Yotogi no Kuni no Gekkouhime - Chapter 4

Translator: Keeez

Chapter 4: Holy Prince Milano Helifalte

“Well then Princess, let us both cool our head down for a little shall we. I’ll be taking a stroll in this lush green garden, if you’ll excuse me.”

After bowing to the First Princess who remained in the room, Milano Helifalte, the charming First Prince of the Helifalte Kingdom, sighs with a listless expression on his face while closing the door behind him.

“You’re quite quick this time, my lord.”

“……Kumahachi huh.”

Standing tall near the door is a man that is built like a bear. His black hair stretches out messily, his face is full of beard, so much so that it connects with his sideburns. He’s wearing an indigo kimono that has mostly lost all its color, and its hem frayed. To describe him without being rude, you can say that he looks like a clean bum. But behind that dirty kimono is a golden eagle embroidery that only those related to the royal family of Helifalte Kingdom are allowed to wear.

“Even though this is such a grand dinner party, yet the First Princess and the guest of honor leaves this early, everyone is going to be dissatisfied about this, my lord.”

“The princess invited me herself. It’s not I could refuse her could I.”

“No no, that is quite an enviable situation you’re in my lord. Even though I myself has some standing, but I’ve yet to be approached by beautiful girls at all.”

“That’s probably because of your miserable appearance. Just learn how to wear a formal attire already.”

“This attire are my nation’s formal attire, combat attire, and burial attire at the same time my lord. As the prince’s aide, entrusted with the role of protecting you, I must be able to move agilely at all time.”

The big man called Kumahachi replied back without taking offences.

Kumahachi, whose appearance stands out from the people here, is a man not from this continent. He fares from a foreign country across the sea to the continent in the name of warrior training. Though his looks might suggest that his age may be around thirty, but in fact his age is the same as the prince.

No matter how small Aquila Kingdom might be, such a man like him would never be allowed to enter the kingdom, much less attend a grand banquet like this. What made his attendance at the party possible is the beautiful crest on his dirty kimono. If the Helifalte Kingdom says that he will be allowed to accompany the prince, then other countries had no choice but to comply.

“This girl you called ‘Princess Arue’ is quite a beauty I must say. Well, what did she taste like my lord?”

“I don’t even want to talk about it. When we entered the bedroom she suddenly said “Come on! Take me as your wife!” and pushed me down, I thought I was about to be eaten alive back then.”

“Oh my, she’s rather aggressive isn’t she, quite a contrast to her polite appearance.”

“No that’s not it.”

Prince Milano shakes his head.

“She doesn’t really want to do it. And the proof is that, she was shaking a lot at that time.”

“As expected from the prince who goes on a ‘Bride searching’ journey. Early in the journey you’re still bewildered by the the night battles, but now you’ve refined your tactics very well.”

“Stop making fun of me. In any case, I didn’t do it with her. Her eyes are like those that doesn’t want to do it, but rather driven by something to do it.”

“You’re too moral of a person my lord. If it was me, I’d at least have a taste of her first.”

Kumahachi laughs while stroking his beard. Although his way of speaking to the prince is quite rude, but Kumahachi is not only the prince’s aide, he’s also the prince’s one and only precious friend at the same time. They are in master-servant relationship, and rivals when it comes to military arts.

“I’m going to walk in the forest for a bit. I’m sick of being targeted by the womans, or rather birds of prey, while attending the dinner party.”

“No you can’t! If the guest of honor disappears that’ll be bad my lord!”

“You do something about that on your own. Or you can tell them that I’m in the middle of doing it with her, the other girls would probably shut up if they hear that.”

Milano said in a tone that won’t allow any response before heading toward the garden and to the forest accordingly. Every time he arrived at a new country he’d be forced to participate in social events, meaning that he had to put up a front in which he’s already sick and tired of. If he doesn’t take a little breather every now and then, who knows when he’ll explode.

“Why did it turn out this way……”

Milano complains to himself while purposefully venturing through the messy thickets that had never been cared for. It’s been a while since he had left his home country, but right now he’s really annoyed about it as this journey has been treated as ‘Bride Searching’ journey by others.

