36 First Come, First Served

After Roland finished his talk with Wendy, he had her practice her magic while he was observing to get a better grasp on what she is capable of. He also checked on Anna and Red Pepper's progress in melting metal. The model of cannon he chose first was one of the basic ones that used big iron balls as ammunition, however, he was also planning to make a few more advanced artillery weapons similar to mortars for the most desperate times in case he would need to defend the town. He didn't plan to use them actively because they require explosive ammunition to be effective and for that, he had to buy chemicals from the Shop which wasn't exactly cheap, at least not in terms of regular usage.

'I discovered that my capability in chemistry is extremely low. Anna seemed a bit interested in chemistry but I am not sure if she will be capable of understanding advanced chemistry. Maybe hiring an alchemist and teaching him chemistry might work quite well. I need to gather capable people around me since I am not a genius. I am quite confident in conquering the entire world with only simple weapons that even I can build but humanity needs to progress sooner or later, it's better to start building a foundation for it.' Roland thought while sitting in his office and looking at the papers in his hand.

"For now, nitroglycerine should be my goal, obtaining glycerine won't be so hard, however, making it into nitroglycerine will be a bit more complicated. *sigh*" Roland muttered while pulling his front bangs down before he released a disappointed sigh. He was disappointed in himself since he had all those books however sometimes, books aren't enough to fully understand what one needs to do.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about..." Nightingale said while eating cookies.

"Me too, Nightingale...Me too" Roland replied dejectedly which made her raise her eyebrow.

"Alright, you need to take a break" She sat down on his desk and snatched the papers from his hand, placing them away from him.

"I guess so...Would you like to do something before dinner? I need some distraction." Roland asked, successfully catching her off guard, however, Nightingale quickly recovered.

"Since we have some time, should we talk a bit about that...magic of yours?" She asked with a smile while leaning forward, resting her elbows on the desk and her chin in her palms.

"Alright, however, how about you take a chair and sit down...it must be pretty uncomfortable to stand like that." Roland suggested seeing how her legs were spread apart. To be honest, he felt slightly flustered seeing how her chest was resting on the desk. He would rather talk to her eye to eye without any improper thoughts.

Although he never experienced what is it like to have a real crush on someone, he wasn't a virgin. He can't say that he has ever had any feelings towards those who took care of his "needs" because he knew they were taking care of others like him. Most of his "colleagues" liked to discuss those things but he was never enthusiastic about it, he only did it so the others wouldn't see him as a freak, so he wouldn't stand out.

However, this was the first time he was feeling flustered around a woman.

'Why do I feel this way? Is it because I trust her and have some relationship with her?'

'...Just go for it. He clearly sees me "that way" otherwise he wouldn't look so flustered. Anna is already quite close to him and it looks like Wendy also got closer to him...I mustn't wait any longer! At most he will treat it as a joke, I think I already know him good enough to know his response in case it fails.' Nightingale thought while biting her lower lip.

"Well, if Your Highness wants me to sit down, I will do as you say~!" Nightingale replied, however instead of going for a chair, she went to Roland and sat down on his thighs.

"N-Nightingale...what are you doing? This is going a bit too far for fooling around." Roland was honestly shocked by her actions so he tried to reply with a serious expression.

"...What if I am not just fooling around?" She asked, biting her lower lip, making quite a seductive expression while looking straight into Roland's eyes.

Even Roland with no experience in things like romance knew what she meant by her words.

"...Anyone can walk inside at any time. I don't think this is a good idea." Roland subconsciously "refused" and even he himself had no idea why he said that.

"Then can we just talk like we planned? I can always disappear if anyone would even dare to barge inside without knocking." Nightingale felt her heart sink when she heard his response but she didn't give up and at least asked to continue talking this way.

"I think it would be bet-" Roland wanted to play it safe but he stopped himself, giving her some hope.

'Wait, am I just cautious about those things or...Am I perhaps afraid? Me?! I have faced death several times already yet why am I so hesitant here? Is it because it's not just about me?' Roland thought with a surprised expression before he frowned, disappointed in himself once again. He looked at Nightingale's uncertain expression worried by his silence and he knew what he can do at the moment.

He rested his left forearm on her thighs and wrapped his right arm around her hips.

"Well, please ask whatever you want." Roland said with a smile which brought a genuinely happy expression on Nightingale's expression.

'So he is not sure about it but he isn't against the idea.' She thought and was satisfied with his answer for the time being. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started asking him questions but oddly, none of them were about his magic as if it was completely irrelevant to her at the time.

They talked this way for some time and Roland was fighting with himself not to do anything that could possibly make her feel uncomfortable which was quite hard since she was looking at him with shiny eyes filled with happiness.

On the other end, Nightingale actually found his self-control attempts quite cute but her feelings only got stronger seeing how gently he was treating her, trying his best not to make her feel uncomfortable. She even grew bolder, secretly hoping he would perhaps do something.

"Abby and Airy's day of adulthood will be tomorrow. Do you think they can make it through just like Anna?" She asked with a slightly concerned expression.

"They haven't been practicing their magic for too long, however, I believe they can avoid suffering. They will have everyone by their side at that time, that should also put them at ease." Roland replied.

*Knock* *Knock* "Your Highness, the dinner will be ready and served in a few minutes." The maid's interruption slightly scared Nightingale who blushed and turned into mist however Roland could still feel her sitting on him.

"I see, thank you. I will be there shortly, please inform others." Roland said with an amused smile since the maid didn't even enter the room.

"Are you going to keep hiding?" Roland asked, lightly tickling her a bit.

"Haha, stop! Here I am, happy?" Nightingale quickly appeared to stop him tickling her but her face was completely red.

"Are you perhaps embarrassed how scared you acted despite your bold actions?" Roland teased her a bit with a cheeky smile to which she could only look away.

"Well, I guess this is the end of our talk. The dinner and the others are waiting for us." Roland said with a slightly disappointed tone.

Hearing his words, Nightingale's embarrassment instantly disappeared and she began staring at his face.

'I know what was his answer but...I don't want it to end this way' Nightingale thought and very slowly brought her face closer to his.

Roland was a bit surprised by her action but when he saw her faint red cheeks with closed eyes, he tilted his head a bit and put his right hand behind her neck, bringing her a bit closer.

Their lips touched only for a mere second before Roland pulled his face away, however to Nightingale, that one second felt like a minute. When they opened their eyes, they were locked with each other. For more than 10 seconds they kept staring into each other's eyes before Roland felt like he needs to change the atmosphere so they could leave his office at peace.

"Alright, let's go to the dining hall before I lose all my reasoning and decide to eat something else." Roland said jokingly and Nightingale's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights, her entire face became completely red before she disappeared into the fog and Roland felt her hop off his thighs.