Chapter 99: You Can Just Visit
As Nii-sama said, or rather, told me, “You were the one who told us to trick them.” Nevertheless, everyone played the fool splendidly. I’m sure Bart and the others felt something, but they dealt with it by asking Wester what had happened. Alistair was prone to worrying, so I thought he was going to burst into the room straight away, but apparently Gill had stopped him.
“Al should calm down a little.”
“You’re the one who should calm down a little, right Gill?” They said to each other. Even so, they became friends overnight. They’re already calling each other by their nicknames. I’ll try it too.
“Aw.”
“Lei.”
Alistair pitifully stared at me.
“It feels strange when you call me that, Lei. Won’t you call me as you always have?”
“Awishthair.”
“Yup, that’s good.”
Alistair looked at me, smiled and took my hand like he always did and started walking. We had to attend our audience with the King now.
“Wait.”
“Huh?”
Nii-sama quietly separated our linked hands.
“I’ll take her.”
Honestly, I didn’t care who took me, but sparks were flying above me. How troublesome, I thought, and Mill came and lifted me up.
“Stop dawdling. Now, let’s go.”
This person really doesn’t care about social status or the situation. But, we were finally able to move thanks to him.
“Now, we’ve already finished our job at Wester, so let’s go back to Kingdom after we greet the King. We can’t go back today, so let’s go tomorrow,” Nii-sama muttered next to me. I can meet Otou-sama if we return quickly. But…
“Whath abouth Awishthair?”
“Me? I…”
Alistair looked down.
“Oh, yes. We took a lot of time to try to get along, that we didn’t really talk about Al’s future.”
Gill put his hand to his forehead as if he’d made a blunder.
“I…!”
Alistair looked up at Gill and then looked at me in surprise.
“Awishthair, Lei’sh oway. Chu can do whath you wanth.”
“I… don’t want to go to Kingdom. But, Lei…” Alistair said before looking down again, and I felt like I heard him mutter, “I don’t want to be separated.”
I don’t either. With Alistair, nor Bart and his crew. But, Bart and his crew live as hunters, and Alistair doesn’t want to come to Kingdom. Even if he does come, Alistair will be in the Lisburn House, and I would only see him from time to time because he would need to attend the Academy.
“Vishith Kingdom.”
That’s the best option.
“I want to visit.”
“Miww come.”
“Haha. But, we can’t stay in Kingdom even if we visit. Right, Bart?”
“Yeah,” Bart said as he scratched his head.
“Lei, you might not know this, but you need a permit to stay in Kingdom.”
“Didn’th wnow.”
Is that why they don’t interact much? Then, they can’t even visit?
“Then, Lei wiww come vishith.”
“Eh, you will?” Alistair was surprised, and he looked up at me, who was being held by Mill.
“Ai. Withh Niini.”
“Me too?” Nii-sama, who was suddenly dragged into the conversation, looked at me in surprise. I want to visit on my own, but I definitely won’t be allowed. So, I’ll rely on people.
“Geth awong withh Awishthair, Barth, Miww, Cwyde and Kyaro. Don’th wanth tho sheparathe.”
“Lei, you…” Bart’s voice trembled. Mill gently lifted me higher.
“That’s right. We had a lot of fun together.”
The mood became solemn.
“Dear me, it’s like we’re the bad guys because we didn’t talk about this first.”
Nii-sama shrugged.
“It’s still too early for Lei to talk about the future.”
Gill shrugged.
“It’s not appropriate to say this out in the corridor, but I prepared a Kingdom stay permit for the Hunters and Alistair.”
“Eh, we’re going to Kingdom?” As I thought, it was Mill who had said that.
“Yes. This is a formal permit for entering and exiting Kingdom. This is one of the thank you gifts for looking after Lei.”
“Then, Bart, we’ve saved enough money so let’s go if we have time.”
“Mill, we’ll talk about that later. We have to discuss this with everyone.”
Alistair looked up at me in happiness.
“Me too. Then I’ll go see you too.”
“Ai!”
But, it’s much better than not being able to meet even though we feel lonely.
“Now, it’s time to meet the King.”
“We haven’t seen him since we arrived. And the nobles were all lined up.”
“No way. All we have to do is show him Lei and bid him farewell.”
Yes way. Beyond the widely opened door, the King, Queen, and Princes were at the back in a slightly elevated position, and dressed up nobles were lined up in the room.
“Wait, didn’t we say that we didn’t need this?”
Bart stepped back.
“They told you guys to come with us, so it’s fine,” Nii-sama said as if he’d given up. I motioned for Mill to put me down.
“Now, Lei and Alistair. I’m sure you don’t want to do this, but you have to lead. I’ll walk next to you two, but you have to step forward first.”
I looked at Alistair and nodded. If this situation is sorted by us becoming exhibitions and getting food then it’s fine, isn’t it? We stood next to each other and took a step forward. Nii-sama came up next to me, and Gill stood next to Alistair.
“Ooh,” the nobles roared and applauded. I don’t know what they were told, but it sounds as if they’re impressed that the Wester’s royal family helped the Four Marquis find their missing relatives.
I walked as much as I could and stopped near the King. Huu was there too, and he looked at me gently. He raised his eyebrow a little when our eyes met. I felt a bit relieved.
However, I felt an uncomfortable feeling near where the nobles were standing for some reason. He was a noble, but he looked different. I suddenly looked at him and gulped.
He was watching us silently with his sly narrow yellow eyes, while everyone was clapping and sharing their excitement with the people next to them.