Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 2 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

A Runaway Princess, Pursued by Whom?

A forest of fallen autumn leaves. The leaves, dyed a vivid scarlet, danced down to the forest floor gently, painting the road between two countries a bright red.

A lone girl walked down the path that had been transformed into a red carpet.

She wore a black robe and a pointy black hat. It was cold out, so her slim legs were clad in black tights.

The girl with the obviously witchy appearance was indeed a witch—and a traveler.

“…Sigh.”

She stopped and raised her head to bear witness to a clear-blue sky. Standing idly with eyes that hid melancholy thoughts, she was beautiful by anyone’s standards. If a person was to happen by, they would no doubt swoon, bewitched by her loveliness. Man or woman, it mattered not. All would inevitably fall captive to her charms. She was positively dangerous.

This young woman kept her deadly beauty all to herself.

All would wonder about her identity.

That’s right. She’s me.

“……”

Um, I was obviously joking.

Ordinarily, when I moved from country to country, I flew on my broom, as one would expect of a witch, but this time was different.

I had decided that it would be a waste to zip by on my broom and miss the incredible scenery that accompanied this road.

The cold weather didn’t help, either.

“……”

Plus, to get from the land I had just visited—Waterwheel City, if I remember correctly—to the neighboring country, I just had to proceed down this road, and I would arrive before too long.

The outline of my next destination should come into view any minute now.

If memory serves, my next stop is—

“…Oh?”

My thoughts had been interrupted. Before I realized it, I had frozen in place.

I could see a figure coming toward me.

It was a man with a horse. He was proceeding calmly down the center of the road, horse in tow.

He noticed me staring and smiled. He had blond hair and blue eyes, a kind-looking young man dressed in clothes that seemed very expensive.

If he had just been an ordinary handsome man, I don’t think I would have stopped in my tracks just to stare at him. I would have simply taken a look and maybe greeted him as we crossed paths: Oh, hello. Nice weather, isn’t it? —Well, okay, that’s not a particularly appealing greeting.

But the man who stopped his horse in front of me was apparently one of those people.

What I mean by that is he was obviously—

“A prince?”

With his gentle smile still in place, he nodded. “Oh, do you know me?”

“It just so happens that I saw that crest on your chest in Waterwheel City.”

“I see—Hmm. As you have surmised, I am the prince of Waterwheel City. My name is Robert. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam Witch.”

He let go of the horse’s reins and extended a hand.

He wants a handshake. Okay.

I gripped his hand, gave a quick “How do you do?” and let go.

“So if we’re crossing paths here, you must be on your way from Waterwheel City to Windmill City; is that right?”

“I am, indeed.” I nodded.

This trade road was the only one connecting the two cities. Yesterday I had stayed in Waterwheel City. I was now on my way to Windmill City.

“And what did you think of my country?”

“It was full of waterwheels.”

“……”

“……”

“…Huh? Was…that your only takeaway?”

“Well, yeah.”

Nothing in particular had happened that was worth talking about.

“I s-see… That’s all, huh…?”

Half ignoring the disheartened prince, I replied, “By the way, Prince Robert, are you on your way back from Windmill City?”

“Hmm? Ah…well, not quite.”

“Meaning?”

“I’m searching for my fiancée.”

Mm-hmm.

“Well, I’m very flattered, but I’m afraid it’s impossible for me to marry, being a traveler and all.”

“What are you talking about…?” Prince Robert was obviously exasperated. “My fiancée has disappeared!”

“Disappeared…?”

You sure she didn’t run away?

Prince Robert nodded. “The truth is, we were planning to get married soon. But the girl I’m marrying is the princess of Windmill City. In order to hold the ceremony in Waterwheel City, I’ve got to take her there.”

“Mm-hmm.”

So you’re marrying the princess of the neighboring country? Impressive.

“However, there seems to be a faction over there who doesn’t think highly of her marrying me, and this morning, moments before I arrived at Windmill City, they had already forced her to marry some other guy.”

“……”

His handsome face was twisted in grief. “She was crying. I suppose she was distressed over a marriage with a partner she did not love. And so I tossed aside my role as prince and stole her away.”

“Huh…?”

Oh, geez. What a romantic turn of events.

“When we left Windmill City, I put her in a sleigh that was hitched to my horse and ran off for Waterwheel City.”

“A sleigh?”

