"Uwaa, that was so satisfying!"
Iris leaned back in her chair, her small hands rubbing the belly that had become round from overeating, her face showing an expression of pure bliss.
The dinner time for Eriri and the others hadn't lasted long—it ended in less than half an hour.
However, for Iris, that half-hour had undoubtedly been the happiest moment of her life.
The level of cuisine she had just tasted was countless times better than any royal banquet she had attended before.
"Even if you love eating, you shouldn't force yourself like that. Are you feeling uncomfortable now?"
Eriri smiled gently and reached out her right hand, placing it softly on Iris's small belly.
"Hehe, it's fine. Compared to getting to eat such delicious food, this little discomfort is nothing. It'll digest soon."
Iris giggled as she spoke to Eriri, her face showing no trace of pain.
At the same time, she covered Eriri's right hand with both of her own small hands—but she didn't push Eriri's hand away.
"Onee-sama, who made all these dishes? They're so delicious!"
Iris looked up at Eriri, curiosity shining in her bright eyes.
"One of my older sisters made them. I'll introduce you to her sometime."
"Mhm!"
Iris nodded happily, but then she seemed to remember something, and her expression shifted.
"Oh right, Onee-sama, can you tell me some stories about your adventures?"
As a princess raised deep within the palace, Iris rarely had the chance to leave. Even when she did, she was always accompanied by her retainers and guards—despite the fact that her own strength far exceeded theirs.
Given her royal identity, becoming an adventurer was naturally impossible. That's why she had always yearned for the life of an adventurer.
"Sure, but we only registered as adventurers a few days ago, so there aren't that many stories to tell~"
"Onee-sama, you're all amazing! I heard you even repelled the Demon King's Army! If it weren't for Lady Megumin, Lady Elaina, and Lady Lilian, the frontlines wouldn't have won so easily!"
As she spoke, Iris looked toward Megumin and the others, admiration gleaming in her eyes.
Feeling Iris's gaze, Lilian, who sat beside her, scratched her cheek with a shy smile.
"Hehe, it wasn't that big of a deal. The Demon King's Army was just too weak."
In contrast, Megumin puffed out her chest proudly and grinned with great confidence.
"Of course! With my Explosion Magic, the Demon King's Army was nothing but a bunch of weaklings! Tomorrow, I'll use my Explosion Magic to blow up the Demon King's Castle itself!"
Upon hearing Megumin's last line, Iris's eyes lit up instantly.
"Eriri-sister, are you all really going to attack the Demon King's Castle?"
"That's right, that's the plan~"
Eriri didn't hide anything. She straightforwardly shared their upcoming plan with Iris.
She had no reason to keep it secret—in fact, she preferred to make it public. The more people who knew, the greater her party's fame as the heroes who defeated the Demon King.
"Attack the Demon King's Castle… I really want to go with you all! It must be so exciting!"
Just imagining the kind of adventure awaiting them, Iris's face filled with pure longing.
Lilian, hearing Iris's words, quickly leaned in with a bright grin.
"Iris, if you want to go, just come with us! You can even join our team!"
Iris's eyes sparkled for a moment, but her smile quickly faded.
"I want to go too… but Father will never allow it."
"It's fine. If you really want to go, no one can stop you. Even if your father disagrees, you can always sneak out with us."
Eriri turned her hand over and gently held Iris's small hand.
Feeling the warmth of Eriri's touch, Iris's cheeks flushed slightly.
"But there are always guards following me… I can't sneak out of the palace at all…"
Eriri's suggestion made Iris's heart waver, but thinking about the two attendants who always followed her, she still felt a bit uneasy.
"You don't have to worry about that. Leave everything to me. Who knows, maybe your father won't even object~"
Eriri gently squeezed Iris's hand, her face showing an extremely confident smile.
Seeing that smile, Iris's worries mysteriously vanished.
"Mhm! Then I'll leave it to you, Onee-sama~"
"Alright, Iris, didn't you want to hear about our adventures? I'll tell you now."
And so, over the next while, Eriri began recounting the events of the past few days.
During the storytelling, Iris occasionally asked questions, and Darkness and the others would chime in from time to time.
Before they knew it, another half-hour had passed—an hour since the banquet had started.
Of course, the entire half-hour wasn't spent just on adventure tales—after all, only a few days had passed, so there wasn't much to tell. Most of the time was spent chatting casually.
Through their conversation, Eriri and the others got a good sense of Iris's daily life and personality, and in turn, Iris came to understand Eriri better.
Naturally, Eriri didn't let Iris endure the discomfort of overeating for too long. Before long, she helped digest and dissolve the food in her stomach.
Her once-round belly flattened again, and the touch under Eriri's palm became pleasantly soft.
"Onee-sama, isn't it kind of bad that we've been staying here this whole time?"
Iris clung affectionately to Eriri's arm, tilting her head up with a hint of unease on her delicate, lovely face.
"There's nothing wrong with that. They can do their thing, and we'll do ours—it doesn't bother anyone." Eriri replied casually.
Megumin, sitting on Eriri's other side, nodded in full agreement.
"Eriri's right. There's nothing to talk about with those nobles anyway."
Elaina and Lilian also nodded in unison with agreement.
"But still…"
Iris hesitated to continue.
After all, this celebration banquet was mainly for Megumin and the others, yet the main guests of honor hadn't even shown up in the hall—that was undeniably strange.
