Dance to Mia’s Beat!
Not much else happened after that, aside from the nightly pyjama parties held in Rafina’s carriage, which she was extrely excited about. The group finally arrived near the forest in which the Fire clan’s secret village was located.
The lush, green foliage of the trees cast a deep green shade, almost bordering on black.
The group halted right in front of the forest, and Aima quickly got off the carriage, hurrying towards the trees. “This way,” she called out. “It’s difficult to see, but there is a path here…”
Mia, accompanied by her guards, followed behind. Considering her status, there was no need for Mia to go along. However, she couldn’t stop herself. The forest seed to be calling out to her. No, to be precise, it was the hidden mushrooms within the forest that were calling out to her!
‘When an expert encounters a new forest, they naturally want to inspect the kinds of mushrooms growing there. It’s only natural for the Mushroom Master to get excited. Indeed, Indeed.’ Mia thought to herself and nodded pompously.
“I wonder if everyone is hiding in the forest to avoid being found by the people of the Equestrian Kingdom?”
Mia asked and Aima nodded in response.
“Perhaps that was the case at first. However, as far as I know, they are not that well-hidden. After all, there are twelve clans in the Equestrian Kingdom. Sotis they sneak off onto the grasslands to let their horses graze or introduce themselves as a mber of so other clan and trade with other countries.”
“I see. Well, that makes sense.” Mia agreed and nodded in understanding.
‘For those living in the present, the ancient conflicts between their ancestors are not a significant matter. So, even if we run into mbers of the Fire clan, I don’t think it would result in any major conflict.’
As proof of Aima’s words, the path she guided them to was cleverly concealed, yet it boasted a sufficient width for even a horse-drawn carriage to pass through. This suggested a high frequency of travellers, indicating that the Fire clan had not completely secluded themselves deep in the forest.
With Aima’s guidance, the carriage resud its journey, navigating down the dark, winding road for about half an hour. Suddenly, the road opened up, revealing the Fire clan village.
It was a simple village. Huts made out of wood were lined one by one and the horses inside the enclosure could be seen.
‘Hmm. It looks similar to the Lulu tribe village. The big difference is, of course, the horses.’
The horses observed them, perhaps curious about the unfamiliar carriage. So stared with clear eyes, others twitched their ears warily, and a few even twitched their noses as if about to sneeze.
‘Apparently Kuolan’s kin are also here.’
“That’s strange. There’s no sign of anyone.”
The village was silent. The only sound was that of the horses breathing, there was no sound of human activity at all.
“Hey! Everyone, I’ve returned. Where are you all?”
Aima raised her voice with a worried expression.
Soon after, a voice responded. “Aima-sama? Are you okay?”
A young woman rushed over from behind a building, followed by a crowd of people who began erging one after another.
“Ah! Everyone was so worried.”
Aima returned everyone’s smiles. Mia was swept by admiration for Aima who was quickly surrounded before her eyes.
“Hmm… Aima-san seems to be quite popular.”
“Aima-sama, are you okay?”
“We were worried that so bad guy might have scamd you. Did anything get stolen?”
“As I said before, not everyone who gives you delicious food is a good person. Aima-sama has a tendency to be way too simple and trusting.”
It was a conversation that showed that Aima was cherished very much.
Most of the people who had gathered around Aima were young won, and only a few elderly people and children could be seen.
“That’s strange. Compared to the overall population there seem to be very few young n.”
Mia nodded in agreent to the mutterings of Ludwig who was suspicious.
“Hmm… that’s right. Perhaps the bandit party that Aima-san led is out?”
“I see, that could be the case.”
Ludwig nodded, but crossed his arms deep in thought.
anwhile, Aima rushed over to an extrely old woman who had appeared late. Then, she began to tell in minute detail everything that had happened so far.
“What? The mbers of the Forest clan?”
“No way…”
“To think that we would have to resort to taking their help now…”
Everyone was in an uproar. On the other hand, Malong’s group, the mbers of the Forest clan also showed wariness. The cause was the warrior wolf that was with Aima.
