Chapter 245
Prince of Creta
The day after we fully enjoyed our shopping, it has been decided that the instant soup contract will be finally signed .
“Rain-sama, sorry to have kept you waiting . ”
“We just arrived too, so no need to mind it . ”
I visited the designated lounge with Austin-sama .
There, the representative of Creta waiting for us was not Maynard-sama, but Rain-sama instead .
“N?”
Seeing Rain-sama who greeted us, I felt very uncomfortable .
“”Huh~?””
Allen and Elena tilted their heads too .
“What’s the matter, Takumi?”
Seeing my and the children’s reaction, Austin-sama looked at us puzzledly .
“Err… would there not be a problem if someone other than Rain-sama signed the contract?”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Rain-sama, the second prince, but his little brother, Cloud-sama . Moreover, they were twins! He was Rain-sama’s twin!
Oh, there shouldn’t be a problem since he’s a prince just like Rain-sama?
“”Hah!?””
Everyone who was in the room——Austin-sama, Guardia’s guards and officials, and even the Cretians let out their voices in surprise .
“What do you mean, Takumi?”
“This person over here is not Rain-sama . This is my first time seeing this person . ”
“”Eh!?””
This time, only the Guardia’s people let out their voices as they fixed their gazes on Cloud-sama .
On the other hand, the faces of the Cretians turned pale as their faces started to sweat .
“Are you Cloud-dono by any chance?”
Taken aback, Austin-sama guessed the identity of the man .
As expected, he was aware of their family structure .
“I certainly look similar to my twin Cloud, but I am Rain . ”
Cloud-sama claimed that he was the second prince .
“Takumi, are you sure?”
“Of course . ”
“What is the meaning of this, Cloud-sama . Our Takumi wouldn’t joke about something like this . ”
Austin-sama seemed to believe my words .
“… I never thought I would be seen through . ”
Thinking that he couldn’t keep on deceiving anymore, Cloud-sama acknowledged it was him .
“Austin-dono, Takumi-dono, please pardon me for trying to deceive you . ”
The cupboard in the lounge moved and Rain-sama came in . It was the real Rain-sama this time .
Rather, a moving cupboard… that’s a secret door, isn’t it? Is this fine? Moving the cupboard while we are here~
“”Ohh~!””
“Ah, Allen, Elena, you can’t . ”
The kids were very interested in the moving cupboard, so I hurriedly stopped them when they tried to approach .
“It’s fine . This is no secret door or anything, after all . ”
“Eh?”
“Some time ago, our drunken Father broke the wall, so thinking it would be amusing if we could make a use of it, we simply put a cupboard in its place, so this hole is just connected to the adjourning room . ”
“……”
… Erm, what do I interject about?
That Maynard-sama destroys walls while drunk? Or that Rain-sama thought using a cupboard instead of fixing the wall was amusing? Or perhaps… that it’s only two adjourning rooms connected together?
No, I cannot interject to any of this, it will be my loss if I mind it .
“However, you did well noticing, Takumi . I couldn’t tell whatsoever . ”
Ah, yes . Austin-sama proceeded with the conversation, so it’s my cue to ignore it .
“Austin-sama, have you forgotten that my little siblings are twins?”
I glanced down at Allen and Elena standing near my legs, who even now were looking at the cupboard while fidgeting .
“They are distinctly different because of their different genders, but their conduct is so similar even to the extent of synchronizing their movements . ”
“Oh, indeed… you can tell them apart by their appearances, but their movements are surprisingly similar . Especially the way they talk…”
True . Allen and Elena often say the say thing at the same time . There are times where they don’t too, but the two speak together to convey what they want to say .
“”Uniyu?””
When the people in the room turned towards them, they curiously tilted their heads to the side .
Yep, totally in sync .
“Compared to these kids, Rain-sama and Cloud-sama are easy to tell apart for me . ”
Rain-sama and Cloud-sama’s faces look exactly the same, but I had a feeling they were deliberately trying to look like each other . A little of their facial expressions, hand movements, blinking… each had their own habits .
Well, even if I don’t observe them carefully, I can tell them apart instantly by using Appraisal . In fact, I felt something was wrong so I confirmed with Appraisal a little while ago . I won’t tell them that, though .
“Allen, Elena, this is your first time encountering twins like yourselves, so how about you redirect your attention from the cupboard to them?”
“”Twins~?””
“Yeah . Rain-sama and Cloud-sama . They look alike, right?”
Listening to me, Allen and Elena alternated their gazes between Rain-sama and Cloud-sama for the first time .
“”Ohh~! Same~!””
Just noticing, Allen and Elena let out surprised voices .
They were so enthralled by the cupboard they did not look at Cloud-sama and Rain-sama’s voices whatsoever .
“I see, I cannot fool the eyes of Takumi-dono who has siblings who naturally behave like this . ”
“It means we still have a way to go . ”
Looking at Allen and Elena’s conduct, Rain-sama and Cloud-sama shrugged their shoulders in a loss .
“I’m truly sorry about this . Let me introduce myself then, I am the third prince of Creta, Cloud . ”
“I’m sorry for playing pranks on you . ”
“Nono, it was quite interesting entertainment . ”
After taking a seat, Rain-sama and Cloud-sama apologized once again . Austin-sama didn’t seem to be offended in any way as he accepted the two’s apology .
Well, I’m not sure about the negotiations, but this was thankfully a public place . I’m glad it was taken as a sideshow since it could have become a serious matter .
“I appreciate your open-mindedness . To tell you the truth, this is something our Father came up with…”
“His Majesty Maynard did?”
Rain-sama, who looked relieved, revealed a surprising truth .
Maynard-sama… what are you making your kids do!! It could have become an international problem if handled poorly, you know!!
“Yes, he told us to prepare three types of contracts . ”
“Three types? Let’s see~ I guess two of them would be for either noticing or not noticing that it wasn’t you, Rain-sama, but…”
“The last one is after that . In case you felt something was wrong but did not point it out . ”
“Oh, I see . ”
Austin-sama immediately understood what Rain-sama had in plan…
Doesn’t he understand way too fast? I couldn’t keep up with the rapid development of the conversation .
But well, Austin-sama seems to understand, so I should just leave it to him~
“Austin-dono, Rain . You are leaving Takumi-dono behind . ”
Seeing that I couldn’t keep up, Cloud-sama stopped the two .
It looks like staying in the observer mode was hopeless, so I gave up and put my thoughts back in order .