“Mmm~.... Koutarou, is it morning already?”
That was when Sanae stuck her face out of Koutarou's chest and rubbed her eyes. It seemed that she had woken up.
“Yeah. But breakfast won't be for a while longer, so you can sleep a little longer.”
“'Kay.”
Sanae pulled her hand back and closed her eyes again.
“Koutarou, it's a bit colder than normal, so pump yourself up and make it warm.”
“...Yeah, I'll give it a shot.”
“Mmm~, please do...”
After closing her eyes, Sanae quickly fell asleep. Koutarou smiled as he watched over Sanae who was using his body as a sleeping bag.
“I see... so my insides are colder than normal, huh...”
It looked like Koutarou was sadder than he thought now that Ruth and Theia were gone.
Meanwhile, Ruth and Theia were on the landing deck of the Blue Knight. They were preparing to welcome Ruth's fiancé. Since the Blue Knight was far larger, Ruth's fiancé's spaceship would land inside of it.
“So that's the young son of DKI.”
Theia narrowed her eyes as if she appraised Ruth's fiancé.
A young man who looked to be in his twenties appeared from the small spaceship. He was the famous young leader of the mega corporation, Dragon Knight Industries.
Dragon Knight Industries, or DKI for short, is a company that was founded by a person of Melcemheim lineage. Since the founder had the scale of an elder dragon as an heirloom, it was said the he was given the title of Dragon Knight.
At first it had started as a trading company, but as generations passed it began expanding into other directions. And now it didn't just sell products, but also produced their own. By doing that, the company earned massive profits and its growth exploded. As a result, it was now a famous and important company in Forthorthe that sold all kinds of things.
“Yes, your highness. This is Elexis Borannam-sama.”
“He looks frail... but that doesn't seem to be all there is to him.”
The man in charge of DKI was Elexis Borannam, and this person was Ruth's fiancé.
The year after finishing his studies, Elexis took over management of DKI after his father. At the time, DKI's growth had begun to die down, but after Elexis was appointed its growth shot up once more. In just a few years, DKI grew throughout all the solar systems under Forthorthe's control. Because of this, Elexis got famous, as a young and excellent CEO.
And Elexis wasn't just known as a businessman, but also as a philanthropist. Every year he personally donated a massive amount of money.
On top of that, Elexis lived by the philosophy that large profits are born from a healthy society. And he had DKI itself contribute massively to society. By doing that, he had a lot of quarrels with the shareholders, but thanks to Elexis's achievements and popularity, they had no choice but to reluctantly back down.
It was because of those reasons that Elexis was more than suited as the fiancé for the Pardomshiha family's beloved daughter. Another reason was that while he wasn't a noble, he had Melcemheim blood pumping in his veins. Elexis was a promising fiancé that many powerful nobles wished for.
“I am glad to make your acquaintance. My name is Elexis Borannam. It is a pleasure meeting you, your highness.”
Upon arriving, Elexis first greeted Theia. While he might be Ruth's fiancé, he started off by greeting the princess.
Up close, Elexis was a graceful man. He was of tall stature, and the clothes, shoes and accessories he was wearing, even his golden hair, were all very refined and beautiful, and gave him the image of a gentleman. His figure which gave off the impression of power and sharpness backed that image up. His slim face and long narrow eyes gave off the signs of a high intellect. One could definitely feel the atmosphere of a man standing above others.
“You have done well to come so far. I won't mind, so come closer. We won't even be able to talk from this distance.”
Theia glanced at Elexis's appearance and invited him closer. The arranged marriage wouldn't be able to proceed if he stayed several meters away.
This man's the opposite of Koutarou...
That was Theia's first impression. The only thing Elexis and Koutarou really had in common was their height.
“Your words are wasted on me.”
After bowing to Theia, Elexis looked behind him. There he saw five bodyguards in black.
“...You can stay there. Guarding me won't be necessary here.”
“Yes sir.”
“If you'd like, you can return to the ship.”
“That's a little too much, this is our duty after all.”
“Hahaha, you'll lose out if you're too serious you know.”
Elexis laughed at the bodyguards and approached Ruth and Theia with slow, confident steps. As he reached them, Theia opened her mouth.
“Elexis-sama. I am Ruthkania Nye Pardomshiha.”
“It is a pleasure meeting you, Ruthkania-sama.”
“Please, call me Ruth.”
“In that case, please call me El, Ruth-sama.”
Elexis smiled and he kneeled in front of Ruth. Since his family had given up their nobility, there was a large difference in their positions.
“Please, stand up, El-sama. You must be tired from your long journey.”
“Thank you very much, Ruth-sama.”
Elexis looked up at Ruth and smiled before slowly standing up. Because of his height, when he was this close he felt quite overpowering. After taking a step back, Ruth looked up at his face.
So this person, is my fiancé...
It was at this moment that Ruth noticed that she held no feelings for Elexis whatsoever. Though that was a given since this was the first time they met, but another reason was because she had been occupied thinking of another person these past few days.
“I have seen pictures of you before, but in person you look even more dignified and lovely. This was most definitely worth hurrying things along.”
Elexis, on the other hand, seemed quite satisfied with Ruth. He had taken an interest in Ruth since he first saw her picture, and rushed all this way to meet her. As such, there was a large difference in feelings between the two.
Oh no, he's gone through the trouble to come this far to meet me, I better not do anything rude...
This had been a sudden development for Ruth, and his visit had been so sudden, but he was a fiancé that satisfied Ruth's parents, and as such she couldn't be impolite. Regardless of if she would proceed with the marriage or turn him down, she had to face him upfront. So Ruth braced herself and faced Elexis again.
“Thank you very much, El-sama. You are welcome on board.”
“I felt that it might be a little too fast, but my experience at work has told me that if I leave a good deal be, it will often run away. Because of that, I have pushed away my work to come here.”
Ruth could tell from Elexis's appearance that he was very positive in regards to this marriage. Acting quickly on a good deal was very fitting of a manager.
He seems to have taken a liking to me, and he seems like a nice person, but...
He seemed to have a pushy side to him, but it wasn't for the worse. And his relationship with his bodyguards seemed to be quite friendly as well. Ruth could feel that he was a good person, just like his reputation said he was. However, there was something that bothered Ruth.
“Ruth, let’s not stand here and talk. Why don't you lead Elexis-dono to his room?”
Guest rooms existed onboard the Blue Knight. They would serve as a much better place to talk in peace and quiet than the landing deck.
“Your highness... that's true.”
Upon realizing Theia's intentions, Ruth quickly agreed and indicated the exit of the landing deck to Elexis.
“El-sama, come this way please. I will guide you to your room.”
“No, allow me to guide you.”
“Your highness!?”
“It's okay, don't worry.”
The moment Ruth tried to lead the way, Theia overtook her and took the lead. Ruth felt uncomfortable making her master lead the way.