WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE OTHER TRANSMIGRATORS IN MY HAREM FANTASY? 369-374

Chapter 369 She Wants To Go Out

C369 She Wants To Go Out



Honestly, the sweets prepared for this tea party weren't bad, but Mary and Heria, our resident pastry chef, still made better sweets.

I still enjoy eating them though, since they're still sweets after all~

Both Tiara and I leaned back after we were done consuming all the sweets that were prepared.

"Those were some really nice sweets~" I moaned, feeling especially satisfied.

Tiara was in a similar position as I was, "Mnnn~ Eating with big sister is always nicer~ Ehehehe~"

I have to agree with her on that. Since I also found eating with her to be an enjoyable experience.

"Aria, more tea please~" The princess instructed, prompting the maid to come forward to refill her cup.

Katsuki also came forward to refill mine at the same time.

Both the princess and I waited patiently for our maids to be done before taking a sip from our respective cups.

I enjoyed the aroma and taste of the tea before turning to Tiara, "So… Is there another reason you invited me to this tea party today or is it really just to enjoy some sweets?"

The princess giggled, "Ehehe… Big sister knows me well. Enjoying sweets is part of the reason but there's something that I hope to have big sister's help…"

I leaned forward, "Oh? What is it?"

Instead of answering me, she turned towards Aria, "Umm… Could we be allowed some privacy for now? I'm a little bit shy about it…"

Aria did not protest and merely bowed her head before leaving the balcony.

Katsuki tilted her head slightly, "Does that include me, Your Highness?"

Tiara nodded, prompting my maid to turn to me, "Does Mistress wish for me to leave?"

Eh… So she's prioritising my order over the princess's… Very subtle, Katsuki…

I nodded at her, "Just leave us for a moment, Katsuki, Don't worry about me."

She bowed before leaving, joining Aria outside in the living room as we continued our conversation.

"So what do you need? Just so you know, I agree with Aria that you need to be older," I cautioned her, thinking she was going to ask me something sexual like teach her how to do it or something…

Hey, you didn't see her face that day in the baths! She really had this 'I want to try it' face!

She tilted her head at me, "What is big sister talking about?"

Oh, so that wasn't what she wanted to ask me?

I shook my head, "Um… forget about that, what do you need from me?"

She clapped her hands together, "Oh! That's right! Umm… I… I guess it's better if I just ask directly but… Would big sister be willing to sneak me into the city?"

I knew it, she got tempted by the balcony overlooking the city didn't she?

I turned to look out at the city, "Let me guess… You have been up here looking out at the city but were told that you would never be allowed to walk out there. You were fine with it until recently when you were invited to come to my place and experienced what it was like outside the palace and now you yearn for more?"

She poked her fingers together, "Ehehe… Big sister knows me so well~"

Not sure why she was even happy about that but whatever.

I sighed, "You already know about your curse… Are you sure that you still want to go out even when there's bad people outside who want to eat you?"

She puffed up her chest, "I'm already trained by teacher! I can protect myself! What's more, big sister will be with me right?"

But your training has only just begun… Plus you did nothing but strength training so you're not not even experienced in combat yet… If someone with malicious intent were to come and grab you, there's definitely nothing you can do…

But the second part of your argument…

While it's true that I most likely can protect you from most threats, I don't really want to do something that might piss people off though… What would the king and queen say if they knew I took you out of the palace?

…

Actually… I think they wouldn't say anything and just nod their heads… So forget I asked.

I do feel a little sympathetic towards her current predicament though…I think you should take a look at

I've made it my goal to explore this World especially after being reincarnated here from my previous life. I know the wonders that are out there and I really want to experience it all for myself.

Then there's this princess who was cursed to be stuck in one place for fear of bringing calamity to the people around her.

Her very existence became a shackle to her and she needed to live a life not of her own choices, forever dependent on the wills of the people above her.

Well, that's why we're training her to be strong enough to break free from those shackles of course, but she's still not ready yet.

"Hmm… You're still nowhere strong enough yet, Tiara… Could I convince you to wait for maybe another year or so at least before we go out?"

She puffed her cheeks, "But… But… Nnngghhhh!!"

Instead of arguing, she picked up a small spyglass and handed it to me while pointing in a certain direction.

"Why do you even have something like this?" I asked.

"Papa bought this for me when I said I wanted to see the city up close… But that's not important! Look over there!!"

I shrugged and peeked through the telescope to look at where she was pointing.

I found myself looking at what appeared to be a market street of sorts which was bustling with various shoppers out at this time of the day.𝒏𝔬𝒱𝑬𝗅𝐍ℯxt.𝓬𝑜𝑀

At first I thought that she just wanted to visit the market street to experience that bustling energy until I focused on the shop at the very end of the street. Displayed clearly just below the sign board was a relatively large banner with words that could be seen from here.

'For tonight only! Never before seen cookies and sweets from the forest people of the Elhiria Republic!'

I immediately turned to Tiara, "The cookie and dessert shop?"

She nodded her head up and down.

"I'll sneak here tonight and I'll fly you out to the city, leave your balcony door unlocked."

"Yayyy! You're the best, big sister!"

Hey, hey. The little princess wants her sweets, how dare you try to stop her from eating her sweets?! Of course, as her only ally as a sweet lover, I would definitely help her in her hour of need!

Nothing shall stop us in our quest of getting those sweets! Not even the curse of a demon! I'll beat that demon back to hell if I need to!!

Wait a minute…

"Actually… Can't we just ask Aria or someone to go and get the sweets for us tonight and we'll eat it here instead?" I asked.

