Chapter 126
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 126 – Bathing and a Big Tree
As Olivia said, the baths at this inn looked spectacular.
It was a little late, but the view was still beautiful.
As Ain looked at the slowly fading deep red, he thought of a certain person.
“Nyahaha! Even today, my fur is… Cough! Cough…! A furball… A furball is stuck in my throat-nya!”
As usual, he turned to Katima when he was in trouble.
This reminded him of the way she choked on a fur ball the other day.
Ain just pointed and laughed, but since she was useful in such a situation, it would be nice to see her choke on more furballs.
“No, let’s make her swallow the furball instead. No matter how it ends, it should be quick and fun.”
“Ain? What’s wrong with the furball?”
“Mother… No, I just remembered that Katima-san choked on a furball the other day… and…”
Even though she was wearing a bathing suit, it was a different story when it was Olivia.
Olivia finally came into the bathroom.
In a flash, Ain turned his attention to Olivia. What he saw was Olivia in her bathing suit, which was a sight for sore eyes, but now a real pain in the ass.
Her appearance had not changed at all since Ain was born. The reason for this probably has to do with the Dryad race.
…If it’s just the surface, it’s not that different from her underwear, Ain thought of Katima again.
“It’s okay. I can do it… I’m counting on you, Katima-san.”
He smiled a fake, hardened smile but let his thoughts wander freely.
This way, he managed to stop the blood from flowing to the lower half of his body.
“Fufu… what’s wrong? You mumbled something all by yourself.”
If it was common sense that Ain had in mind, it would be strange for him to have these feelings for his immediate family.
“N-no. I was just saying that the bathing suit looks good on you!”
Actually, it wasn’t a lie because he was in trouble because it looked too good on her.
“Ara, thanks Ain. Now then… may I sit next to you?”
“Of course.”
Hearing that Olivia was coming, Ain turned his attention back to the view outside.
——Yes. It’s a calm sea.
Today’s Magna had a calm sea pattern all day long.
In contrast, Ain’s mental state was not calm…
Meanwhile, Olivia put a foot in the bathtub.
At the edge of Ain’s field of vision, her shiny legs appeared.
“It’s nice hot water, isn’t it?”
Olivia slowly dipped her body into the tub.
Ain even felt a slight sense of frustration when he thought he was the only one panicking like this.
“Was the view better before?”
“If you want to see the sunset, it was better before. But I like it better now.”
“Huh? Do you prefer the night view?”
Since she had just praised the sunset so highly, Ain felt as if he had missed the point, and he made a puzzled face.
“No, that’s not it. Because now I’m taking a bath with Ain for the first time in a long time. So I like it better now.”
——I like Mother better too!
Oops, he just showed his love for his mother, just like when he was a little boy.
It had been a while since he’d thought about it so directly, so he stared at the sea, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Fufu… So cute. Ain is Ain, after all.”
Then Olivia approached and gently stroked Ain’s head.
“…I can’t win against Mother, can I?”
“Fufu… good boy, good boy.”
Ain couldn’t deny that a part of him was embarrassed, but he still lets her stroke him in silence.
As she did so, he felt a sense of calm in his heart.
“If Martha-san finds out that we bathed together, won’t she say something about it?”
There was no factor of being found out, but he was still worried about what would happen.
“We might get some small complaints. But I don’t think you have to worry about that. If she complains loudly about something, I’ll use her black history as a shield to keep her quiet. …So Ain, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
——What is this? Ain is very curious.
What the hell was Martha’s black history?
He was very eager to hear about it, but he felt it would be a bad idea to ask.
“If it’s with Mother, Martha-san must feel a little lost.”
“Well, Ain is pretty terrible, you know.”
At first, he thought he would be a little more nervous, but he was relieved when it turned out to be a surprisingly relaxing time.
If he had known this would happen, he should have said ‘yes’ to Olivia from the beginning, and he regretted it.
“By the way, Ain. I just heard from Martha that there is another appointment.”
“An appointment? It’s sudden.”
Olivia rested her elbows on the bathtub. She said this to Ain while leaning one cheek down.
“Yes, that’s right. It seems they want to… plant a memorial tree.”
“When you say planting a memorial tree, do you mean we’re going to plant some saplings?”
“Yes, it seems so. I heard that it is called the commemoration of Ain and me coming to Magna.”
It was a sudden request, but it didn’t sound like something that would keep them very busy, so it was fine.
And when he thought about it, he had never done a memorial tree planting before, so he didn’t feel bad about it.
“I understand. It seems okay for the schedule, so I don’t mind either.”
“Yes, all right. …But if Krone-san had been here, she might have declined the offer.”
Ain and Olivia both chuckle slightly.
