Vol 9 Chapter 20: Love Talk

“—So, what’s your objective? Cheryl.”

After dinner ended, I give a flat stare to Her Highness the Princess, who’s relaxing in the private room prepared for her in the royal palace with an attitude of ‘Huh? I’ve been here from the start, haven’t I?’

She apparently just got out of the large adjoining bath and is in her nightclothes. Her hair is still wet.

At my feet is Chiffon, dried one step earlier, already brushed and beautiful.

She doesn’t seem to like getting wet much—she had her tail curled up until just now—but she’s already showing her belly in a ‘More, more brushing~’ position.

My classmate puts her hands together and smiles brightly.

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious? Ge-tting-a-head ☆, you know? Not knowing there’s a bath in the private room is those girls’ fatal mistake! Now, Allen, my hair—”

“Allen.” “Ria too~ Ria too~”

Two little girls with wet hair came flying out of the bathroom.

I catch them while casting levitation magic and dry their hair with a towel.

“Hey now. You have to dry it properly, okay?”

“♪”

The little girls frolic and laugh.

I set them down in chairs—and coldly admonish Her Highness the Princess who sits down primly next to Atra and Ria.

“…Cheryl, you can dry your own.”

“That’s cruel! Allen, you’re always, always like this! Even during our student days, you only pampered Lidia and were strict with me! That’s so not trendy nowadays!?”

“Yes, yes. Atra, Ria, don’t move.”

“♪”

As I dry the two little girls’ hair with wind magic, they wriggle their bodies left and right as if it tickles.

Next to them, my beautiful classmate who puffed out her cheeks and turned around is pouting.

…Really, what a troublesome princess.

I sigh and begin generating warm air to dry Cheryl’s hair.

“Wah!”

“Don’t move.”

“Meh.” “Ria, don’t move. Has beast ears and tail. Win?”

Atra and Ria scold Cheryl, who moved dramatically at the sudden warm wind.

I also take out spare brushes and float them, combing their hair in order.

Chiffon at my feet is dutifully waiting. Later, okay?

Cheryl swings her legs while giggling.

“…Hehe~ ♪ Allen, you’re really, truly such a softie, aren’t you?”

“…Cheryl, I can stop right now, you know?”

“Nope ☆ Did you forget? You let me escape at the royal palace and overdid it, didn’t you? If it was Lidia, she definitely would have taken you with her without hesitation, right??”

“…”

When she says that, I have nothing to say.

After finishing drying Atra and Ria’s hair, I pick them both up and gently toss them onto the bed.

“♪” “Allen, Allen. Fluffy. Fluffy.”

“If you get too excited, your hair will get messy again, okay? Now, good night. Chiffon, please.”

I put a blanket over them, gently pat the two little girls’ heads, and appoint the white dog as babysitter.

‘Okay~’ Chiffon jumps onto the bed and curls up near the little girls.

Atra and Ria are buried in the fluffy white dog—and soon, sleeping breaths begin to spill out.

I take the brush in hand and move behind Her Highness the Princess.

I take her shining golden hair in hand.

“Alright, I’ll brush it.”

“…Yes.”

Cheryl looks down, a little embarrassed yet deeply happy.

—We’re both silent.

Come to think of it, this might be the first time since the Royal Academy that we’ve spent time together like this, just the two of us?

My classmate opens her mouth.

“—…Hey, Allen.”

“Mm?”

“Why—…why won’t you ever, ever take me with you?”

A quiet but strong question.

I stop brushing her hair, think for a moment, and answer.

“Because you’re Her Highness the Princess.”

“…That’s not the answer I’m looking for. Lidia also has succession rights, you know? Her rank is—”

I interrupt Cheryl’s words and reply.

“She’d come along even if I tried to stop her. Even if it were… any kind of deadly battlefield. I tried to correct that over four years, but it was impossible. I don’t think that personality of hers will ever change now. So it’s better if we’re together, right? But you’re different, aren’t you?”

“—…Allen, you idiot. Meanie. Bully.”

“I’d argue with the other girls, but if you say so, I’ll accept it willingly.”

“…Don’t be kind like that either.”

“That’s impossible. Because, you know? You’re one of my few classmates. And from now on, you’ll be my superior officer. …Ah, but this is a good opportunity, so from now on I should be more formal—”

“…If you do that, I’ll leak all your achievements to foreign countries. Yes! And I’ll forcibly make you important!! With this incident, the national treasury also gained vast eastern territories! Right!!!”

“Hahaha, you jest, Your Highness Princess Cheryl Wayne Wright. —There, done. It’s nighttime, so I won’t tie it up, okay?”

“—Yeah.”

After finishing brushing her hair, I sit down in a chair.

On the round table is an unfamiliar bottle of wine. It’s clearly high quality.

But maybe I should pass tonight?

As I’m thinking this, Cheryl skillfully opens the white wine, takes a glass, pours it, and slides it across the table.

“…You drank like this with Lidia, and with Stella in the southern capital too, didn’t you? I think things should be fair.”

“…You really are a troublesome princess.”

I take the bottle, pour it into a glass, and slide it in front of Cheryl.

I pick up my glass, clink it lightly, and smile.

“A toast to the future Queen.”

“A toast to the great hero who saved the nation.”

I take a sip. …This is incredibly good wine. I doubt I’ll ever be able to drink this again.

I shrug and smile wryly.

“That’s harsh. Where am I a hero?”

“You’ve been a hero since our student days. At least, to Lidia and me.”

“I think that’s too heavy a burden. From my perspective, meeting you and Lidia at the Royal Academy ranks alongside being picked up by my father and mother, and Karen becoming my sister, as one of the luckiest events of my life. It seems I used up all my luck there, because after that it’s been nothing but hardship.”

“…You’re always like that. Always, always, you say Lidia’s name first! Allen.”

“Wh-What?”

Her Highness the Princess with fixed eyes moved her chair and approached me.

—A pleasant fragrance wafts over.

Cheryl has good physical development, so when she gets too close, it’s a bit troublesome.

“As Cheryl Wayne Wright, I command you, my direct investigator. Use any means necessary. Find magic that can travel to the past!!”

“Th-That’s obviously impossible… I-In the first place, what would you even do if you found such magic!?”

“Isn’t it obvious!!”

She extends her slender, pure white hand to my chest and grabs it. Her cheeks are bright red.

…Could she already be drunk!?

“I’ll go back to before Lidia met you, and I’ll be your, your first—…”

“Cheryl?”