End of that Night.
The morning sun rises, the town begins to move.
「nu…, fua……a」
Slowly, I wake up from my sleep.
What is this between my arms? It’s a firm, large and warm object.
It feels comfortable for some reason, I unconsciously strengthened the power of my arms and clung on more.1
As I shifted to rub my face, a man’s voice descended from overhead.
「Good morning, Sakura. Since you’ve gotten up, isn’t it about time to let me go?」
When I lifted my head, Sedrim’s face was there with an exhausted appearance.
As I slowly lowered my eyes, the Prince’s neck, shoulder, chest…
That’s what I had clung to.
It appears what I was clinging onto just now, was the Prince’s body.
「Hya! S-Sorry!」
Pushing aside the thin blanket, I get up while moving towards the end of the bed, and instinctively sit in seiza.
Huh? But why is the Prince here…?
This is the room where I stay in right?
As the Prince gets up, he looks in my direction, then turns away with a red face.
While tilting my head to the side, a ? floats above my head,
「You should put something on. I’m troubled about where I should look.」
While being confused at those words, I look at my own body.
Eh…?
「！！！！！N-Naked!? Why? Why am I naked!?」
In a hurry, I wrap up my body with the blanket I pushed aside a moment ago, and surveyed my surroundings.
Clothes, my clothes are…?
Clothes, pants, lingerie, underwear… The clothes I had worn yesterday, were scattered around the floor besides the bed.
Although the Prince has his chest exposed, his appearance isn’t very dishevelled.
However, it can’t be…, no, such a thing…. But in the unlikely event….
Various things are spinning round and round in my head, when the Prince saw my bright red and crying-like face, the Prince let out a huge breath.
「Haa~~~~. Sakura, yesterday’s events, do you remember?」
Suddenly being questioned, I franticly try to remember while becoming a little panicked.
Umm, yesterday when I returned to the inn, I was told a visitor had came for me, it turned out it was the Prince so then we had a meal while I listened to his story, afterwards I drank some alcohol…
I slowly recall yesterday’s shameful behaviour.
Most likely, my face has turned red.
「Umm, yes. I, remember… I’m sorry.」
「I see…」
The Prince only said those brief words.
「Umm, But I, I only remember up until I entered the toilet, the things after that…」
Right, I only remember up until the part I entered the toilet to do my business.
The Prince glanced at me for an instant, then spoke while facing away.
「Aa, since it didn’t seem like you were coming out, I took a peek inside and saw you sleeping. Of course, I called out to you before entering. I thought you might’ve collapsed inside you see. Maa, in the end, you were just sleeping. And then I took you out from the toilet, and returned you to your room.」
「Umm, sorry for causing trouble… Ah, by the way, as far as my memory goes, my condition when I fell asleep on the toilet was…」
The Prince’s face turns red, which makes me uneasy.
「Eh, could it be…」
「Aー, I was careful to not look as much as possible you know?」
With those few words, my fear
had come into realization.
I’m burning with shame, I’m sure that I’ve turned bright red.
「Umm…, right! That’s right! I recall the toilet was dim, it was so dark you couldn’t see ne! ne!」
「Eh? No, it wasn’t dim, and the darkness was also… If I had to say then there was nothing growiー「N O O O O O O O ! ! ! !」」
「What are you saying! You did see it after all! Besides, it is growing! Although it’s faint, it’s growing! It’s just hard to tell!! I can’t take this anymore! I can’t become a bride…!」
I turn my back towards the Prince and scream.
The Prince desperately retorts.
「That. Was. Because! It couldn’t be helped that it came into view! Sleeping in that situation was also you’re fault! Also I didn’t lie! I didn’t look ‘as much as possible’!」
‘Besides, even if you can’t become a bride…’, the Prince grumbles and mutters, but I pretended I didn’t hear. I was only watching at this point.
Although my face was emitting flames with that alone, I couldn’t hear the words after that.2
「Well then, why were you sleeping here, Prince? Also, why was I naked?」
This, is important.
「Could it be… I, and the Prince, in the end…?」
「I didn’t do such a thing! Youー!」
Saying up until there, the Prince took a large deep breath and corrected himself.
「I carried Sakura to the room and laid you on your bed. Then suddenly, Sakura grabbed my arm and dragged me onto the bed. Afterwards, my body was clung onto, you would cling even more excessively when I tried moving my body… Since Sakura wouldn’t get up even when I tried waking you up, I had to helplessly stayed where I was. As for your clothes, you said『hot』in the middle of the night and took them off. I don’t understand how you did it but, I couldn’t slip out while you were in the middle of taking off your clothes either. I stayed like that until morning.」
The Prince talks in an indifferent tone.
When I turned around to have a better look of the Prince’s face, there were shadows under the Prince’s eyes.
