***Arc 7 One Who Bare Their Fang on Reason, Chapter 168 Kingdom of Ostentation***

It was the reception room of the royal castle.

Anne stood attentively diagonally behind Kreschenta with , and the moment she finished drinking the tea, a new one was poured.

Lira had obsession about drinking drinks was offered to her before it got cold, so she accepted it while thanking her and took her fourth drink.

Between the wrap around her chest and waist, her supple abdomen was exposed.

The inside of it was full of tea.

Argosh, who was next to her, looked confused as to what to say, and looked at Lira and Anne.

Anne, who seemed to want to show herself as a splendid servant in front of her father, seemed to be in high spirits and Argosh was wondering how he should chide her and whether would it be fine to do that in front of the Queen.

Kreschenta also looked indescribable and opened her mouth to Arne.

"...Anne-sama, could you please make me some cookies?"

“Cookie is it?”

Bery's cookies were already prepared on the desk.

She tilted her head and wondered what the reason was for this cookie.

"I'm in the mood for something a little refreshing. Something with dried fruit would be good."

"Yes. If that's the case, I'll do it right away."

Anne leaves the room looking strangely nervous, and Kreschenta massaged her temple.

As she requested for it to be with fried fruit, it would have taken some time. She won't be coming back for a while.

Seeing Anne leaving with a full of motivation, Argosh stood up in a panic and bowed his head.

"M-my apologies. She wasn’t considerate enough..."

“No, fufu, please don't worry about it. Since her father was here, it's no wonder she’s more excited than usual. I quite like Anne-sama, including her hard work.”

"I'm glad to hear Your Highness say so...”

Argosh was worried, but Kreschenta spun words to reassure him.

She has bad timing, is inconsiderate, or cares too much――Arne is an extremely clumsy woman with a rainbow of flaws.

Feeling displeased was now commonplace, she was already used to it.

However, she was useful in that she could be entrusted with things around to a certain extent, and Elvena, a safe servant who should have replaced her, was also used for Krische errands.

The evil and evil servant who has no respect for the Queen is mainly responsible for Christand’s work, so she cannot usually use her, so she had no choice but to settle for it by the process of elimination.

Her lack of intelligence wasn't a bad thing if she consider that she could feel at ease, and although it wasn't correct to say that she liked it, it was fine from appearance standpoint.

"Please don't be so careful, Lira-sama. Excessive hospitality is a welcome etiquette in the kingdom. It's different from the culture of Kreisharana, so you might be a little confused though."

"Y-yes...thank you."

“Hehe, I think your stomach is bloated after drinking so much.”

Kreschenta giggled like a little girl and Lira blushed on her cheeks.

When Lira heard that she was the queen of the kingdom, she had to make sure not to disrespect her――that's what Lira thought, but she was much more friendly than she had imagined.

She must also be concerned about Lira, who was nervous.

Despite being young enough to be considered a child, she was being considerate of her and has the grace and dignity of a queen.

Lira bowed her head, feeling that she had much to learn from her.

“Well, let's continue the talk. Once Marquis Gitterns' inspection is completed successfully, we will start with simple trade. I think there are places we can cooperate with regarding crops. Regardless of whether it's a luxury item, it's better to have a lot of fruit. In terms of climate, I think something that comes from the south would suit the area perfectly.''

Even when she spoke, she could clearly felt her intelligence.

Her sparkling red golden hair――how much information is being processed in that tiny head?

“Thank you very much…but what we can bring out from here isn’t that great.”

"You can exchange it for the magic crystal you have over there. It probably won't be worth much in trade with Arna, where there are good mines, but high-quality magic crystals can fetch a reasonable price in the kingdom."

Kreschenta said troubledly.

"Of course, there are mines in the kingdom, but... if it's good quality, you can't get much of it these days."

Then she pointed to the Everlasting Magic Lamp in the room.

“If it's just this, it's enough――the quality of these things is not so important to people like me, but there are many people who are very particular about the quality of these things. We send seeds and you good quality magic crystals. I think a good place to start would be something really simple, like trading between merchants.''

"Yes. However, since I cannot decide on trade matters on my own, would you mind if I ask deliver respond at a later time? Of course, I am willing to work on it positively, but..."

"Of course. I understand Kreisharana’s situation."

Kreschenta smiled beautifully and nodded.

"Especially, there is a deeper-rooted problem there than in the Kingdom. Regarding this trade, it is okay to start from here. Depending on the situation, we may consider dispatching someone knowledgeable about agriculture beforehand. Please convey that."

“Thank you for your concern.”

