The capital was abuzz with excitement over the fourier. The first wave had already passed, and there was more yet to come. Because of that, droves of people wandered the capital—much more than usual. Rutile gripped Finn’s hand firmly, wanting to avoid the struggle of finding one another if they were to get lost in the crowd.
“Always a slew of people every time, isn’t it?” she commented.
“Makes sense considering it only happens once every fifty years. In a way, you couldn’t have come back from the Imperial Nation at a better time, Rutile.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Rutile concurred, noting that she would’ve had to wait another fifty years if she missed this chance. “Still, it seems a lot has happened in the years I’ve been away.”
“True. The biggest difference is probably Ruri, right?”
“I’d say so,” she said with a chuckle as she looked around her. There was a ton of fourier merchandise, but there was just as much merchandise with the Beloved’s name plastered on it—a true sign that the people of the capital had accepted Ruri. “I never would have dreamed that I would lay eyes on a supreme-level spirit in my lifetime.”
Finn’s conflicted expression gave Rutile the impression that he had mixed feelings on that subject. “They gather around Ruri for some reason. It has caused His Majesty a lot of grief. Supreme-level spirits need to be treated with even more care than Beloveds.”
Supreme-level spirits were practically legendary, and because they operated with a different sense of values than mortals, interacting with them required extreme caution.
“Still,” Finn continued, “Ruri has Lord Kotaro and Lady Rin subjugated, and Lady Riccia has the Spirit of Fire by the reins, so there have thankfully been no major issues.”
“I’m surprised that she has supreme-level spirits subjugated.”
“All I can say is that’s Ruri for you. It’s even more reason for us to guard her too. In that respect, it’s a great thing that you’ve come back home, Rutile.”
“Were you her bodyguard this entire time, Finn?”
“At first I was, but it’s mostly Ewan or Joshua taking guard duty nowadays.”
“I can see Joshua doing that, but Ewan? He must have grown considerably if he’s allowed to escort a Beloved.”
To Rutile, Ewan was still just the cute little brother with a lot of growing up to do, so she was honestly impressed that he had been filling such a big role. At the same time, she wondered if Ewan could handle guarding a Beloved considering he still barked at people like a tiny, overprotective dog.
“At first, it was mostly me on guard detail, but he got confrontational with Ruri. It was a terrifying thing to witness back then, but they ended up getting along surprisingly well, and nowadays they’re pretty much friends.”
“Aah, so he did butt heads, then,” Rutile said. She figured there was no way that Ewan, with his huge brother complex, wouldn’t react poorly to a woman being next to Finn. After all, he had barked at her so many times in the past, but each time, she had made sure to teach him who he could and couldn’t bark at—the hard way. “Is Ewan as infatuated with you as always?”
“Yes, same as he ever was. I still don’t know why he’s so attached to me,” Finn said, sounding like he found it somewhat endearing. Finn had a soft spot for Ewan, although he himself was oblivious to it.
“Personally, I was able to focus on my work in the Imperial Nation with peace of mind knowing he was over here acting as my guard dog while I was away. You’re popular among women and men,” Rutile said, causing Finn to look slightly astonished. “What is that look for?”
“I just didn’t expect that to come out of your mouth.”
“And what do you mean by that?”
“I’m talking about when word got around that we were engaged. Spears and arrows came flying at me. Magic attacks were launched at me the moment I ran into you. My food became extremely spicy. I faced so much harassment that I simply lost count.”
“That did happen, didn’t it?”
Finn was recalling when they first got engaged. Most people hadn’t even known that they were dating, and everyone thought that they were often together because they were good friends. Neither of them had shown any inklings of romance.
However, quite a lot of people had their eyes on Rutile, so the announcement had triggered sheer pandemonium. Jade was right in saying that she was a natural flirt, because she was even more popular than Finn. The news that they would be wed sent the brunt of everyone’s resentment right at Finn. If he weren’t the second strongest dragonkin after Jade, then he would have long since died from the perils he’d faced every day back then.
On the flip side, Rutile hadn’t received any harassment whatsoever, so she had remained carefree throughout the whole ordeal. She had even laughed while Finn was in the middle of a sneak attack, walking off and jokingly remarking to him to “have fun.” Sure, she’d only done so because she was confident that Finn wouldn’t be harmed, but it wouldn’t have hurt her to help just a little.
“Oh well, that is ancient history. I’m glad you’re safe and sound, Finn,” Rutile said with a sweet smile.
Finn heaved a sigh. “You weren’t flirting over in the Imperial Nation too, now were you?”
“I swear, with His Majesty and you—what do you both take me for? Admittedly, I did receive flowers from a lot of the maids there,” she said with a delighted smile.
