16 - one's first outing
A carriage rattles by. I am rocked in a luxurious royal box carriage.
"Ouji, there's no need to be discouraged. There's no way I can compete with you!"
Next to me, there is a little girl who has been lifting me up.
"You should be proud of your courage to make an attack!
In front of the little girl, a boy was scratching his head and gritting his teeth.
He may not be aware that he is disrespecting the prince, but when he lifts me up, the result sounds sarcastic to his ears. Young girls are terrifying.
"Hey, Char, you've got to stop that!"
"Shut up! It's more humiliating for me to be pitied by you!"
Lias, you never (couldn't?) argue with the little girl. But you're coming at me.
Why are you even following me? I only invited Charlotte.
"Oh, it's a little late for that, isn't it?"
It's been thirty minutes since we left, remember?
Well, I wasn't planning on coming either. I was going to sneak after you with my optical camouflage so no one would notice.
But right before we left, my father asked me to go with him, and I reluctantly agreed.
"Isn't this a good idea, Raius? Let's take this opportunity to hear all about it from Mr. Hurt."
"Hmm. What do you want to know from him?
"There is no shame in defeat. We can only grow if we accept the causes of defeat from the winners with sincerity, right?
I didn't lose!
No, I lost.
"Yes, you're right. It's a clear defeat.
This sister is as relentless as the little girl.
"G,noooooo ....... You! What the hell did you do then? You didn't use any magic, did you?"
"I wondered that too. How was it possible for him to draw so much athletic ability without any evidence of magic?"
Char has been the sole performer up to this point, but the topic of conversation has turned to me.
"I did use magic. When I confronted the prince. When I chanted like this, <
"What the hell is that?
What is that?
That's funny. My father agreed with me, and Frey and Charu said, "That's just like you, Mr. Hurt! >> and you said.
"You weren't chanting, were you?"
"He didn't seem to move his mouth at all."
"I'm good at ventriloquism."
"Prolonging?"
What kind of magic skills?
"It's like this," I said, and with my mouth closed, I made a boundary that would allow my voice to come out when I breathed out through my nose.
"That's disgusting!"
"Yeah. ......"
That's funny. This was a big hit with the whole family. I don't get it.
Are you sure you're not a demon?
"What? Rias, there are things you can and can't say!
"But you'd be crazy not to think so. In his case..."
"But that's ......."
Two people who say things I don't understand. Do you know? Char shakes his head. Cute.
"It is very rare that the characteristics of a demon tribe suddenly appear a few generations after the ancestors crossed ...... with the demon tribe. In some cases, they may have athletic abilities that exceed those of ordinary people, or high magical powers.
Generally speaking, it is a fairy tale, but there have actually been such cases in the past. Classified or something.
"And their physical characteristics are also clearly visible. You don't have horns or ears or eyes, but do you have scales or a tail on your body?
"Your body is smooth and smooth, and there is nothing like that. I am sure of it, since I am the one who has been in the bathtub with you all the time.
I've never paid attention to my back. But if Charu says it's okay, it's okay. Well, I don't care if it doesn't affect my life.
Hmm? What's wrong with you two? You're turning red...
"Good God, you bathe with your sister?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean? I'm so surprised.
"Oh, a man and a woman, that's impossible!"
"How could you do such a terrible thing, ......?"
No, I didn't ask you out, okay?
Char approaches me no matter where I am. The bath is no exception. I think he'd have the decency not to come at me fully clothed.
Besides, we're just kids. I may be a bit of a freak on the inside, but I've known my sister since she was born, and I myself haven't yet reached the age of secondary s*xual characteristics, so I don't have any s*xual feelings towards her. This is true.
I can't speak eloquently, so I keep my mouth shut,
"Shouldn't I? ......?"
My sister looked at me like it was the end of the world.
"Can't I take a bath with you, Mr. Aniue? ......
"Well, no, I mean, no one usually does. ......"
"In the first place, it has a very special meaning when a man and a woman expose their skin to each other. It's a noble attempt at procreation.
Let's calm down a bit, sister, shall we?
Well, like this.
