After the tea party, they relaxed in the guest room, followed by a dinner party.
For some reason, the "Wonder Trio", who were supposed to be bodyguards, were not placed in the position of bodyguards (standing slightly behind the bodyguard with their swords ready to be drawn at any time) but were seated next to Princess Morena.
...The members clearly didn't seem like real bodyguards, so they probably thought they were the daughters of senior nobles who were accompanying her.
Also, they might have decided that separating them from Princess Morena would cause displeasure.
On the king's side, it was an all-out battle with a total of 17 members: the king, his wife, five princes, four princesses, and six people who appeared to be ministers, but Princess Morena and the "Wonder Trio" were the only people who actively talked, while the princesses, the king, and the queen, and the ministers only responded when they were asked to speak, and the princes mostly ignored them.
It was natural that this would happen, as the princes only talked to the guest of honor, Princess Morena, and Marcella and her group completely ignored them, perhaps due to the difference in their social status.
And the dinner party ended uneventfully with a casual conversation.
Perhaps the kings did not know what to do with Princess Morena.
Perhaps because the princesses had gotten to know each other to some extent at the tea party, they were having fun and chatting normally.
And the princes, who might have been instructed to engage in a siege, were completely idle.
There's no way Princess Morena would be friendly to someone who looked down on Marcella and the others...
After returning to the guest room, Princess Morena handed the maid a sealed letter.
She said, "Please give this to the third princess."
After a while, the third princess came to Princess Morena's guest room.
Of course, this was because the letter she had requested through the maid had written, "I want you to come to my room."
Naturally, the king would have seen that sealed letter before the third princess, but it didn't say anything more than that, so there was no problem.
Then, when she explained why everyone called the third princess...
"Wh-What! A-ask the g-goddess to give me storage magic?"
"Shhh~!!" (Morena + WT)
Naturally, eavesdroppers with their ears attached to the walls and doors would be concentrating their full attention from the rooms on the left and right of this room, as well as from beyond the door. Therefore, the screams just now should definitely have been heard.
However, although she pretended to be talking in private for the time being, she would probably find out everything from the third princess later, so there was no problem with her being asked.
The reason why they called only the third princess and talked to her was when everyone was present and "I chose only the third princess. I don't need the other people," was something that they couldn't say, so they just did it out of consideration.
"Yes. The storage capacity is 2 meters square and 2 meters high. However, this is not used for ordinary storage magic, but for special purposes.
Its purpose is..." (Marcella)
Marcella then explained the details.
To be used as a gate for the three of them to go back and forth between their home country and this country.
Princess Morena would serve as the other gate.
And to make sure to check the inside once every day. (They could see what is newly added inside.)
If there was a piece of paper with a message written on it, she should check inside again at the time written on it and took out the three members of the "Wonder Trio" that might be inside.
...And made sure to do it in a safe place so that no one else would find out.
After reading the message, she should put in a piece of paper with a reply asking if the specified time was OK. If it was inconvenient, changed the time.
...and how to use it as an "emergency shelter".
Being attacked, kidnapped, drowning, falling off a cliff, or being shipwrecked.
Even in such cases, she could evacuate in an instant and be rescued in no time. After that, all they had to do was to ask Kragon to transport her to her home country via "Wonder Trio" or Mile001.
...This was big. Extremely large.
As long as she didn't die instantly, she would definitely be rescued no matter what happened.
Moreover, along with those who were accompanying her at that time.
Besides, there were probably not many people who would try to assassinate the third princess, who was unlikely to be involved in a succession dispute. If there were any, it's only those who wanted to kidnap her, and if that's the case, she could escape without any problems.
"When the royal palace is attacked due to a war or a coup, the royal family, ministers, and high-ranking nobles can escape. Don't you think that's an incredible safety device? Don't you think it's an extraordinary merit on a national level as a reward for taking on a little trouble every once in a while?" (Marcella)
"S-sure…" (3rd princess)
"Can you accept this?" (Marcella)
"I accept!!" (3rd princess)
It was an immediate answer.
...Well, there's no other answer.
Probably the king told her to accept it, unless it's a serious matter, even if it's not the incredible honor of being given storage magic by a goddess, a strong connection with a foreign princess who had connections to ancient dragons, or ensuring the safety of yourself and those around you.
There would be no royal family, no, no human being, who would refuse this.
Since the item box used a different dimension, it actually had an infinite capacity.
However, if such a thing were given to the princess of a country, it would be a big problem. Depending on how it is used, military use was also possible.
Therefore, so that it could only be used for transportation, the nanomachines placed a software restriction so that it could only be used on a 2 meter square.
If it were two meters square, it would only be the size of one or two carriages, and although there were a very small number of people, there were people who could use storage magic with a similar capacity.
And, although these two's item box teleportation allowed them to move others, they could not move themselves.
