“Good morning!” Solicea greeted me as I entered the dining room.

“Good morning,” I replied with a smile. We didn’t do much after arriving yesterday, getting a rest from the tiring journey.

A maid came and pulled a chair for me.

“Thank you.”

She bowed her head and went to the side. I could pull a chair on my own, though. Oh well, not everyday you’re treated like royalty.

On the table were many luxurious looking food items.

“Would you like some tea, Sir?”

“Ah, yes please.”

The maid then poured me some sweet-smelling brown tea.

“Thank you.” I took a sip. It had a honey-like taste to it. “It’s different from what we usually had.”

“That? We got it from our trade partners in Nanawak.”

“Nanawak? As in the Nanawak Empire?”

“Yep.”

The game mentioned it. The nation’s mercenary organization, Eastern Wolves, had some minor operations in Syla. Players must be level 50 or above to be able to take a quest.

“Isn’t that the country with a lot of deserts?”

“Its western side does have a lot of them.” Solicea took a sip from the tea. “But this comes from Zurowa, near the eastern borders of the nation.”

“I see.”

Maya entered the dining room accompanied by Emori. They must have woken up at the same time. Maya’s eyes sparkled the second she saw smoked salmon on the table.

“Fish!” Without waiting for the maid, she took a seat. The maid looked taken aback by the dragon’s antics. Solicea let out a little giggle.

Not long after them, Solicea’s parents came into the room. We didn’t run into them the day before, so we greeted them today and introduced ourselves. We then enjoyed breakfast together, then had some chat with Solicea’s family. Solicea’s parents had some morning business, leaving not long after we finished breakfast, leaving us along with the servants in the mansion.

* ••

“So, what are our plans for today?” Maya asked. We were in the living room. Unlike back on Earth, the living room lacked a television, which meant we did nothing as we lazed around. Since I was in a noble’s home, I still acted with manners. Maya, meanwhile, sat upside down on the sofa for whatever reason, her legs on the sofa’s back.

Just what is she doing?

“Do you already have plans for today?” Emori asked, sitting appropriately like a princess.

“... Today is…” Solicea murmured. Unlike her dragon friend, Solicea sat normally, leaning on the sofa’s back.

We all looked toward her, curious about her next words.

“Golden Weekend.”

Emori glanced at me, and I glanced at Maya. Maya caught my eyes and turned toward Solicea.

“... Golden what?”

“None of you know what it is?”

All three of us shook our heads.

“I can understand Maya and Fortis, but you don’t know either, Emori?”

Hey, what does that mean?

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“It’s the end of spring, so many shops around town are doing a spring stock clearing sale.”

“Ah, I see…” It was similar to Black Friday back on Earth. “So, in other words, the town’s really crowded?”

“Yep. Everyone’s trying to get things before the others.”

“Does that mean we’re staying home for today?”

“No!” Solicea vigorously shook her head. “My father said that if we want to understand the people, we must be with the people! We shall go to war!”

With Solicea’s declaration, the three of us were drafted into a battlefield we never wished to go.

* ••

What’s the point of this, really?

We all had a lot of money. Solicea’s the daughter of a noble. Emori’s part of the royal family. Both me and Maya had more money than what we know to do with. Well, I guess Maya does know what she wants to do with hers, but that’s besides the point. Joining the golden weekend seemed pointless. Besides, what could we understand from joining this kind of war?

“Are you sure this is a battlefield you want to fight in?” I whispered to no one in particular, looking at the massive crowd that had gathered around the shopping district. It was suffocating. I really want to go back and laze around the bed. I had a great room, I could enjoy the view from there.

Well… I guess it was an experience, in a way. I did buy all my stuff online back on Earth.

“Come on, Fortis. It’ll be alright.” Solicea grabbed Maya’s hand and the two sailed into the sea of humans.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“It’s… it’s frightening,” Emori said, the only one left by my side.

“Yeah… Should we head somewhere else?”

Emori brought her hand to her chest. “But… as a princess, I wouldn’t understand my people if I’m not with my people.”

“You shouldn’t take what she said seriously.”

Besides, she already acted like someone among the people. She rarely ate fancy meals, never walked around with a guard, and wore clothes like a normal girl. I still remember thinking of her as just a random schoolgirl when I first met her. Now, four months after that, I still see her as a random schoolgirl.

Nothing about her spoke about her family lineage. She probably preferred that, considering how much she opposed the idea of being queen.

“This is different.” She steeled her resolve. “I shall step into this battlefield. Fortis, you may wait here if you wish.”

“Uh… no way I’m leaving you in there.”

I did promise her parents that I would protect her, no matter what happened. Guess this case was no different.

With a heavy heart, I followed her into the tremendous battlefield.

* ••

Despite all of her fancy words, we got it easy when compared to the rest of the crowd. Many of the people recognized Solicea, and without being asked to, cleared the way for her. They didn't disperse, but we could pass through them like an ambulance.

Way too tight for my liking, but much better than what I had originally anticipated. Still…

“You look cute in whatever you wear, Maya!” Solicea squirmed in delight upon seeing the beautiful dresses that don Maya’s body. Maya tilted her head quizzically.

