Chapter 286: Mrs. Ally Is Super Popular!

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Apparently having had her fill, Lady Ally descended on the ground again.

“…You don’t plan to sell this?”

“A beauty flying through the air is a sight for sore eyes, but if you got your hands on one, the flow of people wanting one as well would be never-ending. Ultimately I made these as toys for the sake of decorating the store. Forgive me, but please give up on buying it.”

I got her to pull back when I denied her question. If only Sword would give up as easily as her.

Seeing me being relieved, Lady Ally giggled.

“Hmm?”

“…I just thought that your noble foundation definitely shows. The number of people capable of flattering me face-to-face is rather limited.”

I tilted my head at her since she was saying some weird stuff.

“I didn’t do any flattery, you know? I honestly voiced out what I think. I’m not one to honey my words.”

“Or to put it bluntly, she’s a natural-born seducer,” Sword added some weird nonsense.

Lady Ally asked in an apparent attempt to tease me, “Hoh, so you’re saying I’m beautiful?”

I nodded with a serious expression.

“You’re a beauty. You yourself believe so as well, don’t you? And since you’re a beauty with gallantry, you were certainly popular among women before your marriage. Or am I wrong?”

Lady Ally fell silent. It looks like I hit a bull’s eye.

Next Sword asked in an apparent attempt to tease me, “Your a pretty girl who’s popular among women as well, aren’t you?”

“Uh huh! Men rarely make advances on me as they seem to be too nervous around a beautiful girl of my caliber, but I’m extremely popular among cute women!”

Sword and Lady Ally broke into laughter as soon as they saw me getting cocky. Meanwhile Damsel Scarlet looked at me with pity in her eyes and muttered, “…Lady Indra, you are definitely someone with conspicuously disappointing traits, you know? Though you could also say those aspects do have a charm, if you’re into them.”

I was roughly stroked by Sword.

“The maids at our base have been pamperin’ her like crazy. Her conceit and pitifulness has already reached incredible levels, I s’pose? Just who was it that indoctrinated you with the unfounded rumor of me bein’ unable to confess my feelings out of shyness, eh?”

“The maids said so! They said men are too nervous when it comes to a girl as beautiful as me! They said you treated me roughly when standing in front of me because you’re too embarrassed!”

“””………”””

Ah, not only Damsel Scarlet, but now even Lady Ally and Sword looked at me as if watching a pitiful creature. Somehow?

“…That setting is quite intriguing, but even I can tell that you are completely wrong here, you know?”

“Before ‘nythin’, let me make one thing clear: your wrong, ‘kay?”

“…Sword, you joined up with a fairly interesting girl, didn’t you? ――Scarlet, you would never take the maids’ praise by heart without any questions asked, would you?”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I think Lady Indra is about the only person in this world who would blindly accept everything they say like that.”

…or some such I was told.

＊

Suddenly, Lady Ally turned around to me and said, “If you had been a boy, I’d have definitely wanted you to accept Scarlet’s hand in marriage, but…unfortunately it’s not meant to be.”

Damsel Scarlet was surprised by this. Sword, on the other hand, looked at me and shrugged lightly.

Lady Ally lowered her face while looking rather sad.

“…Even though she has been working so hard as the fiancée of the first prince, she had to go through such a bitter experience. As the ones having promoted the marriage, my husband and I feel very regretful. ――But, Scarlet was saved after she met you. Above all, Scarlet seems to enjoy herself while being at your side. If you had been a man, I wouldn’t have given up so easily.”

Okay, but I’m a woman.

I faced her properly and turned her down.

“My gender is one side of the story, but I also intend to remain single for life. I have no interest in marrying anyone, regardless of gender. Once I get bored of adventuring, I think I’ll find some floating island with no dragons on it, and quietly spend the rest of my days there together with my golems.”

Lady Ally’s eyes widened slightly. Meanwhile, Damsel Scarlet applauded in apparent delight and joy.

“Oh, fantasy! There exist floating islands!?”

“So it seems. I heard so from Sword. …But, the real island seems to be a dragon nest that’s full of poop.”

I killed Damsel Scarlet’s excitement.

“…Well yeah, that’s how reality usually is.”

“No kidding…”

Watching our exchange, Lady Ally laughed.

“The adventurer stories I hear from you are wonderful and very fun. Flying brooms and floating islands are like dreams come true.”

“That’s my definition of an adventurer. Exploring the unknown, defeating mighty foes who can’t wait to show what they’re capable of, and making bizarre discoveries; all of these are part of what I call an adventurer…”

Lady Ally chuckled at that and then shifted her look to Sword, “Sword, you found a truly good partner. To be frank, I feel slightly jealous.”

Sword laughed.

“I also learned the meaning of what an adventurer and adventures are after clawin’ all the way up to S-Rank. …It’s fun. The job of adventurer is a real blast. I only understood this now after all this time.”

“Duke Chaudgal seemed to have understood it from the very start, you know?”

Upon my retort, Lady Ally and Sword fell silent. And then they sighed simultaneously.

“…Well, that man had no choice but to give up as he was born into the wrong family for this. To be honest, it’s not like I don’t understand the notion either. I never thought of quitting my job as royal knight of the princess and had I been born as a commoner, I might have chosen and enjoyed the same path as you… But, I don’t regret my current life. I think the same applies to Gerard, too.”

Hearing her words, I thought that this woman is really cool. Damsel Scarlet is definitely regarding her mother as ideal deep down. I mean, if I had such a cool mother, I’d also idolize her.

Thinking all that, I looked at Damsel Scarlet. This caused her to blush and turn away in a pout.

“…No doubt, Mother is an ideal woman, but she’s still my mother!”

“Hmm? Is something the matter?” Lady Ally asked.

So I answered, “I merely thought that the hurdle for any man trying to be an ideal guy for Damsel Scarlet, who has a mother like you, got to be quite high. Oh, you mentioned that you used to be the royal knight of the princess, but is that princess actually alright?”

“……”

Lady Ally averted her eyes. Looks like the princess isn’t alright at all.

After a while, she answered, “…She appears to still be throwing a tantrum, claiming that she won’t marry anyone as long as it’s not a guy who’s stronger and braver than me.”

“”Whoa.””

Damsel Scarlet and I cried out at the same time.

“At some point, Sword was selected, though.”

Seriously!? So he could have become royalty, if he was unlucky!?

Once I looked at him, he frowned with an unhappy face.

“I did my best so that they’d think twice about going through with it.”

So your hard work paid off, huh?

“That’s great for you.”

In response to my comment, Sword looked at Lady Ally in a way as if pointing at her with his eyes.

“Rather, her target was Ally all along ‘nyway, I think. I’d have been no more than a breedin’ horse.”

Oh…I see. I can totally agree with that assumption.

“Then it’d be best for the princess to give up and stick with remaining’ a single. If she keeps waiting, maybe another gallant woman might become her royal knight some day.”

I mean, that’s the typical pattern where a manly woman won’t fly. It won’t work at all unless it’s a gallant woman.

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