Chapter 72
“Uaaaah…!”
I was too late to calm the ring.
A yellow beam I failed to stop shot out and made a tiny, fingernail-sized hole in the carriage ceiling with a pop.
A thin wisp of smoke rose from the neatly pierced hole.
“Pyu!”
Pyu, who had been sitting quietly at my waist like a doll all day, suddenly sprang up.
It seemed to have been greatly startled by the sudden holy-power attack.
‘H-how am I supposed to fix this—!’
The outside may look like an ordinary carriage, but the inside was made with a ton of high-end materials…!
If we have to repair that punctured ceiling, the estimate might rival the cost of fixing a luxury imported car!
‘At least stop smoking already…!’
Wouldn’t the smoke die down if I patted it with my hand?
Flustered, I hurriedly stood up—but His Majesty stopped me.
“It’s fine.”
“I’m not fine though…!”
“Don’t burn your hand too. …It would be troublesome if you got hurt.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It was my hand that would get hurt, so I wasn’t sure why he would be troubled.
But I’d rather not have our His Majesty troubled.
Let’s just listen for now.
‘Kgh. I damaged His Majesty’s carriage.’
I should ask the Prime Minister later how I’m supposed to compensate for this.
‘But….’
His Majesty didn’t seem to find it strange that I was using offensive-type holy power through the ring.
It was the same on the Hoffmann ship, and even now.
I’d heard the Ring of Protection was literally specialized for defensive holy power.
No way. My holy power…?
‘He couldn’t possibly know. Maybe there’s an offensive holy stone attached to the Ring of Protection too?’
It had been a long time since I’d seen the ring’s original form.
I hadn’t untied it even once after Chobi wrapped it in cloth for me.
‘It was such a flashy ring to begin with—maybe it did have one small holy stone added…?’
I fell silent in thought for a moment, and it must have looked like I’d become discouraged.
His Majesty spoke, as if offering comfort.
“You’ve improved quite a bit at using the ring.”
“Huh?”
“You worried a lot. Said it didn’t work the way you wanted.”
Well, of course it didn’t work the way I wanted.
I even set a carriage on fire like this.
“The way you pushed the sword back earlier was excellent. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble using barriers.”
“O-of course! No trouble at all!”
Good heavens. Did I just get praised by His Majesty?
I wanted to act modest, like it was nothing—but the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward.
Should I just blurt it out? That I think I’m a genius?!
I won’t, though—!
“It’s all thanks to the ring Your Majesty gave me… Ah, right.”
Something I’d forgotten inside my bag came to mind.
A few days ago, when I splurged at Olivia’s jewelry shop.
The matching group brooches and other items had been delivered the same day, but—
“Anything with a holy stone requires a custom order, so you’ll need to wait a few days.”
Only His Majesty’s gift had taken longer.
Even when His Majesty later asked what the brooch everyone else was wearing was, all I could say was to please wait. Sob.
“Do you remember I said I’d give you something separately last time? I received it from Ms. Olivia this morning.”
I rummaged through my bag as I spoke.
It was a gift presentation completely devoid of atmosphere.
But the surprise element had already disappeared the moment I’d told His Majesty I would give him a gift.
‘Look at that, even His Majesty isn’t expect—’
“Hmm.”
“Huh?”
Ack. I reflexively narrowed my eyes at the sudden radiance.
Is it even allowed for a person to suddenly become this dazzling?
‘His Majesty, His Majesty!’
He was looking at me with anticipation.
It was such a subtle reaction that others—and even His Majesty himself—might not notice.
But that was definitely the expression he made when he was interested!
Like when he used to work me hard as his personal genie.
Heh. Those nostalgic days.
Anyway.
My heart began pounding with unexpected excitement.
‘Was he… looking forward to it?! No way!’
Why? Because I never said what the gift was?!
So he spent each day wondering what kind of gift he would receive?
His Majesty did…!?
“Hehe… Your Majesty, what I’m about to give you is! This!”
Like a magician showing off a trick to an audience, I confidently pulled the gift from my bag.
“A brooch with a holy stone!”
When I opened the case, a brilliantly shining brooch was revealed atop the velvet lining.
“…….”
“……Your Majesty?”
Contrary to my expectations, His Majesty’s reaction was lukewarm.
I hadn’t expected a beaming smile and a “The Saintess is the best!” or anything, but—
To think he’d look at it like, Why is this here?
‘Ugh. Should I have chosen something other than a brooch?’
Maybe he’d been expecting something special instead of the group brooch everyone received.
There had been countless items in the jewelry store.
But the problem was my ulterior motives.
Bracelets, rings, watches, necklaces, and so on.
The moment I imagined giving any of them to His Majesty, they all started to look like gifts full of impure intentions…!
This one out. That one out.
After rejecting everything and focusing only on gifts that didn’t look suspicious,
the only thing left was the brooch.
[I mean, why a brooch? Please don’t feel pressured! I gave brooches to other people too!]
I’d even imagined that future excuse while choosing it.