She pouted at me, "That's not the same! Freshly baked cookies are different from ones that have been left to cool! Plus if we were to eat them in the shop surrounded by the sweet smell, it'd definitely taste much better!!"

Ok, I will have to agree with her there so I guess the plan is still going to be put into motion!

All I got to do is sneak in here in the middle of the night through the Royal Palace's security, steal the princess away from her tower, get to the sweet shops to eat the sweets with her, sneak back here through the security again and then sneak back out without alerting the guards!

Easy!

Ok but seriously, I'm not that blinded by the sweets to ignore the actual threat, I recognise a flag when I see one ok? Who do you think I am? I didn't write all those stories for nothing!

That's why, I'll just pretend to sneak her out of the palace but I'll let everyone else know about it too! Then they'll watch over us from the shadows! Genius!

And if push comes to shove, I can still fight off any idiots who try to take her! I have a literal army in my shadow and I'm not afraid to use it!

Even in the event that those guys trying to kidnap the princess to summon the demon actually show up, we can all beat them back together without any risks!

Yeah! I get to make her happy and eat sweets at the same time! It's a win-win!

Alright! I'm already looking forward to eating those delicious treats from the Trasifs!

Hmmm? Hold on… Isn't Mary a Trasif? Maybe all the sweets she's been making all this while were actually Trasif sweets? Heck, even Heria is a Trasif too…

…

Nahhh! It can't be, right? They'll need the ingredients found there to make sweets from there right? And it's not like they can teleport… Oh wait, Mary can…

Umm… I'll still go and try out those sweets though, the baker is different after all!! The taste might also be different!

Yeah! I can't wait for tonight!

Chapter 370 I'm Here To Steal Your Princess

C370 I'm Here To Steal Your Princess



"Umm… Katsuki?" I called out to her while dressed in pyjamas.

"You wish to sneak into the palace and take the princess out with you to the shop that would be selling Trasif sweets tonight."

"Oh, you overheard us?"

"I would never do something that rude, Mistress. I had assumed that this was the reason since the direction of the balcony was facing towards the city's market street where a store was already known for putting up such an event. Judging by how the princess was already training under Odeta, I came to the conclusion that she must have gained enough confidence to ask Mistress to escort her to that store so that both of you could enjoy the sweets."

So she managed to deduce our plan just from that? As expected of Katsuki!

Ahhhh! She's so cute so I couldn't help myself and went to fluff her tail~

Ehehehe~ Fluff fluff~

"Nnghhh… Did… Did I perhaps… Umm... Upset Mistress?" Katsuki asked, sounding concerned.

"Hmm? Not at all, why do you ask?"

"I… I thought Mistress was punishing me…"

I looked down at the tail I was fluffing, "Oh this? You were just so cute so I couldn't help myself~ And your tail is just so fluffy!"

"Tha… Thank you, Mistress…"

Aww, she's embarrassed~ So cuuute~

I fluffed her for a good minute before separating myself from her.

"Ahem… So as you have guessed, I'm going to find the princess tonight and bring her with me to go eat some sweets. Since I'm worried that I may not be enough to protect her if some people were to try and hurt her… But she wanted this to be a secret so…"

She bowed, "Understood Mistress, I shall let Head Maid assign a few more people to accompany Mistress in the shadows. I will also inform Aria as well as the king and queen of this plan."

"Eh? Is there a need to let the king and queen know about this as well?"

"Of course, Mistress. It would not be good if they were to think something happened to the princess and rouse the Royal Guard to search for her."

"Mmm… I see, in that case, that would help a lot, Katsuki, thank you!"

"You honour me, Mistress. I have also taken the liberty to prepare a set of clothes as well as a cloak for Mistress and the princess each to better hide your identities."

As expected of Katsuki, she's as efficient as always~

She quickly helped me out of my pyjamas to change into the clothes she had prepared for me.

Instead of a dress, it was a relatively simple but still fashionable set of shirt and trousers that was easy to move in. Of course, the [Mask Of Impossible Identity] was also part of my outfit tonight.

"I assume Mistress is planning to fly towards the palace?" Katsuki asked, now moving on to brush my hair.

"Mmhmm… Don't tell me there's some kind of barrier that prevents people from flying in?"

"That is correct, Mistress. I would suggest just approaching the main gates and walking in normally."

"Unn… But how am I supposed to prove my identity to the guards?"

"You do not need to Mistress. I have already informed them that you would be arriving."

My eyes widened at her, "Eh? When?!"

"When we left the palace, Mistress."

That means she was already making preparations for me that early? As expected of Katsuki!

All dressed, I went towards the window and took a moment to look back at Katsuki, "I'll be off!"

"Please take care, Mistress," She bowed.

I leapt out of the window and let my wings explode out from my back, flapping them to fly me towards the direction of the palace.

As I neared the gates, I tucked my wings and dived towards the ground, flaring them again at the last moment to slow down my descent and land in front of the guards.

All of them pulled out their weapons and went on alert, only to quickly sheathe them at the very next moment to bow at me.

"Forgive us for our rudeness, Young Mistress Nilm!"

As Katsuki had said, they knew it was me despite the fact that I'm wearing this mask. Perhaps only the Nilm family has this mask? And since they were already informed ahead of time about my arrival, they had no question who it was that appeared in front of them.

Well who cares? As long as I can go and take the princess out to eat sweets without any problems~

I waved at the guards, "Don't worry about it. But where should I sneak the princess in and out of?"I think you should take a look at

One of them gestured towards the side of the gate where a ladder laid propped up against the wall, "Please get in by there, Young Mistress Nilm. You do not need to worry about the guards inside as well."

