The night after our victory against the demon lord, I was invited to the little sleepover the girls were holding.
“I mean, I’m still a boy, you know.”
“Are you having questionable thoughts about me?” Maya gazed at me.
“You’re the last person I want to hear that kind of teasing from.”
Honestly. Sometimes I wish that rule didn’t exist.
At the end of the day, despite having a human form that is ninety-nine percent like humans, the dragons are still a different species.
“I- I trust you won’t do anything weird,” Emori said.
Well, since the princess trusted me, I guess I wouldn’t do anything.
Not like I plan on doing anything weird in the first place.
“Besides, what are we doing? Sleeping?” We were all wearing our sleepwear. They looked like pajamas. Maya’s had a luxurious yellow color, while Solicea wore a light blue pajama. Emori’s was silver, with little brown bears on it. Mine was regular room wear, as I prefered the one without long sleeves.
“Besides, not like you’ll be sleeping here anyway,” Solicea said.
“Didn’t you say this is a sleepover?”
“Sleepover for us girls. Once you got sleepy, it’s back to your room, mister.”
I just hope I still have the energy by the time whatever thing she planned ended.
“So, what are we doing?”
Usually, sleepover scenes would be filled with girls talk. Who they like, that kind of stuff. The problem is, I only knew one other boy in the school.
Not literally. I knew some people from our class, but the only one I really spoke to was Prilus. Maybe the others was scared of me? I did hang around the princess and a dragon. I wonder if they thought of me as some big shot.
Well, regardless, if they started talking about boys, then that would be my signal to get out.
“By the way, Fortis, is there anyone you like?” Solicea teased. Getting straight to the point, I see.
“I like all of you.”
“Yo- You want to make a harem?” Emori squeaked. How did she get that idea?
“No, that’s not what I mean. Solicea isn’t talking about romance, is she?”
“Taking the safe way out, how boring,” Maya pouted.
“Well, you have a problem with that?”
Maya nodded. “This is a sleepover, time for heart thumping, heart-to-heart conversations.”
“That’s a lot of hearts…”
“There are four hearts here.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Then, Fortis…” Emori looked toward me. “Is there anyone you like, romantically?”
She seemed very shy for some reason.
“Oh, just look at him.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Maya and Solicea stared at him. Is something going on? Call me dense and whatnot, but I didn’t get whatever thing I’m supposed to notice. Is there something I’m supposed to notice in the first place?
“... What?”
“So, no one?” Solicea asked to confirm. I shook my head. “For now, none.”
“Then, different question. Out of us three here, who do you like the most?” Maya approached.
“Maya, you’re the last in any list involving romance.”
“Aww…”
“Don’t aww me. Stop teasing me.”
“Fortis is a boy, after all.”
“What do you mean I’m a boy?”
I sighed. She could be a real headache sometimes. Had I not play the game, I would probably fall for her at this point. Knowing it was impossible kept my feelings from going anywhere.
“Between me and Emori, who do you like more?” Solicea asked, glancing at Emori. Emori’s cheeks reddened all of a sudden.
Solicea asked that question, but I was sure she knew the answer.
“Emori.”
“As expected.” She grabbed the princess’ shoulders and began shaking her around. “You hear that, Emori? He prefers you.”
“Eh… Eh…”
It wasn’t supposed to be that surprising. I interacted quite a lot with Solicea, but in no way comparable to Emori.
“Ye- Yeah…” Emori tried muttering the words out, her cheeks flushed.
There’s no way… is there?
Nah, impossible. Emori probably considered me as a friend, no more…
But… what if… just a what if…
What if she actually liked me?
It seemed to be too big of a what if for me to consider seriously. I need to remember that she’s still the country’s princess. I shouldn’t be thinking weird stuff like this.
“Enough with the teasing. Don’t girls talk about boys during a sleepover?”
For some reason, after I mentioned that, they turned to Emori instead.
“So, how about you, Emori. Surely you have someone you like, right?” Solicea asked. She’s quite casual with the princess. I wonder if they had a relationship before they met in school. She is a noble, after all.
“Me…”
“Come on, no need to shy. I’ll get you any boy or girl you want.” Maya puffed her chest.
“Kidnapping isn’t something you’re supposed to be proud of.” I karate chopped her on the head, between her horns.
“Hey. I didn’t say I’ll kidnap them.” She glared at me.
“Then, what will you do?”
She averted her eyes. “Kidnap them.”
“Now you said it.”
“There’s no need for that!” Emori panicked. “Maya, please don’t kidnap anyone.”
Emori’s so pure, she’s adorable.
“By the way, Emori, do you have any marriage plans?” Maya asked.
