43. Falling Blossoms (6)

The day after encountering the adorable puppy beastkin's playful antics.

Elise came out clad in full plate armor from head to toe, just as I had commanded.

And when the knights saw her,

"Captain!? Are we going into battle?!"

"Uh, Captain-nim? What's going on?"

They all uniformly expressed confusion at her attire.

Naturally, being the only one in full armor among everyone, she seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah, it's nothing, so please stop paying attention to me..."

Elise stood firmly by my side, brazenly ignoring the gazes of the surrounding knights.

I had to struggle to suppress my laughter at that sight.

If I laughed, it might truly hurt Sir's feelings.

If I want to ask her to do something like this next time too, I should try to stay on her good side from now on.

Of course, she'd probably do anything with just one command, but one must carefully navigate the line between request and command to avoid being disliked.

"Everyone, refrain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from hunting today."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Don't worry. I'm not telling you to endure boredom."

"...Then?"

"You'll probably need to play with the children today, so conserve your energy."

It wasn't confirmed, but I was certain.

The aftermath of yesterday would surely arrive today.

After spending several hours amid the knights' concerns, right around when they were about to succumb to boredom.

A very faint sound began to reach us, who were not ordinary people.

The source of the sound was from the direction of Bistern's main gate.

-You brats! I told you not to go outside!

-Nooo! I wanna go out!

The sounds of the gatekeepers and children throwing a tantrum.

The gatekeepers, conscious of us, weren't letting the children go out to play, so it seemed the children had finally reached their breaking point after holding it in for so long.

It must have been a predicament for them, but it was favorable for us.

"It should be soon."

"...Yes?"

Not long after, the main gate of Bistern, which had been firmly closed for two days, opened.

And what came running out from inside were three small beastkin children.

"Ah, no, come back!"

-Giggle!

Perhaps the flustered appearance of the beastkin gatekeeper was amusing.

The children, simply excited, just ran around here and there trying to avoid being caught by the gatekeeper's hands.

The gatekeeper's complexion grew paler with each passing moment.

Perhaps because they were beastkin, the children's running speed was as fast as that of an average adult.

Thanks to that, the place the children reached while running around everywhere was...

"...Oh? Who are you?"

It was clearly not the Bistern side, but 'our camp'.

At that sight, the gatekeeper's face approached despair.

Perhaps because he had imagined what treatment humans would give beastkin like themselves?

He was looking at us with a rather serious expression.

Good grief.

What do they take me for.

I'm at least not like those people.

"I am the imperial princess. Who might you little adorable ones be?"

I showed proper etiquette to the little gentlemen and ladies while gracefully pinching my skirt slightly.

Normally, a princess showing etiquette is only done when dealing with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠equals or those of higher status.

But since the little children were now my guests, I showed them proper manners.

Then the beastkin girl who was running slowest, being at the very back, began to sparkle her eyes.

"Might I ask the young lady's name?"

As everyone followed my gaze, there stood the beastkin girl.

The girl seemed momentarily flustered, surprised that I had called her a young lady, then soon bloomed a pleased smile.

After all, children of that age typically want to hurry and become adults.

And my intention had been precisely right.

".........Rine."

Rine answered in a soft, careful voice.

That seemed to be the loudest voice she could muster, as Rine's hands were clenched tightly.

"Me! Me! My name is Maru!"

The child who ran the fastest, appearing to be a puppy beastkin at the very front, abruptly introduced himself.

This was the child I had seen yesterday.

As we went in order like that, the child in the middle also introduced himself.

"I, I am, called Daruk..."

"Daruk! They say your jaw gets weird if you keep stammering!"

I wonder if that's a rumor passed down orally among beastkin.

Anyway, Daruk was a bear beastkin child.

Of course, the child's timid appearance didn't match well with the name Daruk.

But clearly, the love of the parents who gave that name couldn't be ignored.

How much must they have thought before giving that name.

"What a spirited and cool name."

"........!"

"What about me!? Me?!"

"Yes, Maru is a cool name too."

Only after seeing that did the gatekeeper's face come back to life.

Though he had merely escaped despair, his expression grew even stranger.

