Liam, Lord Reineke, and I went over to the hot spring inn where Hodr was staying. Father had asked Marcel to act as our guard, trusting in the former swordmaster’s skills.
Hodr exited the inn to meet us, clad in glittering attire. His gaudy appearance stood out like a sore thumb in the little town’s district, but nobody said a word. The prince’s attendant already looked exhausted, so I could only imagine how many selfish requests the boy had made until now.
There was also a guard with him. Unlike last time, this man was clad in the proper knight uniform. When he spotted Marcel, his face paled and it seemed like he wanted to say something. But in the end, he simply bowed without a word. He must’ve known who Marcel was.
Marcel remained silent and bowed as well.
The inn’s workers had come out to see the prince off, smiling stiffly. Their faces practically screamed, That boy is finally leaving the inn!
Thank you for putting up with him, I thought while lowering my head in apology.
We spent some time wandering around the hot spring district.
“This place isn’t so bad!” Hodr exclaimed, his eyes shining.
“Your Highness, which areas have you already seen? We can show you around the parts you haven’t visited yet,” Liam suggested.
Hodr laughed. “I didn’t think there was anything to see out here in the sticks! Besides, it’s dangerous for me, so I haven’t gone anywhere. I did try out that ‘onsen’ thing in the inn, though. That was pretty good! I liked it!” The boy puffed out his chest proudly, for whatever reason.
The VIP room he was staying at had a private open-air bath attached to it.
“It was great that I could watch the stars while bathing! And the food was nice and hot. I mean, there was no meat, but I guess I can overlook that. The soy smoothie was good too. Not bad, Lune.”
There was no end to Hodr’s condescending attitude. His attendant and guard were covered in cold sweat, their shoulders slumping. As usual, Liam kept a blank look on his face, while Marcel only shrugged, but I noticed an angry vein popping up on Lord Reineke’s temple. I petted the fox’s side to pacify him, but on the inside I was upset too.
Yes, we live in the countryside. So what? And you’re only in danger because of what you and your guards did last time!
In spite of my thoughts, I forced myself to smile.
Just bear with it! I need this inspection to go well!
All I could do was encourage myself.
We continued walking through the district. The prince took a liking to the crispy mineral spring senbei, especially the version with jam sandwiched between two pieces.
“I thought walking around while eating was vulgar, but these senbei thingies are just like waffles! So tasty!” Hodr said.
“Every shop prepares the senbei differently, and they each use different varieties of jam,” Liam explained.
“Oh yeah? Lune, which jam is your favorite?”
“I like cherry jam...but peach is good too. And grape and blueberry... I can’t choose!” I replied.
The prince grinned. “Yeah? Okay then, I’ll buy them all!”
The stalls all sold fresh foods, which he seemed to thoroughly enjoy. The only issue was that with each item he tried, he proceeded to give a loud criticism of it within the shopkeepers’ earshot.
“This tastes good, but it’s so small that it looks paltry. Why not make it more expensive and luxurious? Are they dumb or something?”
“Please, Your Highness, not so loudly. And you’re going too far,” the attendant scolded.
Hodr’s eyes widened. “Huh? What’s so wrong in telling the truth? These people should be grateful and use my words as reference.”
Of course, for the shopkeepers, who hadn’t even asked for a critique, his harsh comments were entirely unwelcome. Moreover, stalls were supposed to sell casual food aimed at the common folk here in the rural area. Their aim was to offer small, simple snacks for tourists to try out.
The rest of our group frantically bowed in apology toward the visibly aggravated shopkeepers to make up for Hodr’s behavior. Even if it weren’t for that, his popularity with the people had been at rock bottom since his last visit.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Well...there’s nothing we can do,” the shopkeeper replied, smiling dryly.
Ugh... My tummy hurts...
I tried to hide it, taking a deep breath.
“You’re not the one who should be apologizing,” Lord Reineke snapped, filled with resentment.
“I know...but I need to put up with it for a little longer,” I whispered to him while petting his back.
The last shop we visited was the one selling the cloth of the gods. Most of us were already totally exhausted.
“Mother told me to buy this,” Hodr said, uninterested in the fabric himself. “Is it any different from what we sell in the capital? Time to find out. Show me your best fabric!” the boy ordered obnoxiously.
The shopkeeper was slightly bewildered but went to the back and brought out a cloth made from a hundred percent yama moth thread. The fabric was beautiful, resembling a windswept meadow. It had a brilliant luster and was so soft that it almost felt warm to the touch.
“Hmm... Not bad, I guess. All right, bring out your whole stock. I’ll buy it all,” the prince announced.
The store owner hesitated. “My apologies, but I’ve already made some items to order for other nations, so I can’t hand over everything.”
“Why not? I’m the crown prince of this kingdom. Are you refusing to obey me?”
