Chapter 8: Naps Are Very Important

“Uwaaah, Noah—”

“……”

Clinging to Noah, Claudia let out a tearful voice.

“…Hey.”

“That man over there looks scary. Make him go away. Uwaaah, uwaaah.”

“Hey. Princess.”

A voice full of exasperation came from above.

“That fake crying of yours isn’t convincing.”

“…………”

Claudia abruptly stopped her forced sobbing.

“Seriously, someone who was perfectly calm even in flames isn’t going to cry just because a man looks a little scary.”

“…Muu.”

She pulled her face away from Noah and puffed out her cheeks.

Looking down at Claudia’s eyes, Noah showed a slightly surprised expression.

But Claudia continued regardless.

“You don’t know that. Maybe his face is scarier than flames.”

“…No. Sure, he looks a bit scary, but not that much.”

“It’s not good to judge everything by your own standards. You need a broader perspective.”

“Even with a broader perspective, your fake crying is still terrible.”

“Eeh—”

“Princess, may I have a moment of your time?”

“……”

She would rather not.

But Karlheinz, despite his handsome yet intimidating face, clearly had no intention of letting her go.

Weighing which option was more troublesome, Claudia reluctantly turned around.

Karlheinz, still expressionless, lowered his head toward her.

“I am Karlheinz Reinart Exner, appointed by His Majesty as the Chief Court Mage. I am relieved to see you safe, and I offer my condolences for the hardships you must have endured until now.”

“Lord Karlheinz, this is my first time having a guest in my tower, so I’m very happy you came.”

“…”

Karlheinz raised his head and stared at Claudia’s smiling face.

“You have magnificent golden eyes.”

“—……”

That must have been what surprised Noah earlier.

Claudia’s eyes originally held seven colors.

But right now, she had altered them with magic to appear as a clear golden hue.

“And this boy? Judging by him, he would likely produce quite a remarkable magic reading if assessed.”

“Noah is my servant. He was strong and cool, wasn’t he?”

“A servant? There was no such report…”

“The rest is still a secret.”

Keeping her smile, she said that, causing Karlheinz to narrow his eyes as if probing her.

“Commander Karlheinz, soldiers from the royal castle will be arriving via teleportation shortly.”

“Then arrange for the transport of Hannes Reister. It would be best to take his daughter along as well. …As for Her Highness, I would like to continue this discussion elsewhere.”

“I’m sorry, Lord Karlheinz.”

Claudia clung tightly to Noah’s arm as she spoke.

“I’m about to take my nap.”

“…”

At that, Karlheinz’s eyes widened slightly.

“A nap?”

“Wha—You didn’t know, Commander!?”

A red-haired mage, who had been preparing for Hannes’s transfer, spoke up.

“Kids this small can’t stay awake for long periods.”

“…Is that so?”

“It is! If they don’t sleep around this time, they’ll pass out in the evening and won’t be able to sleep at night. Her Highness’s nap time should be considered a top priority right now!”

(That’s right, that’s right. Good support, Mr. Mage.)

Hearing that from his subordinate, Karlheinz looked at Claudia with a complicated expression.

“…Very well. Please take your nap. After that, around what time do you plan to wake—”

“Come on, Noah. Let’s go. Good night.”

Claudia pulled Noah’s hand and began walking away.

Noah looked like he wanted to say something, but he quietly followed her.

They climbed the stairs and headed to a certain room.

Sitting down on a soft sofa, Claudia let out a big yawn.

Meanwhile, Noah looked around the room filled with extravagant decorations, squinting slightly.

“…What is this gaudy, tasteless room?”

“This is a special room prepared for Uncle, who only comes here occasionally and stays for a few hours.”

There were too many unnecessary things—an oversized chandelier, a garishly colored carpet.

But there were no better options.

“My room is more like a prison than a room…”

“What?”

“It was basically a storage room. If I slept there, my dress would get dirty… fuaa…”

Yawning again, Claudia flopped onto the sofa.

Noah, standing beside her, bent down slightly to look at her.

“…When I clashed my ice magic against that man’s flames… you were supporting me, weren’t you?”

“Oh? You noticed.”

Not only did he have talent with magic, but his perception was sharp as well.

That was an essential quality for a first-rate mage.

“If I use magic with your power, does the backlash return to you?”

“Mmm… Not as much as when I use it directly myself, but…”

Even so, the strain wasn’t negligible.

And she was still very sleepy.

Today, Claudia had teleported to the tower, had Noah defeat four mages, then destroyed the barrier and used teleportation again to reach the upper floors.

After that, she lent Noah her magic to defeat the last mage hired by her uncle, and even had him clash briefly with Karlheinz.

Even with just “that much,” a six-year-old body couldn’t fully endure it.

If she hadn’t used Noah as a medium, she might have lost control of her magic, blown up the entire tower, and passed out herself.

“…Even if we’re far apart, can I still receive your magic?”

“It’s fine… it’s a contract of the soul…”

Claudia reached out her small hand and gently patted Noah’s head.

“My magic seems to like yours.”

“…”

“Even so, you handled it incredibly well… Noah, good boy.”

“…Hmph.”

Perhaps he didn’t like being praised like a child.

Frowning slightly, Noah pushed her hand away.

“That man, Karlheinz. What exactly are you going to tell him?”

“Tell him?”

“About you being Adelheid’s reincarnation… about your overwhelming magic… things like that.”

“I won’t tell him anything like that.”

Because it would obviously become troublesome.

“But… I need to deal with you properly…”

“Me?”

“Yes. If you’re going to stay by the princess’s side, there needs to be a proper reason… I’ll have to lie.”

In her past life, things had been much simpler—Adelheid had only needed to take disciples.

But now, she was truly getting sleepy.

“…You don’t need to worry about anything.”

“…”

“Because this is my responsibility… as your master…”

Claudia’s breathing gradually became soft as she fell asleep.

And so, she did not hear the words Noah murmured.

“—I never needed that in the first place.”

And then, several hours later.

When Claudia woke up, Noah was already gone from the tower.