Chapter 32: Why not just give him a kiss on the cheek?

“Ugh, I’m so bored.”

Ever since Prince Jalpha arrived, the king and my older brothers had been busy in constant meetings.

Meanwhile, Lululu and I were completely left out of it all.

“Big sis~ Aren’t we just being ignored at this point?”

“It’s a national crisis. We can’t really complain.”

All our princess duties and studies had been canceled since the royal attendants were swamped.

With no one else to talk to, it was just Lululu and me. Our “Princess Parties” had been going on daily, and we’d already run out of things to talk about.

My only official duty was to fawn over the prince during the dinner banquets.

“Everyone else looks so busy…”

“It almost feels wrong for just the two of us to have this much free time.”

Takeru, Sir Paulik, and Lord Rouga were all out fighting on the front lines.

Berka and Luri were in Byuredesto, and Juugi was deep into research at the mining town of Coal Town.

Only the royal sisters were sitting idle.

“It really feels like I’m wasting my life here.”

“At least you’ve got something to do. Unlike me, Rishali, you still have your research work.”

“Oh, please. That’s just me rubber-stamping papers with ‘Approved.’”

Truth is, I’d been entrusted with the paperwork related to Juugi’s research.

Since it was considered a national secret, the work couldn’t be delegated to the regular bureaucrats.

But what did the job actually involve…?

“Juugi’s so competent, there’s really nothing for me to do.”

“Right? He really is sharp, that guy.”

All I had to do was stamp “Approved” and sign the budget proposals Juugi sent me.

And they were always absolutely flawless—there was never anything to critique.

Lately, things had gotten so technical, I’d started approving them without even reading.

But come on, it’s Juugi. He doesn’t make mistakes.

“What happened to the manpower shortage for the mining project? I remember Jikei said immigration was out of the question.”

“Oh, I actually came up with a clever workaround for that.”

“A clever workaround?”

It turns out I was the one who resolved Juugi’s “get more people” problem.

Of course, there was no chance of suddenly finding an immigrant group willing to move into the mines…

‘Mr. Juugi, could we link the trial railway to the port town of Anat?’

‘You mean the test railway?’

I’d ordered a temporary railway to be extended to the nearest port town.

‘Anat is about twelve kilometers away. It’s the perfect distance for a test line.’

‘Anat, huh? Well, your reasoning makes sense…’

Originally, Juugi had planned to extend the railway directly to the capital.

But after hearing my idea, he agreed to lay the tracks toward Anat instead.

…Though, he did mention he would’ve preferred to connect the line to where I was.

“Okay, but how does linking to a port town solve your manpower problem?”

“There are seasons and weather conditions when sailors can’t work, right? That’s when we hire them to help with mine development.”

“You’re talking about fishermen from a town ten kilometers away? Wouldn’t the commute eat up all the time?”

“We’ll send the train to pick them up and drop them off.”

Yes. My plan was to transport mine workers from the port town using the railway.

I’d just invented this world’s very first commuter train.

“So you’re using the train to shuttle in the hired workers? That’s pretty clever.”

“If it works, the manpower issue will be solved.”

“More jobs means more money flowing in. With the right pay, people will definitely sign up.”

Anat was the second most prosperous city after the capital, thanks to its trade with the Deken Empire.

By linking it with the railway, we’d also make it easier to get the supplies Juugi needed for his research.

“Jikei-nii even gave the plan his approval and allotted us a budget to hire miners!”

“I think it’s a great plan, too.”

When I brought up the idea, Juugi praised me, saying, “Rishali-sama is truly a brilliant person.”

Well, I guess it came to me because I’m from the modern world.

“If it works out, we should have the problem solved by the end of the year.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Maybe because of magic, the speed of construction in this world is absurdly fast.

It looks like the project will be completed by the end of the year.

“Thanks to Juugi, Saripa has developed so quickly.”

“We’re just getting started, big sis. …Actually, we’ve already received some pretty risky invention proposals.”

“Aah…”

When I met Juugi, he left a pile of plans saying, “I’ve prepared some more interesting inventions.”

Among them were next-generation vehicles like steam-powered cars and steamships, along with a steam-powered conveyor belt.

How much does he plan on advancing this world all on his own?

“Juugi-san has truly come to life now that he has the budget. He’s like a fish in water.”

“When I think about him possibly leaving, it gives me chills.”

Because magic allows the processing of iron here, the development pace is incredibly fast.

If we mobilize all the earth mages in the country, we could probably have a railway network up and running within ten years.

…That means we’ll need to address environmental issues soon. We should probably take action early.

“Once we figure out what to do with Yaiban, this country will be safe.”

“Will the Deken Empire help, though?”

Research and industry in the country have a bright future.

The only remaining problem is the biggest enemy we currently face—Yaiban.

“What are the conditions for winning the war, big sis?”

“It's for Deken to take action. There are no other conditions.”

“Does that mean even with Takeru, Saripa couldn’t win on its own?”

“We could win, but we couldn’t govern. That’s the real issue.”

Winning a war means ruling over the lands that have been devastated by the flames of battle.

But Saripa’s national strength is already stretched thin after taking over Draznest.

Even if we win, occupying Yaiban isn’t realistic.

“So, what will happen to the people of the land if there’s no ruler?”

“…They’ll probably become bandits, raiding the surrounding areas.”

If we can’t occupy Yaiban, it will fall into a state of anarchy.

Once that happens, starving bandits will flood into Saripa and continuously raid our land. The future looks bleak.

That’s why we’ll have to rely on the Deken Empire to invade and govern Yaiban for us.

“Why does Yaiban want to invade us?”

“For Yaiban, we’re just a vassal of the hated Deken Empire.”

