Chapter 5: Even if this Love was Prearranged(3)

MISTERLP

When I was with Naden, relaxing in her cave, reading books, or watching

broadcasts on her simplified receiver, it reminded me of life in my old

world. If I have Naden with me, I feel like it'll keep me from losing sight

of who I once was."

I looked Liscia straight in the eye as I spoke.

"Besides, though Naden's birth and abilities may be special, she's an

incredibly ordinary girl."

"Whoa, Souma!" Naden objected.

But I hadn't meant that in a bad way. The way she laughed, cried, dealt

with her complexes, sulked, fell in love... There couldn't have been many

girls in this era who were so girly.

"I find that ordinariness charming," I said. "So... I'm sure I can love

her."

"I see..." Liscia cast her eyes downward, looking as if she was

considering something. Then, when she looked up again, she turned to

Naden. "I know how Souma feels now. So... Naden, it's your turn."

"O-Okay!" Naden burst out.

Liscia nodded, then turned back to me. "Souma, could you give Naden

and me some time alone now?"

Alone... Huh? She wanted to interview Naden privately?!

"That's..."

"Roroa, Juna, take care of Souma," Liscia directed.

Roroa and Juna took me firmly by the arms. I tried to shake them off,

but they definitely weren't letting go.

"Well, this's an order from the future first primary queen, after all, so

there ain't much else we can do about it," Roroa said.

"Hee hee," Juna giggled. "I suppose not. We have no other choice

here."

They said they had no choice, but didn't they kind of seem to be

enjoying it?!

When I looked to Hakuya for help...

"It seems this is a family discussion, so I'll take my leave," was all he

said before quickly leaving the room.

He ran away?!

Liscia took Naden's hand and started to walk away from us. "Now

then, Naden, it's a bit awkward to do this here, so let's go back to my

room. Oh, but before that... How about a bath first?" Liscia added, running

her fingers through Naden's long black hair.

"Huh? A bath?"

"Your hair's all tangled. As a girl, you need to take better care of it.

Come, I'll wash it for you."

"Huh? We're going together? Huh?"

Dragging Naden, who was at a total loss for what was happening, along

with her, Liscia left the room. I tried to stop her, but Juna and Roroa pulled

on me hard.

"No, sire, you can't do that. It's best to let girls work these things out

themselves."

"Leave this to Big Sister Cia, darlin'. You stay right here for Nadie's

sake."

"Juna, Roroa..." I said slowly.

It seemed like everyone had Naden's best interests in mind. I was

happy to see them doing their best to accept her, even if it might have left

them with complicated feelings. However, Roroa and Juna's smiles had an

intimidating edge that left no room for dispute.

"Before that, we're gonna make you tell us what happened between

you and Nadie in the Star Dragon Mountain Range, and why she likes you

so darn much!" Roroa shouted.

"You won't be getting any sleep tonight, so prepare yourself," Juna

added.

"...Go easy on me, please," I sighed.

Sorry, Naden. Please, do your best on your end.

◇ ◇ ◇

"How is it? You're not itchy anywhere, are you?"

"I-I'm fine..."

I'm Naden. I was currently in a bath, being washed by Lady Liscia.

S-Someone, explain this situation to me!

To calm myself down, I reviewed a little of the situation so far.

In order to form a dragon knight (or, in my case, would it be a ryuu

knight?) contract with Kazuma, I had come to the Kingdom of Friedonia

where he lived. But I'd been hit with the shocking revelation that

Kazuma's real name was Souma Kazuya, and he was the king (but he

wasn't crowned yet, so only provisionally).

By the time I had landed in the courtyard of Parnam Castle, which,

while it obviously wasn't as impressive as Lady Tiamat's Crystal Castle,

was still respectable, I'd been led into the castle by saluting guards. I met

Lady Liscia, the foremost of Kazuma... no, Souma's fiancées, who was

therefore the future queen of this country. I was so confused I felt like I

didn't even know who I was anymore.

Then, Souma had said he wanted to take me as one of his queens.

"U-Um... I look forward to working with you."

I'd managed to muster that much of a response, and to bow, but the

inside of my head was utter chaos.

Huh? Was it really okay for me to marry Souma like this? I'd dreamed

of marrying a knight, but Souma was a king, you know?

Sure, there were dragons out there who had married Nothung royalty.

But we were talking about Friedonia, a country that had stood shoulder-toshoulder with the Empire up until now. Was it really okay for me to

become a queen there?

While my mind was still swirling...

"I know how Souma feels now. Next... Naden, it's your turn."

One of his fiancées, Lady Liscia, who they said was going to be the

first primary queen, spoke to me.

She was a princess with pretty, platinum blonde hair, wearing a

brilliant red military uniform. She looked to be about eighteen years old,

but had a dignified air about her.

I'd stood up straight and replied, "O-Okay!"

Lady Liscia had stared right at my face, then nodded for some reason

and said, "Souma, could you give Naden and me some time alone now?"

Huh? Time alone? The candidate to become first primary queen and

me? Wh-What was I going to do?

Was I going to be called "You thieving cat!" like the homewrecker in

that one romance novel I'd read before? No, since I was a ryuu, maybe it

would be, "You thieving ryuu!" But ryuus had more of an image as

protectors, so... Wait, that didn't matter right now!

"Now then, Naden, it's a bit awkward to do this here, so let's go back

to my room. Oh, but before that... How about a bath first?" Lady Liscia

had said, and before I knew it, I was being led off to the bath.

And that was how I'd gotten here.

I was buck naked, and an equally naked Lady Liscia was washing my

hair for me. Lady Liscia's clear, white skin made even my heart race,

despite being a member of the same gender. I was sitting with my legs in a

"W" position, while Lady Liscia stood on her knees behind me, scrubbing

my long black hair. While her chest might not have been as large as the

blue-haired lady's, I could feel her very pretty swells pressing against the

back of my head.

