CH 999

999 - The Encounter with the Rose Princess ②

In the place where I went with Camellia-san, there stood a woman I had never met before. She had blonde hair in a loose vertical roll, sharp eyes, a crimson dress with rose-like ornaments everywhere, and was about 170cm tall.

(T/N: About 5’7″)

The way she crossed her arms with a stern expression and sharp glare, she looks like a noble lady with a tough personality, and if she just had a folding fan to cover her mouth, she would have really looked like a villainous lady straight out of a manga.

[……Kaito-san, let me introduce her. She is also one of the Seven Princesses, the Rose Princess, Rosemary.]

[Ahh, I thought she might be one from the decorations on her clothing, but she really is one of the Seven Princesses huh. Nice to meet you, I’m Miyama Kaito.]

[…………………]

Even if it was a coincidence, she’s one of the Seven Princesses I haven’t met yet, so even though I’m surprised, I introduced myself…… but Rosemary-san didn’t utter a word with a grim expression on her face.

Her sharp eyes that looked like she wanted to shoot me dead, the expression on her face that clearly looked displeased. At a glance, I would have thought that she doesn’t like me…… but to be honest, I’m a little confused right now.

This is because, although Rosemary-san is glaring at me with a grim expression on her face…… The emotions conveyed through my Sympathy Magic were completely different from her facial expression.

Her mind is filled with a mixture of emotions: surprise, impatience, fear, confusion, nervousness…… How should I say this…… It feels like she’s on the verge of blowing up.

[……Ummm, Camellia-san. Could it be that Rosemary-san…… is nervous?]

[Eh? You could tell huh…… Ahh, that’s right. Kaito-san had that ability that’s almost similar to Lillie-sama, right?]

The only person I knew whose facial expression and emotions don’t match up well is Elise-san, who always tries to keep a business smile on her face, so I asked Camellia-san, puzzled.

Thereupon, Camellia-san looked surprised for a moment, before she nodded her head in understanding.

[Yes, as Kaito-san guessed, Rosemary…… Eri is very shy, and is usually like this when she meets someone for the first time. It’s not that she’s angry, it’s just that she’s nervous and her face would become tense……]

[I see, so that’s why I got the feeling that she was quite flustered.]

[That’s right. Wait a moment, okay?]

After informing me for a moment, Camellia-san approached Rosemary-san. Thereupon, Rosemary-san grabbed Camellia-san by the shoulders and quickly brought her face to Camellia-san’s ear.

[……I see, I guess it’s really impossible for you to talk to him directly huh…… Errr, “Nice to meet you, I’m Rosemary” is what she said.]

[Ahh, yes. Nice to meet you too.]

I couldn’t hear her words because of the distance between us, but Rosemary-san seemed to be murmuring quietly in Camellia-san’s ear, and with Camellia-san passing her words to me, we somehow managed to have something like a conversation.

[It was a coincidence that we met each other here, but thank you for your help in the battle in the God Realm back then.]

[…….”I was only able to help a little, but I’m glad I was able to be of help” is what she said.]

[It might be simple, but please accept this thank you gift……]

[ ! ? ]

[……Ahh~~, errr…… I guess I should pass it to Camellia-san, right?]

As I took a step closer with my thank you gift, Rosemary-san took a step back with that stern expression on her face. I see, so this is the limit of how close I can get huh…… It seems like she got a really bad case of stranger anxiety.

[Ah, yes. You can leave it to me…… Eh? “He seems like a nice guy, so I think I’ll be able to directly talk to him in about ”? I guess so…… Let’s have you directly talk to him some other time.]

16 hours huh…… 16 hours is a long time. As expected, the White God Festival would be over by then, so as Camellia-san said, I’ll have to wait until another time to talk to Rosemary-san directly.

[Ahh, incidentally, 16 hours is an “exceptionally short amount of time” for Eri to directly talk to someone, so I think she has a pretty good impression of you, Kaito-san.]

[……T- That’s a short time?]

[Yes, it took her 2 days to get used to me, while the longest time she needed to get used to among the Seven Princess…… would be Blossom-san, someone Kaito-san hasn’t met yet. She is a nice girl…… but how should I say this…… she’s the type of person who abruptly closes in on others, and against such a vigorous person, Eri became so scared that it took her a while to get used to her…… Yes, about “2 years and 4 months”……]

[I- I see.]

2 years and 4 months…… That’s quite an outrageous amount of time. If that’s the case, 16 hours certainly is an exceptionally short amount of time.

[……I mean, was that alright for that Blossom-san? If she took that long to get used to her, wouldn’t she worry about a lot of things……]

[It’s okay. Blossom-san only said “Rosemary-sama is being very strict with me to guide this inexperienced me! In other words, when she’s able to talk to me directly, that’s when Rosemary-sama approves of me! I will do my best to live up to Rosemary-sama’s expectations!!!”…… That is how she saw the situation.]

[……S- She’s quite the optimist.]

[Rather, Blossom assumes the situation too much…… Once she decides to do something, she doesn’t listen to what others have to say and runs with it…… No, there’s no mistake that she’s a good girl, honest and straightforward but……]

How should I say this…… That Blossom-san fellow…… I feel like she’d be quite the peculiar person.

【Cherry Blossom Princess, Blossom】

She had appeared in an Intermission Chapter before, but she’s the type who assumes too much and is quite aggressive about it. She’s a straightforward and hardworking person, but she lets action speak for herself, which is unusual for a member of the Seven Princesses, who tend to have a docile personality, the type of person who, when she gets excited, starts to get excited by herself and can’t hear what others were saying.

Incidentally, the first time she had a direct conversation with Rosemary, she shed tears and passionately expressed her excitement at finally being recognized, which frightened Rosemary once again…… It took several more months before she could speak to her again.