Chapter 12

"U-uh, my sister was terribly rude..."

Reifa walked beside him, looking embarrassed and ashamed.

The atmosphere had become too tense for formal conversation, so they decided to disband temporarily and take a walk through the village to change the mood.

"It's fine... don't worry about it."

Was there any other way to say it?

No, there wasn't, Herian concluded inwardly as he recalled the earlier chaos.

Thanks to that, the pursuit of Herian and his group had become ambiguous, and in a sense, Reifa's disturbance was a good job, but when he thought about it, it made no sense at all.

Even though she was a child, he thought she was old enough to know better...

"How old are you, Lady Ririfa?"

"How old? I'm... this year..."

"Hmm, how old do you think? Guess, traveler!"

Ririfa interjected, walking on Herian's right side.

Since leaving the tent, Ririfa had been holding Herian's right hand tightly. At first, she was just holding onto the hem of his clothes, but at some point, she had taken his hand.

He wished he could have been spared the sight of the sisters' commotion, but he left it as it was, though the subtle glances from Reive and Reifa were a bit scary. The meaning of their gazes was probably different, but Herian was afraid of both.

"Hmm... thirteen years old?"

"Sorry! The correct answer is ten years old!"

...He was surprised.

Unlike with her sister, this time he was genuinely surprised.

After all, one of the characteristics of elves is that their apparent age is younger than their actual age, but Ririfa was the complete opposite. Without specifying where, she was overdeveloped.

"Ririfa has a lot of human blood, just like Mother. Everyone says I look a lot like Mother."

"Hmm."

"That's why, just like Mother, Ririfa's chest is going to get big."

It was a double entendre, but Herian didn't laugh. He fell silent.

Any response would feel like harassment. Harassment is terrifying. No matter the situation, the man is always found guilty.

"Ugh! This girl again!"

"Ah, Sister. Wendl is calling us over there."

"Are you trying to get away with a lie like that...!"

"No, it's true, Lady Reifa. Wendl is running over from that direction."

Wendl was pointing, and there was Wendl.

Wendl, who had come running over, whispered something to Reifa.

It didn't seem to be good news. After hearing Wendl's report, Reifa sighed and glared at her sister.

"I'm sorry, Lord Herian, I must be excused for a moment. ...Ririfa, I have some business to attend to. I'll leave this place, but we mustn't cause any trouble for Lord Herian and his group."

"Yes, Sister, go ahead."

Ririfa waved goodbye.

Reifa, who was sent off with a smiling face, left with a reluctant expression.

"Now we can talk more freely, traveler!"

She had a full smile.

It was as if she was saying, "Finally, the noisy one is gone."

...This girl might be a bit dark.

Besides, what could they talk about?

With a child like this, it would be hard to gather any useful information.

While pondering what to do, he took a sip of water to calm himself down.

"Hey, traveler."

"Hmm?"

"Would you marry me, Ririfa?"

He choked.

He coughed up the water that had gone down the wrong pipe.

It was a double entendre, but fortunately, it wasn't indoors this time.

Leive, who had become accustomed to it, patted Herian's back.

"Cough...! Cough...!"

"Are you okay?"

"Cough, I-I'm fine, but, what did you just say?"

"I want you to marry Ririfa."

At least, it seemed Herian's ears weren't broken.

But he didn't understand the meaning.

He really didn't understand at all.

Herian had never dated a woman, and therefore had no practical experience with "that."

He thought his face was neither good nor bad, but his shy and gentle personality had always made him just a "nice guy" when it came to making female friends.

So, why was he receiving a marriage proposal from a girl he had just met? And not just any girl, but one who looked like a middle schooler but was actually a young girl. When he thought about it, it made no sense. He had never even been proposed to by a cousin, let alone a young girl.

This was his first marriage proposal, and he was on the receiving end, not the proposing end, and the proposer was a young girl, a princess, which was a classic cliché, but no, this was impossible. This must be a dream. The hypothesis that this was a dream was reinforced with great momentum. Hooray, cheers, hahaha, no, it's really good that this was a dream. No, no, I thought it was strange from the beginning. After all, transferring to another world can't actually happen, but... wait a minute. If this is a dream, isn't that a problem in itself? The fact that he had this dream meant that he had a desire to marry a young girl, which was a clear sign of pedophilia, meaning that Herian, also known as Masaki Tsukasa, was undoubtedly a pedophile, a lolicon...