I couldn't help but giggle at the set up they did to keep the princess from figuring out that everyone else knew about her 'sneaky' plan.

"No need for the ladder, I can just jump over the wall on my own."

"As you wish, Young Mistress Nilm. I was also instructed to inform you that a detachment of Royal Guards would also be accompanying you incognito from a distance, please give a shout if you require assistance, although I doubt that would be necessary."

I'm not sure if his last comment was suggesting that there wouldn't be any trouble or that he trusts me to be able to handle anything that comes our way?

I guess it should be the latter.

Two of the guards removed the ladder from the wall that was two stories high before I jumped up, using my wings to propel myself a little higher just enough to clear the wall.

I landed on the other side without any problems and I wondered how the anti-flying barrier worked since it did not block me from jumping over it.

Was it only active at a certain height or can it detect that you're flying and prevent you from going over the wall?

Does this mean that people can just bring a tall ladder or even jump over the wall if they want to?𝗇𝓞𝑣𝖾𝓵𝞰𝖊xt.𝗰𝗈𝕞

Argh, why do I care anyway? I'm just here to bring the princess out for sweets! So eyes on the prize!

I strolled through the palace grounds and through the gardens, not even bothering to try and hide myself since there was no need for that yet.

Interestingly, I did not come across any guards even like this.

I did have to walk through the guard house to reach the tower and the guards inside were positioned in such a way that their backs were facing me, most likely on purpose.

I reached the bottom of the tower easily enough without anyone stopping me, though I was relatively surprised to see Aria there waiting for me.

Katsuki should have already told her about the plan but I thought she would just let it happen without meeting me at all.

"Good evening, Young Mistress Nilm. I assume you are here to sneak the princess out into the city?"

"Mmhmm… Are you going to stop me or something?"

"By the Gods, no. I am merely here just to pass this to Young Mistress Nilm."

She pulled out two small silver coins before handing it to me.

I looked down at what was basically two hundred Creas, "What's this for?"

"It's just spending money for you and the princess. Since Young Mistress Nilm is going out of your way to entertain our princess, it would be unthinkable that you have to bear the financial cost as well. Thus, please accept this as a token from the Royal Family as thanks."

"I mean… We're just going out for some sweets… I don't think we'll even spend an entire Crea in that shop… It's not for nobles you know? A cookie there is probably only one or two Decreas at most?"

She smiled, "As I said, this is also a token of our thanks for entertaining our Princess, Young Mistress Nilm."

I shrugged and pocketed the coins, "I'll accept it then. Shall I go pick up the Princess now?"

"Of course. We leave her in your care."

I sprouted my wings and leapt into the air, flying up to the balcony where I found the doors left wide open.

My feet touched the ground without a sound, yet the Princess must have been watching the balcony this entire time since she immediately rushed out from behind the doors to hug me.

"Big sister! You're here! You're here! Let's go!!"

So cute~

I pulled out the extra cloak that Katsuki had prepared for us, "Put this on first and I'll sneak you out~"

"Wow! Big sister prepared this for me? I'll definitely cherish this!!"

It's just a normal cloak to hide your face…

She quickly put on the cloak and even did a twirl in it, "How do I look, big sister? Do I look like you?"

As I said… It's just a brown piece of cloth with a hood that covers your face, Princess… But I humoured her anyway and nodded before pulling my own hood up over my head.

"You do, princess~ Now let's go before the cookies are all sold out. Are you ready to sneak out of here?"

"Yes! Let's go! Let's go!"

I picked the Princess up in a princess carry before leaping off the balcony.

Wait for us, sweets, we're coming for you!

Chapter 371 At The Cookie Shop With The Princess

C371 At The Cookie Shop With The Princess



With the princess in my arms, I 'snuck' through the gardens again to the gates, aiming to leave the same way I came.

This time, I did encounter a patrol of guards and they definitely spotted me since our eyes met. Though I'm not sure what they saw since I was wearing the mask and the hood as well.

Nevertheless, they quickly turned around and walked in the opposite direction to avoid us, pretending to not have seen us at all.

I managed to reach the wall and jump over it without any other fuss.

"Ehehe~ This is really exciting~" Tiara whispered, trying her best to keep her voice down despite having a big grin on her face.

"First time sneaking out?" I asked.

She nodded her head meekly, "I never dared to try… I always had Aria watching me and I was afraid that the bad people might try to eat me… But with big sister, I know that they won't stand a chance against you!"

I wonder where she got that confidence from? Did I ever show her my strength before? Or is it just because Odeta told her that I was stronger than she was?

Well, not that it matters right now since we're going to have sweets~

Since we were already past the palace walls, I thought that flying there would be an easier way to reach there.

"It might be a bit late to ask this since I leapt off the balcony with you earlier but… You're alright with heights, right?" I asked.

"Ehehe~ Of course! I lived in a tall tower since I was young after all, ehehe~"

I don't know if that is a good or bad thing…

Since she was ok with it, I leapt into the skies again, flapping my wings to generate the force needed to lift us into the night sky.

I quickly found the market street that the shop was located on and angled myself there, aiming to glide towards the shop leisurely.

In just barely a minute, we had reached the street and I landed a short distance away from the shop in an alleyway without a sound.

It was not that late in the night yet so the market was still open for the evening crowd.

I'm sure if I had landed out in the open, I would have drawn quite a bit of attention and the princess's identity might get exposed.

That's why I even made use of [Shadow Wall] to hide us in the darkness of the night while we were flying.

The princess got down from my arms, though she looked a little disappointed to do so.

"Aww… Why couldn't we fly for a little longer?"

