The Princess’s Troubles
“I’ll carry it!”
“N-no… I couldn’t possibly let Princess-sama carry…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m staying here, after all! Let me help!”
After some time had passed, such an exchange took place at the mansion.
Lily smiled and spread her arms wide, trying to take the basket of flowers the servant was carrying. Though the servant showed some hesitation, they were defeated by Lily’s kindness and handed over the basket with a rueful smile.
The servant must have been pleased by her consideration, as their strained smile gradually transformed into a warm one, and the two walked down the hallway together amicably.
It didn’t matter whether they were a servant or anyone else. This was a moment that revealed Lily’s kindness.
From the shadows, Phil and Kahlua were secretly watching this scene.
“Oh my, the tears are coming… that child has grown so much…”
“Be careful with that statement. If the King hears you, you’ll have a blade in your neck.”
“I heard even slugs keep moving for a while after being cut. We’re the same kind of creature, so there’s a possibility—I’ll stick with it and try my best.”
“Even if you went to see bizarre sights, you’d rarely encounter a siscon who embodies ‘she’s so precious it wouldn’t hurt to look at her’ like this.”
Kahlua poked Phil’s side as she quietly teared up.
It can’t be helped, Phil protested to Kahlua.
In the first place, why were the two of them secretly watching Lily?
That was because—
“…Hey, so far there’s been absolutely no ‘I love Phil-sama, marry me!’ with heart marks—not even close to any conversation about it. What do you think about that? Can we assume her heart isn’t black but white?”
“There were never any heart marks flying around to begin with. If there are any, they’re gold coins with wings. Well, I don’t see them flying above Lily-sama’s head though.”
“You’re right about that…”
About two weeks had passed since then.
The days continued with Lily, a member of royalty, staying after declaring she wanted them to “get engaged,” but there had been no particular conversations or events to that effect.
At first, they had worried about “a premonition of troublesome matters, baby,” but they were enjoying peaceful days without incident.
Despite her declaration that she wouldn’t give up in the end, the anticlimactic current situation was making Phil and the others feel suspicious instead.
Wait, this is just like she came to visit normally, they thought.
“If she’d add a heartwarming episode about forgetting all about it, we’d cast warm looks with melted hearts…”
“Looking at her like that, she doesn’t seem to have a frozen heart. Doesn’t look like she needs a blanket or fireplace.”
“You say that, but back then there was a massive ‘complicated circumstances’ vibe, right? She was obviously setting up foreshadowing for trouble.”
“Then when is it going to be resolved?”
“I don’t even know if we should go uncover it ourselves…”
Everyone has one or two things they don’t want others to touch on.
He was aware that he himself was blocking those things that shouldn’t be touched. He wanted to help if something came up, but destroying ideals was out of the question. Trying to extend a hand in such a state would be completely misguided.
If she wasn’t concerned about it, that was all the better.
Therefore, Phil would just stick to being a bystander so the flag wouldn’t be triggered.
“Ah, so you were hiding here.”
As the two were secretly peeking from the shadows, Ilya appeared from behind and called out to them.
“What’s up, Ilya? Going to pick some pretty flowers?”
“You should be able to go by yourself soon, you’re old enough.”
“Well, it’s still fine, isn’t it? Looking at the market, having the clumsy attribute seems to have high demand as a mascot, you know?”
“The only ones who’d be happy about that demand are some people with hearts floating in their heads.”
“Nobody said anything about it being scary in broad daylight so please come with me!?”
Since calling out = bathroom was a formula that automatically formed, it was easy to imagine what kind of position Ilya held for the two of them.
“If you’re bored, both of you come fight me!”
But undeterred by such treatment, Ilya pointed sharply at the two of them.
For some reason, she was full of spirit. Flames burned in her eyes as she breathed heavily through her nose.
“A declaration of war perfect for a coming-of-age story under the setting sun has me scared. I don’t think we’ve treated you that badly until now… did the maid outfit need frills after all?”
“You spoil her too much so she bares her fangs. You need to properly discipline her that the orthodox way is better than frills.”
“I don’t care about maid outfits at all!? More importantly, Lily told me ‘Phil onii-chan is stronger!’ and it pissed me off!”
“A motive that got me involved without my knowledge had been prepared…!?”
Why does everyone drag me into things? Phil dropped to his knees, crestfallen as the world’s popular guy.
But Ilya didn’t care whether he was on his knees or quietly shedding tears—she grabbed Phil’s arm and pulled him up.
“Just come fight me! I do have a desire to fight that ‘Hero of the Shadow’ after all!”
