Chapter 8

Letting out a sigh, I closed the book.

I skimmed through the history of the modern era and thought about the history of the saintesses.

I can't understand at all what the goddess wants.

I've never played a dating sim before, so I'm not very familiar with them, but I remember my sister getting hooked on one while she was pregnant, and I heard a little about it.

In dating sims, there are heroines and target characters, and the game is about how to solve difficulties with the target characters and bring it to a romantic conclusion, right?

It's about choosing which of several target characters to win over, or enjoying making all of them fall for you evenly, right?

In any case, it always ends in a happy ending.

Because it ends that way, it's easier on the mind than other games, or something like that.

...But, none of the saintesses in history ever had a happy ending, right?

Is it a bad ending?

For the goddess, is getting married a happy ending?

Once a happy ending is achieved, does she lose interest and leave them alone?

Thinking about it, the goddess I saw before seems like the type who would do something like that.

My anger towards the goddess flares up again.

I resolve to destroy the dating sim once more, raising my fist, and make eye contact with Shell.

Shell looks at me with a smile.

Beyond her, Earshein looks at me over some documents.

Feeling uncomfortable, I avert my eyes and put the book back on the shelf as if nothing happened.

"Haah!"

When I turn around, Shell is laughing silently.

Earshein's shoulders are also trembling slightly.

My cheeks puff up involuntarily.

Seeing me puff up, the two of them laugh even harder.

After a while, Earshein tidies up the documents and approaches.

"Was the history book interesting? By the way, you can read the text?"

He kneels down to make eye contact. He's still taller, though!

"It wasn't interesting, but I could read the text when I looked at it."

"Is that so?"

He patted my head.

Hmm, I've only been in this world for half a day, but I'm already getting used to this small body. I'm starting to feel less strange about being patted on the head.

Even if I tell them I'm an adult, they won't treat me as one with this appearance.

I'll try to improve my speech a bit more before thinking about it.

While playing with Earshein,

"Dinner is ready."

Shell called out.

Earshein carried me over.

When we entered the dining room, the king and queen were already seated and chatting.

When I think of a royal dinner, I imagine a long table overflowing with delicacies, but it wasn't like that. It was more like a private French restaurant I was taken to by the CEO when I first joined the company. The table wasn't that big, and there were no lavish dishes, just cutlery laid out.

When Earshein and I entered, the queen quickly came over, gently took me from Earshein, and seated me in a child's chair between the king and the queen.

Why here?

The queen, seated next to me, is ready to take care of me.

The king and Earshein just smile and don't seem to be stopping her.

Even when Ingrid came in, it didn't change.

Next, a girl around 8 or 9 years old with long, dark blonde hair, red eyes, and a fluffy blue dress, who looked a bit cheeky but cute, entered with light footsteps.

Following her were twin boys around 4 or 5 years old with bright blonde hair and yellow eyes.

The twins, with the help of a maid, sat in their child's chairs, and the moment the girl next to Ingrid opened her mouth to say something, she froze when our eyes met.

She blinked slowly twice,

"Kyaa! What is that, what is that!! So cute, so cute!!"

She screamed in a high-pitched voice, kicked over her chair, and charged at me.

Excitedly, she hugged me with all her might, making it hard to breathe.

No matter how much I tried to tap her, it didn't work.

When I felt my life was in danger, Ingrid came to my rescue, peeling the girl off and lifting me up, but I was still being held by the back of my collar, so the danger continued.

"That's not good, Anneliese! If you hug him so tightly, you'll crush Lord Kaito!"

"That goes for you too, Ingrid. If you grab the back of his collar, he can't breathe, can he?"

I was rescued with those words.

Suddenly able to breathe again, I coughed a bit.

I was patted on the back and finally calmed down.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Kaito. I just grabbed the easiest part."

Ingrid apologized lightly.

"Hey! Hein brother! Give me that cute one! Quickly, quickly!!"

The girl called Anneliese, ignoring everyone, was jumping up and down, demanding that I be given to her.

"Anneliese"

Just hearing her name, Anneliese froze.

Because that voice was her mother's, filled with anger.

"May we serve dinner now?"

The butler asked.

"Yes, please."

The queen replied.

When the maids served the food, everyone was seated.

The dinner began in silence.

I thought it would be a course meal, but except for the soup, salads, meat dishes, and several types of bread were brought in on large platters, and the maids and butler served them.

The menu was Western, but the arrangement was Chinese-style, though the table didn't rotate.

The butler, with a smile, served me, who was seated between the king and queen.

"Lord Kaito, is there anything you can't eat?"

Thinking about sweets, I wasn't sure if I could eat them, but for now,

"I don't have any likes or dislikes."

"That's wonderful. I'll take a little of everything, so please find what you like."

"Okay, thank you."

The portions were cut into small pieces, considering my small size.

The plating was perfect, as expected.

Let's eat.

The bread was like a French baguette left out for 4-5 days, and the meat had a strange smell, probably because the blood wasn't fully drained, and it was overcooked and tough, with spices used to mask the taste.

In other words, the only things I could eat were the salad and soup.

While I was struggling to find what I could eat, Anneliese's gaze kept piercing me, but I ignored it and finished what I could eat.