“Marriage… plans?”
“Don’t humans have arranged marriages and stuff?”
“Isn’t that like, last century?” Even if this world was a bit behind in terms of technology, that didn’t mean everything matched our medieval era. One example is arranged marriages. Well, they still exist, but are very rare. Even King Torez and Queen Ezabeth weren’t arranged, from what I know.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“That isn’t the norm, you know.” Solicea elbowed Maya. “Not anymore, at least.”
“Does your brother have someone?” Maya asked. Solicea shook her head.
“Did you not hear what I just said?”
“My brother has someone, actually.”
“Wait, really?” The three of us were shocked to hear that.
“Just making sure… You’re allowed to talk about this, right?” Solicea asked. If this secret info was leaked, we all can get into trouble.
Although, Emori did leaked several classified things before, so they shouldn’t be too surprised.
“...” Emori fell silent. This definitely is a secret.
A symbol for Connect appeared on her right eye. It was on for a while. She suddenly closer her ears, the symbol disappeared.
“... Someone got yelled at…”
“Hehehe…” Emori laughed awkwardly. “He says it isn’t supposed to go out yet, though.”
“You’re not allowed to tell us who it is, right?”
“Eh…”
“Don’t ehh us!” The three of us yelled at the same time.
“Okay…”
Someone really need to keep Emori in check. Who knew just how many state secrets she would leak if she was left on her own.
“Still… that prince… I wonder what’s his betrothed is like…” I wonder if his engagement had anything to do with the fact that he is crown prince. If yes, then it would be even more of a trouble when it comes to the demon king. I already promised Emori that I wouldn’t discuss it, and Emori’s new spell was powerful enough on its own. But, there’s always the risk of us being forced to utilize White Void. If that happened… then…
Yeah, thinking about it wouldn’t get me anywhere. I decided to just change the topic, before weirder questions got out. “What are you three planning to go after school?”
“We’re still first years, Fortis.”
“Isn’t it too early for that?”
“I think I want to be a…” Emori trailed off. “Never mind.”
“It’s alright if you’re unsure.” Solicea said to Emori. She then turned her eyes toward me. “Since you asked that question, I assume you have some plans?”
“Oh, how about you become a knight?” Emori asked. I shook my head. She looked disappointed by my response.
“I value my freedom.”
Maya nodded. “He wants to see the world burn.”
“Says the dragon that tried to burn our village.”
Emori and Solicea seemed surprised by this revelation.
“Maya tried…”
“You’re quite violent, Maya.”
“Well, the people attacked me first. I’m but a cute little baby back then.”
“Fire breathing baby.”
“Besides.” Maya glared at me. “You attacked me as well. Do you know how painful that fire attack is?”
“That’s the only way to get you down.”
The other two girls looked back and forth between us.
“Did we never tell you two about this?”
The two shook their heads. I then began telling them of the story of how I and Maya met.
“Wow…”
“I thought Maya happened to be living next to you.”
“Well, after that event, she did come in and move with us.”
“No wonder your parents are so familiar with her…”
“I’m their second child.”
“Despite being older than me?”
“You can speak first.”
So the family hierarchy is decided by who can speak first now?
“Must be nice having each other. I’m all alone in this house.” Solicea sighed. Unlike us, she didn’t have any brothers or sisters. “How about you, Emori? How’s Prilus like when he’s little?”
“He… My brother, despite his young age, always excels at everything he did.” Emori looked a bit sad when she said this. “He used to be so cheerful and happy. He’s a lot more serious now.”
I wonder if that had something to do with the weight he carried as the crown prince. Once Emori abdicated the throne, the future of this country fell on his hands. Did she feel guilty about leaving such a heavy weight on her brother?
At the same time, she must have good reason to do so. Not everyday you meet a royal that didn’t want to be Queen. Not only that, she was so actively against it that we got into a fight a while back.
“I still can’t believe that idiot tries to fight me in the first day.” Maya folded her hands and huffed.
“I’m sorry about that. He can be like that sometimes, but he’s a nice person inside.”
He did act differently after knowing our strength. Still… I always thought that the way he interacted with us specifically was weird. I mean, he gets along with the other kids. Maybe he was in a bad mood that day?
Well, not like I could ask about it anyway. Emori’ll get in trouble if she spoiled even more of the kingdom’s secrets.
“A nice person, eh…” Maya didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t pursue the topic any farther. A knock came from the door, a maid appearing from behind it. She carried a tray with four cups, its sweet smell wafting to the air.
“Is that hot chocolate?” Solicea asked. She peeked into the cups, then handed them over to the three of us.
“Thank you.” I thanked both Solicea and the maid.
