Two Meghri's?

　We sneaked into the castle looking for Mr. Meghri and met two Meghri-san there.

"How could Fluffy be...

　I couldn't help but speak out, but thanks to the use of a disguise spell, our identities haven't been exposed yet.
　The only thing that has been found is the popping mofo that popped up, though.

'Megrielna, is this girl your friend?'

　Then the first person to enter this room, Megri-san, who was called Megrielna, speaks to Megri-san while holding Fluffy Fluffy in her arms.
　Um, this is probably the right person to be Aydra-san, right?
　Hmm, it's complicated.

''Ha, yes ... my, or rather, my acquaintance's pet.''

　It sounds like you know about Fluffy Fluff, and I wonder if Megrielna over here is the Megri we know?

Well, your friend?　You must be worried about that. We should give it back to you soon.

I mean, why is Fluffy here...

Are you named Fluffy?

Coo!

　The other Idra, who was jumped on by Fluffy Fluffy, took Fluffy Fluffy in her arms and stroked her gently.

''Cukkiu!''

　The petted mofo is in a good mood and makes a pleasant squeal.
　You're so carefree, even though they found you sneaking into the castle.

'Hmmm, cute. Do you want some snacks?

Coo!

　Saying that, Aydra-san held out the sweets on the table, and the mofo mofo chewed on the delicious and expensive looking sweets.

'Look Megrielna, it's lovely!

I'm actually a very dangerous creature...

Oh, no, you don't, do you?　You're a good, sweet girl, aren't you?

Coo!

"....wearing a cat.

　Fluffy Fluff continues to be stroked by Idra as she is fed sweets.
　Well, Fluffy Moffy is still a newborn baby.
　Even though she's a demon, she won't be considered a threat.

''........''

　And despite the two of them, Megri-san was scurrying around the room.
　What's going on?

What's up, Megrielna?

　Aydra-san also seemed to be curious about Megri-san's condition and asked her.

'Aydra-sama, I know you're going to be a little surprised from now on, but could you please not raise your voice?'

Yeah, yeah?　I don't know, but I get it.

　Aydra nodded her head curiously, but she nodded, though she didn't know if she trusted Megri-san.

''Thank you,''

　Mr. Megri said, with his back to Aydra, facing the direction of the hidden window, or the direction we were in.

'Lex, no, we're all there, aren't we?'

　This affirmation, Megri-san seems to be convinced that we're here.

"I wonder if he's noticed by the mofo.

I know.

What are we gonna do?

I look at Gyro-kun and the others and ask them to decide what to do.
This time, I think it's better to listen to Jairo-kun's opinion.

'It's fine, isn't it?　I think they already know.

'Well, I mean, we've been looking for Megri from the beginning.

I understand.

　After confirming Gyro-kun and the others, I release the concealment spell.

"What?　I'm not going to be able to get my hands on them.　Where did that come from?

　Aydra-san shouts in surprise at our sudden appearance.
　But because Megri-san told us not to be surprised beforehand, she doesn't seem to be panicking.　

''Megrielna, who the hell are these people?!''

　Aydra asks Megri, who knows what's going on.

'Master Aydra, they are my friends, the adventurers.

'Well!　Adventurer!

　Aydra-san's eyes become curious when she was introduced to us.

''It's amazing how you can suddenly appear out of thin air, aren't you adventurers!

No, that's because they're... well, from the right, Jairo, Mina, Lex and Liliella.

What about you?

Hi, nice to meet you!

It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Lex, Lady Aydra.

My name is Rieliela!

　As we greet each other, Aydra smiles and straightens her posture.

'It's nice to meet you, I'm Aydra, Aydra-sel-Iska-Tion.

　Idra-san plucked at her skirt and returned the bow with a gracefulness befitting a noblewoman.

''As I'm sure you understand, this person is the princess of this Tion State.

''Is that so.......you mean, princess?''

　Hearing that Aydra-san is a princess, Liliera-san shouts in surprise.

''Well, well, calm down, Miss Liliera.''

Yeah, you don't make too much noise, people will come over.

'What?　Oh, I'm sorry.

'Oh, that's okay, now I'm using wind magic to keep the sound from leaking out.

Oh, really?　Then I guess it's safe to speak louder.

What?　Why are you all so nonchalant about it?

　Liliera-san shouts in confusion at our nonchalant attitude.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's not a problem.

　I've had many opportunities to enter castles in my previous life and past lives.
　There were many royalty who would invite me, a wise man or a hero, to their rooms to tell me stories.
　I'm sure there are many more people who invited me to their rooms in the name of listening to a story.

''Well, we had heard some of it from Megri.......''

I'm sorry. It's complicated.

"So I wasn't the only one who didn't know Megri was a princess?

