CH 421

In the detached villa near the palace, Cecile and the other girls were together with Princess Rapsonile and Carmin.

"What's wrong with Allen. We're trapped in here and he goes partying like that!"

While Allen was discussing things with Rosalina, Cecile complained in the villa a distance away.

'A-actually, I regret to inform you but I'm not doing this to enjoy myself.'

While Cecile held the Bird G summon in a deathgrip, Allen said that negotiating with Rosalina was necessary.

"Well, that seems like something Master Allen would do, wouldn't you say? And we might get a Sacred Bead too."

While Sophie defended Allen's actions, Princess Carmin was telling Princess Rapsonile to not worry about Cecile's bad mood.

"But still!"

Sophie was trying to justify Allen's actions, but Cecile's anger would not cease.

"..."

There was something that had shocked Princess Rapsonile more than Cecile's anger.

She had just experienced the Bird F summon's Awakened Skill [Messenger] together with Allen's friends.

The image of a famous cafe in the street had been projected directly into her mind.

And then she had watched a conversation with Rosalina replay many times over, almost like it was going in slow motion.

When Cecile and the rest first arrived at the villa, Shea had told the princess to not worry anymore. Their party leader Allen was there, and he would make sure the rebellion failed, and that the princess could be freed from the villa.

At first she had been dubious, but now she had experienced a figment of his power.

"That's still quite a smart idea. Sale records…those are distributed to all merchants after all."

Shea was quite impressed by Allen's plan.

'Exactly. Princess Rapsonile, would you happen to know if the records are kept in the palace? I'd like to look over them.'

Allen nodded to Shea's words, and then asked where the receipts were kept in the palace.

"I'm sure they are somewhere, but I don't know the exact location."

Someone under Ignomas was surely keeping and managing them.

But Princess Rapsonile did not know who that was, or where they were kept.

'Hmhm. Rather than looking around randomly, maybe I can try to finesse them out of the merchant I just met.'

Allen's voice was transmitted through the Bird G summon, already planning ahead.

Thinking of the best way to make Rosalina win, Allen first thought of the fact that the Magic Shop had asked her for her participant's card.

Allen had no intention of simply buying accessories and clothing that looked decent.

While he still spoke with Rosalina, he was asking Princess Rapsonile questions to figure out why it was obligatory to show one's participant's card.

According to Princess Rapsonile, there were two big reasons why that was obligatory.

One was to catch any forged or unauthorized entries.

The winner was promised Sacred Beads, as well as glory and fame.

If someone forced their way to the contest and won, they would not be penalized.

Makris had chosen them as the winner, so it made no sense to go against his decision.

The entire event revolved around Makris after all.

That was why everything was heavily regulated even when buying accessories.

Anyone suspicious would be interrogated on the spot. The Magic Shop was a big collaborator of the event, and that was why they tried to take Rosalina to question her there.

(So even if we falsify her entry, she'll be forgiven as long as she wins.)

The second was to record what each participant bought, which was then relayed to other merchants.

The Sacred Fish Makris also valued outfits during the contest.

They would keep records of what the participants bought and wore, as well as how they performed with said items.

The participant card and number were necessary for those records.

That was why those who were not participating could buy accessories without issue.

All the records would be gathered in the palace, then distributed to all merchants.

It was a way of aiding them in preparing their wares for the next contest.

Merchants would read through the records and stock up on what they felt would sell best.

They would know what had been effective in the contest, what was being phased out, and it gave them an idea of how to prepare their lineup for the next year.

While the event was to thank the Sacred Fish Makris, it was also a big spike for the economy.

No matter the world or age, large amounts of data would always give merchants an advantage.

Merchants who studied that information the best would also be the ones profiting the most.

Allen decided he would get more connections with merchants, and somehow obtain those past records from a merchant.

That seemed like the least risky way.

He also needed to find a way to get Rosalina to compete in the contest.

If he made too many risky choices it was possible things would get traced back to him.

He was not done figuring out where the palace's crystal seeds went either.

Peromus finished negotiating for the earrings, and now he was trying to get the records.

'It seems we just have to pay to see the records. I'll pick out various outfits according to the data, and then you can look over them.'

New information arrived through the Bird G summon.

The moment Allen said "I was planning on offering as much money as you want, but if you don't accept then I'll just ask elsewhere, now and in the future," the shopkeeper Kasagoma became quite cooperative.

Once they had determined which outfits and accessories worked best, it was still necessary to combine them properly.

Anyone knew that just throwing money at the problem would not give the best result.

So Allen wanted the girls in the villa to help with putting together the perfect outfit.

"We also need to figure out his tastes. Are there any anecdotes of Prince Makris from before he became the Sacred Fish? Like what type of girls he liked. And oh right, does anyone know what kind of person Diadora was?"

Shea asked Princess Rapsonile if she knew anything about Makris' past.

Many details of the old tale seemed to have been embellished even in Prostia.

