“D-Delicious…”

“Right? The restaurant is shabby, but the food here is really good.”

The next day, dressed as a commoner and wearing a hood, I was taken by Mika to a restaurant at the harbor. With fresh seafood dishes lined up in front of me, I stopped moving because they all looked so delicious.

However, at Mika’s terrible words, the cook said, “Shut up!” The voice of a slightly older man with a beard echoed.

Mika is usually called “young lord”, “young master”, or “third son” in this city. Even though he’s a noble, he’s very close to the people of this city.

I’m sure Mika frequents this place, even though his mouth says it’s shabby.

The man at the restaurant also didn’t use respectful language and yelled at Mika.

Everyone in this town seemed to know Mika by face. I started to wonder if there was any point in me dressing up as a commoner.

(I’m not concealing myself at all…!)

Everyone’s eyes turned once to Mika, then to me, the hooded man next to him, and then they straightened their posture.

Even though I only had Mika with me, my true identity was too obvious.

But, one good thing to say is that this city of Marais is very safe. I passed the knights hired by Count Chardin patrolling the area many times. I wondered if it was the nature of the people in the territory, but the environment here seemed like every adult was looking out for the children.

I think I will have to ask Count Chardin during my stay, how in the world he is building such a friendly city.

I brought the white fish in front of me to my mouth. The fish, covered with a sauce of chopped tomatoes, was crispy on the outside. However, its tender flesh quickly melted, and the flavor that was packed inside spread into my mouth.

(So tasty…)

Fish dishes are quite expensive in the royal capital.

Fish is usually brought to the royal capital by horse-drawn wagons for a day from the nearest harbor here in Marais, and the freshness would decline during that time. The taste of this freshly caught fish was exceptional.

Mika also said that it was comforting, but I was now enjoying the Côte de Marais from the bottom of my heart.

To begin with, the reason why I’m eating lunch at this place was that Mika invited me to go out with him.

—It started this morning.

***

“Drink this.”

“Yeah, thanks. Mika.”

On a rattan chair placed under a large white sunshade.

I was surrendering my body to the sea breeze, thinking that these gently sloping, well-made chairs are the best. Spread out before us is the magnificent sea facing Marais, the territorial capital of the Counts of Chardin.

I had visited here many times when I was a child, but I hadn’t visited in a long time since I had distanced myself from Mika.

Illuminated by the sun’s rays, the sea sometimes looked jade green like Mika’s eyes or deep blue like Brother Seth’s eyes. It was beautifully varied with each of its waves, making my heart feel at ease.

The drink is handed to me with a clinking sound, and I’m surprised to find ice in it.

It’s usually a bit difficult to make ice even with water magic… As I thought of that, it made me wonder if Count Chardin might have even stationed someone skilled at water magic for that purpose.

When I gulped it, the cool liquid flowed down my throat. But the taste felt familiar.

“I tried making the drink we had in Edessa.”

“You did, Mika?”

“When I asked, they said it’s important to have salt in it. Apparently, it’s because it’s good for your body when it’s hot.”

“I see.” As I thought of that while drinking it, Mika sat down in the chair next to me.

Mika’s red hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and his jade-green eyes sparkled. Perhaps he slept well last night, I’m relieved to see that the dark circles under his eyes are completely gone. The refreshing, loose shirt that Mika wore flapped in the breeze.

Behind him was a large expanse of sea.

I looked at that scenery and realized.

(Ah…I see. So that’s why.)

That must be the reason why I thought that Mika suits the standard blue knight’s outfit.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Mika, wondering if it was because I had seen him in the midst of the blue sky and the blue sea so often since I was a child. I wanted to do something about my chest, which was inevitably thumping hard, so I squeezed it with my unreliable fingertips.

On the balcony of this mansion, which has remained unchanged since the old days, memories of us looking out at the sea together in the past and other tender memories that I should not recall now all came rushing to my mind.

It feels like the feelings that I don’t want to admit are surging up from inside me…

“What’s wrong?”

I was looking down while still holding the glass in my hand. Then, I noticed that Mika was very close to me, looking into my face with concern.