"---? Are you okay, traveler?"

"I'm fine. This is a dream."

"...You're not fine. This is reality, not a dream."

The girl said something cruel, but this was definitely a dream.

Because it was impossible.

Such an absurd scenario couldn't happen.

"Okay, Lady Ririfa, calm down. It's important to stay calm in situations like this. Misunderstandings can lead to serious problems. I know this well. I once experienced a cliché and vulgar scenario where I was tricked into a penalty game and had to confess. So, let's stay calm and count prime numbers to prove that this is a dream."

"...I think you should be the one to calm down."

"No, you should be the one to calm down. After all, you don't even know my name, and yet you're proposing marriage. What kind of joke is this?"

"It's not a joke. What's your name?"

"Herian."

"Herian, will you marry Ririfa?"

This time, he didn't choke, but his head started to hurt.

Why was he having this conversation with a young girl?

"Ririfa looks like Mother, so I'm sure my chest will get big. Mother's chest is bigger than the dog lady's, so I'll be big too. I'll have big breasts."

"No, it's not about having big breasts, it's..."

"Do you prefer small ones?"

Someone, help me.

Why did he have to discuss his preferences with a young girl?

And the aura coming from behind was scary.

He didn't want to see the faces of the two regiment leaders who were guarding them, especially Leive.

Incidentally, Eltina was omitted, probably because she was a pure-blooded elf with a slim build.

"That would be a bit of a problem... Sister looks like Father, so she has strong elven blood and a small chest."

"That's not the point. First of all, I don't have that kind of preference. It's not that small is bad, but if I had to choose, I'd prefer big... No, wait, what am I saying? This isn't the kind of conversation we should be having."

He sighed deeply.

...Enough. This is ridiculous.

He shook his head to regain his composure.

He couldn't waste valuable time chatting with a child.

"Lady Ririfa, marriage is something that requires the consent of both parents. So, we should talk about it after we rescue your parents."

This was the traditional Japanese way of deferring the problem.

He couldn't offend her, as she was a princess, so he couldn't give a clear answer and had to be vague.

Mentioning the rescue of her parents might have been a harsh way to put it, but Herian himself had no room to spare. He was already at his limit. He had no time to waste on a child.

If she responded with something like, "It's okay as long as we have love," he would counter with, "When you grow up," which was a trump card for dealing with children. Yes, that's what he would do.

"Hmm, I don't think it will be easy to meet Mother and Father..."

As expected, the girl's smile faded, and her expression clouded. So, Herian was about to say the prepared deferral line...

"Because, Mother and Father are probably already dead."

...It was a heart-wrenching statement.

"Sister and everyone else say that Mother and Father are just captured, but I think they're probably dead. Elves don't like half-elves, especially those who don't look like elves. So, I think Mother, who has big breasts and doesn't look like an elf, was probably killed first."

Ririfa said this.

Yet, she was still smiling.

Smiling brightly.

"If Mother and Father are alive, I want to help rescue them, but unlike Sister, I can't use magic well, and I'm not good with a bow. I can't do anything. So, I'll try my best to keep everyone from feeling down."

That's why she smiled.

She smiled brightly.

She tried her best to smile.

It was the only thing she could do, but she tried her best.

It was that kind of smile.

"..."

...Ah.

Herian had been mistaken.

Until now, he had thought of her as a child.

An innocent young girl.

...What a terrible misunderstanding.

She was a member of the royal family of [Latheswood], a country of half-elves.

Even though she was only ten, she couldn't be the same as an ordinary child. She couldn't be in a position to read the air and smile innocently. She couldn't have grown up in an environment where such misunderstandings were allowed.

Ririfa understood.

She understood the current situation of the half-elves more calmly than anyone else. And she had accepted that reality.

Their country was in danger of being destroyed. The captured companions might all be dead. There was nothing they could do.

So, she thought.

What could she do?