Different from his broadminded father, the man known as the Lion King, Milano takes more from his mother’s side, being a man of gentle nature. He’s eighteen years old this year. His father, the king, gave him an order to him who is a young lion. His order is that Milano must travel throughout the continent to deepens his knowledge and experience. ‘Those that do not know of his populace cannot rule them.’ said his father, a belief which Milano very much agrees with.

Thus Milano chose a plain carriage for his travel, so plain that you wouldn’t believe a prince from a great country would think of using. He brought along very few of his trusted aides before setting off on a journey through the continent. With some anxiety and curiosity of seeing things he had never seen before, his heart was on cloud nine.

However, his expectations were almost immediately shattered. Though he departed in secret, but the fact that he’s the First Prince from a great country doesn’t change. And for many countries, the chance to meet someone of his caliber is rare.

As soon as he arrived in any country, they’ll throw a grand welcoming party for him, and the royalty and nobility of that country would bring their daughter and presented them to him. On top of the priceless chance to gain the backing of a great country, the prince himself is also a splendid husband candidate for their daughters as well. Not doing so would be deemed as strange.

Thus rumors spread fast through many countries, and before he knew it, the prince’s journey to deepens his knowledge has already been labeled as ‘Bride Searching’ journey. Rumors are often something that is overexaggerated, adding tails and fins to it, but now that even horns and fangs are attached to it, the rumor became a monster that harms the prince instead. And so Milano, who wanted to travel as an ordinary traveler without the status as a prince attached to him, was very dissapointed in this journey.

“……Whoops, I guess I walk a little too far in.”

While reminiscing about unpleasant memories, before he noticed it, he has already walked far deep into the forest. Though the moonlight’s illuminating the area, but it is still dark nonetheless. If he walks in any further he’d probably get lost even more.

“Well, maybe it’s better this way.”

Milano smiles bitterly while sighing. He had already told Kumahachi that he’s taking a walk in the forest, and even if some wild beasts did appear, he’s confident that he can fight it with his bare hands. And more importantly, if he told them that he got lost while taking a walk in the forest to cool off the heat from the deed with the princess, then he can use that as an excuse to not go back to that farce.

His mood lightens at the thought of it, and he sits down at a nearby tree. Perhaps I should just abandon my nickname as a Holy Prince and lives here in the forest as a forest people for forever, such a ridiculous thought comes into his mind as he lays down, covered in the darkness. That’s just how fed up Milano is with this situation.

“――. ――. ――.”

“What’s that?”

Suddenly, a beautiful voice like that of a ringing bell, rides along the wind and reaches his ears. The voice seems to be from a young girl, but there shouldn’t be anyone here at this place, not to mention this time. The prince proceeds toward the source of that voice while thinking that it might’ve just been his imagination.

――And then, he saw it.

“Am I…… Seeing things?”

The scene is so unreal that he muttered so unconsciously.

In the open area beyond the bushes, on the bank of the pure clean spring, a young girl is kneeling down as if praying to something. Her unblemished white porcelain body is wrapped by the moonlight, making her look like she’s faintly glowing like a firefly in the dark night.

Spirit of the Moon―― that word naturally comes to his mind.

And as if blessing the girl, the flowers, big and small, are blooming fully around her. Though they’re just nameless flowers in the wild, but to Milano who had only ever seen well-maintained rose gardens his entire life, seeing such a scene full of vitality like this is truly the first for him.

“Is she an elf? No, their habitat shouldn’t be in this region……”

He dismissed his thought. The pure race called elf which resembles human, lives in the land far north called ‘White Forest’. There’s no way they could be living in an area that is near human’s territory.

Two thoughts popped up in Milano’s head.

To keep watching at this picturesque scene without disturbing it, or to reach his hand to the mystery in front of him, two contradictory desires come to him. But the hesitation is only for a moment. Milano chose the latter. That’s just how charming the young girl is.

While feeling somewhat guilty, as if he’s trampling on pure fresh snow, Milano slowly approaches the girl. Perhaps what he’s seeing might’ve been an illusion, and if he raises his voice the spell would be dispelled. Such a nervous thought runs through Milano’s mind but he pushes it away before opening his mouth.

“What are you praying so piously to? Or is that perhaps a song? O beautiful Spirit of the Moon, please do tell me.”

That was one very cheesy line if he had to say so himself, but thanks to his journey, he was kind of forced to learn the lines that would please women. Milano smiles wryly inside, as he didn’t expected that it’ll become useful in such a situation like this.