I giggled, "Fufufu~ If my princess wishes to fly, I can always just bring you out to fly around above our estate the next time you come over."

She looked at me with sparkly eyes, "Can I? I wanna!"

"Ufufu~ One thing at a time ok? We have sweets first~"

"Oh that's right! Hurry big sister! Or else they're going to be sold out!!"

I made sure the both of us had our hoods up and our faces obscured properly before making our way towards the end of the street where the shop was.

There was already a small queue there, mostly of young ladies or couples queuing together.

Heck, there was even a guy with four girls hanging on his arms flirting with each other while in the queue. The other males were looking at him with glares of barely hidden envy and I'm just glad I had not thought of bringing Katsuki, Odeta, Delmare and Lisa along…𝓷𝒐𝗏𝑒𝐋𝐍𝗲xt.𝐂𝚘𝗆

That group was even making kissy faces at each other, though the fact that they did not actually kiss might mean they weren't that serious in their relationship yet.

Still, the fact that the guy had a harem was already proof that he was someone that was quite capable. Judging by the fashionable and classy clothes he was wearing, he's most likely some kind of noble too or at least quite wealthy.

Welp… Nothing to do with me so I just went ahead to queue up at the back of the line with the princess who was barely containing her excitement.

"Big sister! What should we get? Do you think their cookies will be as good as ours? Maybe we can ask them for the recipe and have our chefs make them?"

"Fufu~ I highly doubt that they will be willing to give away their recipes just like that."

"Ehhhh… I'm sure if big sister asked, they would be willing to!"

I actually believe her, but I don't think there's a need for that.

My boon, [Tastes Like Agony], would allow me to figure out what the food is made up of anyway so I could probably just tell them what the ingredients are and have them experiment with it.

Not to mention the fact that we have Trasif maids back at home so they would probably have an idea of this too.

The line was slowly moving forward and the guy went in with his harem, sparing us of the PDA they were displaying all this while.

But even now, there's still people joining the queue which made me a little worried that there might not be any more sweets when it's our turn.

"Hmph… So what if he has a harem, I'm not jealous…" The couple in front of us muttered.I think you should take a look at

Interestingly, it was a lesbian couple and it was the shorter girl who muttered that.

The taller one turned to her, "Oh? Do you want a harem of your own too, dear?"

The short girl panicked, "Ah! I'm just saying it! I don't actually want one!"

"Hoooo~ That's good, because if you do, I might just stop sitting on your face."

"Ahhh! Please don't! I really am not jealous! I'll get you two desserts from the shop! Please continue sitting on my face!"

"Ehehe~ You really do spoil me dear~ Then better be prepared for tonight~"

That's an interesting couple…

"Big sister… Do you want me to sit on your face too?" The princess asked innocently.

"No, I don't have that fetish."

"What's a 'fetish'?"

"Hehe… I'll tell you when you are older~"

"Aww… No fair big sister…"

"Now, now, it's almost our turn to get cookies~ Do you know how many you want to get?"

She raised her arms in a cheering pose, "All of them!"

Hahaha~ I guess maybe I really do need the two hundred Creas after all~

Soon enough, it was our turn to enter the store. It seems like most people are just here to buy the sweets to go instead of actually eating inside the shop itself.

I can see why since the inside of the store was pretty much packed full of people. Every single seat was taken and even the harem group from before had to stand in a corner to eat the sweets they have purchased.

That still did not stop them from flirting with each other as they fed each other the pastries and desserts while standing up and holding the plates in their hands.

I wonder why they could not just do it somewhere else? Maybe at home, you know?

Then again, there was a futa and female couple right next to them that were literally having sex while enjoying the desserts.

People are weird…

I guess the fact that we were the only people here that were wearing hooded cloaks that covered our features makes us one of the weird ones too so I'll just keep my comments to myself.

The princess ran up to the counter that had a whole variety of sweets out on display and pressed herself against it.

"Big sister! Big sister!! Look! Look! They have so many sweets and cookies!!"

I went up behind her and peered inside and sure enough, they really did have a lot of sweets.

Some of them I recognised from the sweets that Mary and Heria had made before but there was a good number that looked to be new.

Good, that means I get to enjoy something new here, though that also means that I have indeed been eating Trasif sweets without even knowing.

"Oh, there really is a lot. Which one do you want?" I asked.

She quickly went to the cookies section, "This one! And that one! Erm… That one too! And this one! This one! This entire row and that one!"

The male assistant behind the counter raised an eyebrow at me, silently questioning if the little girl was serious.

I gave him a nod and he shrugged, his hands deftly moving to pack the cookies that the princess had requested into a bag.

In the end, she pretty much ordered two of each type of cookies that they had.

Then it was my turn…

"I want whatever she just ordered plus that cake, those puddings… Umm… That sweet roll and those treats… Ah, give me that entire roll of sweets too~"

They all look so good, ok?! I can't help but want to try everything! Plus I came all the way here so why shouldn't I try everything?!

Mmmm~ I can't wait to eat them all~

…

Hmm? I just realised that things got quiet?

Eh? Why is everyone in the store looking at us like that? Did something happen?

Chapter 372 You Need Good Management Skills To Have Harem?

C372 You Need Good Management Skills To Have Harem?



The assistant behind the counter raised an eyebrow at me, "Are you saying that all of that is just for yourself?"

I tilted my head at him, "Yes, is there something wrong?"𝒏𝗈𝑽𝑒𝓁𝒏𝔢xt.𝓬𝑂𝓶

He frowned at me, "You do know that these have to be consumed today right?"

