Chapter 62

"...Phew."

The Imperial Princess's cheeks were slightly flushed.

For some reason, the beautiful platinum-blonde was leaning on my shoulder, with a slightly embarrassed expression.

She seemed both reluctant and not unwilling.

Wait.

Why am I suddenly in this situation?

Belatedly realizing my situation, I felt my face heating up and tried to move away, but the Imperial Princess grabbed my arm.

"No, don't."

The Imperial Princess said with a face that looked like it might burst from redness at any moment.

"If, if you move away now... it'll be different from what we just talked about, right?"

***

Right, I clearly remember arriving at the entrance of the Imperial Princess's room.

Let me carefully recollect my memories.

I was about to grab the doorknob to open the door, but I was a bit surprised to see the door start opening as if it had confirmed my presence.

Thinking it was a signal to enter, I carefully walked in.

As soon as I entered, not seeing her figure, I naturally turned my head towards the furnace, remembering my previous experience.

"...Hehe, you found me right away this time?"

I could see the Imperial Princess still precariously covering her body with flames.

Unlike last time, she didn't come out immediately, but seemed to be hesitating about something.

Plop.

She casually pulled out her forearm as if it were a robot part and placed it in the furnace.

It seems she did that because she was burning the furnace with a part of her own body.

That wasn't what surprised me.

After all, cruel scenes are censored thanks to the mod.

"...!"

What surprised me was the Imperial Princess trying to walk out naked again.

Startled by the Imperial Princess's sudden action, I quickly turned around, and I heard footsteps indicating she had come out.

I heard the sound of fabric rustling a few times, suggesting she was getting dressed.

Only after the sounds had completely stopped did I carefully turn around, and I could see the Imperial Princess wearing a white dress.

"You would have seen bones anyway, so why did you bother turning around?"

"...In any case, everything recovers when you put on clothes, so it was to avoid impudently touching Your Highness's dignity."

"Hmm, thank you for your consideration."

...I made up a plausible excuse, thinking that if I said it was because the Super Chicken Mod censored it to show her original form, I might be executed for the crime of peeping at the Imperial Princess's body.

As if her body had fully recovered, she checked herself several times, nodded, and walked towards me.

"It's still quite an unsightly appearance, isn't it? Unlike our last meeting, please understand that I had to remove part of my body due to the weak flames this time."

"Of course. After all, we maintain our lives thanks to Your Highness's sacrifice."

"Fufu, thank you for your words."

Seeing the Imperial Princess cover her mouth with her one remaining hand and smile sweetly, I had many thoughts.

Anyway, after sitting down at the table with the Imperial Princess again, we exchanged brief greetings.

The Imperial Princess knew very well how I had been living, having received reports from the Vice Captain.

I also knew that her daily life consisted of burning here and quietly observing the political situation, so our conversation didn't drag on too long.

"So, you've heard from the Vice Captain why I called you this time, right?"

"Yes, you said you wanted to bestow a reward on me..."

At my words, the Imperial Princess nodded a bit exaggeratedly.

"Tanton, I heard that you didn't accept any of the rewards or positions that the Vice Captain and I had carefully decided on. Especially refusing the honorable position of Mysterious Observer, if other knights had heard, they would have been shocked to the point their eyes might pop out, you know?"

"...I apologize."

"No, that's not why I called you here."

The Imperial Princess rested her chin on the table, narrowing the distance between us a bit.

"So I thought you might refuse if I kept talking through the Vice Captain, so I called you directly like this. Were you planning to refuse even the reward I'm giving you?"

"...No, Your Highness."

Hearing my words, the Imperial Princess smiled in a way that seemed to say, 'Of course you shouldn't.'

...I thought that an 'imperial order' might be another way of saying an unblockable technique.

Looking lost in thought, the Imperial Princess moved away from the table and stroked her chin with her finger, lowering her gaze.

I thought she was considering what reward to give me, but.

"...I've thought of quite a few things, so let me think about which one would be better to give you."

...I'm not someone who creates variables, why did she think of so many possibilities?

Knowing that there's no way I could refuse what the Imperial Princess gives.

After being lost in thought for a while, the Imperial Princess nodded as if she had made a decision and asked bluntly.

"Does Tanton prefer pretty women after all?"

...?

What kind of question is this all of a sudden?

"What do you mean..."

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, that's right. I am a man after all..."

Faced with her suddenly stern tone, I could only answer while straightening my posture.

Hearing that, the Imperial Princess's eyes became firm as if she had decided something, and she held out something to me.

"For now, would you like a cup of tea? I've decided what reward to give you. You can't refuse this time, okay?"

"Ah, yes."

Of course, without any suspicion, I accepted the cup the Imperial Princess offered, and after drinking it, my consciousness seemed to become hazy somewhere.

...And that's how we ended up in the current situation.

I met the Imperial Princess's wavering gaze.

Why is she doing this while being so embarrassed!?

"Y-Your Highness?!"

I called out to the Imperial Princess in a loud voice out of surprise, but she only coughed awkwardly.

