Having awoken from the dream world, Axel and I left and continued our path toward the package delivery spot.
It was only about a ten-minute walk away at this point, so after taking a quick pit stop at a gift shop to let Axel get a souvenir for Xara, we continued making our way over to the meeting spot and to my surprise, when we arrived, someone was actually waiting for us there with a package in hand.
“Greetings Prin-I mean Miss Dianne. I have the package here for pick-up. Here you go.”
Almost making a slip of the tongue, it was enough for me to figure out that this was probably someone sent by my parents to make this whole trip seem more legitimate than it actually was.
That was something I truly appreciated. Even so…the trip itself was...
“Alright then. Let’s get back home,” Axel said before grabbing hold of me once I was handed the package. And before I had time to react, we suddenly appeared in front of the school both of us went to.
“Alright. That should do it. You can make it back home from here, right? I gotta get back to my island before-”
“W-Wait!”
As if on instinct, I grabbed hold of Axel’s shirt.
When I did that, Axel stopped and turned to me.
“What’s up?”
“U-Um…I was just wondering if you’d be willing to come to my house with me.”
“Huh? Why would I need to do that?”
“W-Well it’s just…I wanted to show you something. If that’s alright.”
Axel was silent for a moment. Looking lost in thought before finally letting out a sigh.
“Alright. Sure. Let’s go.”
“Really?!” I felt a hint of excitement in my voice when he said that.
“Y-Yeah. It shouldn’t hurt…I hope.”
“You hope?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s get moving.”
“Okay!”
With that, I started heading toward the castle with Axel in tow.
What is this about?
That thought floated through in my mind as Dianne started guiding us toward the castle near the back of the city.
It seems she hasn’t processed that she’s trying to bring some random riff-raff into the castle.
Or has she? Was this why I felt like things were off when she showed up on my island, or am I just paranoid?
Either way, we were heading toward the castle now and if there is one thing I’m sure of, it’s that if things go south while I’m here, I won't hesitate to teleport away and hide until things blow over. Though for some reason, I get the feeling things won’t be that bad. Even so, I needed to remain on guard. No matter what.
Stepping up to the castle gate, the soldiers didn’t even bat an eye as Dianne and I walked through the front gates and into the castle. It was honestly kinda weird just how causally they let us in. I mean, I knew Dianne was a princess, but I felt like seeing me should’ve really drawn their suspicions which made this whole thing feel off to me.
Once inside, we walked through the halls as Dianne handed me the package and I carefully held it in my arms.
Eventually, we arrived at a set of giant doors protected by two soldiers.
Motioning them to let her in, the soldiers nodded to Dianne and opened up the giant doors.
After that, she started walking inside with me awkwardly walking close behind.
“She’s not even trying to hide that she’s a princess anymore,” I muttered as we stopped in front of a throne.
Sitting on said throne was a man with a bald head that was covered up with a crown who was stroking his long blonde beard.
He looked just like his in-game CG. Then again, pretty much everyone looked like they did in the game so I shouldn’t be surprised. But enough about that. The one who stood before me was none other than the king who ruled over these lands.
I don’t know what we were supposed to be doing here, but I really didn’t like how this situation was looking right now.
“I’ve returned Your Highness,” said Dianne. Apparently trying to avoid calling him her father.
“That’s good to hear. Do you have the package with you?”
“Of course.”
After saying that, Dianne turned to me. Nodding, I held up the package thinking I was just gonna place it near the king. However, instead, he got off his throne and approached me. Taking the package from my hands and looking at me closely.
“Uh…May I help you?” I asked. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with how much he was staring.
“Interesting. You have quite the red eyes. Are those natural?”
“I…huh?”
Why would he ask that? Was there something interesting about my eyes being red?
“No. Nevermind. Forget I asked. It’s not my right to pry into you and what your personal life is like. Not yet anyway.”
“Not yet?”
What did he mean by that?
“Da-I mean Your Highness! Please don’t say things like that! Otherwise ,you’ll just leave him confused!”
I mean, I already was confused, but Dianne’s reaction seemed a bit extreme. She was so quiet a moment ago, but now she’s suddenly shouting for some reason.