Like she’s a piece of luggage?

“But halfway down the road, when I turned to look back, she wasn’t there anymore. Even though I was certain she had been sitting in the sleigh eating a croissant when we left Windmill City together.”

“You don’t think she fell out, do you?”

“Ah… That’s why I’m searching for her.”

“I see.”

Was she abducted? Was there an accident? Or did she run away? Which was it? As far as I could tell from listening to the prince, it seemed rather likely that there had been some accident, and he had carelessly left her—sleigh and all—somewhere on the road.

It was hard to say at the present stage.

“The princess of Windmill City—she’s a beautiful girl with wavy golden hair and flaming red eyes… Is there any chance you’ve seen her?”

“I’ve been walking the whole way down this road from Waterwheel City, and you’re the first person I’ve passed, Prince.”

I told him the truth.

He furrowed his brow just a little, looking dejected. “…Is that so?”

However, I was getting the feeling that the situation was much more complicated. I was almost certain there was something deeper behind the marriage of this prince to the princess of the neighboring territory.

A political marriage to connect the two families, for example.

“Where did you first meet the princess?”

I asked him a roundabout question.

“Hmm? I met her at the commemorative party celebrating ten years since the end of the war. It was love at first sight.”

“Mm-hmm, the end of the war, you say? So Waterwheel City and Windmill City were once at war? I see.”

So it’s a political marriage, then?

“I mean, it happened more than ten years ago. Neither city was able to stomach having their clone next door, so they went to war.”

“Even though they’re so similar?”

“Because they’re so similar. Wouldn’t you feel uneasy if there was someone just like you always by your side? From those trivial origins grew a terrible feud and, finally, a war… The road we’re on now was the site of some of the fiercest battles. At one point, it was soaked with the blood of soldiers, and there were some who called it ‘the trail of gore.’”

“…That’s a very tasteless moniker.”

I glanced down at the road that was dyed bright red. But it wasn’t red with blood, just fallen autumn leaves.

It was beautiful.

“It took quite a long time for both cities to approve it, but we finally achieved peace. If she and I are married, our two countries will have something deeper than a treaty.”

“Does the princess consent to this union?”

“Of course. If she didn’t, we wouldn’t be engaged!”

“…Hmm.”

Is that so?

I had been certain that Prince Robert had forced the marriage and that the unwilling princess had run away—but I guess I was wrong.

I nodded. “If I run into her somewhere, I’ll tell her about you.”

He looked up. “Ah, please do. And when you do, please tell her to come to Waterwheel City. We’ve got to hold the wedding ceremony—” Then Prince Robert changed course. “Oh yes, by the way, if you find her, I will reward you with ten gold pieces.”

Now we’re talking.

“I see. I’ll give it my best effort.”

“Please do.”

“You can count on me.”

I wasn’t blinded by greed. I simply wanted to help the prince. Honest.

……

But the rich certainly aren’t afraid to play dirty, huh? I guess their financial assets are their strongest weapon, so they can have anything they want as long as they pay the right price.

Such were my thoughts as I watched Prince Robert recede into the distance.

After parting ways with Prince Robert, I walked on for a little while before catching sight of another person.

Feeling it would be impolite to stare, I kept my eyes to the side and glanced repeatedly at the person coming toward me.

“……”

It was a beautiful young woman.

But I knew right away it wasn’t the princess of Windmill City—she was far too tall.

Her hair hung straight down, a fiery shade of red. She was not wearing a dress fit for a princess, but rather a suit of sinister red armor. And most unsettling of all, she had a sword strapped to her hip.

A red-haired woman in red armor walking down a red road.

That’s the kind of woman that crossed paths with me.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

“You…,” she started.

Her sharp voice pierced me from behind.

I stopped and turned around. “…What?”

“You were just staring at me, weren’t you? What do you want?”

“Oh, it’s nothing—you just caught my eye, is all.”

“I caught your eye, huh? What about me?”

I lowered my gaze a bit and looked at her armor. “Are you seriously saying that if someone in that dangerous-looking getup was just ambling down the road, you wouldn’t look twice?”

“I’d mind my own business.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“……”

“…Did something happen?” I asked transparently.

I already knew what her answer would be.

She had come from the direction of Windmill City. From the fact that she was clad in armor, it was hard to imagine that she might be any sort of wandering traveler.

