On a later date, we tried to find out more about Alves’ sister again.

By the way, Alves was surveying the fields.

…For some time now, Tiana had been frowning at us. She must’ve realized we were up to something at seeing us loitering around.

Well, she hasn’t intervened until now, so it shouldn’t be a problem—at least for now…

…Okay, here goes—!

“Excuse me, I’d like to ask you something. Do you know what Phil’s favorite food is?”

“Uhm, Phil’s favorite food…? Let’s see, it’s either a bean dish or a salty stew?”

Alves’ sister pondered whilst sweeping the floor.

Upon hearing that, Ulysess’ eyes went wide as he burst into laughter.

“—Salty stew!? Yes, he does love that, doesn’t he!? He and Alves would get very loud over it! As for beans… Hm, if he does like that, then he’s never let it show.”

“Right, he wasn’t like that in the past. Whenever the serving lady gave him a heap, he’d only finish about half… He didn’t seem to like it that much, or is it just me?”

“Serving lady”, eh…?

Rend was always chivalrous towards women.

As a side note, the cafeteria was packed with men. We seldom saw any women there besides said serving ladies. As for that lady in particular… She couldn’t be said to be young, and her physique wasn’t much different from is knights either.

But a lady’s a lady.

I hid my bitter smile, and Alves’ sister tilted her head.

“As I thought, he used to dislike beans, didn’t he? Still, he mentioned to me that he craves them because there are no bean dishes in the North. Apparently, it’s because beans don’t grow there…”

“Oh, right, that’s true… Beans don’t grow in the North, so they’re seldom served. Although, come to think of it… Recently, many bean dishes have been being cooked?”

“Huh, really? Even though they’re Northerners? Usually, they’re so proud they’d be reluctant to embrace other cultures…”

“Yeah, but lately, they’ve been cooking them for some reason. I even tasted a dish once. It tasted somewhat odd, but it was still a delight.”

“…Really? Phil didn’t seem very happy, though…”

“It must’ve not suited his palate. Phil’s accustomed to the cuisine of the royal capital.”

—In the first place, he’s a prince!

Of course, I refrained from saying that.

After all, if I did, Alves would sock me in the face. Then, once the vacation ended, so would my life. Even if I didn’t outright die, the end result would remain the same—

—it was a matter of whether it’d be done directly or roundabout; in which I’d be sent to the battlefield.

Aware of the consequences, there were words that simply had to be left unsaid.

On another note…

“Then, do you know what Phil’s weakness is? Oh, don’t worry! This is just for a lighthearted joke among us!”

“A lighthearted joke…”

Alves’ sister muttered under her breath, trying to suppress her laughter.

That’s right! At most, we’ll just be messing around! You don’t have to worry about anything!

As we smirked, Alves’ sister cutely cleared her throat and returned to the main subject.

“Well, Phil’s weakness, is it…? Is it really alright for me to tell you…?”

“Lady Lucia, if you have even the slightest of doubts, you may ignore their nonsense. Among the knights of the royal army, these knights are especially unpopular with ladies.”

Uwah, Lady Tiana has finally intruded—!

She coldly stared at us.

…Somehow, even though she was usually friendly, that gaze scared me a bit.

Nevertheless, it was true that we didn’t get along with ladies. I wasn’t going to make any excuses.

However, Alves’ sister didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she titled her head, seemingly in a deep thought.

“Let’s see… He’s not very good at farm work. Other than that, he isn’t a picky eater, he eats my handmade sweets even though they aren’t sweet in the slightest! He also isn’t very good at cleaning? He often complains about being scratched or kicked by the chickens. Although, he always seemed to be enjoying himself, so I don’t think he’s that bad at it…”

“Heh, chickens…”

That guy…?

Even though he shared the same barbaric penchants as us knights, he was also the kind of man who’d clean a barn while having a scuffle with chickens?

…What’s that?

How hilarious.

We’d like to see it!

Smirking, I secretly exchanged glances with my fellow knights.

***

…A bit more than a month later.

Sincerely, we reflected on our silly desires of that day.

We saw it.

That guy showed a completely different side to him from when he was in the army.

After all, when we saw him lying on the ground, covered in grass, not even trying to fix his terrible sleeping habit… We were truly concerned by what we were seeing.

What’s more…

…How could someone that cautious entrust his right hand—his dominant hand—to Alves’ sister so easily?

Impossible.

Where did that high-alert man from the Northern Fort disappear to? If anyone were to approach him during his nap, he wouldn’t hesitate to draw his sword, y’know? Even more so if you were drunk and tried to touch his sword… he’d maim you on the spot?

He’d also never accept food nor drink from anyone unless it was a person he trusted. Yet, that very same man waltzed into the kitchen to get a quick bite…

…Where did that generous yet energetic commander in uniform go!?

Where did that prince who’d wear the finest smile, yet give all the women in the royal palace the cold shoulder go!?

“Lucia’s bean dishes are the best!”

The smile he had when he spoke those words, it was the gentle attitude of your average older brother…

…Though, why is he beaming like that?

Not to mention, when he smiled at Alves’ sister, wasn’t his expression too sweet? As a result, Alves often went silent…

Apparently, the guy found us flabbergasted.

As soon as Lucia disappeared, he turned to look at us while sporting the usual smile he’d display in the royal palace.

“I trust that there won’t be any slips of tongue?”

Hahaha…

—Rather than “trust”, isn’t he threatening us in broad daylight!?

…His smile failed to reach the pair of blue eyes that were shown through his translucent silver hair.

Chills went down our spines.

—Still! We were knights of the royal army! We wouldn’t be deterred by such a threat!

…But of course, even without him telling us, we’d keep our silence. I meant, Alves’ gaze was also terrifying. If we were to face these two at once, we were unlikely to survive.

Above all, his sister was a nice girl.

I didn’t want to ruin that bright smile.

After all, for the sake of that girl, Alves even abandoned his career and future as a knight.

We’d keep our silence.

Of course, this had nothing to do with the previous threat.

In exchange we ate all the bean bread that Phil had been looking forward to!

—Ha! Eat THAT!

…Afterwards, he cut us down in anger. However, since it was a mock battle using wooden swords, our lives weren’t in danger.

We did suffer more bruises than usual, but that was commonplace for a knight.

Ragulen was a peaceful place—

—and very comfortable.

Therefore, isn’t it alright for us, who usually have to endure a harsh environment, to have this small retreat?

---

***T/N: These soldiers are at a higher risk of getting shellshocked by Phil in his Harvest Moon habitat.

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