“Man, that Maud guy really has a head start.”

Gin used his inside voice and whispered to himself after Maud had finished with his speech and gave his sympathies to the king.

“That king is really lucky to have a country that can almost replicate that legendary sword to a T. That craftsmanship is no easy task to make, yet they can manage to pull it off. Heh! It’s like I’m being challenged! This is great!”

Envious as he sounds, Gin felt like he was a bit motivated as he finally found a competitor when forging a weapon. He has been a blacksmith and ran a store for nearly his whole life. He needed to step up his game and he will use the sword that the king was given, the Star Destroyer, as an idea and a motivation to strive for the future of blacksmithing and improve his skills.

His eyes shifted to Shouya and wanted to give his input.

“So, what do you think? Hm?”

For some odd reason, when he looked at him, he looked like he was staring into space.

Shouya’s eyes were fixated on Sheri. She was so attractive—too attractive that he couldn’t help but keep staring at her. It was as if he was enchanted by a spell.

“Uhh, bro?”

Gin tried saying something to him, but there was no response. He didn’t even hear him.

“Hey, kid!”

He snaps his fingers a couple of times in front of him before he snaps back to reality. He wasn’t aware of what happened. Did he even pay attention to both Ozgard and Maud’s speeches? It would be embarrassing—if not, insulting to the both of them—if he hadn’t.

“Are you alright?”

“Uhh, yeah. I just…feel weird. It’s like having butterflies in my stomach.”

“I don’t get it. What do you mean?”

“I don’t don’t know how I am going to explain this. But, have you…ever had a dream of a person only to find out that that person in your dream becomes real?”

Gin pressed his large furry fist against his own cheek, trying to imagine what Shouya had meant.

Shouya recalled the night when he arrived in this world, a girl appeared in his dream. Of course that was only one time when he was knocked out after the battle against the Blue Sharks. But now, when he sleeps regularly, the girl sometimes appears in his dreams randomly.

Gin couldn’t get the idea as to what Shouya was talking about, and so, he quickly gave up and shrugged.

“Nope, sorry. I haven't had the faintest clue what you’re talking about. Although, what you’re saying almost sounds similar to a rumor I heard.”

“A rumor?”

“The rumor has it that, on the night when you sleep, a special someone will appear in your dreams and that person will be destined to meet and fall in love with each other. At least, that’s all I can remember. But, bah, that rumor is full of wolgashit. That I can tell you as much.”

It is possible that it could be nothing but a rumor. But if what Gin has said is true, and that is just a rumor, then why did the girl appear in his dream? Shouya looked at the princess and started to notice something.

Then it hit him.

“Gin. I think that’s the girl.”

“What?”

“Her. I saw her in the dreams I told you about.”

“Are you sure? Is your head really that damaged a month ago that it makes you have wet dreams about her?”

“I’m being serious! I’ve never seen her before, but she was in my dreams. ”

The hair, the physique, the tail. She resembles the girl that was from his dreams. There is no denying it, the rumor is not just a rumor. It actually came true.

“Hmm…”

However, Gin doesn't think so as he finds it unrealistic. That is not to say that he doesn’t believe Shouya, but at the same time, there’s just not enough evidence to validate his claims.

“I don’t know. But even if you’re right, I don’t think you’re gonna get a chance to make her fall in love with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s because—”

“We would like to have a turn, thank you very much!”

Before Gin could even finish, he was interrupted by a loud voice from across the room near the throne. There was a man—no, a birdman—raising his finger high in the air, smirking, meanwhile, the other who almost looked like him pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

Their head resembles some sort of a falcon; their entire body covered in feathers that were the color of sand. They have large wings on their backs and sharp human-like talons on both of their hands and feet. The other people in their group are also bird-like demi-humans, but all of them have different heads shapes resembling different types of birds like an owl or a woodpecker, or every other bird type that existed.

Recalling what Gin had said before, he called them Rugothura’s Sky Raiders. It is likely possible that the city is ruled by these bird-like races.

Morrigan pressed the midsection of her forehead with her two fingers and sighed.

“Very well. You may proceed.”

The two approached the king and the princesses and bowed in front of them. The one who spoke aloud earlier was taller than Sheri by just a foot, meanwhile the other was slightly taller than Morrigan just by a couple of inches.