"No, if you think about the future, it's a trivial investment. If it will brighten the relationship between our two countries, then I'd appreciate it."

Her intelligent purple eyes softly narrowed, indicating the table, indicating the room.

Then she looked straight at Lira.

“I think it is most important for people from both countries to have this kind of conversation. Trade is simply an exchange. It’s just a rationale for us to feel closer to each other, and what's really valuable is that, not the product.''

‘Please forgive me,’ Kreschenta said with a mischievous smile.

“I know that the people of Kreisharana don’t like this kind of pretense and ostentation that hides true feelings.”

"No, hehe...I wouldn't call that kind of consideration a decoration. I'm sure Her Majesty's feelings will reach others as well."

Lira also responded with a big smile.

“I am truly happy to have been born in Your Majesty's reign and to have become the shrine maiden of Kreisharana. I'm sure this is my role――I hope I can do my best and be a bridge to that. I am most happy that the ties between our two countries are once again on the verge of being established."

Standing up she bowed her head, and Kreschenta smiled bitterly.

It was a laugh with great elegance.

"Please lift your head. Fufu, Kreisharana’s people is being so frank, it make me embressed..."

When Lira looked up, Kreschenta was beside her, tilting her head slightly shyly.

"You shouldn't get too worried. As the ruler of the kingdom, I will cooperate as much as possible...let's join hands and do our best, okay?"

The young queen spoke in a voice as sweet as the ringing of a bell.

She held out her small right hand to Lira.

Lira took her hand in hers and smiled.

She thought from the bottom of her heart that she was glad that this young girl was the queen of the kingdom.

That evening.

After finishing talking with Kreschenta in the morning, she went to Christand’s estate where she had been invited.

She learns how to make cookies from Krische and Bery, and after a light tea party, Krische invites her to take a bath, and they end up taking a bath at the mansion.

"Berry's skin is really soft and feels good to the touch. Krische wants to wash it all the time."

"I... I see. Thank you, Krische-sama."

A large bathtub and a spacious bathroom made of transmuted rock.

Krische straddled Bery's body, and as she carefully washed each other's bodies with a thin towel, she turned to Lira.

“Ehehe, should Krische wash Lira too?”

"U-umm……"

It was as if innocence was pasted all over Krische’s body.

Although she did not feel that the ‘washing each other’ that she and her servant had was truly like that a her child, there was nothing inappropriate about it, however.

The beautiful girl's body had womanly curves, and the naked body of the red-haired servant――the woman named Bery, was also voluptuous, embodying feminine beauty with abundance of sex appeal.

Although she had a childlike face like a young girl, her every gesture was that of a woman, and the way she seems somewhat embarrassed by Lira's gaze was indescribable.

The two women were lathering up their bodies and washing each other in close contact.

What she imagined was an impurity that cannot be imagined from the word ‘washing each other’.

Was there something wrong with Lila, who was surprised by this and feels impure? No, maybe this kind of excessive skin-ship was normal in the kingdom.

In any case, she was a country person to say the least.

She never believed that she could accurately measure things with her own scale, and she knew that people of noble rank bathed with their attendants.

Based on her knowledge, this seemed reasonable.

From what I've seen so far, her servant, Berry, is a very polite lady, and her every gesture is beautiful, exactly like that of “princess's servant” she imagined.

There is no way that she would show any semblance of intimacy with her master in front of her guests.

‘――After all wasn't it a normal thing in the kingdom?’

While trying to wash her own body, Lira froze at the sight in front of her and get lost in a maze of thoughts.

Ever since she arrived here, she had been most grateful for their care.

They must have studied more than a little about life in Kreisharana.

On top of that, they welcomes them as well.

Considering that, it's her turn next――she didn't think this was the time to be fixated on shame.

She was invited to another country and received much hospitality.

Naturally, she should come to terms with it, and if this was the kingdom's standard, then she should follow it and accept it.

What's morethe person who made the proposal to her was the same person to whom she should pay the same respect from now on as she did with the Holy Spirit――Krische.

She also knew her personality.

She didn’t think there's any malice in it, and it seems like it's a suggestion made with good intentions.

No matter how she looked at it, there was no reason to refuse.

Except for the emotion part.

"...Perhaps it's not good for people from Kreisharana to wash each other..."

"No, no. There is no such rule... Um, Kreisharana didn't have this kind of culture, so I was just a little confused... I-is it okay?"

The bathroom was warm, but Lira's face was blushing for another reason and she made up her mind.

"Yes, ehehe, Berry is really good at washing, so it might become a habit you know."

