Chapter 173 - 18
The barbecue of the academy people was very lively. They feel happy because they can enjoy their vacation in peace. That happiness was not only felt by the people from the academy but also by Princess Irene. It was because that night was the first time she could get together with girls her age to chat and joke. She could sense that the girls had already considered her a friend.
Princess Irene had a lot of new experiences that day. One of them was that she could taste the grilled meat of magical beasts. From birth until now, Princess Irene never knew how the flesh of magical beasts tasted. Meanwhile, the princesses of the human kingdom have at least tasted it. Unexpectedly Princess Irene liked it and kept increasing the portion until the third plate. It made Clara and the girls laugh.
"Can you guys stop laughing at me?
" Princess Irene pouted and wiped the leftover food on her lips.
"Ahaha… we're sorry. We didn't expect you liked the grilled meat of magical beasts so much. But, the meat wouldn't be that good if it wasn't for Ken grilling it, don't you agree?
" Princess Freya smiled apologetically at Princess Irene. She and the other girls had tasted the various kinds of meat that the Cirlus Kingdom had prepared for them. They didn't expect that magical beast meat was the most delicious of all the types of meat they had eaten at that barbecue. But they know that it's all because of the person who cooked it. The girls had tasted the magical beast meat that Lilith, Dalvin, and James had grilled, but everything was not as good as Ziel's.
"Then, how about you give him to me, Clara?
" Princess Irene teases Clara.
"No!
" Clara answered firmly.
"Ahaha… I was joking. You don't need to be that serious.
" Princess Irene felt a little disappointed after hearing Clara's answer. For another reason, Princess Aishia also felt a little lost.
"After all, would your father allow you to choose someone from the human race to be your butler?
" Princess Iris asked Princess Irene curiously. They knew that the relationship between the demon race and the human race was not good. But Princess Irene looked serious when she asked Ziel to be her butler beforehand. Even though she said it was just a joke, the girls knew she was lying.
"That is…probably not. But if I push a little, maybe my father will allow it. Even so, the human race will not be treated well within the royal castle.
" Princess Irene smiled bitterly. Princess Iris' question pierced her heart a little. She could already imagine how the people in the Demon Kingdom's castle would treat Ziel when she brought him home and made him her butler.
"Okay! let's put that aside first! by the way, do you want to meet Kyouka and the other heroes, Irene?
" Princess Aishia interrupted their conversation because the atmosphere became heavy after seeing Princess Irene's sad face.
"Of course, I will! But, isn't it difficult to meet them?
" Princess Irene wiped her sad face after hearing Princess Aishia's question. She didn't want to make her new friends uncomfortable with all her troubles.
"I'll bring them here for you. maybe Kyouka and the other heroes won't be able to talk to you for long since they have their group.
" Princess Aishia volunteered to help Princess Irene to meet the heroes.
"Thank you! In that case, please bring them here! Ah, but wait a minute!
" Princess Irene suddenly remembered something.
"Hmm...what's wrong?
" Princess Aishia tilted her head to see Princess Irene's confused face.
"That is…
" Princess Irene hesitated to say what she was thinking.
"say it. You shouldn't hesitate to tell us.
" Kalya smiles, urging her to speak.
"Can you only bring three of the heroes? one of them makes me uncomfortable.
" Princess Irene was forced to say it. She was afraid that Princess Aishia and the other girls would be offended by her words.
"Who is it? Wait, could it be… Hikaru?
" Princess Freya asked Princess Irene. She guessed that the one who made Princess Irene feel uncomfortable was Hikaru. She thought that way because Hikaru was the only guy who talked to Princess Irene longer than the other heroes.
"Not him! But the other boy.
" Princess Irene couldn't help but have to answer it. She didn't want the girls to guess and end up in misunderstandings. The girls frowned after hearing Princess Irene's answer.
"You mean... Sintaro? What makes you uncomfortable with him?
" Princess Aishia asked Princess Irene. Although she doesn't know the nature of each hero very well, she knows that Sintaro has never done anything terrible to the people around him. What Princess Aishia didn't like about him was that he had a bad temper. Besides that, he is also a playboy.
"I don't know for sure. I feel uncomfortable with that stare of him.
" Princess Irene smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"I understand. I will try to take them secretly, so Sintaro doesn't find out.
" Princess Aishia agreed to Princess Irene's request.
"Thank you! I apologize if I have troubled you!
" Princess Irene smiled broadly. She was relieved that none of them were offended by her words.
"You didn't bother me at all. Then I'll go pick them up first.
" Princess Aishia went to the hero group's barbecue. After Princess Aishia disappeared from her sight, Princess Irene suddenly remembered something and looked at Princess Freya.
"By the way, Freya. Wasn't your brother also with the heroes? why don't you join their group?
" Princess Irene tilted her head. If she were in Princess Freya's position, she and Prince Viron would be in the same group.
"Ah, that's because I prefer to be with the people here. But sometimes I also go with my brother.
" Princess Freya answered calmly. Even so, she was a little surprised because Princess Irene asked that in front of Clara. Princess Freya couldn't possibly say the main reason she was in the group was Ziel. But over time, she became comfortable with Clara and the other girls in the group.
"Hmm… suspicious… then, have you all known each other for a long time?
" Princess Irene didn't believe Princess Freya's answer. She wants to know the relationship between Ziel, Princess Freya, and Kalya. She became curious after knowing Ziel was Clara's butler and not the butler of the two girls. But Princess Freya and Kalya look very obedient to him.
"We've known each other since we first entered the academy and got close about a month after that.
" Clara answered honestly because she felt that Princess Irene was curious about the girls' relationship and had no other motive.
"In that case, do you girls already have a guy you like in the academy?