Now is a bad time for him to be so close! As I thought of that, I desperately imagined Count Chardin warming a flying dragon egg with his stomach, and I managed to keep my eyebrows just barely in place as they were about to drop. I’m imagining the part when the egg cracked and a sky drake baby was born from inside it.

I wanted to escape the jade eyes that were staring at me, so I mentioned the subject of Count Chardin as I was thinking about it.

“Co-Count Chardin is still the same as always…”

“…Sure he is. I ended up being greeted by the people of the territory for some reason…”

“You’re more like a prince than I am in here.”

“What? That’s not true. Everyone was happy to see you here for the first time in a long time, Nagi.”

Seeing Mika with a confused look on his face, I thought, “Were they?” I tilted my head in wonder. I think they all looked at Mika and smiled. But, just like the Lambert territory, I think it is a very warm place with very warm people.

I think the character of the person who is governing the territory is important.

“Wanna go look around the city today? It’s been a while since you did.”

***

—And so, we walked around the city from early in the morning and then had lunch like this.

Mika also seemed to be at home in his birthplace, which he knows very well. The man in the kitchen has been talking to him in a friendly manner from earlier, as if they were close.

While munching on the fish again, I observed Mika standing and talking at the back of this small restaurant.

(This is the side of Mika I didn’t know…)

At first, I always thought he was quiet, but once we got to know each other, Mika blossomed and started talking to all kinds of people. He seemed to be talking to other people, without caring whether they are a commoner or, for that matter, a prince.

When we were visiting Marais together back then, I had never seen Mika move around so freely because he was still small and had knights to escort him. As I was in a daze, the man in the kitchen spoke to me.

I don’t know his name yet because I’m in the middle of eating and haven’t had a chance to greet him.

“Your Highness Nagi, are you sure this guy is the right person to be your personal knight?”

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense.”

“The rascal third son is somehow the one most similar to the count, after all. It must be tough for you because he’s so unrestrained.”

I couldn’t conceal myself, but I still came here while trying to conceal my identity, so I don’t mind the manners. When I heard the two of them arguing, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

From the first time I met Mika, I never expected him to grow up like this. But while his older brothers are certainly weird in their own way, I think that on the inside, Mika may indeed be the most unrestrained one.

However…when the man saw my smile, he opened his mouth and froze, then he turned his head toward Mika so awkwardly that it seemed to make a creaking sound. The man looked at Mika as if he were looking at something pathetic and said,

“Whoa… You’re the one having a tough time, aren’t you?”

“You get it?”

“That’s a tough mission you got.”

“That’s right.”

They were talking somewhat quietly, I couldn’t hear them well because they were whispering.

After I finished eating, I finally greeted the man and was told his name was Eric. Mika, who was often in the royal capital when he was a child, seems to have been playing with Eric and his friends when he returned to his hometown.

As someone who only has Mika as a childhood friend to call my own, I’m envious. I felt a stinging pain in my chest, and thought that I was so small-minded to be bothered by such a thing. And then, we walked outside again.

Suddenly, as I walked along the beach, I muttered to him.

“This place really feels like your city, Mika.”

“What? It is my city, but… wait, ahh, you think I’m like a king here?”

“No, it’s probably Count Chardin’s city, to be exact. Everyone is so kind and adored you and your family, Mika. The sea is beautiful too, it’s a very nice place.”

When I said this with sincerity, Mika smiled happily.

But for a moment, I felt as if a somewhat lonely shadow had fallen over that smile, huh? I wondered. And then I stopped.

“Mika?”

“…Hmm?”

Mika’s fingertips brushed my hair over my ears as it was swept away by the sea breeze. Then he tilted his head and smiled softly.

His manly smile almost makes my body react with a twitch, but I still wonder about it because I feel that his smile is disguising something else.

Did something bad happen to him? As I was about to ask, a passing merchant greeted Mika, and it made me hesitate.

After that, he was approached by one person after another because of our trip through the market.

“Young lord!”

“Lord Mika!”

“Congratulations!”

“Don’t get too carried away just because you have a beautiful man with you.”

