We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Pre-monition of a summer storm.
“So, I’ve joined up with Priscilla-chan and the others!”
“Um, I joined them?”
“Yes! I did.”
“Meow.”
“Wait, Elnea. Explain it to us again, slowly, so we can understand.”
Mistral asked me, with a wry smile, to re-explain how I, who had gone hunting, ended up bringing Priscilla-chan, Mei, and Nimia back with me.
So, I began to weave my grand tale once more.
“Yes. It happened deep within the dense Urangalan Great Forest. When I suddenly looked back, Priscilla-chan and Mei were behind me!”
“You know, Priscilla and the others were hiding, waiting for us older brothers to come.”
“We were hiding with Nimia-chan.”
“Nyan brought the two of them here, nyan.”
“Priscilla-chan and the others predicted that we would be camping in this area tonight.”
“Priscilla always stays overnight with Mei around here.”
“Normally, Gawon and guards are with us, but they’re not here this time because we flew from the North Sea.”
“Nyan is guarding them, so it’s alright, nyan.”
“The reason Priscilla-chan could predict our movements is because they coordinated their actions in advance with Lily.”
“Heeere, everything went according to plan!”
“So, you had to hurry to match the plan, which is why you flew while holding me in your mouth?”
“That’s a separate issue, though.”
“Really!?”
Priscilla-chan was enthusiastically munching on meat. Mei, not as attached to meat, was cutely eating vegetables and fruit.
We were eating dinner together, reporting on the events so far.
However, Mistral and Ruiseine were not eating with much enthusiasm.
“That’s because you brought back another disturbance again?”
“As expected, Elnea-kun shouldn’t be left alone.”
“No, no, I only protected the young girl group.”
Even though the Urangalan Great Forest was familiar territory for Mei, a member of the beast race, one never knew where danger might lurk. Even with Nimia as their guardian, anything could happen.
“So, I’ve joined up with Priscilla-chan and the others!”
“Elnea, your report is the same as the beginning.”
“You’ve omitted the explanation of why Priscilla-chan and the others came here from the North Sea?”
“Hahaha, that’s because, Ruiseine, I don’t know either.”
Priscilla-chan, perhaps full, had her mouth wiped by Mistral, and then boldly sat on the Giant Demon Lord’s lap, basking in her contented fullness.
Mei followed suit and was allowed to sit on Charlotte’s lap.
“I worry about the future of those two.”
“I worry if you’ll cause more trouble?”
“I’m curious about why Priscilla-chan and the others came to play here.”
Astel and the Puppet King seemed captivated by the cute Nimia, showing no interest in my explanation.
Nimia looked satisfied, having received plenty of meat from the two of them.
“Meow.”
“Lily is satisfied too!”
“It’s because I worked hard and hunted a wild ox.”
Wild oxen, which usually travel in herds on the plains, had happened to stray and wander.
“Hmm, I wonder why Priscilla-chan and the others came here?”
I turned my gaze towards the fully-fed princess, lounging on the Demon Lord’s lap.
Logically, Priscilla-chan would prefer Yufilia and Nina, who are so cheerful and unrestrained, over us, who are accompanied by the reliable and sensible Mistral and Ruiseine.
Moreover, if they can go to the North Sea, their curiosity would surely be directed that way.
“Priscilla-chan, why did you come here?”
As Ruiseine asked, pouring wine into the Demon Lord’s cup, Priscilla-chan tilted her head.
“Um, what was it?”
As Priscilla-chan pondered, Mei said.
“Priscilla older sister, I have a message for you?”
“Oh, right, I did.”
Priscilla-chan, of the long-lived Mimicho Race, grows exceptionally slowly.
Therefore, Priscilla-chan’s appearance and emotional maturity are much younger than her actual age. In fact, she is childish.
Unlike her, Mei, a member of the beast race whose lifespan is similar to that of humans, grows noticeably.
Rather, the growth of the beast race is faster than that of humans until adulthood, often surprising with their growth if you haven’t seen them for a while.
When they first met, both had similar childish appearances, but Mei quickly grew much larger.
Even when they met in the forest, Priscilla-chan and Mei were embracing, but it looked more like Priscilla-chan was clinging to her older sister.
And apparently, Mei has also grown more mature than Priscilla-chan mentally.
Remembering the important part thanks to Mei’s reminder, Priscilla-chan’s face lit up.
“You know, we were asked by Leva-chan.”
“Asked what?” Mistral inquired, and Priscilla-chan replied energetically.
“Um, the sea is stormy!”
“Eh?”
The words alone conjured an image of a raging sea.
And at the same time, I became acutely aware of the Ruler of the North Sea.
“Does that mean the Ruler of the North Sea is angry for some reason!?”
The North Sea is ruled by the Primogenitor Race, the mermaid Olivia-sama, as an absolute being.
Any creatures with malicious intent are thoroughly eliminated, preventing outsiders from approaching.
If the North Sea is stormy, something unusual or problematic might be happening!
“You, who loves disturbances, don’t consider the possibility of a simple summer storm?”
“Hah!”
The Giant Demon Lord’s remark made me realize I had forgotten about the obvious natural phenomenon of bad weather.