Also, her armor led me to believe she was a person in charge of protecting something.

To put it simply—

“The truth is: The princess of my homeland has gone missing.”

That’s what I thought.

“Gone missing? My, how awful.”

“Do you know anything? She’s a beautiful girl with wavy golden hair.”

“Nope, nothing.”

I haven’t seen a girl like that… But she seems to be causing quite a stir.

At this rate, I wouldn’t have a second to sit down and rest once I arrived in Windmill City. There was a big possibility that the whole country would be in the midst of a panic.

The woman scowled. “…Is that so? Well, if you happen to find the princess, please bring her to Windmill City.”

Oh, that’s the opposite side of where Prince Robert wants her to go.

……

I nodded enthusiastically. “All right. I’ll try my best—By the way, what is your name?”

“Rosamia.”

“Well, Miss Rosamia, I’ll be sure to bring her back to you. If I find her.”

“Please do.”

“Okay.”

Maybe.

My stomach was growling.

It must almost be lunchtime.

“……”

For some reason, whenever I was hungry, I became extremely sensitive to smells. Even in the chilly, crisp winter air, I could always pick out the smell of food.

Like, Ah, something smells delicious—or something like that.

“……”

When the aroma of food tickled my nose, I halted in my tracks.

That scent. That delicious aroma.

What could it be—? Ah, it’s bread. The smell of bread. The unique, slightly sweet, mellow scent wafted through the air.

“There’s no one in front of me or behind me…which means…”

Following the scent, I veered off the road, stepping into a thicket. There was no doubt bread in this direction.

The grass rustled and swayed as I advanced, and the scent grew even stronger.

And then…

“Mnf…!”

In the middle of the thicket. At the base of a tree. Sitting there with a croissant in her mouth, looking up at me in surprise, was a girl.

A basket containing a heap of croissants balanced atop her knees. She was dressed in an expensive-looking, pure-white wedding dress and had wavy golden hair. Her bright-red lips had stopped moving when she noticed me.

…Could it be?

Drawn in by the delicious smell, I had unexpectedly encountered another person.

“Princess, I presume? Of Windmill City?”

“……!”

Her shoulders jolted up in surprise, and the girl chomped down the remainder of the croissant that she held.

So that’s more important than responding to me. I see.

The girl chewed for a moment, then finally she swallowed and glared at me. “Who are you? You should introduce yourself before asking someone else for their name. How rude.”

I don’t remember asking your name, though. I was just confirming.

“…The Ashen Witch, Elaina. I’m a traveler.”

“That’s better. Elaina… That’s a nice name. My name is Chocolat. It’s as you say. I am the princess of Windmill City.”

“What’s a princess doing in a place like this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m having lunch.”

“Well, could I have one of those croissants?”

“Oh, go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

Hidden away in the shade of the trees, I munched on croissants with Princess Chocolat as I tried to piece together her story.

For the time being, I kept it a secret that I had encountered her fiancé, Prince Robert. I was still convinced that theirs was a political marriage, after all. I’m not saying I doubted him, but I decided this was the best course of action if I wanted to find out what was really going on between them.

The first step is to ask an easy question.

“Do you plan to return to your country?”

“I’m being pursued by a scary person. Even if I wanted to go back, I can’t.”

“…A scary person?”

“Yes. A scary person who will destroy my happiness.”

Hmm. That lines up with Prince Robert’s story—which means…

“Would that be the person who was trying to force you into a marriage?”

“Yes, that’s the person… You know about my situation?”

“Yes, sort of—I’ve heard bits and pieces.”

“…From whom?”

I could tell that Princess Chocolat had her guard up. It made sense: She had wanted to get married to the prince from the neighboring country, but there was someone from her own city trying to stop her. To borrow her words, there was a scary person who would destroy her happiness—and as long as that person was around, she had to be careful.

If they were from the same city, that meant that there was a possibility that her enemy was not operating alone.

Well, that complicates things. Let’s revise our earlier assumptions.

“Don’t worry. I heard it from your sweetheart.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

As she tried to calm herself down, the princess took another huge bite of her croissant. I followed suit, shoving a mouthful of bread into my mouth.

All right, let’s continue with this line of questioning.

“So don’t you want to go be with your lover?”

“But the scary person will probably hanging around nearby, right? I’m just going to wait here.”

“You’re just going to wait here and eat croissants?”

“Yes.”

