episode_0063

“..Wow. It’s really incredibly different.”

Ayla looked wide-eyed in surprise as she enjoyed the spacious and splendid interior decorations of the carriage and the overly soft seats.

Of course, that’s to be expected. If you compare the highest-class horse-drawn carriages made for the wealthy and noble class with a cart that was just roughly made to transport cargo, there’s bound to be that much of a difference.

Numerous flashy decorations inside and outside the carriage, a spacious interior that can fit about 10 people, and a comfortable ride that is magically compensated so that the carriage’s vibrations and shaking are completely absent… Of course, the price is ridiculously high in proportion to this great performance, but it’s not like you can’t hire it if you compare it to the money you receive from the guild.

Inside, everyone except Yugram, who was on the coachman’s seat, was seated. Cosette and Agnes were on either side of me, and Mathias and Ayla were sitting across from them. Was the seating arrangement really for Ayla?

“This is the power of money.”

“I thought it would be a lot different, but I didn’t know it would be this different..”

Ayla said, sinking into her seat. The carriage had a very different scent than the usual sweat and iron smell. There was definitely a luxurious and noble scent coming from the carriage itself, but perhaps because there were so many girls, it had a fresh flower garden-like scent.

Since I usually only smelled the strong body odor of dark men at the academy, I could say that there were quite a few opportunities like this. In fact, the classes were quite difficult, and even though they were nobles, they were still boys and would have some hesitation about using perfume and such. It was an age when they would show off their unnecessary pride by saying things like “that’s something only women use.”

It’s a bit sad to expect children who aren’t even adults yet to take care of themselves to the extent that Yugram does.

“So.. how long does it take to get to my hometown?”

Agnes took his eyes off the book he was reading and asked in a nonchalant tone. I immediately realized that his intention was to hide his expectations, which he would be embarrassed to find out about. Of course, I wasn’t the only one who thought that, but no one really pointed that out. Agnes was pitiful and cute.

Ayla looked out the window on the inside, her face looking tired. It seemed that the speed was much faster than Ayla had thought.

“At this speed… If I just keep running without any problems, I should get there in 2-3 days? This is so unbelievably fast… I thought it would take about a week.”

“It seems really fast.. But can you maintain this speed? Don’t you have to rest your horses?”

No one in the carriage knew the answer to Mathias’s innocent question. Of course, I was curious as well. Of course, the horses attached to such a luxurious carriage must be excellent horses, and it is true that there are six of them, so it is less of a burden for each of them, but it is not like they are completely indestructible.

Will all the fatigue go away just by taking a break here and there and putting it to bed at night? I don’t think so, but if it doesn’t, there’s no reason to run this fast.

“..The coachman will take care of it!”

Cosette cleaned it up neatly. Yes. It’s stupid to think about such things. If you really want to know, you can go out to the coachman’s seat and ask him. I spoke to Ayla to change the subject.

“Ayla. So what kind of place is Ayla’s hometown?”

“Uh.. what kind of place is it?.. it’s just an ordinary rural town, so there’s nothing much to say.”

Ayla muttered, looking embarrassed.

“If it’s hard to talk about your hometown, why don’t you at least tell me about Ayla’s family? If you don’t know, you might make a mistake, and I’m curious. I’m sure I heard that you have quite a few siblings…”

“Ah, yeah. That’s easy. First of all, I have six siblings, and I’m the third.”

“6 people..”

Cosette muttered as if she was tired. Agnes spoke next to her.

“I don’t know when, but didn’t you say it was your first? Am I remembering wrong?”

“Ah, I did say that, but the reason is… There’s quite a big age gap between me and my older siblings. They’re already married and have moved out, so I’ve always been treated as the eldest. It was a bit bothersome to explain it in detail.”

If Ayla got married and left home when she was young… does that mean the age difference is at least ten years? If she’s already left home, then as commoners they’re probably busy with their own work and it’d be hard for them to show up at home, so it’s understandable that Ayla would be treated as the eldest.