“I-I see. My apologies young Savoncho. It was just something I felt compelled to say. Pay it no mind.”
“It’s…fine.”
It just left me confused is all.
Actually, something he said just now piqued my interest.
“How do you know my name? If I may ask Your Majesty?”
He called me young Savoncho. We hadn’t shared names before this point, so how the hell did he know my name was Savoncho?
“Ah-!? Erm…Well you see, Dianne here always talks about you so you’re name is kind of hard to forge-”
“Dad!”
“Wait! I don’t mean that she talks about you all the time! I just mean that she brings you up every now and then and I just…I just…Geez I’m not good at this.”
Scratching the back of his head, the king let out a sigh.
“Well, the package has been delivered. If you’d like some refreshments to make up for the journey, you’re more than welcome to go to the castle's dining hall.”
Come to think of it, I actually was kinda hungry. We didn’t really eat anything during our trip, so I guess I could hang around here a bit longer.
“I’d be honored.”
“In that case, Dianne here will guide you to the dining hall. Would you alright with that Dianne?”
“Of course. Come on Savoncho.”
“Right.”
With that, we left the king and went off to the dining hall.
“Uh…What the heck?”
When Dianne and I arrived at the dining hall, we found ourselves facing a massive pile of food lined up for us to eat. Leaving me, at least, completely dumbfounded.
Then, out of nowhere, the king walked in.
“Come on in Savoncho. It’s time to eat. Just find a seat and we’ll begin shortly.”
The king, who for some reason had an odd tone in his voice, sat down and offered me a seat which I accepted with a bit of reluctance.
Dianne ended up sitting next to me and after that, a woman who looked like an older Dianne stepped into the room. She had the same blonde hair but unlike Dianne, her hair went all the way down her back. Stopping just short of her thighs.
She looked to be in her late twenties and had an air of kindness around her. However, she didn’t open her eyes at all as she sat down.
If I remember correctly, she was blind in the game and this was her solution to make sure people didn’t know.
“Ah. Dear. Thank you for joining us for dinner,” said the king.
“It was my pleasure. Say, who’s this young man here?”
Despite being blind, she looked at me as if she was staring directly into my eyes. Though what she just said sounded a little…off. Like she rehearsed it before.
Next to me, Dianne seemed to be a bit embarrassed. Probably picking up on this weird act herself.
Well even if they are acting, it’d be rude not to introduce myself. So I stood up from my chair and bowed politely.
“Greeting. My name is Axel Savoncho.”
“Ah. Axel Savoncho. The boy Dianne is always talking abo-”
“Mom!”
“Oh! Sorry Dianne. Was that supposed to be a secret?”
Clearly both frustrated and embarrassed by this, Dianne massaged her temples and took deep breaths to calm down.
Meanwhile, her mother just let out a light chuckle before sitting down in her seat.
Doing the same, I tried to keep my posture as straight as possible. I was in the presence of royalty after all. A completely different level from the royal assholes at my school. It’d be rude to act casually around them.
“Well then, how’s about we start our meal? Does that sound good to you Savoncho?” asked the king.
“Uh…Sure…”
Once I said that, both Dianne’s parents started eating their food with a sense of elegance making it clear they really were king and queen.
Meanwhile, I just sat there. A bit unsure what to do in this situation. With Dianne seemingly in the same boat.
Perhaps taking notice of this vibe, the queen clasped her hands together.
“Oh right! Say Sir Savoncho, would you be interested in learning about the kingdom and how everything works?’
“Huh? Why would I wanna learn that?”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Well, I’ve heard you’re a commoner so you might not have the same education we royalty have. And if you might be king one day, you need to have the proper educa-”
“Wait a minute. King? Why would I be king one day?”
I sure as hell wasn’t planning to marry any princesses and inheriting the crown. That just seemed like a hassle.
“Er…I’m sorry. I was just speaking in hypotheticals. But would you still be interested?”
Why bring up such a weird hypothetical situation? That made no sense.
Still, it’d be rude not to answer.
“My apologies. But I’ll have to decline your offer. I already have enough stuff on my plate as is, so I’m afraid there isn’t room to sit around and learn about the education you’ve proposed.”
