Chapter 343: Takatsuki Makoto speaks to Princess Sofia
Chapter 343: Takatsuki Makoto speaks to Princess Sofia
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“……”
“………Sofia?” (Makoto)
I explained what happened until now to Princess Sofia.
We are in the private quarters of Princess Sofia.
We were sitting side by side on the bed we were sleeping on just now.
She should have already heard the report from Lucy and Sa-san though…
I ended up having to explain the situation in detail from my own mouth, too.
What happened at the remote village and my reunion with the Ancient Dragon I met 1,000 years ago…but rather than that, she for some reason asked me in detail about the other events.
“…”
“Uuh, Sofia-san?” (Makoto)
And then, after I finished explaining, Princess Sofia stayed silent the whole time.
It doesn’t seem like she is angry, however it looks like she wants to say something but isn’t.
Princess Sofia was looking my way.
When our eyes met, she averted her gaze.
(Should I wait until she says something…?) (Makoto)
Just when I was thinking about training my magic and was about to activate water magic…
“I am impressed you can do other things in this situation.” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia pinched my cheek.
“You are finally speaking.” (Makoto)
“Because you are dense.” (Sofia)
“Dense?” (Makoto)
I tilted my head and Princess Sofia sighed heavily.
“Hero Makoto.” (Sofia)
“Yes?” (Makoto)
“You already have experience with women, right?” (Sofia)
“…Right…” (Makoto)
What am I being asked?
“In that case…!” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia slid her body towards me.
“…Why are you not doing anything?” (Sofia)
“……Eh?” (Makoto)
I was taken aback by Princess Sofia’s words.
I simply remember that it is not okay to do something like that to unmarried women from the Rozes royalty that worship the Water Goddess.
And most of all, Princess Sofia is the Water Oracle.
There’s no way going along with the mood can be forgiven.
“About that…wouldn’t it be better after marriage?” (Makoto)
I hesitantly asked.
“I know! But I changed my mind after hearing about it from Lucy-san and Aya-san!!” (Sofia)
“I-I see.” (Makoto)
Princess Sofia pouted.
…It seems like I was an incredibly dense bastard.
“Sofia.” (Makoto)
I pulled her by the shoulder.
“Yes…” (Sofia)
And she obediently leaned against me.
I slowly laid Princess Sofia on the bed and brushed her long and beautiful hair.
I thought ‘it is beautiful’, but I felt like going out of my way to say that would be stale, so I didn’t say anything and kissed her.
And just when I placed a hand on the first button of her dress…
“Sofia-neesama, has Makoto-niisama woken u—”
Someone entered after a soft knock.
A handsome man that could be mistaken for a beautiful woman at a glance.
The only one who would call Princess Sofia with Nee-sama…Prince Leonard.
Prince Leonard is normally showing an angel-like smile, but seeing her sister pushed onto the bed, he froze with a stiff smile.
An ice-cold silence ruled the room.
“…”
Princess Sofia has her usual expressionless face, most likely using her Cold Blooded Skill.
She has been pushed down by me with a composed face.
I don’t know how her internal state is.
“…”
I am really calm after hurriedly activating Clear Mind at 100%.
…I am really scared of when I undo the skill.
I should say something here, but words are not coming out from my mouth.
“…”
Prince Leonard was sweating bullets here.
Yeah, of course you would end up like that after witnessing the private scene of a family member.
He should have learned the Calm skill, but it seems like he still hasn’t mastered it.
“Leo, come back another time.” (Sofia)
“……?! My apologies, Nee-sama!!!” (Leo)
*Pam!!*
The door was closed while making that loud noise.
And then I heard the footsteps of someone running off.
I feel bad for Prince Leonard…
No, I have to pay more attention to the princess in front of me.
“Sofia-san?” (Makoto)
“~~~~~~~~/////////////” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia covered her beet red face and flailed her legs.
It seems like she undid her Cold Blooded skill.
“Should we…continue?” (Makoto)
“There’s no way we can!!!” (Sofia)
She got mad at me.
(…Are you an idiot, Mako-kun? You have to lock the door first.) (Eir)
Eir-sama scolded me.
Or more like, she really was watching.
Princess Sofia stands up slowly.
She is fixing up her disheveled hair and dress in front of the body mirror.
“I will return to my official duties. You will be in the royal castle for a while, right?” (Sofia)
“……Uhm, yes, I will.” (Makoto)
“Then, I will ready the room for you to stay. Let’s have dinner together.” (Sofia)
Saying this, Princess Sofia left the room with her cheeks still slightly flushed.
And so, I am left there alone now.
(Aaah, even though it was a nice atmosphere.) (Eir)
The Water Goddess complained.
