Chapter 264

13. Consumption?

The small courtyard was bright under the moon, with drooping willow branches hanging from above.

The black-haired girl sat alone on a wooden chair, gently swaying her body back and forth, humming a light, cheerful tune.

Groups of butterflies of various colors lingered reluctantly. Accompanied by the still not fully dissipated particles of light, they fluttered as they flew back toward the flower bushes or deeper into the forest. Every flap of their wings seemed like a farewell to the girl who had summoned them.

But the girl had no time to wave goodbye to them.

With such a rare quiet night of moon and trees, if she did not take out a few donuts to savor, it would truly be a disservice to herself.

“Heh, I told you bringing a chair over was the right move. Otherwise there really wouldn’t be anywhere to sit. Good thing I was smart, or I’d have suffered a big loss.”

There was no one in the small courtyard in front of the寝宫.

Eclight, who had been guarding this place just moments ago, had temporarily left. He arranged for the entire Kingdom’s Knight Order to追回 those messengers who had originally been scheduled to depart once the time arrived, delivering the “obituaries of the monarch’s passing” to the various royal families.

Since the messengers needed to be追回, and the obituaries needed to be destroyed—

That meant…

King Celt Aurus had been saved.

She stopped the slight swaying of the wooden chair.

Tilting her ear, she listened to the faint sounds coming from the寝宫 behind her—joyful voices and crying that had not ceased for a long time.

Ha.

Come to think of it, humans were truly quite strange.

When parting, they would cry loudly.

Yet when reunited, they were also in tears.

Whether joy or sorrow, both could be expressed through tears. No wonder some people liked rainy days while others hated them—so that was the reason.

The Queen wept tears of joy. She had never thought that in this lifetime she would be able to speak with Celt again. No matter how much she cried now, she should not be disturbed.

So, Sheffy was in a good mood.

Perhaps it was not just because of the rare quiet, but because of this slight “liveliness.”

However.

Being in a good mood did not mean there were no troublesome matters at all.

For example…

When she raised her head—

She saw this unfortunate girl leaning on the back of the wooden chair, gazing at her affectionately from up close, having stared at her without moving for ten whole minutes.

“Hey… Livra, that’s about enough, alright? Haven’t you heard that staring at people like that is very rude? You’re a princess—haven’t you learned even this bit of etiquette?”

“Mm, I know it’s rude to stare at others. But Miss Shaya isn’t ‘others.’”

“……”

Playing word games with her, huh.

She really could not win against that, nor did she want to. You humans were good at this sort of thing—there were poetry competitions every year, and those little mouths could chatter endlessly like ghosts.

Stopping the rocking of the wooden chair, Sheffy casually kicked off her shoes, revealing her snow-white little feet, and curled up on the chair while hugging her knees.

The wooden chair was not actually big, but with the petite black-haired girl sitting on it, it instead looked like a large chair.

Shaya pointed her thumb behind her toward the寝宫 where the crying came intermittently, then closed her right eye as she gave Livra this suggestion.

“…At a time like this, shouldn’t you go join your family reunion? You were crying your eyes out earlier, waiting to talk to your dad. Now that he’s conscious, you came out here with me instead? Does that make sense?”

“I just think that at a time like this, it’s better to leave Father King and Mother alone together. Mother has been under too much pressure these past days… she needs to cry it out. If I go over now, she’ll definitely feel embarrassed, and that wouldn’t be good. I know Father King is safe, and that’s enough. I’m not that insensitive. And also…”

“And also…?”

“And also, I feel like… since just now… I haven’t been able to take my eyes off Miss Shaya?”

“?”

That unwavering gaze was completely reflected in Sheffy’s increasingly astonished pupils.

Full of affection.

This usually independent and somewhat airheaded princess, who never relied on anyone, now appeared as soft and clingy as a little affectionate puppy.

“If I stay inside, I won’t be able to see you.”

“You… are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

Sheffy fell silent.

Or rather, speechless.

She felt that… something about Livra had been completely different since just now?!

How should she describe it?

If before it was like there was a thin layer of window paper between them, now it was like she had smashed the window with her head and pressed right up against her face, completely unrestrained!

It wasn’t just a feeling.

She was practically pressed against her face already!

“Hey!! Ahem—too close! I… I mean, don’t put so much pressure on yourself! Didn’t I just casually help you out? It was a reasonable act of friendship… right! That’s what friends are supposed to do! Don’t take it to heart, okay! If you really feel bad about it, just send a few cartloads of donuts to the Demon King’s Castle!”

“Friendship, huh…” Livra pondered those words, pressing a finger lightly against her lips as she thought.

Normally, if Sheffy said something like this, a troubled and conflicted expression would appear on Livra’s delicate little face, and she might even retreat or yield.

But this time—she only gave a playful smile, even shaking her head with a bitter laugh as if she had just heard a joke.

“Mm! Got it. Since Miss Shaya says so, let’s leave it at that for now. But… hehe.”

“But what?”

“I won’t tell you~”

“Not telling me? Like I even want to ask! Honestly, enough with the useless stuff—are you giving me the donuts or not?”

“Yes, and I’ll even throw in an unremarkable little princess as a bonus. I wonder if you want that.”

“I don’t want that, idiot. I want donuts.”

“They come as a bundle. Otherwise, no donuts either.”

“What?! Bundled sale?!”

“Hahahaha…! I’m just joking! I’ll arrange the donuts in a bit. By the time we return to the Demon King’s Castle, they might already be there.”

“Phew… that’s more like it. You scared me.”