“But the smell will give you away.”

“I doubt there’s another creature in the entire world with your inane ability to sniff out croissants. You’re practically a croissant fiend.”

“That’s not true!”

How rude.

“Oh really? Here, have a whiff.” Princess Chocolat waved her croissant under my nose.

I devoured it immediately.

“Delicious.”

“…Why did you eat mine?”

“The grass is always greener on the other side.”

“We’re literally sitting on the same grass.”

“All the more reason for me to eat it.”

We were fighting like two very similar neighboring territories.

I wolfed down the remainder of my own croissant and stood up. “Okay, enough messing around. Let’s get going, shall we?”

Princess Chocolat looked up at me. “…Go where?” Her eyes were filled with apprehension. “Didn’t you hear a word I said? I intend to wait right here for my sweetheart. I don’t want to run into that scary person.”

“But if you just stay here, sooner or later this walking nightmare will probably find you.”

“……”

She was silent, and I spoke again. “I’ve been appointed by your sweetheart to find you and bring you back, Princess.” I held out a hand. “As thanks for the croissants, allow me to escort you.”

Prince Robert and Rosamia.

What they had in common was the girl walking beside me now—they were both searching for Princess Chocolat.

If I had to guess, I’d say one of those two probably has something to do with the scary person Princess Chocolat keeps mentioning. After all, they each wanted to whisk her away to a different country.

Which means that if I choose the wrong one, I might be handing Princess Chocolat over to a bad crowd. Which one should I believe? Well, I’m sure if I stick with the princess, the answer will become obvious eventually.

“…Huh? We’re headed for Waterwheel City?”

“Yes. Your sweetheart is waiting there for you.”

After a long brainstorming session, I decided we were to head toward where Prince Robert was waiting. The prince had been the more believable of the two. There was no telling what Rosamia had been told by whoever had ordered her to search for the princess. It was possible that she was working for the scary person who was trying to force Princess Chocolat into a marriage against her will.

If I was going to choose one, I thought it was better to believe Prince Robert. Even if he was the prince of the neighboring country, a country that had gone to war with the princess’s own… I mean, first of all, the war had been over for more than ten years, and now the two countries were even trade partners, so that was a point I had to consider.

I turned to Princess Chocolat. “Well, we should arrive before sunset. Until then, walk next to me like we’re going for a stroll.”

“Okay…” Princess Chocolat wore a downcast expression. “But I wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

“Why is my darling waiting in Waterwheel City?”

Don’t ask me…

“Don’t you think it’s because the nightmare person who’s out to get you might be lying in wait in Windmill City?”

Plus, he’s the prince of Waterwheel City, so I don’t find it all that unusual that he would wait in his own city.

Princess Chocolat hung her head. “And we were finally going to have our long-awaited wedding… It took so much time before we were able to get it officiated,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry about that. It sounds like you’re going to get what you originally planned on, in Waterwheel City.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Your wedding, of course,” I said to Princess Chocolat, who had her head tilted in confusion. “The original plan was to hold the wedding in Waterwheel City, right?”

I had said this much, when Princess Chocolat stopped on the spot.

“What are you talking about?”

She looked at me with suspicion. It was a strange sensation—a feeling that we were both talking about something very important, but we were on completely different pages.

Maybe we’d better start at the beginning.

“Your sweetheart is Prince Robert, right?”

“No.” Princess Chocolat shook her head. Then she said bluntly, “He’s the one I fear who’s out to get me!”

Before I could even respond to this dramatic new development, it happened.

No, rather than saying “it happened,” I should say “it flew at me.”

“—Ngaaaaaahhh!”

From the direction of Waterwheel City, where we were headed, a man came flying in.

He had blond hair and blue eyes. Screaming in a hoarse voice as he sailed past us, the man rolled along the road we had been walking down, scattering red leaves as he eventually came to a stop.

“I wonder if he’s all right?”

He looked pretty beat up.

“…That man is the scary person who will destroy my happiness,” Princess Chocolat said, gripping the hem of my robe.

He looks like he’s already been destroyed himself.

“But who on earth would…?”

There’s no way he could have caught sight of Princess Chocolat and come flying over from Waterwheel City. Or rather, if he had come flying, someone must have sent him flying.

Maybe he was kicked by his horse?

I looked in the direction he had come from—toward Waterwheel City.

