Riding behind Fafnir-san for 30 minutes, the streets of Rigforeshia finally came into view.
It's only been a few months since my last visit, but I feel nostalgic... I guess the events that happened in the Sacred Tree Festival were that memorable.
A lot of things have really happened when I visited before. I also met Sieg-san's parents Rejnhardt-san and Sylphia-san.
The events that happened in Lilia-san, Lunamaria-san and Sieg-san's past... And in the midst of a city that was in turmoil due to the Black Bears' attack, I experienced a battle for the first time in my life.
Hmmm, but that Black Bear... for her to change in appearance and become my important and cute follower… You can really never know what's going to happen in life.
And then, I didn't really see for myself when Isis-san beat the invading Black Bears, but looking back on that day, I guess it's that time... the first time I felt happy that Isis-san earnestly feels love towards me...
And after that, my encounter with the spirits at the harvest festival and Lillywood-san, the World King... There really are lots of things that happened back at the Sacred Tree Festival.
Come to think of it, was it after the Sacred Tree Festival ended? It was when Sieg-san started occasionally serving me her home-made meal to me... All of Sieg-san's dishes are home-style and have a gentle flavor, just the way I like it, and I was secretly looking forward to eating her home-made meal again.
[...Unnn? Is something the matter?]
[No, it's just that it should have only been a few months since we visited Rigforeshia... but I'm kind of feeling nostalgic.]
[Indeed, I agree. Since the day we came to the Sacred Tree Festival, Kaito-san and I have changed a lot.]
[Eh? I changed?]
[...Yes, you have become much more reliable than you used to be.]
[T- Thank you.]
Feeling a little embarrassed to hear her unsarcastic praise she said with a gentle smile on her face, I was somewhat flustered, so I shifted my gaze to the view that could be seen from the window.
To be honest, I wondered how someone with Fafnir-san's physique, which had a length of over 100 meters, would get down but... I felt surprised as only the carriage part descended slowly through Fafnir-san's magic, and gently landed in front of the entrance of Rigforeshia.
Well, I'm really glad... that we weren't brought down like this in the middle of the city... I would have been too embarrassed to walk out of my house if I had been in a situation where I had been sent home by something like a luxurious helicopter.
As I was thinking about this when I stepped out of the carriage with Sieg-san and thanked Fafrir-san for sending us here, Fafrir-san politely bowed his head in response before he returned.
Watching his magnificent flap of wings glide through the air for a bit, we headed to the city of Rigforeshia once again.
The wooden walls surrounding the city of Rigforeshia were much larger than when I had seen them before, and they had changed to the point where they could be described as wooden ramparts.
And in front of the place that looks like an entrance, there's a gatekeeper dressed in heavy equipment.
[!? If it isn't Miyama-sama!]
[...Ehh?]
[It's an honor to meet you.]
[Errr, you know who I am?]
A woman, who held vigilance typical of a gatekeeper, quickly gets down on one knee and bows her head when she sees me….. Eh? What's going on here? I don't recognize her at all... To begin with, from looking at her ears, she looks like an Elf, but who is she?
[I am one of World King-sama's followers.]
[Ahh, I see...]
[Yes. We have received word from World King-sama to be courteous to Miyama-sama when you arrive.]
[...]
Arehh? What the heck is this? I think I saw this kind of development a few moments ago.
[World King-sama said that she felt gratitude for Miyama-san higher than words could ever express. We were told that Miyama-sama's words take precedence over everything else.]
[I- Is that so...]
[...Kaito-san, isn't it about time you take over the world? Or are you perhaps thinking of taking it slowly and building your own country first?]
[I'm not going to build any country.]
Apparently, the members of the Six Kings really are thanking me for Kuro's situation, and they strictly ordered their own subordinates to treat me politely.
How should I say this… I'm grateful for that but... Didn't they think that something like this would make me feel very uncomfortable!?
Magnawell-san, Lillywood-san... even Alice, from even before them, also issued strict orders for their subordinates to obey me... Seriously, what the heck am I supposed to do here...