Krische stood up from Bery, took her hand, and moved to Lira's side.

Berry's gaze flickered from side to side troubled, but she gave her a vague smile

"T-then... umm, excuse me, may I? Lira-sama."

"Y-yes..."

"Then Krische, going to wash Lira's hair."

"……thank you"

Since her mother was alive――since she was a child she never had people wash her body.

How many years has it been since then? She suddenly thought to herself and lowered her eyes.

She crouches down and Bery comes into her field of vision.

Lira's breasts are rather large, but hers are bigger than that.

Her breasts were well-shaped and full.

The line from her surprisingly narrow waist to her well-fleshed thighs was indescribably curvy.

From the viewpoint of Kreisharana’s feminine beauty, a little more flesh would have been nice, but the imbalance between the slenderness and the richness in perfect harmony was still a kind of perfection.

Although she lacks the glamour to be called a sharp beauty, her somewhat childish face with large eyes was, however, very well formed.

Even if it wasn’t Krische, perhaps they would still be willing to challenge the Holy Spirit for this woman's sake.

Even though Lira was a woman, there was something about her that seemed to arouse her desire to protect her.

When Lira was looking impolitely at her, their gaze met, and Lira panicked and looked away from her.

Bery just smiled wryly a little shyly and took her hand, saying, ‘Don't worry about it’.

She wondered if the smooth feeling that slides over her skin was silk.

The fiber was very fine, and the overly gentle touch was a little ticklish.

The comfort seems strange to Lira, who used to scrub her skin with cotton towels.

It was as if she were carefully polishing a piece of jewelry from the tips of her fingers to the spaces between them.

Krische's words that she was very good at washing seemed to be true.

It was a far cry from the way she was washed by her mother when she was a child.

Probably that's what it is to be a royal servants, she thought.

The politeness was so great that Lira were almost intimidated of it.

She couldn't mentally bear the thought of receiving service like this every day.

A situation where her body was washed without a word.

Immediately unable to bear it anymore, Lila opened her mouth to distract herself.

"Umm... thank you for teaching me how to make cookies. I'm not good at cooking, but with that, I think I'll be able to do my best even when I go back to the village."

In addition to the special cookies made with two types of wheat, she learned about cookies based on forest nuts, which are easily available at Kreisharana.

The main points were explained in an easy-to-understand manner, and the explanations, including examples of failures, were broken down in a manner that was easy for Lira to understand.

The process itself was simple and didn’t seem to require much skill.

They probably knew that cooking was not her forte, so she taught her a simple recipe.

"Fufu, I'm glad to hear that. But I also learned about nut cookies from Krische-sama, so if you'd like to thank someone than thank Krische-sama..."

"It's mostly Bery who did it. Bery couldn't make such delicious nut cookies until Bery taught Krische."

Krische said, as if to cover her, and begins to lather Lira's hair from behind.

"Ehehe, Bery is Krische’s teacher. Berr is very good at teaching, and she can also do a lot of other things."

Even though Lila can't see her face, she somehow knew that Krische had a boastful face.

Berry laughs a little shyly and said.

"Geez, Krische-sama you shouldn’t do that. No matter what I do, I get compliments right away. If I keep getting compliments like that, I might end up getting carried away."

"But it's a fact. And isn't that a good thing? ...Bery is actually, in a sense, Krische’s master――Mugh."

It was a somewhat pleasant conversation, but suddenly she heard some disturbing words.

"...!?"

At that moment, what covered Lira's field of vision and swayed were a bountiful twin spheres――her breasts.

"I am Krische-sama's servant. I understand what Krische-sama is trying to say, but, well, it's confusing and can cause misunderstandings, so you can't say things like that...do you understand?"

"Um... yes...?"

Big.

Truly, it’s big.

Lira's vision was obscured by the breasts, and what occurred to her was sudden confusion.

Berry's excuse-like words spoken above her head flow from her right ear to her left due to the impact in front of her eyes.

“We’ll talk about that again after the guest leave…ah.”

Did she finally realized her position?

Berry panicked and crouched down, clutching her breasts as her face turned bright red.

Her well-shaped breasts seem to be squished.

In fact, it looked more sexy when she hid it that way, and Lira blushed as she looked at her.

"M-my apologies... for being so rude."

"N-no……"

The way she looks shy was like that of a young girl, which was completely different from the calm appearance of a servant.

Krische also looks bright and child-like, much different from the quiet demeanor she had when she saw her before.

She suddenly burst into laughter and shook her shoulders.

"Both of you really get along well. Fufu, I'm really glad that you've recovered. ...I've heard a little about Bery-sama from Krische-sama."

