Chapter 71

"Sir Cyril!"

She turned at the sound of her name.

At the entrance of Perseron, the princess had just stepped down from the carriage and was walking towards me.

"Hey."

I greeted her with a smile.

Just seeing the princess made me naturally happy.

She always greeted me with a bright, sincere smile, and just being with her made me feel cheerful.

The princess stood before me, looking straight at me.

"Please."

"Sure."

I nodded and placed my hand over her.

Light emanated from my palm, enveloping the princess.

The light seemed to form a thin film over her body, changing her appearance.

In just a few seconds, her appearance was completely transformed.

She no longer looked like the legitimate princess; instead, she had changed into the form of someone else, someone who would not be recognized as the same person.

Jeanne.

This was her temporary disguise, changed using the mimicry skill she had contracted with Yui.

After confirming that she had transformed into Jeanne, she looked up at me with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Sir Cyril."

"Good morning, Lady Chris."

‘Yes, good morning.’

Although we couldn’t communicate directly, the two of them were able to converse through me.

Chris was originally introduced to me by Jeanne.

Jeanne, being the "Child of God," respected Chris, and Chris, in turn, showed a more friendly attitude towards Jeanne, who had introduced her "soulmate," compared to other dragons.

I smiled at the touching relationship between the two and spoke to Jeanne.

"How long are you staying this time?"

"Yes! There are no major events for a while, so I think I can stay for about five days."

"That long?"

"I’ve known my schedule for a while, so I’ve been looking forward to today."

"I see."

I nodded and smiled.

Jeanne—the princess—comes here in disguise.

And while in disguise, she joins my guild, "Dragon First."

In other words, she leads a double life as both the "princess" and "Jeanne."

She says this side is more important to her, but as the princess, she has many obligations, so she actually prioritizes that role.

So, she usually does what she needs to do as the princess and comes here in her free time.

But this time, she can stay for five consecutive days.

Jeanne looked extremely excited and happy.

"By the way, I have something I want Sir Cyril to see today."

"Something you want me to see? What is it?"

Jeanne carefully took something out of her pocket and began to unwrap it from the cloth.

What appeared was—an egg.

"An egg? A dragon's?"

"Yes! It's a Smey egg."

"Like Emma's?"

"That's right. Since I was allowed to join the guild thanks to Sir Cyril's kindness, I thought it would be good for me to have my own dragon as a dragon knight."

"I see."

"So, I decided to try raising it from an egg. ...Um, is that okay?"

"Hmm?"

"Adding a new dragon to Sir Cyril's guild... Of course, if it's not okay, I can use it as a guard when I come here!"

Since it's a Smey, its combat power is excellent.

"Of course it's fine. Dragons are always welcome."

"Phew..."

Jeanne looked visibly relieved.

She had been worried because I had previously said that I would be cautious about recruiting new members.

I hadn’t been clear, but that was only about "humans."

We are "Dragon First," and there’s no problem with dragons.

Especially since it’s an egg, which is like a baby, it’s even better.

"Thank you!"

"There's no need to thank me. Still, an egg, huh?"

"Is there something wrong with the egg?"

Jeanne tilted her head slightly.

"No, actually, I can hear the egg's voice."

"The egg's voice...?"

Jeanne looked puzzled and tilted her head even more.

I told her about the Master Dragon incident.

"So, I learned that dragons can hear and talk even before they hatch."

"Really!"

Jeanne nodded vigorously.

"I've heard that. Humans can actually hear while they're still in the womb, so it's important to play music and do prenatal education."

"I didn't know that."

This time, I tilted my head.

"Eh? ...Oh, I'm sorry!"

Jeanne realized something and bowed quickly.

"Eh?"

"That's probably... something only nobles and royalty talk about. I heard it before. Peasants continue to work even during pregnancy..."

"I see."

Jeanne spoke in a barely audible voice, while I nodded vigorously.

I thought, that makes sense.

The idea that playing music to a fetus is good is something that only nobles and royalty would think of.

It’s no wonder I had never heard of it.

"I'm sorry..."

"What are you apologizing for? On the contrary, thank you."

"Eh?"

"I gained a new piece of knowledge. Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome..."

Hearing that from me, Jeanne’s mood lifted, and she smiled with a mix of relief and happiness, her face blushing.

"But... can this one talk yet?"

I said this, bringing the conversation back to the egg Jeanne was holding.

We both looked at the egg.

"I don't know."

"Let's try talking to it. Hey, can you hear me?"

...

"Can you respond if you can hear me?"

...

"Doesn't work?"

"Yeah, no response. Maybe it still needs time to hatch."

I said this while gently tapping the egg with my finger.

‘Ouch, stop it.’

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard something—was that you?"

I touched the egg again to listen.

Then,

‘Voice, who is it?’

"Hey, it might really be this one's voice."

"Really? What did it say?"

"It seems to be wondering who my voice belongs to."

"I see..."

I touched the egg again and asked.

"Are you still in the egg?"

‘Probably.’

"I see."

‘I have a request.’

"Hmm? What is it?"

‘It's always hot.’

"Hot?"

‘I hate the heat.’

"...You hate the heat."

I looked up from the egg and said to Jeanne.

"It's hot..."

‘It's fine now.’

"It's fine now?"

"Maybe... it’s not good to carry it close to your body all the time?"

"That might be the case—do you not want to put it back in your pocket, where it will be hot?"

‘I hate the heat.’

At the same time as this response, the egg shuddered.

"Ah!"

"It seems to dislike it."

"Yes, I understand..."

The egg's movement conveyed its message to Jeanne.

"So... I'll keep it like this."

"That's probably a good idea."

We nodded.

Then, Jeanne looked at me intently.

"What is it?"

"Thank you, Sir Cyril. You really are amazing!"

"Is that so?"

Hearing Jeanne's praise, I felt genuinely happy.