Chapter 46

This time, the travel took a little longer than before.

How much time had passed?

Ethea felt her calves grow cool, damp as though soaked in water. But her body was not cold. If anything, it was almost a little hot. It felt as if intense sunlight were pouring down on her body. She could also hear singing. It was a small, beautiful voice, but definitely not a human one.

Wondering where this was, Ethea opened her eyes. And then an entirely new landscape, unlike anything she had seen until now, spread out before her.

The river flowing gently below was not the usual blue of water, but pink, sparkling as though silver dust had been scattered over it. And in the sky, long-tailed birds of many colors flew lightly like handkerchiefs fluttering in the wind. Beyond the river, flowers she had never seen before were blooming in abundance, and among those flowers, cute fairies flew about singing.

“This is……?”

“It’s Aquarand.”

Paradise, Aquarand.

This was a small island at the southernmost tip of the continent. It was said that when God first created the continent, He also created this place on a whim, wanting to make the most beautiful paradise. Perhaps because of that, the scenery was beautiful and the variety of living creatures was vast.

It was a place many magicians from countries across the continent wished to study, but because it belonged to the Imperial Family of the Hillus Empire, not just anyone could come here. The same was true of living here. Only those who had passed the Empire’s tests were qualified to reside here as inhabitants.

Just seeing the scenery of Aquarand made Ethea feel as though her body were melting away. To think she would really come to the earthly paradise she had seen only in books!

“Aquarand, Aquarand!”

Ethea murmured like someone out of her mind, then suddenly looked at Lyle’s eyes. For some reason, he seemed to be looking at her strangely. What was it?

‘Was I reacting too countryishly with excitement?’

As she thought that, she belatedly realized something. She had been rejoicing while tightly holding his hand. How excited must she have been to do that without even noticing?

“Ah.”

Ethea’s face turned red.

The same was true of him. But unlike her, whose face had heated up in embarrassment, he had turned red while keeping a blank expression. Ethea could not understand why. Surely it was not that she had gripped his hand too hard and it hurt, making him annoyed? It was difficult to read his emotions. She immediately let go of the hand she had been holding.

Lyle slowly flexed the hand her touch had been on, then looked off into the distance and said,

“Well, it seemed cold, so I brought you somewhere warm.”

“Thank you.”

Lyle answered awkwardly.

“It’s nothing much.”

For a while, the two of them stood in silence, intoxicated by the scenery and the warm, fragrant air. Then Lyle suggested,

“Aren’t you thirsty? Let’s have something to drink.”

On the far side beyond the river stood a pure white building. The design looked like one of the inns or eateries commonly found in a square, but in a place so dizzyingly colorful, it was the only white thing around, which made it stand out.

“What is this place? Ah, there’s an attendant over there.”

It seemed to be a place that sold drinks and food. But strangely enough, there did not seem to be any customers at all. Was it because it was morning?

They sat down in a suitable spot. Suddenly, Ethea grew worried. The Emperor could not possibly be someone with free time to spare-could he really be playing around in a place like this?

“But aren’t you busy?”

“I am.”

“Is it all right to be here playing around?”

“I can work here too.”

To think he could handle Imperial work even here. Was he using magic? She knew Lyle had an interest in alchemy, but she had not known he used magic. Well, perhaps Seisil handled everything for him.

Even so, curious was curious, and as Ethea sat staring blankly at him, he suddenly asked,

“Did you eat breakfast?”

“Ah. Not yet.”

Since dawn she had been preparing for Gin to go out to play, and the only thing Ethea herself had consumed was a cup of tea. Since she had just been feeling hungry, Lyle had had a good idea.

“Then while we’re drinking, let’s eat too.”

When he pressed a crystal orb on the pure white table, fairies came singing and brought the menu.

“Waaah, fairies!”

She had expected an attendant to come, so it was surprising. Since this was the land of fairies, it seemed fairies were the ones who came. At this rate, perhaps even the serving would be done by fairies?

The fairies’ expressions were varied too. One winked, while another wore a sullen look as though this were all such a bother. If a human attendant had looked like that, it would have been unpleasant, but because it was a fairy, it only looked cute and fascinating.

While Ethea’s attention was wholly drawn to the fairies like that, Lyle focused on the real purpose of coming to the restaurant and chose food. It was the course with the widest variety and the largest amount of dishes. She had known since childhood that he had a hearty appetite, but it seemed he must have been very hungry too.

After choosing everything on the menu, he asked,

“What do you want?”

After looking through the menu, Ethea ordered only a chicken salad. Even though it was a single dish, judging by the listed ingredients and quantity, it seemed to be quite a lot.

“Only a chicken salad?”

Only a chicken salad, he said. Since Lyle lived in the palace where any ingredient could be turned into fine cuisine, perhaps that was why he could call chicken salad ‘only’ that…….

Ethea began speaking seriously about what she thought of chicken salad.

“You say only a chicken salad, but actually chicken is a rare ingredient for me. Cows, pigs, and sheep are large enough that there are many shops that specialize in handling their different cuts. But with chickens, most people keep a coop in their own yard and raise them to eat, so there aren’t many shops that sell them. Especially in Oak Village, where I live, there isn’t a single one. So people like me who don’t raise chickens regard even chicken salad as something valuable, let alone chicken dishes. It’s the kind of thing you can only eat when there’s a festival in the village, or when someone gives it to you, or through barter.”

Listening quietly, Lyle seemed only now to realize something.

“Ah, is that so. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a shop selling chickens on the street.”

“You can eat whatever dish you want at the palace whenever you like, can’t you?”

“Yes.”

“It must be nice being Emperor.”

At Ethea’s words, Lyle smiled. But in her eyes, for some reason, that smile looked bitter. What was the use of having an Emperor as a friend? Taking the chance, she asked something she had been curious about.

“What is life at the palace like?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just…… is it bearable?”

He had said the Emperor had many enemies. After killing nineteen brothers overnight and putting on the Crown of Orodium, the aftermath must have been tremendous.

But Lyle looked at her and then broke into a broad smile.

“It’s good. So good it can’t even be compared to when I was a prince. So good that it makes me think this is exactly why one becomes Emperor. Something like that.”

It seemed as though he were deliberately boasting. Was it only her imagination that, because of that, it felt false?

No sooner had the food arrived than Lyle started eating. But for some reason, he gave all of the chicken dishes from the course to Ethea.

Lyle ate an enormous amount. It was not as though the palace would starve the Emperor, but as if famished, he swallowed every dish the moment it appeared, one bite after another.

“Did you come here starving?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Are they starving you at the palace?”

Lyle shook his head.

“It’s just…… I’ve been a little busy. Did you finish everything?”

He asked while looking at her plates. She patted her stomach and answered,

“Yes. I feel like I’m going to burst. I don’t even remember the last time I ate until I was this full-it’s really been so long since I felt this satisfied. But this ice is delicious too.”

Ice was just as precious as chicken dishes. Thinking that once she ate it now, who knew when she would have it again, she picked up another piece and crunched it between her teeth with lingering reluctance. Watching her, Lyle let out a quiet snort of laughter. Feeling a little awkward, Ethea asked,

“Why?”

“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, since we’ve come all the way here, isn’t there something special you want to do?”

“Hmm……”

Ethea looked below the table at her calves, still wet. The cool feeling of the river water she had touched earlier was still vivid. She wanted to play in the water. She remembered reading in a book that the river water of Aquarand was unusual in being pink, and that it also had healing properties.

“I want to play in the water.”

“Then let’s go.”