"That was my plan, yes. What about it?"

Also, that's not true if you have a fridge at home. Though I suppose normal families in this World might not have one since they require Mana Crystals infused with Cryo magic to function which makes them quite costly to maintain.

He must think I'm one of those who doesn't have one, but why should he care?

He looked back down at the counter, "You just ordered enough sweets to feed everyone here… Are you sure you're not just wasting our time right now?"

That is an odd thing to say…

"Are you thinking that I can't pay or something?" I asked.

The assistant shook his head, "Money is not the issue here, we would rather you not waste the food that were specially made for today and everyone else have been looking forward to trying."

I huffed, "What are you talking about? I'm not planning to waste any of it, I'm eating all of it!"

"Including the ones the child had ordered?"

"Huh? Those are for her only. I also want my own sweets, you know?"

"You're telling me that the two of you can eat as much as the share of everyone here?"

"I don't understand where you're coming from, this is the amount that we would usually eat on a daily basis. In fact, we eat even more than this."

He raised an eyebrow, "You eat… More than this… On a daily basis?"

"Yes? What's so surprising about that?"

"You've basically just ordered the same amount as what everyone before you had ordered combined… You're telling me that both of you can eat all of these by yourselves?"

"Yes? Seriously, what's it to you? I can afford it and I want them all. I don't get why you're making such a big fuss over this?"

He sighed, "This event at our shop happens only once every few years… The ingredients needed to make our sweets are transported directly from the forest of Elhiria Republic itself. Once this event is over, the next time this might happen is in another two or three years… Everyone around here is a regular and they know the worth of all the sweets here. If you are just buying all of that to taste a little before tossing them out, I would implore that you leave."

I huffed, "I already told you I am fully intent on eating everything I just ordered here and, as a sweets lover, I would very much appreciate it if you stop insulting me by suggesting that I would not even finish all the sweets I ordered."

He looked like he was about to say something again when the guy with his harem showed up beside me, "Now, now. There's no need for a fight, I have a solution for this. Why don't you just set aside what she has ordered and let her take them one by one. So whatever she is unable to finish doesn't go to waste? Would that be agreeable with the both of you?"

Oh~ That's actually not that bad of an idea, this guy has experience resolving conflicts I see. Maybe that came from managing his harem.

The shop assistant grumbled but started to set aside the sweets that I had ordered to be served.

I nodded, "I'm fine with that, but I sure hope you don't expect me to serve myself because that would break my immersion in the sweets."

The young man flashed me a grin, "Don't worry about that. If you would allow me, I would be happy to serve the sweets to you while you eat~"

I tilted my head at him, "Why are you even doing this? We don't even know each other."

"Haha~ My girls really love sweets you see, so I thought you also like sweets too. And I would be a terrible man if I were to let someone like you miss out on these special sweets."

I narrowed my eyes at him and used my [Screened].

[Name: Fred

Title: Sweets Harem, Sweets Connoisseur

Race: Mahun

Gender: Male

Current Mood: Intrigued

Stats:

350 Strength

100 Dexterity

240 Endurance

150 Magic

Skills:

Noble Etiquette (Tier 1), Leadership (Tier 2), Tracking (Tier 1), Hunting (Tier 1), Martial Skill-(Sword Proficiency (Tier 2), Spear Proficiency (Tier 1), Unarmed Proficiency (Tier 2))]

Magic Skills:

ƥandasnovel·ƈom Pyromancy (Tier 2)]

As I thought, he's quite capable though it seems I was wrong about him being a noble.

'Sweets connoisseur' huh? Guess he must also like sweets himself and saw me as a fellow sweets lover?

Unless he believes I'm some girl who likes sweets and he's trying to use this as a way to pick me up?I think you should take a look at

Too bad for him but I'm not interested, though that doesn't mean I won't accept his offer to help me with this though.

He turned back to address the people seated at the tables, "Is there anyone who would be willing to let them take a seat? Surely we would all want to see this for ourselves, right?"

A pair of girls seated at the side giggled before raising their hands and vacating their seats.

Oh wow, I thought for sure that everyone would just ignore him.

"Big sister is so cool~" Tiara whispered beside me.

No, no, I didn't do anything Princess… It's all on Fred here.

I took Tiara with me to take a seat at the table and Fred even got his harem to help bring the sweets to my table with him.

I was eyeing the girls with him warily but instead of being upset or jealous like I thought they would be, they seemed more amused by the situation than pissed. Maybe they already know that Fred would do something like this because it has happened before?

But whatever, that's not my concern now because… Sweets!!!

Ahhhh~ I knew it, these are so goooooood~

Even these cookies, the way they blend the fruits, the dough and the sugar… Mmmmnnnnn!! And there's also so many varieties too!

Ahhhh~ They just keep coming!!

And oooohhh~ The pudding and the fruit tarts are absolutely delicious!

The transition between the crunchy cookies and the soft pastries and puddings also made my mouth explode with happiness~

Everything is just melting together in a pool of sweetness~

Ahhhh~ This is bliss~

I licked my fingers clean before I let out a sigh of contentment.

At the same time, Tiara also slumped back in her chair and let out the same contented sigh.

Everything was cleared out and not even crumbs remained on our plates.

"How was it?" I asked.

"It's sooooo goood, big sister~ Ehehehe~"

I smiled at her before remembering where I was and looked around us, only to see everyone else staring back at us with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Umm… What is it this time? Am I not supposed to eat them like how I ate them? Was there an order I messed up or what?"

The shop assistant from before had crossed over the counter to do a ninety degree bow towards me, "Please accept my sincerest apologies!!"

