CH 381

Chapter 381 – Meeting with Royalty

“Your Majesty Hoskat, how are you?”

“Umu… Princess Driada, it has been a long time. I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thank you.”

I watched from my seat on the sofa as Driada-san stood to greet the people as they hurriedly entered the VIP room and exchanged greetings with each other. Yeah, I wanted to stand up and greet them, too, you know?

“Why should Kosuke stand up to greet people who come here on their own?”

With these words, Grande forced me to sit down on the sofa, threw her upper body on my lap, and started to relax, so there was nothing I could do. I, Driada-san, and even Gerda are no match for Grande’s physique. So I had no choice but to let her do what she wanted.

“So that’s…”

“Sorry for looking like this. I’m Kosuke, husband of Her Majesty Sylphiel, Queen of the Kingdom of Merinard, and life partner of this Grande. It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty Hoskat.”

“I am Grande. Umu, I can still feel the dragon’s blood on you.”

Grande, resting her elbows on my lap and her cheeks on her palm, looked at His Majesty Hoskat, Her Majesty the Queen, and the princes and princesses and said that. I don’t know, but it seems that Grande can sense the dragon blood flowing through the royal family.

“Grande-sama, it is an honor to meet you. I am sure our ancestors would be happy to see you.”

“Hmm? Is that so? Well, it doesn’t bother me. Kosuke, get that thing out.”

“Yes, yes.”

I did as Grande asked and took three small bottles out of my inventory. They were crystal bottles carved with intricate patterns and filled with crimson liquid. The contents were Grande’s blood.

“It’s my blood. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure you have many uses for it. I heard that you helped Kosuke and Sylphy a lot. I have no interest in the Kingdom of Merinard, but Sylphy is my friend, and Kosuke is my companion. You may take it.”

Hearing Grande’s words, the eyes of the royalty focus on the bottle and then on me. Scary, scary, their eyes are serious. I nod my head, inwardly stunned.

“As Grande said, this is not a gift from the Kingdom of Merinard but a personal gift from Grande, so I would appreciate it if you could accept it without thinking too much. Please accept these words as Grande’s companion, not as the Prince Consort of the Kingdom of Merinard.”

“Umu… Sindriel.”

“Yes.”

With trembling hands, the well-built, handsome man called Sindriel takes three small bottles in his hands. Even though each bottle isn’t that big, his hands are big enough to hold three small bottles at once. If you look closely, the skin on his hands seems to be quite thick.

“Oh, about those bottles…”

“Huh?”

Perhaps startled by my voice, Sindriel―or perhaps His Highness―nearly drops the small bottles. That’s dangerous. Well, I don’t think it would even break if it fell.

“Forgive my sudden voice. The bottle seems to have been processed with magic to make it very strong and to keep its contents fresh. Our court mage told me that as long as it is kept in this bottle, the contents will be safe for a hundred or two hundred years.”

“I see… this bottle alone must be worth ten thousand gold pieces. I would also like to thank the court magician.”

“Since they are accompanying me on this trip, I think they would be pleased if you tell them personally when you get a chance.”

“I will.”

After that, we talked about nothing much. Mostly about how Grande and I met, Grande’s family home―the depths of the Black Forest―and the silly antics we had in the cave of her family home.

“Wow, that was a good time. I’d like to hear more of your stories when you have time.”

“With pleasure.”

“See you later.”

After a little practical talk, the royalty left the VIP room at ease. Well, that’s how a king behaves, isn’t it? But what was it all about?

“What the hell was that?”

“Maybe they wanted to see how well Kosuke-kun and Grande-chan were getting along.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I think they wanted to find out how close you two are and if there is any room for interference and what your personalities are like.”

“I see.”

If me and Grande weren’t as close as they thought we were, were they thinking of somehow flattering Grande or something?

“What’s that? In other words, did they doubt my relationship with Kosuke? That’s an unpleasant story.”

Driada-san makes a worried face as she looks at Grande, who is angry with a puckered lip. If Grande is sulking here, it will be very difficult in many ways.

“It’s just my imagination, okay? It could be that they were just interested in Kosuke-kun and Grande-chan. I think that ordinary royalty and nobility would think and act like I just said, but the behavior or thoughts of the people of this country towards Grande-chan are a bit different from the behavior of ordinary royalty and nobility…”

“That’s for sure. When it came time to build a magic airship runway, Grande’s one word was enough to get the green light to skip the whole thing.”

This is not possible under normal circumstances. The flying dragon runway is an indispensable part of the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom. In a sense, it is the most strategically important facility. It is clearly unusual for Grande, who does not belong to the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom, to make decisions on the spot regarding the reconstruction and expansion of the facility.

“In other words… What does that mean?”

“There is no strange intention at all; they just might have wanted to have a chat with Grande and me.”

“I see… Well, now that you put it that way, I didn’t really feel any evil intentions.”

The cute lips that had been pouting retreated, and now she looks somehow thoughtful. By the way, is it time for you to stop throwing your upper body over my lap because my legs are getting numb? Is that not good? Was that it?

“Whatever it is, it seems to be going well so far. It would be great if everything went smoothly.”

“Yes, that’s right. That would be nice.”

“Do you have any concerns?”

“No, I don’t think there’s anything strange about the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom as long as Grande is there, but there are a lot of people in the small states confederation who are a bit of a problem…”

“I see.”

Well, there are some people with brains and muscles and barbaric minds. Should we worry more about them?