for us inside.

She looked to be in her fifties—not quite what you’d expect from a queen. Her dress was plain rather than extravagant, and she wore round glasses with a gentle smile on her face.

For some reason, she reminded me of Ellen-san—Sue’s mother. Of course, Ellen-san is much younger than Her Majesty, but I could imagine her looking like this when she gets older. No wonder Steph got attached to her.

"Nice to meet you, Your Highness, Duke of Brunhilde. I am Sonya Quill Refan, Queen of the Kingdom of Refan."

"Huh? You know about me?"

"Of course. Steph has been bragging about you nonstop."

Her Majesty Queen Refan laughed lightly. Now I’m really curious about what Steph told her, but I’ll let it go for now.

"Still... you’re quite a young father, aren’t you? And this is the mother...? Umm..."

Her Majesty glanced at Sue, who was holding Steph’s hand, with a puzzled look.

In this world, the typical age for marriage is around 15 to 18. If Steph is five years old, that would make me a father at 13, and Sue would have given birth at 8. Yeah, no way that’s happening.

"Ah, no, actually Steph is just a relative of ours. ‘Tou-sama’ is more of a nickname..."

"Eh? That’s not—mmph!"

Just as Steph tried to say something, Sue silently covered her mouth. Nice save.

"I see. Steph always tries so hard to explain things, but I must admit I don’t understand half of it."

Totally get that. Stuff like “gugugooo!” and “buwawaaa!” doesn’t exactly clarify things.

We took a seat on the sofa as suggested by Her Majesty. I sat with Steph between me and Sue. On the next sofa sat Sakura and Yoshino. Kohaku curled up at my feet, and Gold stood a little ways off.

"First of all, thank you very much for protecting Steph."

For now, I bowed my head toward Her Majesty the Queen.She might have had her own motives, but the fact remains—she had taken care of our food and shelter. As a parent, I needed to show my gratitude for that.

“No, no, not at all. It’s us who should be thanking you… If it weren’t for Steph, I would’ve been dead, without a doubt.”

According to Her Majesty, while they were traveling by carriage, they were ambushed on the highway by soldiers from a rival clan. It was just by chance that Steph and Gold happened to pass by and saved them.

I glanced at Sue. It was the same situation as when I first met her. Like mother, like daughter? Though, in this case, I guess the roles are reversed.Sue was the one being saved, while Steph did the saving.

Later on, when Her Majesty’s group had taken refuge in a nearby town, that same clan sent their army to attack again.Apparently, Steph drove them off all by herself.

Well, that’s Prison for you...I heard she set up right in front of the castle gate bridge and didn’t let a single soldier cross.Seriously, is my daughter some kind of Zhang Fei from Changban Bridge?

Still… to face off against an army alone…?

“No, well, not exactly alone. Our soldiers were there too, but they were all blown away along with the enemy by Steph…”

Her Majesty looked like she was having trouble putting it into words.

Apparently, she’d also taken out some of the friendly forces. Steph's fighting style is to use Prison to create a solid defense, and then use Accel to speed through the battlefield and smash into enemies.

If you enlarge the Prison, it’s basically like a wall ramming into people at high speed. No wonder friend or foe alike can’t handle it.

In the end, having allies around just made things more dangerous, so everything was left to Steph.

“To think we have no choice but to rely on such a small child… It's just shameful…”

Her Majesty looked at Steph as she muttered those words. It was hard to tell whether she was frustrated by her own powerlessness or regretting having let a child fight.

“It’s okay! That wasn’t a big deal at all. I got paid, I got snacks, and meals too!If someone’s in trouble, it’s only natural to help them! That’s what ‘kindness is not just for others' benefit’ means!”

“Umu! Steph speaks wise words! Such a good girl!”

“Ehehe, I got praised!”

Sue gently patted Steph on the head. Though a bit shy, Steph beamed with pride. Ugh, I wanna pat her too... but I’ll hold back for now.

Still, “kindness is not just for others' benefit”? Just like her saying earlier about “the gratitude for a lodging and a meal.” This girl keeps using these weird proverbs…

Who taught her those again…? Yeah… probably me.

Oops, gotta stay focused. I need to hear what Her Majesty has to say.

“Uhm, right. So, earlier I heard from Steph that you're searching for something called a ‘Regalia’?”

“Yes. The Regalia is an ancient symbol of royal authority. Whoever possesses it is recognized as the true ruler of Refan. Currently, the Kingdom of Refan is split into three factions: my Queen’s faction, the anti-Queen faction, and the neutrals. If we secure the Regalia, the neutrals will likely support us, and even the anti-Queen faction will be forced to stand down—”

“Pardon the interruption! The army of Marquis Belius is headed this way! Twenty thousand strong!”

Suddenly, the soldier who had guided us earlier burst into the room in a panic.

An army? Wait, could it be that force I saw earlier heading our way?