Chapter 446: A World First
Chapter 446: A World First
“Shall we go then?”
“Ugh…! W-where are you talking about…?”
After finishing breakfast, I immediately ran to the corner and captured Silvia.
“Where else? The castle, of course. I may not look it, but I have a diligent personality and don’t put things off. Now, let’s go!”
“You look excited.”
Even though we’d just reaffirmed our love last night, Sara still muttered in a displeased voice, clearly not thrilled about me sleeping with the princess.
If she’s that unhappy, she could just tell me not to do it.
I did say I wouldn’t if even one person objected.
When it comes down to it, Sara must feel sorry for Felicia, too.
She’s so soft-hearted, despite her looks.
“Of course I am. I can finally be free from all the people clinging to me, calling me their savior and whatnot.”
“That’s not being diligent at all…”
Sara muttered in disbelief, but I didn’t pay it any mind. Because it was true.
“Well, anyway, you said you were coming too, right, Sara?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Then let’s go. Move out! Vanessa! Prepare the carriage—”
“Wait a moment.”
Just as I was about to excitedly leave the room, Diana stopped me.
“Hm? What is it?”
“I shall go as well.”
“You too, Diana?”
“Mm. Though it is complete, it will still need to be calibrated on-site.”
As she spoke, Diana pulled out a magical device I had never seen before from within her robes.
“What’s that?”
“A magical device for recording video.”
“Huh? Why do you have that, Diana?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We made it here. It is only a matter of modifying and adjusting existing magic, but it is still a new magical device that did not exist before. Who better to create it with the most precision than the mages present here? What of it? Don’t worry. I was properly compensated.”
Ah, I see. Right. So the recording device was made here.
That’s why Diana said the negotiations with the temple must be finished when she heard Felicia had contacted us. She already knew what had happened with the magical device.
“Alright. Then Diana can come with us…”
“I-If that’s the case, then I should go as well. As a Cardinal, I am also concerned about how the negotiations with the temple proceeded.”
As soon as Diana’s attendance was decided, Matilda stepped forward, putting on an innocent, prim face as she spoke.
No, no, no. You can’t come. Wasn’t watching someone else’s sexual activities a taboo?
Are you that curious? About our video recording.
Well, judging by what Diana said about the device, the very concept of video recording doesn’t seem to be widespread in this world. So I can understand her curiosity.
Besides, the way they each came up with a reason to tag along so quickly, it didn’t seem like they were making it up on the spot.
Don’t tell me these girls were up all night just looking for excuses to tag along?
I’m suspicious.
“Ah, u-um… I…”
It seemed only our angel hadn’t thought of a reason to come.
Leia was probably planning to just trust me and wait here.
But now that everyone else had suddenly declared they were going, she seemed a little flustered.
Leia now seemed to be scrambling to think of a reason to join, but it didn’t look easy to come up with one on the spot.
“Leia, you come too.”
“Huh? But…”
“The whole party is going together. It’d be lonely if you were the only one left out, right? I’d like you to come along, if only to strengthen our party’s bond.”
“Ah… Yes!”
As I gave her a reason, Leia’s face lit up in a bright smile and she nodded.
Mm. Our angel is an angel today, too.
And so, in the end, all of us ended up going to the castle together.
But, surely they don’t intend to watch the entire filming process, do they?
Even I would find that embarrassing, so I hope they’ll refrain.
“Still, you do have some interesting ideas.”
“Hm?”
“The video, I mean. The video. To think of filming a video for educational purposes. I sometimes feel that your ideas are truly novel. I, too, try to avoid being bound by preconceptions and utilize a single spell in various ways, but I never once thought of using projection magic for anything other than long-distance communication. Perhaps I was unknowingly creating my own limits. Thinking about it makes me feel a little pathetic.”
“No. I think you’re amazing, Diana. The only reason I could come up with this idea is because this sort of thing was common in the world I came from.”
Well, to be precise, it’s more of a combination of online lectures and AV.
“Besides, Diana. By realizing the walls you were building for yourself, haven’t your ideas become even freer? It just means you have more room to grow, so you should be happy.”
“Hmm. I suppose one could think of it that way.”
As I said that and patted her head, Diana, who had looked a bit down, blushed shyly but gave a faint smile.
“Right. Right. Of course, leveling up and breaking through your limits is great, but you can’t rush that anyway. For now, let’s focus on making progress by broadening our way of thinking.”
“To do that, it seems I will need to speak with you more often, as your ideas are so free.”
“I thought I talk with you plenty, Diana.”
“It’s not nearly enough. We need to talk more. Much more.”
Diana pressed herself against me until her thigh was stuck fast to mine and hugged me tightly.
She’s so cute.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
“We’re in the carriage too, you know. Could you stop flirting only with Diana?”
“Are you jealous?”
“Of course I am!”
Uh, yeah. Okay. So you’re jealous.
Your admitting it so coolly is actually making me more flustered.
“Hah. To interrupt such a nice atmosphere. You have no sense of romance, Sara.”
“I wouldn’t have interrupted if you weren’t trying to monopolize Guwon from now on.”
“Hmm. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was merely speaking of magic.”
