Chapter 193
The next day.
After waking up, I sat at the desk in my room as usual and looked over some documents when Fine came in.
Since I had expected Orihime to come, I was caught somewhat off guard.
"Fine?"
"Good morning, Al-sama."
"Oh, good morning. What do you need?"
"Yes. I brought you a light meal."
"Thanks. But this is unusual."
Fine gave me an awkward smile at my words.
Then she quietly pointed at the clock.
When I looked, its hands showed ten. That was considerably later than I usually woke up.
Since I hadn't felt like I'd slept that long, I hadn't checked the time, but apparently I'd overslept quite a bit.
"I came to wake you at your usual time, but you seemed to be sleeping very soundly, so I left you alone. You must have been tired."
"I see... Well, a lot happened yesterday."
"That's why I sent Orihime-sama to Christa-sama's room. The elf princess also seems interested in the Fairy Princess."
"I see... Sorry for causing you trouble."
"No, this is about all I can do to help. By the way, Elna-sama is looking after Orihime-sama. Zeke-san is there too, so I don't think there will be any problems where security is concerned. As for whether Orihime-sama will get bored, Elna-sama is good at taking care of people, and since Christa-sama and the elf princess are still rather awkward around each other, I asked her to help them get past that. So I think everything will be fine."
Watching Fine explain the situation so briskly, I couldn't help admiring her for a moment.
When she had first arrived here, she had truly been an innocent, sheltered girl, but now she had learned many things and could handle all sorts of situations.
Even her absentmindedness had recently...
"Aah!? That hurts..."
...
I must have imagined it.
As Fine went to brew tea, she banged her leg against the desk and cried out in pain. I had to revise my assessment: her absentminded side was still exactly the same.
Why had she hit her leg there of all places? It was a bit of a mystery.
She looked rather unreliable and made me worry as she brewed tea with tears in her eyes.
Still, you could say that being a little scatterbrained was very much Fine being Fine.
"Here's your tea..."
"Why did you hit your leg there?"
"Aww... I'm sorry..."
I said it with exasperation, and Fine bashfully hid her face.
While watching Fine, I picked up the documents on the desk.
Fine reacted immediately.
"Ah!? No!"
Fine stretched out with all her might, trying to take the documents from me.
I easily dodged her, causing Fine to lean too far forward and lose her balance.
"Wah!?"
"Honestly..."
I caught Fine by the shoulder with my free hand, supporting her so she wouldn't fall.
Once Fine had regained her balance, I pointed at the documents.
"Now, care to explain?"
"Aah... Al-sama has gone into interrogation mode..."
Fine shuddered when she saw my eyes narrow slightly.
Then, after looking away for a while, she finally confessed, unable to hold out any longer.
"I was talking with Elna-sama about how tired you both were... and we decided that you should keep your work to a minimum today..."
"That Elna. One moment she's telling me to work, and the next she's telling me not to. What a pain."
Saying that, I put the documents in my hand back on the desk.
The documents on the desk contained various reports on the progress of the reconstruction in the south. They were meant for Leo to read, but he was busy, so I had been reading them in his place and planned to give him a summary.
It was important work. It wasn't something I could neglect.
That said, even if I compiled a summary, Leo had no time to spare right now.
A slight delay shouldn't cause any problems.
Sorry to the people of the south, but I decided to take the day off.
I couldn't have everyone around me worrying.
"Is this all right?"
"Yes!"
As Fine smiled happily, I gave her a wry smile and rose from my seat.
If I wasn't going to work, there was no point sitting at my desk.
I moved to the sofa and sat down, slouching as I leaned back.
"Still, being told not to work leaves me with nothing to do. If I skipped out on my duties as host and went outside, Father would be furious."
"Leave it to me! I anticipated this!"
Saying that, Fine spread a pile of games out in front of me.
They were mostly board games.
I didn't play them much anymore, but Leo and I used to play them all the time.
"Oh, how nostalgic."
"Let's play this one! I'm actually quite good at games like these."
"Oh? What a coincidence. I'm good at them too."
"Then let's give it a try! I won't lose!"
Saying that, Fine challenged me to a game.
She had some nerve.
"Then shall we bet something?"
"A bet? All right! What should we wager?"
"A day's worth of chores."
"Huh?"
"Leo and I used to play for that all the time. Whoever lost got saddled with the chores."
"Understood. That works for me! But I should warn you, I've never lost to anyone in my family."