“Ah… that’s right. If it was something so sudden, Krone would certainly react in a subtle way.”
He remembered Krone and Chris recovering in the royal capital and wondered how they were doing.
“By the way, Martha told me that Chris and Krone-san are in good condition. You are worried about them, aren’t you?”
“A-as expected from Mother…but that’s a relief.”
Olivia saw the look on Ain’s face and guessed what Ain was thinking.
When it came to such things, there was no one better than Olivia.
“Well, let’s see. Ain? I’m going to wash your head for the first time in a long time.”
Dripping with water, Olivia stood up and took Ain’s hand.
When Olivia’s limbs appeared right in front of him, Ain couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Uh, ah, wait… Mother?”
She began to walk slowly, and Ain followed. And soon he was sitting in a chair, and Olivia walked behind Ain.
“…Geez, you can’t do it like this anymore, Ain! If you wash too hard, your scalp will turn red like this.”
After receiving the unexpected criticism, Ain’s mental state began to calm down.
“I’ve always washed it the same way, but does it turn red?”
“Yes, it’s turning red. …I’ll teach you how to wash it so that you can wash it properly and gently, okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry…”
As soon as he finished bathing, he needed time to dry his hair, which was longer than before.
So, from Ain’s point of view, he wanted to finish washing and drying as soon as possible. Because of this balance, he washed with more effort than before.
——Funyu.
“——!?”
Olivia, who started shampooing, occasionally brings her body closer to Ain.
“Mother? Aren’t you too close?”
“…..? Since I’m washing your head, it’s natural for me to be close to you, isn’t it?”
Ain’s distress did not reach Olivia, who spoke of it as if it were a matter of course…
“I’ll wash you gently and carefully like this. Okay…?”
Olivia continued to instruct Ain with her enthusiastic attitude, whispering in his ear from time to time.
Ain finally survived the occasion by using the spoiled cat tactic.
After a stimulating bath, Ain quickly collapsed into bed and tried to recover from the exhaustion of the day.
＊＊＊
The next morning.
Just as he and Olivia had discussed, Ain left the inn to plant a memorial tree.
As if last night had been a lie, waking up in the morning was an easy sensation.
The sunlight that continued to rise high into the sky dazzled Ain awake.
With a small cry, he stretched up and drank the water on his bedside table in one gulp.
After getting dressed, he went to the living room where Olivia and Martha, who had gotten up earlier, were waiting for him so they could have breakfast together.
After that, he took a short break and came with Dill to the memorial tree planting site.
“Hmm… It’s a beautiful day, Ain.”
“There’s not a cloud in the sky.”
The sky was clear.
The temperature was cool, and the breeze from the sea was pleasant enough to just sit in silence.
“Guard Officer Dill. There are no irregularities with the Royal Knights.”
“Same here. There is no problem with the deployment of the Magna Guard.”
As usual, security was tight, but many knights came to report to Dill today.
Dill stood a bit away from Ain and the others to receive the report.
“Yes, I understand. Then go on with your duties.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
Dill, who was used to giving orders, gave them smoothly.
“Martha-san. Dill seems to be getting more and more confident.”
“He must have at least that much. After all, he is Ain-sama’s escort.”
As she spoke, Ain noticed that the corners of Martha’s mouth were turned up.
Ain and Olivia noticed this and looked at each other, smiling slightly.
“And if anyone can say that, it’s Ain-sama.”
“Hmm? Me?”
“Yes, it’s you. Ain-sama has really become a great man. The people in the castle are all looking forward to your reign.”
Suddenly, the topic of conversation changed to Ain.
“I’m glad to hear you say that, but if you say that when grandfather is here, he’ll be furious with you.”
Pinning great hopes on the Crown Prince, even though there was a current king.
Depending on how you looked at it, it could be a direct shot at lèse majesté.
“It’s okay, Ain. Even my father is happy to see you grow up. And as Martha said, “Even Ain’s reign”? She means she expects it to be as good as my father’s reign.”
“I have to admit, this is the first time I’ve heard Grandfather say he’s happy about it.”
“His Majesty is not one to praise people to their faces…”
Martha smiled as if troubled.
“Besides, it’s my Ain. It is only natural that he is a great man, isn’t it, Martha?”
Martha smiled again at Olivia, who hugged Ain from behind.
“Yes, yes, yes. I understand, Olivia-sama. Well, you shouldn’t do that in public.”
Lately, Olivia seemed to be very close to Ain. But as for Martha, she knew that if she didn’t have the right to stop it, it wouldn’t stop even if she did.
That was why she stopped the small talk.
“Yes. I understand.”
Then Olivia moved away from Ain’s back with a look of regret.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Uh, it seemed like things were a bit lively. Is something wrong?”