Lira said and looked at Bery.

“I can understand why Krische-sama cares so much about Bery-sama.”

"I-I'm sorry to show you something embarrassing, but..."

"No, no. In fact, I felt relieved when I saw it. ...That the people of the kingdom are just normal people, just like us."

When she decided to go to the kingdom as a messenger, she was a little nervous.

This was because the humans of the kingdom were talked about as if they were malicious and evil people in Kreisharana.

When she heard the story of the plains told by a messenger from the Imperial State, she thought that such a thing would never happen, but she had no idea what the reality was.

Kreisharana had lived a long and peaceful life despite the harsh environment.

As someone who grew up there, she had the impression that the kingdom was a bit barbaric due to its repeated wars.

"My impression of the kingdom told in Kreisharana was not very good. After all, it's better to touch than to hear. You can't understand things unless you feel and see them yourself."

"That's a good word. But I'm also the same...I was thinking that the people at Kreisharana were all a little more difficult, so maybe we're both the same. ...When you're far away, you lose sight of even the obvious things."

Bery said with a troubled look on her face, taking Lila's left hand and slipping the lathered towel on it.

“I couldn't see even the trivial, obvious things, and my anxiety only increased. The human heart is vague and weak. There is a huge gap in years between Kreisharana and the kingdom, and I'm sure there are a lot of misunderstandings and assumptions because of that but..."

Then she smiled a gentle, beautiful smile.

“What we aim for and what we seek isn’t that different. Although I am just a servant, I am looking forward to the day when both countries face the same direction with smiles on their faces.''

"Yes, ...thank you"

"That's what Kreschenta-sama intends to do, and Kreisharana has someone like Lira-sama――fufu, that day may be closer than we thought."

“…even if it’s just with my meager strength.”

Lira also smiled and thought of the Queen's face.

“However, Her Majesty the Queen seems to be an intelligent person who understands reasons. I am sure that with Her Majesty's help, it will become a reality. I've also just been helped. I still have to learn from her.”

“…Are you going to learn from Kreschenta?”

"Yes. When I look at Her Majesty the Queen, I feel embarrassed and wonder what I've done up until now. Even though I'm here as the representative of Kreisharana."

"Hmm……"

Knowledge and intelligence that cannot be imagined from her age.

The way she composes herself, the way she carries herself, everything about her was probably of a higher class.

Queen Kreschenta, like Krische, was also incomparable to ordinary people.

But she was, according to Krische, still her little sister.

Considering her high level of ability, it’s inevitable that it would be difficult to evaluate her.

“From my point of view, that's the kind of person she is. It is truly fortunate that I was able to have the opportunity to form friendships like this during the reign of Her Majesty Queen Kreschenta. I'm sure that someday, that person will become a great ruler who will leave her name in history, even though I am not a talented person, I too――? ”

That was when Lira was about to say something.

The sound of rough footsteps echoed beyond the dressing room, and Elvena's voice called out to, saying, ‘Your Majesty please wait.’

However, the owner of the footsteps echoing in the changing room made a rustling sound, as if she was taking off her clothes.

"How cunning, Argan-sama! Leaving me behind and taking a bath with Onee-sama first!"

The sound of the bathroom door being opened followed.

"I've been thinking this for a while now! You're seriously abusing your authority! You're abusing your position as a servant, stealing Onee-sama away from me――"

Standing boldly in the steam.

When the mist cleared, a beautiful naked girl was reflected.

Her golden hair sparkles with red, and her body was smooth.

The person who appeared was the Queen of Alberan Kingdom whom Lira respected――Kreschenta Fana Vera Alberan.

"...Kreschenta, you're behaving badly. The guest, Lira, is here."

“…………”

Lira looked on in shock, Bery held her face in her palm, and Krische glared at her with furrowed brows.

The Queen remained stiff for a moment, then slammed the door shut.

A moment of silence filled the place, and after a while.

The door opened quietly again.

"Oh, Lira-sama, welcome. Please take your time and relax."

She hid her body with a towel and appeared with a nonchalant look on her face, just like a queen who just happened to appear in the bathroom.

She replayed the performance as if the previous incident had never happened, and her appearance was exactly that of a dignified royalty――a perfect presence with no faults whatsoever.

"Y-yes...u-umm, thank you..."

“......Kreschenta, Krische've told you before but, you can't just barge through a door like that..."

“N-now now, Krische-sama…”

She looked at her breasts, which were swaying in front of her again.

That day, Lira felt as though she had learned the true nature of a country covered in ostentation.