Chapter 26.3 – Meeting Princess Mere – part 4
The corner of Nozomu’s lips made a tiny smile that quickly vanished as he answered, “The Guild rules changed because of that, and for quite some years, an Adventurer can’t be denied to apply to any Quest he desires.”
“So that means if our country would be attacked, you and Taisetsuna wouldn’t join our army? What about the people living in this country? Many of them are not able to defend themselves because they lack training, Magic, or strength, while both of you have plenty in those departments.”
Nozomu spoke after glancing at Taisetsuna, who made a slight nod, “We wouldn’t join the army, but we would be right behind you, protecting you from anyone if you wished for it.”
The Princess tilted her head a bit, curious about his words, “Are you, by any chance, swearing your allegiance to me?”
“No, I am not, I am merely offering my friendship, and that I consider far more valuable than a swear of allegiance because I would have second thoughts if you ordered me to do something with which I disagreed, but I wouldn’t even blink if you asked me for help. I went with Taisetsuna to a very dangerous cave full of Goblins because she is my dearest friend, and she needed help, but I wouldn’t probably do that if you ordered me.”
The Princess leaned back on her throne again, and spoke while looking at him, very seriously, “You intrigue me, Nozomu… You look young, but your eyes, the seriousness in them, and the way you speak makes me think you are older than I am and wiser. You remind me a lot of my father. He had a shine in his eyes that I also see in yours…”
She went silent for a few seconds, staring at Nozomu, who stared her back in silence, waiting. The Princess then signalled the older Mage that had the wands in his hand and asked when he approached, “What do you think about those Magical Items, Head Mage?”
“My Princess, we studied them for a while, and none of us remembered anything like this being found. These wands, as this youngster called them, use Water Magic by gathering the moisture in the air and the bodies around to create Water Tornados. I can use Water Magic, but the raw power in these wands is like five times greater than what I can create! Just by touching it, my Magic reacts to it and retreats, as if in the presence of a superior being! Something like that only happens near an extremely powerful Magical Item. We may be able to recreate them, maybe not that powerful, but even a wand able to use half the power of the original would be a very good acquisition for our country! Imagine the uses! Opening trenches in fields to prepare for crops! Watering the plantations! Defend yourself from the attack of a Monster! Not to mention the uses our army could think of!”
The Princess nodded and glanced at Nozomu, who was hearing the old Mage in complete silence, and asked, “What about a price for each? Can you advise me on that matter?”
“I… I can’t, my Princess. This is what we Mages refer to as a ‘priceless item’. In these cases, it all depends on the owner and the buyer to agree on a price. I can only say that for five of these, I am not even sure if your Royal Treasury is enough! This is almost at the same level as the Magical Circles, and judging by the engravings on it, they might as well be as old as the Circles and the columns that activate them!”
The Nobles, the Guild Master, and everyone present in that room suddenly jolted. None of them thought that what seemed to be a kid’s toy could be so valuable. The Princess nodded and faced the little Cat-kind girl, “It seems it all depends on the buyer and the seller, then.”
Nozomu called Takanari, who was holding Taisetsuna’s hand, leaning against her leg, not understanding why suddenly all looks were upon her. She dragged her feet to get near Nozomu while looking at the floor because she remembered how angry he was with her minutes ago.
He kneeled on the floor to be at her height and gently raised her chin. “My cute Takanari, I am sorry for shouting at you before, but what you were doing was dangerous. Remember when I told you that you were a brave little girl by taking those wands from the Goblins and you could sell them to help your parents? It seems the Princess wants to buy them. Now it’s up to you. You need to think of a good price to sell them because those wands have no price.”
“But… if they have no price, how can I…”
Nozomu hugged the trembling and nervous little Cat-kind girl and whispered. “I think you can trust the Princess, let her make an offer.”
Takanari nervously smiled, and she made a deep bow to the serious Princess seated on the throne, saying, “Princess Mere, I am only six years old. I just want to help my parents, because they lost all the cows and horses when the Goblins attacked, and even our house has a big hole in the wall, because of those wands the Goblins used to break into our bedroom. I have no idea what I should ask for them, but Nozomu told me I could trust you, and he never lied to me. Maybe… you can make me an offer?”
“Nozomu is indeed interesting. He even knows the proper ways to make business proposals… Very well, I am going to make you an offer you for sure won’t refuse! For services to this country, I shall grant you the title of Viscountess. I will give you, and your family, some of my lands and a manor, with servants and maids. I will give you five times your weight in gold so that you have enough money for you and your sister’s future. How does this sound?”
The little girl covered her mouth and whispered, “Nozomu, is that a good offer?”
He then looked at Taisetsuna, who was vigorously nodding next to the Guild Master, who had a big smile on his lips. Nozomu covered his mouth as well and whispered, “It seems it’s an excellent offer, Takanari. You should bow, thank the Princess, and agree.”
