The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
“Eh… Wait!? Please raise your head!”
I hurriedly said that, but Lord Yuki didn’t try to lift his head.
If anything, he bowed even deeper.
“What I’ve done has put Shroud-san and his companions in danger. And yet, not even bowing my head in apology would be unthinkable.”
“…Lord Yuki…”
“I feel so frustrated that this is all I can do right now… Of course, in regards to this request, I will prepare a reward. I will offer whatever Shroud-san desires, within reason.”
At that, Lord Yuki finally lifted his head.
This time, he looked straight at me.
Our eyes met.
There was… something strange about the feeling I got.
Even though we had just met, and he was the First Prince no less.
It might be disrespectful to think this way, but I felt a strange sense of familiarity with him—like we had been friends for years.
“Please, lend us your strength…!!!”
“Please help us!”
Gray stood beside Lord Yuki and bowed his head as well.
“Uhh…”
I glanced at Kanade and Tina.
They noticed my gaze immediately, sensed what I meant, and made thoughtful expressions.
“Hmm, I’m in favor. It might be dangerous, but… well, Rain doing reckless things is nothing new.”
“Ugh.”
“And it’s our job to support him when he does that. Also, since we’ve heard all this, I don’t think we can just ignore it anymore.”
“Yeah. But I do think we should discuss it with everyone.”
“Yeah. We’ll handle that properly.”
I looked back at Lord Yuki.
“Basically, I’d like to accept the request.”
“Really!?”
“But I don’t want to make the decision alone, so please give me some time to talk it over with everyone.”
“Of course.”
“We appreciate your positive response.”
Lord Yuki and Gray both smiled, looking visibly relieved.
Given the nature of their request, they probably thought they’d be turned down.
“Umm… No one’s home right now, right? Where did everyone go?”
“Nyaa~. Sora, Luna, and Rifa went shopping, I think. Nina and Miss Nokia are out for a walk.”
“Finia went out to walk Sakura too~. Tania and Iris… no idea. They said they’d be back before dinner though.”
“In that case, it might take a bit of time…”
I had a feeling I could probably find Tania if I searched for her...
But Iris? I had no idea what she was up to.
She had a habit of vanishing without anyone noticing...
Then suddenly reappearing again as if nothing happened.
Even if I asked her, “What were you doing?”, she’d just give a mysterious smile and never answer.
I felt it’d be too intrusive to pry into her private life, so I never pushed for answers… but seriously, she’s a mystery.
“Then how about we have dinner together while we wait?”
“Eh, really?”
“Of course… Of course you may join us~”
Tina, I get that you’re nervous, but your formal language is kind of weird.
You sound like some shady merchant now.
“Ooh, that’s great. The maid girl looks like she’d be good at cooking—can we expect something delicious?”
“Sure can~! Expect it, overexpect it, mega expect it~!”
“Gray, how could you ask something so rude…”
“No, it’s really fine. We always buy a lot of food because there are so many of us, so having one or two more people is no problem at all. Besides, it’d be rude to make you just sit around while waiting.”
“Uhh…”
“Not to brag, but Tina’s cooking is really good. And there’s another girl who can cook too…”
“…Though we also have one girl who builds weapons of mass destruction.”
Tina said that with a far-off look in her eyes.
Please don’t bring that up again.
“If you’d like, please join us.”
“…Very well. Then I’ll gladly accept your invitation.”
Lord Yuki smiled gently and added, “I’m looking forward to it.”
――――――――――
“This is the rooftop.”
While we were waiting for the food to be ready, Lord Yuki seemed interested in our home, so I decided to give him a tour.
Gray was doing his duty as a guard, patrolling around the property.
“Wow… what a beautiful place. It’s so calming, and the view is great too.”
“Right? It's one of our proudest features.”
I felt happy hearing someone praise the home we all share.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“We actually just remodeled recently, and I think it turned out really well… I’m really glad you like it, Lord Yuki.”
“Um…”
Suddenly, Yuki’s expression shifted.
He didn’t seem upset or anything… but he kept glancing at me, like something was on his mind.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s about that, actually…”
About what?
“This might sound sudden, but… I don’t think I’m suited to being royalty.”
“That is sudden…”
“The king has a strong presence, a natural dignity… but I’ve never been good at that sort of thing. I’d rather just live more freely. Of course, I know I have responsibilities, so I do my best to act accordingly.”
“I see… Well, I don’t know if I should be the one to say this, but I think I understand how you feel.”
After all, I’ve been called “the hero of Horizon” and all that.
I don’t see myself as anything that impressive, and sometimes I wish people would just treat me normally.
“So… I’m not asking you to treat me that way all the time, but when we’re not in public, if it’s okay… could you speak to me more casually? Like how you talk with your other friends?”
“Eh? But that’s…”
“It would mean a lot to me. And…”
Yuki gently extended his hand toward me.
His face showed both uncertainty and hope, a mixture of conflicting emotions.
“If it's okay… would you be my friend?”
“Your friend…?”
“Yes. I think you and I, Rain-san, could become great friends. It’s just a hunch… but my instincts tend to be right.”
So this is what kind of person Yuki is.
He seemed so dignified at first, but he also had this approachable, kind smile.
Maybe that personality is what’s drawing me in.
I genuinely felt like I wanted to get to know him more.
“There’s one condition.”
“A condition? What is it…?”
“…Call me Rain. That’s what friends do, right? Isn’t that right, Yuki?”
“Ah…”
Lord Yuki—no, Yuki—smiled softly.
“You’re right, Rain.”
“Glad to be your friend, Yuki.”
We shook hands firmly.
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