"...Kaito, did it not suit your taste?"

The queen, who had been staring at me the whole time, tilted her head in confusion and placed her hand on her cheek.

I couldn't say "Yes, that's right," so I tilted my head in the same way.

"Lord Kaito, may I?"

The king asked me to open my mouth and checked inside.

The queen also peered into my mouth.

"Your teeth are small. I see, you don't have much strength to chew."

"That's true. Maybe he can eat baby food?"

"Baby food?"

"Then, let's try baby food for breakfast from tomorrow."

The king's kind words.

"Thank you very much."

The twin boys, though they had trouble, finished eating the meat and bread.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I thanked them, and the king patted my head.

After the meal, we moved to the adjacent salon for tea and dessert.

The dessert was a tart loaded with fruits.

The size was quite off!

The adults got a whole tart each, and the children got half. Isn't that strange?

The fruits were very delicious, but the cream between the fruits and the tart was extremely sweet, and the tart crust was so hard that the fork wouldn't pierce it.

Everyone, including Anneliese and the twins, was eating it noisily, but was that a good sound for dessert?

I ate what I could.

That's when everyone introduced themselves for the first time.

The king, Julius von Rignatoff, 43 years old,

The queen, Leetria, 32 years old,

The first prince, Ingrid, 20 years old,

The second prince, Cavendish, 16 years old,

The third prince, Earshein, 15 years old,

The second princess, Anneliese, 8 years old,

The fourth prince, Carlo, 4 years old,

The fifth prince, Nelro, 4 years old.

The queen initially said her age was a secret, but Anneliese blurted out 32, and the queen gave her a silent, smiling glare. I was surprised that Ingrid looked much younger than his age, and that there were two other queens. Ingrid and Anneliese were the children of another queen who passed away five years ago.

The current queen is the mother of the first princess and the twin princes, and she is visiting neighboring allied countries with the first princess, who has been designated as the heir. In this country, women can also become the king if they have the ability.

Because there is a constant threat of death from monsters, strong men are expected to fight first.

During that time, women protect the home, so many families have women as the heads of the household from the beginning.

The ratio is about 50-50.

It seems to be a world without male superiority.

The child of the former queen Kushria, who was captured today, is Cavendish, and the son of Queen Leetria is Earshein.

Speaking of which, they all have blonde hair, but with different shades, and their eye colors are red for Ingrid and Anneliese, green for Cavendish, blue for Earshein and Queen Leetria, and yellow for the twin princes.

I don't know about the other queens, but it makes sense if you consider their mothers.

By the way, the king's eyes are a deep purple.

Also, the butler is Flenduran Gram, a relative of Shell.

I don't feel like I can call him that!

As if reading my thoughts, he gave me permission to call him Duran casually.

For my introduction, I only said my name, and everyone praised me.

During this warm introduction time, Anneliese kept staring at me as if she could make a hole in me.

She didn't charge at me because the queen's eyes were scary, but it was a bit frightening.

To calm Anneliese down, the king explained the events of the day in a way she could understand.

About the saintess, me, Earshein's curse, and the former queen Kushria. I thought too many things happened in one day, but what's done is done.

Anneliese, who had been listening quietly, immediately hugged Earshein when the story ended,

"Of course, Brother Hein! You overcame the curse!"

"No, I didn't do anything."

"What are you saying? It's because Brother Hein endured the curse for so long that Lord Kaito was able to discover it today! Not just anyone can do that!"

As if to say "No, no!" she put her hands on her hips and said to Earshein, who looked troubled, and everyone around her was amused.

Earshein was also smiling wryly but looked very happy.

In such a warm atmosphere, I was suddenly lifted up by my sides!

"Still, Lord Kaito is an angel! So cute and with such amazing power!! So cute! So cuuute!!"

And I was spun around.

Scary, scary, scary! Too scared to even scream!

Taking advantage of that, I was then squeezed tightly.

Everything I just ate felt like it was about to come out.

Feeling dizzy from being manhandled, Earshein quickly came to my rescue and carried me.

Feeling safe again, I slumped, and the queen said,

"A-N-N-E-L-E-I-S-E!"

With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, she called Anneliese's name, emphasizing each syllable.

Anneliese straightened her back and turned around cautiously,

"Lord Kaito is still very young. Even if you are gentle, if you spin him around and hug him tightly, you might break him! No matter how cute he is, you must not lose control. When you get excited, you don't hear the voices around you. I remember you scared Carlo and Nelro before. If you keep doing this, Lord Kaito will be afraid of you and won't come near you. Is that what you want?"

"No! I just got excited because Lord Kaito is so cute... Lord Kaito, I'm sorry for being rough. Please don't hate me."

After being scolded by the queen and remembering her excitement, she immediately apologized, so the adult me said,

"Moderation, please."

I forgave her, but I was still a bit scared to completely forgive her.

With my stomach full and, though forced, a moderate amount of exercise, the only thing a child's body needs is one thing.

The sudden sleepiness made my head nod.

Noticing this, everyone decided to end the evening.

Carried by Earshein, I greeted everyone half-asleep and was already dreaming by the time we reached my room.