Meanwhile, Lady Opera’s eyes were sparkling as she gazed at the scenery outside the window. “Roche, look! You can see my palace from up here!” she exclaimed.
“You’re right,” Roche replied.
“It looks like a small bean from up here.”
“It looks quite cute from the sky.”
Roche had his arm draped over Lady Opera’s shoulders as she stared out the window. I thought the two of them suited each other quite well, but Van seemed to think otherwise. He was shooting daggers at Roche’s arm around Lady Opera, but the happy couple was oblivious to the stares they were receiving. The situation seemed to make Madeleine and my brother feel awkward. Roche must have had nerves of steel to pull that off while Lady Opera’s brother was here.
Eventually, the capital disappeared from our sight. And when Van saw Lady Opera’s brilliant smile, he seemed to stop caring about Roche being too close to her and instead gave them warm, welcoming glances.
“Seems like they’re already enjoying this trip plenty, even though we haven’t gotten there yet,” Van remarked.
“Indeed,” I said. “I was surprised at how much the station had developed while I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Same here.”
From reading the reports, I had been aware of the scale of the station and the lively businesses and stalls that it had, but I was still overwhelmed upon seeing it with my own eyes. Apparently, there were even people buying things from the food stalls there even though they had no plans to ride the wyverns. The station was turning into a small-scale tourist destination of its own.
Lady Opera stifled a yawn, seemingly having gotten bored of staring out the window. I had thought that it was time for her nap, but she instead ordered Roche to spread open a folding table that was inside the carriage.
“I bought a lot of food from the station. Everyone, let us eat!” she announced.
Roche gingerly brought out the food that had been stuffed in a basket. This basket was a magic one that prevented the food’s scent from leaking out while also maintaining its freshness.
Lady Opera had apparently bought a wide assortment of things—wyvern sticks, wyvern-shaped sweets, wyvern buns, wyvern noodles, grilled wyvern... I hadn’t realized that she had bought this much.
“So, you were buying all that for us to eat in here?” Van asked.
“Of course, brother. Did you think that I was going to eat all of it by myself?”
Van nodded, and Lady Opera pouted in response.
“There is no way I can eat all of this on my own!” she said as she handed Parfeil a wyvern-shaped candy. “Little Bunny, this is for you.”
“F-For me?”
“Indeed. I saw you looking longingly at it.”
“I am surprised and honored that you noticed. Thank you, milady.” Parfeil looked elated, and Lady Opera appeared to be satisfied with herself.
“All of you, have some,” Lady Opera said.
Each of us took turns getting some of the foods she’d gotten from the wyvern station’s stalls.
Moments later, Lady Opera fell asleep on Roche’s lap, exhausted from all the excitement.
“Roche’s lap looks uncomfortable with all the muscles he has,” Van grumbled.
“But look, she seems so happy sleeping there,” I pointed out.
Lady Opera’s peaceful, sleeping face comforted me as we rode in the carriage and waited to arrive at our destination. It had fallen quiet inside, not out of awkwardness, but out of a sense of peace as time gently passed us by.
Finally, we arrived at Diamant. It had been quite a while since we’d been here, but it was still covered in deep snow. I had experienced this sight once before, but it still caught me by surprise. One thing that was different this time, however, was how lively it was compared to before.
There were two wyvern stations in Diamant—one for nobles and one for commoners. Each station was situated somewhere where it was easy to head to its associated hot springs resort.
Unlike the capital, there were no food stalls at the stations here in Diamant—they were simply places for wyvern carriages to land and take off. The ones here were simple—if they were as lively as the ones in the capital, they’d take away the focus from the hot spring resort.
There were a number of hot spring inns in the town, all centered around the Noisette mansion. Steam from the hot springs rose up and hung over the snowy village, creating a phantasmal spectacle before us.
Fenetra had come all the way to the station to pick us up. She turned and greeted us. “Lord Dragon Duke, Madame Dragon Duchess, Lady Opera. I welcome you to Diamant. We have been waiting for your arrival.”
“Thank you for your service. You have done well,” Van said.
“I am humbled by your words.”
“I am glad to see that you are well.”
“I owe it to all of you, milord,” she said. “As you can see, I am quite healthy.”
The real Fenetra was just as Van had described her to me. While she had been weakened and starved by Streusel before, she was now the very picture of health as she did her job. Since our last encounter, she had begun a relationship with one of Van’s knights and they had recently gotten engaged. Since the knight in question was going to marry into House Noisette, Van had been lamenting the loss of one of his most skilled men. Still, if he was to acknowledge the accomplishments of House Noisette, it would not be a bad idea to grant them one of his most loyal vassals.
Noble politics sure can be complicated...
We were going to travel to the hot springs resort by sled. It would be pulled by an “elk”—a phantasmal beast sporting impressive antlers, akin to a deer.
“Everyone, this is an elk,” Fenetra explained.
“It’s huge!” I exclaimed. The elk had pristine white fur and massive antlers. Its round eyes gazed at us gently. Elk had become more common in Diamant after this land had been blessed by the Great Spirit of Snow. A long time had passed since then, and the people of Diamant had developed a symbiotic relationship with the elk in this region. The hot springs resort had recently employed these beasts for travel, and it was my first time seeing one in the flesh.