“Your Highness, please...” the attendant said, worried about the boy’s aggressive tone.
Liam stepped forward to cover for the owner.
“Your Highness, it’s impossible to create so much of this fabric. And there would be trouble if you took away the goods ordered by another country’s royal family.”
“So you’re scared of them?” Hodr scoffed. “Coward.”
But Liam refused to be baited by this juvenile instigation, and remained expressionless as he replied.
“No, but those of us who govern have a duty to avoid unnecessary conflict. A war would hurt our people.”
Hodr huffed. “People are meant to be sacrificed for the king. Isn’t that obvious?”
With that, the air instantly froze over. Lord Reineke’s fur was standing on end, and I was panicking. An eerie sensation emanated from Liam’s sword.
“Now that’s just...” Marcel muttered, pressing his hand to his forehead and staring up to calm himself down.
As if devoid of all emotion, Liam continued to reply with perfect calm.
“I must ask you to limit yourself to one item this time. If it’s to your liking, you can place an order for more and we’ll ship it over to the capital.”
Hodr shrugged. “Fine. I’ll go along with this out of respect for you, Liam. Deliver double the amount by next month.”
“Your Highness, we use natural goods to create this fabric, so we cannot make more of it so easily.”
“No to this, no to that, you say no to everything! You’re all so incompetent!!! Just use all the materials you can get!!!” Hodr yelled.
I trembled with fear as the prince turned and smiled at me.
“You agree, right, Lune? That way, I can have matching dresses made for you and mother.”
Terrified, I vigorously shook my head and stumbled back.
Matching dress with the queen? That’s just a punishment! I can’t even imagine how furious she’d be if she heard of this!
In my previous time, I once wore the same ribbon as the queen. That alone earned me endless bullying from her.
“No... I don’t want to...”
“There’s no need to be shy. You and I get along so well, don’t we?” Hodr said, attempting to hug me.
“Eek!”
As soon as I screamed, Lord Reineke grew in size and grabbed the prince by the scruff of his neck with his fangs.
“Ack! You insolent—” Hodr screamed, hanging in the air and kicking his legs.
Lord Reineke stepped outside and threw Hodr onto the street.
“You are the insolent one! I am the Great Spirit Reineke! And Lune is my contractor!!!” he bellowed, baring his large fangs. The inside of his mouth was the color of blood.
Hodr was so petrified he couldn’t even get up.
“Ah... Ah...” he mumbled mindlessly, as if suffering from a lapse in memory.
Lord Reineke grabbed the attendant and the guard by their necks and hurled them outside as well. The attendant instantly prostrated himself, pressing his head to the ground. The guard didn’t even try to protect Hodr, frantically begging for forgiveness. Their fear and veneration created a golden light, which spilled into the spirit.
“I’m so sorry, Great Lord Reineke!”
“Please forgive me!”
The men pleaded, kneeling.
A flock of birds swooped past, and a rain of feces totally drenched Hodr.
“AHHH!”
“Ew! That stinks!”
“Gross!!!”
That combined with their agonized cries created a scene straight from hell.
“Please, I beg of you! Forgive us!” the attendant appealed.
But Hodr showed no desire to apologize.
Lord Reineke glared at the boy, stomping his foot on the ground and growing even bigger.
“You are not forgiven!” he howled, opening his mouth wider. He looked seconds away from biting off the prince’s head.
“Eep!”
The boy screamed, but he was still too terrified to get up. All he could do was open and close his mouth like a fish. I noticed he was sitting in a puddle—he must’ve soiled himself in fear.
“Get out of this land, you piss-stained brat!” Lord Reineke commanded, scoffing and turning away. He’d only pretended to try and eat the prince to threaten him.
Prince Hodr was on the verge of tears. The attendant and guard grabbed him from either side and helped him up. They made for such a wretched sight that I took off my cape and held it out to them.
“Um, please wrap this around His Highness’s waist,” I said.
No matter what he might’ve done or said, forcing a teenager to walk through the streets with soaked pants was just too much.
When the prince heard my words, his cheeks instantly turned red.
“I-I don’t need that! I’m going home! Prepare a ship! We’re going back to the capital!”
After proclaiming as much, he staggered off with his men trailing behind. I stood there, holding the cape he had refused to take.
Early the next morning, Hodr and his party departed from Renard. Normally, we should’ve gone out to see him off, but we only found out about his departure after the fact, when the auditor informed us. Indeed, Hodr had left without even bringing the man with him.
Having been left behind on his own, the auditor soon grew exhausted trying to do all the work Hodr had abandoned as well. We felt sorry for him, so we arranged a visit to the hot springs for him so that he’d have a moment of peace.
Once he finished all of his work, he had his fill of the relaxing onsen. He then bought lots of souvenirs before going back home to the capital.