That night, when the children had gone to bed, a family meeting was held in the dining room of the imperial residence. Meek was there.
I told him what Sandille had told me without concealment. All the wives were silent when they heard what I said.
"......Surprisingly, it's all right, isn't it?"
It was Sidhi who broke the silence. She is looking up at the heavens with her index finger on her chin, dressed in her usual deductive fashion. Her appearance draws everyone's attention to her.
"Sadie. Did you have a hunch?"
"Yes. I have no proof, but I have a feeling that Sandille's fears are unfounded.
"However, it's not a good idea to let Linos go alone. ......"
Rico looks at me with a worried expression.
"Rico-sama, it's all right. I will go with you. That was my plan all along."
What about Piatrice?
"About that: ......"
Sidi carefully explained the route to the elven village. Rico was quite horrified to hear that three old dwarves were to make the journey, but the idea was accepted when May said that she would be responsible for their physical condition.
Finally, we asked Meek about his own feelings, and she expressed her desire to return to the elf village. We confirmed that we would respect her wishes and concluded that we would just go for the time being, and the meeting was adjourned for the day. As soon as the meeting was dismissed, Matocal and Soleil quickly returned to their rooms with the child. The two children were still babies, but they were sleeping peacefully without crying at all. They must be good kids.
After that, I take a bath and think about the future. But I don't know what to do at all. Just when I was thinking that there is no use in thinking about it, someone comes into the bathtub. It's Sadie.
She sat down next to me and began to wash my hair briskly. Her wash time is surprisingly short. The reason is that the shampoo and conditioner work very well. Just a quick wash removes all the dirt and grime, and she says that all she has to do is to quickly apply the rinse and rinse it off with hot water. With such a wonderful product, one would think that selling it would make a lot of money, but it is for Sidhee only and cannot be used by anyone else, apparently. It is said to be effective for people with very stiff and frizzy hair, and if normal people use it, they will surely go bald. For this reason, I have never used this shampoo.
While Sidhi is washing his hair, I wash his back. After that, we wash each other's bodies and get into the bathtub.
Usually she is shyly submerging her body in the bathtub, but today she seems a little strange. Come to think of it, she usually looks shy when I wash her body, but I didn't feel it so much today. He seems to be happy.
"Did something good happen?"
"What? No, ...... nothing."
You're up to something, aren't you?
"...... nothing,nothing,nothing."
Her reply hit a little too close to home. I couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"Sadie is just like Nao-taro Kataoka, isn't she?"
"Kataokanaotaro? What does ...... mean?"
"It means you're not good at hiding. You're good at detecting lies from others, but you're not so good at hiding your feelings. Everyone can see that you're acting completely different from usual. I wonder if something is wrong."
"Ugh. ......"
She is halfway up to her face in the hot water, her face bright red. The way she is bubbling with bubbles is somewhat adorable.
"So, what happened?"
"It's a secret."
"Why is that? Is there something you want to apologize for?"
"So ...... that's not ...... what I'm talking about."
"Tell me."
"......"
"So, I'll put you together?"
"Put you together?"
"Oh. I'm going to take you to the bedroom and throw your body on the bed and attack you roughly, aren't I? I don't care about Sadie at all, I just focus on fulfilling my desires. I won't even look at Sadie's face, okay?"
"I don't want to ...... do that!"
"Then tell me."
"ugh ......"
"Shall I lay you down?"
I slowly take Sadie's arm. Then she suddenly stands up. Her young body is in full view.
"I'm going back to my ...... principality."
"What?"
"If you don't treat me kindly, I'll take Pia and return to the principality. I don't want to be roughed up!
Tears well up in Sadie's eyes. Finally she burst into tears.
"U...... sorry. I'm sorry. It's okay, it's okay. I'll be nice. I'll be nice to you like I always am, maybe even nicer than usual."
"......You were seriously trying to rough me up earlier, weren't you?"
"What? What? Why?"
"Master Linos' voice rises when he tells lies. Earlier, his voice was low ....... You were half joking and half trying to rough me up, weren't you? They held me down and forced me to ......"
"That's not true. I would never do that. No, to be honest, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a desire to do so. Of course I have a desire. But I don't want to do anything Sadie wouldn't like. That's the only thing I won't do. Look me in the eye. Look me in the eye.
Sadie, who had been staring into my eyes, nodded slowly. It seems he understands.
"Just tell me what happened. I'm curious. I trust Sidhi and I know he's not the kind of person who would do something bad, but I still think he's a ......?"
I stood up and hugged Sadie gently. She sank slowly into the bathtub, her face bright red.
"...... are you angry?"
"What?"
"Promise me you won't get angry."
"Don't worry, I won't get angry."
"The key to the crossover is ...... ready."
"What?"
I heard that Sadie had succeeded in developing a key that could open any door, which she had developed through a misunderstanding. It was made by Siddee's brother, Galtor, who had created the key with the best of the Dwarves' technology.
The crossover key is said to be a key with a shape-memory function, which means that it can change the shape of the keyhole at will. One may wonder what they do with keys with complicated shapes, such as a safe with a dial, but to begin with, there is no such thing as a safe with a dial in this world, and the level of technical skill is determined by how complicated the shape of the key can be made. Considering this, a key that can be inserted into a lock and whose shape can be freely changed may, in a sense, have created an extraordinary product.
"By the way, what on earth do you plan to use that key for?"
"...... to look into the treasure room of the Elven royal family."
"Huh?"
The Elven village is said to have a treasure trove of Excalibur, said to be the sharpest in the world. Sadie really wants to see the sword. He wants to see how sharp it is.
"I don't think he'll show it to me if I ask him to. ...... then," he says. ......
"No, no, that would only further complicate the relationship."
"...... I know, right? So I decided to do it alone, without telling anyone."
Why are you so obsessed with Excalibur in the first place?
"Because I want to make it."
What? Why?"
"Because Master Linos wishes it."
Me?
"When I had my portrait painted by the King of Maintia before, I had Excalibur and ....... As you can imagine, it was difficult to obtain, so I decided to make one. ....... But I couldn't make it without seeing the real thing,...... so I decided to make it,......."
"Hmph ...... hahahahaha! Oh yeah, Excalibur! I see, you got it!"
I burst out laughing. Sadie stares at me with a little fear in her eyes.
"Sadie's cute."
"What?"
"It's okay. You don't have to make Excalibur. That's all I need.
"Oh no. ......"
"You don't need the most powerful sword. No, we can make the world a place where we don't need them. The armor Sidhi made for us is great, but we should make the world a place where we don't need to wear armor as much as possible. That's what I think."
"is ...... yes ......"
"But that crossover key can make a lot of people unhappy if used in the wrong way. That's why Sidney. Keep that key under tight control."
Yes, sir.
"Well, it's time to go up. I'll make a special exception today and carry you from here to the bedroom in a princess's arms.
"What? Oh, no. ......"
You don't want to?
"...... please."
Sadie, red-faced and drooping, was really cute. That night, I was even nicer to Sadie than usual. .......