「Well then, Koren? Are you readyssu?」
「Um, onee-sama? What about Grandpa?」
「Gramps is… sleeping by the door, I thinkssu.」
When Renge tugged her chin and pointed, I looked and saw Kuduro-san lying on the floor.
That way of collapsing looked familiar… ah! It was a yakuza-style collapse!
…He’s still alive, right?
「I never thought onee-sama would hurry so much as to use her ‘power’…」
「Well… it’s inside the castle. Against Grandpa it would take timessu. And besides, I remembered everything, so I triggered it to knock Grandpa out quickly and punish Koren. Now, punishment timessu…」
「A punishment from onee-sama… I, I have no choice then… I will accept it humbly, for I am at fault! …haa, haa」
「So, which would you likessu? Training with a hundred male soldiers. A sauna with male soldiers. Amatsukuni-style sumo with male soldiers. Ah, all of them might be fine toossu」
「…Huh?」
For a moment Koren-sama had looked ecstatic at the word “punishment”, but when she realized it was serious she widened her eyes and turned pale.
「…Nooooooooo!!! I won’t accept it!!!!!!」
She rejected it with her whole heart.
The drawn-out “Noooo” showed how serious she was, and she pressed her hands to her head, trembling as she crouched down.
Just imagining it looked bad enough. Well, she does hate men, so it was expected.
「We’ll carry it out tomorrow, alright?」
…Well, it’s her own fault, but Renge delivered the sentence in a very matter-of-fact way.
Cruel, but inevitable.
「…Ah, ah! I, I just remembered something I must do! Grandpa, wake up! Get up, get up!」
「harahoro…」
「Even if you run, it’ll still happen tomorrowssu. Honestly…」
Putting Kuduro-san’s collar between her fingers, Koren-sama marched off briskly down the dark corridor.
Left behind were just Renge and me, alone.
「Master, sorry I was assigned to guard and then left you like thisssu」
「It’s fine, really… but…」
More than that, I couldn’t stop staring at that mark. My gaze was fixed on the red, glowing pattern.
「Ah, I’ll explain it properly. But first… let’s fix the doorssu」
「Ah, ah. I’ll help…」
Renge went to pick up the door she had blown away, while I took out some metal pieces to repair the fittings.
She held the frame in place as I worked on assembling it, and during that time, neither of us said a word.
※
「Really, a guard leaving their post isn’t very helpful… Sorry about thatssu」
「Well, if it was for the toilet, it can’t be helped…」
Lately, I’ve had times when I couldn’t hold it in either… If it’s a natural need, there’s no helping it.
Still, from now on, when things like this might happen, I’ll make sure to ask for a shared room.
「It helps when you say that… haaah…」
「Don’t worry about it. We’re safe, that’s what matters. I’ll keep quiet about it…」
I mean, who would expect that the Queen would still be awake this late at night, waiting, when there’s no way to even know whether Renge would go to the toilet or not.
Renge looked relieved, bowed her head slightly, and sat down on the bed beside me.
The red pattern still remained on her skin, and when she noticed my gaze, she rubbed her arm shyly.
「Ahaha… It’s hard not to stare, rightssu…」
「Well, yeah」
「Mmm, where should I start explaining…」
Renge sounded like her usual self… but not completely.
She was clearly still self-conscious about the mark.
「Um, I told master before that I became a Shrine Maiden Princess after performing a ritual, right?」
「Yeah, you did」
If I remember right, it was a dangerous ritual that could have killed her, and she went through it as a child.
「This is basically the result, or the side effect, of that ritual. During childhood, a specially processed magic stone is embedded into the body. As the person grows, it fuses and settles inside as a magic engraving. When that happens, you can refine denser magic power within yourself, and whenever you use that power, the engraving glows red like thisssu」
「Denser magic power, huh… Is that safe?」
「Yes. Well, the reason they say you die if the ritual fails is because the engraving doesn’t settle properly when it’s incompatible with your body, causing a magical outburst that kills you. Usually, they find out around the age of eight whether it’s safe or not, so I’m long past that pointssu」
To die at eight… No wonder such an inhumane ritual was banned across the continent.
Still…
「…So, what actually changes when you can refine denser magic power?」
It’s true that magic power can vary in density, but generally, people talk about it in terms of amount rather than thickness.
Still, what could possibly justify risking the life of a child, especially one of royal blood?
What were they trying to achieve by going that far?
「Hmm… To put it simply… it makes you strongerssu」
「Stronger?」
「Yeah. When I release my power, the strength and scale of my magic increase ridiculously. It used to only work for magic, but now that I’m a frontliner, I use it to enhance my physical abilities too」
Renge turned toward the window, as if to say ‘watch this’, and raised her palm.