Huh? Why is he… Oh, right. I actually completely forgot about our interaction from before after I started enjoying the sweets.

That's how good the sweets were!

I dabbed at my lips delicately with a napkin before waving my hand at him, "I don't care about that anymore. The sweets are indeed really nice and I can see why there's so many people who like them. How much do I owe you?"

The assistant remained in his bowing position, "D… Dear customer does not need to pay… The… The person from before already paid for you…"

Oh?

I quickly looked around but realised Fred was nowhere to be found.

The shop assistant must have realised that I was looking for him and spoke up, "He had already left after he paid for you… He told me to pass a message to you however…"

I nodded at him to go ahead.

He sucked in a breath, "He said that he really enjoyed watching you eat sweets and he hopes that he would be able to meet you again without your disguise one day."

Hmm… Well I doubt that's going to happen… In fact I don't think I'll even meet him again after this.

Well, the fact that we don't even need to pay for this was unexpected. I suppose he must be pretty loaded to be able to just arbitrarily pay for the meal of someone else they just met.

Well, this was a pretty interesting outing I would say. I was definitely not expecting our little expedition outside the palace to find sweets to end up like this.

I looked back at the assistant, "So… You said that your ingredients from this event comes directly from the Elhiria Republic right?"

He nodded, "Yes… Is… Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, no. I'm just wondering why it takes a few years to even have those delivered here."

"Ah… Umm… That's because that's how long before the Elhiria Republic is willing to trade with outsiders. They aren't exactly that open to outside trading…"

Ah… I hope that won't be a problem when I decide to go visit them, I do want to go there and explore after all…

That also made me wonder if Mary just gathers her ingredients by herself?

I know for sure that she was using the same ingredients since my boon told me so.

Oh well, maybe I'll ask her when I get back~

Chapter 373 Ambush For The Princess?

C373 Ambush For The Princess?



After enjoying the sweets at the shop, we got attacked on our way back and the princess was kidnapped.

…

Just kidding.

With so many people watching over her, I would be surprised if anything even happened to her.

That's why after our visit to the sweets shop, I simply brought her back to the palace, jumped over the wall, and then flew over to the top of the tower to deposit her safely on her balcony.

"Ehehe~ I had a lot of fun today, big sister! There's so many interesting things out there!" Tiara giggled.

"Fufufu~ When you get stronger, you can go out and explore it however you like too~"

"I can't wait! Then I would be able to eat all the sweets I want!"

She was so cute so I couldn't help but went to pat her head.

"E… Eh?"

I hurriedly withdrew my hand, "Ah! I'm sorry! I just acted without thinking!"

Is it a crime for me to touch the Princess's head? Is it considered disrespectful? Arrghhh! I don't know!

But the fact that Tiara seemed surprised by me doing that was enough to tell me that it was definitely not something that she expected me to do…

Don't tell me there's some kind of weird custom in regards to touching the heads of princesses?

Tiara's hands went up to her head, "Ehehe… It's ok, big sister. Your hand is warm~ Can you do that again?"

Oh.

Well since she asked for it…

I patted her head, making the princess squirm cutely as she enjoyed the head pats I was giving her.

Ahhhhh~ Her reactions are just so cuuuuute!!

I even had her sit down on my lap and let me headpat her for a good long while. Plus, she's even making purring noises! She's so cute~

It took me a while before I recovered enough to pull myself away and wish the princess a good night. If I didn't, I might just end up spending the night here patting her…

Too dangerous… So I quickly jumped out from the balcony to land below on my feet.

"Thank you for tonight, Young Mistress Nilm," Aria bowed, apparently having been waiting under the balcony all this while.

"Oh, hello Aria. It's no big deal, I had fun with her as well~"

The maid straightened herself before looking at me seriously, "I see… Young Mistress Nilm, would you consider marrying the princess?"

ραndαsΝοvεl.cοm …

Huh?

I blinked at her, "Wait, wait… Did you just… Why the sudden leap to marriage?!"

"Is the princess perhaps not to Young Mistress Nilm's liking?"

"I… It's not like I hate her but I see her more like a little sister than a romantic interest?"

The maid tilted her head, "Didn't you have fun with the princess?"

"Err… I did, but what does that have to do with anything?"

She sighed, "Young Mistress Nilm, you may be experienced but the princess has lived a sheltered life. She is not used to such things so I dare say that her heart might be quite fragile and would not recover if you were to break it. I would suggest that if you do not intend to pursue her that way, do refrain from doing such things in the future and let her down gently."

"Doing such things? Is… Is there something wrong with head pats?"

Now it was the maid's turn to blink at me.

"Head… Pats? Did you… Spend the last forty minutes just head patting the princess in her room?"

"Oh what? I was in there for forty minutes?! I didn't even take note of the time! Oh, and err… I guess you got the wrong idea but I did not have sex with her… I only just head patted her, honest."

Aria quickly got on her knees with her head pressed against the ground, "Please forgive my rudeness, Young Mistress Nilm!! I beg that you punish only me for my mistake!!"

"Err… I'm not mad… I'm just surprised. Did I… Did I look like I was pursuing the princess romantically?"

"I… I had assumed…"

I giggled, "Well, I admit that the princess is cute but I prefer more mature girls."

"I see… Then in that case… It's… It's not much since I'm sure the maids in the Nilm Family are no doubt better than I… But if you would accept me…"

The maid in front of me started stripping her maid uniform and I had to hurriedly stop her.𝓷𝚘𝐕𝑬𝓵𝚗𝖾xt.𝚌𝑂𝑀

"Wait, wait! I don't have any intention of doing that with you! Ack! I don't mean you're unattractive to the point that I don't have any interest, but I really don't mind that mistake… Also, I'm not really into coerced sex…"I think you should take a look at ραΠdαsnovel.cοm

"I… I see… I apologise for my mistake once again, Young Mistress Nilm. Would it help if I said that I am attracted to you?"