Flustered, and then bewildered, as if he had seen something incomprehensible.

I completely tuned out that gatekeeper.

Well, I could check the results later anyway.

"By any chance, do you all like swords?"

"Huh? Yes! Absolutely! But..."

"But?"

"Well, the adults say they're dangerous and won't even let us touch them..."

"Oh my."

As soon as I heard Maru's words, I glanced at the knights behind me.

To put it bluntly, all the knights here are skilled.

So aside from safety being secondary, the most important thing is that they're all serious about swords enough to have reached knight order positions.

Naturally, this means all the knights here are those who trained with swords and conditioned their bodies since childhood.

And that means...

"Your Highness, is it really alright?"

Several knights were already sparkling their eyes, seeking my permission.

"What, of course I will take responsibility."

"Woooh! Hey kid! Maru, was it! I'll teach you swords!"

The muscular knight who mentioned having a younger sister approached Maru and Daruk.

Following that, knights who were eager to teach swords began approaching one by one.

"However, you all."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"If even a hair on these children gets scratched, I will personally kill you, so keep that in mind."

"Yes, yess...!"

And so Maru and Daruk, surrounded by knights, sparkled their eyes everywhere.

As the knights showed them all different kinds of swords, they seemed to grow impatient about what to look at first.

Well, they'll play enthusiastically on their own over there.

Then I should with this young lady here...

"Let us have some elegant tea."

"........."

Nod.

I wondered what if she disliked drinking tea, but fortunately it wasn't a forced nod.

And so I sat on a chair, with Elise standing by my side.

And Rine was...

"Hmm?"

She wasn't sitting on the chair but was just blankly staring at me.

Judging by her hesitation, it didn't seem like she disliked it... but I wondered why she was just staring like that.

Chup.

Before I knew it, Rine had approached me and stuck herself firmly against my long, stretched-out bare legs.

"Hoho, might it be alright if you come up here?"

"........."

Nod nod.

At Rine's enthusiastic consent, I immediately slipped my hands under her armpits and lifted her up.

Then I sat her right on my thigh.

Worried she might feel burdened, I sat her more toward my knee rather than my thigh,

"........."

Rine briefly checked my reaction, then immediately snuggled right into my embrace.

"...Oh my."

Ah, right.

Come to think of it, I hadn't described Rine's appearance.

Rine was a cat beastkin with fluffy fur.

Boldly snuggling into the embrace of someone she didn't know, she was just like a newborn kitten.

"........?"

Rine's cat ears wiggled up and down, then as if sensing something, she lifted her head to the sky and carefully examined my face.

I couldn't bring myself to deny Rine's gaze.

Rine's gaze was one that said "if you want to ask, then ask."

Ultimately defeated by Rine, I spoke honestly.

"...Might I... touch your ears once...?"

Rine didn't immediately react to my words.

As if seeing right through me, she stared intently into my eyes, then suddenly whipped her head away.

For a moment I thought it meant rejection and felt a bit hurt-but

-Sluurp.

Her ears completely laid back as if tempting me to touch them right away.

At that sight, my hand unconsciously reached out.

And as my hand touched Rine's ears that looked incredibly soft,

-Squishy.

"......Purr."

"Huh, uh. Did I touch them wrong?"

At the unexpected purring, I flusteredly removed my hand.

But Rine's ears moved even more actively.

And then she lifted her head to stare at me as if asking to be touched again.

"...Uuugh."

Ultimately unable to resist Rine's temptation, I placed my hand on her ears again.

Then once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more from Rine's mouth, no. Precisely from her throat, came a rumbling sound.

But now that it was the second time, I knew this wasn't a sign of dislike.

Thanks to that, when I gently scratched the base where her ears connected to her head like this,

"......Grrrrpurr."

As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if feeling good, as if asking for more scratching, Rine completely laid her ears back.

Simultaneously, as Rine's tail wiggled side to side, I thought about touching her tail with my hand too, but what stopped me was something I hadn't expected - Elise.

"Your Highness. You must not touch the tail."

"Uum, I understand..."

And so I spent time without knowing boredom while touching Rine's fluffy, soft ears.

Unaware of who was approaching from behind.