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Upon arriving at the fortress city of Treia, the party took their sweet time heading toward Elunheine Adventurer’s Guild, stopping by food stalls several times along the way. Although there was still a bit of time before dusk, the figures of several adventurers who had just finished a quest could be seen here and there in the reception lobby.
The instant Kana stepped into the building, she spotted a teenage boy happily chatting with a girl behind one of the reception counters. “Sid-onii-chan, you’re ogling too much.”
“Uwah! That surprised me...... Kana-chan? Why—”
“Hold on. Kana, what did you come here for?” The receptionist that Sidorias had been chatting with, Yuna, gave Kana a suspicious look.
Emalia stepped in to smooth things over, and the group quickly shifted to one of the lounges in the back of the first floor with Sidorias in custody.
After Sidorias sat down on one of the sofas, Lynfil plopped herself down on the one opposite his. Kana and Hina took up positions on each side.
Sidorias had realized almost immediately that this girl hiding her face with a hood was Princess Lynfil. However, why did she visit him out the blue? Why was she asking him his hobbies and special talents and his beliefs and convictions? He hadn’t the faintest idea what was going on. And right now, for some reason, the conversation had shifted to the topic of a certain Iron-rank adventurer.
“I see, I see. So does that mean you have a high opinion of this adventurer named Sharlo?”
“Well, you could say that, yes. He proactively takes on quests that nobody else wants to do, and then completes them without saying anything. Although his attitude isn’t exactly the best, he’s actually a very upstanding person deep down. That’s what I think, at least.”
“Well said. Very well said indeed!”
While looking at Lynfil beaming with satisfaction, a few things had become clear to Sidorias. He did not know previously that Sharlo was the kingdom’s prince. However, the name and age matched perfectly, and he had been brought to the guild by Shouzou, who had gotten close to the king recently. It couldn’t be clearer that he was the prince who had locked himself up before. So what exactly was he being tested on right now? Amidst his uneasiness and misgiving, an angel of salvation appeared unto him.
“So what is it exactly that you guys came here for anyways?” Yuna had taken a break and come in, even having gone to the trouble of preparing tea. The smell of the tea and Yuna’s sweet smell sent Sidorias’s head pounding from bliss. However, in the next instant, all the blood drained from his face.
“Lyn-chan is actually looking for a spouse. So we thought, ‘how about Sid-onii-chan?’”
“Indeed, he is quite a promising man. His strength and achievements are beyond reproach. I have decided on you. Be my spouse.”
His brain could not handle such abruptness.
“Will you girls stop teasing Sid? Can’t you see how troubled he looks right now?”
Yuna’s exasperated voice was met by Kana’s candid “Lyn-chan is completely serious.”
“Are you?”
“Indeed. I am completely serious.”
After groaning for a short while with her arms crossed, Yuna also put on a serious face. “All right then. In that case, Sid, give her a proper answer.”
“I’m sorry?!”
“You aren’t going out with anyone right now, right? Then maybe you can start by being friends?”
“I... I......” Within his bewilderment, Sid suddenly felt the light of enlightenment fall upon him. This was indeed a strange situation, but it could also be a chance for him to honestly express his feelings.
Upon seeing the resolve on his face, Kana also found it hard to suppress her excitement at this unexpected development. This was definitely the build up for a confession. No matter how thickheaded her older sister was, if she was confessed to directly, then even she should get the message.
As a strange tension seized the room, Sidorias stood up abruptly, went to stand right in front of Yuna, looked into her eyes, then bared his heart, shouting, “I... have someone that I like!”
“Oh you do? Lyn-chan, what will you do then?” She did not get the message at all.
“That’s not it... that’s not the way to do it, Sid-onii-chan......” When it came to this oblivious girl, something at least as specific as “I, Sidorias, feel love in the romantic sense toward you, Yuna-san, daughter of Onigawara Shouzou” was necessary to get the message across.
On the other hand, Lynfil, who seemed on the verge of being left out of what was happening, laughed dauntlessly. “Fu fu fu! To think that you already have someone in mind. What an exciting challenge this is! Very well, I shall do everything in my power to make you turn your head toward me!”
Bringing her hands together in applause—
“Good luck, Lyn-chan. I’ll support you!”
—Yuna unsuspectingly dealt a death blow to Sidorias.
The man standing outside the door sensed the life seeping out of the young man, and thought it a suitable time to step in. Accordingly, he knocked on the door and entered the lounge.
“Papa!”
“Otoo-sama’s here~!”
After returning his two youngest daughters’ greetings with a gentle smile, the man, Shouzou, approached Lynfil. “I have just returned from the royal capital. Emalia-san has filled me in on the situation.”
The instant he got back, Emalia had come crying to him to “please do something about them.”
When Shouzou stopped, Lynfil looked up at his figure, then came to a start, shouting, “The fact that you are here and that you are aware of what we are doing must mean that you are presenting yourself as a candidate to be my spouse!”
“Hm?” The unexpected situation caused Shouzou to tilt his head.
The three sisters hurriedly tried to stop her, but Lynfil started to talk up a storm. “My Father King has great trust in you, and you are also a great man who has saved our kingdom from ruin. Above all, I hear that you have given Ani-ue much advice. Oh? I see. The person that Yunoh spoke of was surely you. Let alone being beyond reproach, I should be the one to bow down in entreaty.” Her eyes widened, and she shouted, “I approve of you as my spouse!”
““Hold on RIGHT there!”” The two older sisters jumped in.
“Dad is already married!”
“Don’t take Papa away from us!”
The words of the two (more so Kana’s) gave Hina a general grasp of the situation and pushed her to the verge of tears.