Emilia held Puck in her arms and gently stroked his fur as she asked softly,
"Rem, please take him to the dining room. Grin, Subaru, would you two like to come along?"
Grin shook his head.
"No, Emilia. Subaru and I already ate. I'll be accompanying Rem to the nearby village later to buy supplies."
"Oh, you mean Arlam Village? It's a very beautiful village. Come to think of it, this should be the season when the cherry blossoms are blooming."
There was obvious longing in Emilia's voice.
Seeing that, Grin casually invited her.
"In that case, Emilia, do you want to come along and have a look?"
"Me?"
A flicker of longing passed through Emilia's eyes, but it was quickly buried beneath worry and disappointment.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, as though trying not to let anyone notice.
"No… I won't go. No village would welcome a half-elf…"
Puck jumped onto Emilia's shoulder, then launched himself forward and delivered a tiny superhero punch straight into Grin's face.
Plop.
It landed with all the force of a soft paw.
"Idiot Grin made Lia sad. Minus ten points."
Grin rubbed the cheek Puck had bonked and answered innocently,
"Puck really does spoil our princess too much. If she wants to become king of Lugunica, she can't stay afraid of her own people."
Emilia opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
But after struggling with herself for a few seconds, the light in her eyes dimmed instead.
"I… I'm a little hungry, Rem. Let's go to the dining room first."
The dejected half-elf lowered her head and avoided Grin's eyes, almost as if she were fleeing.
Puck made a face at Grin before smugly floating back into Emilia's arms.
Carrying the tray, Rem followed Emilia toward the dining room.
As she passed by, she said,
"Grin-kun, go wait at the dragon stable in the back courtyard. Rem will come find you once I'm finished."
Grin reached out and stole a few cookies from the tray.
"Alright, Rem."
…
Bathed in golden sunlight, the mountain road through the forest rang with the steady clatter of wheels over gravel.
The dragon carriage moved smoothly beneath the morning light.
Its bronze frame was enchanted with a protective blessing that reduced wind resistance, so the people riding inside barely felt the rush of air at all.
The blue-haired maid handled the reins with practiced skill, keeping the carriage on course.
When she glanced back, the bright sky reflected in her eyes.
"Grin-kun, hold on. After the next bend, you'll be able to see Arlam Village."
The morning mist had long since cleared.
Arlam Village sat in warm sunlight.
Just as Emilia had said, the cherry trees along both sides of the road were in full bloom.
Pink and white petals drifted down softly, covering thatched rooftops and stone paths alike in a fluffy, welcoming layer.
"Wow. This place is gorgeous."
Grin meant it.
These mountain cherry trees looked far healthier and more vigorous than any he had ever seen before, with larger clusters and denser blossoms.
Children were already playing near the village entrance.
Some chased each other in circles, while others waved freshly broken cherry branches in their hands.
The moment they saw the Mathers crest on the dragon carriage, they began shouting excitedly.
"It's the lord's dragon carriage!"
"Wow! That Earth Dragon is amazing!"
"Quick, go tell Grandma, the village chief!"
Among the children, one little girl stood out especially.
She had shoulder-length reddish-brown hair and a pair of peacock-blue eyes fixed curiously on the carriage.
Petra?
Grin muttered the name to himself.
For some reason, the important characters of the world always felt more vivid than everyone around them.
Not wanting to damage the village roads or structures, Rem slowed the carriage before entering fully.
As they passed the children, Grin reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of cookies, and handed them down to one of the boys at the front.
The child was rather thin, but bright-eyed and lively, with a high ponytail tied at the back of his head.
If Grin remembered correctly, this should be Luca.
"Haha, thank you, big brother from the lord's family!"
"You're welcome. Share with your friends. Just don't use the same hand you wipe your nose with."
Grin waved cheerfully and rubbed beneath his own nose for emphasis.
The kid looked like his snot was about to fall out at any moment.
Rem glanced at him from the driver's seat.
"Rem does not remember you taking that many cookies."
"Oh, I grabbed a few more after you left the kitchen."
"It seems we'll need to start locking the kitchen door."
"Don't be so heartless, Rem."
They continued deeper into the village until Rem finally stopped the dragon carriage in a relatively open space.
She tied the Earth Dragon's reins to a sturdy post, then took out a heavy bag of coins from the carriage.
"Grin-kun can wander around for now. Rem will call you once the supplies have been selected."
"Alright, Rem. If there's anything too heavy to carry, just call me. I'm pretty strong."
Grin rolled up his sleeves and flexed his thin biceps with total confidence.
Rem blinked once.
"Rem thinks you should exercise more, Grin-kun."
Then she turned and walked off without another word.
Grin was left standing there in immediate self-doubt.
He struck several bodybuilder poses on the spot and studied himself in profile.
"It can't be that bad. Is it because I've been doing too much cardio?"
Completely absorbed in examining his own physique, he failed to notice the rustle of approaching footsteps behind him.
By the time he realized, the village children had already surrounded him.
"Big brother, what are you doing?"
"Big brother's movements are so weird!"
Grin's smile vanished.
In its place came a deeply threatening expression.
"You little brats. How dare you laugh at me? Do you have any idea who I really am?"
Luca immediately raised a hand.
"I know! Big brother must be the lord's stable boy!"
The brothers Dain and Cain squeezed forward eagerly.
"He could also be a cook!"
Petra nibbled quietly at her cookie, crumbs sticking at the corners of her mouth.
"I… I think big brother is a gardener."
"Stop, stop, stop! What kind of nonsense are you all shouting? Quiet down!"
Grin hurriedly silenced the whole chattering pack.
Only after they all stared at him with wide, curious eyes did he lean in and whisper mysteriously,
"Have any of you ever heard of a child agitator?"
"Um… no."
"Never heard of it. Is it some kind of new job?"
"I-I know! It's someone who castrates pigs! An animal castrator! I've seen one before—their knives are really sharp!"
You little fat brat, you've got a big mouth.
A wave of irritation rose through Grin all at once.
He first nodded expressionlessly.
Then he silently bent down, picked up a stick from the ground, and exploded.
"Fine, fine! So I'm an animal castrator, huh? Then I'll start with you!"
"Oh no! Big brother's gone crazy!"
"Big brother, come chase me!"
"Hahaha, me too, me too!"
The children scattered in every direction, shrieking with laughter.
Grin charged after them with the little stick in hand.
"Big brother, hurry up! If you run this slow, the wolves will catch you!"
"You little rats, why are you all so fast?!"
He chased them for quite a while, but failed to catch even one.
Eventually, he had to stop and lean against a cherry tree, panting for breath.
When the children saw him stop, they actually turned around and began cheering him on from ten meters away.
"Hey, animal castrator, we're over here!"
"Come catch us! If you catch us, we'll treat you to cherry blossom cake!"