“An Angel?”

When Antica saw Fiona, she hesitated too. She glanced back at Tiran, surprise in her eyes. “So you know a creature like this, Miss Tiran?”

“What do you mean, ‘a creature like this’? You know who I am, and you’re still being so rude? You strange old man.”

“Strange old man” isn’t exactly a polite way to address someone, either, is it?

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t think. I don’t use human language very often, after all.”

Antica spread his hands with an apologetic smile. He placed his left hand over his chest, bowed slightly, and dipped his head in an elegant, noble manner. Then he spoke in a language Tiran couldn’t understand:

“I swear by the Dragon God that I meant no offense to the Angel. Please accept my sincere apologies, most noble Seraph.”

Such a solemn apology seemed to hit all the right notes for this chuuni Angel. Her attitude changed almost instantly. She nodded in satisfaction, then said to Tiran:

“Witch—no, Miss Tiran, I think he’s very trustworthy!” The little Angel’s eyes lit up.

“You trust people way too easily...” Tiran’s mouth twitched.

“More importantly, I’m still curious why you and Senior Aya look so much alike.” The little Angel had realized that the man in front of her wasn’t Aya, too, and looked at Tiran in confusion.

With both of them staring at her, Tiran didn’t know what to do for a moment. How was she supposed to explain this?! She wasn’t ready to meet the parents yet!

“That’s right, I’m curious too. Miss Tiran, do you know the person the Angel says I look like?”

“Well...” Tiran still couldn’t get the words out. Her mind raced, searching for a reasonable excuse.

But the princess, completely thrown off balance, had clearly forgotten that finding an excuse could wait. The more important thing was to shut that Angel up first.

“Senior Aya? Senior Aya is a Dragon! Her true form is a Golden Dragon, but for some reason all her scales are white. She’s still very beautiful, though. She helped me live at Gilliast Castle, and she even helped me deal with the evil Demon head maid...”

The moment the little Angel started talking about Aya, she launched into a long-winded story.

Honestly, Tiran had held on to a sliver of hope at first. Given how awful Aya’s parents were, it wasn’t impossible that they wouldn’t recognize their own son, right?

Come on, future father-in-law! Let’s hear the answer!

“Sounds a lot like my son. He’s a Golden Dragon, but his scales are white, too.”

“Huh? Your son?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him in ages. The last time he contacted us, he said he was being hunted or something. I wonder if he’s kicked the bucket.”

“I don’t think a Golden Dragon would die that easily. Senior Aya is really strong.”

“True. I’m pretty strong myself, hahaha!”

Watching the two of them walk ahead, chatting away as if she weren’t there—and apparently forming a curious little friendship—left the princess dumbfounded.

They really hadn’t recognized him? No wonder Aya called them awful parents. Golden Dragons were rare to begin with, and the odds of one having albinism were even lower. For them to still be unsure after all that... Their minds really did work differently from ordinary people’s.

And besides...

Antica was one thing, but how had little Fio failed to realize that her Senior Aya was this strange old man’s son? She was so dense!

Still, as long as the secret stayed hidden, that was good enough. Tiran decided not to worry about the rest.

Tiran propped her forehead up with her right hand and shook her head lightly.

Come to think of it, they were having such a good time chatting. Had they forgotten all about the things they’d worked so hard to get?

Tiran looked down at the bluish-white fruit in her left hand. After thinking for two seconds, she condensed her Chi into ice dust, melted it into water, and gave the fruit a quick rinse before taking a small bite.

It was sweet and refreshing, with a texture much like a grape and plump flesh... Most importantly, it was far sweeter than an ordinary grape. What a score. Holding the grapes as she walked and munched, the princess followed the two of them at an unhurried pace.

“When I first came to the human world, a priest from the Temple Church summoned me to deal with Senior Aya and the Silver War Maiden. But they joined forces and beat me. Then Big Sister told me to stay in the human world, so I was forced to stick by that annoying princess... Ah, but if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met Senior Aya.”

“Oh? So that’s what happened? What a fine member of my kind.”

“Senior Aya is a good person. She took me shopping for clothes to wear in the human world and bought me lots of delicious food. The Silver War Maiden even stole the food I bought...”

The little Angel’s voice took on a hint of resentment.

Wait, I was the one who paid for all her food, clothes, and lodging. Why was she thanking Aya?

The princess grumbled to herself behind them. And was it really okay to call Her Divine Majesty “Big Sister” in front of outsiders?

—And, well, that was pretty much how it went.

Since Antica was enjoying his conversation with the little Angel, he didn’t hurry off. Instead, the two of them wandered from one orchard to another as they chatted.

Following behind them, Tiran listened with great interest as the little Angel recalled everything that had happened after the Goddess left her in the human world. So that was what all those events they’d been through looked like from little Fio’s point of view.

Come to think of it, the fruit here was really good. The snowmelt had excellent water quality, the volcanic soil was rich in nutrients, and the mountain had plenty of sunshine along with a wide temperature difference between day and night—all of which suited the fruit perfectly and helped it build up its sugars. It tasted amazing.

“Did I pick this much without even realizing it?”

Tiran hefted the basket in her hands, a little surprised.

Besides the usual varieties, there were quite a few fruits suited to tropical climates. Mangoes and pineapples were among her favorites, too. This was probably enough.

Back at the orchard entrance, they waited for a few workers dressed like farmers to weigh their fruit. The little Angel and Antica were still talking.

“Now I’m curious about that fellow from my kind. Miss, you said he’s on this mountain too, right? Could you take me to meet him?”

“Sure! Senior Aya would definitely be happy to see you, too.”

“Hey, wait a second!”

Tiran had been standing to the side, watching the workers pack up the fruit she’d picked. When she suddenly overheard their conversation, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She rushed over, grabbed the little Angel by the shoulder, and pulled her aside.

“Ow... What are you doing? You’re way too strong!”

“What are you doing? Why did you agree to take him there?!”

The princess let out a long sigh. She looked close to breaking down.

“Huh? Did I say something wrong?”

“...No. I was just careless.” Tiran silently shed two lines of tears, then glanced warily back at Antica, who was also having his fruit packed.

“That guy’s almost certainly Aya’s biological father.”

To be safe, Tiran sent the message through the Angelic Covenant using her mental power.

“...Huh?! Whaaaaat?!”

“Don’t shout it out loud!”

With Antica watching them in confusion, Tiran clapped a hand over the little Angel’s mouth. “I’m not ready to meet her parents as Aya’s future wife!”

“B-b-b-but... Mmph. No wonder you look so much alike.”

Little Fio finally understood.

“Should I call you dense, or dense, or dense?” Tiran sighed. “Anyway, I don’t want him finding out about this so soon, so you absolutely cannot let Antica meet Aya. Got it?”

“...”

The little Angel was silent for a moment. Then she looked up at Tiran, suddenly serious.

“W-what?”

“So you need a favor from me, right?”

“...Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

“Then tonight I want the special extra-large, three-layer fruit parfait from the dessert shop in the second alley off Festival Back Street in town.”

“Tch. Deal.”

She was being blackmailed, sure, but how should she put it... At least it was only the little Angel. Good food was enough to keep her happy.