Two days after the riot.
　I was with Yifa in the carriage returning to Rodnea.

Uh, Yifa...
What... what, Seika-kun?

　Yifa glanced at me, but wouldn't look at me.
　It's been like this since the day before yesterday.
　It's a good idea to make sure that you have the right information.

Uh, is there anything you want?
What? Why are you all of a sudden?

　Maybe it was too abrupt in the flow of the conversation, but Yifa looked at me in surprise.
　I said fearfully, "Well I thought you'd be angry.

Well I thought you'd be mad at me," he said.
Yeah I'm not angry about anything. Why?
No, you see, I just ruined my chance at a good marriage...
Seika-kun........I told you yesterday too. I said yesterday that I had no intention of joining the palace. I'm very happy that you said that. That prince is persistent.
You're not thinking about me?
I didn't do it!　Why are you being so skeptical!
Well, because...

　I say with hesitation.

"Yifa, since the day before yesterday, you haven't looked at me, you've been running away when I try to talk to you...
That's not...

　Yifa averts her eyes and says while blushing slightly.

''Because........Lizzy-san said that.......''
"?　What's wrong with that elf?
Hey, it's nothing!　And anyway, I'm not mad at you!
Yeah...?
'Yes!　And I think you're right about your highness, Seika!　You're making assumptions all by yourself and acting all nonsensical. I can't be the next king like that. I have to try harder.
No, you don't have to rag on me about anything.
'Se, Seika, you were ragging on me more than I was on you!　Why do you make it sound like I'm the one saying the worst things!
'Oh, was it?　Well, Your Highness is still young and can make a few mistakes.

　However, I'm sure it's clunky.
　That being said, it was no wonder.

　However, as far as the dragon problem is concerned, there is something to be done about it.
　When Her Majesty received my investigation report, she decided that this matter was indeed beyond Prince Cecilio's control, and she herself decided to intervene directly.
　I've heard that he's a remarkable man, and I'll be the one to make the report for the Imperial side. It shouldn't be difficult enough to get concessions from the Imperial Council.
　I hope the Prince will learn about politics from the Queen's work.

　However, it looks like Protoasta will be a little busier from now on.
　An imperial naturalist who happened to be visiting the royal capital of Asta expressed interest in this matter and said that he would like to take his students to see the dragons in the near future.
　The story would spread through the academy, and there would be other scholars who would raise their hands to visit. When someone of high stature visits, the sheikh can't afford to do nothing, and he needs to make all the necessary arrangements to enter the mountain. The prince will be busy with unfamiliar tasks.

　Well, he won't be able to find a queen for a while.
　For the time being, forget about the rear palace and do your official duties as best you can.

　And then I remembered.

Speaking of which, Yifa went to see the rear palace. What was it like?　I knew you smelled like perfume or something amazing?
It used to be an ordinary palace, but the succession problems have disappeared, so it's become an educational institution. It used to be an ordinary palace, but since the succession problem has disappeared, it has become an educational institution. When I went to see it, the girls were taking a lecture on statistics.
Oh, really? That's the first time I've heard of that happening.
They were very serious. But it wasn't so formal at all. The teacher would give us interesting questions and so on.
Interesting question?
Yes.

　Yifa explains.

'The teacher rolled the dice ten times and they all came up with six. He said, 'What is the probability of the next six roll coming up? Do you know, Seika?

　I chuckle.

"Do those dice have an even chance of showing up on the first six evenly?
'Well that's ... I don't know if I can answer that.
'That's like saying the answer. "That's like saying the answer. The probability of getting six eyes in a row ten times is about one in six hundred thousand.
'Eh, uh, yeah. That's correct. Hey, hey ... how did you calculate the odds of getting that tenth eye in a row?
Hmm?　That's the tenth power of a sixth, right?　The denominator, the tenth power of six, is obtained by multiplying the tenth power of two by the tenth power of three.
...and how did you do that?
It's normally 102,400 times 59,000...

　Then I realized.
　I have to memorize the powers of prime numbers to make the equation, but if I can't tell you why, I'm just a freak who has to memorize these mysterious numbers for nothing.
　He rushes out of the room and twists the logic.

"Well, let's see........if you multiply two by five, it's thirty-two. If you multiply them together, it's roughly one hundred thousand. Now we have the tenth power of two. Three is a bit of a pain in the ass but three to the square of three is nine. Multiply the nine by the square of three and you get nine. I also multiplied the eighty-one and it's probably about six hundred and fifty. That's eight to the power, so multiply one more time by nine and you get about 60,000. Now we have three to the tenth power. Finally, multiply one hundred and sixty thousand and you get six hundred thousand. It's an approximation, but it gives you a sense of the scale of the numbers.
Wow ... wow. Looks more accurate that way.
"?　Is there any other way to do it?
I'm going to...

　I'm impressed with Yifa's methods.

I'm impressed. It's a little aggressive, but it's a lot less work.
'But as expected, it was forced. The fact that the numbers were so close was just a matter of intuition.... Seika, you're amazing. You do the math on a moment's notice.
''Ah, haha but from what I've heard, you seem to be on a pretty high level.
I heard there are many people who leave the palace and become bureaucrats. Lise said she used to be a member of the team in the past, but her grades were at the bottom of the barrel. It's so difficult for a person who could become a royal magician to fail, so it must be difficult.
Hmm......... But I wonder how long ago it was.........

　I heard that guy was almost 100 years old. It could be eighty years ago.

　I remember the great power flow that Lise wore.

I'm going to be able to see spirits.

　That was the right of the elves, Lizze had told her own story.

'So the magic of the efa was the magic of the elves.
Yeah. I had no idea.
'Didn't your parents ever tell you about it?　About you having elven blood in your veins.
'Nope, not once. Maybe your mother knew, but...
Yeah. Maybe I'll ask my father, see what he says.

　No I guess we'll never know.
　The guy doesn't seem to have much interest in anything other than his own research.

　I was a little suspicious that he had some kind of agenda for me, but there was nothing in particular.
　I guess they really didn't have anyone else to ask, or at best, they wanted to ask me what I was up to recently, or something like that, to send me a letter, just to ask me for a request.

　Yifa said, "but I don't feel it at all.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't feel like an elf at all. I don't even know if I'll be able to live much longer since my mother died of an illness.
'Hmm, but ... elves are a good looking species, aren't they?　Maybe it's the blood that makes Yifa so beautiful. Your mother was beautiful, too, wasn't she?
Nah, nah, nah, rah, rah, rah, rah.
'Come to think of it, it's probably a good thing we have Prince Clunker up our sleeves. He could have done better...

　...No. Are you there?　I can't imagine a better partner than a prince.
　Although it was someone else, I still felt like it was a waste of time.

''Hmmm.......What kind of partner do you want to marry, Yifa?''
Yeah, uh...

　Yifa said with a depressed, hushed voice.

I don't care where I was born I just want someone who is smarter, stronger, gentler and a little bit more rusty than me.

　I chuckle at that.

You order a lot. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but it's important to compromise. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time finding the right one.

　Yifa glanced at me.
　Then he smiled and whispered to me, as if he couldn't help himself.

"No, of course not.