Chapter 70

"Lord Luka, as I said before, can't you do something about that seductive charm of yours?"

"Even if you say that, I still don't understand anything."

Viera, who was only showing half her face from behind Albertina, complained, but Luka had no self-awareness.

"Kyuuuuuu"

His partner seemed to be on Viera's side, sending a disappointed line, "You're overdoing it. You're such a tense guy."

Actually, while he was passionately kissing his adorable fiancée, Viera suddenly went limp. Startled, Luka supported her and checked her condition, only to find that she was about to lose consciousness from overheating. When he called her name in a panic, she quickly regained consciousness, but now Viera had escaped from his arms and put some distance between them.

Moreover, even though she had fled from him, she began rubbing her cheek against Albertina's neck, saying, "It's been so long, Tina-sama♡" with a blissful expression. It was incomprehensible. However, Viera had been kidnapped and was living an extraordinary life. It was understandable that she was seeking comfort. Luka swallowed his jealous words by praising himself for properly taking care of Albertina.

Even if his partner, the griffin, sent him a triumphant gaze.

（Has the rebellious phase finally arrived...）

As he felt the frustration of a parent struggling with child-rearing, Viera asked a question.

"Right, Lord Luka. How did you pinpoint my exact location?"

"Ah, I used this."

Luka took out a compass from his pocket. Viera, intrigued by the magical artifact, relaxed her guard and approached Luka, snatching the compass from his hand. She observed it seriously, changing angles, and her eyes sparkled.

"Could it be... the Stalker Magic? The one that ranked fifth in the disappointing magic list!? And you even modified it to use a pink diamond as the energy source, and the magic formula is beautifully efficient. The design of the compass is perfect... The person who thought of this must be a genius‼ Who made this!?"

She seemed more interested in the person who invented it than in the fact that the Stalker Magic was used on her.

"The magic formula was conceived and imbued by Clement, and the modified compass was assembled by Director Drescher. They both completed it in one night."

"Just one night... Both of them are terrifying..."

Shortly after receiving permission to act from the king again, Clement and Director Drescher delivered the completed compass.

Clement's face was pale, as if he was about to collapse, probably from using a lot of magic for preliminary verification. However, his amber eyes still held a strong light. When he looked at Luka with such eyes and said, "When you return, show me that Viera-senpai is next to you, Luka. I'm counting on you," Luka felt a lump in his throat. He needed to thank Clement for finally giving him a situation where he could say, "Leave it to me."

After that, they waited until night to avoid being detected by the criminals, and Luka set out from the palace with two subordinates of the Divine Beast Knights, heading in the direction indicated by the compass. That night, before dawn, they confirmed that Viera was inside Levan's mansion.

The location indicated by the compass was perfectly accurate.

They hid in a nearby forest, monitored Levan's mansion, and coordinated with the knights of Granista and the palace to find the right moment to rescue Viera. However, on that day, Albert, who was skilled in intelligence, discovered that Levan and his group were planning to解除大结界. Fortunately, the Divine Beast Knights were well-versed in the location and terrain of the Great Barrier. They decided it would be safer to set up an ambush at the Great Barrier rather than storming the mansion, so they waited in that forest.

Thanks to the cooperation of everyone involved, they managed to arrive just in time—Luka explained the situation to Viera, omitting Clement's emotional insight.

"We need to thank everyone."

Viera's light pink eyes were moist, and she clutched the compass to her chest as if it were precious, seemingly moved.

Luka stroked her head.

"I was helped by everyone too. Let's invite everyone to a tea party or a meal together."

"Yes, thank you. Of course, I want to thank Lord Luka and Lady Tina as well."

"That sounds great. Especially Tina. After all, it was Tina who stormed the palace."

"Eh!?"

Viera was startled and looked at Albertina.

"Kyu♡"

Her partner cooed sweetly, as if saying, "Praise me, praise me♡" but it wasn't such a cute scene. She had burst into the king's room, breaking the window, and marched in boldly. She advanced to the king, stomping her feet, and let out an angry cry, "Kiiiiiiiiiiii!"

The content was, "Send Luka to rescue Viera immediately!"

When Luka's permission to act was revoked by the king, Albertina, through their contract, sensed his immense anger. When Luka didn't return for a long time after being summoned and the preparations to rescue Viera were halted, she sensed that something was wrong. Believing the king was the cause, she couldn't wait any longer and decided to confront him directly.

While the griffin couldn't always do as it pleased, the royal family, based on the ancestral contract to protect the country with the divine beasts, had to respect the strong will of the griffins unless it harmed the citizens.

It just so happened that the king was about to revoke the no-action order. Thanks to Luka's translation, the king, who was about to collapse, was ordered to "dedicate all efforts to protecting the palace mage" and was granted permission to use all magical artifacts. Luka even gained command over knights outside the palace, not just the Divine Beast Knights. As a result, they could order the knights stationed in this city, independent of the patrol squad, to quickly secure Levan's mansion.

Albertina was truly formidable.

The repair costs for the palace would be taken care of by Duke Ambroise, who arrived gallantly afterward. He was probably pretending to console the king while discussing future personnel and national policies.

（There's no need to tell Viera that the king was about to abandon her. It's enough that she knows Tina put her body on the line.）

In fact, Viera was already flustered and fidgeting just hearing that Albertina had stormed the palace. He didn't want to burden her with any more stress.

"It was a strategy to make the criminals speculate. Tina is fine and, of course, won't be punished."

"Ah, that's a relief. Good job, Lady Tina!"

Viera hugged Albertina and started petting her enthusiastically.

"Kyuur♡"

"Lady Tina♡ Yes, I'll pet you a lot♡"

Once again, their own little world was forming. Luka felt a pang of jealousy.

Luka knew he had a complicated personality. But he had to endure. He told himself to endure just for today and managed to withstand the jealousy as he saw his subordinates returning, signaling that the handover went smoothly. There was no reason to stay here anymore.

"Viera, let's go home."

When he placed his hand on his fiancée's back, who was engrossed in petting, she responded with a lively smile. She seemed very happy to be returning to the capital, her face relaxing with a smile.

（Viera is really cute.）

Thus, Luka, savoring the joy of having his treasure back, carried Viera in his arms, mounted Albertina, and returned to the capital.