「Prince, could it be, you didn’t sleep…?」
When I timidly asked,
「There’s no way I could sleep in that situation right?」
he returned with an angry tone.
Although I intently observed, it doesn’t seem like he’s telling a lie.
「Ah, then really, I’m still…」
While muttering, I unconsciously place my hands between my legs.
It’s dry, the feeling of my skin.
There wasn’t any traces of ‘that thing’.
「You! Don’t do that sort of thing in front of a man!」
He seems to know the actions I’m doing under the blanket.
「Because it’s like that! There’s no reason to be ashamed of me! If you understand then put on some clothes, I’m leaving the room.」
The Prince stands up, then heads towards the door.
Just as his hand was about to arrive at the door.
konkonkon
「Good morning, Sakura-san. Are you here?」
Len-san’s voice? (for those who forgot, Len is the court mage, changed from Ren)
「「Eh?」」
My voice and the Prince’s overlap.
It seems our voices could be heard from the hallway.
「Aa, so you’re here. Excuse me.」
gacha
The door was opened without any time to prevent it, and Len-san’s face peeked through.
And then, the Prince’s bare chest, myself naked on top of the bed with a blanket wrapped around me, the removed clothes scattered around. He looks at those in order.
「Aa, I’m sorry. Am I disturbing you? I’ll be waiting below, so please take your time.」
Smiling with a grin, Len-san begins to close the door.
What’s with that pleasant smile.
「Aaaa! You’re wrong! Please wait a moment! Prince, you too, quickly!」
「A, aa, Len-doushi. About that, how about waiting in the hallway for a moment?」
After coming to my senses, I raise my voice in panic, in addition I somehow urge the Prince into action.
After the two people disappeared into the hallway, I quickly collect the scattered clothing and put them on.
Although I wore it yesterday, I’m giving priority to the current emergency.3
After putting on the clothes and lightly checking it, I open the door.
「It’s okay now. Please enter.」
I invite the two people who had exited into the hallway back in the room.
As soon as everybody sat at the table, Len-san opened his mouth.
「Well, because his Highness Prince Sedrim didn’t return last night, I came to check on the situation but… Who would’ve thought, that there was this sort of relationship… I’ll refrain from saying any unrefined words4. Well, so his Highness has finally taken in a partner.」
He misunderstood to the fullest.
No, I believe it can’t be helped if misunderstandings happen after seeing this situation, but.
「Please don’t misunderstand. The Prince was only looking after me after I collapsed from drinking alcohol yesterday. Nothing further than that happened. It seems because I grabbed onto the Prince while I was asleep, he couldn’t return home. Isn’t that right? Prince.」
The summary wasn’t wrong. Although I omitted some important parts…
That sort of thing, do you think that’s something I can tell people about?
「A, aa. It’s just as Sakura said.」
「However, if nothing happened, what was the reason for Sakura’s appearance?」
「Ehh, it was hot, so it seems I took my clothes off myself in the middle of sleeping…」
When I said that sort of thing about myself, it somewhat feels like I’m shaming myself on purpose.5
Prince, don’t just nod, please explain it instead.
「Ehー, maa, even if I do decide to believe in you. Most likely some people in the castle have already recognized it as that sort of thing though…」
What? What does he mean?
While floating a ? mark, I watch Len-san and the Prince’s face, Len-san has a troubled expression, the Prince seemed to have a clue and had an unpleasant expression, he avoided my gaze.
「Yesterday, you see, his Highness Sedrim. Announced that he would take on the role himself to come and talk to Sakura about those cases. However at first, it was said that either me or Leirick would come. Of course, his Majesty and the Queen knows this, the Prime Minister and some Imperial Guards also knows. And now, judging that he had returned in the morning, it’s hard to say that they wouldn’t have unjust suspicions. And with those reasons, I believe the people in the castle have already recognized it as that sort of thing.」
Len-san added, so his Majesty and the Queen have already recognized it like that ne.
Eh? What? The Prince purposely volunteered himself to come here? And returning in the morning?
No no, I feel it’s my fault that I was holding onto the Prince while I was drunk but, what were you thinking, Prince?
And also, a country’s Prince announcing that he would run around like a messenger boy…6
Because of that, it turned into a weird misunderstanding, come to think of it, myself being drunk too, wasn’t it the Prince that encouraged me to drink alcohol?
When I looked at the Prince with criticizing eyes,
「Er, maa, it can’t be helped since it’s in the past. Un. It would be better to think of the future, right?」
What are you babbling about with that refreshing smile.
「What are you saying? Wasn’t the Prince originally responsible for getting me drunk? Aa, mou! I understand, I won’t approach the castle until the heat dies down.」
If I don’t get close to the castle, then the chances of meeting any Royalty will decrease remarkably.