“Ah, Elvor and Rakzel. The Princes of Rugothura. I’m surprised that you two would be here. I would’ve thought that either the king or queen would have attended.”

“Unfortunately both of them are unable to attend here as they have matters on their own hands. So we attend in their stead. However, both our father and mother send their regards and their condolences.”

“Huh, that’s disappointing. I’ve been wanting to talk to them. I haven’t seen them since you two were little chicks.”

“Ha ta ta ta! I don’t want to hear it! It was a long time ago! Hearing about the past is so embarrassing.”

The short prince, Rakzel, covered his eyes with his hands. But even if he concealed his face, his cheeks blushed beet red.

“But besides the point. The reason we are here today is to give word!”

“You know you don’t need to yell to get our attention. Everyone is equal.”

“Oh I know that, but I wanted to say something that I’ve been wanting to say.”

“Sigh. Alright, Little Prince. Let’s hear it.”

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“I’ve been waiting for this. Don’t worry, this will be quick. Men, ready up!”

He claps his hands twice and the lights go out. The room was dark. All of the curtains covered all the glass windows around the room, except for one, in which a couple of birdmen from his group brought mirrors and used its light to bounce off one another until it shines light above him as if it was used as a stagelight.

What was Rakzel trying to do? Shouya, Gin, and everyone in the room looked in confusion.

“O’ king thy king, I came for your appraisal.

With these words of mine, I shall make you accept this proposal.

I have come a long way to seek joy and happiness.

From here I stand, I would like a word for your princess.”

Eh? What?!

Shouya screamed from the inside of his mind when he heard a poem of what the feathered prince had said.

“I’ve made these words just for you, Princess Sheri. Now watch as I give you the dance that will make you accept me.”

As he said, Rakzel begins to start dancing on the ballroom floor. He twisting and turning, twirling and shaking his body, and pushing and pulling his arms in and out as his legs move his body. He moves with such excellence; it seems like he practiced this dance for a long time. The feathers on his body danced along as he moved, and the sound of his feet slapping on the hard floor into the rhythm.

While he dances, he begins to sing:

“O’ my lovely angel, born with such grace.

Your beauty burns bright, brighter than the star.

Such passion, such elegance, they all make me swoon.

Spread our wings and take my hand, we shall go to a land afar.

You’re prettier than any gold, jewel, or rune.

I shall give you anything, including the moon.

I can assure you that this is no ruse.

My feelings for you are so very true.

We will travel across the world; sky, land, and sea.

I will give you everything…”

Rakzel finishes it off with a kneel in front of Sheri, holds her hand, and utters the lines aloud, “…if you marry me,” before presenting a diamond ring from his pocket to her.

Everyone was silent—speechless, even. They couldn’t tell if they wanted to either cheer or boo at him due to how out of nowhere and out of place this is. The only two people that can give a reaction was his brother, Elvor, covers his eyes and shakes his head out of embarrassment, and Morrigan, who rubs both temples of her forehead like she had a headache. It even gave Gin a migraine from all of his singing and dancing.

“So, what do you say?”

Sheri’s expression did not change. She stands there, looking at the ring. The king Briomaar, who had witnessed the prince’s performance, spoke.

“I, uh, see… Ahem So you seek a marriage to my daughter?”

“Of course! By marrying her, I’ll give her anything and everything that makes her happy.”

“Well, if you truly desire so, I shall arrange—”

“May I ask?”

Before Briomaar could finish, Sheri’s soft voice intruded. Her eyes are still set on the ring on the bird prince’s hand.

“Of course! Anything! You name it.”

She shifted her glare towards Rakzel. While her expression didn’t change, she gave an awfully cold stare, looking down on him. At his stupid-looking bird-like face.

Then, she took this opportunity and asked a question that Rakzel could answer if he wanted to please her.

“Will you…bring my mother back?”

“—!”

He did not expect that question coming from her. He was not prepared for that at all. His expression slowly went from a happy-go-lucky smile to a frown in seconds as he realized what he got himself into and regretted it.

“I…uh…”

“You said that by marrying you, you’ll give me anything that makes me happy. Are you telling me that you’re lying? That you really can’t give me happiness?”

“Th-that’s not what I— It was an act of kindness! I didn’t mean to anger you! I only wanted to make you feel happy!”

“You’d expect a simple yet pointless song and dance on the moment of my mother’s death would make me feel any better?!”

