"Eugy!"
A female knight with long blonde hair and pure white light armor hugged me.
"A-Airi? Why are you here?" (Eugene)
"Eh? A request for reinforcements from the Federation came to the Empire after all. I heard you were in the Federation, so I came!" (Airi)
'Hu hum' -my childhood friend brushed her sparkling blonde hair.
That's not what I am trying to ask here…
{Hey, Airi.} (Eugene)
{What, Eugene?} (Airi)
I whisper to her.
{You are the next Empress, right? Is it the time to be coming to a place like this one? It is dangerous.} (Eugene)
{It is alright. This island is distant from the Darkness Dragon, and most of all, staying the whole time in the Empire leaves me with nothing to do.} (Airi)
{Nothing to do…} (Eugene)
I was baffled, but now that I think about it, Airi was exemplary in her studies and is in one of the strongest fighting forces that are the Heaven Knights. Moreover, she is the next in line to the throne.
She is the most important person in the Grandflare Empire.
There won't be freedom as long as she is inside the Empire, so I am sure she came here to stretch her limbs.
She has the Golden Knight Order that is under the direct control of the Emperor, so she should have gotten the permission of His Imperial Majesty.
"Princess Airi…thank you very much for coming all the way here from the Empire. I am grateful that you have brought a Flying Ship division like this." (Tifania)
Princess Tifania Crystal lowered her head deeply again.
The smile of Airi disappeared from her face at that instant.
She has the face of a princess.
"Last time we met was at the school festival, right, Princess Tifania? It is a misfortune that the Darkness Dragon has shown up. The Empire will provide assistance as much as possible." (Airi)
"Y-Yes. And so, about the conditions of this time's reinforcements…" (Tifania)
"Regarding the conditions, can you please discuss the details with Captain Galvan?" (Airi)
A knight with a sharp gaze, who would be more accurate to describe as being elderly than in his prime, was in the direction Airi glanced at.
—Captain Galvan Graywood.
He has been in service since the time of the previous Emperor, and he is currently the oldest captain in the Golden Knight Order.
(He is the overseer of Airi who doesn't have much experience negotiating with other countries, huh…) (Eugene)
Also, I know his name, but I have almost never had a conversation with him.
Looks like there's not much help I can provide in the negotiation…is what I was thinking and…
{If you have trouble with anything, come to me directly.} (Airi)
{Eh?}
I heard Airi whisper this to Princess Tifania.
Princess Tifania had a dumbstruck expression for an instant, but hurriedly lowered her head.
(I see… They negotiate through Captain Galvan first and have Airi smoothen things to make her feel indebted, huh.) (Eugene)
My childhood friend has become skilled at negotiating unbeknownst to me.
I was impressed by this and…
"Hey, Eugy, let's go!" (Airi)
Airi pulled my hand.
"Is it okay to not participate in the meeting?" (Eugene)
"It is okay. The imperial army is simply going to be assisting in the evacuations. It is not like we are going to be fighting." (Airi)
"I see." (Eugene)
We were having that conversation while I was still being pulled.
Not good. I will get caught in the pace of Airi at this rate.
Just when I was about to say 'Wait a moment'…
"Eugy-kun!"
"Eugene!"
Sumire and Sara stopped us.
"Oh my, Sumire-chan, Sara-san, I will be borrowing Eugy." (Airi)
"Y-You can't!" (Sumire)
"Princess Airi, can you not take away our boyfriend as you please?" (Sara)
"Muh…"
The face of Airi returns to how it normally is.
My childhood friend is not that good at controlling her emotions despite receiving education as a princess.
Basically, she is short tempered.
"Isn't it fine if it is for a bit? You are always together. Also, Eugy is not yours." (Airi)
Airi tried to forcefully pull me.
"Oh my, are you deaf, Princess of the Empire? It seems like Eugene doesn't want to leave us." (Sara)
Sara grabbed my arm.
She is smiling, but her eyes aren't.
"I can hear you. You are so possessive, Upcoming Holy Maiden-sama." (Airi)
The words of Airi made the smile of Sara disappear.
Sara has been raised as a sister since infancy, but she is a fighting sister that prefers to swing her fists over praying.
She has a straight personality.
The result is that Airi and Sara are glaring at each other.
"Eugy-kun…" (Sumire)
Sumire is looking at me with upturned eyes.
She looks uneasy…but it also looks as if she is saying 'do something already'.
Sumire looks like the gentle type, but maybe because of the influence of being an Ifrit, or that's her personality to begin with, she has an emotional side.
She is not as gentle and quiet as she looks.
(Eugene, is it your hobby to put a hand on women like that the whole time?) (Eri)
Eri said this with a baffled tone.
No, it is a coincidence.
""...…""
For now, this current situation where the next Empress and upcoming Holy Maiden are glaring at each other is not good.
Princess Tifania and Claude's faces are stiff.
"Come here." (Eugene)
I forcefully pulled the 3 of them and changed the location.
◇◇
"Sorry about what happened just now…"
"My bad as well…"
Sara and Airi seem to have calmed down while we were changing locations, and they both apologized.
That's a relief. This escaped the political conflict.
Incidentally, they are both using more casual tones on purpose.
"By the way, did you come here because you were worried about Eugy-kun?" (Sumire)
I feel like Sumire's tone is way too casual though.
Sara made a slightly surprised expression.
There were times when the two had an opportunity to talk in the festival, so they are both closer now.
"Well, something like that… Also, you are calling him Eugy-kun…?" (Airi)
"Eh?! W-What about it?! I have been calling him that since way back~." (Sumire)
"Really…?" (Airi)
Airi tilted her head.
The Flying Ships that were anchored in the sky flew off in all directions at that time.
I am sure they are heading to the islands that are within the estimated route of the Darkness Dragon to evacuate the people.
The 4 of us chatted for a while after that.
"By the way, Eugy, isn't it boring to just run away from the Darkness Dragon?" (Airi)
Airi showed an impish smile as if she were scheming something.
"Airi… What are you thinking?" (Eugene)
I could imagine what she would say, but still urged her on.
It is because we have known each other for long.
"I have an interesting plan. How about trying to defeat the legendary Great Demonic Beast since there's the opportunity?" (Airi)
It is the same face as the time when we were children. The time when she said 'Let's go subjugate a wyvern!' and we faced a wyvern, and ended up heavily injured.