All right, have fun!
All of Daux’s private guards seemed to have their stomachs in their throats as they watched him being whipped around in the air.
But just look at the expression on his face! He’s having the time of his life!
I’d been worried Daux might not be suited for such a violent game, but the longer I watched, the more infectious his obvious joy was, and before long, I was grinning from ear to ear.
“That was so much fun! I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life!” Daux cried with more excitement than I’d ever seen him show before.
The same seemed true for the members of Daux’s private guard, who were staring at him with undisguised shock written all over their faces.
“Barg, you were holding back just now with Daux, weren’t you?!” I accused.
“He’s not on the same level as you, little lady. I doubt anyone could claim that honor. And anyway, I couldn’t very well go full-force with the little prince his very first time now, could I?”
I argued back that he’d barely turned Daux over at all. I supposed I understood that he’d felt pressure from all of the overprotective glares boring into him, but still…
He flung me all over the place at an incredibly high speed my first time!
“Do you want to try too, Marie?” I asked.
“I’ll pass, thanks. It looks quite frightening. …Oh! Of course, I was referring to the speed, not the lizard tribe gentleman!” Marie seemed flustered as she rushed to clarify she wasn’t afraid of Barg but simply the speed of his mighty tail lest he misunderstand. But it seemed that was unnecessary.
“No, I think that’s quite normal for a young noblewoman. Our little lady is just a bit stra— I mean special…”
Barg! You were just about to call me strange, weren’t you?! At least be honest!
“I’m not sure how I feel about being compared to Neema…”
“Huh?! How could you say such a thing, Marie?!”
Marie’s unexpected betrayal shook me.
Why is everyone in earshot suddenly snickering?! This is no laughing matter!
“That just goes to show how far the little lady has broken away from the mold… Frankly, it’s refreshing to meet such an honest aristocrat.”
Although I got the feeling Barg was trying to praise me, I didn’t feel particularly praised. I wasn’t ready to entirely forgive their good-natured teasing but decided to count it as a win since, thanks to their banter, the tenseness lingering in the air had lifted.
After that, it was about time to go to our next destination, but it turned out that we’d need to travel by carriage to get to where we’d be eating our picnic lunch. The members of Daux’s private guard decided that, but I wasn’t particularly opposed to that. Given how long it would take to travel there on our short little legs, the carriage was probably the best course of action.
Or rather, carriages. We rode in one carriage with Paul while Shinki, Spica, and the others rode in a second carriage. The members of Daux’s private guard rode on horseback.
Louis had suggested this location. I was told it was on top of a low mountain with a stunning view of the entire imperial city.
I haven’t been able to go out and tour the city yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing it from above!
We arrived at our destination in a little under an hour. It felt like even less than that, though, because we spent the time talking and laughing together.
I got the impression that this low mountain was something of a day trip vacation spot for people living in the imperial city. The trees were well-kept, and tasteful benches and gazebos were here and there.
“Whoooa!”
The scene stretching out before us was so beautiful that I let out an exclamation of wonder entirely unfitting for a lady of noble birth.
Unlike the royal city in the Kingdom of Gaché, the streets of the imperial city were a mishmash of various cultures.
The first thing that stood out was the Azurite Palace, which, like its namesake, glistened like a blue gemstone in the reflected light of the sun. It seemed to have been built using some kind of special material because it glowed faintly, even at night.
A ring of tall towers surrounded the entire imperial city as if guarding its border. Apparently, they were called “the time-telling towers.” Lights were affixed to the summit and around the center of each tower.
It was sunny now, so the lights were difficult to make out, but they were lit.
This just makes me even more aware of how many things are different here compared to my country.
“What’s that?”
A large number of trees were growing close together in one corner of the imperial city. It seemed a bit too dense to be an ordinary public park. Furthermore, I could spot what appeared to be chimneys with fluffy smoke wafting up from them.
Neither Daux nor Marie knew what it was, so the unit leader answered for them.
“That’s the Elven Market District.”
“It’s run by elves?”
“That’s right. As a species, elves possess extensive wisdom gathered over the course of their long lives and are especially knowledgeable about magic, so many people are happy to pay for their expertise. They also produce things like medicine and magical items. At some point, their small neighborhood developed into an entire district.”
They’d started growing the herbs necessary for making their medicines and the trees necessary for making their magical items, and while they were at it, they created an environment that was comfortable for them to live in, and this had been the result.
Guides led people through the market, which implied that it was almost maze-like. But it sounded very interesting to me!
I definitely want to add that to my list of places to visit while touring the imperial city!
While we gazed out over the beautiful cityscape below, Paul and the others prepared our lunch. A large rug was spread out on the grass, laden with a variety of bite-sized foods intended to be eaten by hand. The unit leader suggested that perhaps we should set up under the gazebo instead, but it would be a shame not to enjoy this perfect weather without any interference.
“It feels strange to be eating outside, but somehow, not needing to worry about formal dining manners makes the food taste even more delicious than usual!”
“Daux, make sure you eat a lot too! Don’t be picky, try everything!”
I loaded food onto Daux’s plate, and he grimaced. It seemed that he hated vegetables that looked like green peppers.
It may be a root vegetable that tastes remarkably like a green pepper, but it’s really good prepared like this—wrapped in thin-sliced smoked meat and grilled—so just trick yourself into pretending it’s something else and give it a try!
“Daux, say ‘ah’!” Losing patience with Daux, who showed no sign of reaching for the meat-wrapped-pepper, I took the offensive.
“Hold on, Neema! That’s terribly rude!” Marie protested.
Sensing she wasn’t going to shut up, I grabbed one of the tomato-like things she’d previously said she hated and stuffed it in her mouth mid-nag. I’d clearly surprised her, but left with no choice but to eat the tomato or face the indignity of spitting it out, she chewed.
Now’s my chance!
Daux was distracted watching Marie eat the dreaded tomato, so I took advantage of the opportunity and slipped the meat-wrapped-pepper into his mouth.
Apparently, Daux, too, was far too well-mannered to spit out food that had already entered his mouth because he forced himself to swallow it despite frowning deeply.