(Hey, Eir, isn’t Sofia-chan getting too impatient here? She is his fiancee, so she should just act dignified here.) (Noah)
(That won’t do, Noah. There’s a lot of women who are aiming for Mako-kun, so you have to let the ones around know whose he is.) (Eir)
(Makoto is mine though?) (Noah)
(I know.) (Eir)
I hear the chat of Noah-sama and Eir-sama.
Or more like, it seems Noah-sama was watching too.
“…It is embarrassing, so please don’t peek.” (Makoto)
(There’s no need to be embarrassed, Mako-kun.) (Eir)
(I am not really watching.) (Noah)
No, you definitely were, Noah-sama.
I tried to at least say it, but I am sure it is pointless.
I have free time now, so I decided to walk around the Rozes Castle.
Wonder where Lucy and Sa-san are.
I wandered around the halls of the castle.
I passed by knights doing their rounds and maids.
It is not like I remember the faces of everyone, but I come to the Rozes Castle often, so there’s a lot of familiar faces.
It seems like they know my name and face, so they all directed a smile at me.
Most people of the Water Country view me favorably as the fiance of Princess Sofia.
That said, it is not like we are close enough to have casual chats.
(A familiar face…) (Makoto)
While I was thinking that, a Water Spirit tugged at my clothes.
Hm? I wondered what it was and walked there.
I arrived at the courtyard of the Rozes Castle.
There’s flowers of vivid colors in full bloom, and there’s a big fountain at the center drawing a rainbow.
There’s benches in the garden, and I saw someone sitting there.
A familiar face.
Or more like, someone I saw not that long ago.
I decided to talk to him with a slightly awkward face.
It would be better to deal with things like this sooner rather than later.
“Prince Leonard.” (Makoto)
“M-Makoto-niisama?!” (Leo)
Leonard, who I met just before, quivered and faced this way.
It seems like he remembered something, his face turned bright red.
“I didn’t see anything!” (Leo)
“We didn’t do anything after all.” (Makoto)
It came really close to though.
“By the way, you came asking for me, right?” (Makoto)
I blatantly changed the topic.
“Eh, yes. Right. You don’t come often to the Rozes Castle, so of course I would go meet you.” (Leo)
He said something cute.
“Also…!” (Leo)
Prince Leonard leaned his head towards me.
“Please visit Sofia-neesama more often! You are engaged!” (Leo)
“Y-Yeah…” (Makoto)
Prince Leonard with his face up-close really only looks like a girl.
“Once I master Teleport, I can come here more often.” (Makoto)
“…You said that before.” (Leo)
He gave me a blank stare.
No, it is true!
It is a lot harder than I thought.
I am impressed that Lucy and Momo can use Teleport over and over so nonchalantly.
“Then, I will be waiting. By the way, Makoto-niisama, what did you come to the courtyard to do?” (Leo)
“I was free. I promised to have dinner with Princess Sofia, but I have free time until then.” (Makoto)
When I said this, Prince Leonard’s face shone.
“In that case, can you be my sword training partner?! I am going to be heading to a demonic beast subjugation expedition soon, but I am not confident in using my Holy Sword…” (Leo)
“I see… Demonic beasts, huh. Where are you going?” (Makoto)
“It was a help request from the Holy Nation of Caldia in the South Continent… The combatants of their own country seem to not be enough, so they want to ask for the help of the Heroes of the West Continent.” (Lei)
“South Continent…” (Makoto)
I am not too familiar with that place.
What I do remember is that there’s the Zenith Tower Babel which is a Last Dungeon just like the Deep Sea Temple.
“Shall I help out too in that demonic beast subjugation?” (Makoto)
I thought there wouldn’t be any problems but…
“Y-You must not! This is a Trial that was given to me by the Water Goddess-sama!” (Leo)
He shook his head heavily to the sides.
Hm? He refused?
(You shouldn’t~, this is the trial of Leo-chan. Since Leo-chan couldn’t obtain big achievements in the Great Demon Lord battle and the Demon Lord subjugations, doing this on his own effort will have meaning!) (Eir)
The Water Goddess also stopped me.
“Understood. Then, I pray for your fortune.” (Makoto)
“Yes! And so, please help me out with my sword training!” (Leo)
“……I am a beginner though.” (Makoto)
After becoming a God, I now at least have the strength to wave a sword, but I have zero skill in the sword.
It seems Prince Leonard also noticed this soon after.
“T-Then, I will use my sword, so Makoto-niisama, you use magic…” (Leo)
“That’s fine then.” (Makoto)
And so, it ended up in a kind of mock battle.
He wasn’t confident, but once he began swinging his Holy Sword, his swordsmanship was outstanding.