“I knew it...” Finn muttered.
“I didn’t have the best time being around all of those stuffy nobles, but everyone else treated me just fine.”
“The Imperial Nation’s nobles, eh? I’m guessing you’re the only one who could deal with those types smoothly.”
“That isn’t true,” Rutile protested.
“Even so, no one would willingly volunteer. Dealing with them is even harder because the Nation of the Dragon King doesn’t have anything resembling ‘nobles’ or ‘aristocrats.’ Ever since Ruri cropped up here, they have been throwing around a lot of baseless accusations.”
“Yes, they are the only nation of the allied four that doesn’t have a Beloved.”
For the already haughty nobles of the Imperial Nation, they must have felt it was a disgrace that only their nation was devoid of a Beloved. They probably hadn’t cared all of this time because the Nation of the Dragon King had also been without a Beloved for years until Ruri showed up, but now that Ruri was here, the Imperial Nation was the only one of the allied four that could not receive the spirits’ blessings. The fact that the nation was primarily humans and lacked people with mana was also one of their shortcomings.
The Imperial Nation’s nobles had an inferiority complex that stemmed from their lack of power compared to other nations, which was due to their having very few magic-users to their name. Despite that, they claimed to be superior to others, so their mindset was taxing, to say the least. The slightest remark could send them into a frenzy. Adularia was a fantastic emperor for keeping the nobles in line in spite of their temperament—that was Rutile’s honest opinion.
“All we can do is hope that a Beloved shows up in the nation just as Ruri showed up in ours,” Rutile said.
“Yes. That aside, didn’t you say you wanted to go out because there was somewhere you wanted to visit?” asked Finn.
“Yes, there was.”
With that, Rutile led the way to the perfect little spot for weapons and armor. Not a very good place to have a date, but it was one of Rutile’s favorite shops. Finn looked rightfully ambivalent. He’d expected somewhere that couples would frequent when he was told this was a date.
“Is this really the place?” Finn asked.
“Yes, I wanted to buy a new sword,” Rutile answered, giddily skipping into the establishment first.
After letting out a reluctant sigh, Finn also headed inside, looking as though he wanted to point out that this wasn’t very romantic, but it was very Rutile.
The weapon shop had absolutely nothing to do with fourier amidst the fourier fever that had overtaken the capital, but a surprising number of people were taking the opportunity to visit the Nation of the Dragon King’s weapon shops.
In the capital, weapons and armor not only contained rare minerals from other lands, but they were made from dragonkin claws and scales as well, both tougher and sturdier than metal. Weapons made from these materials were not available elsewhere, so they were special items that could only be obtained in the royal capital. Many tourists took the opportunity while visiting the Nation of the Dragon King to purchase them.
Among the capital’s weapon shops, this shop in particular had the best reputation for making sturdy products that could withstand a dragonkin’s use. It was Rutile’s favorite stop, but it was also the go-to destination for many dragonkin. Incidentally, Finn’s sword was also from this establishment.
Being regulars, the shopkeeper knew them both by face. When he saw Rutile, he called out to her in a friendly manner, “Ooh. Well, if it isn’t you, Lady Rutile. You’ve made your return from the Imperial Nation, I see.”
“Yes, I arrived back not too long ago,” Rutile replied.
“Then am I to assume that you and Master Finn are on a date right now?”
“Yes, you would be correct,” Rutile said without a moment’s hesitation.
“Ho ho ho ho,” chuckled the shopkeeper in delight. “If this is a date, then you should be somewhere with more ambience. However, as owner of this establishment, I welcome you with open arms.”
The shopkeeper scuttled over to Rutile with a big smile still on his face and whispered, “Thing is, I have some extra-special merchandise that I was going to show to you whenever you dropped by. Interested? All of my selections are good enough to present to His Majesty the Dragon King himself.”
“Then please show me!” Rutile exclaimed.
“Okay, but it’s quite expensive,” added the shopkeeper.
“Put it on Finn’s tab.”
“Rutile...” Finn grumbled, but Rutile paid him no mind and disappeared into the back of the shop with the shopkeeper. Not long after, she returned with a new longsword in hand, a satisfied smile across her face.
“Finn, he had some incredible swords. I’m getting this one!”
“I see...”
Rutile looked at the sword in her hands with such joy that she was liable to hum a ditty at any second. It warmed Finn’s heart to see her so delighted, but as soon as the shopkeeper slipped Finn the bill and Finn looked at the total, he felt his head spin for a second.
“Is this the right amount?” he asked, incredulous.
“Yes, sir,” the shopkeeper confirmed.
“You don’t have a digit wrong?”
“No, sir. It’s right as rain.”
Finn was left speechless.