Translator: Nox

Chapter 50

50. A Friend Who Drank Too Much Juice

"......Yes?"

Seeing Nia's anxious expression, Fiona chuckled and gestured to the twins.

At once, the nimble twins simultaneously lifted two conspicuous silver snack boxes.

"These tacky snacks, are you guys beggars?"

Startled, Nia reached for her box while looking at the twins, but the twins lifted the boxes even higher, teasing her.

Then, as they juggled the boxes back and forth, Nia, who only had eyes for her box, pathetically chased after the snack boxes flying this way and that.

"Which one is yours?"

"I don't know?"

"Hmm, is it this one?"

"Hmm, is it this one?"

At that almost acrobatic bullying, the children who had gathered around began to watch.

As they drew attention, the twins became even more excited and tossed the snack boxes wildly.

Because of that, Nia was already tearful as some of the snacks fell to the floor.

The child was breathless from chasing, but she didn't stop.

"Gi, give it ba, give it back……! Waa, waaaah……!"

Then, Ivanne, who had been watching the spectacle as if it were none of her business, finally snapped out of it at Nia's sobbing.

"What are you doing! If you want to eat it, just say so! Why aren't you putting it down!?"

"Pfft—who would eat that? Nobody eats stuff like that."

"Pfft—who would eat that? Nobody eats stuff like that."

"Pfft. Hahaha!"

Fiona burst out laughing at the twins' sarcasm.

Even though they were pointing out children who had been rude to the princess, they were going too far.

Then, Ivanne, with a vein throbbing on her forehead, aimed for Nia's box that the twins were tossing.

And as soon as one of the twins caught the box in the air, Ivanne snatched it away.

Thus began their tug-of-war, and the children's excited cheers followed.

Just as the teachers were starting to pay attention to the commotion, the twins ran out of strength and let go, and all the snacks soared into the air from the recoil.

Then,

"Huu, waaaaaah!!! No! My cookies……!"

Nia's wail, watching it all, finally burst out.

And then, an eagle appeared from somewhere.

-Thud, thud thud!

The eagle quickly grabbed the edge of the box with its beak and began to catch the cookies falling from the air.

Its steady movements made it seem as if it was magically placing itself where the cookies needed to be.

At the end of the spectacular feat, the eagle quietly went to Nia and set the box down as if nothing had happened.

"……Th, thank you, eagle……!"

Just this morning, she had found the eagle grotesque and scary.

Was it simply because it had helped her?

Nia, who had become strangely fond of the eagle, looked at its sharp glass eyes and clutched the box preciously.

And the teachers, who belatedly rushed over, gathered around and asked about the situation, but

"What! Why are you interfering! You're just a Monster purified by the White Wizard!"

Then, one of the twins kicked the mascot doll, and at that moment, the eagle widened its beak and swallowed the child's upper body, lifting him up.

It looked like a sightless bird with a wriggling earthworm in its beak.

3 seconds.

2 seconds.

1 second.

From inside the dark mascot costume, cold blue eyes could be seen.

As time passed, those fierce eyes flickered like the hottest blue flames, staring at the child with the eyes of a predator.

Was this what it meant to strike someone with your eyes?

The child could no longer scream at the nightmarish sight, and the remaining twin punched the eagle wildly, but had the twins' mystery manifested?

Soon, the other brother began to shake his pupils as if he were experiencing the same thing.

A thin ray of red light flew through the commotion.

As the red light, pointing at its target, pierced the eagle's chest,

"There."

Heath, the source of the red light, pointed at the eagle.

That's right.

Leon wasn't the only one who had modified the Tracking Magic Stone.

Soon, the Black Knights quickly approached, blocking the eagle with their bodies and struggling to pull the child out of its beak and set him down.

Thus, warm water flowed from the crotch of the child, who was in shock.

Gillianna, who was dusting off the child's body, was startled and looked at the approaching teacher, saying playfully.

"Oh, my. It seems our friend drank too much juice~! It's time for our eagle friend to disappear~!"

"Oh? Aunt Gilli!"

In the midst of all this, Ivanne pointed happily, and Gillianna shushed her with a finger.

Thus, grabbing one wing of the resisting eagle in each hand, she began to leave with Vernon, skipping merrily.

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace's Great Hall.

Here, where the final destination, the theater stage, was set up, many people were busily moving around to check the stage equipment and lighting.

Crown Prince Airen, the supervisor, was watching the stage.

Someone approached him, bowing, and handed him an egg larger than an ostrich egg.

"Your Highness, please give me a signal when the play is finished. Then, please give them this. So, please keep your promise……!"

The man, with his long, unkempt hair tied back and a tired expression, was the director of this theater troupe.

He seemed to want something, and he looked quite servile.

Airen smiled at him and said,

"Yes, you've prepared it well as I said. So, don't worry about the investment in your next work and focus on the play."

The director's expression brightened at his confirmation.

As he bowed and disappeared, Airen looked at the egg in his hand and smiled with satisfaction.

The egg-shaped object he had just received was a gift called a Sacred Object.

Inside the Sacred Object were various snacks and toys, and it was the best gift, given specially to only one child by lottery at the end of the play.

There was a reason why children couldn't help but like it.

Airen stroked the Sacred Object and smiled quietly.

"If they receive this, they can't help but think of me and Lucia together at least once."

That's right. What he had prepared inside the Sacred Object were dolls decorated as a bride and groom with black hair and pink hair.

Even if the results weren't immediate, it was his little trick to plant the idea in the child's mind.

And as he imagined Leon's face souring as he saw it, Crown Prince Airen began to laugh so much that he leaned back, feeling happy.

"……The Crown Prince is more jovial than I thought?"

"Oh my, he's different from his appearance."