“…Erm.”

And I took a step back.

“Rosamia…!”

Princess Chocolat murmured next to me.

Walking slowly toward us from the direction of Waterwheel City was the knight from Windmill City, Rosamia. She seemed to be in a very, very bad mood, radiating bloodlust. She had an aura about her like she would snap your neck even if you accidentally bumped into her. She was carrying an enormous log, and that only made her even scarier. She looked like she was ready to smash some heads.

“Rosamia! Rosamia, you came! Oh, thank goodness—”

“Huh? Ah, wait, Princess Chocolat!”

Suddenly, I had absolutely no idea what was happening.

The princess ran straight toward Rosamia, shrugging off my attempt to restrain her.

Just like a maiden reuniting with her sweetheart.

……

……Hmm?

I had a hunch—but no, no, it couldn’t be.

“Princess!”

The scene kept playing out, completely leaving me behind. Rosamia spread out both arms to receive Princess Chocolat, who was running toward her.

And the log she had been holding?

She threw it away. Decisively.

“Princess!”

“Rosamia!”

The two embraced passionately.

“Urgh…”

I thought I heard the groaning of a man who had been beaten half to death coming from behind me, but I was scared, so I didn’t turn around.

“Oh, Princess…! Thank goodness, thank goodness…”

“Rosamia…! I was so scared…”

……

This was too much to process.

I just wanted to stop thinking altogether.

Just to be sure, I asked to hear about the situation from Princess Chocolat and Rosamia. If I were to summarize their meandering story, it would go something like this.

First, a bit of background.

The princess of Windmill City, Chocolat, and the knight by her side, Rosamia, were in love with each other. It was a mutual romantic love between two women, but love is love.

Love takes all forms, after all, so let’s move on with the story.

Anyway, the two lovebirds were so passionately devoted to each other that no one could possibly come between them.

However, there was some resistance to the idea of the princess marrying a simple knight, and when the king of Windmill City, Princess Chocolat’s father, found out it would be a marriage between two women, he was extremely unhappy because his daughter could not bear any children from this union.

And so the king decided to force her to marry someone else. Her partner was to be the prince of the neighboring Waterwheel City, Robert.

When the two lovebirds found out about the marriage between Robert and Princess Chocolat, planned in secret by the king, they were fiercely opposed.

“But, Father, I have no interest in men.”

“Your Majesty, I have decided to make my life with the princess.”

They presented their case before the king.

“Rosamia…”

“Princess…”

They were bashful when they told me all this.

However, the king had completely ignored them. Instead, he set a specific date and time for the wedding.

“In several days, Prince Robert will come for you. Go and get married in Waterwheel City,” the king had apparently told her.

I suspected that the plan for her marriage to Prince Robert had already been in the works for some time. Just as I had suspected, it was a political marriage.

That aside, the two were flustered by the upcoming wedding.

And then they had reached a conclusion.

“That’s it! If we get married before the wedding with Prince Robert, then the problem will be solved!”

“That’s my princess!”

And so Princess Chocolat and Rosamia had planned a secret wedding ceremony in a small church. Preparations for their secret ceremony moved forward, and Princess Chocolat was in tears over being able to finally marry the one she loved.

However, he had appeared. The scary person who was going to destroy her happiness—Prince Robert—burst through the church door and kidnapped Princess Chocolat. Then he put her in a sleigh (with a basket of croissants), hitched the sled to his own horse, and galloped off toward Waterwheel City.

Princess Chocolat dealt with it all rather matter-of-factly.

She very simply untied the rope connecting the sleigh to the horse and escaped.

And then, calmly eating croissants in the middle of the forest, she waited for her beloved to come rescue her.

Happily ever after.

……

Well, not quite…

“Rosamia!”

“Princess!”

“Rosamia…”

“Princess…”

“Rosamia…?”

“Princess…?”

“Rosamia!”

“Princess!”

I’m sure you can imagine how cringey it would be to have to listen to this kind of exchange for minute after agonizing minute.

They’re just calling out each other’s names. Then why do I feel so much secondhand embarrassment? The scene was so awkward, I just wanted to cover my eyes and ears and hunker down on the spot.

“Kiss me…”

“I can’t, Princess. People are watching.”

“I don’t care about that.”

“But…”

“Do you not like me anymore?”

