Naruhito (72)
"Otoha, have you ever seen a goldfish?"
"A goldfish? What’s that?"
"You see, it floats in the water like this, and its mouth is always going 'ham ham,' and its tail…"
As I explained, I suddenly remembered the tail of the goldfish and burst into laughter.
"What is it? I don't get it at all."
"It's a small red fish. People keep it for decoration and enjoyment.”
Rikimaru, who was eating lunch with us, explained.
"Their behinds often have something stuck to them.”
Rikimaru added, grinning at me as I was still laughing, which only made me laugh harder.
"What are you two on about?"
Otoha asked in an irritated voice.
"Do you want to come too, Otoha?"
"Where to?"
"To see the goldfish."
"Huh?"
"Let's go together."
"… I want to see."
"Then, let's go after we finish eating."
"Can I come too?"
"Sure."
After eating, Otoha, Rikimaru, and I headed to the palace. Of course, Grandpa followed us from a little distance. But with Rikimaru here, we were fine.
"Is the goldfish at the palace?"
"Yeah."
"Can we just walk in like that?"
"Yeah."
"In the prince’s office or something?"
"Nope, not there~"
We walked on, chatting. It was more fun than going alone.
"Let’s go again next time~”
"Next time…? We haven’t even arrived today.”
"You're a little too eager, Naru.”
Ahaha, Otoha laughed at me.
At the castle gate, the guard bowed his head, and I bowed back as we entered.
"They didn’t stop us."
"Yeah, we got in."
Both of them bowed their heads and followed.
I’ve never been stopped here before, though?
We walked swiftly further inside.
"Hey, Naruhito, are you sure it’s okay for us to be here?"
"Is the place with the goldfish really in this direction? Can we even go here?"
"The goldfish is this way."
The two of them were starting to sound worried. What’s the big deal?
"This is bad. We’re about to enter a restricted area.”
Rikimaru warned as he stopped me.Just then, a woman who is always in Shizuku’s room appeared near us without us noticing.
Rikimaru quickly let go of my hand and lightly positioned Otoha behind him.
"Excuse me, Her Royal Highness has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Allow me to guide you over, this way."
She said with a bow before starting to walk. As we followed her, Rikimaru whispered to me.
"Her Royal Highness, who?"
"I don’t know. But since she’s a person from Shizuku’s room, it’s fine to follow."
"Shizuku…? Naru, don't tell me Her Royal Highness is…"
We finally arrived at the goldfish room. The woman who had guided us had already opened the door and was waiting for us.
"Hello, Shizuku."
"Welcome, LIttle Naruhito. I’ve been waiting for you. You brought friends today, didn’t you? I was looking forward to it."
Rikimaru and Otoha froze at the entrance. Meanwhile, I marveled at how Shizuku always knew when I was coming, even though we never made any promises.
What do you think about this chapter?
