Feeling my head buzzing, I decided to just ignore the sensation and continue walking forward.
Sylph was also walking beside me with a puzzled expression, as if she were still thinking about the previous matter.
Suddenly, she raised her head with a face as if she had just remembered something.
"Well, I’m not sure about this, but from time to time, the people around me would call me Princess."
My eyes twitched as I felt my intelligence drop by another level.
"Then doesn’t that just make you a Princess? I’d consider a position of that level befitting the need of bodyguards."
"That’s the thing, though. The fairy race runs on a council system. We don’t have royalties and monarchy like the other kingdoms."
"Hm... I guess that would be weird then."
"Do you have any idea why they would call you that?"
"...Not a clue." Sylph tilted her head as she pursed her lips.
"Well, if it’s so confusing, just stop thinking about it. I have this feeling it would only make my head hurt instead if you were to continue pondering on it," I said as I rubbed the temples of my head.
I didn’t dare to let her continue talking, lest she said something that caused my intelligence to drop again.
"Well, if you say so," Sylph spoke as she brought a finger to her lip.
I wasn’t sure what she was thinking about, or maybe she wasn’t thinking at all, but I definitely needed to remember that this fairy is the same one capable of making my brain go numb from stupidity.
As I tried to collect my intelligence once more, we eventually arrived back at the inn.
Walking through the doorway, I was greeted by another, a bit more angry, fairy.
"Sylph! Where did you go?!"
"How many times did I tell you not to go out by yourself?!"
"...Ahaha, N-Now, now, Iris, I-I can explain..." Sylph’s voice was shaky as the blue-haired Iris was flaring up.
In desperation, Sylph turned to me, hoping that maybe I could do something, but her shift in gaze also caused Iris to look over to me.
Iris looked like she was about to start arguing with me next, but before she could do that, I immediately put what I just learned into practice.
"My apologies, Miss Iris. It seems that Sylph ran out on her own. It was lucky that she ran into me, and I’ve now returned her to your care. Please do better to look after her so something doesn’t happen again."
Silence descended upon the entrance hall as both Iris and Sylph looked at me with stunned expressions, something I completely understood. This was probably the first time they saw me acting polite, after all.
"A-Ah, sure..." Iris eventually muttered after barely escaping her daze, but something about her words left me unsatisfied.
"Is that how you respond? Sure?"
"I’m starting to question just how much you truly care for Sylph. If you truly cared, you wouldn’t have let something happen in the first place, yet you did, and now you don’t even properly reflect on your mistakes?"
I cast my icy gaze down upon Iris as an irritated expression filled my face.
If this blue-haired fairy before me had only done her job properly, I wouldn’t have to worry about the biological weapon next to me capable of affecting my brain cells.
All she had to do was keep a better eye on Sylph, yet she couldn’t even do that, and now my intelligence has to suffer because of it. Taking those factors into play, isn’t it only right that I’ll be angry?
Iris had also shut her mouth at this point, a drop of sweat going down the side of her face. It seems she had also realized her mistake, but I didn’t care.
I stepped closer, putting my lips next to her ears to amplify my voice as I employed a bit of my King’s Aura to maximize the effectiveness.
"Do your job properly, and don’t let there be a next time."
Iris swallowed her saliva as she stood still.
Looking at how obedient she was being compared to her usual self, I knew I had hit the mark with my acting. In the future, it should be a lot easier to deal with this violent fairy.
Stepping back, I turned my head to Sylph next to me before saying, "I’ll be heading back to my room now. I need to sort through some stuff so you should head back with Iris."
Sylph had a nervous look on her face but hurriedly nodded her head.
Hearing her reply, I turned my head back to take one more glance at Iris, before walking up the stairs in the main hall.
Iris and Sylph were left behind after Lake walked up the stairs.
A heavy silence enveloped the two as Lake’s intimidating aura still remained pressing down on both of them.
Sylph had almost forgotten because of how close she had gotten to Lake recently, but he truly was a scary person when he wanted to be.
Even if the pressure wasn’t directed at her, she was still petrified in fear watching him berate Iris.
As for Iris herself, she had her head down as sweat dripped down her chin. She didn’t know when, but her back had become soaked in sweat.
Her body wasn’t responding like how she wanted, and her mind had been enveloped in fear.
She had faced Lake’s King Aura head-on before and came out mostly unscathed, but what she felt just now was completely different.
’That pressure... It was like I was facing one of the elders...’
Iris trembled deeply at her own thoughts.
Although the pressure was one thing, what left an even greater impact was the words Lake left behind.
’Do your job properly.’
It was a simple request, but to Iris, it felt like someone had punched her in the gut, making her feel like gasping for air as an acidic taste filled her mouth. She felt sick hearing those words, especially from Lake.
Asking someone to fulfill their duties is something that shouldn’t have to be asked in the first place, yet Lake still took it upon himself to ask her to do just that.
The mere implications of it made her head spin.
’I’m still not good enough...’
Iris clenched her fist at this thought.
Sylph’s nervous voice filled her ears, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Raising her head, she saw that Sylph was looking at her with both worry and nervousness.
Watching Sylph act like that made her feel even worse.
’Even now, you’re still worrying about me...’
A bitter smile appeared on Iris’ face before she took a deep breath to clear her head.
"Y-YES!" Sylph shouted nervously hearing Iris suddenly call her out.
As Iris felt her head start to clear up more, Lake’s words echoed in her head once more.
Don’t let there be a next time.
’Right, I just need to do better.’
She had come to terms with her current situation and realized what needed to be done. Although she hated to admit it, Lake’s words had indeed pointed out an obvious flaw in herself that she had been aware of for a long time now.
’Don’t think about it too much.’
’After all, why should I let that bastard’s words affect my mood so much?’
’For now, let’s deal with the troublemaker...’
Iris’ eyes gleamed as she smiled brightly at Sylph. However, to Sylph, that seemingly simple smile was exceedingly cold.
’Ah, I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.’
Sylph felt like crying, knowing the scolding that was coming her way.