Read Novel Full Vol 12 Chapter 9
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(5/18)
Chapter 9 – Princess Annemarie
After successfully completing the luxury liner cruise and power leveling that Bella-san and the others were invited to, I returned to the Mermaid Inn to find that a messenger from Her Majesty the Queen of Mermaids had arrived. Deciding to meet her in a hurry, I went to the messenger’s room and found… a loli mermaid.
Yes, she’s small, but you can definitely feel the blood relationship with Her Majesty the Queen. Her hair, which reminds me of the deep blue sea, is the same, and her white skin is… young and looks better than the Queen’s. It’s a shame about the symbol of motherhood, but this is something to look forward to in the future.
“Um…”
Oops, that’s not good. When someone greets you, it’s rude not to return the greeting.
“Um… My name is Wataru. Princess Annemarie, it’s a pleasure to meet you?”
No. My head is not spinning from the unexpected loli. It’s not good to greet a princess with a question mark.
“Ufufu. Nice to meet you, too.”
I felt very calm. That’s right, the loli’s smile doesn’t suit her. I can only think that it’s cute because she’s trying her best to be tough and big. If she wants that smile to be a thing, she needs to grow up a little more.
Princess Annemarie mumbles that I have the eyes of a father, but I pretend I didn’t hear her.
As I watched Princess Annemarie from an adult’s point of view, perhaps deciding to put aside the doubts and waddle over to the bag, the beautiful mermaid pulled something out and stared at it. What should I do?
“Princess Annemarie. Here it is.”
While Princess Annemarie and I stood frozen, the beautiful mermaid quickly stepped between us and reverently handed over something she had taken out, saying it was a letter from Her Majesty the Queen.
I unintentionally accepted it as if I was receiving a diploma at a graduation ceremony, but was I right?
Before that, what should I do with this letter? Should I look at it now? I’ve never received a letter before, so I don’t know what to do.
“Well… should I look at it here? I am sorry. I’m not familiar with the etiquette of such occasions…”
I know it’s embarrassing in front of the loli princess, but as they say, “To ask is a temporary disgrace, not to ask is a disgrace for life.” Let’s ask the right questions and avoid further embarrassment.
“Oh, Wataru-sama, you are like that, too, aren’t you? I studied hard, but I still don’t understand!”
Smiling, the loli princess agreed with me. It seems that this is the first time that Princess Annemarie has been sent as a messenger.
She is quite an important messenger since this is about the Sea God’s sacred treasure, and the Mermaid Kingdom, right? Why did you send a loli princess as a messenger for the first time?
After the beautiful mermaid asked me to confirm the letter, I secretly rebuked Princess Annemarie. Princess Annemarie shrugged her shoulders as though she was being criticized for being a messenger.
I guess this beautiful mermaid is the most important person in the group of messengers, except for Princess Annemarie.
Oops, don’t let the princess distract you; I have to check the letter. Hmm? This parchment isn’t wet at all; how is that possible?
“What’s wrong, Wataru-sama?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. I will check it right away.”
Even I can understand that this is not the right time to ask why the letter is not wet. Let’s check the letter first and ask why the parchment isn’t wet next time.
Huh? Are they serious?
“Um… I understand what is written in the letter. I appreciate being invited to the Mermaid Kingdom at my convenience, and I have no problem manipulating the ocean currents at that time. But how do you get to the Mermaid Kingdom? And what about Princess Annemarie’s stay on Dark Elf Island?”
I didn’t show the mermaids the submarine, did I? How are they going to invite me? And is the loli girl a messenger because she’s going with us to the Dark Elf Island? It’s not very subtle to make a child a messenger, but it’s even worse to send her to a place she’s never been before, isn’t it?
“Wataru-sama. I will do my best! Um, can’t it be me?”
The loli girl stares at me, half crying. I don’t know if it’s my heart, but I feel like I’m getting cold stares from Felicia and the other members of Girasole behind me. Huh? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?
“N-no, it’s not that I think it’s wrong; it’s just that Princess Annemarie is still young, and I think it might be problematic for her to be separated from her parents.”
I know if I said “child,” she’d be repulsed, so I said “young,” but… I wonder what her reaction would be? I looked into the loli princess’s eyes with trepidation, but I knew immediately. I had made a mistake.
“Wataru-sama! I may not be reliable yet, but I am still a princess! I will fulfill my role in place of my mother and sister, who cannot leave the country, so please don’t worry!”
The loli princess says with a loud snort. It seems that instead of interpreting “young” as “child,” she interpreted it as “unreliable.”
If I say it clearly… she might cry, so I’ll wrap it up in thinly veiled sarcasm and give my opinion.
“…I don’t doubt that you can fulfill your big role admirably, but you know what, I think you need to stay with your parents while you’re still a child.”