What could she, a young girl who couldn't use magic or a bow well and couldn't come up with a plan to change the situation, do?

The result was this smile.

The result of her thorough thinking was the series of commotions.

She couldn't do anything, but she tried her best to smile and make everyone feel better, to keep them from feeling down.

While doing this, she continued to think about what else she could do.

She thought and thought and thought, but couldn't come up with anything...

In the midst of this, she found a free force that didn't belong to either the enemy country or her own.

So, she took immediate action.

Using her body and the fact that she was a princess, she tried to make the travelers part of her family... to make them allies of Latheswood.

She knew that many humans preferred larger chests, so she acted accordingly.

Her method might have been clumsy for her actual age, but she had tried her best with the limited means she had.

...What a terrible misunderstanding.

To think that he had mistaken her smile for something meaningless, something an innocent child would do. To think that he had so easily dismissed her words, which were a declaration of her resolve, as a child's whimsy.

"..."

In the past, when he was still a child, he had been taken to see a children's play. It was a simple good-versus-evil story.

I think... it was about a princess who sacrificed herself to save the country from a demon or something. He suddenly remembered this.

The only difference between what he was witnessing and a play was the overwhelming sense of reality.

"Hey, Herian?"

Ririfa looked worriedly at Herian, who had suddenly lowered his head. Her large eyes showed concern for him.

...Why was she worried about a stranger she had just met today? She should be worried about herself.

Herian thought this. He couldn't help but think it. And with his own situation already overwhelming, it was a bit, well, tough.

He felt a slight warmth in the corners of his eyes. But he couldn't show his weakness. He had to act like a king in front of Eltina and Leive, and he couldn't show his ugly side here.

Because Ririfa was smiling.

She was suppressing her emotions and making a bright smile, the best effort she could make.

So, he, being older and a man, couldn't show his ugly side. His small sense of pride as a man wouldn't allow him to show his weakness in front of a young girl.

"...Hey, Herian."

With her young heart, Ririfa spoke softly.

"I want you to marry me and protect Latheswood."

She said it clearly.

This was her maximum "effort."

This was the best "effort" she could make as a powerless royal in the current situation.

"Sister has to be the queen, so she can't, but can you bear with me, Ririfa?"

Her cheeks were slightly red.

It must be due to the sunlight.

Because this was not, by any means, something sweet or innocent.

It was definitely not.

"Can't you?"

Ririfa, who had always smiled, lowered her eyebrows and said with a troubled smile.

"...I can't get married, but I want to help you as much as I can within my limits. I have a lot of things I need to do."

He shouldn't be swayed by sympathy.

Ririfa was a princess of a country, and Herian was a king of a country.

So, he couldn't act rashly.

No matter how much Herian personally wanted to help, his position as a king wouldn't allow it. Especially given their current lack of information and understanding of the situation.

"...I see."

Ririfa said it as if she had no choice.

She probably didn't expect him to marry her.

She probably expected to be turned down.

But if she didn't try, there would be no chance.

So, she tried, taking a small chance.

Her efforts had failed.

That was all there was to it.

That was all it was.

...But.

"But... within my limits, I want to help you."

"Really!?"

Ririfa's face, which had been lowered, shot up.

She looked genuinely surprised.

"Yes, really. But only within my limits. Given my current situation, there's not much I can do... but I'll do what I can."

"That's fine! I just want you to do what you can! Really, you'll help!?"

"As long as it's within my limits, I really will. As proof... how about we pinky swear?"

He held out his little finger, and Ririfa tilted her head.

It was a gesture that seemed out of place with her overdeveloped appearance, but knowing her actual age, it was appropriate.

"Ah, you don't know what a pinky swear is... It's when we intertwine our right little fingers to make an important promise. This promise must not be broken."

"Will we cut off our little fingers if we break it?"

"...That's a bit too extreme, isn't it?"

Her casual response made him feel the difference in their life experiences.

Ah, but a pinky swear also involves swallowing a thousand needles. Either way, it's a violent concept. No need for the song.

Ririfa held out her little finger as prompted.

Her small, silver ring was noticeable.

Herian intertwined his right little finger with Ririfa's and