Though it did have more gems and a fancier design than the others.
‘And the materials are different from an ordinary brooch.’
The gemstone set squarely in the center shimmered like a clear blue sea.
“A healing-type holy stone.”
“Yes! I heard Your Majesty doesn’t possess healing-type holy power, so I chose it on purpose…”
I poured in every last bit of money left after paying the statue’s remaining balance—and even the deposit for the new menu contract.
It probably cost as much as this carriage…!
“You don’t… like it?”
I asked cautiously, worried—but thankfully, His Majesty picked up the brooch.
“I like it.”
Then he casually placed it on his collar and smiled leisurely.
“Like this?”
Aaaah, this is insane.
Ms. Olivia had worried it might be too flashy when we picked it out.
I want to go tell her right now.
That we’d been worrying over absolute nonsense…!
Yes, all of it had been pointless, useless concern.
‘When that face is already the most dazzling thing there is!’
Try piling every glamorous thing in the world onto him.
You’d still only see His Majesty’s face…!
‘Ugh. I can’t endure this.’
Was this what it felt like to momentarily lose your vision from looking at something too bright?
With His Majesty shining even more brilliantly than before, I covered my eyes with both hands and pressed my eyelids as if massaging them.
His Majesty smiling after receiving a gift.
The impact was too strong.
Calm down, my shocked eyeballs.
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
“Yes….”
A brief silence followed.
My eyes settled, my pounding heart gradually calmed,
and just as my hearing began to pick up the sound of His Majesty’s breathing, he quietly asked:
“…Aren’t you giving me that?”
“That…?”
Was there something else he wanted?
Was that why his reaction earlier had been slightly lukewarm…?!
“Y-Your Majesty, is there something you want?”
I asked urgently, my voice trembling.
Our His Majesty has something he wants!
Shouldn’t I get it for him no matter what it is?!
‘Anything…! Just say the word!’
I pricked up my ears.
And then—
“Valentine chocolate.”
At the unexpected request that came from His Majesty’s lips, I could only jump to my feet in shock.
“Pardon?!”
It was the end of last year.
“In ancient times, the ‘Baekkan’ fruit was used in rituals.”
During the lecture, I dropped my quill with a clatter.
Because I realized the fruit Minister Ebon had brought as teaching material was actually cacao.
‘The goose that lays golden eggs!’
That wasn’t fruit—it was a gold bar.
My brain cells, smelling funding for hobbies on an entirely different scale, began rapidly exchanging signals.
And finally, I pulled information from an old memory.
The “Chocolate Manufacturing Process Research Report” from my second-year middle school summer assignment!
Teacher Deokja, thank you. I take back all the complaints I made about that annoying homework.
And according to that research—
‘You can make chocolate in this world too…!’
Of course, theory and practice were different, so the process from fruit to chocolate wasn’t easy.
But I had Helli, praised as the chef of the gods, by my side.
After less than a month of trial and error, we succeeded in making chocolate!
Though I hadn’t expected it to be used to teach Derachi a lesson.
As expected, chocolate is powerful.
Thanks to chocolate, Antoine Confectionery enjoyed unprecedented prosperity,
and while I knew the empire’s citizens were crazy about chocolate—
‘I never thought even His Majesty would know about Valentine chocolate.’
Inside the complimentary chocolate bars we gave out were photo cards of His Majesty.
Anyone who collected all seven versions received a new reward: “Valentine Chocolate.”
In my previous world, people said giving chocolate was just a marketing tactic,
but I couldn’t miss the chance to create a heart-fluttering event for couples like Valentine’s Day!
And if someone gathered all of His Majesty’s photo cards, weren’t they clearly a fellow fan?!
I couldn’t miss the chance to give a gift to a comrade.
So, to prevent duplicates, we numbered the photo cards
and added a notice that anyone who collected all seven would receive “Valentine Chocolate.”
The leaflet enclosed with the Valentine Chocolate was tailored for the devout Zendal who loved the gods:
[Give Valentine Chocolate to someone you love. If you eat it together, you might receive the blessing of the God Seikan.]
I wanted to use that promotional phrase, but—
“Is it really alright to use the name of God Seikan so casually?”
Olivia worried a lot.
“Then we’ll say the Saintess blessed it instead. That works.”
“Lady Lili, even that wording might be inappropriate for us to use freely…”
Heh. Worrying is practically her hobby.
A Saintess was born—and I’m that Saintess.
So, to show we had permission from the Saintess, I brought a strand of my own hair, and she relaxed and went ahead with it.
Anyway.
That’s enough background explanation.
What matters now is—
His Majesty said he wants Valentine Chocolate!
Chocolate that’s given to “someone you love”!
“…Your Majesty, do you know what Valentine Chocolate means?”
At my cautious question, he replied that he’d heard and knew.
He knows what it means…!
His Majesty does…!
‘Does this mean… he’s telling me not to hide my feelings?!’
Thud-thud.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
It felt like a pair of wooden mallets were pounding violently against my heart.
