After Yui left the royal palace, she settled back into her daily life. At the moment, she was at a café with Layce for a date. She had used this outing as a bargaining tool to get him to let her stay in the palace, and now she was having to pay up. Layce had been so very enthusiastic. Despite how busy he was as prime minister, he’d prepared for this day by investigating every restaurant with cakes that might be to Yui’s taste. She knew that it was because he wanted to please her, but she was still impressed that he’d been able to do it while at the same time keeping up with his regular duties. He must’ve been really looking forward to the two of them going out somewhere. There was one problem, however.
“This was supposed to be our long-awaited date...” Layce said, shaking. “So... So... Why are you two here?!” he yelled at Yui’s older brothers, Cecil and Carlo. After hearing about the date from Yui, they had secretly come to the restaurant beforehand. Of course, they hadn’t told Layce they would be present.
“What’s wrong, paaapaaa? We want to hang out with Yui toooo,” Carlo said in a soft, cutesy voice.
“Stop it, that’s disgusting!” Layce said. “I don’t want to be called ‘papa’ by a boy your age. It gives me goose bumps!”
“But Yui calls you that.”
“Yui’s cute.”
Cecil held his fork out to Yui. “This one’s tasty too. Here, open up.”
Yui’s eyes lit up. “Mmm, you’re right! Try this.”
As Layce and Carlo were arguing, Yui and Cecil fed each other cake. When Layce noticed, he instantly got closer to Yui. “This is an outrage! You’re in quite an enviable position right now, Cecil. If you weren’t Yui’s brother, I’d get rid of you. Yui, can I—”
“You can get mama to feed you, papa.”
Layce recoiled, stunned by Yui’s rejection. “This was supposed to be our date...”
Yui ignored Layce’s quiet sobs. This time, Yui and Carlo fed each other a piece of cake.
✦ ✦ ✦
After having their fill of cake, the four of them went to an upscale shopping district lined with stores that catered to nobles and the rich. They were there to get Yui’s birthday present and buy her a magic communicator.
A few days ago, Layce had given Yui the king’s payment for the magic formula she had made available for public use. The moment she had taken the money in her hands, she had been surprised by its weight: an average family could live comfortably for three years on the sum she had received. It was too much for her, and she had tried to give it back to Layce so he could return it, but he’d told her that her spell would be valuable for future research too, and that it was fair compensation—if not slightly low. Apparently, the king had prepared an even greater sum of money, but he had reduced it after taking her status as a student into account.
So this is a small amount... Yui had thought, but in the end, because it’d been fair, she’d had no reason to refuse. After much agonizing about how to best make use of the money, she had eventually hit upon the idea of buying a magic communicator. Filiel and her brothers each had one, and she had wanted one for some time, but ordinary people generally couldn’t afford magic items. She knew that Layce would buy her one if she asked, but he already bought her gifts all the time, and she felt shy about begging him to get one. Thus, she had given up on it. But now that she had her own money, it was no issue.
So, they all headed to a shop specializing in magic items so Yui could get the communicator she had been longing for.
When they got there, there were several stern, tough-looking security guards standing out front and inside the store to protect the expensive merchandise. Yui had never been inside a magic item shop before, so she curiously looked around at everything there, and before long, an employee came up to them.
“Welcome. Is there anything you’re looking for today?” he asked.
“Yes, she’s interested in a magic communicator,” Layce said. “Do you have anything good in stock?”
“Yes, we do. We have various kinds, and depending on price, the model and features vary. Do you have a certain price range?”
“Please show me the best ones you have here.”
“Papa!” Yui exclaimed. She didn’t know how much communicators cost, so she was going to give the employee her budget first, but Layce had started talking before she could. She had a lot of money, but it was still limited, and if the communicator was too expensive, she wouldn’t be able to pay for it. She looked up at Layce, flustered.
Layce patted her head. “Don’t worry. If it goes over your limit, I’ll pay for the rest.”
“But...”
“Magic items are meant to be used for a long time, so you should pick the one that works best for you without compromise. And I might not look like it, but I make a fair amount of money, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Yui reluctantly nodded, unable to object over Layce’s decisive tone of voice.
When the employee heard Layce say that there was no upper limit to the price, his radiant smile widened even further, probably because he had judged that they were important customers. “Certainly. I’ll prepare our finest selection, so please wait for a moment.” He went to the back of the store.
As they waited, Carlo spoke. “But anyway, His Majesty must’ve been really happy—he gave Yui so much money. I know the spell is valuable, but she isn’t a researcher; she’s still only a kid.”
Cecil nodded. “Grandpa Theo said he was overjoyed.”
“I’m sure Grandpa Theo was just as happy.”
“Right?”
As Layce heard them speak familiarly about “Grandpa Theo,” his face stiffened. “‘Grandpa Theo...’ You don’t mean to say that you’re in contact with him?”
“Yeah, but only sometimes. We talk about Yui, school, and stuff,” Carlo said nonchalantly. “Other than Filiel, Grandpa Theo was our source of information about everything that’s happened recently.”
Layce had an indescribable expression on his face. This seemed to be the first time he had heard them refer to the still greatly influential former King Theodore so casually.
Just then, Carlo turned to Yui like he had just remembered something. “By the way, did it turn out fine, Yui?”
“Did what?” Yui asked. She didn’t remember doing anything that would’ve been a cause for worry. But Carlo’s next words brought various things back to mind.
“You stayed in the same room with Filiel for a few days, right? With the age he’s at, he didn’t pounce on you, did he? Aha ha ha...ha...ha...” Carlo had been joking, but when he noticed Yui’s cheeks turning red, his laughter got quieter and trailed off. Cecil’s eyes widened in surprise, and Layce went pale and pressed her.
“Y-Y-Y-Yui, h-he actually did do something?!”
“N-No, papa. He didn’t do that!”
Cecil calmly analyzed Yui’s response. “So, he kissed you, then?”
“N-No!”
“Oh, he didn’t?”
“He’s always been a wimp,” Carlo remarked. He and Cecil sounded disappointed, but Layce looked relieved.
“But from how you’re acting, he at least confessed his feelings, right?” Carlo asked.
“Ah, umm, well...”
Yui’s brothers grinned at her obvious confusion. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity, and they seemed to be a second away from making her tell them everything. Next to them, Layce was brimming with rage. Yui’s mind raced as she tried to think of a way to make it the situation, but just then, the employee conveniently returned.
“Apologies for the wait,” he said. Then, sensing an odd mood, he asked, “Is there an issue?”
“No, it’s nothing!” Yui said. In order to escape from any further questioning, she focused her attention on the magic items that had been brought out.