“That’s the wolf of the Fire Clan!”
The lone wolf lay stretched out as if it was protecting the Fire clan mbers.
Earlier, as Aima entered the village, the wolf had stealthily appeared from the bushes .
Although Malong knew the wolf was tagging along, seeing its full form right in front of his eyes overwheld even soone like him.
And so, a staring contest broke out between the two clans, with Mia caught in between as tension filled the atmosphere.
‘Hmm. I’m hungry. It’s almost dinner ti.’
One person was rubbing her stomach.
Basically, Mia’s position was that of a collaborator. The food supplies were provided by the Forest clan and they were the ones who had extended a helping hand. Therefore, Mia couldn’t intervene in the conversation between the Fire clan and the Equestrian clan. If both sides didn’t begin a discussion, there was nothing that she could do.
“Mia-sama, how about returning to the carriage and getting so rest. This conversation will be long and it will also take so ti to unload the goods. So you should go ahead and have your dinner.”
Mia calmly shook her head at the concern of the Imperial Guards.
“No, I cannot do that.”
‘Because that would be arrogant. Even though there are hungry people here, if we were the only ones who ate first, that would breed resentnt.’
Certainly in the present scenario the most powerful force was the Imperial Guard. If it was just a matter of pure power, then dominating over everything would be possible. A certain degree of selfishness might have also been permitted.
However,
‘It is forbidden to have an arrogant attitude here. Arrogance that cos from power could easily be overturned by power itself.’
That’s what Mia thought. If the main forces of the Fire clan returned, there was a significant risk of altering the power dynamic. While it was hard to imagine anyone being stronger than Dion Alaia, the possibility was not zero. And if the power balance did indeed shift, then there was a high risk that those who had displayed arrogance would be punished. Thus Mia was thinking several steps ahead.
Be humble and modest in preparation of the inevitable shift in power balance. Even after the return of the main forces of the Fire clan, if they still remained superior in power, that would be fine too.
‘You reap what you sow. In that case, there’s no way you could just ignore the hungry people, and treat yourself alone to a feast! Besides, even if you did that, the food would probably not taste that good.’
‘In this situation, it is better to refrain from eating first. Furthermore, it is crucial to maintain the appearance of working diligently! The food supplies that were brought belong to the Forest clan. Since I am going to be eating that, I cannot afford to be slacking off. It is necessary to earn the right to eat by working properly.’
That was the reason Mia decided to speak up.
“Hmm. Since the Fire clan mbers and Malong-san’s group have things to discuss, how about we go ahead and move out the supplies? Of course, I will also help out.”
“No, Your Highness, please return to the carriage and rest. Rafina-sama is here as well.” The Imperial Guard said in panic.
“No. I cannot permit myself to do nothing. I would definitely like to work for the sake of the hungry people.”
‘When people are hungry they are generally narrow-minded. It would be unbearable if they complained later.’
‘Be modest, be humble. It’s important to look like you’re working!’
With determination, Mia laid her hands on the luggage. She put her hand on it and found it a little heavy, so she switched to another bag.
Now that Mia had started moving, suddenly everything else followed suit. It was unthinkable for them not to work while their master was labouring, so the Imperial Guards joined in. Soon after, Rafina, Bel, Citrina and Abel also followed Mia’s lead. With that, even the mbers of the Fire clan and the Equestrian clan could not stay idle. Seeing the adults start working, even the children began to lend a hand. To begin with, it was a matter of their own clan. It was unthinkable that they would not work while the princess of another country was toiling.
Swallowing their discomfort, the mbers of the two separate clans began to move, and a spirit of collaboration was born, albeit awkwardly. Together, with a shared goal in mind, they started to work and sweat. And that goal was…
“Now, everyone, a delicious al awaits us. Let’s do our best!”
Princess Mia took the lead and made her intentions clear.
“For the sake of sharing a al together. Let’s feast at the banquet!”
It was a very, very enjoyable ti… Yes, it was the preparation before the festival.
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