Chapter 72
(Why... are the capture targets here...?)
The ones who came aboard the tour boat were the same group of four from yesterday.
Crown Prince Eric, Knight Captain's son Vincent, Prime Minister's son Will, and the shota boy Luy.
Even Luy, who was supposed to have fallen off a cliff, only had a bandage on his forehead and didn't appear seriously injured.
(Those guys... are they really joining a tour with just four guys? They couldn't have known Reina would be here, right?)
They really seemed to be enjoying their trip as a group of men.
They even climbed the hill beside the beach and signed up for the romantic cave exploration tour.
"...Seriously, those people..."
By Clael's side. Reina, who had been cheerful just a moment ago, darkened the moment she saw them.
Even the words she muttered seemed filled with resentment.
"Ah, it's Reina Onee-chan!"
"Huh, Reina-san!?"
It wasn't a particularly large deck.
They immediately noticed Reina and came over to the bench where Clael and the others were sitting.
"Reina-san, what a coincidence to meet you in a place like this."
"...Good day, Prince Eric."
Reina greeted him, seemingly unwillingly.
With a sigh. Her expression was somewhat weary.
"To think I'd run into Reina-san in a place like this... Haha, it must be fate."
"I heard you fell off a cliff yesterday. Are you hurt?"
Ignoring the excited Eric, Reina asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine! Reina Onee-chan, were you worried about me!?"
The handsome shota Luy sparkled his eyes and leaned toward Reina.
Reina held up a Bear plushie she had pulled from somewhere as a shield and said in a flat voice, "I wasn't particularly worried."
"If you weren't injured, that's all that matters. Please be more careful from now on."
"Don't talk so formally! We're close, aren't we, Reina Onee-chan?"
"I don't recall becoming that close with you."
"Call me Luy, okay? Reina Onee-chan!"
"If I remember correctly, you were my classmate. I don't believe I should be addressed as your sister."
Reina's tone remained indifferent throughout.
Though she wore a smile, it was stiff and devoid of emotion.
(I see... so it's not the Luy route...)
Judging from Reina's indifferent reaction, her affection level toward Luy seemed low.
As a shota character, the way Luy is addressed changes depending on affection level—starting with 'you', then becoming 'Luy-san', 'Luy-kun', and eventually 'Luyu-kun' as it grows more intimate.
Since she's still calling him 'you', it means her affection level hasn't changed much since they met.
(So she's not into younger guys? Well, as long as it's someone Reina chose, I don't care.)
"Meeting two days in a row—what a coincidence. Since we're here, let's watch together."
"Reina-san, if this bench is free, would it be alright if we sat here?"
Vincent and Will asked, a bit more reserved than Luy.
The spacious bench still had room. There was enough space for four people.
"Well, I don't really mind..."
"Unfortunately, it seems this bench is already taken."
Reina cut off Clael, who was about to agree.
The next moment... several plushies appeared in the previously empty space.
Bear, Cat, Dog, Raccoon, Fox, Shoebill... some were ones Clael had bought for her, others were unfamiliar.
The dolls filled the empty bench space and glared sharply at the capture targets.
"Wha... there was nothing there just a second ago, right!?"
"............"
Vincent shouted in surprise. Beside him, Will was dumbfounded.
Eric, pulling his face into a grimace, raised one hand in protest.
"R-Reina... since we're classmates and all, how about moving the plushies so we can sit together..."
"It seems this bench is occupied. But no one's sitting on that one over there."
"............"
Eric's facial muscles twitched even more.
Surely, even he had realized it by now.
Reina was rejecting the four capture targets.
"F-Fine... then, see you later..."
"Ah, I'm gonna sit on Reina Onee-chan's lap!"
But one of them had no intention of reading the mood.
Luy, outpacing the other capture targets, aimed for Reina's lap on the bench.
"Guhbeh..."
But once again, something shot past like a falcon and landed an uppercut on Luy.
Hit from below, Luy flew in a perfect arc and fell over the edge of the boat into the sea.
"L-Luyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
Eric shouted after his friend disappearing into the sea.
The four of them rushed in panic to the edge of the boat to rescue their friend who had fallen into the water.