This earring was indeed a great treasure depending on the circumstances and location, just as the description dictated. For a native of this place it would definitely be useless and in fact for them it was probably a piece of junk, however, in the case of Bai Zemin it was just what he needed.
“Hey, now you should be able to understand what I’m saying shouldn’t you?”
A voice that Bai Zemin recognized immediately as it was the first voice he heard once he reopened his eyes in this world sounded a few steps ahead. It was a sweet and pleasant voice to listen to, however, for some reason that voice sounded a bit bossy and annoying.
Subconsciously, Bai Zemin looked at the girl who had led him to the throne room and said with a faint smile, “Oh, now I understand your words, ponytails princess.”
He immediately wanted to slap himself after saying those words but unfortunately it was too late.
The king and queen looked at each other before looking back at Bai Zemin with curious expressions. It was as if they were waiting to see a good show.
Indeed.
“… Ponytails princess…?” Murmured the golden-haired girl who looked to be around the age of the younger sister of Bai Zemin.
She looked at him in surprise and confusion at first, however, her face soon began to tremble and moments later her whole body began to tremble like a vibrator. She gritted her teeth and with red cheeks looked at Bai Zemin as if she wanted to eat him alive.
“Is this how you speak to the person who saved your life?! If it wasn’t for this princess you would already be a corpse and in the stomach of some vicious orc!”
The voice of the princess was very loud and high-pitched, so much so that subconsciously the three people inside the throne room closed their eyes and shrank back as if they wanted to curl into a ball and cover the sound.
In fact, Bai Zemin wondered what the crystals placed in the large windows on both sides of the room were made of, because he was sure that a normal crystal would definitely have exploded into a thousand pieces.
‘I see. So it was this princess with the ponytails who saved me.’ Bai Zemin nodded silently.
Knowing it was his fault, he apologized in a sincere voice: ‘I apologize if I offended you, it really wasn’t my intention. It’s just that the first thing that caught my attention when I saw you was your hair… and because I don’t know your name and just…”
“Hmph! If you don’t know the name of a person then you first introduce yourself and then ask, isn’t that basic education? Looks like you’re not much different from orcs after all.” Snorted the ponytailed princess.
Bai Zemin really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this girl. He knew she had no ill intentions as her eyes were probably the purest eyes he had ever seen on a person other than a small kid. Even then, he was a little speechless at her attitude.
She was kind but she was hiding it under an annoying attitude…. Bai Zemin couldn’t help but remember certain characters who always snorted and blushed at the same time.
He held back the urge to laugh and said in a soft voice, “In that case, allow me to introduce myself.”
Bai Zemin looked not only at the ponytails princess but also looked at the king and queen, bowing slightly he said in a deep voice, “My name is Bai Zemin, this year I will be 21. Thank you very much for helping me get out of the forest while I was unconscious, I will definitely repay for this favor and for allowing me to stay here for a few days.”
“Bai Zemin?”
The king and queen looked at each other, both noticing the confusion in the other’s eyes. However, neither had time to say too much as a voice rose above them.
“Bai Zemin? Quite a strange name, I’ve never heard anything similar. Hmph! As expected from an orc!” The princess with the ponytails snorted before lifting her chin and saying in a clear voice, “My name is Seraphina Di Gales, second princess of the Gales Kingdom. I am 16 years old but already in the Second Order, if you know how awesome I am then quickly get down on your knees and swear your loyalty to me! I will treat you well in the future.”
“Pffft-!” Bai Zemin quickly covered his mouth to keep from laughing, but it was too late.
“What’s so funny?!”
“No… Sorry…”
“You’re still holding back the urge to laugh aren’t you?! That’s why orcs are no good!”
…
Bai Zemin had to listen to the princess with ponytails…. Seraphina Di Gales, the second princess of Gales Kingdom, teaching him manners and calling him an orc repeatedly. He wasn’t upset, even though he didn’t understand why she was calling him an orc.
Was his appearance that bad? Even though Bai Zemin had never seen an orc, he believed that his appearance wasn’t that bad even if compared to people of this world. At least from what he had seen so far, everyone in Eventide World seemed to be above average in terms of beauty compared to the humans of Earth.
Be that as it may, Bai Zemin was surprised that Seraphina Di Gales managed to break into the Second Order despite being so young. After all, the guards outside guarding the doors to the throne room were peak First Order warriors even though they had clearly lived a long time.
Unfortunately, Seraphina Di Gales did not get the reaction she expected from Bai Zemin when she revealed her identity, power, and age. This made her little pride and small vanity feel hurt as she started trembling all over and gnashing her teeth as she looked at Bai Zemin with wide eyes, leaving him at a loss for words again.
“I will really bite you to death…”
“… Are you a dog or what?”
“Orc! How dare you call me a dog!” Seraphina Di Gales immediately turned into a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She looked at Bai Zemin with wide eyes and said loudly, “You are almost 5 years older than me but you are only level 50! You should understand the difference between you, the orc, and me, the princess!”
“No, well… It’s really cool and all but I know a 9 years old girl who at this point is probably already on her mission to break through the Second Order.” Bai Zemin said in a neutral voice.