Or more like, there were pretty decently dangerous situations, but because of the Clairvoyance that activated on its own and the Great Water Spirits that protected me on their own volition, I avoided and blocked the attacks of Prince Leonard.
Thanks to that, I feel like we got pretty invaluable training.
◇◇
“Haaah…that was nerve wracking.” (Makoto)
Once I finished the dinner at the Rozes Castle, I took a breath in the guest room prepared for me.
“Fufu, my apologies. Father was a chatterbox today.” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia giggled.
The dinner that Princess Sofia invited me to was technically a family dinner. In other words, the King of Rozes and the Queen were there too.
I was flustered because I didn’t know much about table manners as I had dinner with them.
The dishes were terribly delicious, but I couldn’t relax.
(They said it was okay to not mind etiquette, Mako-kun. You should have just taken it easy.) (Eir)
(Right right, you are a lot higher in standing as the Legendary Hero that saved the world, so just act all high-and-mighty.) (Noah)
Eir-sama and Noah-sama said this, but I am not that kind of person.
By the way, Lucy and Sa-san were also invited to the dinner, but…
“Hmm, I will go to my favorite bar in the capital!” (Lucy)
“Me too! The usual place, right?!” (Aya)
“Let’s go, Aya.” (Lucy)
“Okay~, Lu-chan.” (Aya)
The two disappeared into the night city.
…That’s not fair.
“Father was also nervous, you know.” (Sofia)
“Really?” (Makoto)
“Yes. He was worried since morning about how to obtain a day for the ceremony.” (Sofia)
“I don’t mind whenever though.” (Makoto)
“I told him that, but…it seems like he wanted to hear that directly from you.” (Sofia)
There must be a variety of rules once you are royalty.
Must be rough for them.
By the way, it was decided that Princess Sofia and I will be marrying on the day when the festival called the Sacred Water Festival happens.
It is apparently the founding day of the Water Country.
It is a 7 day celebration to show appreciation to the Water Goddess Eir-sama for the peace and prosperity of the nation.
Eir-sama normally throws all her work to her subordinate Angels and plays in the Deep Sea Temple with Noah-sama though…
While I was thinking that…
“By the way, are you not thirsty?” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia, who followed me all the way to my guest room after dinner, poured a drink for me.
“Thank you ve—” (Makoto)
Just when I said this and received the glass…
[Will you drink the fruit juice laced with aphrodisiac?]
Yes
No
Choices floated in front of me.
I stopped cold in place and stared at Princess Sofia.
“I-Is something the matter, Hero Makoto?” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia was visibly flustered.
—Destiny Magic: [Mind Accel].
I used magic and accelerated my thoughts.
The culprit for putting an aphrodisiac in my drink is most likely Princess Sofia.
She was the one who poured the drink on my glass.
How did she obtain something like an aphrodisiac? -is what I thought, but she is royalty, so she could have managed one way or another.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she ordered it from Fuji-yan.
Now then, the biggest problem.
Why is there an aphrodisiac in the glass I am about to drink…?
(Mako-kun…could it be that you don’t know the reason?) (Eir)
The Water Goddess spoke to me.
Or more like, why is she talking to me as if it is normal? I am using Mind Accel here.
(Because I am a Goddess~. Mako-kun, consider the feelings of Sofia-chan.) (Eir)
(I know…or more like, aren’t you talking too much to me, Eir-sama?! I am a believer of Noah-sama, you know?!) (Makoto)
(Cause Noah is in a bad mood.) (Eir)
She is in a bad mood, huh…
“Hero Makoto…?” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia looked at me uneasy.
I resolved myself and chugged down the contents of the glass.
“I-In one go?!” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia opened her eyes wide, knowing that I am not strong with alcohol.
I felt a bit light-headed most likely because I got drunk, but I didn’t mind it and used Clear Mind.
“Sofia.” (Makoto)
I unconsciously called her name.
“Y-Yes…” (Sofia)
The blushing Princess Sofia looked extremely cute.
Is it the effect of the aphrodisiac?
But Princess Sofia is beautiful, so this might just be the usual.
By the time I noticed, I was kissing her.
And then, just when I placed a hand on her dress and was about to take it off, I remembered what happened in the morning.
I looked at the door, it was unlocked.
That’s not good.
(Water Magic: [Eternal Freeze].) (Makoto)
I froze the whole door.
With this, it will be impossible to enter that door.
At this rate, it won’t be frozen for one night but several years, so I should undo the spell later.
“Makoto…” (Sofia)
Princess Sofia looks at me with a feverish gaze.
My head got dizzy at her cuteness again.
I push Princess Sofia down onto the bed.
—No one interrupted that night.