“Well.. the three below have one younger brother and the rest are all younger sisters.. Let’s meet them and introduce them to each other, and what else is there to say? There’s no way princesses can make a mistake.”

“Okay, I understand for now.”

As the story ended, the carriage became quiet. I leaned back, feeling the softness of the seat. I wanted to just sleep, but since the bed was so comfortable these days and I was getting a pleasant wake-up call, I couldn’t sleep, so that was impossible.

“If it was going to be like this, I should have prepared something fun to do..”

Cosette muttered. Of course, there were board games in this world, and they boasted quite a variety. As for board games, I glanced at Agnes. Agnes noticed my gaze and looked up from the book he was reading.

“..Why?”

“Anies, do you know ‘Gidbin’?”

Gidvin is a strategic board game where you fight your opponent by moving units with various movement methods, and it is very popular among students who are known to use their brains quite a bit. But does Agnes, who has no friends other than us, really know the rules?

“..I think you’re thinking of something rude, but of course you know that, right? Even a princess can’t defeat me easily, right?”

“I’m looking forward to it. Should I give it a try?”

“..?”

Agnes looked at me blankly, tilting his head. He didn’t seem to understand what I was saying. Then, should I take the initiative?

“Okay. Cosette is up, I’m down. 6-3 infantry advance one space. ”

“..No, what did you say..”

Agnes looked as if he was dumbfounded. Only then did he seem to understand what I was talking about. He seemed to be lost in the novel idea of ‘Gidbin in the Brain’ going on in his head.

“Oh, if this is too much for Agnes, then you don’t have to do it. I might have overestimated Agnes…”

“Who said you couldn’t do it? Seriously, what a childish provocation…”

Agnes nervously closed the book he was reading and turned slightly toward me. His eyes were burning with a desire for victory.

.

.

.

Taaak!

“Gyah!”

I hit Agnes’ cute forehead again. Naturally, I never lost to Agnes even once. I didn’t hit her with that much force, but Agnes’ forehead was already red from being hit countless times.

“Anies, I don’t know much about Gidbin, but no matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like he can beat the princess…”

Even Mathias, who had been quietly watching, was worried about Agnes and said this. Agnes was so angry that he wanted to say something, but since he had lost with such a clear difference in skill, he didn’t really have anything to say. I patted Agnes’ head and said.

“No, don’t be so angry. It’s only natural for the weak to lose to the strong, so rather than getting angry about this defeat, wouldn’t it be better to use it as a foundation for growth?”

“Profit! Profit!”

Agnes flailed in my arms, expressing his anger, but I easily subdued him and held Agnes in my arms. Now that Mathias is no longer fun, Agnes is the only one I can tease and enjoy.

I whispered to the drooping Agnes.

“Anies, I hope Anies never grows up and always stays by Mom’s side.”

“..What are you talking about? I’m going to grow up so fast and wear high heels later on. The princess is not tall at all.”

“..Huh?”

I looked at Agnes in surprise. Agnes said with a sly smile.

“Princess, your height isn’t that different from when you were in first grade. I used to be much shorter, but now I’m almost the same height. That means I grew a little bit, but you’re still fine.”

I didn’t show it on my face, but I was incredibly surprised. I’m exaggerating a little, but I’ve never been more surprised since I entered the academy! My height hasn’t grown at all?

Of course, even as a child, he was a bit slow to grow for a member of the royal family, and because of the curse, his growth was hindered in many ways, but I thought he was growing slowly, even if it was slow… So, is this to mean that he was in danger of being overtaken by Agnes!?

I just blinked and looked at Agnes, then slowly turned my head to look at the other children. The fact that everyone was slightly avoiding my eyes told me that Agnes wasn’t making up stories.

Is that so..

I haven’t grown much in 2 or 3 years.

Somehow, the difference in eye level between me and Yugram, whom I always see, doesn’t change…