Saripa Kingdom has never initiated a war against Yaiban. We’re always the ones attacked.

The reason for that is because we’re a vassal of the Deken Empire.

Deken is an expansionist nation, and it was the Deken Empire that started the invasion of Yaiban.

Our king made Saripa a vassal before we were ever attacked.

So, to Yaiban, Saripa is like a “remora” that’s sucking up to their hated enemy.

It’s no wonder they’d attack us as a side target.

“And if we declare a ceasefire with Yaiban, Deken will be angry with us.”

“It’s the sorrow of being a small country.”

But Deken won’t allow Saripa to make a ceasefire. They’ve ordered us to join them in a joint front and fight.

We have no choice but to play along and maneuver while trying to avoid getting dragged into the war.

Saripa can only look to Deken for guidance and act accordingly.

“Do you think Yaiban will send their main forces to Saripa?”

“I think it’s possible, given what happened with Draznest.”

“Ugh…”

According to my big sis, the resentment toward us has grown ever since we annexed Draznest.

At this rate, there’s a real chance that they’ll mobilize their main forces and a full-scale war is inevitable.

“As someone involved in the annexation of Draznest, I really wish we could avoid this.”

“If the main forces come here, then Deken’s invasion will lead to a victory, won’t it?”

“It’s not certain that we can defend it, though.”

“Then you’ll have to trust Takeru-kun.”

If the Deken Empire finally gets moving, it’s our chance to destroy Yaiban.

Once Yaiban is annexed, there will be no threats left around us.

"Rouga is good at defense, so I’m sure we’ll manage somehow."

"True, Takeru is strong, but Paulik says, ‘You can win next time.’"

"...Hmm?"

Actually, when we went to pick up Prince Jalpha, I had asked Paulik what kind of strength Takeru has in his eyes.

To my surprise, Paulik boldly claimed, "Next time, we can win."

I thought he was just bluffing, but...

"Takeru hasn’t fully hatched yet; he’s a golden egg."

"What do you mean by that, Paulik?"

"There’s still plenty of room for us to exploit."

Takeru is incredibly strong in direct combat, but apparently, he has many weaknesses.

One of his most fatal weaknesses seems to be "poison."

"Takeru is tough, so he takes a lot of hits. His defense is lacking."

"Hmm."

"In particular, he’s vulnerable the moment he prepares to strike. He focuses too much on landing the blow and neglects his surroundings. During training, he was hit by Paulik at that very moment."

"Wow…"

I hear it takes a lot of concentration for Takeru to deliver a proper punch.

Because of its speed, if he crashes into something, it can cause serious injury.

Takeru is tough, but not as armored as a dragon. If "Takeru punches Takeru," it could be a fatal blow.

"So, when Takeru strikes, he briefly freezes in place. If we target that moment, even Paulik’s sword can land a hit."

"I see. That’s definitely a clear weakness."

"Taking a hit means if it’s a fatal blow, he will die. Which means..."

"...Poison?"

Moreover, Takeru has no resistance to poison.

If surrounded by soldiers wielding poisoned weapons who can notice his weakness, it’d be quite dangerous.

"Well, that’s the situation. If you can provide a poisoned sword, I’ll even take down Takeru."

"You can’t kill him!"

"I’m joking. Don’t worry, once he returns, I’ll train him again."

Noticing that weakness, Paulik must have taught Takeru the basics of defense.

For Paulik to spot the weakness of someone stronger than him and come up with countermeasures, he really is impressive.

"Takeru has already lost to a dragon. He’s not invincible."

──── But why are dragons the comparison here?

"Apparently, even Takeru has some weaknesses."

"Takeru-kun is still young, after all."

Right, normally, it’s hard to imagine Takeru losing...

But they say, if a knight of Paulik’s class were to disregard everything, it might not be impossible to take him down.

"I’ve heard that General Levigdaard from the Yaiban army is a general so formidable that even Paulik would struggle with him... Hearing that makes me a little uneasy."

"You're worrying too much. Besides, there’s nothing you can do on the front lines anyway."

"But..."

And as Lululu said, I have no power over the military.

...So, there's nothing I can do.

"Rather than worrying about that, it would be more productive to think about what kind of reward you'll give Takeru when he returns."

"A reward, you say?"

"How about a kiss on the cheek?"

"Ehh, won’t he mind?"

A princess’s kiss, huh? It feels like a cliché kind of reward...

Would Takeru, that shy and innocent boy, really be happy about a kiss from someone like me?

In fact, I feel like he'd freeze up, unsure how to react. Rather than that...

"How about I serve him my homemade dish, pickled Kezukirimushi (a kind of bug)?"

"If the reward for fighting with his life on the line is that, he might just cry. Don’t do that."

"It’s still better than a kiss on the cheek, don’t you think?"

"Are you serious about that?"

Even if I got kissed on the cheek, it would just be my saliva that sticks.

Rather, serving him a dish I worked so hard on...

"Definitely a kiss! In a romantic atmosphere, like... a big smooch!"

"Takeru isn’t that much of a ladies' man. In fact, he’s not great with girls at all."

"That’s exactly why you should melt his frozen heart."

And, well, this is how it went.

My Princess Party with Lululu turned into a conversation full of bugs and love talk.

"All boys like bugs! So he’ll definitely be happy!"

"Not many like to eat them, though!"

Lululu and I were both bored out of our minds.

...So this pointless back-and-forth continued until the sun set.

"Well, then let's try both on Takeru and see which one he likes more."

"Got it. It’s a challenge, sis!!"

"Well, we already know the outcome, don’t we?"

In the end, we decided to try both.

I’m sure Takeru will be thrilled with the pickled butt-cutting bug.