I looked at Mika, who looked uncomfortable each time people greeted him, and I wondered if I was imagining things earlier.

When Mika took me to the market, where I saw exotic magical plants and a line of fruits and vegetables that I had never seen before, eventually I had forgotten all about it.

“There are so many foreign products, interesting right? The goods coming in will change, so I don’t think it will be the same as when I was here before. Where should we go next…? Wait, right, let me show you there, too.”

Perhaps Mika had remembered something, he took me to the fountain square in the center of the Marais. There was something like an ice statue that grew out of a magic circle. The statue was big and forbidding, in the shape of some kind of hero. But I tilted my head in confusion at the ice, which did not even begin to melt in this heat.

“You know, this thing… A few years ago, Renalge Pomfrey made it and left it there.”

“Renalge… Wait, you mean the wizard in the book that Vivienne mentioned?”

“Right, right. In a world where most people have access to magic, he’s regarded as a “wizard”, after all. As you can see here, he’s pretty good at magic.”

Mika said he left the statue here a few years ago, which means it has not melted since that time.

What kind of hero was this forbidding statue, and what was its purpose for being placed in the middle of Marais like this? I blinked my eyes in wonder.

“What is this statue for?”

“That’s… He said it was because he wanted to have a cold drink while watching the sea.”

“What?”

“You know, all the drinks in this city have ice in them, right? You might have thought my father hired a water mage, but the truth is we’re taking it from this statue.”

“Look there.” When I looked at the spot where Mika told me, I saw that there was indeed a cavity in the stomach area, only there it was hollowed out into a beautiful square.

Upon closer inspection, a middle-aged man who brought a bucket stood in front of the statue, and a chunk of ice came out of it.

“Huh… What’s that?”

“People in this city find it very useful. Do you get it, Nagi? He’s that kind of crazy guy. Though, Miss Vivienne might know that already.”

“Hmm, have you ever met him, Mika?”

“Yeah… For some reason, he looked like he was half asleep.”

I don’t know what that means, but… one thing I’m curious about is the proximity of the magic circle.

(This is…to hold the magic in place, right? Regardless of the reason, this technology is amazing.)

Renalge Pomfrey, while still a student, was supposed to have received the rank of viscount from the country for his significant contribution in magic. He is neutral in his position and is not the type to actively participate in factional disputes.

Half asleep… I’m not sure what Mika means about this, but Renalge doesn’t seem to be that interested in anything other than magic.

I decided that I would have to see and talk to him when the second semester started.

But, at that moment…

A huge gust of wind blew and the hood of my robe fell off. It was nearing evening and there were many people around. People on their way home from work, kids playing, or people shopping. Then, one kid pointed at me and said.

“Whoa… The prince is so beautiful!”

“Huh?”

When Mika turned around, everyone looked at me and Mika and shouted what they had in mind. “How beautiful!”, “Congratulations, Lord Mika!”, “Your Highness, welcome to Marais!”, “Hello!” Murmurs, chatters, and a crowd had gathered, causing Mika to have a troubled look on his face.

I also had never been surrounded by so many people before. As I froze in surprise, Mika said something quietly in my ear.

“This is troublesome, let’s just run.”

“Huh, wait-”

As soon as I thought Mika grabbed my hand, he ran through the crowd like the wind and I desperately moved my legs.

However, I soon realized that I couldn’t possibly run this fast.

It was as if the crowd was splitting in half with Mika in the middle, the wind shimmered as if it were sparkling. “Lord Mika!” “Your Highness Nagi!” the voices of the clamorous people can be heard from behind us. I can also hear them saying, “So fast~”

It was so fast as if we were flying. As I squeezed back his hand, I thought.

(Ah… So this is Mika’s wind magic…)

I remember running together with Mika like this when I was a child.

When I was depressed about my position, it was like he was taking me out to a place I didn’t know, like he was showing me a new world, and I…

The orange sunset was shining from ahead.

“Mika…”

Mika’s cheeks lit up a little, he turned around and smiled softly, as if it was directed to someone he loved.

I felt my heart skip a beat.

(Ah…about Mika, I really…)