Chapter 16
“Jewel Cuisine”
“No way!”
Ruri gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
Laurentomasite?
Boleite?
Rare gemstones were rolling out one after another.
This… this is a mountain of treasure!
Ruri was so shocked she couldn’t even speak.
The fairy waved her wand, and in an instant, a jelly-like, beautiful cake appeared.
“Wait… is that thing edible?” Ruri asked.
“Of course it is,” the fairy replied.
“It melts in your mouth, and it’s delicious.
Ruri, I expect you to be able to make something at least this good.”
“W-wait, that’s impossible!
I don’t even have a wand—and I don’t know how to do that!”
Ruri frantically waved both her hands and her head in denial.
“The wand is something that’s been passed down for generations,” the fairy explained.
“Lady Eris must’ve left one behind.
If you can use magic, the wand will appear naturally.”
Magic…? Just how am I supposed to use that?
The only “magic users” Ruri knew were… Sakura-chan? Doremi-chan?
Wait—didn’t they chant some kind of spell?
Ahhh, what should I do? Somebody help me!
This useless fairy—
She’s just the prince’s attendant, right?
Even if I suddenly turned into some kind of “magic granny,”
there’s still nothing I could do!
Ruri pressed both hands to her head in despair,
and the fairies all stared at her silently.
“W-what is it?” she asked nervously.
“You’re a pretty funny old lady,” Licia giggled.
“Listen here—anyone! Just teach me how to use magic!” Ruri pleaded.
“Magic? Umm, you just whoosh it and bam, and it goes poof, right?”
Lemon said, waving her wand as she spoke.
That’s exactly the kind of thing geniuses say!
Like a figure skater—just “slide and jump,” right?
That tells me absolutely nothing!
As Ruri was struggling to process that nonsense—
“The prince is gone!”
“Huh!?”
At Lapis’s shout, Ruri and the other fairies whipped around in panic.
“The prince? Where is he!?”
Ruri looked toward the tatami room—
and saw the little prince trying to climb up her grandmother’s cabinet.
“That’s dangerous!!”
Ruri lunged forward to protect Phos.
Then, somehow—
time seemed to slow to a crawl.
The prince fell straight into her arms.
Holding him tight, Ruri tumbled and rolled across the living room.
Thud!
Her head hit the floor lightly.
“Ow…”
Ruri rubbed her head,
still clutching the prince tightly with her other arm.
Children were unpredictable creatures—
take your eyes off them for ten seconds, and who knows what will happen!
Setting the prince on her lap, she asked gently,
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
She carefully checked his small body.
She knew that minor injuries healed quickly here,
but if he were seriously hurt—there wasn’t a great wizard around to fix it.
The prince, smiling brightly, said,
“Here,”
and handed Ruri a small wooden stick.
“Eh?”
Startled, Ruri took it and stared.
Wait… could this be… a magic wand?
Where did he even find it?
Don’t tell me—it was inside that cabinet!?
Still in shock, Ruri looked at Phos.
“Ruri’s magic is amazing,” said Eme.
“That was spatial magic. Only advanced users can do that.”
At some point, all the fairies had gathered around them.
“Wha—me? Magic? No way!
It wasn’t me—it was the prince! He used the wand!”
“The prince can’t do that yet,” another fairy explained.
“Children can’t use magic until they’re at least ten years old.”
“The prince must have seen where the wand was hidden,” said Zacro to Morga.
“To be able to see it at his age—he really is Lord Linon’s child.”
“Now we know for sure Ruri is a great magic user,” said a smiling Nelle.
“We can safely leave the prince in her care.”
“W-wait a second! I can’t use magic!” Ruri protested.
“But you just did,” Chrysos pointed out.
“Alright then,” said Fehn calmly. “Now that that’s settled—Prince, let’s have dinner.
We need to build up your body’s immunity to gemstones.
This isn’t the Jewel Kingdom anymore.
Losing to this country’s Jewel Prince would be unthinkable for you.”
With that, Fehn led the prince over to the table.
