Chapter 110
Princess Pria scoffed as she watched the nobles frantically scurrying in the distance.
The Banquet Hall was, from its very inception, a place where problems were resolved through the sacrifice of others. Yet, those who used it didn't consider the sacrifices of the Soldiers or Knights at all. It was only natural that they would end up like this, having crawled in, thinking only of their own 'gain'.
*How tiring.*
Greed itself wasn't a bad emotion. But facing the excessive greed made her feel as if all her energy was being drained. Just as she was thinking she'd rather escape this place and disappear far away, a Holy Knight, brilliantly continuing the battle ahead, caught her eye.
*...A Holy Knight? No, not a Holy Knight.*
Though he concealed himself with brilliant divine power, with eyes that could see 'essence', she realized the person before her wasn't a Holy Knight, but Damian of the Karsaril Family.
*Damian? Why is Damian here?*
They hadn't interacted much. But she'd seen him a few times in the past, and his recent, somewhat unusual actions made him memorable. Her interest piqued, she watched him intently.
*Divine power, huh? I wonder why Damian can use divine power.*
And considering he was wearing some kind of disguise or transformation, he seemed to be here incognito... She stared at him, unable to fathom the reason.
*So, what should I do?*
Pretending not to know wouldn't be bad. After all, it wasn't her business, and there was no need to expose someone trying to hide their identity. So she was about to pretend not to notice, but...
*Today, I don't feel like it.*
Thinking she wanted to do something *unconventional*, she beckoned to Damian.
*...?*
Honestly, she didn't expect him to come. People hiding their identities usually didn't think about the consequences, and often fled when such situations arose. Damian, however, looked at her with a face full of curiosity and began to approach quickly.
*Interesting.*
It was the first time someone, called by her, the Princess, approached with nothing but pure curiosity, devoid of any other emotion. Finding his behavior amusing, she watched him. Soon, she decided to play a trick.
"You. Your face has changed quite a bit since I saw you at the appointment ceremony."
Now, a hint of confusion appeared. Finding his reaction quite amusing, she tried hard to suppress a laugh. Thinking it was time to stop the teasing, she calmly told him the truth.
"No need to lie. I have no intention of revealing to others that you are Damian."
"..."
At her words, he looked at her with a puzzled expression. It had been a long time since someone had looked directly at her face like that, she thought, watching him. Just as she was about to part ways... a sudden interesting idea came to her, and she made him an offer.
The offer was for him to kidnap her.
There was no particular reason. She simply wanted to escape this stifling reality and wander somewhere else.
...Thinking she wanted to escape and breathe for just one minute from this place where only sticky greed intertwined—a constant push and pull, she made this offer.
"Sure, why not."
His permission came easier than she expected. Of course, it might have been an easier decision because of her earlier promise to help the Karsaril Family... Still, it must have been a difficult choice to make so readily, and she found it rather amusing, smiling.
"You're interesting."
Even though it was a conversation where their mutual greed clashed, it was, amusingly, the most comfortable conversation she'd had recently, and she decided to follow him.
*****
With Shiren's help, I created a fake Princess by overlaying Shiren's Illusion onto my Shadow, allowing it to impersonate the Princess. As I watched this, I thought I could use it in other ways too, and was imagining all sorts of terror tactics when...
The Princess, clad in armor and a helmet that a Soldier might wear, looked at me and spoke.
"Shall we go then?"
The armor and helmet must have been quite heavy, but she walked calmly, suggesting she regularly engaged in Physical Training. I was just thinking it was unexpected for someone so delicate-looking.
The Princess looked at me and said.
"So, where are we going?"
"...?"
*Didn't she ask to be kidnapped because there was somewhere she wanted to go?* I found it a bit puzzling, but decided to humor her for now and said...
"For now, let's go hunting."
"Huh?"
The Princess looked at me with a bewildered expression, as if she hadn't expected to go Monster hunting. But I couldn't miss the chance to reach Highest-grade Expert. I grabbed the Princess with my Shadow and immediately ran towards where the enemies were appearing.
"*Kyaak!*"
I easily ignored the cute scream from behind me and quickly began taking down the Monsters that met my criteria.
*I feel a little bad, but...*
Isn't this why one should be careful with contracts? Thinking this, I decided to continue like this until the situation was resolved, and moved swiftly.