「『Crystal Blitz』」
That was the same spell Koren-sama had tried to cast on me.
But while hers, even if incomplete, had only been about the size of a water bottle, this one… was massive. It looked like it could fill the entire room, even rivaling the castle’s supporting pillars.
Renge then closed her fingers lightly, and the crystal shattered, scattering into glittering fragments before fading away.
「Something like that」
「That’s amazing… but is that all it does?」
It was impressive, no doubt.
But still, I couldn’t see why anyone would risk a child’s life, especially their own, to gain such power.
「I get why you’d think that, master. Roukaku wasn’t always a single countryssu. It used to be a loose collection of tribes, each ruling their own villages. But when the Kingdom and the Empire started expanding and became neighboring powers, the first ruler realized Roukaku would eventually be invaded by one of them. So he tried to unite the tribes into one nationssu」
Renge continued, as if answering the question forming in my mind.
「But most of our leaders were strong-willed, and with the earth dragon problem, it wasn’t easy to bring everyone together. That’s when the first ruler’s beloved daughter took on the long-abandoned Shrine Maiden Princess ritual and declared she would protect all the villages herself. That was when the foundation of our country was finally establishedssu」
「…And that tradition continues even now?」
「That’s right. The Sand Wolf Tribe treasures their companions and family above all elsessu. Since then, the kings have handled politics, while the princesses, our shrine maiden princesses, took on the duty of protection. To the royal family, every citizen is both a comrade and family, so none of the past shrine maidens ever opposed the ritual. I didn’t oppose it eitherssu」
Honor, huh… When countries and races differ, so do their cultures.
If the worlds themselves are different, then naturally their values would be too.
This is a world with monsters, with skills and levels, and where wars are a normal part of life. I can’t help but feel that my own sense of common sense doesn’t quite fit here.
There must be races in this world that value pride more than life itself, even if I can’t fully understand it.
「Hmm? But wait, Renge, you were kidnapped, weren’t you? By the same people you were supposed to protect as your comrades and family」
「Yeah… well, when a country forms, people from other nations move in too. I was taken by people who wanted to study the Shrine Maiden Princess ritualssu」
「…So they were immigrants」
「Pretty much. But that’s all in the past now. Most people living in Roukaku, even immigrants, are good folks who I can honestly think of as comrades and familyssu」
Renge gave a self-deprecating laugh, then flopped down onto the bed with a light thud.
「After that…teacher saved me, my parents and the retainers talked things over a lot, and once the ritual was banned across the continent, they agreed to keep showing their loyalty even without it. As a way of moving forward, my parents decided it was best to pass the throne early to my little sister. I chose to follow my teacher, to regain my own time, and trained under themssu」
「I see… So meeting your teacher wasn’t just good for you, but for this whole country too」
「Maybessu. After teacher wiped out a ton of earth dragons, we figured they wouldn’t show up again for a while, so we focused on training the military. But what happened this time was way beyond anything we expected. Still, I think everyone will work together to handle whatever comes nextssu」
Renge sat up and gave me a wide, confident grin.
Even from the short time I’d been here, watching the banquet and how people acted, I could tell this country had the strength to overcome hardship through unity.
Whatever its past, it was becoming a better place now.
「Well, I understand now. But if it’s not something you’re sworn to keep secret, why didn’t you tell me about the ritual sooner? I wanted to know more about you, Renge」
「Ah… well… that’s…」
What’s this?
Don’t tell me there’s some serious side effect?
Even if she survived the ritual, she did have a magic stone embedded in her body. It wouldn’t be strange if something happened.
「…Doesn’t it look gross to you? Having these red markings show up on my skin like this…」
「…………Huh?」
「You know… it’s kind of not normal, right?」
Renge ran her hands through her hair, looking awkward and uncertain.
Honestly, this girl…
「…Listen. In my world, there’s no magic, no skills. There aren’t even monsters or beastkin with ears and tails. What’s ‘normal,’ anyway? That’s the real question」
「But still… doesn’t it feel kind of unfair to say it now? Like, getting you to like me first, and then suddenly revealing a big secret like thisssu!」
「Idiot. You’re overthinking it. When I saw that marking, I honestly thought it looked cool」
It might sound rude, but seriously… it really hit my chuunibyou side!
That design, that glow, it’s just too cool.
It gives off a ‘sealed hidden power’ vibe… which, well, it literally is a hidden power.
…Actually, now that I think about it, does the term ‘chuunibyou’ even mean anything in a world like this?
There’s magic and skills everywhere.
Even something like ‘Invisible Jail’ sounds totally like a chuunibyou name.