“…”
The room suddenly fell silent and the next moment the second princess of the Gales Kingdom began to burst out laughing. Her laughter was actually pleasant to hear as even her voice was despite how annoying her words were, however, Bai Zemin really felt like throwing a bucket of water in her face regardless of knowing that he shouldn’t get annoyed with a kid.
“About to break into the Second Order at the age of 9? Why don’t you better tell me that this girl was just evolving for 6 months too!” Seraphina Di Gales laughed as she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
‘… Actually, I think it’s been less than 6 months.” Bai Zemin secretly thought about whether he should say those words but after a moment he decided it was better not to or he would really be seen as crazy.
“Bai Zemin. That’s your name, isn’t it? Good! In view of the fact that you made me laugh so much and entertained me quite a bit, my genial and gentle self will try not to call you orc as much as possible. Feeling grateful!” Seraphina Di Gales puffed out her flat chest and put both hands on her hips as she lifted her chin almost pointing towards the ceiling.
Was she… Was she mentally retarded? Bai Zemin was really beginning to question the sanity of this girl with the ponytails.
After a moment of silence, the queen’s voice rang out inside the spacious room.
“It has been a while since Seraphina has laughed so casually, young Zemin. The fact that you made her laugh is a good payoff for us, regardless of whether or not what you said was a joke.”
The queen’s voice was soft, composed, and very noble. Other than Lilith, this woman’s voice was probably the noblest voice Bai Zemin had ever heard in his life.
He did not know what to say so he simply bowed slightly. This simple act for him was a great sign of respect considering his identity. However, for others it was different.
The queen covered her mouth and chuckled softly, looking at Bai Zemin with amusement and at the same time curiosity.
“Zemin, right? Do you mind if I call you by your name?”
Bai Zemin looked at the king and said in a calm voice, “No, you may call me whatever you like, Your Majesty.”
The king looked at Bai Zemin for several seconds before an amused smile appeared on his face.
“You know, I always found it a bit annoying when people kneel whenever they see me… but now that I meet a person who doesn’t, I can’t help but feel a bit strange. Not in a bad way, but it’s like suddenly rainbow-colored cats disappear…. Strange, isn’t it?”
… In this world there were seven-colored cats? Bai Zemin looked at the king with a perplexed expression, hoping it was a joke on his part.
“That’s why the-” The second princess bit her tongue at the recall of her earlier words and pouted before giving Bai Zemin a sidelong glance and snorting softly.
“Well, never mind.” The king waved his hand and said in a gentle voice, “My name is Philip Di Gales, the current king of the Gales Kingdom.”
Then, the queen continued, “My name is Helena Milbourne, second daughter of House Milbourne.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you both.” Bai Zemin nodded.
But he didn’t realize he made a mistake.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Seraphina Di Gales jumped forward and grabbed onto Bai Zemin’s shirt with both hands. Because she was several inches smaller she stood on her tiptoes but still had to lift her head to look him in the eyes, “Is it not your pleasure to meet this princess, orc?! It should be your honor!”
‘… Noisy.’ Bai Zemin sighed in his heart. This girl really was different from Meng Qi even though they were of similar ages, this second princess was like an immature child who didn’t know anything about life, but even then, Bai Zemin couldn’t get angry at her for some reason, probably because she saved his life.
“Of course I do, it’s my honor.” Bai Zemin smiled brightly and patted the young girl two or three times.
“Eh?” It was only then that Seraphina Di Gales noticed the short distance and her cheeks flushed. She jumped back several feet and covered her chest as she looked at Bai Zemin with teary eyes.
‘Holy shit! This daddy is not a pervert! My woman is watching from the shadows, you brat!’ Bai Zemin really wanted to beat up this wild second princess.
In fact, Lilith had been laughing out loud all this time as it was a rarity for her to see Bai Zemin having a hard time dealing with someone.
“Hahahaha!” Philip Di Gales, the king, laughed good-naturedly and while looking at his daughter said in an amused voice, “Seraphina, you have used your natural eyes haven’t you?”
“What?! Of course not!” The second princess’s ponytails shook all over as she began to shake her head furiously while kicking the floor furiously.
The queen shook her head as she let out a giggle. She looked at Bai Zemin and asked in a gentle voice, “Young Zemin, I wonder if we can ask you some questions?… You can refuse, but that might make things a bit awkward for everyone. Especially because of the foreignness of your name, facial features, and the fact that you don’t speak Gales.”
“Of course, I will answer whatever it is possible for me to answer.” Bai Zemin said with no surprise on his face.
His features as a Chinese were very different from the features of these people who possessed a resemblance to the Europeans of Earth. Besides, the name ‘Bai Zemin’ was definitely not normal in this realm not to mention that he could not even understand and therefore could not speak the language of Gales if not for the earring he was given before.
In addition to everything mentioned before, Bai Zemin’s appearance in the middle of the forest right where a terrifying explosion occurred would certainly be seen as suspicious.
The fact that he had not been put in a dungeon and interrogated was already a mystery that Bai Zemin could not answer for himself. These people did not even touch his treasures despite the fact that on him was a Legend grade treasure!
The gentleness and kindness these people had shown him were too big, so big that Bai Zemin could not fully understand why. Yet, somehow he was sure that a great part of the reason he was still able to walk free and easy was all thanks to the princess with the ponytails.
Seraphina Di Gales.
* * * * * * *