Actually, I haven’t met a single one since yesterday.
「Eeh? That would be troublesome. The Queen and his Highness the First Prince, in addition the Princess as well, have said that they want to meet Sakura-san.」
Unexpectedly, Len-san responded to my words.
「Haa? Why would the Royal Family want to meet with me?」
「At the time this case was explained, the story of Sakura-san was also told. Because of that, they seemed to be interested. With this time’s matter of his Highness Prince Sedrim, I was told beforehand to try bring you along if possible…」
W a s t h i s c a u s e d b y t h e P r i n c e a g a i n ?
「I won’t go if it’s not an order. Although, I don’t intend to go even if it is an order.」
This Royal Family, don’t they have too much free time?
The Royal Family wants to simply meet a single ordinary adventurer without any status or anything…
「Now now, since Sakura has said it, it should be fine to leave it for now right? I’ll say something to my mother and the others. It’s possible that there’ll be an opportunity to meet before long.」
Said the Prince that caused this.7
Maa, certainly, there is a ‘possibility’ that we’ll meet ne. It’s not like the possibility is zero.
Though I don’t think it’ll be very high.
「Which reminds me, why would there be rumors about me? Although you skipped through it, Len-san said『his Highness has finally found a partner』just now right? Shouldn’t there be one or two people lined up to be his fiancée since he’s a Prince?」
Right, if the Prince had a partner to begin with, I would think it wouldn’t be a big deal even after this had happened.8
「Ah~, how do I say it, that, you see.」
Len-san is being awfully evasive.
「There isn’t one.」
「Ha?」
「There isn’t one, a fiancée for his Highness Prince Sedrim.」
Eh? There isn’t…. Although he seems obstinate, isn’t he still a Prince?
「Why? Why doesn’t he have one? This person, although he’s the second, he’s still a Prince right? Although I don’t know how tall he is, he looks to be around average, his social position is a Prince, close to the highest you can get. Even though he won’t become the King, he should be equivalent to a Duke’s household. In addition to that, his face is good, he stands at the vanguard of the Chivalric Order with valor, although he has a slightly worthless personality, he shouldn’t be bad. No matter how you look at it, isn’t he a super-excellent article? Why doesn’t a person like that have a fiancée?」
「What do you mean worthless, worthless… My height is 184cm by the way. I see, so Sakura sees me with such favourable terms.」
Well you seem happy ne, Prince.
So you were 184cm huh. If I round up, there’s an amazing difference compared with my barely 140cm. Share a little with me. Even 10cm is good.
「To be exact, he has fiancée ‘candidates’. Just like Sakura-san has said, Princes are popular amongst women. However, for some reason he rejected the engagements.」
So he gets to choose when the time comes. What an ikemen.
「When it comes to fiancées, it becomes annoying in various ways you see. I’m only 21. Isn’t it fine after my elder brother gets married?」
「Fumufumu, in other words, you still want to mess around, is what you’re saying right?」
Maa, with that appearance, even if you ignore them, women will still flock to you on their own accord.
「That’s not what I mean. Simply, when it comes to fiancées, it’s nothing but troublesome.」
「Have you already withered at that age? Ah, or is it that you vent your s.e.xual desires in those kinds of stores?」
Certainly, when it comes to some particular women, it can get quite troublesome.
「You… You turn bright red when it’s regarding yourself, but it’s all right when it comes to others?」
Well, maa, in my previous life, it seems that I’ve been taken care of in those kinds of stores I just talked about.
That kind of thing is necessary for a gentleman, because I know about it ne.9
Since it’s an unknown thing for myself, I simply have no immunity, you know?
「n, ahem. Maa, because of those reasons, I don’t have a fiancée.」
「Haa, then I have no choice but to wait until the rumors disappear, is what you’re saying.」
‘People’s rumors lasts 75 days’ is what it’s called but, it hasn’t even pa.s.sed twenty days since I’ve come to this world, I believe it’ll be a matter in the far future but…
「And so, what are you going to do today, Sakura? Are you going to accept a commission today?」
What a forceful way to change the subject ne.
Maa, I’ll get on that.
「No, I think I’ll search for a boarding house today. For the time being, since I plan on having this town as my base, it seems that it’s greatly economical from the story I heard yesterday too, and I’ll also be able to cook my own meals as well. Because of that, I planned on heading to the guild to hear about it.」
Though it would be good if I can find a good boarding house…
「I see, then I’ll come along with you for a little. What will you be doing, Len-doushi?」
Eh? The Prince is coming along? Wouldn’t it be bad if he doesn’t return…?
「I’ll be returning to the castle. Since I also have work to do. I’ll convey it to his Majesty, so please take your time.」
Will that be okay? Prince.