The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Noble in a World with a Skewed Gender Ratio - 30-31

Chapter 30: The Two of Them on the Day Before Tia’s Fifth Birthday Celebration

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“Tomorrow is Princess Tia’s fifth birthday celebration, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is…”

“It seems Princess Tia finally noticed her feelings to El-kun….”

“Wha-Wha-Wha-What did you say?!”

“…She didn’t say anything to you?”

“Nuuuu… Actually… She hasn’t spoken to me in a while….”

“I actually don’t want to ask, but… What did you do?”

“….I was just talking about boobs a bit too passionately.”

“….That’s…. A very stupid thing to do.”

Haaa~ I’d really love to cut open the brain of someone who could talk about boobs so passionately in front of their own daughter… There must be something inherently different that allowed him to do something that stupid.

“Stupid?! Stupid, you said?!”

“I did! What about it, huh?!”

“Boobs are justice! Boobs are the dreams, hopes and every man’s romance!! Everything is crammed inside boobs! Even the famous Pirate King wrote in his will that he left everything in boobs!”

“I believe he was talking about treasure, not boobs…”

This stupid king…. 

“But still… My Tia….”

“Princess Tia is not yours, Your Majesty… In fact, I believe Princess Tia already hates you…”

“Don’t say that! You’re hurting my feelings, you know?!”

“….You’re disgusting… Please stop. It’s better if you apologize to her and go die.”

“You know, I wouldn’t mind sending you flying right about now.”

“…My oh my… Resorting to violence right when things are not going your way… How despicable… Judgment shall befall you!!”

“…As a true believer in gender equality, I won’t hesitate to deliver a dropkick to a woman like you, you know?”

“Uwah….”

“What?! I was joking, you know?! Don’t take it so seriously!!”

“I will contact HR… I will tell the HR about this harassment…”

“Is that a joke?!”

“Who knows?!”

“Anyway, back to Tia… How can I get her to listen to my plea?”

“…Well, to be honest… I think it’s a bit too late to be thinking about that… There’s no recovering it. just like His Majesty’s jewel…”

“You-?! You’re the one who has been feeding me eel based dishes until recently! Ugh..! Well, fine! Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to offer an equivalent exchange. I will leave my underwear in your room…”

“I DON’T WANT IT! Well, if it’s El-kun’s or Lance-kun’s, maybe I will reconsider… But in any case, who the heck wants the filthy king’s shit-stained underwear?!”

“How rude!! I usually have great control of my bowel movements!!”

“Anyway, I believe it’s already too late. If you want to blame someone, blame the cursed lineage of boobs fanatics that has been passed down through the generations.”

“Grrr… Indeed… My father was like that too…”

“Tomorrow is a big event. Please mind your tongue so you won’t say anything unnecessary again.”

“If it’s like this, then I shall convert El into a fellow boobs fanatic…”

SMACK!!

“ARE YOU AN IDIOT?! DO YOU WANT TO BE HATED EVEN MORE?!”

“You…?! Did you hit me with a toilet slipper?!”

“Oh my, there was a cockroach passing by so…”

“A cockroach right on the king’s body…”

Leaving this stupid king aside, Princess Tia… Please do whatever it takes to tie El-kun… Oh my, that’s not the right words.. Ehem.. I hope things will go well between you and El-kun, Princess Tia…

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Chapter 31: The Day of Princess Tia’s Fifth Birthday

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“Hey, hey, Lance…!”

“What is it, Tia?”

“I just want to double-check the plan with you… So when El comes, I should run up to him, take his hand, look up at him and say ‘I missed you, El…’ That’s it, right? That’s what I need to do, right?”

“Yes, just like that… Then, it’d be great if you could hug him tightly and bury your face in his chest after that.”

This was the thing I often heard from Mother, so I believed this plan would work. Apparently, this kind of gesture worked wonders on men. 

“I see… Thank you. You’ve been very informative.”

“But still… El sure is late, huh?”

“If I’m not wrong, he should’ve arrived in the capital yesterday, right?”

“That’s what I heard too, but…”

Hurry up and come, El!! You know, sometimes Tia’s eyes turn pitch black! Completely pitch-black!! This is like that thing from a book, right? What was it… A yandere? A-Anyway, for now, Black Tia only makes her appearance every once in a while, so it should be alright, but still… 

(※Yandere Tia = Black Tia, courtesy of Lance)

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Tia’s fifth birthday party had started and yet, there was still no sign of El.

Just what’s going on, El? Tia is waiting for you, you know? Because you’re not here, Tia is forcing herself to smile. I’m not Tia. I’m only a mere spectator, watching from the sidelines. However, even I feel hurt looking at Tia like that… Even though today is a special day for Tia… El, you haven’t forgotten about Tia’s birthday, right? Surely you’re not off somewhere making something again, right…?

“Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!!”

Someone rushed into the castle in a panic. It was a female soldier and upon closer inspection… She seemed to be injured?! Under normal circumstances, a soldier like her wouldn’t be allowed to talk to His Majesty directly. Someone would relay the message instead, but it seemed the situation was too dire for formalities. Everyone present murmured between themselves, curious to know what had just happened. 

“…Did something happen?”

“It-It’s an emergency… There’s something I need to tell Your Majesty… I believe it’s best if we keep this matter a secret… Haa… Haaa…”

“But you’re injured… It’s fine. Go ahead and speak now!”

“Bu-But…”

“I said, speak!”

“Ye-Yes! El-dono… El-dono was on his way to the capital to celebrate Princess Tia’s birthday but then… He was kidnapped by someone…! The kidnapping happened yesterday…”

PRANG!!

The glass Tia had been holding on fell to the floor. The glass shattered. The sound echoed through the now silent banquet. I almost dropped the glass I was holding on too. 

“No-No way…”

“El… El is…”

“Your Majesty! Allow me to ask something!”

Mother?! I’ve never seen Mother look this angry before…

His Majesty then nodded at my Mother. 

“What about Maria? Maria and Miinya should be there, right?! Those two wouldn’t have lost against mere kidnapper…”

“Maria-sama wasn’t there!”

“But Miinya should be there, right?! Even Miinya alone should be enough to handle-“

“The number of enemy was overwhelming… Furthermore, it seems someone from the enemy infiltrated their rank and poisoned the meal… As a result, many soldiers fell. However, Captain Erin and Miinya-sama managed to defeat almost half of the enemy…”

“So… Both of them… Are dead?”

“No. El-sama… El-sama sacrificed his life in exchange for the safety of those still alive…”

El.. You…

“Stupid! So utterly stupid!! El… Hic..!!”

The prime minister immediately rushed to Tia, who broke down in tears. I also wanted to go to Tia and say something to comfort her, but I couldn’t find the right word to say.

“Your Majesty!! Please lend me the knight!”

“Mother?!”

“I will pursue the kidnappers! The incident happened yesterday, so they shouldn’t have gone too far!”

“You have my permission! Prepare a fast horse for Teresa! Teresa, I will entrust one knight squad to you!”

“Thank you! Now then…”

I ran to Mother. I knew Mother was strong, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling worried about her. 

“Don’t worry! I will… I will definitely bring him back!”

“But Mother… Will you also come back safely?”

“Of course! Besides, Maria must have heard the news. She should be on pursuit too by now. There’s no enemy that we can’t defeat!”

“…Okay.. Mother, please bring El back!”

“Leave it to me! Time is of the essence, so I will depart now! Make sure the you stay in the inn together with the servants, okay?”

“Okay…”

I really wanted to come along, but I knew I’d just be a burden. Mother and El… I hoped the two of them would come back safely.

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