The carriage stopped at a place I knew.
It's a little way from the gate I usually went through.
Ellelaura-san and I got off the carriage and started walking down the hallway towards Flora-sama's room.
From here, I could go to Flora-sama by myself, so I asked Elerola, who was walking next to me instead of going to work.
"Ellelaura-san, is your work okay?" (Yuna)
She looked surprised at my words.
"Right now, I am working as a guide for Yuna-chan." (Ellelaura)
The words I had been thinking came back to me.
I felt like no matter how much I said, it wouldn't work, so I gave up.
"If the King scolds you, please don't blame me." (Yuna)
It would be a hassle if she used it as an excuse for skipping work later.
"Hehe, thank you for worrying about me." (Ellelaura)
I wasn't worried about Ellelaura-san, I was worried about me.
Well, if the King complained, I'd tell him that I checked her work properly.
We followed the familiar path.
People passing by bow to Ellelaura-san.
When I saw things like this, I was reminded once again what a great person Ellelaura-san was.
Ellelaura-san arrived in front of Flora's room and knocked on the door, then opened it without waiting for a reply.
Same as always.
As the door opened, the surprised voice of Ange-san, who was tending to Flora-sama, was heard.
"Eh, Ellelaura-sama?!" (Ange)
"I'm sorry to disturb you." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san said as she walked into the room.
I couldn't just stand there in front of the door, so I went inside the room with Ellelaura-san.
"Yuna-san too." (Ange)
Ange-san was surprised to see me, but her expression quickly returned to normal.
"Flora-sama, Yuna-san has come." (Ange)
"Beaw-san?" (Flora)
Lady Flora was sitting in a chair reading a book.
When she saw me, she smiled, puts down the book she was holding, and came over to me.
"Flora, have you been well?" (Yuna)
"Yeah" (Flora)
She smiled broadly.
I stroked Flora's head.
Surely patting a member of the royal family on the head wouldn't be considered lèse majesté, right? But it's too late to think about it now.
Flora-sama seemed happy too, so I wouldn't worry about it.
"Flora, were you reading a book?" (Yuna)
"Yeah!" (Flora)
"Hehe, thanks to Yuna-chan's picture book, she has become interested in other books and is reading a variety of books." (Ellelaura)
I felt a little happy when I heard that it's all thanks to my picture book.
"Flora, you're great, aren't you?" (Yuna)
When I praised her, Flora looked happy.
"Beaw-san, you have new pictuwe books?" (Flora)
"Sorry. I don't have any new picture books." (Yuna)
She looked a little disappointed at my words.
I wished I had drawn it.
I hadn't planned on coming to the castle, I'd been busy lately, and I hadn't thought about any picture book ideas.
"Flora-sama, don't ask for too much." (Ellelaura)
"……Yeah" (Flora)
Flora-sama nodded at Ellelaura-san's words.
In the manga and novels I had read, many of the royals were the type to say things like, "Go draw it," cried, or selfish.
However, perhaps because of her good education, Lady Flora never acted selfishly.
I thought for a moment about what I could do for Flora.
"...That's it. Shall I draw a picture of Flora-sama?" (Yuna)
"My pictuwe?" (Flora)
I received a cockatrice quill from Marne-san.
"Beaw-san dwaw?" (Flora)
"It'll take a little time though, is it okay?" (Yuna)
"Yeah, okay." (Flora)
Flora-sama's smile returned.
We prepared to draw.
It's tiring to have her stand for so long, and I couldn't make the princess sit on the floor, so I decided to have her sit on a chair.
Ange provided the paper and easel out of nowhere.
"Flora-sama, please sit on a chair." (Ange)
Flora-sama sat down on a chair.
"It this okay?" (Flora)
"Just stay still for a little while, okay?" (Yuna)
Flora-sama did as she was told and looked at me.
Perhaps she had had the experience of having a picture drawn for her.
It wouldn't be surprising if that king had a picture of his cute daughter painted.
I took up my cockatrice quill and began to draw Flora-sama.
First, I drew the outline in black.
It's been a while since I last drew a figure, but I was used to it since I drew Sakura and the others in Land of Harmoni.
I couldn't paint it in solid color, so I just drew lines.
Her hair color was light pink.
I discovered that adjusting the red color made it a light pink.
I drew while fine-tuning the mana. This was surprisingly difficult. But once you get used to it, you could create subtle shades.
The hair accessory was green and the clothes were mainly white and green.
The dangling shoes were also green.
"Beaw-san, finished?" (Flora)
"Almost there." (Yuna)
Gradually, as if unable to stay still any longer, her body began to move.
Well, I'd almost finished drawing it, so it's okay if she moved.
And the picture was complete.
"It's done." (Yuna)
I turned the easel so that Flora-sama could see it.
"It's me~" (Flora)
The canvas depicted Flora smiling and looking in the direction of the viewer.
"We need a frame to display it in."
I was glad that they treasure it, but I felt a little embarrassed to have it framed and displayed.
Well, maybe it would be displayed in this room, and even if it could be seen, it would only be by a select few who had access to this room.
There were some slight problems with some of them though...
Flora-sama looked at the picture with joy.
If it made her happy, then I was glad I drew it.
I looked at the cockatrice quill.
I was also getting used to using the cockatrice quill.
I found that subtle changes in color could be achieved by using the subtle flow of mana.