“Enjoy your drinks.” The maid bowed her head and went back out. The rest of us sat back down, enjoying our warm chocolate as we talked about various different topics.
- ??
I sat on the bench right next to the fountain in the garden. The setup from yesterday had all been removed, not a single trace of it visible. I looked up at the sky, a cup of hot chocolate in my hand. This cup was different from the one I drank earlier. A maid saw me sitting alone outside and kindly offered a cup. I took a sip from the warm cup, the heat of the chocolate spreading through my body.
A chilly breeze past through, causing the smell to float up to my nostrils.
So this is how the night feels outside…
After I arrived in this world, I didn’t hang out at night often. I spent most of my time sleeping, as I had nothing to do. I couldn’t boot up a console and play games, after all. Late-night anime didn’t exist, either.
While magic did exist, most people preffered the bright warm days to work, so night activity in this world was minimal. It wouldn’t be long before someone invented an automatic light system, then everything would change, industrial revolution style.
I couldn’t say I’m looking forward to that. This world, with how it is, had its own charm.
The sound of footsteps appeared from the other side of the fountain. I straightened my body, expecting it to be someone from Solicea’s house. The figure appeared from behind the fountain.
“Maya?”
It was my dragon friend. She was the last person I expected to come here.
“... Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I thought you’re asleep.”
She shook her head and sat down next to me.
“... Want some hot chocolate?”
“Sure.”
I handed over the cup. Had this been anyone else, my heart would probably thump as I watched her lips touched the edge of the cup, but I felt nothing.
“Solicea’s maids made great hot chocolate.”
“Yeah…”
Maya returned the cup to me. “What are you doing out here?”
“You kicked me out of the room, remember?”
“Don’t act like I told you to do so.”
Emori was the first to get sleepy. Taking that as my signal, I made my escape. When I arrived in front of my room, I had a weird sense that I didn’t want the day to end. You know, the kind of feelings when you feel you still have a bit of time. Not enough for one last match, but a bit of time to do something.
After I felt that itch, I decided to wander around a bit. Wandering around the house without supervision would be rude, and I didn’t want to accidentaly break anything, so I went out to the garden.
“You really trusted me…”
I could see someone else forcing me out, or not letting me into the girls’ room in the first place. Maybe the way gender works in dragon society is different?
“We’ve been together for what? Nine years now?”
“What if, even after nine years, you still don’t know who I truly am?”
“...”
“It’s a weird question, isn’t it?”
Maya tilted her head. “Does that thing about Prilus being a kind person stuck on you?”
“Maybe a bit.”
While Emori abdicating the throne should be widespread information, we lived in an age where internet didn’t exist. It’s easy to miss even important matters like that. I wouldn’t be surprised if Maya didn’t know.
I decided against saying anything that might point that way, just in case she really didn’t know.
“Like, everyone has more than one side to them...”
“I think you’re quite simple, Fortis.”
“Said the gold-loving dragon.”
“I didn’t count that as an insult. All dragons like gold.”
“... You have a point.”
Simple, huh?
“You really think so?”
“You’re a grinding maniac that always thinks about grinding and increasing levels.”
“And who kept nagging me to go out back in the village?”
Maya averted her gaze. “Well, for one, you didn’t have any club.”
“The demon king is coming. I didn’t have time for those stuff.”
“Even when you’re already level one hundred?”
“Emori is still under-leveled.”
“... Say, what will you do after we defeat the demon king?”
“What are you saying? You’re setting up a flag?”
Emori turned to me and tilted her head. “A flag? What flag?”
“Ah, no, forget about it.”
“Humans do have a weird affinity for flags…”
“It’s nothing important. No need to think about it.”
Maya inched closer. “You’re only making me curious about it.”
I wonder if flags weren’t used in this world’s drama. Maybe it had a different term?
“Sigh… Fine. Flags is a term used to describe someone saying something, likes their hopes and dreams, before something bad happen. It’s like setting up a sign, telling you that something will happen.”
“I never heard about it before…”
“It’s from some ancient texts,” I lied. It seemed to work, though.
“Besides, how come you’re so confident we’ll defeat the demon king?”
I, meanwhile, am filled with nothing but worry at the incoming battle.
“There’s no dragon in the original hero’s party, right?” Maya smiled.
“Well, no… But that isn’t the only reason you’re relaxed, right?”
Maya hopped off the chair, walking back toward the house. “If we’re going to die anyway, why not enjoy the ride?” She turned back to me. The moon’s glow reflected off the sweet smile on her face.
“Good night.” She waved and walked away.
“... You took me for one hell of a ride, Maya.” I chuckled, standing up and heading back to the building.