Did I wrap that in a thinly veiled sarcasm? Maybe I made a mistake by saying the word “child.”
“It’s all right! My mother said I was a good princess. Annema… I am not a child. I can sleep by myself and even wake up by myself in the morning!”
It seems that the word “child” was a landmine, after all. The loli began to try her best to appeal that she was already an adult and not just a child. Her eyes were moist, and she looked like she was about to cry.
The air in the room changed to an incredibly gentle atmosphere. The mermaids, including the beautiful mermaid, were cheering for the princess, and behind me, Felicia and Alessia-san were looking at Princess Annemarie with kind eyes. I felt so isolated.
“Ah, Rimu!”
Rimu, who had changed into his angelic form, flew up and landed on Princess Annemarie’s chest as she spoke frantically.
“Huh?”
Princess Annemarie, who reflexively held Rimu, who had suddenly flown out of nowhere, exclaimed in surprise. It is kind of heartwarming… to see an angelic Rimu and a mermaid little girl.
No, it’s kind of a stubborn meeting, but it would be bad if a Slime interrupted the meeting with a country’s messenger, even if he’s tamed. He’s cute, though.
“Rimu. You can’t do that. Come here. Princess Annemarie, I’m sorry. There is no danger; please don’t be afraid of him.”
“…I won’t let you bully her…”
“Huh? No, you’re wrong, Rimu. I didn’t bully Princess Annemarie. I just talked to her, okay?”
Eh, so it looked like I was bullying Princess Annemarie to Rimu? This misunderstanding is too shocking. I just said the obvious.
“…No…”
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”
I unintentionally apologized. If I had apologized, it would have been confirmed that I was bullying the loli…
“You must be Wataru-sama’s familiar, Rimu-sama, right? Nice to meet you; I am Annemarie. Wataru-sama didn’t bully me. He just worried about me in different ways, so please don’t worry.”
The loli followed up. But this follow-up is very helpful. Thank you, Princess Annemarie. I’m sorry, I thought you were a loli or something. You are mature enough.
“…Is that so…?”
“Yes. That’s right. I had a somewhat difficult conversation with Princess Annemarie. I didn’t mean to bully her at all.”
“…Sorry…”
“No, Rimu doesn’t have to apologize. I’m sorry for making you feel that way.”
Phew, I panicked. I was as impatient as when I fell into this world and woke up in a meadow.
“Rimu-sama. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. Thank you very much.”
Oh, wow. Rimu and Princess Annemarie got along well and started playing together. I’m a little jealous, but since she saved my life in a pinch, I’ll just sit back and watch.
“Wataru-sama. Annemarie-sama will be accompanied by those who usually serve at her side, including myself. Also, if you could allow Annemarie-sama to return home, Her Majesty the Queen and Annemarie-sama would be at ease, wouldn’t you agree?”
While I was gently watching Rimu and Princess Annemarie playing, the beautiful mermaid spoke to me. I’m a little happy that the beautiful mermaid is with her, but… they should have told me earlier. Why now? There was a better time to interrupt, wasn’t there?
“…If it is decided that she will accompany us, you can rest assured that I will always allow her to return to her hometown. However, the final decision on whether or not she will accompany us will be made after consultation with Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The beautiful mermaid nodded respectfully. She has a wonderful attitude, but I no longer trust her. This beautiful mermaid is an inedible adult.
Phew… I feel like I’m on the wrong side here, but there’s a lot of pressure to take care of a little girl. I’ll manage to talk to Her Majesty the Queen and have her send only adult mermaids.
Huh? But I’m not on Dark Elf Island very often, so if I put Felicia’s father in charge… no, I’ll have to take responsibility. Even if it’s an idiosyncratic move, let’s give it my last hope and go straight to Her Majesty the Queen.
“Oh, I was distracted by the story of Princess Annemarie, but how are we going to get to the Mermaid Kingdom?”
I’ll go if they tell me to come in a submarine, but I’m very curious because I’m sure they don’t know anything about submarines.
“The queen has entrusted us with the sacred treasure given to us by Sea God-sama. It’s a sacred treasure that allows even humans to breathe freely in the sea, so please don’t worry.”
“Huh? There was the Sea God’s sacred treasure and another sacred treasure that allows mermaids to become human, wasn’t there? Besides that, did the Sea God-sama give you any other sacred treasures?”
“Yes. According to the legend, when the mermaid and the human were united, the mermaid thought it would be difficult for them to live separately in the sea and on land, so the Sea God-sama gave the mermaids the ability to live both in the sea and on land.”
“…Is that so…?”
Sea God-sama. He has such a personality, but he’s so kind to the mermaids. I’m not convinced, but I’ll accept it because it sounds like fun to be able to breathe in the sea. I’ll have to wait until I get to the Mermaid Kingdom to learn how to control the ocean currents, so I guess that’s the end of the story for now.