The actors playing the Black Knight and the White Wizard whispered, taken aback by the Crown Prince's appearance.

Then, someone shouted at them, annoyed.

"Hey! What are you doing? Are you trying to ruin my debut stage? Stop chatting and prepare the stage!"

"Yes! We're going!"

The Black Knight tied his black hair back and quickly moved away.

The Eldarion Empire made many efforts to create a stable situation after the war.

Among them was a play commissioned from a theater troupe with a long history, which was a historical play made with a mix of fun to make it easy for young children to understand.

The play was more successful than expected, to the point where tickets were being scalped, and thanks to word of mouth, all the people who could come to the Imperial Palace gathered to watch the stage, which was set up as a picnic.

As the children took their seats first, the performance began.

Soon, the curtain was drawn, and the silhouette of a shining white goddess could be seen.

[A long time ago, the barbarian Titurshans appeared on the continent. The barbarians attacked the sacred Hasnas People, and at that time, there were four heroes sent by Goddess Asir…….]

As the solemn prologue ended, the Yellow Knight wearing a golden mask appeared first.

["I am a knight of Eldarion! The Yellow Knight!"]

"Waaaaa!!"

As the children cheered at the appearance of the hero, the remaining two knights appeared in turn.

They all wore masks that matched their unique colors and struck poses.

And after a brief daily snippet, the Yellow Knight shouted.

["The enemy's knights! The continent's justice is collapsing! We must go and save the Hasnas People!"]

["That's right. Is it unavoidable to protect peace……!"]

["That's right. They are too pitiful to leave them alone like this!"]

The White Knight was the only one who used honorifics, and people nodded as if tacitly understanding, looking at the dazed Leon.

However, among those watching the play, the knights' reactions were different.

In particular, the Black Knights, who had been on the front lines themselves, knew all too well how unrealistic these lines were.

"What, I get that they're talking about peace and peace because it's for kids, but the enemy's knight is the enemy's knight captain, right? Why is a knight order that didn't even properly participate in the war suddenly acting like the captain?"

"Shh, Gillianna. Just stay still. Don't break the children's dreams."

At Vernon's words, Gillianna began to imitate vomiting in a childish manner.

Then, Heath, who was next to the eagle that had calmed down, said.

"But when does the Black Knight come out?"

"They're probably coming out late because they're the strongest knight order, hahaha."

After Gilli's laughter, the play proceeded in order.

The stage of the heroes who set out on a journey to find the tormenting Titurshans changed to deserts, forests, and grasslands, and a splendid stage continued, and as the journey came to an end.

When the Titurshans and the final boss, the princess, appeared,

"What! That Monster is... not the princess!"

The princess shouted, perhaps shocked by the sight of the Monster in scary makeup, named the Titurshan princess.

It sounded like she was seething, unable to contain her anger, but the Black Knights' eyes widened even more at the next scene.

The one who appeared as the Titurshan accomplice was a Black Knight.

And with that shocking scene frozen, the narration began again.

[Unfortunately, the Black Knight, seduced by the Titurshans, grew up with a cruel nature, and now the three assembled heroes will enlighten him...]

The Black Knights were speechless at the absurd explanation, and the other royal guard followed with mocking remarks.

The play started again,

["Fortunately, you've come to your senses! Black Knight!"]

["Kuh... To have been deceived all this time, thank you. I will repay this favor with their lives. None of them will survive here!"]

The Black Knight, having regained his senses, began to massacre the Titurshans in a rage, and the remaining heroes began to stop his cruel actions.

["Black Knight! No! Life is not something to be taken so carelessly!"]

["That's right, even so, they are human beings!"]

["What nonsense are you spouting! Get out of my way!"]

No one could stop the mighty Black Knight.

And the last remaining enemy knight blocked her,

["No! Let's try to resolve this through dialogue first... Ugh!"]

["No! Enemy Knight!"]

While he was blocking the Black Knight, a Titurshan barbarian stabbed the enemy knight.

And so, Act 1 ended with the Black Knight wailing.

As if anticipating Act 2, people began to cheer at the sound of the magnificent and grand music.

So.

The cruel Black Knight was the seduced accomplice of the enemy, and the remaining three were the heroes shouting for true peace, which is how Act 1 ended.

"Isn't this... insane?"

Berl, who was usually so kind and diligent, even swore, he was so angry.

The aces felt the same way about the resentment and absurdity.

"What is it? Captain, why are we like that?"

"That's just a heartless, brainless idiot!!! Captain!!! Did you see that!?"

"...I won't let this go...!"

They were grabbing innocent eagles and tearing out feathers in anger.

That's right.

Originally, war is something where black and white are not clear when you look closely.

The empire that won the war wanted to make the Titurshans definite villains, and the enemy knight was portrayed as a representative good image because he protected the people near the empire and gained great support.

So, given the nature of the Black Knights, it was safe to say that they were designed as anti-villains for a dramatic twist.

But more than the sound of the members climbing on her like the Bremen Town Musicians and shouting, more than the sound of the surrounding royal guard trying to hold back their laughter.

What was more clearly audible was Nia's sobbing, even amidst the cheers of the children.

"...Our mom is not like that..."

At that sob, Lucia's heart, inside the mascot costume, began to burn black with anger.

And even in this chaotic situation that brought joy to some and anger to others, Leon was blankly looking at his fingers.

'Did she just stop by? Where has she been...'

For a moment, he was bothered by the jewel of the bracelet that shone in the greenhouse.

As he was just looking at it,

"......?"

Suddenly, the black jewel began to glow red again.

'She's here?'

He quickly raised his head and looked around.

Flying feathers, sharp beaks.

'Could it be...?'

Leon began to chase after the back of the mascot costume that was busily disappearing somewhere.