Chapter 7: This Land of Fuzzy Friends

 

 

 

Chapter 7: This Land of Fuzzy Friends

 

IT was a few days after I first met Hayruth.

I’d invited Lady Kate over to entertain her at my villa.

“Mmm, how delicious! It’s so crispy. I could eat this forever!!”

Lady Kate wagged her bent tail to express her satisfaction with the taste. She was holding a slice of apricot pie in her hand. The fruit was soaked in syrup and baked into a crispy crust.

Watching Lady Kate, who seemed to be in a state of bliss, I brought a slice of the beautiful apricot pie up to my mouth as well. The crust gave off the rich smell of butter. Underneath was the soft flesh of the fruit.

My mouth was filled with a delicious apricot taste. The crust crumbled and absorbed the juices beneath. It was a nice, squishy texture on my tongue.

“I never imagined such a delicious pie could come from a garden stove. I should have one built in my yard too,” remarked Lady Kate, somewhat seriously.

I chose to make the pie because I knew apricots were one of her favorite foods. She seemed to be enjoying it, thankfully.

“Actually, I baked another pie in addition to this one. Would you like to take it home with you?”

“Are you sure I can?!”

“The chefs will be pleased so long as someone enjoys it.”

“Thank you so much!!”

Her face completely lit up. Her joy on full display warmed my heart as well.

Lady Kate’s intense emotions were a weakness for a noblewoman. Her family connections helped her remain a candidate, certainly, but I wondered if her honest and genuine personality had something to do with it too.

“Do you mind if I share the pie with the construction workers at my villa?”

“Of course not. They did so much for me as well.”

Lady Kate wanted to share the delicious pie with her subordinates instead of hogging it all for herself. As I considered how His Majesty might find that side of her desirable, I looked in the direction of her villa.

She was currently housing a group of craftsmen who worked with salt. The chandelier I’d transmuted was already turning brittle and falling apart just from slight bumps. Thus, the workers were hurriedly brought in to build a new one that didn’t rely on magic.

Lady Kate told me that as they worked, they were also improving their skills when it came to new methods for using salt.

I’d previously asked for their expert opinions when I made the first chandelier. They’d spent years working with salt, so their experience was both reliable and valuable. Someday in the near future, I might even be able to create something like a salt chandelier without magic.

But all I did was create that opportunity.

It was no different from my cooking. I remembered Gilbert’s incredible speed and improvements in the face of Earth recipes I’d merely presented to him.

Working together with the experts throughout this world: that was the key to success.

“Your Majesty, thank you very much for entertaining me today. May I visit again, ten days from now or so?” Lady Kate asked. She’d finished off the last of the apricot pie.

Lady Kate had come to the villa today to feast on delicious sweets…but I had another reason for inviting her over as well. I wanted to discuss the salt chandelier and the aftermath of Manilla Day.

I’d already heard about most of what I had in mind, but I was still curious about the progress of the new salt chandelier, along with a few other things.

“I’d like to see you then too. Is there a specific time and date you have in mine?”

“What about eleven days from now, in the afternoon?”

“…Sorry, could we skip that day for now?”

“Huh? You already have plans?”

Lady Kate’s wide eyes blinked rapidly.

…It seemed as if she thought of me as someone with no plans and nothing but time on my hands.

I couldn’t deny that I lived a life of leisure, but the blunt honesty in her reaction made me feel a bit awkward.

“I’ve already arranged to have a tea party with Lady Natalie that afternoon.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry.”

She apologized, then seemed to think of something.

“Your Majesty, would you mind if I joined you for that tea party instead?”

“With Lady Natalie?”

“…Yes.”

She nodded, though she was clearly hesitant.

“After I invited Lady Natalie to Manilla Day, she sent me a thank-you letter, and the two of us began to exchange messages. I just…struggle when it comes to letters. Some things are so hard to interpret.”

Letters from Lady Natalie, huh?

I’d corresponded with her as well… But her words always came out calculated, like something out of a textbook. It didn’t convey her personal thoughts at all. I understood why Lady Kate, who wanted to get to know the other candidates, found that frustrating.

“Things would move much faster if I visited Lady Natalie directly, or if I could have her come to me…”

“Considering both of your circumstances, that may be difficult…”

Both girls were being held back by the mixed feelings from their subordinates.

Of all four candidates, the supporters of these two were the most at odds.

Manilla Day was an exception. Normally, inviting one of them to the other’s home would result in a lot of pushback.

“Very well. I’ll write a letter to Lady Natalie and ask permission to invite you as well.”

“…Thanks, Your Majesty. But are you sure you don’t mind?”

It seemed like Lady Kate didn’t expect me to agree so easily.

Actually, that made sense: I was always such a shut-in here at the villa. I was physically shut-in, and politically shut away too. Lady Kate didn’t expect someone like me to be a middleman for her and Lady Natalie.