The little girl bit her lower lip and faced the now gentle smile of the Princess. “Can I… visit you from time to time, Princess Mere? I know nothing about being a Countess, and I may need some lessons…”
The Princess looked at the surprised group of Nobles and said, “A little girl of six years old is before me, humbly asking to be taught how to be a Noble! You should all learn from her example!”
She then faced Takanari, who was fiddling with her fingers with her face completely red, and her tail and ears twitching with nervousness. “I won’t mind your visits, little Takanari. I can be your personal tutor while we have some tea and biscuits. You can also bring your sister because I am also giving that title to her.”
Takanari made a deep bow. “Thank you for your offer, Princess Mere, I humbly accept it.”
The Princess stood up and walked down the stairs, ignoring the surprised looks around her. She kneeled on the floor in front of the surprised little girl and asked, “Can we seal this deal with a hug? It has been a while since the last time I was hugged.”
Takanari made a big smile and hugged the Princess, and whispered in her left ear, “Your hair tickles my nose, Princess! Hihihi!”
Nozomu was still kneeled and looking down, imitating Taisetsuna and the Guild Master. The Princess looked at him and spoke in a low voice, “You also want a hug, Nozomu? You look extremely embarrassed and your cheeks have a funny red tone.”
Nozomu looked at her from the corner of his eyes and made a slight smile, “I wouldn’t say no to a hug, but I would probably take that opportunity to kiss those gorgeous lips of yours, and then lose my head afterwards. A hug is probably not a good idea.”
“Interesting, not many men would be so bold as to flirt so directly with me. You are a real piece of work, Nozomu. I will wait for your next visit, preferably, with not so many annoying Nobles around. Or, if you like, you can all stay and have lunch with me. I wouldn’t mind talking a bit more with you and the pretty Taisetsuna. I also want to catch up with my old Captain, Udo Eskola. Since you offered your friendship, I am tempted to accept it. Unless you were mocking me!”
Nozomu made a slight smile and spoke in a gentle tone, “I mock no one, Princess. Especially women. It’s not in my nature. It would honour me to have lunch with you.”
The Princess slowly got up, feeling her face getting hot by the minute. She went to her throne again and signalled the older servant to approach her as she was fixing her tiara on her head, trying to disguise her nervousness. “Please call someone to escort them to the small dining room, I am going to have lunch with this interesting group and speak some more with them. Is there anyone else that wants to see me?”
“None, my Princess. They were the last ones.”
The Princess took a deep breath and faced the group of Nobles, “Anyone wants to say something, or we may end this morning’s session?”
One Noble in his mid-thirties took one step forward and spoke with a slight smile, “You won’t be joining us for lunch, Princess? I was hoping you could grace us with your presence, instead of wasting your valuable time with a bunch of commoners.”
The Princess felt her left eye twitching and forced a smile, “Not today because I want to talk with my former Captain about my past in the army. And you forgot that among those commoners, there is also a six-year-old Countess who is way more polite than you because I seriously doubt she would ever badmouth you like you are doing to her. You can all go to the main dining room for lunch, and I will join you in the back garden after eating for some tea.”
The man did a deep bow with an awkward smile, “That would be splendid, my Princess.”
As they all bowed to her, the Princess rose from her throne and walked out of the room, frowning. The older servant opened the door in the wall behind the throne for her and asked with a worried look, “Is something wrong, my Princess? Is there something I can do for you?”
“If only he had an accident. That would be awful, but then he would probably leave me alone. He keeps on pushing himself on me as if I would ever want to marry such a prideful fool!”
The servant spoke in a low voice as he escorted the Princess, “That could happen. Some broken bones will suffice, or death would be better?”
The Princess muffled her laughter, “Pfft!... I knew I could count on you to make me laugh. Still, that’s not a bad idea. Perhaps if he had an accident in his lower half, he would leave me alone?”
“I will see what can be arranged. Perhaps a Royal Guard dropped a spear and pierced his groins while grabbing it from the floor? Or the shield, considering the top tip is also very sharp?”
“Pfft!... Yes, that should do it, but I know nothing about some freaking accident!”
The servant grinned and answered in the same low tone, “Of course, my Princess, we were just talking about the clumsiness of some Royal Guards, nothing more.”
He winked at the Princess, who muffled her laughter again and disguisedly tapped his arm. She had a lot of esteem for her personal servant, a man that had always been with her since she was born. Together with her personal maid, they were her best friends and confidants.
Along the corridor they were walking along, there were some Royal Guards patrolling that stopped and moved to the side to allow them to pass. From the next door, a maid came rushing with some sheets on her arms, and she immediately bowed, receiving a wink from the Princess that made her smile.