Heading straight from the Knight Academy grounds to the Royal Castle meant that Inglis and Rafinha would have to fly over the crowded main street. Inevitably, the sight of the Star Princess unit would be seen by people all over the street.
「Ah! There’s a Knight! Ooi!」
「Waai!」
The adults didn’t make a fuss about them, but the children were happy at their sight and even waved their hands. To be precise, Inglis and Rafinha were not Knights but rather students of the Academy, but the children couldn’t tell the difference. They were on a Flygear, so they were Knights to them.
「Hello hello. Good day to you~𝅘𝅥𝅮」
Rafinha, affable as she was, slowed down her flygear to a stop in midair and waved back to the children. She was in a good mood, perhaps because she was about to have a feast. The children were more than happy to see their admired Knights waving at them.
「Ahaha. Kids are cute aren’t they~ Glis?」
「You’re right. Reminds me of when you were small, Rani. You were so cute back then too, you know?」
「No, you were just as much of a kid too, Glis. Well, whatever……I wish I have a kid of my own soon~」
「You mustn’t. Too early for you, Rani.」
「But, you like kids too right, Glis? The younger the mom, the happier the kid, you know?」
「N-, no! I don’t need a child of my own!」
Just the thought of it terrified her. Rather, it was something she never wanted to think about in the first place. It sent a chill down her spine.
「Because you can’t fight if you had one?」
「Y-, yeah. That’s why!」
While the truth was something more fundamental and more gender-related, she’d just leave it at that.
「The thing Miss Knights are riding, it’s suuper lame, isn’t it?」
「Uwaah……tacky. What’s with all those color and glitters!!」
The children’s thoughts regarding the Star Princess unit’s appearance then began to fly around.
「Eeehh?!」
Rafinha seemed surprised, but as for Inglis, she’d like to applaud the boys for distracting the topic and even pointing out the truth. Thank you.
「N-, no way…this is my and Plum’s work of art!」
「Don’t you think it’s a bit too gaudy? Why don’t we restore the original paint!」
But then…
「That’s not true! I think it looks really cute!」
A girl amongst the children defended the Star Princess unit with zeal.
「Y-, you’re right! Eat that, boys! This is for girls only! There is Girls’ Romance packed in it! You boys don’t understand!」
Rafinha then regained her vigor.
「Right, Glis? Isn’t that right?!」
「U-, uhmm…Well, the boys do have some point……so perhaps it’s better if we settle down on something that everyone can accept?」
「Rejected! Hey, hey, girl. What’s your name?」
She called out to the girl who had defended her point.
「I-, I’m Alina!」
「I see, Alina. Thanks for the praise! I’ll give you a ride on this cute Flygear next time, okay?」
「R-, really?!」
「Yeah! We’ve got something to do today, but if you see us again, just call out to us!」
「Yeah, I will! That’s a promise, okay?!」
「Okay, I promise! See ya later~!」
With a smile and a wave of her hand, Rafinha departed with the Star Princess unit.
「Hmm, what a nice kid~」
「…………」
With that, at least until they fulfilled the promise to take the girl aboard the Star Princess unit, Rafinha wouldn’t repaint the hull of the ship. Inglis had to remember the girl’s face to make sure their promise could be fulfilled soon.
「What’s wrong, Glis? Do you want to say I just made a cheap promise?」
「No, I don’t. I’m just making sure I remember her face so I could find her later.」
In fact, it was a good thing that Rafinha was so friendly with the people. Both as a Knight and a soon-to-be Marquise, being able to participate into the people’s lives in such a natural way was estimable.
A relationship based on trust would be born from there, and that would surely help Rafinha one day. This was also one of Rafinha’s talents——to say that was perhaps just a bit too biased for Inglis, though.
「Oh. That saves a lot~ You’re so good at remembering faces, Glis.」
「I guess I am. I have it from my life experience.」
From her experience as a King in her previous life, she knew how important it was to remember faces, and she naturally trained herself for it. Even if it was nothing but a trivial exchange, people would be happy if the king, the most revered member of their society, remembered them and mentioned such exchange later.
The accumulation of such small happiness was what built their loyalty. A King shall memorize the faces of everyone he meets. At least that was what King Inglis thought in her previous life, and what she tried to carry out to the best of her ability.
「To remember the faces of strong people so you can pick a fight with them later?」
「You mean, requesting for a duel.」
Well, she’d just put it at that.
「That’s the same thing!」
「It’s not. I’m not forcing them, I’m asking.」
Whilst they were exchanging back and forth like such, the Star Princess unit reached the vicinity of the Royal Palace.
「Halt! This is a restricted area over the Royal Palace. You are students fo the Knight Academy, aren’t you? What’s your business in the castle?」
They were stopped by a Knight riding a Flygear, perhaps on his patrol duty.
「We are Rafinha Wilford and Inglis Eux from the Knight Academy! We’ve heard that His Majesty Charleas has summoned us, and so we’ve come to heed!」
Rafinha answered the Knight.
「Ooh, that’s you girls, huh! I’ve heard about the summon. All right, get your Flygear parked in the courtyard. I’ll lead you.」
「Yes, roger that.」
As per the Knight’s guidance, they brought the Star Princess unit and parked it in the courtyard, but then…
「Hey there, you two! Thank you for coming!」
Redas, the Commander of the Imperial Guard Order, came running at them briskly, then he bowed deeply. There was something off about him. It wasn’t that he was an arrogant person that would avoid greeting, but he was still the Commander of the most reputable order, which was a pretty important position.
He was shamelessly overprotective of his younger brother Silva, sure, but he should still treat Inglis and Rafinha with some amount of dignity. And yet, he oddly kept himself low-profile.
「Mister Redas?」
「H-, hello…」
Inglis and Rafinha looked at each other, looking a little confused.
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