“Is that so? A shame. I was really hoping to learn more about you.”
“Learn more about me? Why is that?”
“Well it’s as I was saying earlier, Dianne talks about you a lot so I was curious about who you are.”
“Is that so? Huh. Well, my point still stands. So I’m going to have to decline your offer.”
When I said that, I noticed Dianne staring at me in shock.
“What?”
“Y-You just…de-declined…”
Before she could finish saying anything, her father let out a hearty laugh.
“A commoner declining a request of a queen? Now that’s something you don’t see that often. You’ve got guts Savoncho.”
Wait….what? Was declining the wrong thing to do here? Well even if it was, I couldn’t change my answer now. Not to mention that I wasn’t lying. I had a lot of things I wanted to do with Xara over the break and there just wasn’t enough time to squeeze in any studies. And there definitely wouldn’t be any time once school started back up. That meant I really didn’t have any free time to do it. Plus, I wasn’t that interested.
As Dianne’s father couldn’t stop laughing, Dianne rested her head in her hands.
“This is the worst day ever,” she muttered. Barely audible to any but me who was sitting next to her.
After that, we tried our best to enjoy the meal. However, I still tried to keep my guard up. Ready to see if something else might happen once we were done.
Oh. And before you ask, no. The food wasn’t laced with anything. I made sure of that.
Once we finished eating, Dianne’s parents said they had important business to attend to and left us to our own devices.
And when they did, Dianne grabbed hold of my hand and started dragging me off somewhere.
“W-Where are we going?” I asked. Confused.
She didn’t answer my question but continued pushing forward until we arrived at a room with giant pink doors that looked rather out of place.
Opening one of the doors, Dianne pulled me in before closing the door tightly. And then placing me on a chair near a small round table.
“You wait here! I’m gonna get us some tea!”
“What!? But didn’t we just eat!?”
Instead of responding to my question, Dianne ran out of the room and off to who knows where.
Letting out a sigh, I rubbed my eyes.
“This whole thing is confusing me more and more by the second,” I muttered before noticing the room in front of me.
“Say, doesn’t this look like…”
Judging from the pink bed with a purple blanket, as well as the room that, upon closer inspection, I noticed had a bathroom, as well as a dresser filled with woman's underwear, I was easily able to put two and two together.
“I’m in Dianne’s bedroom!?”
Why the hell would she bring me here? Weren’t we just supposed to meet the king and leave? Why was I stuck in here now?
Things were making less and less sense by the second.
Letting out another sigh, I decided I would wait till she got back with the tea.
However, not long after sitting down, I noticed something.
“...I’m really bored.”
So much had happened up until this point, I hadn’t really had a second to just sit down and relax. And because of that, I wasn’t used to this uneasy quiet. It was like locking someone in a white room and expecting them to stay sane.
That’s why, against my better judgment, I started looking around the room.
I had already looked into the bathroom, so I decided to look in the closet that stood next to the bathroom.
As I approached it, the doors opened wide and as I glanced inside, I saw a long line of dresses that went from below average to overly fancy.
The whole sight really made me question Dianne’s choice of dresses. Then again, she might’ve just bought them at random and just didn’t think about it. But perhaps it’s best I forget about this whole thought process for the time being.
Continuing to scroll through the dresses, I found my eyes eventually resting on one particular dress that looked similar to a wedding gown but with the color changed from white to a more violet red.
I don’t know why, but when I pictured Dianne wearing that dress, it actually caused my face to heat up a bit.
Trying to remove such thoughts from my brain, I closed the closet and took a look at the bed.
Now you might wonder why I’d be weird enough to do that. However, you misunderstand me. I didn’t really wanna just look at it for some weird reason. I, in fact, wanted to see just how soft the bed of royalty really were.
I knew Sirin had designed my bed in mind to help both get a good night's rest as well wake up at a reasonable hour. However, Dianne’s bed was completely different.
It was, more than likely, designed by someone incredibly skilled in their craft when it came to bed construction. And with that in mind, I wanted to see just how much of a difference there was.
