Volume 10 - Chapter 12 – Princess (2/2)
“The princess of this country?”
“A princess…?”
Her Highness the Princess was there, throwing out Jessica’s consideration with her grand introduction.
＊ ＊ ＊
“…Sigh.”
Jessica was sighing inside the carriage. Next to her was the dark brown haired, blue-eyed princess.
She was wearing what were probably street clothes and that’s why they had no frills or other extra decorations attached, but the clothes were still refined so that one could sense that she was of noble birth.
Jin, Elsa, Hannah, and Reiko were sitting in the seats in front of her.
“Don’t sigh like that. Don’t they say that happiness escapes the body when you do?”
The princess said to soothe Jessica but,
“Whose fault do you think that is…”
She replied with a worn-out voice, then the princess retorted with a mischievous smile.
“Being royalty is not a secret or something to be hidden!”
Jessica then sighed many times more.
“…Sigh.”
“Moving on from the melancholic Jessica, the reason I summoned you here was that for one I wanted to express my thanks. ”
The princess stated to begin with. She looked to be no more than 12 or 13, but she spoke like an adult probably due to her education as royalty.
“Express… your thanks?”
Jin spoke as the representative.
“That’s right. I saw it, that Automata protecting the child and you dropping the two golems into a hole and neutralizing them. And the older one of your sisters helped the wounded by healing them.”
I’ve got a magical eye that can see at a long distance, the princess said and pointed at her right eye.
“Lies-sama! You didn’t have to tell him that!”
She went and spoke of something secret and Jessica flusteredly cautioned her due to her wildness, but it was like talking to a wall as the princess didn’t seem even a bit shy.
“A magical eye…you say?”
A magical eye was literally that, an eye which held Magic Energy. They were said to be extremely rare, something only one in tens of thousands of people had.
In addition their effects varied from seeing through objects, clearly telling true from false through disguises ad camouflage, and there even were charm-type eyes like the former ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’ Elena had had.
Then there eyes like the princess’s that could see into the distance, and so on.
“I had just snuck out of the castle to see the situation around town. There was some kind of a disturbance so we hurried here, and it was at that time that I saw your efforts.”
Speaking elegantly while mixing in things like ‘snuck out’, even this princess was the pitiable type, Jin thought.
She had refined looks not just because she was royalty, and her slightly upturned eyes were clear and her determination was well visible from them. She gave a feeling of elegance, just her mannerisms were very tomboyish.
“I have given my name, so please introduce yourselves too.”
Being told so, Jin’s group hurriedly introduced themselves.
“Ah, my apologies. My name is Jin. This is my little sister Elsa, and this Hannah, who is also my little sister. And this is Reiko.”
“I’m Elsa.”
“I’m Hannah!”
Elsa stood up, pinched the hem of her skirt and gave a simple bow. Hannah greeted her in a lively manner. Reiko stayed expressionless.
“Ah, I see, so you’re Jin. Egelia Kingdom’s Honorary Magi Craftsman, aren’t you? That is the second reason I summoned you.”
There was a pause, and then Princess Lieschen began talking, this time with a slightly faltering tone.
“Egelia Kingdom’s third prince is called Ernest-sama…or so I hear. Do you know him? If you know then please tell me. W-what kind of a person is he?”
The princess asked while blushing a little. Oh my, Jin thought as he replied.
“Let’s see, if I recall correctly he just turned 13.”
“H-hmm, so he’s a year older than I.”
“He’s rather intelligent and likes golems.”
“…Huh, we would get along well.”
“He’s also considerate and watchful towards his subordinates.”
“Kind, is he?”
“Your Highness, could it be that this is about marriage proposal or something?”
“Yes, that’s….W–whawhawha–what are you saying?!”
Midway to confirming what Jin asked the princess turned bright red and panicked. It was appropriate for her age.
“No, it’s just that marriage between members of royalty isn’t uncommon, and you wanted to know about a prince in a faraway country, so.”
At strange times, Jin could be quick on the uptake.
“Uh, we–well. We’re just sounding things out at the moment though.”
The princess replied while hanging her head down. It was a bit cute.
“I think he’s a good person. However, I don’t myself understand relations between men and women.”
Jin finished talking and the princess nodded.
“M-mhm. You’ve been very helpful. Thank you. …There’s one more thing, it’s about an Automata I would like you to repair.”