I smiled wryly, "How could you when you don't even know what I really look like?"

"Fufu… I suppose that is a good point. In that case, I thank Young Mistress Nilm for your benevolence."

"Mnn… Don't mention it. I suppose I should return home now since it's a little late."

"Of course, Young Mistress Nilm. Please be careful on your way home."

I thanked her again before leaving the palace.

What? It's true that I don't really have a thing for coerced sex… I would prefer that both parties enjoy it if they were doing it.

Outside the gates, I found Katsuki waiting there for me.

"Oh, hello Katsuki. Thank you for your help tonight~ I didn't even notice anyone following us."

"You honour me, Mistress. I am glad that you enjoyed yourself tonight."

I tapped my chin with a finger, "But… Hmm… Could I know where you were all stationed? I legitimately can't find anyone around us the whole night."

Katsuki seemed to hesitate for a moment, "Is Mistress alright with not knowing?"

Hmm… I'm guessing this is for security reasons? Or maybe it's so that I won't be too conscious of them?

I shrugged, "It's fine then. If it's better for me to not know about it then…"

"No, Mistress… I fear that you may start seeing the people around you as one of us even if that may not be the case…"

"Eh… Does that… Does that mean there were some of them that were close enough to interact with me?"

Katsuki fell silent after that, which kind of confirmed it.

Oh… Ok… Maybe I really shouldn't have asked, because now I'm wondering if Fred was one of the butlers in our mansion now… But I've never seen him around before so I doubt it…

Ok, I'm just going to stop thinking about it now.

"I'm good now, Katsuki. Shall we go back?"

Katsuki gestured to the side, "Of course, Mistress. The carriage is already prepared."

I looked to where she was pointing and sure enough, the carriage was waiting there with Sebastian seated on the coachman's seat.

"Oh… I even you got involved with this, Sebastian?"

"Please do not worry about it, Young Mistress. This is natural. How could I not when it involves the Young Mistress?"

Ugh…. Now I feel a little bad… It's like I made them work extra hours just for my wants…

Oh well, what's done is done, I guess I'll have to be more careful about this in the future… Or do I need to? I could technically just be selfish can't I?

Whoops, dangerous line of thinking over there… Best not to dwell on that…

After all, I won't want to keep relying on others for this either since I would want to go out and explore the World on my own once I graduate from school.

Katsuki reached up to open the door for me when Sebastian suddenly leapt off the carriage to stand in front of me protectively.

I was just about to ask what happened when several shadowy figures appeared from the ground to form into humanoid shapes.

Oh what the heck, I'm actually being attacked? In front of the palace gates no less?

Look, the palace guards had also unsheathed their weapons, though they remained at their own posts instead of rushing out.

Katsuki had also turned around to face the shadowy figures with her knives in her hands, also standing in front of me to protect me as well.

"Mistress, please enter the carriage, we will take care of this."

"It's ok, I can fight too! [Spotlight]!"

I casted the light magic that illuminated the area the figures were, causing them to recoil as though the light burned them.

At first I thought their features could not be seen purely because of how dark the area they were standing on was, but that was not the case since even with the light shining on them, their features could not be seen like it was made up of a mass of darkness.

I would have thought they were [Shadow Summons] too but I don't remember my summons actually being affected by the light like this before so I don't think this is what's going on here.

They were even making some hissing sounds before one of them flung its arms at me which shot a black arrow aimed at my head.

I was ready to block it but Sebastian had simply punched his fist forward, generating a wall of air from the force of the punch alone which obliterated the arrow apart like it was made of tofu.

The figures then made another inhuman… Or rather, inmahun shriek before disappearing back into the ground.

Ok… What was that?

Chapter 374 The Curse Is Real

C374 The Curse Is Real



The attack was reported to Mother early the next morning and I'm sure the king and queen were also informed about the event in front of their gates.

I was seated on Mother's lap while Mother hugged me from behind as we sat in her office.

"Ooh my poor, poor child… It must have been so scary for you…" She cooed.

It's not like I've never fought monsters before, Mother… Plus I had Katsuki and Sebastian with me…

"So… Do we know who or what those things were?" I asked Mary who was standing on the other side of the table, letting Mother rub her cheek on the back of my head.

Mary shook her head, "Unfortunately, we do not have any information on it yet. We are also not sure if they were targeting Young Mistress or the Third Princess."

"Well… They don't look or even sound like Mahuns… Especially when I shone the light on them… And the thing they threw at me was not magic was it?" I pointed out.

Sebastian also shook his head, "I did not hear any spells being chanted when it attacked you, Young Mistress, so I believe it was at least not a type of magic casting we are familiar with."

So he's not ruling out that that thing might just be using another way of casting magic like myself.

"Are they perhaps… Summons like Mistress's?" Katsuki suggested.

Sebastian turned to her, "Those things displayed some levels of intelligence, especially with how they reacted to the Lumenmancy magic that Young Mistress casted, which leads me to believe that they are most likely not. But I cannot rule out the possibility either."

Mary raised her hand, "If I am allowed to speculate, I believe this might have something to do with the prophecy of the princess?"

Sebastian gave her a side eye, "Might the Head Maid be suggesting that they were demons?"