Even as we encountered all this tiring stuff right from the start, we finally managed to enter the city of Rigforeshia... but Sieg-san and I tilted our heads.
[...Arehh? Rei-san and Fia-san are supposed to be picking us up here, right?]
[How strange. I made sure to tell them with a hummingbird...]
Yes, in fact, when it was decided that Fafnir-san would drop us off, we sent a hummingbird to Rei-san and Fia-san of our estimated arrival time.
They replied that they would be waiting for us and were supposed to pick us up after we entered the gate but... they weren't here.
When I was about to wait with Sieg-san here for the two of them to arrive, thinking that perhaps, they were late because we had arrived earlier than planned... I heard a familiar voice.
[W- W- What should we do!? We still haven't prepared for an entrance...]
[Kuh~ They arrived too soon... What do we do? Fia, I guess we should just do the Split Cross here...]
[That's no good, we've done that before... How about we do a Side Sway?]
[No, but Side Sway isn't flashy... for us to surprise Miyama-kun... it can't be helped, we have to release the Ultimate Scream!]
[T- That's no good, Rei! We still haven't succeeded in flawlessly making that entrance yet!!!]
...Honestly, I'm feeling more speechless than ever before.
I don't know what face I should have when I see this couple. who are probably much older than I am, hiding in the shadows of a building and seriously discussing how to make their entrance.
Sieg-san's face flushed with embarrassment, and her shoulders were trembling at the sight of her parents.
[We won't make great strides if we're afraid of failing... I'm always going to be a challenger.]
[...Rei, you're so dreamy.]
[Fia, can you be by my side?]
[Yes, of course! Let's go together!!!]
[...If you want to go that much, how about I send you to the realm of the dead right now?]
[ [ ...Eh? ] ]
Looking at the continuous shameful behaviour... or rather, this farce of a skit that her family is doing made Sieg-san's patience run out, and she calmly called out to them, her fists tightly clenched beside her.
Thereupon, Rei-san and Fia-san slowly turned their heads, and when they saw Sieg-san's face, their faces turned blue.
[S- Sieg!? Since when are you here!?]
[...You could have just shut up and watched, but you had to shame your own daughter in front of Kaito-san over and over again... Even after I asked you to take this seriously...]
[C- Calm down, Sieg-chan!? It's important to keep a good hold on it!!!]
[S- S- She's right, Sieg... Father and Mother want to become adults who remember the purity in our hearts! Our hearts will always be young!]
[...Would that be your last words?]
[ [ Eh? Wait a mo—— Gyaaaaahhhhhhh!? ] ]
Thereupon, Sieg-san, who had turned into a Shura, attacked them, and their miserable screams rang out in the streets of Rigforeshia.
[...Those two have quite a great relationship with each other... Polish them a bit more and they should shine.]
[I'd rather if you don't go polishing them...]
[Ahh, that's right! Kaito-san! If you're looking for a souvenir for Alice, I'd recommend the local specialty fruit sticks here!]
[Talking about souvenirs and all that stuff, can't you just buy it yourself...]
As I watched Rei-san and Fia-san get beaten up by Sieg-san, Alice, who appeared before I knew it, told me that with her usual tone, to which I astoundedly replied.
[Well~~ It's just that I went and blew it a little bit the other day, so I actually only have 1R now—— Hah!? Oh no!?]
[...Come here for a bit. We need to talk.]
[Ah, wait!? K- Kaito-san!? W- Wait, that just now was... Ginyaaaahhh!? Ouchieouch!? You'll tear off my eaaarrrrrsss!!!]
It seems like there's also some stuff I need to do over here.
For the time being, while the parents and child have their quarrel over there... Let's just correct this idiot's distorted character while waiting until Sieg-san's one-sided scolding ends.
Dear Mom, Dad—– I came to the nostalgic city of Rigforeshia, and I immediately encountered a situation that made us feel mentally exhausted. However, well, what can I say... Rei-san and Fia-san—— They're still the same as always.
**********
{Author's Notes?}
Serious-senpai: [Gafuuhh!?]