Chapter 10: The Chaotic Little Princess
“Um. Yake, what is this thing? It looks like it would be really delicious to drink!”
Unlike Yake, Aierjisi is visiting a human town for the first time and is curious about everything here. The moment Yake loses focus, Aierjisi takes off without a care, leaving him to waste time searching for the little princess. There’s no other choice; after all, he is currently the only servant to this little princess. Having experienced several rounds of Aierjisi disappearing and Yake having to search the whole town, Yake has given up on the idea of going home first. It’s best to stick with the little princess and explore the small town together for now.
“That? That’s pearl milk tea.”
Yake glanced at the drink being sold in a roadside shop that Aierjisi was pointing at. It was a common cheap drink in human society, costing only five copper coins a cup.
“Oh… how much money do you have on you right now?”
After hearing Yake’s explanation, Aierjisi inquired about his total wealth.
“Right now, I’m not exactly rich; I only have twenty-two silver coins and fifty-seven copper coins.”
Yake pulled out his money pouch and checked his remaining assets.
“Well then, my servant, I command you to go buy me a cup of pearl milk tea now.”
“Of course! Just as I expected.”
When Aierjisi asked about his wealth, Yake knew she would likely ask him to buy her something. Luckily, this little princess only wanted a five copper coin milk tea, a cost he could afford.
“Wait here for me, I’ll go buy it for you. Please don’t disappear again while I’m gone!”
Before heading off to buy the milk tea, Yake reminded the little princess to stay put and not to wander off after something shiny.
“Okay, okay. I know! Hurry up and go! I’m not a little kid!”
Aierjisi impatiently urged Yake to hurry and get her the milk tea. She wasn’t as childish as she looked, after all; she considered herself quite mature.
As Aierjisi waited for Yake to buy her tea, a vendor pushing a cart filled with oden passed right in front of her. The delightful aroma wafting from the oden caught Aierjisi’s attention.
What was that? It smelled so good! It must be delicious! I need to check it out.
In that moment, Aierjisi completely forgot about Yake’s instruction to stay put and followed the tantalizing scent of the oden vendor.
“I got the milk tea… Hey? Where did she go?”
After finally waiting in line to buy the milk tea, Yake returned, ready to present the drink to the little princess. However, during his wait, she had vanished again. He had specifically told her to stay in one place.
“Aier! Aier! Excuse me, did you happen to see a little girl standing here? Where did she go? She has golden hair and is about as tall as my waist.”
Yake had to shout for her name while asking nearby pedestrians if they had seen her.
“That little girl? I think I saw her following a cart of oden.”
A person still waiting in line at the milk tea shop informed Yake about Aierjisi’s whereabouts, having noticed her fancy attire and pretty appearance.
“Oden, huh… Alright, I think I know where she might be. Thank you!”
Hearing about the oden, Yake deduced where the little princess might have run off to. He turned around and headed towards the town’s only square, figuring that if oden was being sold, it would be there. If all went well, the little princess should be there too.
“Just as I thought, here she is…”
Arriving at the square, Yake easily spotted Aierjisi. After all, her golden hair was quite rare in Chester Town.
However, finding her was not the only surprise; what shocked Yake was that the little princess was actually helping sell oden!
“One serving of konnyaku noodles and two sausages, please!”
“Sure, konnyaku noodles and two sausages, coming right up!”
Watching Aierjisi skillfully handle the orders, Yake wondered if he was dreaming. Maybe he was still lying in bed at home. To confirm, he pinched his right hand and punched his own face.
“Ow! This isn’t a dream?”
Feeling the sting on his cheek, Yake had to face reality. While he was off buying milk tea, Aierjisi had run off to help sell oden!
“Oh, Yake! Over here, over here!”
Aierjisi noticed Yake standing in the square, looking bewildered. One hand served a customer while the other waved him over.
“My little princess, what on earth are you doing?”
Yake approached Aierjisi, smiling wryly as he asked her what she was up to, wondering how she suddenly started helping sell oden.
“Hmm… that’s a long story. For now, just help me sell oden, okay? We have too many customers to handle with just the stall owner and me!”
Aierjisi urged Yake to join in as there were far too many customers. Reluctantly, Yake had to pitch in and help sell oden.
Thirty minutes later…
“All done! We’ve sold out of oden for today. Everyone, please come back tomorrow!”
Looking at the empty pot left with only broth, the stall owner announced that they were completely out of oden. Listeners who were waiting in line showed despondent expressions as they turned to leave.
“Ah, thank you so much, miss! With your help, I sold out of oden in just half an hour, which typically takes me all day! I truly appreciate it! Here, this is your reward.”
The stall owner expressed his gratitude, handing Aierjisi three silver coins from his pouch.
“Oh, wait a minute! Didn’t you say you’d give me one serving of oden for helping you sell out?”
After accepting the coins, Aierjisi suddenly realized something was amiss. Weren’t they supposed to trade her help for a serving of oden?
“Aier, those three silver coins are worth much more than one serving of oden, you know?”
Seeing Aierjisi refuse the money and insist on wanting a serving of oden instead, Yake couldn’t help but chuckle. The silver coins were more than enough to fill her up with oden!
“But I helped him specifically to get oden!”
Aierjisi pouted, frustrated. If she’d known the stall owner would just give her coins, she would never have bothered to help sell oden in the first place.
【It seems serving this little princess might be even harder than I imagined.】
Watching Aierjisi still sulking, Yake realized he had underestimated the challenge of serving her. This little princess really lacked common sense about human society. He would need to properly educate her!
“Hmm? Did you buy the milk tea? Give it to me.”
Aierjisi noticed the milk tea Yake was holding and quickly grabbed it, slurping from the cup. Perhaps because the milk tea was so delicious, Aierjisi’s anger seemed to dissipate a little.