“Of course. I sort of have something on my mind too, to be honest.”

I smiled to reassure her.

“…And what exactly is that, Your Majesty?”

Lady Kate had asked me to be a go-between for her and Lady Natalie, and I’d agreed to it. But judging by her face, she seemed to find that strange. Unable to hide her doubt, she came out and asked me directly.

“You’ve kept so quiet here at your villa all along, trying to keep your distance from us candidates, right?”

“True. However, I think it’s time to take some actions of my own.”

“…Why now? If you spend the rest of your two years here being a placeholder queen, that’ll be the end of your problems, right?”

She was very blunt. Lady Kate jumped straight to asking for my thoughts instead of trying to navigate the conversation there indirectly. Her concern for the kingdom had probably induced her to speak so frankly, but at the same time, I wondered if it was also because she was treating me more like a friend than a political higher-up.

…I wasn’t concerned about sharing my thoughts with the girl.

“Lady Kate, this whole time, I’ve felt like a guest.”

“A guest?”

“I wasn’t born in this kingdom. I married into it to become the queen, but that title has a time limit attached, which is why you candidates have been so proactive in arranging to replace me when that time comes, right?”

“Yes, correct.”

She agreed, but her face didn’t quite tell the same story. She didn’t seek the title of queen any longer; she believed she didn’t have the right disposition for such a role.

The same fears for the kingdom that she harbored had begun to take hold of me too.

“I’m much more like a visitor to this kingdom, which is why I planned to stay in my villa and pass the time by relaxing… But I think it’s time I change my thinking a bit.”

Truly, just a little bit.

My overall policy on living a relaxed life wouldn’t change.

But now, I wanted to take actions that would affect this kingdom’s future.

“Edgar, Gilbert, Berry, Fon, Lord Aroo, and all the wolves. Lady Natalie, and you too of course, Lady Kate. …Since I first came here, I’ve gained so many people I care about.”

Humans, beastfolk, and fluffy friends.

Our races and statuses were different, but I loved them all.

“I don’t yet know if I’ll be able to remain in this kingdom once I’m no longer queen…but now I know, at least, it won’t be the end of everything for me.”

Whether I returned home or not…the others would continue their lives here in this kingdom.

“I want the future of this land to be filled with peace and success. That’s how I’ve come to feel after my time here.”

Once I spoke, for some strange reason…the image of King Glenreed flashed in my mind.

…What was that just now?

His Majesty ate my cooking and called it delicious.

The memory of that unguarded look on his face as he tasted the warm soup was so clear in my mind.

My chest stirred. My heart began to speed up.

“Your Majesty?”

Snap out of it!

I was with Lady Kate right now.

“Oh, it’s nothing. …After becoming queen, His Majesty has offered me his help with a few different things. I also wish to be of use to the kingdom for his sake.”

Putting it into words, I realized something about the way I was feeling inside.

My relationship with King Glenreed began as a king and a figurehead queen.

Nothing about that had changed, but once I started bringing him meals, I got the sense that we’d become somewhat closer. I’d even started feeling something like affection for the king.

…Though I had no idea how he felt about me whatsoever.

But I wanted His Majesty to remain healthy for the future of the kingdom as well.

“I may be an outsider, but that actually gives me the upper hand at times. The history of this kingdom can get in the way when it comes to its citizens. It’s hard for them to interact at times, no? What I’d like to do is help them get on friendlier terms with each other.”

“…So that’s why you want to mediate for Lady Natalie and me now?”

“Yes, that’s right. There aren’t many other things I can do at the moment.”

I wasn’t going to wave my title around to stick my nose in political affairs. But from here at the villa, I would do whatever I could. I would cook, be a conversation partner for Lady Kate and the others when they needed one, and serve as an in-between for social exchanges. That was my role.

“I’d like to help you and the others become better friends. Will you join me in that effort?”

“Of course! …But don’t you think it’s strange? I just asked you for a favor, yet now you’re the one asking me for help.”

“That’s all part of what I want.”

Lady Natalie and Lady Kate.

I didn’t yet know how they would get along, but the two were kind, responsible girls.

As long as they respected each other, I felt there was a good chance they could be friends.

“…Very well. Since you asked, I’ll do my very best to hit it off with Lady Natalie! I’ll show you the good luck this tail can bring!!”

Lady Kate’s bent tail stood straight up toward the sky with that declaration.

She’d been so embarrassed of that tail only a few days ago. The change I saw in her was a dazzling, brilliant one.

◇　◇　◇

LADY Kate, Lady Natalie, Berry, Fon, the wolves, His Majesty, and Lord Aroo.

With my newfound friends in this kingdom, both people and animals, my life as the figurehead queen would continue on.