“Or rather, I don’t like disturbances!”
I tried to protest that it was a misunderstanding, but for some reason, everyone tilted their heads.
It’s baffling.
“Putting aside Elnea’s preferences. If there’s a storm at sea, why did Priscilla-chan and the others ask Revalia for a message?”
Firstly, the immediate decision for us to stay overnight at the edge of the Urangalan Great Forest, and the timing of Priscilla-chan and the others encountering a storm on their way to the North Sea, and Revalia trying to inform us of the abnormality, doesn’t add up, does it?
Ruiseine seemed to have the same question as me and asked Priscilla-chan.
However, Priscilla-chan, who looks like a young girl, also has the mental age of a young girl. She doesn’t understand complex conversations yet.
Instead, Mei, who has grown a little faster, explained earnestly.
“Um, um, we were talking from the beginning about going to pick up Elnea older brother and the others!”
“We decided this when Lily picked up Elnea-kun and the others at the Hiryu Hunting Ground!”
So that’s why the date and place of our meeting aligned.
“Lady Reva knew that Mei and the others were coming this way, so she told them to inform us about the storm!”
“Did I explain it properly?” Mei asked, grabbing Charlotte’s clothes nervously.
Mei doesn’t know.
The woman you’re innocently sitting on is actually very cunning!
“Yes, your explanation was excellent.”
Charlotte gently patted Mei’s head.
Mei smiled happily in return, but I worried if Mei would fall prey to Charlotte.
“Fufufu, it’s more enjoyable to toy with a lively dragon than a cute sheep, so don’t worry.”
“For now, let’s play with them.”
“I already have a bad feeling, I want to go back to the Forbidden Territory and hide!”
“Elnea-kun, those two can enter and leave the Forbidden Territory freely, so you won’t be able to escape if they target you.”
“Elnea, give up and just go to the North Sea obediently.”
“Mistral, the way you say that sounds like you’ll be staying behind.”
“I’m not wrong, am I?”
“Oh my, if Mist is staying behind, is it alright for me to stay behind as well?”
“They’re trying to abandon me again!?”
The Demon Lord and Charlotte watched our exchange with amusement.
Priscilla-chan and Mei, perhaps becoming sleepy after their full meal, began to doze off on the laps of the wicked Primogenitors.
“Oh, before Priscilla-chan and Mei fall asleep, I need to ask this. Hey, if there’s a storm in the North Sea, why did Revalia go to the trouble of sending a message through the two of them?”
If it were a natural phenomenon like a storm, there would be no need for a message, as the Demon Lord pointed out.
If they wanted to say they couldn’t play together when they meet in the North Sea, they could just come back.
However, Revalia and the others who entrusted the message to Priscilla-chan and Mei are remaining in the North Sea.
This means there must be a reason why Revalia and the others had to stay, right?
To my question, Mei answered, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“The horse folk were asking for help.”
“Meaning?”
“Even before Mei and the others reached the sea, the horse folk were worried about the abnormality of the storm and were making a fuss.”
It seems the horse folk, members of the beast race, had already suspected the storm in the North Sea.
But why the horse folk?
“Beasts are sensitive to the weather. It’s likely that some of the horse folk were near the North Sea and encountered the storm. But they sensed something unusual with their beastly intuition.”
“I see?”
Revalia and the others likely arrived then, so the horse folk probably asked for their cooperation.
Revalia’s and Nimia’s appearances are distinctive, so they are widely known among the beast race, making it easy to associate them with us.
“Hmm, if it were just a storm in the North Sea, I might not have been so cautious, but if the horse folk are concerned and making a fuss, I can’t overlook it as Mei’s guardian.”
“Thank you!”
Mei, who had been sleepy, straightened up and expressed her sincere gratitude.
If it benefits Mei, the matriarch of the beast race, we will lend our support!
“Elnea-kun is getting lively.”
“You’re hopeless.”
“I-I’m not deliberately getting involved in disturbances, you know!? It’s just, this time, for Mei’s sake…”
“It seems you need such pretexts at times.”
“Your Majesty, wouldn’t Elnea-kun jump into a disturbance on his own, even without a pretext?”
“He’s as foolish as his master was.”
“My grandpa is being teased too in the confusion!”
Mei, now fully awake, looked at us and laughed. Unfortunately, her older sister, Priscilla-chan, had completely fallen into the world of dreams.
And Nimia, who had been quiet all along, was still being doted on by Astel and the Puppet King.
“That’s good, Nimia. You’re getting to play a lot.”
“Meow. I’ll introduce you to my mother next time, meow.”
“Gyaaah. Nimia-chan, please, anything but that.”
“Fufu, fufufu, a grown Snow Dragon, you say. How terrifying.”
“Isn’t mother scary, meow?”
“That’s right, Asher-san might be scary to males, but he’ll surely be kind to women who dote on Nimia.”
As I said that, Astel and the Puppet King doted on Nimia even more.
“There, there, if these two troublesome ones remain engrossed with Nimia and don’t cause any trouble, it will be according to plan.”
“Elnea, isn’t it better not to say such things out loud?”
“Hah!”
“Elnea is such an idiot.”
We spent the night under Lily’s watch.