Dill returned to Ain with a fresh look on his face.
“We’re talking about Dill, who is becoming more and more dignified.”
He was not talking about himself, just Dill.
“I’m honored to hear that. But why are you suddenly talking about…?”
Dill’s face was a little confused when he heard Ain’s words.
Olivia and Martha, on the other hand, laughed when they saw that Ain was not talking about himself.
＊＊＊
Afterward, a small ceremony was held, and Ain gave a short speech.
When Ain’s words were finished, there was much applause, and then the people dispersed for the tree planting.
The memorial tree planting had been invited by those with a high voice… in Magna.
The nobles were there, of course, but none of them could speak directly to the Crown Prince and Second Princess.
The royal knights would have the opportunity to speak to them about necessary matters during the course of their duties, but normally, they would not be allowed to do so so easily.
“I was sometimes too careless…”
As for Ain, he was too close to the people of Ishtalika—sometimes, he thought so—but talking to Ain and being talked to by Ain were two different things.
“Oh, by the way, Dill. We plant a lot, don’t we?”
Ain looks at the participants. They are all holding saplings in burlap sacks and planting them in the holes they have dug.
“It seems so. The official name of the event is the commemoration of the arrival of the Hero of Magna and the Holy Mother… so the scale of the event must have been large.”
The mention of ‘hero’ sent a slight tingle down Ain’s spine.
But when Olivia was called the Holy Mother, he agreed wholeheartedly.
“Of course, my mother is the Holy Mother. But I still can’t get used to being called a hero.”
“But Ain-sama is a hero not only here in Magna but also in the royal capital.”
“Yes. I have done some spectacular things, but…”
When he came to Magna, he remembered that he came here to defeat the sea dragons.
“Yes… I moved the royal train, I rammed the ship… I’ve even hooked the sea dragon’s forehead.”
Ain created a new way to defeat the dragon by absorbing its magic stone and defeating the giant sea dragon.
In the end, he was able to defeat the giant sea dragon with the Elder Lich Dagger and the Red Jade of the Earth. Without those two, he would have perished in the sea with the sea dragon.
“Thinking back, we did some pretty dangerous things, didn’t we?”
“No. It was more than a little dangerous.”
Ain looked embarrassed to be told such a thing with a straight face.
“…..”
“…..”
The two stared at each other, and a silence fell between them.
“I’ll do better next time.”
“Please. Don’t let there be a next time…”
It was Dill’s deepest wish.
“Ain-sama? I think it’s time for you to prepare.”
——I wonder what the two of them are doing together, Martha said in her mind.
Martha, who had been watching the situation, called out to him when the time was right.
“Preparations?”
“Yes. The other guests have almost finished planting the trees. Therefore, Ain-sama and Olivia-sama will be the last to plant trees.”
That meant they would be the last to plant the trees.
After hearing Martha’s words, Ain went and stood next to Olivia.
“Is it about time?”
“Yes, it is. The holes are already prepared, so all we have to do is place the saplings and cover them with soil.”
The saplings that Ain and the others planted were slightly larger than those of the other participants.
The size of the hole was dug wide and deep to accommodate them.
As he started talking to Olivia, more and more people were watching Ain and the others from a distance.
It seemed that Ain and the others were really at the end of it.
“Excuse me. Guard Officer Dill. We would like to ask the Crown Prince and Second Princess to plant the last tree.”
One of the organizers came and told Dill.
“I understand. Then I will inform them of your request.”
Since they were right next to him, it would have been faster if he had spoken to them directly.
Ain thought that, but there was nothing he could do about it.
“Ain-sama. Olivia-sama. …Then let’s start with the last tree planting.”
Dill turned around, took a few steps forward, and spoke to Ain and Olivia.
“Yes. Okay.”
Ain holds the sapling in both hands and walks with Olivia to the front of the hole.
“Thank you. Ain.”
“I can’t let Mother carry it.”
Listening to their conversation, even Ain should not be allowed to carry it… Dill sighed.
“Well then, Ain-sama. Could you place the sapling over the hole first?”
Hearing Martha’s words, Ain placed one of the saplings on the ground and brought the other to the hole.
“All right… Is this okay?”
He carefully placed the saplings in a straight line so they would not be crooked.
“Yes. That’s fine. Next, Dill… the soil.”
“Understood.”
With an iron shovel in his hand, Dill covered the soil bit by bit.
After repeating this several times, the soil reached a sufficient amount.
“Is this about right?”
“Yes. It’s fine. Then, finally, I will ask Olivia-sama to sprinkle some water on it.”
After checking the condition of the soil, Olivia was handed a glass of water to complete the process.
Olivia alone could not claim to have planted it, but as the princess, she was responsible for the final touches.
