Chapter 95

The Type that gets Kidnapped

Norfe scolded her .

“But…the orange…”

Chiharu said with her brain that wasn’t quite working yet . She didn’t even realize that she was talking to Norfe .

“Orange? Ah, that Soluna orange . ”

Norfe saw the orange that she was carrying and sighed with exasperation .

It wasn’t just Norfe . Maki was exasperated as well . To be precise, she was shouting internally . ‘We’re 25 years old . Aren’t we 25 years old? And you’re chasing oranges…’ At the same time, she had been so worried . And that feeling turned into anger . She could not help but shout out loud .

“Your life is more important than an orange!”

“Norfe…”

Chiharu was at least calm enough to not call her Maki . On the other hand, Maki had forgotten that they weren’t supposed to draw attention to themselves . And she was now a little frantic .

“Well, she seems to be sorry . ”

Norfe said with a smile . He had been quite surprised by Maki’s outburst .

“But!”

Maki was about to protest, but then she suddenly returned to herself . Norfe thought it was because she had realized that she was talking to royalty .

“It’s fine . Food is also very important . ”

He said to Chiharu . She nodded .

“I’m sorry . ”

She said as she tried to stand up . But she could not . Her legs felt weak . Though, it was evident that she would have had an easier time if she only let go of the orange .

“Is that orange so precious to you?”

Norfe said with a chuckle as he saw the flustered girl . Then he picked Chiharu up and put her on her feet . Chiharu froze with surprise . However, the villagers who had been watching excitedly now roared and applauded cheerfully . Norfe nodded satisfactorily at his people .

“Uh, um…”

“It seems like you are too shocked to stand . I am sorry . Allow me to make up for it by inviting you to the villa, so you can rest . ”

“Uh, no . I can walk . ”

“But you couldn’t even stand?”

Indeed, that was true . But this was not right . Besides, this was Norfe! The mean prince! Chiharu had just realized this . She would have done something wilder if she wasn’t afraid of falling again .

“I’m sorry . I’ll take care of my little sister! It’s fine!”

Maki frantically tried to take Chiharu away .

“Oh, you’re the one who was shouting . Her brother . ”

“Norfe!”

Chiharu also stretched her hand out to Maki .

“Careful there . You might drop your orange again . ”

Chiharu realized this and fixed her grip on the orange before accidentally falling into Norfe’s arms .

Why was this happening…

“Norfe and Chouze, eh? I must say, those are some great names for a brother and sister . ”

The real Norfe said with a laugh .

“I’ll also buy the rest of your oranges for the villa . Now, you can take down your stall here and pick up your sister at the villa when you’re done . That way, she’ll have plenty of time to rest . ”

He said to Maki before starting to walk away .

“Uh, hey . Wait! Ah…”

As Maki stood there, a knight approached her .

“You should hurry up if you don’t want her to stay for too long . ”

“Huh? Oh, fine . ”

Maki muttered as she began to fold their tables .

“You should consider yourselves lucky . You got to speak with Prince Norfe himself and sell all your oranges . And you’ll get to see the villa . ”

The old man who sold vegetables said to her from the side .

“But we were planning on leaving town today . This is all a lot of trouble . ”

Maki replied without thinking .

“I’m supposed to wait here until my brothers return, but I can’t do that now . Mister, could you tell them what happened when they arrive?”

Maki asked him .

“Sure . Don’t worry . Go off and enjoy the villa!”

Maki put everything into the carriage and then picked up the box of oranges and rushed towards the villa .

While it was a villa, it was only about 10 minutes away on foot .

“Um, I’m fine now . You can put me down . I’m sure that I’m quite heavy . ”

“What? You’re not heavy at all . ”

Norfe said . And he was definitely carrying her as if she was light .

“Um . ”

“Chouze, right? Can you peel that orange for me?”

“Huh?”

“I want to eat it . ”

And so Chiharu had no choice but the peel the orange . Then Norfe opened his mouth as if he expected her to feed him . Chiharu wasn’t sure what to do, but when she looked to a nearby knight, he just shook his head . And so she hesitantly threw a piece of orange into Norfe’s mouth . Norfe chewed and swallowed it before saying,

“Delicious . How much do they cost?”

“300 gil for one . ”

“300 gil, huh? A single large Highland apple is 100 gil . Soluna oranges cost 200 gil if you buy them in Lowland . But I see that they are 300 gil in Highland . ”

It was shocking that a member of the royal family accurately knew the prices of food .

“It’s because of transportation and personnel fees . ”

“Indeed . You don’t look it, but you’re surprisingly smart . ”

Chiharu felt very conflicted by this . An 18-year-old had just called her smart .

“Even if they are all human territories, this discrepancy occurs because people want things from the other three territories . Is it wrong to want my people to be able to buy Soluna oranges for 200 gil?”

Norfe muttered and then signaled for another piece . Chiharu shoved it into his mouth and replied . Though, she did wonder if he was even asking her .

“Then you should just export your Highland apples to the three territories . ”

“You really are smart . ”

Norfe said with satisfaction .

“Something that Highland has that the others don’t . This is quite hard . Besides, we haven’t had much interaction with them until now . Yes, it is difficult . But then the cost will all be on Highland . That wouldn’t be right, would it?”

“I guess so . ”

It wasn’t wrong to want to raise self-sufficiency rates . But Highland was too cold for Soluna oranges to grow .

“Ah, we’re almost there . ”

“P-please put me down . ”

“It’s faster this way . ”

And like that, Chiharu was taken to the villa .

“Norfe!”

Chouze came running out .

“Ah, Chouze . How many times do I have to tell you to stop running like that? You’re too old . ”

“But, I’m just so happy . Oh, who is this?”

Chouze looked at Chiharu suspiciously .

“She jumped in front of my horse . And since she was unable to stand, I brought her back here so she can rest . ”

“That’s very like you . ”

“I’m taking her to my room . ”

Then the maids came out frantically .

“That will not do . Even though she is a child, she is still a girl . We shall take care of her . ”

“Yes . But more importantly, there is a merman! And I want you to meet him . ”

“About that, Chouze…”

Norfe finally put Chiharu down . As Chiharu wobbled on her feet, the maids escorted her away very roughly . You were carried by the handsome Prince Norfe who everyone adores! How dare you!

“I’m taking him to the royal capital . Those are my orders . ”

What! Chiharu stopped in her tracks .

“What are you doing? Hurry along now . ”

The maids said as they pulled her away . Chouze was complaining to Norfe .

“No! Besides, he’ll get all dried up . ”

“Merfolk are able to live outside of the water for up to a month . He’ll survive the journey . ”

That was new information! However, Chiharu was hurried away by the maids and was not able to hear the rest of their conversation .