Hibiren Flowers And Recital (5)

“Hibiren flower? Hmm, I know that there are various rare flowers stored in the Imperial Palace’s treasure vault, but I’m not sure if such a flower is there. Of course, if you’re asking for it, I’ll have them look for it immediately. After all, it’s thanks to you that the treasure vault still exists.”

“That… Thank you.”

Fortunately, this Emperor isn’t the type to forget past favors or interpret things selfishly.

Well, if he were a tyrant, I wouldn’t have helped him in the first place.

“Attendant!”

At the Emperor’s call, the study door opened, and the chief attendant hurried in. The Emperor gave him an order.

“Find out if there is a flower called Hibiren in the treasure vault.”

“I will do so immediately.”

Upon receiving the Emperor’s order, the chief attendant bowed and quickly backed out of the study. His speed at walking backward is always fascinating to watch.

In any case, with this, the matter will proceed smoothly.

Rurin, seeing that the situation was progressing well, lost interest and started randomly pulling out books and reading them.

Of course, she wasn’t reading seriously. She would open a book briefly, toss it aside, open another, and only stop when she found something that piqued her interest.

Thanks to that, it was peaceful.

As I was having a casual conversation with the Emperor, the chief attendant soon returned.

His face was slightly contorted, showing signs of great distress.

“Your Majesty…”

“Did you find what I asked for?”

“That is…”

The chief attendant bowed his head toward the ground, almost as if he was about to dig into the floor.

“Your Majesty, I understand that you chose the magical flower that never wilts, Laplatia, as the prize for the last music competition.”

“Yes, I chose Laplatia, the flower said to rival the beauty of the Regana performance and be steeped in legend. I heard it was of great value, so I thought it would suit the competition. But why do you ask?”

“Well…according to the treasure vault official, when it was presented to the late Emperor, he named it, but among the common people, it’s known as the Hibiren flower.”

“……”

The Emperor couldn’t respond to the chief attendant’s words. He just stared at him before awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

It was an undignified action, but since both the chief attendant and the Emperor were flustered, no one was there to point it out.

“Why did it have to be that? Sigh…”

The Emperor dismissed the chief attendant and then looked at me with a troubled expression, like a five-year-old asking for help.

At that, Rurin, who had been pretending not to be interested but was clearly listening, threw down the book she was holding and trudged over to the Emperor.

“This is simple. Just bring it back.”

“Oh Great One…but…”

“I clearly said to bring it back.”

Rurin’s expression was serious.

When I suggested coming to the Capital to get the Hibiren flower, Rurin, who usually grumbled about the inconvenience, didn’t complain even once this time.

Maybe it’s because she knows the Hibiren flower is related to Selly.

Rurin was oddly serious right now.

Rurin’s aura started to leak out.

The Emperor, despite his status, is just a regular human inside. Engulfed by a dragon’s aura, he couldn’t even scream, and his knees began to shake. It’s naturally impossible for a human body to fully withstand a dragon’s aura.

The Emperor, barely able to speak due to fear, forced himself to say something.

“I…I understand… I’ll take care of it…”

Even though cold sweat was pouring down his entire body, he was still the Emperor of the Empire, so he showed unwavering will by gripping his chair and trembling.

If Rurin got any angrier, he might have died right then and there.

But the Emperor’s position is the Emperor’s position.

For someone in his position, taking back what he’s already said is not something that happens often. If someone at the pinnacle of a nation changes their words lightly, what would happen?

All policies would descend into chaos.

So, once a ruler says something, even if it’s wrong, they don’t take it back.

And I also hadn’t reserved the Hibiren flower in advance.

Chronologically, they decided to use it first before I came into the picture. So suddenly demanding it without considering their position is just violence, a power move.

It’s true that I saved them, but I didn’t expect anything in return.

And now, I can’t just say, ‘I saved you, so give it to me.’ I don’t like that kind of reasoning.

Besides, the treasures of the Imperial Palace naturally belong to the Emperor.

I came to obtain the Hibiren flower if it wasn’t being used in the Palace, but I didn’t come to seize it.

No matter how much it’s for Selly.

The Hibiren flower in the Palace isn’t the only one in the world. There are other Hibiren flowers out there.

“Rurin…withdraw your aura.”

I stroked Rurin’s head and gently hugged her.

“You? But…”

“There’s no need. Your Majesty. Taking something back after it’s already been allocated is nothing short of robbery.”

“But you! Didn’t you say you needed the Hibiren flower?”

“If I forcibly take it just because I need it, how would I be any different from the humans who tormented Selly? Even if I obtained the Hibiren flower that way, Selly wouldn’t be happy.”

“……”

Rurin clamped her mouth shut at my words.

