Chapter 98: The Elf Sisters' Visit

“Thank you for inviting us this time.” “Thank you for inviting us!”

Getting off Oboro the Simurgh, the elf Mutilia-san and Eltiria-chan bow to us. Similarly getting off Oboro, the six elf guards for the sisters also bowed slightly. The reason all six elf guards are female is probably considering the Autumn Cooling Party. Men cannot participate, after all.

“Welcome to the le Philharmonie Ducal House. Ritsu, thank you for transporting them. Aren’t you tired?” “No, I am fine.”

Even riding Oboro, it’s a round trip of over six hours in the sky. She can’t not be tired. Oboro, who must have been flying since morning, must be tired too, so I told Ritsu she can take the rest of the day off. She insisted she was fine, but resting is also part of the job. I introduce Mutilia-san and Eltiria-chan to Father and Mother, whom they meet for the first time. Mutilia-san participates in the Autumn Cooling Party as the proxy for the Elf Village Chief Rexrum-san and as the Shrine Maiden of the Spirit Tree. Eltiria-chan too. Like other royalty, a first-class hotel was apparently prepared for accommodation, but they decided to stay at our Ducal House. We can’t have any trouble happening now when interaction with the reclusive elves is finally beginning. The elves also agreed, saying they feel safer with us whom they are close with.

“We are truly indebted to Lady Sakuraile. We also thank everyone of the le Philharmonie Ducal House.” “No no, we are happy if our daughter was of help. Please relax and think of this as your home for a short while.”

While Mother and Mutilia-san were exchanging greetings, a carriage entered from the mansion gate. The moment I saw that carriage, Father and I knit our brows—kyu. The Imperial Crest. His Majesty Uncle (Oitan) appears, huh… However, getting off wasn’t just His Majesty the Emperor, but also the Empress and the Empress Dowager Grandmother. Elliott is not here.

“Brother… why are you here?” “Hearing that guests from the elves are here, how can I, the representative of the country, not come?”

Is that true~? Aren’t you just a curious bystander? Escaping my doubting gaze, His Majesty turned to Mutilia-san.

“Elves, welcome to the Royal Capital. I am the King of this country, Windham Ri Symphonia.” “Thank you for inviting us this time, Your Majesty. I am Mutilia, eldest daughter of Elf Village Chief Rexrum and Shrine Maiden of the Spirit Tree. This is my sister Eltiria. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Mutilia-san places a hand on her chest and bows slightly. Eltiria-chan next to her hurriedly imitates her sister and bows—pekori. Similarly, the Empress and Grandmother greet the elf party. While vacantly watching that, His Majesty approached me—sususu.

“By the way, Sakuraile. Heard you can summon a new store again. How about entertaining the elves at that store for this occasion?”

Uncle, was that your objective after all? Just wanted to see the convenience store, right? At a glance, it looks like the Empress and Grandmother came following His Majesty, but rather, didn’t His Majesty forcibly tag along with the two? However, would a convenience store serve as entertainment…? Well, I think they’ll find it unusual though. Just in case, asking the opinion of our family head.

“What shall we do, Father?” “Convenience store sweets and bentos are delicious, so I think they’ll be sufficiently pleased.”

True. Mutilia-san and Eltiria-chan were quite happy with cheap sweets (dagashi), so I think they’ll like convenience store sweets too. Then, shall I summon.

“[Store Summoning]!”

Moving to the usual summoning spot, I summon the convenience store ‘Seventh Heaven’. Guiding the surprised elves, I had them choose what they wanted. As expected, Mutilia-san and Eltiria-chan headed for sweets, and the Empress and Grandmother were engrossed in the beauty-related shelf Mother taught them about. The guard elves also seemed very interested, though surprised by the freezer with ice and the Oden simmering—gutsu gutsu. Huh? Where is His Majesty? Looking around the store searching for His Majesty—choko choko (since I’m short, I can’t overlook the store), I found him engrossed in reading a certain book at the magazine corner. Wait, that book is… Uwaa… making the same face as Father.

“What are you looking at?” “Fua!? N-No, this is!”

Uwaa… meeting the same fate as Father. Behind the Empress’s beaming smile, a Hannya figure is visible. Or rather, is this okay? Showing our King being scolded by his wife in front of state guests? Glancing at the elves, they seem engrossed in assessing goods and don’t seem to notice the two. Good. …No, not good though.

