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Boing, boing went the girls while going up and down. With the addition of one more person, now there were three little girls jumping on the giant balloon while chatting with each other.
“Oh~ so Lyn-chan is this country’s princess?”
“That I am. Though it was but a month ago that I turned 8, I am already a proper lady!”
“You are more of a big sister than Hina-sama~”
While the children continued playing, the adults talked it out with each other. Silvia undid the restraints on the soldiers and reassured them that she meant them no harm. And since that was coming from someone that they had no hope of winning against, the soldiers had no choice but to take her word for it.
Right beside the balloon, Lynfil’s personal royal tutor, the old magician named Gettel, was looking on restlessly. “Oh no, Your Royal Highness, jumping so high is extremely dangerous!”
However, standing next to him was Silvia, who smilingly reassured him with a “Don’t worry, it’s all right.”
“Uwa—! Wh—?!”
“YOUR HIGHNESS!”
Right after Silvia’s words, Lynfil’s small body bounced off particularly hard. However, Puru immediately caught her on its back. Then it circled back over the balloon and dropped her right off. Thus Lynfil went boing once again.
“See? Don’t worry, it’s all right.”
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack!”
After a while, the girls finally had their fill of playing, and it was decided that Lynfil would stay for lunch. A vinyl sheet was spread out at the top of a hill, and out came lunch box after lunch box. The soldiers were told to rest at the foot of the hill.
“How delicious! What is this?! Lady Mother, were you the person who made this?”
“Yes I did. Here, eat more, there’s plenty left.”
“How exquisite, how truly exquisite! Very well, I have made up my mind. I shall appoint you as Head Chef of the royal palace. Worry not, I merely have to ask this of my father, the king, then he would not refuse. His Majesty loves me very much.”
“Though it is an enormous honor, I currently have no intention of working outside of my home. Sorry, all right, sweetie?”
“Hmm, so you don’t want to. I see, that’s a pity...... Then how about court mage? With your prowess, no one could say no to you assuming command over all our mage forces. I can guarantee you a salary several times that of Head Chef.”
“Oh sweetie, it’s not a matter of money. I am a housewife. That means I already have a job, a job which involves taking care of my family.”
“Hmm, so you don’t want this either. I see, that’s a pity...... A really, really big pity...... sniff......”
“We would be quite troubled too if we don’t have our Mama around.” Kana patted Lynfil’s head in consolation, but then Lynfil grabbed that hand with all her strength.
“In spite of your young age, I see that the two of you are already capable of making a blue dragon do your bidding. How would you like to be—”
“You really are persistent, aren’t you?”
“I will pay you a lot of money.”
“Mama, may I?!”
“You may not.”
Both girls’ heads drooped in disappointment.
Then it was Hina’s turn to pat both their heads in consolation.
Lynfil took a big bite out of an onigiri—om, nom, nom, gulp—then pulled herself back together. “So what were you all doing out here anyway?”
“Time attack~!” responded Hina.
“Along with hiking, we were also trying to see how fast Puru could go,” elaborated Kana.
“I see, so you were determining this blue dragon’s flying capabilities. It is usually not their flying capabilities that large dragons are famous for...... no wait, if we could incorporate such a large creature as air support, it could make a big difference in the naval war that might be coming against the empire...... hm, hmm, I see...... hm, hm......”
“Lyn-sama is saying difficult things~”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at either, but Puru is our friend, all right?”
“Interesting. So even though this dragon cannot speak, you would yet call it a friend. How broad-minded you are...... In that case, then. That’s, um, building friendships with other people, uh, regardless of any difference in status...... Would you happen to, um, be that kind of...... person?” Lynfil shot quick, furtive glances toward Kana and Hina.
“Lyn-sama is saying difficult things again~”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but Lyn-chan, aren’t we already friends?”
“Do you speak true?!”
“I mean, we’re talking together, and we’ve even eaten a meal together too!” Kana’s standard for being a friend was extremely low. Let alone being in the same class, just being in the same school was already enough for her to consider someone a friend. Even an absolute stranger would turn into a friend after just one conversation. Back when they lived in Japan, even the courier “big brother” was a full-fledged friend.
“F-Finally, even I have someone that I can call a friend...... uuu, sniff......” Lynfil quivered with emotion.
“Our Royal Highness, Our Royal Highness looks so happy......” The old magician Gettel also got infected with the quivers. He began to tear up even.
“Gettel, make preparations for a banquet. Gather all the local nobles, for I will announce to them my new friends. We will make it a celebration that lasts three days and three nights!”
“Your wish is my command!”
“I don’t quite get it, but I think we don’t need that. Yep.”
“Why is that?!”
“Oh, but if you’re a princess, does that mean you live in a castle? I want to try going there.”
“Not a problem! Come whenever you want. If you want, then we can go right now—ah, I’m sorry, I have something to do after this......” Lynfil visibly deflated.