Chapter 530
“Hmm. Wonderful. Excellent work.” exclaimed an impressed Mia as she crossed her arms.
“Is this perhaps the embroidery of the white horse?” she asked while turning to look at Malong who was standing behind.
“Oh? Malong-senpai? ”
“Um? Ah yes. That is the embroidery depicting the founding legend of the Equestrian Kingdom.” Malong’s response was slow, as if his mind was preoccupied with something.
‘Hmm. Malong-senpai’s reaction was unusual… could it be!?’
At that moment, Mia realised a possibility.
‘Could it be that Malong-senpai’s father was actually a scary person? After all, the person in question was the Chief of the Forest clan, the biggest clan in the Equestrian Kingdom. He must be a person with suitable dignity and power to match the title. Come to think of it, Malong-senpai did not seem particularly scared of Dion-san when he first saw him. There was no one who didn’t tremble in fear on seeing the famous Dion Allia. It was just a matter of common sense. Even Aima who successfully pulled off daring acts like looting was terrified of Dion. This could indeed be very serious. She had to be prepared.’
Despite such thoughts Mia didn’t consider running away. Was it possible that Mia’s little chicken heart had grown through her various experiences? Well of course not, that wasn’t possible. However this time she was just a bystander, a completely unrelated outsider. If, by any chance, he was such a dangerous person that he would threaten even Mia, who was an unrelated bystander, well in that case, at least she had a reliable and reassuring friend by her side. Mia’s friend Rafina was not one to remain silent in the face of such outrageous behaviour.
Mia entered the tent with a calm heart, like a kitten borrowing the might of a lion. However…
“Well, if it isn’t Her Royal Highness, the Princess of the Empire. Thank you for coming from so far to visit us. And the Holy Lady has come as well. Sorry for causing you the trouble of coming here for the sake of our Equestrian Kingdom.”
The person who greeted Mia and the others with a tranquil voice had an unusual appearance. It was hard to describe, but he looked extremely delicate. Mia couldn’t sense any kind of menacing aura from him, and he did not have a towering frame. The man cast a sidelong glance at Mia, who was almost disappointed by the anti-climatic turn of events. He then bowed down with a gentle smile on his face. The movement caused his long black hair, which came up to his waist, to sway smoothly. Mia couldn’t help being mesmerised by the beautiful glossy hair.
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Lin Mayun, Chief of the Forest clan.” He said in a cool and refreshing voice, reminiscent of a first-class singer. The elegance of his tone could enrapture any listener.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Mia Luna Tearmoon, Princess of the Tearmoon Empire.”
“It’s been a long time, Mayun-sama.” Rafina added, addressing him in a familiar manner. As the Lady Saint, Rafina had to visit various places, so she probably was acquainted with Mayun. After exchanging a brief greeting with Rafina, Mayun turned his gaze towards Mia once again.
“I would like to thank you for agreeing to my son Malong’s request and taking the trouble to come here.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I have been in Malong-senpai’s care. Besides, I have always had an interest in your country’s butter… I mean ingredients. I had plans to stop by anyway.”
“Well… for butter is it? I apologise for my impertinence, but the extremely busy Princess of the Empire came all this way for that? Just for some butter? ”
Mayun had an incredulous look on his face, and then he continued to stare intently at Mia. Under the direct penetrating gaze of the profoundly intelligent black eyes, Mia realised that she was being tested. Perceptive as always, Princess Mia, with her keen insight, was sensitive to the gaze of others. Now, what exactly was she being tested on?
‘It’s really simple. The butter from the Equestrian Kingdom is no ordinary butter. It is very delicious… I’m being tested to check if I know that it is special! Am I being tested to see if I understand its value and that it would warrant a visit? This person really gets it!.’
Mia smiled elegantly even as she faced an opponent who could not be underestimated.
“Yes. The butter of the Equestrian Kingdom is extremely delicious. The Equestrian Kingdom that produces such butter is a special and important country. So, it’s well worth a visit, isn’t it?”
“I see. The rumours were not wrong, the Princess is indeed wise.”
Mayun, who had been staring at Mia for a while, nodded deeply.
Once again, his hair swayed and Mia’s eyes lingered on the well groomed hair.
‘ ‘Keisei no bijou’ — ‘Castle-toppling beauty’ was a phrase said to exist in the East. It undoubtedly applied to his beautiful hair.’
Mia felt a slight sense of familiarity with it.
“Um, by the way, I would like to ask an unrelated question, Lord Mayun. I wonder if you use a shampoo with the mark of a horse on the bottle?”
“Oh my! You noticed.” As Mayun’s eyes widened in surprise, Mia looked smug.
“Of course.”
Just then, Mia noticed Abel standing behind her.
‘I love using the one I got from you! Going out of the way to say something like that right in front of the person might be a little undignified.’
In order to avoid saying it before Abel, Mia quietly leaned closer to Mayun and whispered “Actually, I too use it regularly. It is a very good shampoo, isn’t it?”
Mayun was once again surprised.
“I see. You have an eye that looks beyond the veil of appearances and sees the inner truth.” Mayun nodded, impressed.
‘What? Eyes that see the truth?’
Mia tilted her head in wonder.‘I see. Indeed, I might be in possession of the eye that sees the deeper truth.’
Mia nodded inwardly. She felt no need to be humble. That’s because, by talking with Mayun, Mia finally discovered the truth about the hair shampoo. The question had been lingering on her mind.
‘Why was there a picture of a horse on the bottle? It did not seem to match the shampoo.’
However, Mia finally understood, and she was satisfied with her deep sense of understanding.
‘It must be because the people of the Equestrian Kingdom love using it. They put a picture that would make the customer happy, right? That’s really strategic.’ Mia was very impressed.
‘Although the actual contents may differ from the picture on the outside, it appears to be quite effective in selling a lot of products. Hmm, does that mean if there were a shampoo with Rafina-sama’s portrait on the bottle, it would sell exceptionally well to all her fans? For the improvement of the Empire’s finances, would it be possible to make such a request?’
Just as she was entertaining some inappropriate thoughts…
“Speaking of shampoo, Holy Lady, I previously heard about a plan from your father to sell a shampoo with your portrait on it. I wonder what happened to that?”
“Now, what do you mean? I don’t know anything about that. Hehehe.”
Rafina smiled – a clear and pure smile, like a mountain stream where not a single living creature survived. She turned towards Mia with that smile still on her face and cutely tilted her head.
“Oh, what’s wrong, Mia-san? You look a little pale.”
Confronted by the magnificent smile of the lion, Mia, the kitten trembled.
“No, it’s nothing.” Mia smiled awkwardly and tucked her tail between her legs.
Thus the discussion began with an air of harmony and friendship.