I wonder if he's as old as I am?
　She was somewhere between a girl and an adult, with a hint of innocence.

　Her golden hair stretched down to her waist, and she wore a hair ornament that sparkled beautifully like a jewel.
　Her eyes were emerald green.
　They are so deep and beautiful that you could be sucked in.

　The dress she wears is based on white, giving her a clean image.
　The dress is gleamingly crafted, and you can tell at a glance that it's made with the soul of a craftsman.

'Alec,'
Ha!

　The knight called Alec looked at the girl as she got out of the carriage and immediately fell to her knees and bowed her head.

'If it wasn't for these people, we might have lost our lives. They saved our lives, so to speak. And yet, you cannot just walk away without thanking them. To do so would be to tarnish the name of the Rolleys.
I'm sorry.
No, it's just that you understand.

　The name Rollees, mentioned by the girl, sounded familiar.
　Or rather, it was a name that should be familiar.
　For those who live in this country live day in and day out under the reign of that name.

'It's nice to meet you,'

　The girl turned to me and bowed, lightly picking at her dress.

'My name is Sarya Rollees. I am deeply grateful for your help.
Don't tell me... your highness!
Yes. My father, Argus, is the king of the country and I am the third princess.
I'm sorry.

　Like the knights, he hurriedly dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

''Nyan?　Rain, what's going on?

　Kanade and Tina remained curious and relaxed.

　Kanade is a cat spirit race, so he probably doesn't know about the princess.
　The strongest species doesn't belong to the country in the first place, so there's no reason for them to bow to the princess.

''Awwww!

　It was obvious, but Tina seemed to know the princess and was wincing.

'Ka, Kanade!　Just like Rain's husband, bow down quickly!
'What?　Why?
He's a very nice man!　She's a princess!
Really?
'Yes!　So don't listen to the wrong person talking on the phone or anything like that!　I mean, we're not the ones you should be talking to...
'Princess, I guess that means you're like the chief's daughter?　I'm not the chief's daughter, but, but I'm the daughter of the strongest mother, so I guess it's similar.　Nice to meet you~
Aww...!

　Kanade greeted the princess with a smiling face and a rather frank...
　Tina was foaming at the sight of that, and I was almost fainting.
　Maybe I'm turning blue in the same way.

　Me, I could be executed for disrespect....

"Hmm.

　As if to break our tension, there was a laugh that sounded like a bell rolling.

　It was the princess's voice.
　She looked at Kanade and laughed happily.

''You're a cat spirit race, aren't you?''
Yeah, that's right. It's called Kanade.
So you are Mr. Kanade? I'm Sarya. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you too, by the way.

　For some reason, Kanade was getting along with the princess.
　Kanade's communication skills are not half bad....

You!　How dare you show disrespect to the princess...!

　The knight called Alec is furious, but

Back off, Alec.
But...!
'You know that Kanade and the others saved your lives, right?　Instead of thanking him, it's the height of folly to point a sword at him. Besides.....

　Giggling, the princess says happily.

'When was the last time I was spoken to in such a friendly manner...?　I thought it was very fresh and fun. I don't mind, so back off this time.
But such a thing would compromise the dignity of the princess...
'We're the only ones here. If Alec and the others will keep quiet, there will be no problem. Or shall I report to my father that I have behaved in a manner that degrades the dignity of my country?
No, no, no, no, no...!
Then why don't you leave this to me?
I'm sorry, sir.

　Apparently, the story was settled well.

Juju, that's a shortened lifespan...

　Tina collapsed heaving on top of Kanade's head.
　I know that feeling.........
　I'm still nervous about it, too, because I'm still nervous about it.

Now, you can be normal.
'Well...'
'As I told Alec, it's no problem if it's just for this occasion. I don't mind...or would you prefer that I issue a princess order?
Haha ... okay.

　She has such a friendly personality that it's hard to believe she's a princess.
　That's interesting, and I can't help but smile at her.

''Huh........!

　The knight named Alec stared at me, but I decided not to worry about it at this time.
　As long as the princess says it's okay, it should be okay.

　I stand up and look at the princess squarely in the eye.
　Then I bowed my head.
　As expected, you have to bow when you greet people.

''Nice to meet you. My name is Rain Shroud. I'm an adventurer.
Can I call you Miss Lane?
Yes, do what you have to do.
So you'll call me Miss Lane. Miss Lane, you'll call me Sarya, too.
'What?　No, that's as good as it gets...
'I don't want to do this in public, but here you won't have to look the other way. Since I'm the one who says it's okay, I don't mind. Now, please, please call me Sarya.

　Oh, no.
　It seems that the princess is more of a yankee than I thought.

So Sarya, then.
Is it mandatory for you to be here?
You don't have to call me by my name...
'Well, that's a compromise around here. It can't be helped, I'll be patient.

　And so it goes....
　



----------



　When Sarya-sama learned that I had company, she suggested that we turn back.
　She must have decided that it would be safer to join us.

　I have no intention of leaving Sarya-sama on her own, so I agreed to it.
　So we turned back to the rest stop and....
　I joined everyone else.

'Wow, you're a princess. I'll just say hello to you. I'm Tania from the dragon tribe.

　Like Kanade, Tania also told her that without any fear.
　As expected.........
　It's a strange place to be relied upon.

'Nina......... Nice to meet you, right...?

　Nina was somewhat nervous.
　However, since she tended to be shy, she would have responded the same way even if it wasn't Sarya-sama.

　Sora and Luna........

"...ghee...

　It was still growing.
　Since it looked like I couldn't seem to talk to them properly, I left the introduction of the two of them for later.

　By the way, Gyoja sat quietly on the gyoja stand, as if my job was to hold the reins of the horse and had nothing to do with anything else....
　I felt something of a professional soul.

　
　My purpose was to take a promotion exam.
　I told him that I was on my way to the royal capital for that purpose.

''I see, going to the royal capital to take the promotion exam...I see that you are amazing, Rain.
'What?　What is it?
''To not only have the strongest species like Kanade-san in your company, but to have reached a B-rank at your age... I've never heard of anything like that.
Is that so?
''Huh, how is it that I, a non-adventurer, know more about this than you do?　Usually, I think it's the other way around.
Ha, that's funny, now that you mention it.

　Sarya-sama was a surprisingly friendly person, someone who could talk.
　Well, if she didn't have a friendly personality, how could she say that it was okay to treat him casually?

''Nya.......Rain is getting along with a new girl again.
Are you sure they don't care about us?

　For some reason, the way they both looked at me hurt.

'If you don't mind, can you tell me what you've been up to, Rain?　I'm interested in the adventurer's story.
''Hi, Princess. You would not be wasting your time here unnecessarily...
'Well that's true too so here's what we'll do then. Mr. Rain, would you be willing to take on our escort?