episode_0116

Anyway, we returned with Alexander, Ulysses Huber II, and five sparrows that have not yet been named.

Of the five that first sat in my hand, one became Ulysses Huber II, and one was given to Adele, who then chose an eagle owl and returned to me. That makes a total of four, and before Alexander flew in, an additional one flew into my hand. As I heard, there are five.

Adele wanted to raise that child too, but it was a bit awkward to raise prey and predators in the same place.

I’ve often seen images of a hamster and a cat together on the Internet, but it actually didn’t look that good. Usually, it was a video of the cat playing with the hamster.

Animal instinct is something that cannot be helped. Even as a human being, I find myself curious about the taste of sparrow meat when I see sparrows.

“Tweet?”

… … Are you really reading my thoughts?

In fact, I think the Druid’s ability is to share my thoughts with animals, but then it would be a very unfair ability. Because I couldn’t actually read the thoughts of animals.

Anyway, I can’t just leave the five that I’ve already tamed. Even if I try to eat them for scouting purposes, I have to train them to do what they need to do before I can use them.

“There is no problem in raising it this much.”

Fortunately, Amelia said so.

Well, ‘told me’ seemed a bit too extreme an expression. Honey dripped from Amelia’s eyes as she looked at the five sparrows sitting in a row.

Moreover, with Fori sitting next to him, it really became a picture. Should I say it was like a scene from some kind of cartoon movie?

If I were to be specific, it felt more like a live-action movie based on the cartoon movie and made with plenty of CG, rather than like a cartoon movie. However, there was no change in the fact that it was cute.

Alexander, not yet having a safe place to sit, flew over our heads and sent us flying after him.

And we decided to take the sparrows ourselves in case they were eaten while flying together.

Diane placed the bird on her right shoulder, and so did Amelia.

And the remaining four came on top of my shoulders, two at a time.

At first, I didn’t really care.

This is because all the birds sitting on my shoulders were quiet. It wasn’t even that heavy.

However, when passing through the entrance to the royal capital—

“… … .”

“… … .”

Since we were out and about, the guards knew our faces.

However, this was the first time I came here with a bird perched on my shoulder.

Diane and Amelia, who had one animal on each, received only a few glances, but many eyes were focused on me, who had four animals on each shoulder, two in total.

“… … Sorry. I should have taken them all with me. ”

“No, it’s okay. I haven’t been looked at like that for a day or two anyway.”

I received similar looks when I told them that I had been appointed as Amelia’s escort. In their eyes, I was probably closer to a young lady rather than an escort.

“Uh… … .”

At my answer, Amelia rolled her eyes back and forth, seemingly at a loss for words for a moment.

Amelia tilted her head, not knowing why she was suddenly acting like that.

In fact, it was a little embarrassing to have so many birds sitting on my shoulders, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t bear. If I hadn’t been able to endure those stares, I wouldn’t have been able to do the same things I did before in front of Prince Allen.

“In the future, I will be careful to prevent something like this from happening.”

“Uh… … Thank you?”

Amelia suddenly said that, so I just accepted it without knowing why.

Thank you very much, but I don’t know why it’s suddenly like this.

It’s natural for me to be next to Amelia.

If anything, I would feel much more anxious if Amelia couldn’t be by my side.

And probably, that day will come around the time Amelia gets married.

… … Thinking about it this way, I would like to stop Amelia from marrying someone, but that is something I shouldn’t do. I don’t want to block the future of the person who is most precious to me.

Amelia’s face was lost in thought the entire time she was heading to Adele’s house.

*

“Then let’s call it a day.”

Diane said, looking down at Adele on her horse.

It seemed like she had deliberately said that after riding a horse to look down from a high place, but Adele did not look at all frightened by Diane’s attitude.

In fact, there was no reason to be scared. The longer we spent with Diane, the more she gave off the impression that she was a girl of her age who was a bit sloppy rather than an outcast. Of course, I’m sure it wasn’t her intention at all.

“Yes, I hope Diane takes good care of her new friend.”

“Heung.”

Diane snorted and said at Adele’s words.

“Of course I plan to treat her well. Adele is… … Take good care of that aggressive guy. You can’t harm livestock for no reason, right?”

“Of course, I plan to do the same. Let’s educate Ulysses properly so that he doesn’t eat him.”

“… … .”

Diane put her hand on her chest and flinched.

This is because Ulysses was hiding nearby. Of course, it was dangerous to get in between, so he just hid it inside his coat.

“Then, Grand Duchess, and Lady Delkisi… … I was thankful today.”

Normally, Diane would have said this with a more sober expression, but when she thanked me, her expression also relaxed a little.

Probably because of Ulysses.

I was a little relieved when I saw that attitude. Still, the perception that ‘Diane is a villain’ still remained, so I wondered what would happen if she did some behind-the-scenes work on Adele, but I don’t think I need to worry about that now.

At least as long as Ulysses is alive, he will be able to maintain a somewhat comfortable relationship with me.

“Do you know anything about Ulysses? … If I don’t know something, is it okay to ask?”

“… … .”

Is it a problem because I’m too comfortable?

“I am also ignorant in that area.”

“Still, I don’t know if that ability will be of any help to the animals. If Ulysses gets sick, would it be okay if I go see him?”

hmm… … .

I felt like I would cry if I refused, so I just nodded.

“I think that’s okay, but… … Even if you say you’re coming, I can’t guarantee that you can be of any help.”

“That’s enough.”

Wow.

It would be nice if you always made that kind of expression when dealing with Adele.

Immediately after answering, I looked at Amelia’s face and was shocked.

Amelia was glaring at me. It wasn’t an expression that could be said to be overtly scary, but it was something you wouldn’t normally see alone.

uh… … Did I make the decision alone?

While she was seriously contemplating, Diane was greeting Amelia again.

“See you next week, Grand Duchess.”

“Yes, I hope you can have a good time with Ulysses.”

“Yes!”

But when I answered Diane, my expression cleared up.

what?

*

“That… … Amelia.”

“Huh?Why?”

After returning home and changing into the light clothes I wear to bed, I spoke to Amelia, and she responded with a bright smile.

“Are you angry?”

But I was sure that the smile was fake.

“Why am I angry?”

It’s even scarier when I ask questions like that.

I was even more scared because I felt like I was saying, ‘Do you know what I’m angry about?’

Of course, we weren’t dating or anything, so Amelia wouldn’t have asked me such a question.

If that’s the case, you might be holding back as much as possible even though you’re angry at me.

“If it’s because I gave Diane that answer on my own, I’m sorry. At that time… … For some reason, I feel like I have to do that. If you say no, I will cancel.”

“… … Really?”

I guess I chose the wrong words.

Is Amelia still assuming that Diane is a villain? If so, the problem may be that I arbitrarily created the number of invitations.

If we thought that Diane was really a villain and that the innocent appearance she showed in front of us was all a lie, she might come to visit under the pretext of Ulysses, saying she had already been invited earlier.

“Yes, I’m sorry… … .”

“… … .”

When I said that, Amelia remained silent for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“No. I think I’m being too sensitive. There’s definitely a reason to be close to Diane.”

Amelia gave me a small smile.

That smile was a real smile.

I sighed in relief.

“Did I do nothing wrong?”

“Of course. It’s just that I have a lot to think about.”

Amelia thought quietly for a moment.

After stroking the hair that had climbed onto the bed and the sparrows that were huddled around it with her fingers, Amelia finally seemed to have gathered her thoughts and opened her mouth.

“Then, shall we talk briefly about what happened today?”

Eck.

I trembled when I saw Amelia smiling brightly.

… … Didn’t you get angry?