And there he stood, in front of my eyes, with those fluffy cat ears of his. Ahh, how precious!
“♪ Haae... Let’s gather flowers and dance... ♪ Haae... January, the blessing of the flowering Adonis... ♪”
My goodness, I was just so happy to meet my favorite character that I couldn’t keep myself from singing Hanazukushi, a beloved jinku of mine. In my previous life, when sumo wrestlers felt sad, happy, or crushed by the pain of parting, they would sing a jinku to express their emotions.
“Your singing... It’s...beautiful... You are...Lady Floortje, correct?”
“Oh my—you remembered my name!”
“I...was watching you at the garden party held in the royal castle, since you’re so beautiful,” said the prince, blushing.
Oh gosh! That makes me so happy! Dosukoi dosukoi!
“Now, why don’t you stand back and let me get you out of there?”
“Y-You can’t. Only my brother Jonas and Jaromíra have the keys.”
“Worry not. I’ll be but a moment.”
I assumed a shallow squat and placed my hands on one of the cell’s large, load-bearing stone pillars. This was the pose for practicing teppo. I felt slightly uncomfortable doing this in front of my favorite prince, but I was past the point of caring about that. For I was a steadfast sumo wrestler!
Teppo! Teppo! Teppo! Thud after thud led the pillar to begin to crack. After about five strikes it finally collapsed, the iron bars all twisted, and the prince was free to go.
“W-Wow! How are you so strong, Floortje?”
“This is awkward to admit, but through a rather strange turn of events I gained the power of sumo.”
Prince Richie had stepped out of his cell and was staring at me in round-eyed wonder. You’ll make me blush! I could feel the next lines of that song were on their way.
“Why are you stuck down here, Your Highness?”
As he stared at me with those cute, round eyes, his cat ears twitched. I couldn’t stop marveling at how precious he was. Those fluffy ears of his were awfully tempting—I wanted to stroke them over and over.
“A few days ago, Jonas brought Jaromíra to my room, and she cast a spell on me. That’s how I got these cat ears,” said Prince Richie, lowering his gaze in dejection. “My brother claimed I had the cursed blood of beast-people flowing in my veins. That someone like me had no right to lay claim to the throne. I’m prepared to step aside: Jonas is an extraordinary person who excels at our royal duties. But I was shocked to hear such discrimination against the numerous beast-people residing in our nation. I can’t help but expect that something bad is going to happen.”
Ah, such altruism! He was more concerned about these beast-people he had never seen than about his own potential execution. I sensed a splendid future king in him, both with my native senses and through sumo.
“You are a wonderful person, Your Highness, and don’t you let them tell you otherwise. Even if you have the blood of beast-people in your veins—what of it? A person’s value is determined by their love for others. I shall support your succession to the throne.”
The prince’s face blossomed into a gentle smile.
“Thank you, Lady Floortje. But a conflict between princes would lead to a civil war, which would make the people suffer. If only something could set my brother back on the right path...”
From our discussion, it would seem Prince Jonas was trying to usurp the throne. He actually had less right to it than Prince Richie, because the latter had been born to the queen, while the former was the child of a concubine. I recalled that Prince Jonas’s route in the game had doing away with envy as its theme. As the son of a former lowly maidservant, he was jealous of Prince Richie. And just before his heart was consumed by evil, he was saved by the saint, Jaromíra. They would then go on to support the royal family together, and that was the true end of the game.
In reality, they had apparently both had their hearts consumed by evil. So much for Jaromíra being a saint. It was surely no coincidence that the spirit of sumo had woken inside me, for sumo wrestlers live to purge evil and bring smiles to the faces of the virtuous.
“Your Highness, I may have been summoned here to make you king.”
“B-By whom?”
“The god of sumo.”
“I-I haven’t heard of such a god—is it a benevolent one?”
“He puts smiles on people’s faces and makes sure everyone lives a happy life.”
“That...would make him good... I...I want to lead a happy life...with everyone...again...”
Tears began to spill from the prince’s round eyes and stream down his plump cheeks. Eager to stop them, I hugged the boy without thinking. He sobbed against my chest for a good while—after all, he was only twelve. Ahh, these fluffy ears... Such bliss.
“Your Highness, where might one feast one’s eyes upon King Arvi? I hadn’t the opportunity to do so at the graduation dance party.”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve been imprisoned down here for three days now.”
“The king is being held at Fort Varian,” said Ove, who had shown up, dragging his feet.
He made his way to where we stood and fell to his knees in front of Prince Richie, who quickly assumed a dignified bearing, befitting royalty. His cat ears pricked up too.
“Why are you telling me that, Knight?”
“I don’t know, Your Highness. My head simply cleared up when I lost at ‘sumo.’ I deeply apologize for playing a part in your confinement and will accept any punishment you deem necessary.”
“You are forgiven. The temple needs master swordsmen like you.”
“Ah, you are too kind, Your Highness. How could I have done this to such a wise prince...?” Shoulders drooping, Ove shed a tear. He appeared to have regained his sanity.
“Don’t cry, Knight. You’ll make me sad too.”
“Tell me, Sir Ove, who is holding the king captive?” I asked.
“Prince Jonas. Saint Jaromíra commanded our order of Temple Knights to kidnap the king and confine him at Fort Varian.”
“That is grave news. I must rescue my father immediately.”
“Indeed, and we’ll need troops. Let us leave the castle for now, Your Highness, and pay a visit to the Hobbema marquisate,” I suggested.