MISTERLP
I am Liscia Elfrieden. The candidate to become Souma's First Primary
Queen.
With the matter of the Star Dragon Mountain Range sorted, we had all
come back to the kingdom yesterday, but I must have been exhausted from
all the moving around I'd done, because my health gave out. The
symptoms were the dizziness and the lethargy I had felt affecting my
whole body as I was disembarking from the gondola. Also, my appetite
was a little weaker than usual.
Because it was probably just a cold, I was resting and recuperating in
my own bed. There were always people rushing around the castle, but
today was quiet. I was sure they must have been trying not to make too
much noise around this room because I wasn't feeling well.
"It feels like... time's stopped," I murmured.
Ever since Souma arrived, the days had gone by blindingly fast, so it
might have been a while since I'd felt so relaxed. Souma always had some
sort of work, and since I had started helping him, it had been quite a while
since I'd had time where I didn't have to do anything. It was good to be
able to relax, but...
"...But I'm bored."
I always joined the castle guards in their training with Aisha when I
had spare time, but I couldn't do that in my condition. Well, I considered
reading a book, but all I had in this room were manuals on military tactics
and strategy. If I read these now, I was sure to lose my lunch. It hurt to
admit it myself, but I sure had a bland room. The only girly thing in this
room was a doll Souma had made as part of his hobby, so I felt pretty
pathetic. (Souma had way too much girl power.)
While I was sitting there with nothing to do, there was a knock at the
door.
"Come in," I called out, and Roroa came in with Aisha, who was
carrying some large, covered object.
"Heya, Big Sister Cia, how's your health holdin' up?"
"Pardon us... Oof." Aisha laid her large parcel down on the floor.
I blinked. "My health is stabilizing, but... what is that thing?"
Roroa laughed mischievously.
"I figured you'd be gettin' bored, so we went and borrowed this from
Darlin'. Right, Big Sister Ai?"
"Yep. Ta-dah."
Aisha pulled back the cover to reveal a simple Jewel Voice Broadcast
receiver. When Roroa pressed the switch on it, they were right in the
middle of a singing program.
"Went and had one of the royal family's units adjusted to receive
public broadcasts," Roroa said with a smugly confident look. "This oughta
help kill some boredom while ya can't go out, don'tcha think?"
"Is it okay for me to use it? We don't have that many simple
receivers..."
"We've received permission from His Highness. There were no plans
to use it in the immediate future, so he said it's fine," Aisha explained.
If they'd gotten permission, it was probably fine, I guess?
"Thanks, Roroa, Aisha."
"Ha ha ha!" Roroa laughed. "Don't you worry about it."
"Get well soon," Aisha added.
They were concerned that staying to long might be a burden on me, so
the two of them left the room quickly. Having been left by myself, I
absentmindedly watched a music program. Usually I was on the
production side of these things, so I hadn't relaxed and watched it this way
before, but... it was surprisingly good.
While I was thinking that, there was another knock at the door.
"Come in," I called out, and this time Juna and Naden came in.
"Pardon us," said Juna.
"We're coming in."
The two of them, it seemed, had armfuls of books. They lugged them in
and left them at my bedside. From the look of the covers and titles, it
looked like they were adventure and romance novels.
"What's with these books?" I asked.
"They're mine, brought here from the Star Dragon Mountain Range,"
Naden said, puffing up her chest with pride.
Juna smiled wryly and added, "We heard from Lady Roroa that you
were feeling bored, so Naden brought her books to lend you."
"Because I heard you had nothing but military books. These books are
all great."
It seemed Juna and Naden, like Roroa and Aisha before them, had
come with something to help assuage my boredom. I smiled and thanked
them.
"Thanks, Juna, Naden."
"Please, take good care of yourself," Juna told me.
"If you need anything, just call us," Naden added.
The two of them left the room. I waved to them as they reluctantly
closed the door behind themselves, holding one of the books they brought
tight to my chest. I was really grateful for everyone's kindness.
"Ngh..." I murmured.
It looked like, at some point, I had fallen asleep holding Naden's book.
By the time I woke up, the sun was already down. But it was still bright
inside the room. That was because the lanterns were lit. Probably one of
the maids had done that for me while I was asleep.
When I sat up, there was a knock at the door.
"How are you? Liscia."
The one who came in after that knock was Souma. In his hands he held
a tray with a small pot on it. Carla was behind him, too, carrying a soup
dish and more.
"I heard you had no appetite, but I thought you should at least eat
something," Souma told me. "I imposed on the kitchen staff to have this
made."
With that said, Souma lifted the lid on the pot to show me what was
inside.
"Ta-dah. Grandma's special recipe for sick days, 'Tamatama Udon.'"
"Tamatama Udon?"
"You simmer onions in the broth until they're soft, then add in udon
noodles, like the ones Poncho made for me. Once it's boiled to the point
it's soft and easy to digest, you drop in an egg. There's ginger in it, too, so
it'll warm you up, and it's highly nutritious."
The steam wafted off of the soup broth before my eyes. I still didn't
have much of an appetite, but it seemed I was hungry. It made me want to
eat really badly.
"Thanks, I'll have some," I said.
"Only as much as you can handle, okay? I'm sure Aisha will eat the
leftovers."
"Hee hee! Maybe I'll eat it all and make Aisha sad... Yep, this is good."
Souma and Carla smiled as they watched me eat the udon. I could feel
everyone's kindness...
It's a secret, but I thought, You know, this isn't so bad, every once in a
while.
But I couldn't have everyone worrying about me forever. Souma and
the rest would be heading off for the Republic, but it sounded like Hilde
the doctor would be coming soon. I'd need her to give me a thorough
examination.