"I-I'm not doing this because I want to... It's just that I'm so grateful to Tanton, but you said you wouldn't accept anything... If I don't do this, I feel like Tanton will refuse again..."

Did she put something in the tea?

Is that why my memory evaporated?

Even so, this is too forced!

"Or..."

Saying that, the Imperial Princess looked up at me with slightly moist eyes.

"Am I... not up to Tanton's standards?"

"Th-that's not the issue, how could I dare to touch Your Highness's body..."

To begin with, the Imperial Princess's appearance was at an unbelievable level, so there was no reason to think that way, but more than that, I was just afraid of causing problems by carelessly touching the Imperial Princess.

As I spoke in confusion, the Imperial Princess shook her head and said.

"...I really have nothing I can do for Tanton. So if even this could help Tanton's heart recover a little..."

The Imperial Princess said that and just rested her head on my shoulder again, hugging her arms.

...I thought I could hear the murmurings of a certain Grass Outer God and Dog Outer God from somewhere, but I felt it would be better for my mental health not to listen.

"...Shall we stay like this for just 1 minute?"

"...Y-yes."

Since I had no way to refuse, I had no choice but to obediently follow the Imperial Princess's words.

And so the silence continued for a while.

I could hear the sound of my heart beating, and I was worried that the Imperial Princess might hear it.

As I closed my eyes tightly, focusing on calming my heart.

"...It might seem like I'm trying to compensate with rewards, but I really am grateful to Tanton."

The Imperial Princess spoke first.

"Since Tanton joined the Knight Order, most of Rondan's troublesome issues have decreased. After even the Knight Commander went missing, I really didn't know what to do. But with the Hunter working hard inside the castle walls and Tanton outside, it's really reassuring."

As I listened quietly to her words that sounded like a lament, I realized that a lot had indeed happened.

Releasing the Observer, now Bell, from the underground prison, dealing with Candle who was entering Rondan, resolving the Gardener issue, rescuing the Knight Commander, and even sending the Chef.

On top of that, dealing with the Dragon Slayer, White Mask's long-standing trauma, and stopping the heretics.

...Thinking that all this happened in such a short time, I felt like I had done quite a lot.

If I hadn't been there, it means the Hunter would have done all this alone.

No wonder he was called the 'Outer God Killer'.

"...Many more things will happen in the future. I'm always in a position to ask for help, so I'm sorry, but I'll say it anyway. Please continue to hone your chivalry for Rondan, and for me."

After saying that, the Imperial Princess's expression became more relaxed, and she closed her eyes.

Right.

There was still a lot to do.

About the Torturer, and about the Giant of the Snowy Mountains.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that what I've done so far was just the beginning.

Let's become stronger.

And bring peace to Rondan as soon as possible.

Then I too can rest comfortably.

"I will definitely do so and free Your Highness from your worries as well."

"Worries..."

The Imperial Princess seemed to be lost in thought for a moment at the keyword "worries," then slightly moved her head.

"...That would be nice."

Her response seemed somewhat ambiguous in parts, making me wonder if she was thinking about something else.

Even if she was hiding something from me, there was no way for me to find out.

And she's the Imperial Princess of Rondan after all.

It must be worries that benefit the domain.

....

But it seems like quite a lot of time has passed.

"Your Highness, I think it's been more than a minute."

"..."

"Your Highness?"

...For some reason, the Imperial Princess wasn't saying anything.

Because of that, I was only able to leave the Imperial Princess's room after what felt like about 30 minutes.

***

As soon as I left the furnace, I headed outside of Rondan.

The reason I came here was to summon the Chef, which I had been putting off for a while.

Right now, I might be able to manage somehow with my current physical abilities, but considering that this world is based on a game world, increasingly stronger enemies will continue to appear in the future.

If so, I need to prepare accordingly.

Of course, there's a way for me to train personally, but I felt that wouldn't be enough to keep up with the pace of the story.

So the Chef's food buffs were essential.

...Of course, there's also the fear of future problems regarding the Dragon Slayer.

Anyway, summoning a Greater Outer God inside Rondan could cause big trouble, so I ended up coming out to the completely uninhabited 'Gardener's Garden'.

Phew.

Thinking about the face I was about to see after a long time made me feel both excited and nervous.

As soon as I made up my mind, I took out the Party Flute and blew it.

Piririi.

Along with the trumpet-like sound coming from the Party Flute, I felt like the space in my head was expanding somewhere.

I thought I would hear a voice first, but.

Some form began to appear before my eyes.

A fluttering apron.

Black socks that came up to the knees.

The shape of a curvy body.

Above all, an atmosphere that naturally gives a warm feeling just by looking at it.

The moment I clearly recognized what this was while seeing all of these.

Whoosh.

It tightly embraced me.

"...!"

After a moment of surprise, the being that had hugged me big still wrapped its arms around me and raised its face to meet mine.

"...It's been a while."

"...Yes, it's been a while."

The Chef was looking at me with a smile that seemed somewhat nostalgic.