And it seems like the girl finally noticed his presence, the girl’s body jolts in surprise, and when she sees him, her crimson red pupils widen to the point that it look like they’re going to pop out. Milano is glad to know that the girl in front of him isn’t just a ghost or illusion.

“Hate you!”

But that was for but a moment. Perhaps angry that her sacred ritual is interrupted, the girl glares at him before quickly turns her body around and dashes off into the depths of the forest.

“Please wait a second!”

He reflexively shouts so, reaching his hand out but it couldn’t grasp the girl. He didn’t know why, but he got a hunch that if he lose sight of her here he’ll never be able to meet her again. Driven by this impulse, the game of tag in the middle of the night begins.

‘She’s fast……!’

While Milano has a slender body, his muscles are very flexible, akin to that of a whip. But no matter how accustomed he is to this forest, to think that he couldn’t catch up with the young girl at all like this. It’s as if someone’s guiding her, the young girl dashes through the gaps in between the trees with no trouble at all. Her white hair shines in reflection of the moonlight. It looks as if she’s a Fairy of Light dancing through the forest.

The chase continues for a while, but the distance between the two grew larger gradually, eventually he couldn’t see the white shining light from her hair anymore.

“……She’s not here.”

He had ran quite a distance, but Milano hasn’t run out of breath yet. But the words that came out of his mouth unintentionally feels bitter than he thought it’d be. A little further beyond the thickets is a dirty warehouse-like building, but the lovely fairy’s sillouhette couldn’t be seen anymore. Perhaps she really is a fairy after all.

Caught up in these thoughts, he took him quite some time to finally notice the lights from the royal palace that leaked through the trees. Seems like this place is very close to the royal palace. Perhaps that girl was guiding him here, thinking that he might be lost in the forest.

“……aaAAaahhh!”

While Milano is thinking of that, suddenly he heard a faint crying voice. It’s a sorrowful weep, as if someone’s heart is going to be squeezed out. The voice is very much like that girl’s, and to confirm whether that’s true or not, Milano begins searching around the warehouse.

“Is that……?”

And then Milano found it, on the back of the warehouse, there’s one single poorly-installed window that was opened. The wall is covered in layers of thick ivies, meaning that his place hasn’t been cared for in a long time. Milano takes the nearest strand of ivy and pull it hard. It’s sturdy enough to support a weight of a child easily, but for a grown adult male that’s still questionable.

Thick layers of ivies, the suspicious opened window, the girl disappearing, these elements fit together like a puzzle in Milano’s head.

“Ahhh, there you are! Prince! How long are you planning to play around!”

Suddenly Kumahachi appeared in Milano’s sight. Kumahachi approaches him, his expression seemingly quite angry.

“The girls at the party all goes ‘We don’t need you. Bring out the prince, bring out the prince’ and they just won’t stop! It’s so annoying! I am about to run out of patience my lord!”

“…………”

Though Kumahachi is quite furious for real, but Milano doesn’t react to him at all, he puts his hand over his mouth as if he’s thinking about something.

“Prince! Are you listening to me!?”

“Kumahachi.”

Said the prince. Kumahachi was taken aback for a moment by that serious tone of voice, but in a moment later his face turned serious. Though Kumahachi looks like a man that often jokes around and is carefree, but he’s also able to read his master’s mood in a moment notice as well. If he wasn’t able to do so then Milano wouldn’t choose him as his aide in the first place.

“Did something happened my lord? If there is any suspicious shadows around here, I’ll cut him in two in a single strike immediately.”

“That’s not it. There’s something I want to consult with you, lend me your ears.”

And then Milano told him everything about what he just experienced, including his plans on what to do next. Kumahachi crossed his arms while listening.

“Fumu, this story is hard to believe if I say so myself, but I know that the prince isn’t the kind of person who would make up something like this. Then, what should we do.”

“If I can make up a story like this, then maybe I should just abandon my martial skills and become a poet instead.”

Said the prince while Kumahachi laughs, saying ‘You’re right.’

“In any case, you must attend tonight’s party first and foremost. If you have something to look forward to, then you’ll be able to overcome any hardships during the meantime.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Then we’ll carry out our plans tomorrow. Kumahachi, I’m counting on you.”

“Understood.”

After saying so, Milano and Kumahachi returned to the palace together.