𝓷𝒪𝐯𝔢𝓛𝐧𝞮xt.𝐜𝑶𝓂

"Perhaps not demons, but maybe something that is related to them. I would guess that the prophecy might be pointing to a cult of sorts that is looking to strike a bargain with a demon or were delusional enough to think they can control it. Those things might be some kind of monster they managed to control which caused them to have those delusions."

Ugh, I knew I should have just used [Screened] on them first…

I sighed, "Don't tell me I'm going to need to be escorted all around the place again?"

Mother hugged me tighter, "Ara, ara? Did my little one not like that?"

"I don't really hate it… But I would prefer I don't need to have an escort like that all the time…"

"Ufufufu~ If my little one does not want it, then there's no need for that~"

Eh? Really? I was so sure that Mother would insist I have a guard at all times like before. I wonder what changed? Or maybe there's something else that I don't know?

Oh well, I definitely would prefer that to having someone constantly guarding me all the time…

Of course, I have nothing against Katsuki accompanying me, but not when the others are also around to watch over me and follow me wherever I go…

Sort of like Tiara's situation with Aria I suppose… Which I found a little ironic since she was stuck with such a situation from the start.

Sebastian squared his shoulders, "This still does not make the current situation any better I'm afraid. We now know that the prophecy for the Third Princess might very well be happening right now and Young Mistress has become involved in it too."

I tilted my head slightly, "I'm surprised you're not asking me to just cut ties with the princess…"

Mother patted my head, "Ufufufu~ Like I said earlier my little one~ We would always place my dearest child's wants over everything else~ Does my little one want to cut ties with the princess?"

"Umm… No?"

I would feel quite bad for her if that happens, especially considering what I was trying to help her achieve right now…

In the first place, I got acquainted with her because of our mutual love for sweets. Then I wanted to help her with her so-called curse by helping her gain the strength needed to take control of her own fate.

Now that we know the threat was very real and might even happen very soon, I should be doubling down on my efforts to help her instead of cutting her off.

What do I gain from all of this?

Hey! I look out for my fellow sweet lovers ok?! Especially when they are really cute!

Plus, I have her to thank for introducing me to that store! I'm not that ungrateful to forget about something like that!I think you should take a look at ραΠdαsnovel.cοm

"Is there something we can do? Find out where they came from and maybe destroy this cult that is targeting the princess, maybe?" I asked.

ραndαsΝοvεl.cοm Mary seemed to think for a moment, "We would need to utilise every possible connection in our information network… But without any clues, it would be difficult to even get any results…"

"What if… We use the Princess as a bait?" Katsuki suggested.

Everyone turned to look at my Inugami maid.

"As bait you say? You would say to use the princess, the Third Princess of the Lehcarouc Kingdom, the one that the King and Queen dotes on, as bait?" Sebastian reiterated.

She nodded, "That would help us draw out the perpetrators, wouldn't it? Besides, if it ensures Mistress's safety, there is no better reason not to do it."

Err… Katsuki? You're really suggesting to make use of someone from the Royal Family as bait just to protect me? I don't even know what I should say to that? What does Mother think?

"Ufufufu~ Little Katsuki has become quite a capable maid of my little one hasn't she?" Mother giggled.

Right… I should have known that Mother would be happy about it instead.

But since I don't hate Tiara and didn't want her to summer unnecessarily, I went ahead to ask Katsuki, "Ummm… How are you planning to use her as bait?"

"It's simple, Mistress. You just need to bring her out on another date again and we will catch the perpetrators this time."

Oh.

Sorry, but when she said about using the princess as bait, I thought she meant to have the princess tied up and set outside to let the enemies come get her while we wait in the bushes or something…

Well, I guess my concerns were unfounded then.

Mary lifted a finger, "If Young Mistress does not mind, I can suggest that you take the princess around on a gourmet trip to enjoy the various sweets shops in the capital. We shall deal with any of those demon followers if they show up."

"That sounds like a great idea and all but… Would the King and Queen even accept this idea?"

"Ara, ara? We are helping them free the princess of the curse by dealing with the threat and also fulfilling their little princess's wish of wanting to be free as well. If anything, they would be leaping at this chance, my little one~"

Oh right, they would basically be having our family take care of the princess for free.

But this is still a good plan! I get to go and enjoy sweets with the princess and not need to worry about a thing! I don't even need to pretend to sneak her out this time! This would be great!

Katsuki continued, "If Mistress is keen on the plan, shall I draft a letter inviting the princess on another date?"

Mary inclined her head, "I shall also write a letter to the King and Queen to explain to them of our intent as well."

"Ara, ara? My little one is going on a date with the cute princess~ Ufufufu~"

I want to say it's not a date but ugh… I'll let them have this one since they seem so happy about it for some reason. It did help take away the depressing feeling that was hanging over them at the start so I can't complain.

They've already begun discussing which shops that I should go to and even what kind of clothes I should wear.

"Since we do not need to go incognito this time to draw them out, we can dress up my little one as much as we want~" Mother giggled while rubbing her face against my cheek. "I wonder what shall we do with your hair this time? Maybe we should do a braid? Or curl it? Ufufufu~ Just leave this to Mama!"

"I shall prepare the dresses for your choosing as well, Mistress." Katsuki offered.

We're not even going out today and they want to prepare for it right now… They really are excited about this I see…

I bet all this is just an excuse so that they could dress me up…

Well… I have to admit that that is fun in its own way but they can go a little bit overboard at times… And I feel that this little 'date' with the Princess where I would need to go out in public with her would present them the perfect opportunity for them to go as far as they want to…

Maybe I should just back out of the plan right now?

But sweets… Ughh…. Do it for the sweets…