I held Nana again and inserted my hands under her arms.
“Sorry Mik.u.ma, can you hold Nana for a bit?”
“Eh, un, okay?”
I handed over Nana to Mik.u.ma.
“Auuuu… daaaa!!”
Nana disliked it and wouldn"t let go of my clothes.
“Nana, it"s just for a bit.”
I gently lifted her hands and removed them from my clothes.
“Bwaaaah! Nyaaa!”
Tears acc.u.mulated in Nana"s eyes.
Wow, this feeling of guilt.
I want to apologize right now by holding her and rubbing her cheeks on mine.
But I"ll endure.
I don"t think I"m going to be able to get through to Nana, who still doesn"t understand the language yet, but I still have to convey that she doesn"t have to be scared.
“Uwah, calm down Nanchan! I won"t do anything, you know?”
“Ahhhhhhh! Daaaaaaah!”
Nana struggled around vigourously in Mik.u.ma"s arms.
It was like she was trying to frantically get back into my arms while pressing her small hands onto Mik.u.ma"s large b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
“Nana?”
I gently pinched Nana"s cheek with both hands.
Firmly, but not enough to hurt.
I faced her face towards mine.
“Nuuu”
It seems she calmed down a bit after I touched her.
She looked at me with a cute frown.
I thought that her face, wet with tears and a runny nose, wasn"t dirty in the slightest.
I took my right hand off Nana"s face, took out an infant gauze from my jeans pocket, and wiped Nana"s face.
After wiping her tears while being careful to not use too much strength, I wiped her runny nose.
It"s not dirty, but it"s better when she"s clean.
I put the slightly wet gauze back into my pocket and put my hand back on her soft cheeks again.
“Nana? Papa doesn"t know what Nana is scared of, but I"ll definitely protect Nana and Jaja from no matter who comes.”
Slowly and carefully spin the words with your left hand on your cheek.
It"s fine even if she doesn"t understand.
I just have to convey that you don"t have to be afraid.
“Look, mama is also there, right? So is Jaja, Shouhei and Mik.u.ma. Saeki and Koji are… well. Noisy but not scary people.”
“Au!”
Nana responded like she was listening to me.
“So it"s okay. You don"t have to be scared okay?”
I smiled to look as gentle as possible.
Since I look evil, so I"m a little worried.
“Nnn”
Nana responded by slightly looking down.
I feel like somehow it"s truly being conveyed.
“That"s right, Nana. Although Mama may not be a match for grandmother, but she"s very strong strong, and papa will definitely protect Nana.”
Aoi who was holding Jaja next to Mik.u.ma, bent down and matched her eyes with Nana.
Jaja was sucking her thumb in her arms and staring in puzzlement.
“Ahaha, you became obedient, huh, Nanchan. Good girl.”
Mik.u.ma laughed with narrowed eyes.
“Uuh”
Nana raised her face.
She didn"t look scared anymore.
“Did you understand? Good girl.”
I rubbed her bouncy cheeks. What a soft object!
I used my right hand to ruffle through her hair.
I felt like her hair would get tangled if I overdid it.
Nana opened and closed her eyes in accordance to my hand movements.
It was unpleasant for her at all.
If anything, it felt comfortable. I would do it for hours with pleasure, but I will endure because it seems I"ll be disliked if I overdo it.
Finally, she shut her eyes tight.
The remaining tears in the corners of her eyes traveled along her cheeks in line with the movement of her head.
It"s okay, she"s not crying anymore.
A great child.
“Nana, do you hate birds?”
She heard my voice, and slowly opened her eyes.
Her moist black eyes that looked straight at me were beautiful.
“The birds probably love Nana, you know?”
“Ah”
I got a reply. I don"t know the exact meaning, but I"m sure that it"s not a denial.
“Then I feel sorry for the birds. You understand, right?”
“… Aaaa”
Along with her reply, the white horns on both sides of her head gently shined.
“Y-you guys!”
We heard the stablehand miss"s voice.
When I turned around, a Chunchu was falling to the sh.o.r.e and was twitching.
The stablehand sat with her knees up and clung to Chunchu"s body.
“Y-You finally came to your senses! Why did you do that! Apologize to Kaiser Maru!”
Looking at the surroundings, the Chunchu and others were sitting on the ground with rough breathing.
The birds flying in the sky scattered and escaped.
The sh.o.r.e of Bird Lake regained its tranquility.
The sky over the mountain ranges was already dark.
The water on the lake surface rippled because of the cold wind.
“Chun”
Kaiser Maru cried once.
He looked restlessly around and took a deep breath.
His body had feathers tattered, and parts seeped with blood.
The leader of the flock narrowed his eyes and fell to the ground.
his appearance was like he was saying “Nothing to it”.
As expected of a ruler. He was still undaunted by something of this degree.
Sorry, miss stablehand.
We inconvenienced you.
I really want to apologize, but I can"t explain that Nana was manipulating the birds, and I also can"t reveal that Nana is a dragon.
I looked back at Nana while earnestly prostrating in my heart.
“Good girl, Nana”
“Nee-he”
“Nana smiled triumphantly and laughed.”
“Now come!”
When I held my hands out as a reward, Nana immediately pointed both hands at me.
“Here you are.”
Mik.u.ma gently handed Nana over.
“Au”
When I hugged her, I pressed her face against my chest.
Sorry.
I am the one who is receiving a reward!
“Chun”
“Dah?”
Nana raised her face to Kaiser Maru"s cry.
“Uah!”
Nana looks at Kaiser Maru from over my shoulder and moved her hands and legs.
“… Shall we go apologize?”
“Dah”
I got her agreement and approached the fence.
“Awaaa”
Nana shouted at Kaiser Maru.
“Ah, excuse me, it"s dangerous now.”
“Ah, um, it"s probably… okay?”
For the second time I internally prostrated to the miss who was worried about us.
I can not apologize enough…
“Chu”
Kaiser Maru stood up slowly and approached with a solid gait.
It"s alright.
This gentle king has no intention of harming us.
It seems that it"s said that he"s violent, but I"m sure there must be a reason why.
This guy is a splendid leader.
Kaiser Maru arrived at the fence and looked down at us with his sharp eyes.
His gaze was at Nana in my arms rather than me.
Nana also looked straight up at Kaiser Maru.
“Uuu”
Nana apologized briefly.
I clearly heard “I"m sorry”, it surely was not a delusion.
“Chun”
Kaiser Maru slowly lowered himself to the ground.
“I"m sorry Kaiser Maru… it must have hurt, right?”
I also must properly apologize.
“Chun chun”
He must have said, “Don"t worry about it”.
Kaiser Maru crouched down and presented his cheeks.
I instinctively lifted Nana up and approached Kaiser Maru.
“Uah, Kya!”
Nana rubbed cheeks with Kaiser Maru with a delighted expression.
Yup. The wild smell is terrible.
Going straight to the bath when we get back.
Kaiser Maru was probably satisfied, he stood up, looked back and started walking to the lake.
“Eh? Kaiser Maru?”
The older sister who looked at us in a daze hurridely stood up and followed after Kaiser Maru.
“Wait, Kaiser Maru! You"re injured! At least come back to the stables today!”
“Chu”
He briefly responded, and entered the lake.
“Really! Mouuu!”
She angrily stopped at the sh.o.r.e.
“Come back once in a while! I can rest a.s.sured if you come at least 3 days!!”
Kaiser Maru disappears into the water that reflected the dark sky.
The miss continued to look at the back of Kaiser Maru until its figure vanished.
I"m sorry.
Thank you Kaiser Maru.
Proud emperor.