Thus, after making sure I didn’t see Dianne coming to the door any time soon, I dove onto the bed with a hop and tried to snuggle up and enjoy the softness. However…
“This doesn’t feel that different from my own bed,” I muttered. Slightly disappointed by the lack of difference.
I tried twisting and turning to see if I was just in the wrong position. However, nothing seemed to change no matter what I did.
Thus, all I could do was let out a sad sigh.
“Well, that was disappointing. I was really hoping for a difference…hm?”
As I muttered those words, I found my attention drawn to above the bed where I was met with a shocking amount of photos of the MC.
“Wow. I knew her character liked the MC a lot in the game, but I didn’t know it was to this degree,” I said as I got off the bed. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with what I just saw.
“Thank you for waiting,” Dianne said as she walked into the room.
I had already returned to my seat and tried my best to pretend I hadn’t just witnessed something bizarre.
Placing the tea set down, Dianne sat down next to me.
“I’m sorry it took me so long. I wanted you to try my favorite brand of tea leaves, but it took longer than I expected to find them.”
“I-It’s fine. I appreciate the thought.”
When she heard that, Dianne let out a relieved sigh.
“Thank you for being so understanding. Now then, let me pour the tea for you.”
Grabbing hold of the teapot, Dianne slowly poured the tea into both our cups before resting the teapot down.
“Now then, how about we talk while we enjoy our tea?”
“Sure. Sounds good to me.”
Happy to hear I was fine with that, Dianne smiled and slowly drank her tea. Probably while thinking up a conversation starter. But I felt like it’d be a bit awkward to make her do that. So I went first.
“So the king and queen are your parents huh?”
Not expecting me to say that apparently, Dianne nearly choked on her tea before placing the cup down.
“W-W-What makes you think that? T-Those are just the king and queen and I have no connection to them whatsoever. Yep! I’m just someone who lives in the castle with them!”
Huh? Was she seriously trying to pretend she had no idea what I was talking about?
I mean, I already knew that before I got sent to this world, but even so, I had plenty of evidence to prove I knew the truth.
“Is that so? Then why did you call them mom and dad?”
“Ack!”
“Not only that, but back during the hunter games, that guy who was trying to force that ring on your finger kept calling you Princess Dianne. Or did you not notice that?”
“I…Uh…”
I mean, I was probably the only one who really paid attention to what he was saying back then, so I wouldn’t blame her for not noticing.
Probably realizing there was no point in hiding it anymore, Dianne let out an awkward chuckle.
“I guess it was only a matter of time till you found out. Haah. Well then, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Dianne Riosha. Princess of the Riosha kingdom. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Not sure how else to respond, I simply shrugged my shoulders.
“My name's Axel Savoncho…uh…same here.”
“That wasn’t very formal of you.”
“Well, what do you expect? We’ve known each other for a whole year. It’d be a bit weird to start talking politely now.”
“You…have a fair point.”
After saying that, Dianne let out a small chuckle.
“Sorry for not telling you sooner. To be honest, I had a reason I wanted to keep the fact I was a princess a secret.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
Getting up from her seat, Dianne put her hands behind her back as she approached a set of curtains and pulled them back. Revealing a large window I hadn’t bothered to open at all.
Once she was done, she put her hands back behind her back as she started speaking.
“As you know, most people of higher status tend to look lower on commoners and the like. It’s a sense of superiority that taints this world and holds it back from reaching new heights.”
“You don’t have to teach me about that. I already know just host screwed up people of higher status can be. And just between you and me, I’m not exactly a big fan.”
“Heh. I imagine not. And honestly, I might’ve wound up the same way had my parents not raised me the way they did.”
“What do you mean?”
Dianne turned around and looked at me.
“They taught me that commoners shouldn’t be looked down upon. After all, if say, one day, they suddenly desired the need to cause an uprising. It stands to reason that the common folk will no doubt rain victories. But the only reason they’d desire something like that is simply because they’re unsatisfied. That’s why my father treats commoners with kindness and concern. Making sure they get what they need and keeping the peace.”
“So in other words, he’s acting as a king should.”
Dianne nodded.