“No, don’t say that…”

“Then, please…”

“Princess…”

“Rosamia…”

……

It was getting too hard to watch.

So I spun around and faced the other way. But I did that to escape the awkward atmosphere between them—and definitely not so I could look at him.

“…Oh, hello again.”

He was standing up when I turned around. He had taken a direct hit from the log Rosamia had tossed aside but was grinning directly behind me. His clothing was torn, and blood was trickling down his forehead, but I knew who he was, without a shadow of a doubt.

“You’re the prince, right?” I had to ask, just to be sure. “You’re alive?”

“Indeed, I am the prince of Waterwheel City. And it should go without saying that I am very much alive.”

“I thought you’d be a lot more beaten up after taking a direct hit from that log, but you’re doing better than I expected.”

“An attack like that is nothing.”

“Who are you…?”

“I am the prince of Waterwheel City.”

No, that’s not what I meant… Oh, whatever.

If I poked fun at every mistake, there would be no end to it.

“By the way, how do you feel watching that scene?”

I pointed out the girls—locked in a passionate embrace—to Prince Robert, who had been at the center of a grand and unfortunate misunderstanding.

“Ah…it makes my heart race…”

“Are you sure that’s not because of the blood gushing out of your head?”

“I feel like I might be awakening to something new…”

“Ah-ha, looks like your head injury is more serious than I thought.”

“Okay, enough joking around.”

“Was that a joke?”

“…I’m at least half-serious.”

“Not as serious as that head injury.”

“Can this even be treated, I wonder?”

“I think we’re a little too late for that.”

“……”

“What’s up?”

“Ah well—I can’t help but come to terms with a few things, seeing all this.”

“What do you mean?”

Prince Robert was smiling, as always.

“Earlier, as that knight was beating me with a log, I learned a few things. Among them, I learned that I had been deceived by the king of Windmill City, and that true love was not meant to be between myself and the princess, but between a knight and the princess.”

“Huh.”

“I couldn’t believe it, but looking at the two of them, I get it now. It seems I was a simple buffoon.”

“……”

Well, I figured as much.

I couldn’t say that, so I remained silent.

“Love between two women… How nice.”

As the prince stood next to me, waxing poetic, I did not say anything.

I stood there for a while, a spectator to the incomprehensible exchange between Rosamia and Princess Chocolat, until finally, Prince Robert started a serious conversation.

“I’ve decided to give up on marrying her.”

“Is that so? Well, then…”

“I mean, I suppose I have no choice but to give it up, really.”

“……”

She doesn’t seem to have eyes for anyone other than Rosamia.

“Besides, now there’s something I need to return to my country and do.”

“Oh?”

“I’m thinking about legalizing same-sex marriage.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“That’s not a very enthusiastic response.”

“I held back a little.”

“…Well, even now I imagine that a few people will object. However, I think that there are other people who have found love across genders. If we, as a country, can recognize that, I’m certain the world will become more peaceful than before.”

I see.

“…And what do you really think?”

“Love between two women… How nice.”

“……”

When I fell silent, the sounds of the two girls fussing over each other filled the air. It was as if they had been whisked away to their own private paradise.

Even if I were to stop traveling in the future and settle down in a country somewhere, I don’t think I would choose to live at either end of this road.

“Oh, that reminds me,” I said, calling out to halt Prince Robert, who had begun walking away.

He turned around, smiling brightly (but still drenched in blood). “What is it?”

“……” I faced him and stuck out my hand.

“Huh? What is it?” It seemed my intention was not clear, for he tilted his head in confusion.

“Ten gold pieces, please,” I said with a smile. “As promised, I found the princess.”

Sometime later, in a different country, I heard a rumor about Windmill City and Waterwheel City. Both countries now fully recognized same-sex relationships, and each had made their own degree of progress.

At the very least, it seemed that diplomatic relations between the two cities were now flourishing.

And thanks to the princess of Windmill City marrying another woman, other same-sex couples who had been keeping their love a secret began to go public.

In Waterwheel City, the prince made a big announcement in order to encourage such marriages. “Subsidies will be paid out to anyone who enters into a union between two women!” As a result, couples lined up to get false marriages, and it caused quite a bit of trouble, apparently.

In this way, the countries that had previously had nothing to offer but waterwheels and windmills acquired some new quirks.

I heard that many more people have been visiting.

However, the population seems to be decreasing.

I wonder why that could be?