“Can I pour all the water in there?”
“That’s fine. Please let it absorb a lot of water.”
Then Olivia tilted the jar and slowly poured in the water that had collected inside.
The thirsty soil absorbed the water and gradually turned a darker color. At the same time, the aroma of the soil danced in the air.
“It sounds like good soil.”
“Oh, Ain thought so too?”
With a slightly surprised look on her face, Olivia turned to Ain.
“Somehow, I thought it looked nutritious.”
“Actually, so did I. Perhaps it is the dryad’s blood that makes me feel that way.”
Not only Ain but also Martha and Dill, who were listening at her side, were convinced by the persuasiveness of her words.
“I see. If you say so, then surely. Then it’s no wonder that Mother and I can understand the benefits of earth.”
“But, Ain-sama. As expected, please don’t eat the soil, okay?”
“No, no, no. Dill, that is indeed… I mean, isn’t that a terrible look on your face?”
What a stupid joke. When he looked at Dill’s face, he didn’t look like he was joking.
He had a serious look on his face as if he was seriously worried.
“If you insist, please do so after we return to the castle…”
“Like I said, Dill? I don’t feel like eating dirt either…”
Even though it’s good dirt, he never felt like eating it.
He knew that his past behavior had affected the situation, so he couldn’t complain too much.
“Fufu, you seem to be having fun, Ain. ——Martha, are we done with the watering?”
While Ain was talking to Dill, the watering was finished smoothly.
Then, it was Ain’s turn.
“Thank you very much. Shall we plant Ain-sama’s tree next?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After a short break from playing with Dill, he picked up the sapling from the ground.
“It’s the same as before, right?”
“Yes. After Ain-sama plants the sapling, Dill will cover it with soil. At the end, Ain-sama will water the sapling.”
After receiving confirmation, Ain placed the sapling in the hole as before.
He made some corrections so that it would not be crooked, and when he was satisfied, he called Dill.
“Dill. Pour the soil over it, please.”
“Yes. I understand.”
He picked up a shovel and covered the dirt bit by bit.
What he did was the same as before.
From Ain and Olivia’s point of view, the soil was nutritious and good. Dill’s hand gradually poured it over the base of the saplings.
“It’s good enough.”
Dill stopped moving his hands when he saw more soil being applied to the saplings.
“Then, Ain-sama. Please give it one last splash of water.”
Another pitcher was handed to Ain, and he took it.
“…Grow big.”
He said, tapping gently at the base of the tree and sprinkling it little by little with water.
——Gulp.
“Huh? Dill, are you sure you didn’t drink anything? I can hear a sound——”
“Excuse me, Ain-sama. Actually, I also heard something swallowing…”
“…Could it be coming from down there?”
He crouched down and put my ear close to the ground. Then, as expected, the sound came from the ground.
Soon after that, the sound of earth being stirred up from the ground began to appear.
“H-hey. I heard a sound coming from the ground…”
He turned around, wondering what was going on, and looked at Dill’s face.
“! Ain-sama, please get out of here!”
“Eh, wait…?”
Suddenly, Dill grabbed Ain’s hand and pulled hard.
The force was so strong that Ain almost fell over, but Dill caught him just in time.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden…?”
When he looked at Dill, who had supported him, he did not look at Ain but in the direction of the sapling.
What was striking was the look of surprise on Dill’s face, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
“This is… what on earth is going on?”
Martha rushed over in a panic.
She checked on Ain, but just like Dill, she couldn’t help but worry about the sapling.
“What are you two surprised about?”
Sure.
If that’s the expression on their faces, then he’d look at the sapling as well.
Thinking this, Ain stood up and turned to face the sapling.
“Huh? Where is the sapling?”
The sapling that should have been planted earlier was no longer visible.
Instead, a giant ripple tree, larger than usual, strongly asserted its presence.
Every leaf was lush and green, and the trunk had grown thick and magnificent. This was what Ain saw with his eyes.
“Um, Ain…? This ripple tree is the sapling Ain planted…”
When Olivia approached, she grabbed the sleeve of Ain’s clothes with a worried look on her face.
“…This is ridiculous.”
But then Ain suddenly began to think.
The words “grow bigger” and his own existence.
If we talk about his race, Ain, who had become a Demon King, was of Dryad descent.
Did Ain tell it to grow bigger, so it made a loud noise, absorbed water, and grew so much at once?
It was too early to draw any conclusions, but there was a certainty that it had an effect.
“I mean. The sapling was a Ripple Sapling. ——Oh dear, it even bore splendid fruit…”
The large Ripple Tree with the stunned eyes bore red, fresh fruit and had taken root majestically in front of Ain’s eyes.
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