Chapter 61
Chapter 61
***
“Hello, Meian.”
“Welcome!”
A few days later, Erina visited Meian’s bookstore to buy camping supplies and a herbal field guide.
Meian was standing at the counter, making something. Erina and the children gathered in front of her, curious about what she was creating.
“Wow, what’s that?”
“It’s so pretty!”
Lia and Resen were fascinated by Meian’s handiwork. Erina tilted her head, unsure of exactly what Meian was making.
“What are you working on right now?”
“Hmm, I’m making a candle holder.”
“A candle holder?”
“Yes! It’s called a candle holder—you can put a candle inside and it looks pretty, plus you don’t have to worry about the wax dripping onto the floor! Also, I’ve enchanted it! It has a magic that keeps the flame from going out, even in the wind!”
As she twisted the wire to finish the decoration, Meian eagerly promoted her creation.
Erina, intrigued, raised her hand and exclaimed,
“I want to buy that!”
“Huh?”
“This! That means it can be used outdoors, right?”
It seemed like the perfect item for camping with the children. Sure, with Dylan around, she could easily create a small light using magic, but camping was all about the atmosphere.
Although Meian had proudly promoted her work, she hadn’t expected it to sell so quickly, and asked in surprise,
“Y-You really want to buy it?”
“Yes! And I’ll also take those field guides over there, the whole series!”
“The field guides too? Didn’t you buy some last time?”
Meian glanced at the bookshelf, noticing some volumes were already missing.
“We’re going camping with the kids this time. Since we’re going far anyway, I thought I’d study a bit more too.”
“Camping?”
Erina couldn’t exactly say she was going because the princess had given her a hidden quest, so she had to muster up all the academic curiosity she could.
“Yes! We’re going camping! I want to eat meat there!”
“I’m going to collect bugs with Erina, and dig up plants!”
“I-I’m going to find mushrooms with Mama…!”
The children clung close to Erina and eagerly raised their hands, chattering about what they wanted to do on the camping trip. They had so many things they wanted to do that their chatter didn’t stop, even as their faces turned red.
Meian listened and responded to each of them, then suddenly called out Erina’s name.
“Erina!”
“Y-Yes?”
“Can I come too?!”
Since Meian hadn’t been in Sylvian for long, she still didn’t know all of the Empire’s plants or animals. This trip could be a great chance to discover new species, and if not, she could at least gather more information for a revised edition of her guidebooks.
It would be much safer going in a group than alone, so there couldn’t be a better opportunity.
“I was planning to go look for anything new for my next guidebook edition! I think it’d be great to join you! If there’s anything you don’t know, I can explain everything!”
She thumped her chest confidently. Erina was intrigued by her offer. If she had written a whole field guide, she must be far more knowledgeable than Erina.
With Meian’s help, she’d have a better chance of finding the herbs the princess wanted.
“Alright! I’ll ask Mr. Dylan first and let you know if it’s possible!”
“Really? Okay, great!”
And just like that, another person was added to the camping trip.
***
“W-Wait, hold on!! N-No one said that that person—I mean, dragon—was coming too!”
On the day of the camping trip, Meian’s face turned pale as soon as she spotted the red-haired dragon, Mitzu, at the Harrison estate.
She clung to Erina’s side, trying to stay out of Mitzu’ line of sight, and let out a stifled scream, her voice barely more than a whisper due to fear.
“Huh? Who’s this…, Halfling?”
Mitzu narrowed his eyes when he spotted Meian. He didn’t like her either. The kids and human girl were already annoying enough, and now she brought along a halfling too?
What was he supposed to do with this one? She looked as fragile as ever, clearly not even worth one full person’s effort.
Between the two of them exchanging displeased looks, Meian was the first to avert her gaze. Despite the large backpack on her back causing her to stumble, she tried to hurry away.
But Erina quickly grabbed her before she could flee in terror.
“Meian! Wait! You’ve already packed and prepared everything, wouldn’t it be such a waste to leave now?”
“B-But that red-haired guy is too scary! I value my life, you know!”
Meian trembled, recalling the time Mitzu had stormed into her bookstore and caused a scene.
“Miss Erina? Is something the matter?”
Dylan, who had been watching the two whisper to each other, stepped forward and approached them.
Erina stopped trying to persuade Meian and gave an awkward smile.
“Mr. Dylan, this is Meian—the one I told you about. She’s coming with us today, but we just had a small issue to discuss.”
“It’s nothing serious, I hope?”
“No, no! Not at all! It’s nothing serious, right, Meian?”
Erina lightly nudged Meian’s side. Meian nodded in response to the signal, but her trembling eyes gave her away.
Dylan smiled briefly and walked back to his original spot. There was plenty he needed to take care of to prepare for five days of camping.
“Wait, Erina. That d-dragon who just arrived… he’s not coming with us, is he?”
Meian unintentionally slipped into honorific speech. Erina looked at her with an even more apologetic expression than before.
“Mr. Dylan is coming with us.”
“W-Why?!”
“Well… he’s the kids’ uncle…?”
Erina replied in a hesitant tone. Honestly, Dylan hadn’t shown any interest in the kids’ camping trip until Erina said she’d be going too.
Trying to comfort Meian, Erina added,
“But since Mr. Dylan is Mitzu’s superior, if you stay near him, Mitzu won’t be able to mess with you.”
Meian’s eyes lit up at those words.
“Really? You mean it? I’m counting on you, Erina!”
“Y-Yes, absolutely!”
Erina silently vowed that if Mitzu ever bothered Meian again, she’d protect her… even if she had to bribe him with the snacks she made.
With that, the brief commotion ended, and they set off for the campsite.
Although it was meant to be a simple camping trip for the children, since the participants were nobles of the Sylvian Empire, from afar it looked more like the procession of a diplomatic envoy.
At the front were the guards leading the way and scouting ahead. Behind them was a carriage carrying Erina and the children, and at the back were wagons loaded with supplies. For a camping trip, it was quite extravagant.
Mitzu, Hael, and Dylan were riding in a separate carriage, while Erina, the children, and Meian shared one.
Because Lia and Poi had taken up the seats beside Erina, Resen ended up sitting next to Meian—but surprisingly, the two got along well and chatted endlessly.
“Meian! We’re going all the way over here, right?”
“Hmm, let’s see… Yes! You got it exactly right, Resen!”
“I thought we’d be flying all the way!”
Resen puffed up his cheeks in disappointment. Lia and Poi nodded in agreement.
“Mitzu and Dylan can both fly, so if we flew, we’d get there super fast!!”
“Poi, when can I fly?”
The children all spread their arms and flapped them like wings. Having just undergone their first awakening and barely being able to take on human form, it was quite the ambitious dream.
Erina chuckled softly at how adorable the triplets looked waving their tiny arms.
“Come to think of it, since you’re from somewhere else, Meian, you probably don’t know much about dragons, right? I didn’t know anything about them either until I met the kids.”
“Ah… Yes. That’s true. I also don’t really…”
“When I saw you use honorifics with Mr. Dylan earlier, I thought so.”
Erina recalled Meian’s nervous speech before their departure. Meian felt a pang of guilt lying to Erina, who knew nothing—but there was no helping it.
After all, she was a half-dragon, and it made sense she wouldn’t know much about pureblood dragons. That’s what she told herself to ease her conscience.
Just then, six pure, curious eyes turned toward her.
“Meian, why don’t you know much about dragons?”
“But Meian is a dragon.”
“Meian, can’t you flap your wings?”