But maybe some stories could give a hint as to what Makris' personality had been.

Maybe there was something that could give them an advantage in the contest.

If they knew what Makris had liked in Diadora, maybe they could give Rosalina better chances of winning.

After Shea asked that, Cecile, Sophie, and the Bird G summon nodded at the same time.

"...How Makris and Diadora met?"

Hearing that question, Princess Rapsonile looked gloomy, frowning as she looked for words.

"Hm? Well yes, is it not the best story to know?"

Shea could tell that Princess Rapsonile knew something about Makris' life 300 years ago.

But from her reaction it did not seem to be the prettiest story to tell.

Maybe his meeting with Diadora had also been embellished greatly over the years.

"Actually no, it's said that Makris was a wonderful person even before he became the Sacred Fish. There's just something important you need to know before hearing how he met Diadora."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Princess Rapsonile still seemed slightly hesitant, Shea and the rest could not tell why.

"See, the truth is that Makris'...appearance wasn't…well…"

Rapsonile stuttered, trying to find the right words to convey the story.

"Huh? Really? His appearance? He didn't look the best then? I refuse to believe that."

Cecile recalled the picture book she had read countless times before.

It never explicitly described Makris' appearance, but he looked far plain in the drawings.

"Actually, that's exactly it. To be exact, they called him the Pig Prince back then."

"Pig? That animal that lives on the surface?"

Cecile was confused hearing that, it was strange for an underwater culture to use a surface animal as comparison.

"Yes. He was so unsightly that even the emperor compared him to an animal that doesn't live underwater."

Prostia was an empire obsessed with beauty.

It was common for royals all over the surface to exclusively wear jewelry that came from Prostia, that was how much they valued the mermen's eye for beauty.

But Makris had been born there, with quite unsightly features.

The emperor of the time, Makris' father, had told him "You're so ugly, you look like a pig."

In Prostia, when something was deemed too hideous to belong in the sea, it was compared to pigs, which lived on the surface.

Princess Rapsonlie begged them to never tell others about that, and began talking about Makris' life.

Makris had been born with hideous features, called the Pig Prince by everyone.

Even the servants that had to take care of him would feel nauseous looking at him.

During parties, there was not a single noble daughter who wanted to dance with him.

Not just that, but they would avoid eye contact, just so he would not even try to ask them.

As the years passed, his appearance only got worse.

He graduated school, became an adult, and soon enough there were talks about who his partner would be for the future.

But no matter what noble family was asked about it, they all refused to be with Makris.

Prostia was already a large empire 300 years ago, but Makris was so unsightly that no one wanted to be with him even if it meant becoming the princess of the empire.

Whenever a noble daughter was asked to marry Makris, they despair thinking of their future, falling ill to a violent fever.

"That's a little…"

Even Sophie was bewildered hearing the harsh reality.

"That was not all. He was deemed unsuitable to inherit the throne by the emperor, and ordered to conceal his face at all times. Makris ran away from the palace after that."

The emperor never forgave Makris for his bad looks.

There was no point in trying to find him a wife, and he did not want to dedicate more resources and effort to him.

The emperor did not want Makris embarrassing the empire further, so he ordered Makris to cover his face with a robe no matter where and when he was.

Hearing his father say that, he was so shocked he decided to just leave his home and ran away.

He walked aimlessly through Patlanta, looking for a place to stay.

After loitering around for a long time, Makris grew hungry, so he decided to enter a common tavern.

There he drank, his robe pulled high and covering his face, wondering what would happen to him from now on, when he heard a beautiful singing voice.

It was Diadora, standing on a platform under the spotlight.

"So that's how he met Diadora."

Cecile recalled the story too, of how Makris met Diadora.

She had always had some questions about that part of the story, but now she understood.

The picture book mentioned they met in a tavern.

But it never explained why a prince like Makris would be in a tavern for commoners like Diadora.

The book had not mentioned how Makris' appearance had driven him there, so Cecile raised her voice finally figuring that out.

Makris fell in love at first sight.

Diadora gave him the strength to continue living, and Makris soon returned to the palace.

"Yes. After that, he continued visiting that place many times, always covering his face."

He went there frequently, and since it was a rather small tavern, the suspicious man covered in robes who went to listen to Diadora was soon noticed.

Eventually Diadora spoke to him one day.

There were rumors about a suspicious man going there.

And if he minded taking off his hood.

"Did he take the hood off then?"

Cecile leaned forward, enthralled by the story.

This was her favorite story, so she put even more force into her arms, squishing the Bird G summon.

Thanks to the [Growth] Skill reaching Level 8, even the Bird G summon had become incredibly resilient.

"Apparently he took it off. He had already considered doing so himself."

"Aww!"

Sophie was also invested in the story.

She tightly clenched her chest, waiting for the rest of the story.

Only Allen had to make an effort to not say "This is all just girly talk again", instead listening silently to what Princess Rapsonile said.