　No, I didn't know that, either.

That's not true.

　And it was Megri who denied it there.

'I am not a princess. I'm a shadow warrior of Lady Aydra.'

Kagemusha?

That's right. That's right. Megglieluna is my shadow.

Aydra joins the conversation to continue Megri's words.

'Since you have come all this way, please have a seat here. Megrielna, could you please make me a cup of tea?

I'm sorry, sir.

　With that, Aydra-san invites us to the table.
　When I looked at Megri-san, she nodded at me silently, so I sat down in the chair first.
　Following that, Jairo-kun and the others sat down, and finally, Liliella-san sat down in her chair with reservations.

　And when Megri-san puts the tea for all of us on the table, Aydra-san opens her mouth.

''Hmph, I didn't expect Megrielna to bring so many of your friends with her.

I'm sorry, too.

It's okay. I'm not angry. I'm just happy to see you. It's just that your role doesn't allow you to have much interaction with people.

Is that so?

''Wait, Lex-san!

　As I join the conversation, Liliera-san looks flustered and tries to stop me.

It's okay, Liliera-sama, you should feel free to talk to me too.

Yes!

　Yeah, Liliella-san seems to be too nervous to talk.
　She was more imposing when she was the Sky King, but when it comes to the country she lives in, a real princess, it's a different story.

　But the children of great people are pretty much looking for stories about the outside world.
　They can't go outside because of their situation, and even if they do, they're surrounded by guards and can't enjoy themselves.
　That's why many people are happy to talk to you in a frank manner.
　Some people get upset when you do that, but I can tell when they are looking at you by their attitude and the way they look at you.

'Hey, can you tell me the story of you guys and Megrielna?　I only know about Megrielna, whom I meet in this room and the back room.

　The first thing Aydra-san asked for was Megri-san's story.
　But Megri-san's story, huh? I wonder what I told her.

'I heard you all are adventurers, but what is your relationship with Megrielna?

　Perhaps sensing that we were confused about how to talk to each other, Aydra-san narrowed the topic down to our relationship.
　This man has a good way of carrying a conversation.

''Well, we........I mean, me and Mina, we're not Megri...............but Megri-eh.

Gyro, it's just Megri.

Oh, oh!　All right. Um, yeah, we're Megri's childhood friends!

"Megrielna's childhood friend?

　Aydra-san nods her head curiously.

'Aydra-sama, I was trained to be an escort until I decided to work as Aydra-sama's shadow warrior. I was living at that time in a village located far away from the royal capital.

Well, it was!

　Oh, so Megri-san was acquainted with Jairo and his friends.

'Yes, that's right!　Mina's grandfather and Megri's grandfather knew each other, so they brought him to us because they wanted him to be their friend.

Well, it's a nice meeting.

"Heh.

You three are quite a group of friends.

Oh, no, there are four. There's a kid named Norbu who isn't here, and he's somewhere else for a bit.

　And Mina adds to Aydra's words.

'Well, yes. I would have liked to meet that Norbu-sama.'

　Come to think of it, Norbu didn't come home either.
　I hope no one is home and he's not worried.

'Huh?　But then how did you know who Megri was?　You don't want Megri to find out that she's a shadow warrior for Lady Aydra or something, do you?

　And then Liliella said the question that came to her mind.
　Ah, come to think of it, that's right.

''Ugh........''

　For a moment, Megri-san let out a snarl, but she immediately acted as if nothing had happened.

'Ah, that's it. When we were all playing together a long time ago, we decided on a punishment game where if we lost the game, we'd have to tell our secrets. And then when Megri lost, he told me his secret.

Can you tell them that?

　Riella and I share the same voice, which is unexpected.

It's what children say.

　Yeah Megri, you're not fooling around with the quicksilver.
　Cold sweat is lingering in the air.

But I've been going back and forth between the capital and that village regularly, and my grandfathers have repeatedly reminded me to take good care of Megri. So, just in case, I told Jairo and the others to keep their mouths shut. But I had a really hard time keeping this guy quiet.

No, no, I mean, how could it possibly be true?

....

　Megris-san's face is more expressionless than ever before.
　No, no, rather than hiding her agitation with that face, she just looks like she's agitated on the contrary!

''Phew........hahahahaha!

　And Aydra-san, who had been listening to Jairo-kun and the others, began to laugh loudly.

''Hahaha, Megrielna!　You did not know what you were doing!　Hahaha.

"Huh, it's just that I don't know what to do when I was a kid...

　But Megri's face is bright red.
　It may be the first time I've seen Megri-san so expressive, even though she's expressionless.

''Hmph, you look great!　Tell me more about you guys!

　This is how we met Megri and talked about our days since we became adventurers, as Aydra urged us to do.