Time passes in a lively manner...
"My Lord, it's wonderful! There's a lot of grass in the field. It's amazing!"
My sister's vocabulary. She's so excited that she keeps calling out <
Late spring. The view from the top of the hill is of a field of something wheat-like. The golden glow of it fills my field of vision.
It is strange for me, because to my Japanese senses, this is the season of rice planting.
Char hops from one side to the other, and comes here to stare at the field.
Our plan is to rest here for a while, and then go down the hill to greet the farmers.
The soldiers of the escort split into two groups, one to guard the farmers and the other to eat.
"Hey, Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?"
I walked up to Gordo Semphis, the Count of the Frontier, and called out to him.
"Hurt, is that you? I'm sorry about today. I'm sorry I had to take you out of town.
"No, that's all right. I just have a few questions."
What?
I thought for a moment about what to ask him, and then I asked him a straight question because I couldn't think of a coherent answer.
"Suppose, suppose? What would you do if the queen tried to take Char's life?
Dad rolled his eyes and froze.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask you such a weird question."
"...... No, I see. You had some sense of urgency, too. No wonder you rarely come out of your room, let alone out of the house, and why you so openly agreed to come with me.
Dad said with a kind of satisfied look on his face. I was reluctant, though.
"I fear this is precisely the time. Prince Laius has joined the delegation on short notice. He's accompanied by her brood."
Oh, you noticed.
"And yesterday, at a dinner party, the prince invited Charlotte to visit his farm. He thought it would be a good time to try something so he took you out. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Hmm? Me? Why?"
Dad looks at Char, who's having a great time.
"I can only protect two people at a time. And in order of precedence, only the prince and the princess."
In other words, you have no choice but to abandon your beloved daughter, even though you know it.
That's why I entrusted her to you.
"What, I'm just a 10-year-old kid?"
"As usual, you're not self-aware enough. At the very least, I judged that with your physical abilities, you could carry Charlotte on your back and escape to the castle.
Those summoners were pretty weak, though. They must have specialized in summoning magic. But the summoners were better than that. We just happened to have them under our control, but what would have happened if we had been attacked? You never know until you try.
Hmmm, all kinds of trouble.
"I wish the queen would just go away..."
"Don't say that. It is clear that the queen considers me an enemy. If we do, we will lose.
They've already made their move.
Dad continued with a surprising word.
"We can't lose the queen now."
"Hmm? Why?"
"It's a shameful thing to say, but His Majesty King Zilk's authority has long since fallen. <
"If the queen dies, does that mean there will be civil war?"
You're a smart guy. That's right.
"...... Why don't you become king?"
The resistance will be crushed by the
Dad laughed when I mentioned the idea.
"I'm not the right man for this. But, yes, I am. ......
He stared at me and said, "You know, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this.
"I have a good idea. But it's too early. She's too young. I'd like to wait until he's an adult at least."
Well, now I know who it is.
Charlotte!
"A bright girl. He'll grow up to be a man of national prominence."
He's a bit of an idiot, but he's smart. The problem is his delusions of grandeur... but he'll grow out of it.
"I don't know what he's capable of. I think she has the potential to surpass even the Princess Flash.
His maximum magic level exceeds that of the queen. I'm sure he'll catch up soon once he starts training seriously in magic.
"Do you understand what I've just said? I know what to expect from you.
Yes, even the least perceptive of me can see that.
All I have to do is protect her until she becomes a great queen. Then I can enjoy my life in the other world with peace of mind.
Will you do it?
"Of course."
When he decides what to do, he acts immediately. It's unthinkable in my former life, but that's how I feel now.
I look to the side.
A few of Lias' guard knights are gathered around, whispering to each other.
Dad doesn't know it, but they've already started to assassinate Char. And the one who ordered it was the Princess Flash... Queen Giselotte.
I'm sure she'll keep trying to mess with him.
I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling.
Then don't think only of protecting her...
"As long as you don't kill her, it doesn't matter what you do (・・・・・), right?"
Let's have a mother-son reunion for the first time in ten years.
My little murmur was never picked up by anyone...