She also found it odd that after an hour, no one had come to find them on the balcony, as if everyone in the banquet hall had completely forgotten about them.
However, not everyone was as indifferent to the banquet as Eriri—both Darkness and Iris shared the same thought.
"I think Princess Iris has a point. Eriri, why don't we return to the banquet hall?"
"Haha, I don't really mind. Wherever you all go, I'll just follow," Eris said indifferently, clearly treating herself as someone just along for the ride.
Hearing Darkness's words and seeing the worried look still on Iris's face, Eriri laughed and gently pinched the princess's cheek.
"Alright then, since the banquet's almost over anyway, let's go back to the hall. We can also tell the king about tomorrow's attack on the Demon King's Castle."
"Okay."
Hearing Eriri say that, Megumin reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Iris happily nodded too—then suddenly leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Eriri's cheek before she could stop herself.
But the moment she realized what she had done, Iris's face turned crimson red. She quickly buried her face into Eriri's shoulder, trembling in embarrassment.
"Oh my, this little one dares to sneak attack me!"
Eriri reached out her free left hand, pinched Iris's chin, and firmly lifted her adorable, blushing face.
"S-sorry, Onee-sama, I didn't mean to…"
Iris's voice was barely audible, her gaze darting everywhere but at Eriri's face.
"Hehe, since you know you were wrong, as punishment…"
Before Iris could react, Eriri leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek.
"There, now we're even~"
Eriri smiled warmly at Iris, but the poor princess was so flustered by Eriri's actions that her eyes were spinning.
It took her quite a while to recover, and she soon realized that Eriri wasn't angry with her at all—in fact, she had accepted her affectionate gesture.
This realization made her want to kiss Eriri again right then and there, though she barely managed to suppress the impulse.
After all, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future—no need to rush.
...
Once they decided to leave the balcony, Eriri and the others didn't linger any longer.
After returning the table and chairs to her Storage System, Eriri led everyone back to the banquet hall.
The moment they stepped through the balcony doors, the temporary barrier on the door vanished automatically.
Their sudden reappearance caused a stir in the hall once again. All the guests who had been chatting and drinking turned their attention toward Eriri and her group.
The previously lively hall gradually fell silent.
But the quiet didn't last long. Within seconds, the noise and excitement returned even louder than before.
Eriri paid no attention to the commotion. Still holding Iris's hand, she walked straight toward the king, intending to discuss taking Iris along for the assault on the Demon King's Castle.
However, before Eriri could even speak, the king was the first to open his mouth.
"My lady, and Iris—where did you go? You've been gone for so long; no one could find you in the hall."
Just as Iris had feared, the king had grown quite anxious during the past hour, worried after failing to see his beloved daughter.
Although some people had noticed Eriri and the others heading toward the balcony earlier, the barrier had caused everyone to forget about it completely.
"I'm sorry, Father. I didn't mean to make you worry," Iris said apologetically.
"It's alright. As long as you're back."
As a doting father, the king couldn't bring himself to scold his precious daughter.
He then turned his gaze toward Eriri.
"My lady, I hope Iris didn't trouble you too much."
"Of course not. She's adorable—I like her very much."
"That's good, that's good."
The king let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, he looked nothing like a monarch—instead, his demeanor resembled that of a subordinate standing before a superior.
Though he was one of the most exalted figures in the kingdom and no weakling himself, when facing Eriri, he couldn't suppress the instinctive pressure he felt. His composure melted away completely.
"King, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"What is it? Please, speak."
"Our team plans to attack the Demon King's Castle tomorrow. I intend to take Iris with us. You have no objections, right?"
Eriri looked at the king calmly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. The sheer authority in her voice pressed down on him like an invisible weight.
"T-this…"
The king was overjoyed to hear that they planned to attack the Demon King's Castle, but the thought of his beloved daughter being involved filled him with dread.
If it were any other matter, he would have agreed to Eriri's request without hesitation—but this concerned his precious child.
"What's wrong? Are you worried Iris will be hurt? With me around, I guarantee she won't suffer even the slightest scratch."
"Besides, she's not a child anymore. Staying cooped up in the palace forever does her no good. It's time she saw more of the world."
Hearing those words, the king fell silent.
After a long moment of hesitation, he finally sighed and nodded.
"Very well. Then, I'll entrust Iris to your care."
From beginning to end, he hadn't once doubted Eriri's strength—even without witnessing it himself.
"Mhm." Eriri nodded in satisfaction before continuing. "There's one more thing I need to tell you."
"Please, go ahead!"
By this point, the king no longer had any lingering concerns. Having already entrusted his daughter to Eriri, there was nothing left that could trouble him.
"I heard that Iris is engaged to the First Prince of Elroad Kingdom. From this moment onward, that engagement is nullified. And from now on, no one is allowed to arrange another marriage for Iris."
Earlier, while chatting on the balcony, Iris had mentioned her engagement and voiced her displeasure about it.
So Eriri was now making an official declaration directly to the king—announcing the annulment of the engagement.
Of course, even if Iris hadn't said a word, Eriri wouldn't have allowed such a thing to continue.
Anyone she had taken a liking to was not someone she would ever hand over to anyone else.
Hearing Eriri's words, the king felt his mind go completely blank, as if his head were about to explode.
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