*
Unfortunately, despite catching quite a few Monsters, I couldn't reach Highest-grade Expert. Indeed, if it were that easy to reach the rank just by catching these, I wouldn't have worried at all. I sighed, wondering where to make up the rest, when the Princess, looking dazed, spoke to me.
"...Hehe."
I chuckled, seeing the Princess completely broken. Actually, it would have been more rational to put her in the Shadow City and call her out when my work was done. The problem was that our relationship wasn't trustworthy enough to reveal the Shadow City to the Princess, so I had no choice.
*There are too many precious people in the Shadow City, after all.*
So, it seemed best to keep the city a secret, and I had to act this way.
*Anyway, it's amusing that she followed me all the way, despite everything.*
Thinking she was quite an interesting person, I shook Pria awake to bring her back to her senses.
"Ah..."
Princess Pria barely managed to collect herself and spoke to me.
"...Is it over?"
"Yes."
"That's a relief... truly."
Pria shivered all over, as if she never wanted to experience it again, and sighed, then sank into a nearby chair and said.
"...I have a lot of questions, but I won't ask for details. If you're even using an Artifact to transform, it seems you're involved in things that shouldn't be spoken of."
I nodded, grateful for her understanding. Then I asked her a question.
"So, Princess. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
Since she was a high-ranking individual who knew my identity, I used polite language to ask for her opinion. She pondered for a moment, looking out of the Banquet Hall, then, after deep thought, made me an offer.
"For now, I'd like to wander the streets. Just keep walking without a thought."
That wasn't difficult, so I told her I would and led her outside.
As soon as we emerged outside using a Shadow Passage, Pria smiled contentedly at the calm night streets and began looking around. It was just an ordinary street, nothing special. Just as I was wondering why she liked it so much, feeling puzzled, she looked at me and spoke in a somewhat excited voice.
"The weather's nice, and there aren't many people, so I really like it."
Though there seemed to be a few dark clouds for it to be called “nice weather”, since she herself liked it, there was no big problem. I decided to stay like this until the Princess was satisfied, and as I watched with folded arms, Pria pointed to one side and spoke.
"Then, let's go this way now."
It seemed she was trying to drag me that way because of the delicious smell wafting from there. That wasn't hard to agree to, so I agreed and we moved forward. Pria took a deep breath and spoke to me.
"In the Imperial Family, with just one word, everything I've built can crumble, or innocent people can be framed and die because of my words. It's impossible to freely do what I want like this."
"Is that so."
"Well, it's not like I'm saying I'm pitiful, sad, or feel like I'm going to die from hardship. Most of my worries would seem like privileged worries to others, and they truly are privileged worries."
"..."
"I shouldn't really be saying things like this... but it just comes out. Is it because it's been so long since I've been out on the streets?"
Unable to figure out how to respond, I simply kept my mouth shut. She chuckled and began to walk forward. Watching her from behind, I decided it was probably time to head back, so I'd buy her some food nearby and then send her off.
"Have one of these."
"...Huh? You're buying? You must have a lot of money, then? You're the first person to offer to buy food for a Princess."
She looked at me, smiling playfully as if something was very amusing. Soon, she scurried over to me and said:
"So, what's good? Hurry and recommend something. I've never eaten anything like this before, so I wouldn't know."
To be honest, I wasn't very knowledgeable either. I picked a skewer that looked reasonably tasty and offered it to her. Pria took it, smiling brightly.
"Ahaha, this is fun. It smells so gamey!"
Perhaps because it wasn't a modern setting, but a medieval one, it seemed that eating commoner food didn't lead to exclamations like, “Oh, this tastes!”
*It's only natural, I suppose. They can barely use seasonings, and distribution is quite troublesome here.*
With all these problems combined, the taste was bound to be inferior to what she ate in the Imperial Family. I shrugged and looked at Pria. Pria finished her skewer and said.
"But I think it's good. It feels honest and fun, somehow."
I had no idea how one could feel 'honesty' from food. But if Pria was satisfied, that was fine, I thought. Just then, rain suddenly began to fall from above. Pria looked at the raindrops falling from above and calmly spoke to me.
"Shall we go to an Inn?"