CH 85

“Price of a flying dragon?”

“Yes. I would like to know how much it would cost to use a flying dragon on my way home. I thought if it was Julian-sama, you would know?”

“Oh, you mean the fare. I thought you wanted a flying dragon.”

“I can’t take care of it. The labor needed to take it on walks and the feed, it would be too much, wouldn’t it?

In the dormitory dining hall, Cain was having tea alongside Julian. The dining hall table was so long and spacious that sitting face to face was not a good setup to converse.  

“The Dragon Riders of the Kingdom Knights and the Flying Dragon Corps of the Frontier Knights in various parts of the frontiers have their own flying dragons, but now there are only three flying dragons as a means of transportation for general use. It seems like it’s very expensive and even so, the reservations are full, so even if you have money, you may not always be able to ride at the time of your choice.”

“If I don’t know the standard then I won’t know how much to save. It’s better to have a goal.” 

“I see. I’ll ask about it. Because I’ve never used it before.”

“Isn’t it something that even royalty can’t ride much?”

Cain frowned and wondered if it was such an expensive and invaluable means of transportation. He wondered if he should get a reservation to drive himself to save up money by the reservation date… But if there was a penalty incurred when he was not able to save up enough money, it would take some time until the next reservation. These were what Cain was thinking when Julian’s next words made him even sullen. 

“Don’t underestimate the royal family. If I want to ride a flying dragon, I can just rope in the Dragon Rider of the Knights. If it’s someone like me, I can ride a flying dragon as much as I want. I’m just saying that there is no need to bother borrowing a flying dragon from the city.”

“… Is that so? As expected, Julian-sama. His Highness the First Prince has a different caliber.”

“Hahaha. It sounded fake, Cain. I don’t like being praised too much because it feels like I’m being ridiculed, but it also hurts to be praised haphazardly, so remember this.”

“You’re delicate, I see.”

In this case, it might have been better to go directly to the flying dragon platform or the store that rents out the flying dragon to ask them about it. To begin with, he didn’t even know where the flying dragon platform was. It seemed like it would be good to have a look around this royal capital on the first day off after school started. He also had to buy stationery to send letters to Diana. He also needed to find stores that had miscellaneous goods that Diana would be happy with. He also had to find out how to send out letters. 

“There is a lot of work to be done”

“Hmm? It’s Break language, isn’t it? What did you say?”

“I said that Julian-sama is gallant indeed.” 

“Haha, that is a lie, I can tell that much. What an interesting guy.”

Cain muttered to himself without thinking, but Julian picked it up and asked about it. He might be a person who paid attention to his surroundings rather than being self-absorbed unlike what he thought. 

When they were talking about the plans for the next morning, a girl entered the dining hall. The dormitories were in separate buildings for men and women, but the dining hall was shared, so it was not something unusual.

It was around the time before the entrance ceremony, lunch time had already long passed, and there was still time until dinner. People were sparse and many seats were vacant. Still, the girl walked straight toward Cain and Julian.

Since she wasn’t an acquaintance of Cain, Cain thought she was acquainted with Julian and urged Julian to look behind him.

“Oh, isn’t it Shirley Leah? It’s been a long time.”

“I am glad to see that His Royal Highness Prince Julian is in sound health. It’s only about 10 minutes by horse-drawn carriage, but there was no opportunity to meet so I’m delighted to see you for the first time in a month.”

“Hmm… Sarcasm, right? Shirley Leah, that was sarcasm, right?”

“It’s good that you can understand.”

A girl called Shirley Leah adorably tilted her head and glanced at Cain, and she turned her attention back to Julian and smiled cheerfully.

” His Royal Highness Prince Julian. I see that you have made a school friend? Would you please introduce us?”

In response to those words, Cain stood up. Shirley Leah told Julian to introduce them so, it would be rude for Cain to introduce himself in this situation. Cain waited for Julian to introduce him.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“This is Cain, who is my dormitory roommate. He is an international student from the neighboring country, Limuto Break, and the eldest son of a Duke’s family there.”

“My name is Cain Elgrandark. I am still not used to the language and culture of Siriyum. Please point out if I made any mistakes. I’m honored to meet you, Lady.”

“This is Miss Shirley Leah Mitycurian. She is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Mitycurian and my first fiancée. Please get along with her.”

“My name is Shirley Leah Mitycurian. I’m honored to meet you, Elgrandark-sama. Since you are a friend of His Highness Prince Julian, please call me Shirley Leah.”

“Thank you, Shirley Leah-sama. With that, please also call me Cain.”

“Fufufu. Let’s get along, Cain-sama.”

Shirley Leah smiled and put out her right hand. Cain also extended his right hand and squeezed Shirley Leah’s hand. Julian told him that the country’s greeting was a handshake, so he did as he was taught, but when Shirley Leah’s eyes opened wide with surprise, and she turned to look at Julian who sitting next to her, and raised her eyes.  

“… Cain-sama. When a woman and a man make a formal greeting, the man takes the hand extended by the woman, bowed slightly, and put his forehead on the back of the hand. After that, this time the man holds out his hand and the woman puts her hand on his palm and puts her forehead on the back of her hand. By showing the back of the hand instead of the palm of the hand, it shows that there is no hostility, and by putting it on the forehead… It seems like holding out our heads shows that there is no doubt.”

“Is that so? I just learned that greetings are to hold each other’s hands and confirm that each other doesn’t have weapons. My apologies.”

With that said, Cain loosened his hand, and when he lifted Shirley Leah’s hand, he bent down and put the back of the hand on his forehead. After that, she put her hand on top of the palm that Cain had held out and Shirley Leah too put her forehead on the back of her hand.

“It doesn’t mean that holding each other’s hand is not a greeting. But it’s a greeting as a proof of friendship between boys, perhaps. It’s better if you don’t do it towards women.”

“Thank you for your advice. Shirley Leah-sama.” 

After the greeting, Shirley Leah faced Julian with her whole body. She placed her hand on her hips and held out her chin, looking down at Julian.

” His Royal Highness Prince Julian. I wonder if it’s a good thing to teach an international student from another country about something so sloppy? Since it was you who decided to be roommates, saying that is looking ahead for the future diplomacy. Please take proper care of him.”

“Shirley Leah. I’m sorry. You’re angry, right? You’re angry because I didn’t show up for about a month, right? Please cheer up. I’m taking care of Cain properly. I will also go and see Shirley Leah. Anyway, from today we both live in dormitories so we can meet often. We’ll end up meeting at school even if we don’t want to. So don’t call me something stiff like His Royal Highness or anything like that. Call me Julian. “

“What does it mean – ‘end up meeting’? It sounds like you will have to meet even if you don’t want to meet, His Royal Highness Prince Julian?”

“Don’t find fault in my words! I didn’t say that I don’t want to see you, right? What should I do for you to forgive me!” 

Finally, his arrogant wording was gone. Perhaps this was the true Julian. His face was bright red. Still, Julian probably really liked Shirley Leah because he tried to ask for her forgiveness instead of saying “I don’t care anymore!”. Whether it was a love kind of like or not, was a separate issue. 

When Shirley Leah started to reply, “I’ll forgive you if you say ‘Shirley Leah, I love you’ a hundred times,” Cain decided to leave. 

“Julian-sama, I return to the room first. Shirley Leah-sama, I’m looking forward to seeing you at school tomorrow.”

He said so and he left the dining hall. 

From the dining hall, he heard a shout of “I love you!”, but Cain pretended not to hear it as it was a compassion towards friends.