“It’s okay. The Hibiren flower is rare, but there was only one root in the Palace. We can definitely find it somewhere else.”

“I…I didn’t do it just for her. It’s because you said you needed it…that’s all.”

“Of course, of course. I know.”

Whatever her true feelings are.

I continued to pat Rurin, and she dropped her shoulders and withdrew her aura.

After confirming that, I turned back to the Emperor.

“So, that Hibiren flower is the prize for the music competition?”

“Yes, that’s how it turned out. It’s probably already out of the vault and kept at the competition headquarters. Of all things, it had to be the one you needed…”

“It’s fine. That competition…it’s for Regana?”

“Yes.”

In that case, should I offer something the winner of the competition desires and obtain it personally?

If they understand its value and refuse to give it up, then I’ll just find another flower.

As I was pondering this, Rurin approached and grabbed my arm.

It seemed she accepted my words, as she no longer showed any aura or interest toward the Emperor.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“What’s a Regana?”

“Well, it’s a musical instrument. An instrument used to play music.”

“Is that so? I don’t know what it is, but I’ll enter. Since you said we can’t take it by force, I’ll win with my skills and give the Hibiren flower to you as a gift!”

“You?”

Nod, nod.

Rurin nodded with her usual intense gaze.

“Have you ever played a Regana?”

“No, never.”

Rurin shook her head firmly. Of course, she hadn’t. She had just asked what a Regana was, so there’s no way she’s ever played one.

“But I am who I am. So, if I set my mind to it, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Strangely, her words made sense.

Rurin mastered haircutting after watching it a few times, and after a few tries, she perfected claw machine games. If she sets her mind to it, she can do anything humans do perfectly.

This is possible because she’s a dragon, a species considered great and that typically sees the human world as mere amusement.

I hadn’t made her do it, but it seemed that mimicking human skills wouldn’t be particularly difficult for a dragon.

She beat me at a children’s game on her first try. Such things are trivial, but a dragon is still a dragon.

Rurin might seem clueless due to her lack of common sense, but her brain is far more advanced than that of a human.

“Hmm, well then, I’ll look forward to it.”

“Of course. I won’t lose to mere humans. The only human I lose to is you. Hehe.”

The Emperor watched our conversation with a bewildered expression.

“Well, that’s how it is, so please sign us up for the competition. I can’t take it by force, but there’s nothing wrong with winning it fair and square.”

“But do you know that competition is…entangled with many complexities?”

“Complexities, huh? Tell them to give those to the dogs.”

I responded shortly to the Emperor’s words.

No matter how nice I might be, I have no intention of being taken advantage of. I won’t steal, but if I can earn it fairly, I will. I won’t tolerate any interference with that.

“Our Rurin said she’ll enter, so let’s evaluate based on skill. If she doesn’t win, we’ll just find another Hibiren flower, right?”

“This is how the system works.”

“Hmm, so the great noble of the faction to which the winner of the finals belongs wields the Empire’s military power for a year?”

“Something like that. It involves that much influence. It’s a system that’s been in place for a long time under the pretext of checking the Imperial power.”

“Was that the original purpose of the music competition?”

If that’s the purpose the competition was created for from the start, I’ll just give up.

If that’s what the competition is about, they can play their games on their own. I have no intention of stepping into the mud.

But the Emperor shook his head.

“No. Back then, it was purely a competition of Regana melodies, discussing peace. It was a classy era.”

A competition discussing peace.

If that’s the founding purpose of the competition, then there’s plenty of justification.

It’s just a matter of returning to the original purpose.

“Then that’s what you should do. Develop it from a competition only the great nobles benefit from into a competition for all nobles. Instead of by faction, have each noble house compete, and give the winning family a corresponding benefit. A one-year tax exemption or something like that. I think that would be a good enough reason for them to get excited.”

The taxes nobles pay to the great nobles are enormous. What they keep for themselves is less than a fraction. So if those taxes are exempted, the wealth they can accumulate becomes enormous.

“That…sounds like a good idea that could weaken the power of the great nobles, but…”

The Emperor rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.

If I trust Rurin.

I don’t know how much Rurin can master the Regana, but just participating has enough meaning.

Even if we don’t get the Hibiren flower, Rurin’s participation in a human competition, when she usually disregards human rules, will help her adapt to the human world.

That’s what I’ve been considering most important lately.

To that end, I sent her to the market, and she brought back Selly, which was unsettling.

So this is an unexpected gain, that Rurin volunteered to participate.

Of course, since Rurin is participating, I don’t want to be dragged along by a pre-set stage.

I decided not to take the Hibiren flower by force, but the competition itself needs to be fair.

In that case, I’ll create the stage.