" Princess Irene smirked. Romance is one of the girls' favorite topics of conversation when they are together. Princess Irene just experienced it now.
The girls couldn't directly answer Princess Irene's question. They looked at each other and were silent for a moment before Clara spoke first.
"Hmm... I don't have it yet, even though there are people I like.
" Clara smiled shyly. Her face was flushed red because she boldly said it in front of many people. Princess Irene was surprised after hearing Clara's answer, but she smiled slyly after thinking of something.
"Hehe...who is that?
" Princess Irene asked curiously. The other girls were also waiting for an answer from Clara even though they had already guessed who it was.
"It's a secret!
" Clara hesitated whether to answer it or not, but she decided not to answer because she was embarrassed.
"Haa...then what about the others?
" Princess Irene was a little disappointed with Clara's answer, but she couldn't force her. She still wants to learn about the relationship between Ziel, Kalya, and Princess Freya. She felt Clara's answer would give her a clue.
"I already have a fiancé.
" Kalya smiled and answered briefly.
Princess Irene froze in silence. She wondered what kind of man would be lucky to be her fiancé. Then she looked at the other girl who hadn't answered yet. But their conversation ended with the appearance of Princess Aishia and the heroes. As promised, Princess Aishia didn't take Sintaro with her.
"Irene?
" Kyouka was confused after seeing Princess Irene without the horns on top of her head. On top of that, she couldn't sense any disguise magic on her either.
"Of course it's me! Don't you recognize me?
" Princess Irene smiled broadly, then hugged Kalya and Megumi. After letting go of her embrace, she looked at Hikaru.
"Hey, Hikaru!
" Princess Irene greeted Hikaru with a big smile.
"Oh, hi too! You look much prettier without those horns. ah, that doesn't mean you're not pretty without horns!
" Hikaru was nervous when he saw Princess Irene's smile. He tries to compliment her but gets panicked and thinks he said the wrong thing when he sees Princess Irene frowning.
"Are you okay, Irene?
" Kyouka asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. I just remembered something while on the way to this place.
" Princess Irene smiled and glanced at Ziel. In the end, they could only chat for a while, and the heroes had to return to their groups for fear that Sintaro would become suspicious of Kyouka and the other heroes who had suddenly disappeared.
Time passed quickly, and the barbecue of the academy people was over. Currently, Ziel is walking on the beach with Princess Irene. When Princess Irene was about to return to her inn, Clara and the other girls asked Ziel to accompany her. They don't want a girl walking alone late at night. Princess Irene was happy to accept it. Since the inn wasn't too far away, they didn't take long to get back there.
"Thank you for accompanying me to the inn, Ken. But I wonder why no one noticed my return?
" Princess Irene looked at Ziel suspiciously.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go first.
" Ziel ignored her question and wanted to leave the place immediately.
"Okay, I won't ask that! But, may I ask something else?
" Princess Irene pouted because Ziel didn't want to answer.
"Please.
" Ziel answered curtly.
"What is your relationship with Freya and Miss Kalya?
" Princess Irene has been curious about it since she returned to the inn this afternoon. Princess Irene didn't know why she was thinking about it, but she felt uneasy before getting his answer.
"That's none of your business, Princess Irene.
" Ziel quickly left the place without waiting for her response. Princess Irene was taken aback by Ziel's indifferent attitude towards her. When she came back to her senses, Ziel had already disappeared from her sight.
"You stupid!
" Princess Irene subconsciously shouted and angrily walked towards her lodging room.
***
The next day, Kyouka and the other heroes were already on the magic ship heading to a nearby small island. Besides them, Princess Reina, Princess Rinne, Prince Albert, and Prince Fritz also joined. Ziel, Clara, and the group didn't come with them for some reason. The ship did not belong to the kingdom but was a tourist transport ship. Because of that, many other passengers boarded with them. Coincidentally, Prince Viron and Princess Irene were also on the magic ship. Sintaro and Prince Viron even almost fought just because of an argument.
Kyouka is currently looking out at the sea while remembering what happened this morning. She had asked Megumi to live with her, Clara, and Princess Iris. In the end, the three of them still have that strange dream, but Megumi doesn't. It explained that only the three of them were bound by the dream.
"Haaa…it seems like it will take some time to find out the truth of the dream.
" Kyouka sighed heavily and tried to get rid of the problem for a while.
"Kyouka, are you in trouble?
" Princess Irene whispered to Kyouka. She approached her secretly so that Prince Viron wouldn't know.
"I was just daydreaming… what was that?
" Kyouka didn't have time to finish her words because the entire ocean was suddenly covered in mist, and the seawater emitted a golden light.
"Eh? Why is it suddenly foggy? Wasn't the weather very sunny before?
" Princess Irene was confused by the change in weather.
"Let's get together with the others!
" Kyouka pulled Princess Irene's hand and intended to leave the place immediately. However, a gigantic tail emerged from the bottom of the sea and attacked the magic ship.
"What!?
" Princess Irene and Kyouka were dumbfounded and didn't have time to cast their magic spells. So Kyouka hugged Princess Irene and jumped off the ship.
Boooooooooooommmmmmmm!
The magic ship was blown apart. Fortunately, Kyouka and Princess Irene survived. But they couldn't find their friends anywhere in the ocean because the fog was so thick.
"What is happening!?
" Kyouka swam using the ship's wreckage as a buoy while carrying Princess Irene, who had fainted. While looking down, Kyouka trembled at the gigantic shadow like a living island from the bottom of the sea. Not long after, a vast tsunami tens of meters high appeared in front of Kyouka and swept her along with everything else in that place.
"Aaahh!
" Kyouka shouted while hugging Princess Irene tightly.. She could only try to survive until the giant tsunami finally swallowed them up.