☀️ Arselia and Akonia

- His-his-his... - Ahulichka savored the word. - You could use it to name some gang or company. And do you remember those bandits, uh, gentlemen of the road? - Suddenly, old acquaintances came to her mind. - I wonder how they are doing?

- I sometimes remember them and think about whether I can do something for them, but nothing comes to mind right away. Hmm... Maybe I should ask for their files at the police station? Maybe I'll find something. And their affairs are probably the same as they were. I'm more interested in what they will think when they get a random newspaper with an article and a photo from the coronation? Will they regret letting me go? Or will they be pleasantly surprised?

- Ho-ho...? - Sonata narrowed her eyes cunningly. - Ideally, we could use his combat potential in the upcoming campaign, like with the coven, but I don't know how I'll look you in the eye if something happens to him, so maybe he should just stick to running the cafe.

- What "ho-ho"? I didn't say anything... - the narrow-eyed woman grumbled. - As for using him, I don't think this person is suitable for full-fledged military operations. He would definitely make a unique and significant impact, but still... This is not his area of operation. He doesn't belong on the front lines, - she frowned, unpleasantly remembering the numerous scenes from her native world, depicting the consequences of the carnage of various states and organizations on the two continents she had visited. - And not for anyone.

- Everyone is different. Some live for forty to fifty years, while others find even a few hundred years to be too short. Unlike humans, we, they, are very different, Ayano-sama. You can even look at our external differences - Ahuri and I are quite petite compared to some of our fellow countrymen.

- I'm still trying to figure out if you're twenty-five in terms of our lifespans. If you want to go on a date, that's an important point, but also - in the end, you'll have to go out with a young man anyway...

- Honestly, not really... If you want, I can break or saw them off, and you can wear them instead of these slippers... Then it will be authentic.

- But why be ashamed, Ayano-sama? Bajena wears them and feels perfectly fine. Or am I not understanding something about human bodies?

- You came up with a very good idea, - Sonata nodded approvingly, - considering that you are now a princess, it would be problematic if the agency's photographers had more specific pictures of you.

Ahuli looked at the strange, elongated object that Ayano was gently holding in her hand with some suspicion, but she didn't dare ask what it was.

- Fine, - the katana empress waved her hand, - you have that smile every time you chat with... Minako, for example.

- Maybe she's your fan, - Ahuli suggested.

- No. Better keep them for yourself.
- Bajena... thinks a little differently than I do. Perhaps, if she or her colleagues didn't wear them, I wouldn't be ashamed either...
- Actually, Her Majesty even gave me the green light (hee hee) for a swimsuit. The question is what people would think, but being a princess is a secondary matter for me. No decent Japanese woman, especially from the Yanagi temple, should wear a *saram* - that's the most important thing.
- This is a microphone. You connect it to a speaker with a cable, and you can amplify your voice through the speaker. Then you can even create a song in Fruity Loops and add autotune.
- So it's not just a feeling... It's a real occupational injury from that time, - she sighs with a smile like a piece of coal.
- Maybe, but I doubt it. She was very polite and charming, but she seemed more like a rational person than an emotional one. I think it's just one of the manifestations of her discipline.

- Listen, we never met after yesterday's "skirmish" in the Abyss. Did the kids tell you? Well, they did a good job even without your presence... But, in fact, they were still led by Erefir- and Linetta-dono. It's hard to say how they would have acted completely independently. And with all this chaos, we didn't have time to distribute the grandmaster's loot. We need to fix that.