...
"What? That person?"
"Yes. I don't know what her reasons are, but that person is hiding something from us, and probably to them as well"
"Hm...are you sure about this, Lura?"
"Us Lurachnids are able to detect lies from others, its even simpler to do when they're not a Lurachnid. I'm not wrong about it"
"I see..."
If Lura says so...
...
But what would that person be hiding?
As Lura chomps down on the food, I was on the other side of the table, thinking of the possibilities
Mashiro however, silently eats alongside with Lura
...Is she still mad at me for not making her come with us earlier?
I gnced at her and for a moment, our eyes met, to which she quickly averted and focused on eating for the third time
"*Sigh...*"
As for Hikari and the others, They abruptly leave the moment they heard their highness came back
Since I really don't know much about those stuff, I just thought of it as something they have to meet especially is someone of higher status than Hikari
Needless to say, I gave them the excess foods as my parting gift for them. I hope that the palette of that highness would like the dishes that I prepared...
...Now a few hours had passed, and sun's about to set for the day
I then looked over at the two out of boredom, when suddenly
"...? What is it, Lura?"
Lura suddenly stopped eating
"Well-"
"Rui sama!"
"Y-Yeah?"
But Mashiro suddenly butted in on the conversation
"You keep paying attention to others too much! Especially Lura!"
"But I wasn't-"
"No! You are!"
"U-Um, Mashiro? I have something to say to Leader-"
"What about me?!"
"H-Huh?"
"Why aren't you paying attention to me?!"
What's gotten her this worked up?
"Mashiro...were you jealous this whole time-"
"Isn't it obvious?!"
I got taken aback from Mashiro's straightforward answer
"I-I see...sorry"
I honestly don't know what to say!
"That girl gets to touch your hand for long periods of time, and you even patted Lura on the head...uuu..."
"..."
I had no one be like this to me back in my own world...even Mai wasn't like this to me, not that I know...
...but to think someone as honest with her feelings like Mashiro is like this to me...
...
...But being their caretaker was the role and responsibility that I took upon, I can't afford to be swayed like this!
That's why I cleared my mind of such thoughts, and stood up
"...Eh?"
I walked over to Mashiro and...
"?!"
Patted her head, the way I did to Lura earlier
"I'm sorry I made you feel that way, I made another mistake as your caretaker, I should've known..."
"...Caretaker..."
She knows that I won't give in, yet she still tries everyday...
...the commitment she has...seriously...
She was about to hug me when suddenly
"Rui"
Someone called me from far away
It was Hikari and another person with him
"Uuu...and I thought I can go longer..."
"...?"
I shrugged Mashiro's mumbling, and went to Hikari
"Sun's about to set Hikari, what are you doing here?"
"Oh? I thought you already knew that we were coming"
"Ah, that's-"
"I was gonna tell Leader about it, but Mashiro didn't let me"
I see...no wonder
"Still...your pce is well lit despite its about to get dark"
"Nights are usually where monsters are active, so I tried to cover a lot of area around us"
Not that it would ward off creatures though...its actually Ely's blessing that no such creatures dares to come here
And now there's Lura's barrier...
"Where are the others?"
"They were ordered to not leave the premises to maximize our security at night"
"I see...then why are you here? Who's this person?"
"By Her Highness' orders, I was instructed to lead her to you, she's-"
"Nice to meet you, I'm Elena Tremsworth, the Princess of Sol Empire"
She says as she gracefully bows in front of me
A Blonde with blueish eyes girl...on top of that, she wears what a knight would usually wear...A padin perhaps?
But if she's the empire's princess, why's she dressed like that? don't princesses in isekai animes wear elegant clothes and attend on csses or various meetings?
Her outfit screams as if she's always get sent out on a battlefield...
...Yet...
She has a nice figure...
Before they get suspicious, I calmed myself down when-
"Rui sama!"
"?!"
Mashiro suddenly clings onto one of my arms
"W-What are you doing?"
"Hm? The usual *chuckles*"
In no way I'm letting her do this usually!
As I looked at her in the corner of my eye, she looked at Elena, who had a confused look on her face
I see...I think I know what she's trying to do here...
"*Sigh...* I'm Rui Hanzawa, and this is Mashiro, on my left side is Lura"
Lura nods at Elena while Mashiro cuddled me
"...Please excuse Mashiro's behavior"
I said embarrassingly
"Its fine, she really likes you, huh?"
"I do!"
Mashiro says in a heartbeat, to which Elena chuckles
"*Ehem*, Hikari said earlier that you wanted to see me?"
"That's right. I wanted to pay my respects to the person that gave mercy to the Pilrs as well as putting justice to those adventurers"
"? Does that mean they were really a part of those illegal requests?"
"We don't have a decisive evidence to back it up, but I trust Hikari's judgement on this"
So even the Princess trusts Hikari that much huh...
"If its just saying thanks to me that you came here for, then you really shouldn't have"
"Actually...that was one of our intentions"
"...?"
"Our real intention was to discuss you about something important"
...Could it be?
"Go on, It be better if you get straight to the point as its already night time"
Lura would escort them out of course, but that doesn't mean they should let their guard down
Elena looked at Hikari, to which Hikari gave a nod, then proceeds to talk
"We would like to enter a Trade Retionship with you"
"...What?"
Wait, this wasn't about me having to pay for what I did to those adventurers?
"Hikari and the other Pilrs reported that you were the one who was taking care of that pce, the Waterfall"
"I-I see...I am the caretaker"
"They also stated that the abundance of resources that the pce has, were enough to supply the needs of our citizens"
Well...it is one of the pces where apparently, Ely has a blessing on...so its no wonder...
"If you would allow us to gather resources from thereon, the burden on finding resources for our workers would significantly decrease, as well as the expedition costs to cover for it"
"That is true, considering that you might get a lot of resources in just one pce..."
"In return for allowing us to do so, we would grant you full access to our military usage as well as we will provide security on your area"
"I doubt that you even need our security, but I still presented the idea to her Highness"
"You can call me Elena you know? Its just the two of us"
"There are other people here, your Highness"
"Ehhhhh?"
"..."
"W-We would also try to help clean the pce if that's what you're worried about!"
"No, actually..."
"...?"
They're fine with that arrangement?
"Aren't you at a disadvantage here? The moment I borrowed your men for my use, the more you'll be open to such attacks won't it?"
"We're the one's who presented this to you so we know the disadvantages of it, but even so..."
"...?"
"...We prioritize the citizens' needs more...if this is the way for it, then we will oblige"
"..."
There won't gonna be a time where I will use all of their military strength of course but...
...the determination that they had in order for their deal to work was enough for me to make my decision
"That won't gonna cut it..."
"I see-"
"I only need the Pilrs. If I can ask for their help from time to time, then that's a good trade from me"
This arrangement will also lessen the burden for their military usage
"! W-We're fine with that!"
Elena says happily
"You're also okay with this, right, Lura, Mashiro?"
"If its what Leader wants, then I have no objections"
"Same here!"
Mashiro says as she does her own thing
Even though Master is no longer here, I'm pretty sure he would also left this decision to me...
...As a rough teacher he is, he still was kind enough to offer a pce for me to stay in the first pce...
"Then its settled, looking forward to working with you, Elena"
I reached out my hand to her
"Same here, I hope our alliance will st forever, Rui Hanzawa"
She says as she reached out for my hand, sealing the agreement between us
It was a short, but a clear discussion between us
But it was a discussion that will impact my retionship to them in the future...
...