...No, it's not that they couldn't move, but in that case, in order to return, they would have to call for an ancient dragon to carry them.
Even for Marcella and her group, and indeed the two princesses, it was impossible.
However, if someone from the Wonder Trio traveled with them, they could return using the Wonder Trio's shared item box, so it was not impossible to occasionally visit the other country.
...The shared item box for Wonder Trio was still a secret to both princesses.
"Now, let's perform the ceremony. Princess Morena, come next to Princess Estrina." (Marcella)
Following Marcella's instructions, Princess Morena quickly moved to the side of Princess Estrina.
"In the name of the goddess, Marcella begs. Nano genie, please grant these two a shared storage magic (item box)!!" (Marcella)
Regarding this matter, they had already negotiated with Mile001 in advance. Therefore, this ritual was just a formality, and they both would be given an item box (limited edition) according to the specifications agreed upon.
...Actually, they both would have a dedicated nanomachine that specialized in manipulating item boxes, but...
Mile001 would do to both princesses what Mile did to Marcella and her group. From far away, by remote instructions...
The ritual that Marcella was performing was just a fake, a formality.
Princess Morena and Princess Estrina were both extremely serious and trembling with emotion...
The next morning, immediately after breakfast, Princess Morena and her party decided to leave the king and others who were holding them back.
Since Princess Morena could not be sent home alone on the Kragon, and there were various things that needed to be taken care of before the long journey, the Wonder Trio would be returning home with her this time.
"Kragon-sama, our business is over. Thank you for your support." (Marcella)
Kragon nodded enthusiastically at Marcella's words and instructed the scholar-like people who were talking, the children who were cleaning the scales, and other onlookers to leave.
And…….
"IT WAS A BIG DEAL, YOUNG PEOPLE. LET'S DO THIS AS A REWARD." (Kragon)
With that said, Kragon took out two scales from his storage and threw them towards the children.
As expected, it was only an ancient dragon with authority level 2, and it seemed that he could use storage magic.
It also seemed like he always carried scales from when he shed his skin in his storage, in case he wanted to reward humans.
Perhaps he wanted to avoid removing it from his body on the spot, either because it would be painful or because he didn't want the area to become bald.
The children who were cleaning the scales were probably thinking of the children in the same way as when a large animal on Earth looks kindly at a small bird that was picking at parasites on its body.
"S-scales! Ancient dragon-sama's scales, and two of them are in good condition!!" (Children)
A cry-like scream rose from the surrounding onlookers. This probably included merchants as well.
"DON'T STEAL IT. SELL IT AT A HIGH PRICE AND SPLIT THE PRICE EQUALLY BETWEEN THE CHILDREN. ...YOU SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DELIVERY, OKAY?" (Kragon)
"Haha! Even if it costs me my life!!"
The scholar-like man who had been talking to Kragon a while ago declared this excitedly, as if he had been given an honorable mission.
...No, he probably thought it's an honor. He was trusted by the ancient dragon and was entrusted with matters involving large sums of money...
The children who were cleaning the scales were mostly children from orphanages and orphans living on the riverbank or in abandoned houses.
...How many, how many dozens of gold coins would each person get?
It's dangerous, dirty, hard work. Those who forced this work on the orphans and did not involve their own children regretted it, but it was their own fault.
Then, in order to avoid blowing away the surrounding humans with the wind pressure, Kragon restrained the flapping of his wings while carrying Princess Morena's party and, using his magic power, slowly ascended vertically, and after gaining sufficient altitude, he reached a high speed and flew away.
People were praising the four girls who were the driving force behind this event, who brought an ancient dragon that was equivalent to a god to this country, imparted some of its wisdom, and saved orphans.
The royal palace also made a big announcement that this country had formed a friendship with a beautiful princess who was a friend of the old dragon.
Of course, the two scales were purchased by the royal palace at an extremely high price.
Even though it was already an incredibly valuable item, the amount was so high that they questioned their own sanity, but if the ancient dragon later asked, "Did you sell the scales properly?" and "How much did you give to the young creatures?" They had no choice but to buy it at a high price just in case.
And of course, they couldn't allow it to be bought by a merchant and passed into the hands of another country, and they had to use it as proof of their friendship with the ancient dragon, so there was no other choice.
...Furthermore, after that, the story of a sailor who was rescued by four girls riding an ancient dragon, the "Four Sisters of Dragon Maidens," was transmitted from another country, and Princess Morena's popularity rose even more....
Author's Note
This Saturday (14th), "I Said to Make My Abilities Average!" has been six years since the publication of the first volume.
In other words, it's been 6 years since my debut as a novelist.
It is said that the survival rate for light novel writers five years after their debut is 40% (still an astonishingly high rate for all writers), but I am lucky to be still active even after six years.
This is all thanks to our readers.
Thank you very much!
I would be happy if you continue reading my work.
Thank you for your support. (^^)/