A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 308
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“This one has better picture quality and sound… the audio is really crisp. The storage capacity is larger too, so there’s way more video content on it.”
“More videos?”
“Yes.”
Armis reacted immediately at the mention of more video content, setting aside everything else.
“And these are earbuds. You connect the cable like this and put them in your ears, so others won’t hear the video sound and you can watch quietly by yourself.”
Camilla recommended the earbuds along with the phone. She chose wired earbuds that didn’t require separate charging and could be used anywhere without wifi.
“How much?”
Armis, who immediately understood why Camilla was explaining the items so kindly, asked about the price.
Camilla’s lips naturally curved upward as she spread one hand wide.
‘Five gems is definitely a steal, right?’
I even got one gem for a single bag of candy. This was practically giving it away.
Armis, confirming the price, immediately snapped his fingers to open his personal subspace, pulled out gems, and handed them to Camilla.
“Huh? Why ten…?”
Five should have been enough.
“Power banks.”
“Ah….”
He was buying additional power banks to use when watching the phone. Even though he already had plenty of batteries.
‘When exactly are they planning to develop charging magic?’
Why does he keep buying so many power banks? Does he have no intention of developing charging magic? Well, I’m happy to receive the gems anyway.
‘Thinking about the future, we really should have charging magic available.’
King can’t possibly go around charging everyone’s devices everywhere, can he?
“Here.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Arsian, reading the situation quickly, pulled out several power banks and handed them to Camilla. She took them and immediately passed them to Armis.
After receiving the batteries, he casually stuffed them along with the tabs he’d been looking at into his subspace, then immediately turned on the phone and started searching for videos.
‘He really never stops watching.’
Well, I was thrilled to have such a generous customer who readily handed over gems even for a single piece of candy.
‘But still….’
Even as Camilla watched videos, she glanced at Armis, who continued to follow her around, and let out a short sigh.
‘Can I really take him with me?’
…A dragon?
Now that Armis was actually about to leave the mountain and come with her to her home where her family was, anxiety suddenly washed over her anew.
‘Ah, whatever.’
Things will work out somehow.
“Armis, shrimp X call?”
“In.”
I’ll just earn gems.
* * *
“Sister!”
“Daive.”
Upon returning to Duke Escra’s Residence, Daive was the first to greet us, rushing over with unbridled enthusiasm.
“You’re a liar, big sister.”
“Hm?”
The child who had been embracing me warmly suddenly narrowed his eyes and put on an exaggerated pout.
“You said you’d contact me every single day.”
“Ah…”
It was a promise I’d made when I’d refused to let Daive come along on the journey. I’d sworn I wouldn’t miss a single day of contact.
But I’d unexpectedly crossed dimensions and ended up in the Other World. There was nothing I could do about not being able to reach him during that time.
“I’m sorry—I had quite a lot of urgent matters to handle.”
“What kind of matters?”
At my mention of having much to do, Daive’s expression shifted to one of concern, as if wondering when he’d ever been angry. His face now bore the look of someone apologizing for throwing a needless tantrum.
“Nothing important.”
I chuckled softly and gently ruffled the child’s hair.
Though he’d become considerably brighter than before, there were still moments like this when he seemed unusually cautious of others’ feelings.
‘That woman must be the reason.’
The memories of abuse from his former nursemaid hadn’t completely faded.
There was an underlying fear—that I might come to dislike him.
He deserved to be more childish, to act as freely as he wished.
“Instead, let me give you a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes, this.”
What I handed to Daive was quite a large box.
“What is it?”
It was a shape he’d never seen before. The box was covered in strange illustrations… What on earth was this?
“A handheld gaming device.”
“A gaming device?”
Daive tilted his head repeatedly. The word “gaming device” itself was entirely unfamiliar to him.
“Yes, a portable gaming device.”
It was the kind of item that had caused shortages in the Other World during the pandemic—something so scarce that you had to enter raffles just to buy it.