“Humans are weird…” she murmured. Solicea wasn’t the only one excited with the chance of dressing up a dragon.

“Lady Maya, please try this on as well. I believe it will fit you.” The store staff seemed to be enjoying this as well.

“Lady Solicea, these clothes may fit her.” One of the visitors recommended. Maya had turned into the center of this show, despite doing nothing.

“Adding some accessories will definitely make you prettier!” One of the employees came with several gold accessories.

“Gold!” Maya’s eyes sparkled upon seeing it. Unlike with the clothes, she tried every gold accessory with great interest.

“Fortis.” Someone tugged on my sleeves.

“What is it- Woah, you’re beautiful.”

“You- You think so?” Emori averted her eyes, her cheeks blushed. She wore a dazzling light blue dress, with silver accessories on her neck. “How about you, Fortis, aren’t you going to try anything out?”

“Umm… we’re in a women’s clothing store.”

“Ah, right! My apologies!” she turned around and ran away, heading back straight for the changing rooms.

Did she forget about it? She didn’t want to see me cross dress, did she?

While I would argue my face in this world looked prettier compared to old me, it wasn't pretty enough that I would look good in a dress.

“Are you bored, Fortis?” Solicea asked, approaching me. Maya was surrounded by a whole lot of people.

“So you finally got kicked out, huh?”

“More like I retreated. Tactical retreat. I shall reclaim her when the time comes.”

Maya glanced at us.

“Here are some more gold accessories, lady Maya!”

She immediately looked back at the employee.

“Maya really likes gold, huh.”

“All dragons do. They like shiny stuff, especially gold. Maya prefers stuff on the bigger side, though.”

Golden swords, golden shields. Humans didn't have the same attachment to gold like dragons, and no human in their right mind would make a sword from gold, so Maya’s options when it came to these things were limited.

“I wonder if she'll buy those accessories...” I murmured.

“Now that you mention it, I didn’t see her wearing a necklace or earring when she first came to school. Does she have nothing?”

“No, we have nothing. We didn't have much money during our childhood.”

Even now, Maya didn’t wear those things. Dragons didn’t wear gold accessories to make themselves prettier. They just like the material.

“I see… Alright then.” Solicea smirked and went back into the crowd.

“... Alright? I wonder what she meant.”

* ••

I soon found out that Solicea bought many golden accessories, all for Maya. She had one of her servants carry it home, while the four of us went to our next destination.

“... What?”

Said destination was a tuxedo shop. An entire shop filled with just tuxedos. Unlike the previous store, which had been filled with entirely women, this one was filled with men.

Well, fill wasn't the right word. There was hardly anyone inside.

“Why are we here again?” I asked, standing next to a fine looking tuxedo. Even with the discounts, it was still quite expensive, probably why there weren't many people inside.

Well, tuxedos were expensive even back on Earth, I guess.

“Are you looking for a suit, Solicea?” Emori asked. The store had many tuxedos for both genders, so Solicea looking to buy one shouldn't be too surprising.

“What? No, silly. We're getting one for him.” Solicea pointed toward me.

“Eh… what? Why?”

“Emori, you want to see Fortis in a suit too, don't you?”

“Ah, eh ehhh…” Her eyes went all over the place, her cheeks reddening all of a sudden. “Ehh…. Akh.”

I could, somehow, sense the smoke coming out from her head. Does me in a suit look that bad?

“How about you, Maya?”

“He’ll look awesome.” Maya gave me a smug looking thumbs up. Why smug, you ask? I have no idea.

“Now, with two maidens looking on with great expectations, do you still dare deny their wishes?”

“Heh… fine.”

We went into the store and began picking out clothes.

* ••

This felt like I'm standing on a stage or something.

I checked the tuxedo one more time, making sure I was as tidy as I could be. The me in the mirror looked proper, as if I was about to attend a wedding.

If I'm going to marry someone, I wonder who it will be…

Maya was out of the question. Other than her, the only girls that I'm quite close with were Emori and Solicea. I did talk with a couple others, but not as often as those two.

I put those thoughts on the back of my mind as I began spinning, checking the various angles. I couldn't say that I looked bad, although I probably thought that due to personal bias.

Still… This is surprisingly comfortable.

A suit may not suit the hot weather of this city, but it felt nice in the cool store.

I took a breather and turned around, then unlocked the door to the changing room. I stepped out. The girls’ eyes locked onto my suit.

“Wow…”

“You look cool.”

“So… manly.”

“Thanks… I guess?”

“For- Fortis!” Emori straightened up.

“Y- Yes?” I answered, startled.

“I'll buy you that suit!” She declared in full seriousness.

“No, you don't hav-”

“I insist!”

Seeing the determination in her eyes, I couldn't resist.

“Fine… I'll buy it, but I can use my own money.”

“Are- are you sure?” Emori fidgeted.

“It's fine.”

Maya and Solicea snickered, whispering among themselves. I decided against asking what they were talking about.

After that, we headed back to Solicea’s home.