It wasn't just Emilia who didn't understand Harry's decision to keep getting bullied while refusing their help. Even Koko, who would usually take most things at face value, felt confused.
"Uuh, why did he run?"
Emilia rolled her eyes. "Because he's stupid."
The freckled girl tugged at her sleeve with some hesitation. Did this even count as saving someone or not? More importantly…
"Do I still get my reward?"
Emilia smiled. "Of course."
But as Koko's face got closer to her own, it was blocked by a palm. Her first thought was that this meddlesome girl Dixy's hand sure was much softer than she would have thought.
Even though the bespectacled girl was confident that it must be Dixy ruining her fun again, she found that the 'knight' was still contemplating life by a wall. So it was…
"Emiliaaaa! Why did you block me?"
Emilia actually felt a little embarrassed, feeling that she should have clarified it a little more while offering the 'reward'. Explaining it later just felt awkward.
"Un, I said I'll give you kiss as a reward. I didn't say it will be on the lips, right?"
"Ohhhh, you meanie…! That's cheating! I want a kiss on the lips! Real kiss! Real kiss!"
Even if she was embarrassed, she still felt that the rewards should always be proportionate to the effort someone put in. This time's merit from Koko was a little small, especially since she failed to recruit a minion in the end.
"Nu-huh. No can do. It's my first kiss. Even if I have to give it out as a reward, it has to be for something much bigger."
Koko didn't know what to do at all, so she could only cry and beg. "Aw… pleaaaaaaseee, Emilia! You don't know, my mama said I'm dumb as a rock, I'll definitely marry a pig in the future! If you kiss me, I can brag about kissing the prettiest girl in our school!"
Unfortunately for Koko, Dixy had already recovered, and even managed to hear a few snippets of their 'argument'.
"Hey! What's this kissing thing I've been hearing about!"
And Koko demonstrated that her mom called her dumb as a rock for a reason. "I want to kiss Emilia on the lips, but she won't let me!"
With those words, it would be a wonder if Dixy didn't immediately explode.
"You pervert! I knew I should have kicked your ass earlier!"
"Kyak! Nooo! You're misunderstanding! No please, not my hair!"
----------
In the end, Koko barely managed to avoid a colossal beating at Dixy's hands thanks to Emilia's help.
Unfortunately, they both received a round of scolding from the dark haired girl instead.
"First of all, you two are so reckless! We were so close to all getting beat up today, and even if those boys got punished later, our faces would still be swollen, okay?"
Emilia felt wronged. In what world does a princess get scolded by her own knight? "You worry too much, Dixy. You should trust me more."
A vein ticked on Dixy's forehead as she tried to keep her temper in check. If it was anyone else, she would have definitely sent a smack flying by now!
"I trust you, alright! I trust you to get my ass beat!! Listen, both of you are following me to my home today, and then we're going straight to the dojo with my mom. I'm not taking any 'NO's!"
"Dojo?"
"Eh?"
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And so, both Koko and Emilia ended up following Dixy to her home in a luxury car. Emilia felt that the horseless iron carriage was definitely a lot more comfortable than the iron horse thing that her sister used.
'This world sure has a lot of strange magical things, eh.'
"Cars and bikes are very basic. You'll later see things like cameras, which can take an image of whatever you see and store it to show for later. And even more magical things. And this is not even a higher plane. You better learn fast!"
Cynthia's words made Emilia's eyes shine with curiosity. Her freshly villainized mind thinking of the various uses of this 'camera' thing at light speed. Her friends didn't let her think about it for too long, however, and she was interrupted by Dixy's worried voice.
"E-Emilia… was that really your sister? You're not lying, right?"
How could Dixy not feel disturbed when she saw a delinquent looking biker girl waiting outside the school gates for Emilia? Isn't that the typical butch lesbian, wouldn't someone like that just end up destroying her little princess in bed within a day or two of knowing them?
Emilia rolled her eyes. "I remember someone said just a few minutes ago that they trust me?"
"I said I trust you to get my ass kicked! Ugh."
Thinking back to the obviously hostile look that the biker girl had given herself while leaving, Dixy still felt that something wasn't right. Also, would the heiress to the 'White Deer' pick her little sister up from school on a motorcycle? No way.
"Listen, Emilia. I know you like to joke about kissing and stuff, and you don't really know how the world works. But you can't get involved with girls like that, okay?"
Emilia felt exasperated now. How come this girl trusted her blindly when she lied, but didn't believe her at all when she's telling the truth?
"Uh, Dixy… that's seriously my sister, okay. Her name is Samantha White. If you knew of me, you should know of her."
Even though Dixy still didn't believe it, but she felt that maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere. In any case, she shouldn't accuse her princess of lying, or she might feel hurt. She might as well say what she wanted in another way.
"Oh… then sorry, I guess. But you should definitely tone it down with this kissing thing! Don't go kissing people left and right!"
Emilia gave her a confused look. "But I don't?"
Dixy rolled her eyes. Who promised to reward their knight with a kiss on the first day they met? If she was a boy, wouldn't her heart go all doki doki from the casual flirting? Also, look at that poor monkey brain Koko, she was already a goner!
"Oh really? Tell me then, how many boys and girls have you kissed so far?"
There was a glimmer of self mockery in Emilia's eyes, but it was too subtle for others to notice.
"I've never kissed anyone before. I suppose my first kiss on the cheek was for Crystal yesterday, you saw it, right?"
Dixy was dumbfounded. She thought Emilia was just used to being affectionate because of whatever way her family raised her, but turns out this girl just didn't understand the importance of kissing at all!
'T-This monster princess… don't tell me flirting is just like breathing to her, she does it naturally?!'
But still, if her first real kiss was with an idiot like Koko then wouldn't she regret it to death later, once she understands what it means? How does she, as a good knight, nail this thought in her princess's mind before it is too late?
Dixy didn't get the time to come up with a solution, because Koko just seemed to have remembered something important and jumped up from her seat in shock. Her head made a loud thud on the roof of the car, and Dixy worried if it might leave a dent… in the car's roof. As for Koko's head? That thing was quite hard, after all.
"My reward! I didn't get it! Kiss! I want a kiss!"
Dixy rolled her eyes. "Ugh, this again. I'll definitely beat you up if you harass her anymore, alright?"
Koko sat back down with tears in her eyes. This mean girl didn't even let her sit next to the princess, making her sit on her other side. "Uuuh…"
Emilia chuckled, feeling a little less depressed after looking at their antics. "Well, a promise is a promise. Although my first kiss on the lips can't be for such a reward, I'll let you take a photo for a kiss on the cheek so you can brag to your mama. How about it?"
"YES! I want it!"
"Emilia!"
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As Dixy held the camera while Emilia took off Koko's glasses and her lips lightly pressed against Koko's blushing freckled cheeks, the first thought that came to her mind was… 'Is this how it feels to be cuckolded?'
And the second thought was… 'Oh crap, how do I explain this?'
Because her mother had chosen such a great moment to come back home.
'Think Dixy, think. You're holding a camera while photographing the girl you bragged to your mom about befriending just yesterday.. And she is kissing someone else. How do I make it not look like I have strange hobbies?'