Making a round of greetings to the Six Kings' executives to thank them for their help in the battle in the God Realm…… because the first group I had visited, the Ten Demons, had quite the character, it took me a little while to psych myself up to visit the next group.
The people left that I need to greet were five of the World King's executives, the Seven Princesses, and two of Dragon Kings' executives, the Four Great Demon Dragons. Deciding to start with the Seven Princesses, as they were more numerous than the other group, I explained the situation to Lillywood-san and asked her if she could introduce me to the Seven Princesses.
However, it seemed like the Six Kings' executives are originally people that were extremely busy with work, Pandora-san and the Ten Demons were just special cases, so I would have to meet them on the day that was convenient for them.
A few days later, Lillywood-san told me about a day when one of the executives was free, so I decided to visit her.
Unfortunately, Lillywood-san herself had work that she couldn't leave behind, so she only told me where her executive was and asked me to directly talk to her.
Today, the executive that I'm visiting is the leader of the Seven Princesses and the World King's Head Subordinate, "Magic Flower Princess, Lillie"…… In other words, she's the one of the people who manages subordinates like Pandora-san, Fafnir-san and Agni-san.
As for Lillie-san, she was apparently meditating all day today in a forest plaza not far from Yggfresis, and I was told that I could visit her at any time I wanted since she had already been told about my visit beforehand.
With such thoughts in mind, I teleported to Yggresis and was about to go to the place I was told to go when———- The scenery dramatically changed.
[……Huh? Eh?]
There, basking in the sun's light "in the middle of a forest", I suddenly found myself sitting on something wooden.
As I was confused by the sudden situation, I suddenly heard a voice from right beside me, as beautiful as a ringing bell.
[Hello, Miyama Kaito-san. I apologize for the sudden greeting.]
[……Eh? Y- You are?]
As if guided by the voice, I turned around and before I knew it, there was a beautiful woman sitting next to me.
She had long blonde hair that shimmered in the sunlight, and eyes that remained closed as we spoke, large red flowers on both sides of her head, and her clothes were designed to look somewhat similar to Lillywood-san's clothing.
I think she is around 160cm? Her proportions were well-balanced and her beautiful face gave the impression of gentleness…… She certainly looked like the princess from a distant country.
[Nice to meet you, I'm "Lillie". I've been given the position of being the World King's Head Subordinate, known as the Magic Flower Princess.]
[Eh? Ah, you are…… Ahh, nice to meet you too. I'm Miyama Kaito.]
[Thank you for your courtesy. You may call me whatever you like. I heard from Lillywood-sama that you were coming today, and I sensed magic power that was similar to yours, so I thought I'd at least say hello before meeting you in person.]
As Lillie-san spoke with her eyes closed, a new question arose in my mind.
Lillie-san said that she wanted to at least say hello to me "before we meet in person". However, being that I'm sitting right in front of her, I felt like she was contradicting herself.
Speaking of which, I also didn't know why I was suddenly sitting on a bench in a forest when I was supposed to be in the city.
[I see, that's a fair question. My apologies, I should have explained that to you first.]
[……Ehh?]
[First of all, we are currently "conversing with magic power". Conversation is made possible by sensing each other's magic power. Let's see, I suppose you can think of it as having conversation in a dream. My appearance when you meet me will be that of my real body…… but my appearance that you are seeing now is probably a reflection of your image of me that you have imagined by sensing my magic power.]
Lillie-san answered the question I had in mind…… but I don't think I've said my question yet, have I? Could it be that just like Shiro-san, Lillie-san could also read minds?
[To be precise, I'm just reading your surface thoughts from your magic power. It's the same principle as when you normally sense the emotions of others. It was just that I was reading deeper than that.]
[Eh? That means…… You can also use Sympathy Magic?]
[No, your ability and mine certainly are similar in many respects, but there are some differences. It was just that I have a better ability to sense magic power than most people. I don't have the ability to adapt to magic power like you do…… No, at least as far as I know, there is no one who has the same ability as you. Your Sympathy Magic is your talent…… a power that you could describe as something that is unique to yourself.]
Saying this, Lillie-san gave me a gentle smile. How should I say this…… Even just by talking to her a little bit like this, I understood that she was a very kind person.
The only thing I'm left wondering about now was why Lillie-san kept her eyes closed all this time. I wonder if there was a reason for that?
[Can't say there's any particular reason for it. I was born "blind", so I keep my eyes closed. I could open it, but I don't think my eyes would really be something pleasant to look at.]
[Ahh, I- I'm sorry!]
[No, don't worry about it. I'm the Flower Spirit of the "Magic Flower", dwelling only in the depths of caves where the light of the Demon Realm can't reach. So, perhaps the reason I'm blind is originally because of a Magic Flower's characteristics. Besides, even though I'm blind, my Perception Magic is far superior to most people. I can sense even the faintest magic power in the air, so to be honest, it's almost as if I can see.]
I see, I guess it's because she was originally born from a flower that bloomed in a place where light couldn't reach that her eyes didn't reflect light?
Lillie-san didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she was blind though, and if her Perception Magic even allowed her to read the surface thoughts of others, I guess it probably isn't so different from really being able to see.
[……Ah, rather than conversing like this, how about we continue talking in person?]
[Ah, yes.]
[I'll guide you with my magic power, so just follow its lead and you'll arrive where I am in no time.]
The moment Lillie-san said that, the scenery switched again and I found myself standing in the city of Yggfresis, where I first teleported to. I immediately checked my watch…… Even though we should have been talked quite a bit, it seemed like not even a minute had passed.
As I was thinking about how strange of an experience that was, I suddenly felt as if I was being guided by something. So this is what Lillie-san said when she said she'd guide me with her magic power…… Hmmm, I heard that she has an ability similar to my Sympathy Magic, but it seems that Lillie-san knows a lot of practical ways to use her ability.
If I get the chance, I think it would be great to ask her about those practical ways.
<Afterword>
~ ~ The first Character Rough Sketch for Volume 12 has been posted on the Activity Report ~ ~
Serious-senpai : [Fumu, she's like Funf, who's already appeared in the Light Novel, but she's made a late appearance in the Web Novel.]
? ? ? : [Right. In the Light Novel, she's also Sieg-san's temporary teacher, which is different from the Web Novel.]