“Then I hope your courage can be tempered a bit more in the future, because there may be more things worth being startled about.”

“No thanks. I only wish for everything to stay peaceful.”

“Whether things are peaceful or not has never been up to people.”

In conversations between smart people, not a single word mentioned “people,” yet every sentence was about them.

Livra looked at Miss Shaya, who had curled herself even tighter into a defensive posture on the chair, and decided to spare her for now.

Of course, “spare” always meant temporarily.

Livra raised both hands, her mood brighter than ever.

Behind her was her reunited family; before her was a promising future.

The princess, who had never felt this refreshed before, let out a cheerful “hey!” and suddenly plopped down onto the stone steps beside the wooden chair—

—then immediately let out a cry of agony as her tailbone suffered a heavy blow.

“Ow?!”

“Pfft… that’s hilarious! That’s what you get for not bringing a chair and sitting down so recklessly. Being prepared means doing it like me, got it?”

“Ow, ow, ow… hehe, I’m not as smart as Teacher Shaya, so please teach me more in the future.”

“Hey, keep talking like that and I’ll just leave you here and go home.”

“Eh, no no no! I won’t say it anymore, I won’t say it anymore!”

“Good.”

“I won’t say it today—I’ll say it again tomorrow.”

“You’re not done yet, are you?!”

Whoa—afraid that Shaya might run off, Livra directly hugged the leg of the chair.

Seriously, you understand me pretty well now, huh. You know I’ve taken a liking to this chair and want to take it with me, so if you keep the chair, you keep me too?

Then you might as well just hug my leg instead!

Sheffy had no awareness of her short legs at all, and even curled them up onto the chair—making it impossible for anyone to hug them.

Livra did not dare to say anything more.

At this moment, she raised her head and looked at the night sky.

The stars in the sky seemed to be more than twice as many as usual.

But those were not stars.

They were the magic particles that had yet to fully dissipate after Miss Shaya cast her spell—far more beautiful than stars.

She stared, entranced, utterly captivated.

But… there was also the unique concern of a delicate-minded girl.

“The spell Miss Shaya used just now… that was a forbidden technique, wasn’t it?”

“You could even tell that? Do you actually have some kind of special ability?”

“No. It’s because you are proficient in magic. Normally, you cast spells without chanting. Mm… although no-chant casting is the more unbelievable thing, for you, it’s the opposite. But that spell just now—even you had to think for a long time before using it, so… I think a spell like that could only come from the Forbidden Book Repository, which means it was your first time trying it.”

“You’re really quite sharp… well, after being around you for so long, I don’t find it that strange anymore. What are you—?!”

“So does Miss Shaya feel any discomfort right now! I’ve heard that the magic from the Forbidden Book Repository all comes with a price! I… I know that spell just now was used for my sake… no matter what the cost is, as long as there’s anything I can do to make up for it! Please tell me! Even if I have to be shattered to pieces, even if I’m not strong enough, I’ll do everything I can to compensate Miss Shaya!”

“Ah, alright, alright! Let go first! Let go!”

I know you’re trying to show your determination.

—But why are you suddenly grabbing my feet?!

People shake hands, and you grab feet—what kind of unique etiquette is that?!

Livra did not care about that. You had already put your feet on the chair, so why couldn’t she hold them?

Sheffy slapped her little thieving hands away and waved her hand indifferently as she explained.

“There is a price. All magic from the Forbidden Book Repository has a price—otherwise, why would it be called forbidden?”

“So it really is… then… may I ask what the price of this spell is?”

Livra nervously swallowed. Even after her father had awakened, her worries had not eased.

Until she knew what side effects Miss Shaya’s spell had, how could she feel at ease?

But Sheffy’s response was extremely calm and casual.

“It’s nothing. The price of 【Forest Speech】 is simply an enormous consumption of magic power.”

“Th-this… counts as a price? Miss Shaya, you’re not just saying that to reassure me, are you?”

“Hah, don’t underestimate high magic consumption. Did you forget your magic exhaustion when you used Word Spirit Art in the Demon King’s Castle? You couldn’t even get up for an entire day, wasn’t that you? The magic consumption of 【Forest Speech】 is probably at the level where it could shatter the magic source of an eighth-rank or even ninth-rank human, making them unable to ever use magic again—or if they’re unlucky, they’d die on the spot. Uh… Livra?”

Seeing Livra’s face turn deathly pale, looking as if she was about to atone with her life—

Sheffy quickly patted her head to explain.

Good thing she was sitting on the stone steps, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to reach her head.

“Don’t misunderstand! Everyone’s total magic power is different. For me, it’s nothing. Eat a couple of donuts and take a nap, and I’ll fully recover!”

“Miss Shaya, please don’t be so vague! I’m really worried… could you explain this magic consumption more specifically?”

“Even if I explain it specifically… it’s about equivalent to three consecutive casts of 【Extreme Dark Nova】?”

“Uu… I still don’t understand how much that is…”

“Ugh, you’re really dumb sometimes. Just when I think you’re smart, you go and act dumb. Then let me put it this way—you should understand this, right? It’s about the amount of magic power needed to blow up your home!”

“Oh…! Then that’s fine. My home isn’t big—my little room is quite simple.”

“Uh, you’re a princess, aren’t you? When I said ‘your home,’ I didn’t mean your room.”

“Not my room…? Then what does it mean?”

“It means this Royal Capital. Isn’t the Royal Capital your home?”

“?!”

So—

What she meant was blowing up the entire Royal Capital?!

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