“No way, if I fight weirdly, people around here will figure out I’m the ‘Hero of the Shadow,’ right!? Lately Privacy-san has been walking around independently singing poems, so I’m getting fan letters from all sorts of places!?”
“You’re already exposed, so it’s fine!”
“It’s not fine!?”
Today’s Ilya was like a spoiled child. She shook her head and showed no signs of releasing his arm until Phil said “I’ll do it.”
Phil thought a bit while his head was being shaken.
It was extremely troublesome, and depending on the location, there was a possibility that the citizens would find them and this time there’d be no way to make excuses.
On the other hand, leaving Ilya alone like this seemed dangerous too.
After all, Ilya was a mage. If she threw a little tantrum and got everyone around her involved, it would be a disaster.
“(I properly let her vent the other day though… is this one of those things? Like I should’ve given her cotton candy instead of hard candy?)”
“(It seems gas built up thanks to Lily-sama. At this rate, it might ignite at any moment.)”
He complained to Kahlua through eye contact, and she seemed to be feeling the same way.
Even if her dissatisfaction exploded, he was confident he could suppress it, but it was better if it didn’t come to that.
Phil let out a big sigh and moved forward with a “can’t be helped” attitude.
“Haah… Fine. I’ll do it, but at least let’s do it where Privacy-san is out on assignment. I absolutely don’t want to do it inside the mansion, okay? I’m short on allowance lately, I’m not paying for repairs.”
“Understood!”
“Which means I’m doing it too…”
Ilya was delighted, while Kahlua sighed just like Phil and followed behind.
On the way, they told a servant they passed, “We’re going out, so please look after Lily,” and casually prepared a carriage.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t meet Zan, Lily-sama.”
“It’s fine, the piglet apparently went out to town looking for girls to play with.”
“Shouldn’t you reconsider your educational policy soon?”
“What would an educational policy suited for a pig be, I wonder?”
Phil had nothing to say to Kahlua and the others’ words.
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Having traveled by carriage, Phil and the others had arrived in the mountains a little ways from the Salemabart territory.
One way took just under two hours. Trees grew thick, and it was a quiet place where you had to step in with a mountain-climbing mindset as it was only slightly maintained, where birds’ chirping echoed.
When they climbed near the summit, the area was surprisingly open. Nearby was a cave-like entrance, with vines covering the surroundings. That alone made it clear how few people had visited this place.
“How did you even know about a place like this?”
“I used to play here a lot in the past. Plus, when I first became a mage, I practiced here.”
“Well, here nobody’s eyes would be a concern. Even if we made loud sounds, the townspeople wouldn’t hear.”
“By the way, that cave there is surprisingly spacious inside, you know? Someone dug it out long ago, and it’s become like a little secret base. Nobody comes here, so it’s perfect for running away from home.”
Kahlua, Ilya, and Phil each took equal distance from one another.
The blowing wind made Kahlua and Ilya’s hair flutter, and both pressed down their hair simultaneously.
“I ended up participating due to circumstances, but it’s been a while since I sparred with Phil, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah… putting aside how long it’s been, I remember winning every single time! Hey hey, do you have any prospect of beating me, answer!?”
“I’m annoyed, so can I start with crushing one part of you?”
“Ahahaha! No matter which body part, that would be a considerable handicap, I’m sorry!”
It would be a handicap that would definitely affect him even after the sparring ended.
“Since we’re doing this anyway, let’s have a penalty game! The person who remains until the end can give any order to the person who fell first!”
“Another penalty game? After that last one, my knees went numb and I job-changed into a newborn fawn for a while, you know? This time I’ll become a newborn foal.”
“It’s fine, isn’t it? As things are, there’s no gallery and it lacks excitement. I have to do this seriously and win, or I won’t be able to make Lily take back what she said!”
“Then I’m not involved. I don’t want to because my clothes will get dirty.”
“Watch me, Phil-Salemabart. I’ll deliver a flying knee kick to that woman’s face!”
“Hey, wait, why are you saying that to me? Tell her directly, she’s right there.”
Ilya’s shoulders jumped with a start.
If she’s that scared, she shouldn’t fight Kahlua. That’s what he thought, but for Ilya, this was a matter of life and death, and her pride wouldn’t allow it.
Being on a losing streak forever was a matter of a mage’s honor.
Defeat in battle between mages was proof that one’s ideals were inferior to the opponent’s. Along with honor, even one’s own ideals would be damaged.
“Well, fine… Let’s start already. Of course, within the bounds of no life-or-death exchanges.”
“I’ll say this in advance, I’m not holding back at all… for the sake of sleeping together.”
“…That woman casually voiced her demand. How much in love are you? I’m worried you might exceed all-ages ratings someday.”
All three assumed their stances.
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