It's not Ellelaura-san's words though, but it might be fun to illustrate a picture book with this cockatrice quill.
The only problem was that it might not be possible to make a copy.
"Ellelaura-san, can you make a copy of what I draw with this quill?" (Yuna)
"Yes. If you say you can do or can't do it, then you can do it." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san answered simply.
"Really? But you said it'll put a contract in place to prevent counterfeits from appearing." (Yuna)
"That's true. Even if it turns out that the picture book is a fake, it won't be a problem." (Ellelaura)
Indeed, all but one of the picture books were photocopied.
My hand-drawn picture book was the only one in the world. It's the one that Flora-sama had.
It's like a painting by a famous artist printed on a printer.
If you saw it, you'd know it's a fake right away.
But if you're just looking, there's no problem.
That's how it was.
It's not like we're creating picture books that were indistinguishable from the real thing.
Well then, it seemed there would be no problem illustrating a picture book with a cockatrice quill.
"Flora-sama, you must have something to say to Bear-san." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san spoke as if to admonish Flora-sama.
Flora-sama looked at the picture, then looked at me.
"Um, thank you, Beaw-san." (Flora)
"You're welcome. I'd be happy if you would cherish it well." (Yuna)
"Yeah, I will tweasuwe it!" (Flora)
She had a big smile on her face.
"Ellelaura-san, are you also educating Flora-sama?" (Yuna)
"Only when I notice it. There are few people who can warn Flora-sama, so I only point it out when I notice it." (Ellelaura)
"So, she'll grow up to be a good girl like Noa and Shia, right?" (Yuna)
"Oh, it's a nice thing to say, isn't it?" (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san seemed pleased when her daughter was praised.
Then we decided to have a late lunch.
Normally, the food would have been brought out, but Ange had contacted the head chef and stopped it.
Apparently Ellelaura-san had told him not to disturb the painting.
Before I knew it.
I was drawing pictures, and I didn't seem to notice. "Yuna-chan" "Bear-san"
Ellelaura-san and Flora-sama both turned their gazes towards me. This seemed to be a normal thing.
I wondered if something happened.
I thought for a moment.
"Would you like some soba noodles?" (Yuna)
"Soba?" (Ellelaura)
"Is it like udon?" (Flora)
"Udon? Surely, it's made from thin, kneaded wheat flour, right? It's delicious, isn't it?" (Ellelaura)
"Have you ever eaten it?" (Yuna)
"I'll eat it." (Ellelaura)
"Even though you're a noble?" (Yuna)
"Even nobles eat it. Well, Flora-sama may not have tried it though." (Ellelaura)
I looked at Ange for confirmation.
"As far as I know, I don't think she's ever eaten it." (Ange)
Certainly, it's hard to imagine Zelef-san or the royal chefs making udon.
"Well then, shall we have udon?" (Flora)
"If you want udon noodles, you can ask Zelef. But I'm interested in soba noodles." (Ellelaura)
"It's made from kneaded buckwheat flour, so it's basically similar to udon noodles." (Yuna)
As a result of the conversation, we decided to eat soba noodles.
I served fresh buckwheat noodles that I bought at Land of Harmoni.
They came in a case and were divided into individual portions.
And soba soup, which was also in a barrel.
I asked to buy it at a delicious soba restaurant.
"This is soba, right? It's a different color from udon, right?" (Ellelaura)
Flora-sama was also standing on her chair, looking at the soba noodles on the table.
"Are you going to eat this?" (Yuna)
"I'll prepare a bit." (Ange)
I took out two portable stoves.
It was inlaid with a fire magic stone, making it a convenient magic tool to use outside.
It was sold normally.
This too might have been made by someone from the Ministry of Magic a long time ago.
I filled a pot with hot water and boiled the soba noodles.
On the other stove, soba soup was heated.
Then, once both were cooked to your liking, added the noodles and soup to the bowl, and finally topped with chopped green onions.
Oops, I almost forgot about this.
I placed the prepared tempura on a separate plate.
Making tempura for one person was hard work, so I made a large batch and stored it in advance.
Even if I prepared it in advance, if I stored it in the bear box, it wouldn't spoil, and I could eat it whenever I want.
Some people liked their tempura crispy, while others liked it moist, so you could choose whichever you preferred.
Now it's finished.
Author's Note
Sorry for not posting on Sunday.
As I wrote in my activity report, I was unable to come to a consensus, and so I decided to take a break.
This time I decided to draw a picture of Flora.
Next I want to draw a picture book.
*Posting dates are Wednesday and Sunday at midnight.
If we have a confirmed schedule and will be taking time off, we will post it in the postscript, but if we have to take time off suddenly, we will contact you in the activity report.
[Books]
Book volume 20.5 was released on May 2, 2024. (The next volume, volume 21, is planned and in the works.)
Volume 11 of the comic was released on December 1, 2023. (Volume 12 is currently in the works.)
Volume 2 of the comic spin-off was released on March 5, 2024.
The paperback version of volume 10 was released on May 2, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring Yuna and Sanya on the cover is August 20, 2024. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The next volume, volume 11, is currently in the works.)
Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.
Translator's Note
I am learning how to impersonate Flora. The author wrote it using hiragana only, so it meant to emphasis Flora's speaking. Sorry if it's not good enough.
*Next chapter is on normal schedule