“That was great, Daux! You’re awesome!”
“I knew you could do it!”
Daux smiled shyly at my and Marie’s praise.
“What do you say, men? Shall we have His Highness view the results of our rigorous training? Don’t put the name of the Linus Imperial Army to shame!” Perry shouted encouragement to the troops, signaling the commencement of a mock battle that encompassed the entirety of the arena’s grounds.
I was awed, just as I was every time I witnessed it, by the sounds of swords clashing and magical explosions. Now and then, sudden gusts of wind buffeted us all the way over in the observation area.
Oh, and Barg threw someone out of the ring again.
No one seemed to be able to stand against Barg, who was rapidly opening a wide space around himself. Anyone who accidentally got too close found themselves on the receiving end of his merciless tail attack.
That tail is a formidable weapon!
Oh no, Barg just took a direct hit from a spell!
…But, for some reason, he seems completely unaffected? Maybe he has some kind of magical item on him? Either that, or his scales are just incredibly magic-resistant?
“Feliance-people really can fly in the sky!” Marie muttered to herself, awestruck as she watched Dayu hovering overhead.
“Lady Marie, forgive my rudeness, but the proper way to refer to them is not as ‘feliance-people’ but as ‘the wing tribe,’” Paul immediately corrected.
When I asked why, he explained that beastpeople deeply respected their animal ancestors and didn’t feel it was appropriate to be lumped in with them as the same creature. The God of Creation had created each tribe of beastpeople based on a different animal. In conclusion, if not for that animal’s existence, they wouldn’t exist.
“Oh, really? I had no idea!”
“Every time you learn something new, you become a little smarter than you were before!”
I had a feeling that Marie had probably heard the adults around her referring to the wing tribe that way, which was why she’d thought nothing of saying the same thing herself.
The training exercise concluded, and the soldiers formed orderly lines once more.
After receiving permission from Lieutenant Perry, I raced straight over to Barg.
“Mr. Barg! Do it again!!”
“Little lady, you sure do love that game, huh?”
The lizard tribe beastperson sighed at me in good-natured exasperation, but I didn’t care—it was so much fun that I couldn’t help asking him to do it over and over again!
Barg’s tail snaked its way around my hips, and I was slowly lifted off my feet and waved gently back and forth. The movements gradually picked up speed, and I dipped and turned, just like riding a roller coaster!
I shrieked with joyful exhilaration, enjoying every second of this thrilling sensation I probably wouldn’t be able to experience anywhere else in this world.
This kind of game was only possible with the assistance of a lizard tribe beastperson’s tail, which was powerful enough to throw full-grown men through the air.
“That was so much fun!”
Paul was clutching his head as if my complete lack of decorum was giving him a migraine, but apparently, this was a common game among the lizard tribe, similar to how human adults often held young children over their heads just to see them laugh.
“Do you want to try, Daux?” I asked.
“What?! Me?!”
The tricky point with this game was that it put quite a burden on the body, so you needed to wear clothes containing written magic spells protecting against physical attacks. All of my clothes contained those spells, and I knew that, as a general rule, all the clothing persons of high status wore contained them as well.
“But if His Highness were to be injured…”
“That’s what we have doctors for! And besides, a little scrape isn’t going to kill him. We have to learn to be able to cope with pain while we’re young, right?” I argued.
A large injury would be another matter, but if he fell and got a little scrape, it would heal in a few days, even without medical treatment.
“I’d thought you’ve been behaving admirably well recently, but you were doing things like this when I wasn’t watching…” Paul lamented.
“I haven’t been nearly as reckless as usual because Ralf isn’t around to heal me up if I get injured,” I replied, causing Paul’s eyebrow to twitch.
Uh-oh, that’s not a good sign…
“In that case, why have you been keeping this game a secret? At least to some degree, you must’ve realized it was dangerous, right?”
“…But if you found out, you would’ve told me to stop!”
“Of course I would. If anything should happen to you, the people around you would be held responsible.”
Grrr!
When Ralf is around, he always offers to keep an eye on me, and I can play as much as I want. And because he can use healing magic, I don’t have to be too careful. I thought this game would be fine, but maybe I was unconsciously using the same judgment I would’ve if Ralf were here?
“I’m sorry,” I obediently apologized, and Barg reached out to ruffle my hair.
“Not to encourage the little lady’s mischievous behavior, but with this much magic sewn into her clothes, she’s even more indestructible than the kids of my tribe.”
“Your goodwill is certainly appreciated, but you realize that you are the one being dragged into my lady’s mischief and bothered by her selfish demands, don’t you?” Paul replied, his words mercilessly stabbing into me.
My shoulders drooped, properly reprimanded, but Barg merely laughed graciously.
“This little lady’s ‘selfishness’ is greatly preferable to the disdain other nobles treat me with. Besides, I am not foolish enough to do anything which might injure her or her friends.”
“Oh, that’s not my concern at all. I’m much more worried about the damage to people and items in the immediate vicinity.”
That’s terrible, Paul! You didn’t need to say that (even if it’s true!), did you?!
“That butler knows you very well, eh, Neema? If you make him mad, won’t it become difficult to play?” Marie whispered her astute observation in my ear.
Well, yeah, but if we let this chance pass us by, Daux will probably never get another opportunity to experience the tail-coaster! I’d feel terrible if Daux missed out because of me. But I might have to brace myself for the worst…
“Please, Paul! I promise to behave myself and not cause trouble in the future!” My puppy-dog eyes had no effect on Paul, so I had no choice but to plead my case directly.
“What a sweet, earnest child. Come on, what’s the harm in letting her get away with it just this once?” Barg urged Paul.
Barg, I’m not the least bit sweet or earnest, but I will gladly accept any help you can give in persuading Paul!
Muttering to himself, “I suppose it can’t be helped,” Paul turned and looked me straight in the eye. His serious gaze caused a jolt to run up my spine, making me stand straighter. “Lady Neema, do you promise that if these people tell you to stop, you will do so immediately?”
Does this mean he’ll let me continue playing as long as I don’t do anything I’ve been told to stop because it’s dangerous?
“I promise! Thank you, Paul!” I gave Paul a tight hug. Although he could be strict at times, at the end of the day, Paul was a good guy. “Okay, Barg! Let’s do this!”
I all but dragged Daux over to Barg, who reluctantly wrapped his tail around the young prince.
“Daux, hold on tight to this part right here, okay?” I explained, setting Daux’s hands on the fattest part of Barg’s tail to grip onto like a safety handle.