“Or rather, Father guided him there, right? That.” “What are you talking about? I just tried to teach Brother about excellent books from another world. Brother chose that book, you know?”

No, if a book with such a sexy cover is placed there, wouldn’t he reach for it? Most men would. Truly close, these brothers. However, since it has a bad influence on the elves too, I quickly move books of that kind to the back of the shelf to hide them. If adult men like Father and His Majesty are like this, Elliott or Jean might faint if they see them. Good thing they aren’t here today. If they awaken to strange fetishes, it would be unbearable to watch… Caution is needed when summoning a convenience store. The convenience store has completely become something shady. Anyway, buying products the elves chose and some bentos and drinks, we leave the convenience store and summon another store, the patisserie ‘La Vie en Rose’. For eating, this store is more convenient. Ramen shop ‘Horakuen’ would have been fine too, but this is more stylish and I thought it suits elves better. Normally bringing in food and drink to eat in such a shop would be forbidden, but perhaps because I’m the owner, it seems fine. Then why can’t I enter the staff room? I want to say though…

“Fuwa!? This is delicious!” “Th-This drink is fizzy…! Sweeet…!”

Mutilia-san eating Neapolitan, and Eltiria-chan drinking cider were in good spirits. The guard elves are also shoveling down the bentos they chose. Seems they liked it.

“Is the Elf Village unchanged?” “Yes. Golden Bugs came a few times, but they were caught in one fell swoop with that medicine. Thanks to you, the Spirit Tree is shining without losing spiritual power.”

Ah, those aphid-lookalikes came again. Seems they were easily defeated by being sprayed with chili pepper and habanero super spicy liquid. The Spirit Tree being healthy means we can trade for Spirit Tree leaves regularly, which helps our Kingdom. According to Leon, Spirit Tree leaves can be used for various medicines. I don’t understand alchemy, but apparently, a base for creating various types of potions can be made. Like bouillon or dashi when making soup maybe. In the past, greedy people attacked the Elf Village targeting such Spirit Tree and elves, and humans lost the elves’ trust. As the Kingdom, we want to nurture trust again somehow and get along as neighbors…

“The Autumn Cooling Party is in three days, but please relax at the Ducal House until then. Even in the Royal Capital, there might be fellows with unsavory thoughts towards elves.” “Yes. We are fully aware of that.”

Mutilia-san nods slightly to His Majesty’s words. Elves are a beautiful and rare species to begin with. Walking in the Royal Capital without guards would undoubtedly lead to kidnapping. However, elves are a race skilled in attribute magic and spirit magic. They don’t neglect vigilance, and with half-hearted skills, getting the tables turned is obvious. Still, those who execute it are either idiots ignorant of such common sense or those with extreme confidence. If former, no problem, but if latter, there is a possibility of meticulous planning. If by any chance the elves get kidnapped, the reputation of the Kingdom that invited them would be ruined, and the trust recovered with effort would fall to the ground. Unfortunately, they will have to spend time at our house until the Autumn Cooling Party ends this time. Here security is perfect, and if there is any abnormality, Kohaku-san or Oboro will notice.

“With this, are all major guests here?” “Right. Prelude, Minuet, Gospel, Allegretto, and the Elf Village. Guests from surrounding countries are all here. The rest are nobles within the Kingdom, I guess.”

Guests from distant countries are already here, so why are our nobles not yet? I thought, but precisely because they come from distant countries, they can’t arrive just in time. There must be fatigue, and preparations for the Autumn Cooling Party. There are our nobles who have associations with those countries, so time to gather information from them is also needed apparently. With such background, our nobles participate with leeway. Well, quick-witted nobles probably arrive early and gather various information.

“Ah, right right, Sakura-chan and Estelle-chan’s dresses seem to be completed tomorrow, so need to try them on. Have to match accessories and small items too.” “…Waa, looking forward to it.”

To Mother throwing what I wanted to forget with a smile, I return a twitching smile. Really wearing that fake Gothic Lolita outfit…? Don’t want to stand out much though… However, as a Duke’s daughter, can’t expose a shabby appearance either… If the Empress and Grandmother are the main hosts of the Autumn Cooling Party, I’m the host for underage ladies… I understand I can’t be taken lightly though… Haa.