"Is that so? Another coincidence, then. I've hardly ever lost either."
"Huh?"
Fine gave me a suspicious look at my ominous remark, but I ignored it and began setting up the game.
■■■
"Aah!? My queen!? I-I have to get her to safety!"
"You can save her, but your king is wide open."
"What!? When did that happen!? W-wait!"
"How many times is that now? Well, I don't really mind."
It was a move that would have ended the game outright, but I reset the board to the position it had been in one move earlier.
Even so, it was a choice between the queen and the king. Moving back didn't change the fact that her options were limited.
Fine thought desperately, but there was no way to turn things around from here. Whichever one she chose, she would end up cornered.
Realizing that, Fine let her shoulders droop and admitted defeat.
"I lost... Ugh... I can't do a thing..."
"That's three wins in a row for me."
After losing once, Fine changed games and challenged me again.
Unfortunately for her, I was good at board games in general.
"Well, that means three days of chores for you, right?"
"Ugh... I've only made things worse..."
Trying to make up for her first loss had been a mistake.
Though, considering Fine already took care of me in various ways, it wouldn't make much difference from how things were now.
As I thought that, the door to the room opened.
"Arnold! Are you awake?"
"Thanks to you."
"Oh! You were awake! The elf princess said she was tired, so I came here!"
"Did you do something to tire her out?"
"What are you talking about? I was just chatting with Christa."
"As long as that's all you did."
As we talked, Christa, Rita, and then Elna came in behind Orihime.
I couldn't see Zeke anywhere, but he was probably lying somewhere, battered to a pulp.
Well, if it was Zeke, he'd be fine.
"Al-nii-sama. The elf princess fell asleep..."
"I see. She must be tired."
"So, Al-nii, let's play!"
"Rita! You're on guard duty right now, remember?"
Elna scolded Rita and stopped her from rushing over to me.
Rita was a knight apprentice, but during the ceremony she was serving as Christa's guard. Though, in practice, it was more a matter of being Christa's playmate.
"The captain of the Imperial Guard is awfully strict."
"You were playing with me, too."
"I was not!"
Orihime jabbed at Elna with her words, and Elna shot back.
As she did so, Orihime casually took the seat across from me—the one Fine had been sitting in.
"Board games are my specialty! I shall take this as a challenge!"
"Ah, Orihime-sama... Al-sama is..."
"Don't say it! Knowing the enemy's moves would be unfair!"
Orihime began laughing heartily.
Elna and Christa watched her with troubled expressions.
"Orihime-sama... Al-nii-sama won't go easy on you, you know...?"
"There is no need for him to go easy on me!"
"You should stop. Playing that kind of game with Al is pointless."
"Hmm! He must be quite a formidable player! That's exactly what I want in my host! Come at me!"
"Well, she asked for it. Shall we wager something?"
"Hmm... How about tonight's dinner?"
"I see. Then you'll be going without dinner."
Saying that, I slowly rolled my shoulders.
Seeing this, Elna sighed in exasperation.
"Sigh... Just so you know, Al gets serious about the most pointless things."
As I listened to Elna say that, I began the game without mercy.
Some time later, Orihime's sobs echoed through the room.
"Waaah!! Why!? How is this possible!? This is wrong! This is definitely wrong! You cheated, didn't you!? That last move doesn't count! One more time!!"
"This is the third time, you know. You've lost at three different games. Admit it. No dinner for you."
"How can that be!? You must have cheated! Why are you the only one who rolls such good numbers in dice games!? Waaah!! I refuse to admit it! I won't admit it!!"
"You could at least humor her a little..."
"A game is a game."
With a sly grin, I picked the next game.
No matter what it was, I had no intention of losing.
I'd sentence her to skipping dinner tomorrow and the day after, too—not just today.
"If you win the next game, I'll call everything even. How's that?"
"Really!? Very well! I accept your challenge!"
"But if you lose, you'll go without dinner tomorrow and the day after as well."
"There it is... Al's extortion."
"Has he always been like this...?"
"Yes... How many times have Leo and I fallen victim to it...?"
Elna's face twisted unhappily as she remembered the past.
If it was a bad memory for Elna, then it was a good memory for me.
"Al-nii-sama... You won't go easy on Christa either..."
Christa pouted beside me.
As I patted Christa's head, I met Orihime's fighting spirit head-on.
"Your dinner is mine!!"
Soon afterward, Orihime's scream rang through the room.