I watched Daive, who was holding the box and blinking rapidly, clearly having no idea what to do with it, and let out a soft laugh.
“I’ll teach you how.”
I’m not great at games, but I know how to use them well enough. I even played that “Animal Gathering” game a bit myself.
“You insert the game cartridge here like this…”
From the stack of game cartridges I’d purchased along with the device, I selected one that seemed like it would be the children’s favorite and inserted it.
“Oh… oh!”
Daive’s eyes widened as tiny creatures burst from the previously dark screen and bounced about.
“You control it with this. This button makes you jump, this one attacks… Want to try?”
“Yes!”
After briefly explaining how to play, I handed the device to Daive, whose eyes were now sparkling with excitement.
“Uh… ah… ah!”
“Sit down while you play. Come on, sit.”
“Oh, yes.”
Camilla guided the child, who remained standing with eyes glued to the game device, toward a chair. Even as she did, the child couldn’t tear their gaze away from it.
‘Children really are captivated by games.’
Still, I should probably set a daily time limit so they don’t play for too long. Judging by that reaction, they won’t be putting it down anytime soon.
“Hmm?”
But in that moment, someone approached from behind Daive with keen interest in the game device—none other than Armis.
For the first time, his hand released the mobile phone!
“….”
He moved beside Daive and began staring intently at the game the child was playing.
“No, you have to kill that one before moving on.”
“Oh… okay.”
“No, you need to jump to defeat it.”
“Like this?”
“That’s right.”
Wait, haven’t they even properly introduced themselves yet?
‘Why are they suddenly playing together?’
Camilla watched the two of them with a somewhat bewildered expression.
‘My Daive….’
Has he suddenly lost his shyness?
‘Or was that shyness only reserved for our Arsian?’
Camilla exhaled a short sigh as she watched the two now sitting side by side on the sofa, playing together.
* * *
“What is this?”
“An invitation.”
“….”
Well, I understand that much. But the sender….
“…It’s from His Majesty.”
“Yes.”
Camilla, who had received an invitation from Emperor Gracia through Duke Escra, frowned slightly. She wasn’t particularly pleased about it.
‘Why would the Emperor…?’
She couldn’t recall a single pleasant memory involving the Imperial Court.
Of course, Emperor Gracia had no connection to the Eba Cult like the previous emperor, but still, there was something unsettling about an imperial invitation.
“You can refuse if you’d like.”
“What could His Majesty possibly want with me?”
If this were merely a social invitation from ordinary nobles, I would have declined without hesitation. But this was an imperial summons.
‘And from the Emperor of the Gracia Empire, which represents the largest portion of my business interests.’
How could I carelessly refuse an invitation from the ruler of the empire itself? Camilla felt she needed to at least understand the reason.
“According to him, he wishes to give you a gift.”
“A gift?”
At the word “gift,” Camilla felt both bewilderment and unease wash over her simultaneously. There was no such thing as a free gift in this world, was there?
‘Why would the Emperor give me something so pointless?’
Her encounter with Emperor Gracia amounted to nothing more than a brief glimpse at his coronation ceremony—hardly the foundation for receiving gifts from him. She had no reason whatsoever to expect such a gesture.
“I’ll say it again: you’re free to refuse.”
“Hmm.”
Camilla studied the invitation, deliberating for a moment. Declining seemed the cleanest option, just as Duke Escra suggested.
“No, please tell him I accept the invitation.”
“You’ll meet with him?”
“Yes.”
Refusing an imperial invitation carried considerable weight, even for someone like Camilla.
She still needed to maintain trade relations with the Gracia Empire—why invite unnecessary displeasure?
When she could barely afford to make a good impression, rejecting the Emperor’s invitation without compelling reason seemed foolish.
“Tsk.”
The moment Camilla expressed her willingness to meet Emperor Gracia, Duke Escra made no effort to conceal his displeasure.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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