“I admire him for his work. I really do. But even so, one day, I want this world to drop the barrier between royalty and common folk. I want a place where anyone can do what they want and not be ridiculed for their status. Somewhere that’s safe from all this hate and disgust. That’s why I thought, if I could befriend you before you found out I was a princess, it could prove that common folk and royalty don’t need to look down on or hate each other. At least, that was my hope.”
I see. So she wanted to do this to prove a point. Honestly, considering this problem was never brought up in the visual novel, I was actually pretty interested in learning more about it.
Even so, I had my own thoughts on this plan of hers. And they weren’t exactly positive.
“If I can speak my mind for a second, that idea sounds too simple. You can’t expect people to just change from one example. Not to mention that it’s impossible to convince everyone.”
Just like in my own world, there were always those who stood above others. While stuff like royalty wasn’t as common, that didn’t change the fact that both the weak and the poor existed. And even if you wanted to put everyone on equal footing, that doesn’t change anything. So as interesting an in idea as this was, I couldn’t see it working out at all.
Perhaps expecting my skepticism, Dianne smiled at me as the sun started sinking down from the sky. Creating a scene so beautiful I wanted to take a picture.
“Even if I can’t convince everyone, as long as it’s the majority, that’s fine with me.”
As she said those words, I felt my heart skip a beat.
I didn’t know why, but something about what she said made me want to cheer her on. Even though I knew what she was doing would probably end in failure.
Thus ended that conversation. Leading to us just drinking tea in silence after Dianne sat back down.
Once we were done drinking our tea, Dianne offered to take me to the front of the castle.
I had just wanted to teleport away there and then, but one look at her eyes told me that I should at least give her this.
That's why we ended up walking next to each other until we arrived at the castle's front gates.
“Well then, I’ll be going now,” I said. Preparing to teleport. But just before I did, Dianne grabbed hold of my arm.
“Tell me Savoncho. Did you…have fun today?”
“Hm? Why are you asking that?”
“It’s just. While we were exploring the Matsuri empire, you just looked bored the whole time and it made me think you were just tagging along because I asked you to. So I wanted to know if you had fun or not.”
As she said all this, Dianne nervously clasped her hands together. Waiting for an answer. To which I scratched the back of my head.
“To be honest, not really. It was all a bit much for me and I wouldn’t exactly call it fun.”
“I…I see.”
“Even so…”
“Huh?”
I patted Dianne’s head.
“Hanging out with you doesn’t need to be fun. As long as you're enjoying yourself, that’s all that matters to me.”
When she heard that, Dianne’s face went red. Probably from embarrassment.
“So let me ask you this. Did you have fun today?”
“...Y-Yeah. I did.”
“Then that’s all I need. Thanks for taking me out today, Dianne.”
“S-Sure.”
Steam rose from Dianne’s head as she nodded.
Not wanting to embarrass her anymore, I stepped away and waved her goodbye.
“Bye Dianne. See you later.”
“Y-Yes. Goodbye.”
After hearing her say that, I teleported back to my island. Ready to deal with an earful from Xara.
Once Axel left, I returned to my room. My face still completely red.
I hadn’t expected him to say that at all.
“Hanging out with you doesn’t need to be fun. As long as you're enjoying yourself, that’s all that matters to me.”
As those words echoed in my head, I couldn’t help but jump on my bed and roll around in glee.
I was worried he didn’t enjoy today, and while it seems they were warranted, he still said something so freaking cool that I couldn’t help but blush when he said it.
I let out a giddy laugh as those words echoed in my head. But then I looked up at my ceiling and noticed my large collection of Riko photos. I’d been meaning to take them down for a month or so now, but I just hadn’t had the time to do so. But that didn’t matter right now.
Getting off my bed, I walked over to the window.
It was night now so all I could see were the stars in the sky. Even so, it was a beautiful sight to see.
And as I thought back through the day's events, while they didn’t go exactly as I wanted them to, I still got the confirmation I needed.
“It seems that somehow, I fell in love with Axel. Talk about a crazy twist of fate,” I muttered to myself. Feeling my cheeks grow warm as I said it.
After that, I went to bed with a smile on my face. Hoping one day I could convey these feelings to Axel.