...Yeah, I needed to say it in my head one more time...

Someone, explain this situation to me!

What in the world was going on here? I had the candidate to become

Friedonia's first primary queen washing my hair for some reason.

I turned to Lady Liscia and hesitantly asked, "Um, Lady Liscia? If I

may ask, why exactly are you washing me...?"

"Because your hair was a mess, that's why. You've got good material

to work with, so you should pay better attention to your appearance...

Well, not that I was one to talk, until recently, at least."

"I-I see..."

Pai said something similar before, hadn't she?

Then Liscia grinned. "Also, you can just call me Liscia."

"I couldn't. You're going to be the queen of this country in the future,

aren't you?"

"You came here to become one, too, didn't you? Souma seems to be

charmed by how normal you are, so I'd be happy if you would treat me

like you would a friend. Okay, close your eyes now."

"Ah...!"

I closed my eyes when she said that, and then she poured a bucket of

hot water over my head. The soap suds that were stuck to my head were

washed away, and my hair clung tightly to my skin. I shook my head

vigorously.

When she saw me do that, Lady Liscia... Liscia gave me a wonderful

smile.

"You're like Tomoe when you do that."

"Tomoe?"

"My adopted little sister. She's an eleven-year-old mystic wolf girl, and

she's just the cutest."

"Really? I might want to meet her, then..."

"If you marry Souma, she'll be like your little sister, too. Be nice to

her."

While talking about things like that, we got into the tub. It was a large,

round tub, and three women could have fit into it easily. While I was still

feeling tense, I sunk myself into the water.

"Just so you know, this bath is exclusively for members of the king's

family," Liscia, who was soaking in the water across from me, explained.

"I often bathe here with Aisha, Juna, Roroa, and Tomoe."

"Family... D-Does Souma come in here with you, too, sometimes?" My

heart raced at the thought.

Liscia shook her head with a wry laugh. "Souma says, 'We're lucky

enough to have a nice big tub in the castle, so I'd rather use that one,' so

he's always going to the bathing area used by the castle guards. He plans

his trips there around when there won't be many people there."

"I-I see..."

"Did you want to get in this tub with Souma, Naden?" Liscia teased.

"No! I think I'd still be a little... embarrassed..." Burble, burble.

Wait, what did I mean, "still"?! Hold on! I know I was the one who

said it, but that was way too embarrassing!

I sank my face half way into the water. Liscia watched me with a smile.

"Naden... You wanted to form a dragon knight contract with Souma,

right? That basically means you want to be his wife..."

"...Yeah."

"What made you decide you wanted to marry Souma?"

Liscia was looking me straight in the eye. The look on her face was a

gentle one, but she wouldn't look away, and was trying to thoroughly

evaluate what kind of person I was. Even if I gave her a nice-sounding

answer to get into her good graces, she'd see through me in no time.

That's why I straightened my back and answered with my honest

feelings.

"Because... Souma showed me the me I had never known!" I decided to

stand up in the tub, and hit her with exactly how I felt. "He taught me that

I was a type of dragon called a ryuu. He taught me how to fly. He taught

me what I always wanted to know, about what sort of being I am. That's

why I want to be with Souma, the one who understands me! I want to be

the dragon Souma rides!"

"I heard all of that in Souma's explanation," Liscia said quietly. "But

can you say with certainty that those feelings are your own? Madam

Tiamat was the one who sent Souma to your side, wasn't she?"

She'd hit upon a sore point. But... if I backed down here, what kind of

woman would I be?

I brought my hand to my chest, then looked straight back into her eyes.

"You're right, Madam Tiamat may have arranged for Souma and me to

meet. But, I can say without a doubt, my desire to be with Souma is

entirely my own."

Liscia's eyes went wide when she heard my once-in-a-lifetime

confession.

I turned the question on Liscia. "Or what... Are you going to tell me

that a love that starts out prearranged by someone else isn't real love?"

I felt a little sad as I said it.

Liscia leaned forward hard, sinking the upper half of her body into the

water with a splash. She stayed like that, with nothing more than bubbles

rising to the surface. Was it about ten seconds that she stayed under? I got

worried, so I called out to her.

"U-Um... Liscia?"

"Bwah!"

With a loud splash, Liscia came back up. Wh-What was that?! I sat

back down in the tub, and Liscia shook the water from her hair, scratching

at her cheek awkwardly.

"Sorry. Your confession there made me feel a little embarrassed

myself."

"Wha?! What are you saying, Liscia?!"

"Like I said, sorry. But you had the perfect comeback there. Is a love

that starts out prearranged by someone else not real love? If you put it that

way, mine was the same, and I don't think any of the others could argue

with you, either. I mean, all of our meetings were arranged in some way."

Liscia smiled as if indulging in fond memories.

"My betrothal to Souma was something my parents just went and did

without consulting me. When my father, the former king, abdicated in

favor of Souma, he announced our betrothal as a way of cementing

Souma's legitimacy. It was so sudden that, at the time, I got really upset

and stormed into my father's room."

"R-Really?"

I was surprised to learn Souma and Liscia's relationship had started

that way. Especially after seeing how deeply they trusted one another.

"It's not just me. She's not here right now, but the candidate to become

second primary queen, Aisha, came to make a direct appeal to Souma so

that he'd do something for her homeland. Juna, the one with the blue hair,

was a spy sent by the current commander-in-chief of the National Defense

Force, Excel, to judge whether Souma was fit to be king. Roroa, the one

who talks in merchant slang, was formerly the princess of a hostile

country, you know? She decided to marry Souma to force him to look after

her people, who were impoverished and suffering from food scarcity."