“Is that so? Guwon. Unlike her practical reasons, I just want to be with you.”
U-uh, yeah. Sara. Thanks.
But you’re being strangely assertive today.
Is this a lingering effect from calling me ‘oppa’ last night?
Well, she must have been embarrassed to say it, because her face was a little red.
“What?! Wait! What’s with that tone?! It makes it sound like I…! That’s a cheap shot, Sara! You. Don’t misunderstand! I also want to be with him because I like him!”
Ah. Diana was being so mature for once, talking about love with me.
Where did that warm atmosphere from just a moment ago go? Diana was back to her old self, shouting frantically.
“So magic was just an excuse, then.”
“It is not an excuse, it is killing two birds with one stone!”
Hey. Could you not fight over me?
I can’t even escape since we’re in a carriage.
I really can’t tell if these girls get along or not.
No, wait. I think I had an inkling of Sara’s intentions.
I think she’s picking a fight like this to help Diana, who was feeling bitter about her own limits, return to her usual self. Probably.
“Unlike Diana, who is half love and half magic, I’m 100% love.”
…That is your intention, right? Sara?
“I-I’m 99% love too! Ah, magic is only about 1%...”
“Oh my, so it is 1% magic?”
“M-Magic doesn’t matter! I’m 100% love too!”
No, Diana. I appreciate it, really. I really do, you’re adorable and the best, but you of all people shouldn’t be saying that.
If the elder sisters at the Mage Association, no, if mages all over the world heard you, they’d burst into tears and faint. That statement.
“Hehe. I’m 100% love, too. Even if you had no connection to the Goddess, Guwon, I’m sure I still would have wanted to be by your side.”
Watching Sara and Diana’s squabble, Leia smiled warmly and took one of my hands, clasping it between both of hers.
Then she brought it to her chest and hugged it tightly.
“L-Leia! Cutting in like that is cheap!”
“T-That’s right! Don’t try to seduce him with your chest!”
Do you guys actually get along or not?
Whatever. It looks like it’s going to be like this the whole way. And if I try to intervene, I’ll just be charging into a minefield.
I should probably turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the surrounding commotion and just focus on healing.
“I’m… I’m dyiiiing… I’m… I’m…”
No. I’m telling you, you’re not going to die.
I had been holding Silvia ever since we left the dining hall, and I kept her in my arms in the carriage. I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling her scent and feeling the vibrations with my whole body.
“Hah…”
Amidst the noisy chatter of Sara, Diana, and Leia, I thought I heard someone sigh, but I paid it no mind and enjoyed my Silvia-therapy.
“G-Gu… Guwooon-niiiim…”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“J-just a moment, uwaaah… j-just for a moment, release meee…”
And just before we reached the castle, Silvia, who had been nestled in my arms with a look of resigned acceptance, as if she’d prepared for death, suddenly started struggling and demanding to be freed.
What’s going on?
When I let her go, Silvia skillfully scrambled to the corner of the carriage and caught her breath.
“Hah… hah… hah… T-this time, I saw the Goddess’s face for a moment…”
No, Silvia. Could you not mutter such dangerous things in that cute voice?
Even I get a little worried when I hear you muttering to yourself like that. …You can’t die from just a hug, right?
“A-anyway, everyone. Before we go, please put these on.”
Once she’d caught her breath, Silvia reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled out something made of black cloth.
Looking closely, I saw that what Silvia held out were robes.
However, they were a little different from normal robes. For one, they were huge, large enough to completely cover even me. They also had some kind of large padding on the shoulders, structured so that the wearer’s body line wouldn’t be visible at all.
No, forget body lines, you probably couldn’t even tell if the person was a man or a woman.
…Well, I feel like Leia’s chest would still bulge out even in this.
“What’s this?”
“This is necessary to ensure that the person in the video is not identified as the princess.”
I see. So that’s it.
I had a rough idea of how Felicia was planning to handle this.
“Then, please make sure your identities are not revealed to the guards when we pass through the castle gate. I’ll be moving for a moment to handle our passage.”
After we each put on a robe, Silvia bowed her head and moved to the driver’s seat.
“Silvia. I’m just asking, but you’re not using passing the gate as an excuse to run away from me, are you?”
“N-n-n-no, of course not!”
“Then you’ll come back here after we pass the gate?”
“U-ugh… Y-yes…”
“You seem kind of sad?”
“I-it’s because I’m happy!”
“Guwon. I told you not to tease Silvia!”
“What? Teasing her? Silvia loves being held by me. Right?”
“…Yes. To death.”
Hey. Don’t say it so grimly.
When you say it like that, it doesn’t sound like a joke.
Anyway, we sat quietly with our hoods up while we passed through the castle gate.
The gate guards gave us a slightly suspicious look, but since the person in the driver’s seat was none other than Silvia, they had no choice but to let us pass without even checking our identities.
“Oh my. Welcome, Silvia. Are these the adventurers you mentioned before?”
And when we arrived at the castle, Felicia came out to greet us as if she’d been waiting.
No. It’s not ‘as if’ she was waiting; she really was waiting.
Anyway, ‘adventurers.’ I see. So that’s how she plans to play it.