“A—”

Rakzel, despite his intentions, does not have the words to defend himself. Instead, it makes him more of a fool to try to make such a childish performance in front of the princess.

The guests in the room started to mutter to themselves; ranging from questioning the bird prince’s actions to actually agreeing with the fox princess. It is like the people are turning against him.

While this is happening, Shouya and Gin are watching this and how does this play out.

“Welp, he’s certainly screwed himself over.”

“Y-Yeah. I’ll say.”

Glad that I’m not him, though.

Shouya was relieved that it wasn’t him up there. If he were, and if he were to tell her and tell her that he saw her in his dreams, she’ll find that creepy and will probably have the same reaction.

“Brr!”

Shouya’s body, even though he was covered in fur, felt a slight chill crawling on him. It was as if the room suddenly got cold.

“Huh?”

No, something is not right. When Shouya breathed out a bit of his breath, vapor came out from his mouth. The room did get cold. As if the room suddenly turned into a freezer, even though they are still in the middle of summer.

“Ohh shit! I guess this is the end of him.”

“Huh?”

He didn’t understand what Gin was talking about at first, but when he saw the disaster was happening on the scene in front of them, he understood it. And it is not looking good.

Sheri was surrounded by a light veil of vapor crawling down from her body and impacting the floor. With each passing second, piece by piece, ice suddenly spawned underneath her. One might think that this is some short of special effects that you might see in theaters. But this is neither a movie nor a play. This is actually happening in front of him.

“You say that what you display was an act of kindness and you vowed to keep me happy. What I saw was an insult and you have sullied my late mother in her grave!”

“I-I-I-.”

There was terror from his face. Sheri’s anguish yet furious expression looks down on Rakzel to the point where she actually shed a single tear from her left eye as the cold wind from her magic power blew from behind her.

Rakzel tries to find the right words to defend himself, but he can't. So instead, he looks around the room only to have his sights aimed on his older brother Elvor, who was by the wall right next to him.

“Big brother! Help me!”

“I don’t know. You told me that you can handle this. So that’s your problem.”

“Brother, please! Please please please!”

Even his own brother is not taking his side with this one. But despite his decline to help, Rakzel whiningly begged Elvor to help him. Elvor sighed in defeat and decided to go along with it and approach him.

“Alright. I guess I could help you out.”

“I know I can count on you! See, my princess? My brother can explain that I was not intending to offend— huh?”

Before he could finish, he felt like he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his head.

—Then, unexpectedly…

“Bwak!”

Elvor, with his immense strength, uses this moment to slam Rakzel’s head into the hard floor. The impact was so strong that it created a head-sized crater underneath where he was slammed. Luckily he’s not dead as his body made a slight twitch, but it did render him unconscious.

While holding his head that was dug into the floor, Elvor kneeled in front of the princess.

“I apologize for my brother's lack of maturity, intelligence, and self awareness. What he tried to do was thoughtful, it was not the right time to do that, and it was both inappropriate and not executed properly. I can assure you that he will receive great punishment after we return to Rugothura. I’m sure that both mother and father will have a long talk to my brother.”

Elvor’s stern expression was sincere. He was not lying. Given the display he showed, he was actually being serious. Sheri sees this and the cold wind stops blowing. Then, Morrigan uses this moment to approach her and firmly hugged her sister from behind.

“There there, sister. I’m here for you.”

“Mori…”

Sheri’s cold heart slowly starts to warm up as she feels her sister’s warm body comforting her. All of her pent up rage seems to vanish in a flash. She took a deep breath and regained her composure. After she had calmed, she wiped off the tears from her face and looked at the audience who had witnessed the fox princess’s wrath.

“I…do apologize for how I acted. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you all and should’ve treated you better. Especially you, Prince Elvor.”

“None at all, princess. It is my duty to provide service to the family of this kingdom, and also to provide service for my princess, as well.”

He says that as he gave a wink, not to Sheri, but to Morrigan. Morrigan caught that and her cheeks blushed.

“Yes, um… Ahem Thank you, Prince Elvor. We really appreciate your sentiment. You may return to your quarters.”

“As per your command, my princess.”

As he said that, he picked up the unconscious Rakzel from the floor and placed him above his shoulder. From there, he returned to the small group of birdmen and gently placed Rakzel on an empty seat.