“So she says... Did you hear that, Miss Shizuka?” I sighed, already exhausted.
A tall woman approached from behind Meirin, her footsteps so quiet you could hardly hear her. A foreign sword hung from her belt, and she was wearing black-and-white clothing that was easy to move in. This woman, who had long black hair and memorable dark eyes, was Meirin’s attendant. She placed a hand upon her cheek and sighed, each motion exuding an elegant grace. Then, before Meirin could say or do anything, she had expertly grabbed her charge and held her in place.
“It pains my heart to hear it,” the woman, Shizuka, said. “It’s all my fault for not educating her enough. I’m terribly sorry, Lord Sekiei.”
“Sh-Shizuka?! Wha— Why are you here?! Let go of me! I...I was in the middle of a very serious conversation with Lord Sekiei! Let! Go! Of! Me!!!” Meirin struggled and kicked, but Shizuka easily lifted her up into her arms. Looking at them like this, it was hard to believe that Meirin wasn’t just a little child. Aside from her breasts, she looked every inch like a girl throwing a tantrum.
When I had left to stay with my aunt in the city, I took a boat from Keiyou to Rinkei. On the way, we spotted a ship—Meirin’s ship—being attacked by pirates. After we had saved them, Meirin invited me to her mansion, extravagant even by the big city’s standards. While there, she told me all about her ambitions for the future.
I stuck my index finger right under Meirin’s nose and wagged it. “I’m not the kind of man who can keep up with a woman whose ambition is to gather up the entire continent’s wealth in Rinkei. Plus...”
“Huh? What is it?”
Meirin’s body was more or less the same size and build as a little girl, so there was an insurmountable height difference between us. If I actually took her as a bride, then Hakurei would surely get the wrong idea and give me the coldest sort of glare. “Pervert...” I could practically hear her say in her frosty tone. The very thought of it made me shudder.
Shizuka, with Meirin cradled in one arm, sighed. “My lady is very smart, but she can be...”
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I know what you mean.”
“Wha—?! How come the two of you get it, but I don’t?! I’m usually the calm and collected type, but I’m starting to get a little mad. Actually, I already am mad! Shizuka, let me down! I have something very important I must discuss with Lord Sekiei!”
Shizuka frowned and after some deliberation, she said, “If I must.”
Once her attendant placed her back on the ground, the Ou family’s heiress tidied up her clothes, smiled slyly, and then puffed her chest out. She pointed a finger at me and yelled, “Have at ye, Lord Sekiei! Today is the day that I’m going to make the most handsome face in the entire empire turn ugly in humiliation!”