A week after we departed from the city, we finally reached the hidden harbor on the west coast. Many types of men—mammal-hybrids, fish-hybrids, bird-hybrids, and more—who I assumed to be sailors were loading the foodstuffs onto their ships.
I considered helping them, but I was summoned for a greater purpose.
Under Princess Lefay’s guidance, Salima, Mahendra, Olivia, Diane, and I were to be received at a villa on the coast. The view was amazing, and the ocean wind was calming. The princess poured wine for us, which even a young man like me, relatively new to drinking and something of a lightweight to boot, could tell was delicious.
There was nothing formal or overbearing about it—they seemed to simply enjoy being a good host and entertaining their guests. I was impressed at how far the representatives were going, though. Their hospitality was something else.
“My stars and garters, is this it?! Is this a titan core?! How pure it is! And look at its sheen! I’m so moved that I’m at a loss for words!”
The way this fellow was holding forth was hardly “a loss for words,” it seemed to me, and everyone else present seemed to agree. I turned toward the others for help, but Salima and Mahendra were already in a conversation with a giant of a man covered in blue scales. Willy, as he was called, was the commander for the fleet hidden at the harbor and served as admiral of the United Kingdom’s navy.
Olivia and Diane were chatting away happily with Princess Lefay, seemingly well aware that it wasn’t common sense for a woman to butt into a conversation between men.
And so I was stuck with my enthusiastic conversation partner. He’d been so nice to invite me here, and I certainly couldn’t ignore him, but I was seriously out of my depth with this man.
“Goodness gracious, thank you so much for coming! I, Oberon Lugan, king of the United Kingdom of the Crater Isles, absolutely made the right decision to fly all the way here to witness the very beginnings of trade between us!”
How was I supposed to respond here? It was hard enough to talk to a king, but when he was this hyperactive? Even the scaly admiral looked awkward, and Salima was clearly avoiding the king.
King Oberon was another tall man, a bird-hybrid with huge wings on his back. To accommodate their ability to fly, bird-hybrids typically couldn’t put on much fat or muscle. But this king was tall and beefy, with a glare that could fillet a fish. I was half-convinced I’d made a mistake somewhere and he wasn’t actually the princess’s father at all, until she jumped into her arms with her tail wagging, yelling, “Hi, Daddy! Did I do good?”
Though he praised her hard work with a smile and a pat on the head, he still looked so frightening as he did it that I couldn’t see his smile as anything other than the grin of a hungry bird of prey.
The villa had a good view of the port, where we could keep an eye on the cargo being loaded. The king’s lips twisted upward as he patted his daughter’s head and watched. If you ask me, he looked like he was hatching an evil scheme, but according to the princess, that was actually his contented smile.
Their foreign minister must have been using magic to communicate with the king along the way, as the bird-hybrid thanked me with a smile for guarding his daughter. I could tell he liked me, but damn, the guy was still scary.
“Wonderful work defeating the titan. I, Oberon Lugan, king of the United Kingdom of the Crater Isles, do declare that you’ve done a great deed worthy of the title of hero!”
“I, uh, offer you my thanks?”
I was still practicing polite speech with Olivia, but I got seriously flustered when confronted with the king. I could hardly squeeze out five words.
“Hmph! You need not pay heed to trivial things such as choice of words.
Speak to me freely and comfortably, Sir Hero. Now, I would be most grateful if you would give me this titan core.”
The king’s request was in reality a command dressed up in fine language, but he looked so dignified, gazing down on me, that I couldn’t help but nod right away.
After the foreign minister got in touch with the king, he mentioned to me that they would be willing to pay any price for a titan core. As it turned out, when the titan’s body was disassembled along the way, there were actually three cores inside that humongous ant. When I showed the king one of them, he abruptly yelled and started examining it.
“I am deeply grateful to you, Sir Hero! Truly, we are in your debt. Now, as for how we’ll repay you… Ooh, I’ve got quite the idea! How would you like to marry my daughter, Lefay?!”
“F-Father!”
The king burst right out with a patently ridiculous proposal, but to my surprise, Princess Lefay looked happy with it. She was blushing and wagging her tail like mad, as if expressing her joy with her whole body. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I knew the princess had a crush on me, and I certainly thought she was cute, but…
“Your Majesty, I really must refuse.”
“L-Lord Chris! Y-You don’t like me?!”
As if surprised by my refusal, Princess Lefay clutched the hem of her skirt and sobbed, as thought fighting to hold back tears. I realized what I’d said could be misinterpreted, and I rushed to pat her on the head, consoling her.
“That’s not it; it’s really not that I don’t like you, Princess.”
But she continued crying, so I gathered her into my arms, hugging her and stroking her back.
“I like you a lot, and you’re a real cutie, too. So stop those tears for me, okay?”
Eventually, her tears stopped flowing. Man, nothing makes you feel worse than making a girl cry, huh? Oh. Wait a minute. That didn’t come out sounding like I like her, did it? You know, as in… like her, like her.
The princess’s tail, which had been drooping sadly, was now thwapping me soundly as it wagged furiously back and forth.
“Oh, thank goodness. I… I love you too, Lord Chris.”
Whoa, whoa. Princess? Poor choice of words there. Your father’s gonna get the wrong idea. Olivia and Diane watched with pleasant looks on their faces, and even the king was smirking in my direction.
I cleared my throat uncomfortably as I prepared to correct my verbal blunder. But first, Princess, would you stop hugging my waist and rubbing your cheek against it with a weird smile on your face? That’s not suitable behavior for a lady.
“Anyway, Your Majesty, I’ve got three of these cores, so I don’t mind giving you one of them. However, I think you’re doing this wonderful girl a disservice, trading her hand in marriage for some piece of a monster. I mean, yeah, it was a titan and all, but you should value your daughter above some chunk of a dead ant, don’t you think?”
“Oooooh! You are truly an admirable man, Sir Hero! Indeed, you have the right of it. Let us not talk of bargains and rewards, and instead do what we should have done all along. Let us not stand in ceremony, but rather unite these two in their shared love! I give Lefay to you, Sir Hero! Take good care of my daughter.”
Whoa, Your Majesty, you’re skipping a few too many steps here! But wait, what gives? My two wives are grinning and welcoming Princess Lefay to the fold? Uh, did everyone decide this without me? Shouldn’t we at least have a ceremony or something?
Later on, I was told that, during his regular communication with the foreign minister, the king had learned of how his daughter was falling for me.
He was already more than willing to marry her to me at that point.
“Now, regarding the core. If you’d be willing to give it to us, we’ll gladly pay the Magne Kingdom its value in our future relations. And as for you, Sir Hero—Nay, let me call you son!—I offer you our very own treasure!”
My new dear old Dad, huh? I couldn’t turn the king down, seeing how enthusiastic he was. And anyway, the princess was cute, and we had already bonded. I stole a glance at Olivia and Diane, and they each gave me a little nod.
“Soon, I will fly to the home of your lord, the Margrave! When I do, I will bring your treasure. Look forward to it! Haaahahahah!”
Once he’d said his piece, the king flew off over the water. The distance between here and the United Kingdom was equivalent to a full day of sailing, but he’d make it in about thirty minutes by flight. It suddenly struck me to
wonder—shouldn’t he have brought attendants with him?