…Well, whatever. I’m still going to keep using it without shame.
「Cool… you really think so? Ehehe… I’m glad to hear thatssu…」
「Wait, so that’s what you were worried about keeping secret?」
「No, no, no, that’s not the only reasonssu! During the martial arts tournament, even though I could’ve justified it as a Roukaku tradition, I figured it’d still be bad to use the power from a forbidden ritual. If the researchers in the Kingdom found out, it could cause trouble for you too, so I thought it was safer not to use it theressu」
…Yeah, that makes sense.
Researchers with a mad streak tend to throw everything aside for their goals.
Especially after what happened when she was kidnapped in Roukaku, I can understand her caution.
「…Alright. As long as it doesn’t have any bad effects on your body, that’s all that matters」
「It’s fine, really. But if you’re ever in danger, I’ll use it to protect you, no question. Who knows, maybe with this power I could even beat Shiro somedayssu. I didn’t use it in the mock battle, after all」
「Yeah. You should give it a try sometime. Shiro would probably enjoy fighting a strong opponent too」
Renge laughed cheerfully with a lively ‘Yeah, right!’, and it seemed her mood had finally lifted.
She looked a little sweaty from the tension earlier, but there was no sign of any fever or exhaustion.
「Ah! That’s right… master?」
「Hm? What is it?」
「…It’s about Koren. Even though the ritual is canceled, I think she’s feeling pressure from the elders… they don’t want the royal bloodline to die outssu. I was supposed to bear that responsibility too as a former royal, but now she’s carrying it all alone. So…」
「Ah. Well, everything turned out fine in the end, so I’m not worried about it.」
「On behalf of Koren, I’m sorry. And… thank youssu…」
「You’re welcome. You really are a sweet onee-chan, aren’t you?」
「…But punishment is still punishmentssu. To make sure this never happens again, we’re definitely doing it tomorrow. …Now then, I absolutely won’t leave your side tonight. So you can rest easyssu.」
「Yeah… you’re right.」
Renge held my waist tightly, as if determined not to let go this time.
We could just fall back asleep like this, but… ‘sigh’… ‘haah’… well then.
Time to push her down.
「Alright… I’ve reached my limit.」
「Eh? Wha…. Whoa!? I thought we were sleeping… Hweh!?」
「…Sorry, I was holding back because of Koren-sama… But I can’t take it anymore.」
I’m talking about Renge spreading her legs to show her crest, her thighs when she fell onto the bed, her chest defying gravity…
I’ve been holding back all this time.
I didn’t even know when I might snap, but since we were having a serious conversation, I endured it!
By now, there should be bruises on my thighs from how hard I’ve been pinching them.
So… it’s fine now, right?
「Wait, master!? Your eyes are scaryssu! Th-That’s your serious face! I-I don’t mind anytime, but wait, at least until the crest disappears! Ah, nyaa… Nkuuuuu…!」
…And so, we welcomed the morning without getting any sleep.
-0-
And then,
「Uuuu… onee-sama… please forgive me…」
Koren-sama stumbled out of line and rushed over to Renge on unsteady feet.
「Absolutely not. See? There are still sixty-seven more peoplessu.」
Facing such a Koren-sama, Renge placed both hands on her hips and declared sternly.
「I do not usually carry a sword… I am more of a mage, you know…」
「Then we will do joint training with the magic unit too. The soldiers’ motivation will skyrocket from this, so we will do it properlyssu.」
「Uuu… To include work that benefits the army in the punishment… As expected of onee-sama… But at that distance, the juices, the male juices will spray everywhere…」
「…Well, in a way, thanks to Koren, I was thoroughly loved yesterday, so I will go easy on youssu.」
「Eh!? Onee-sama, you did it afterward!? Wait, I want the sheets from that time!」
「…………Hah? What are you saying? I already sent them to the laundry long agossu.」
「Even if they are washed, it is fine! Which maid took them!?」
Koren-sama really does not waver…
Even I am not that much of a pervert, yet in a way I cannot help but respect her.
…Just what does she plan to do with washed sheets?
「By the way, why are you trying to sneak away on your own? You are in the middle of punishmentssu.」
「But the sheets!!」
「There is no ‘but’ about it. …I was going to forgive either Amatsukuni-style sumo or the sauna, but now you get two extra sets.」
「Two sets!? Noooooooo! Onee-sama!! Onee-sama… Please forgive me…」
「Then you will do it properly, rightssu?」
Renge flashed a bright smile, and Koren-sama gave up, accepting the punishment fully. Though on the verge of tears, she trained alongside the soldiers.
Until now, Koren-sama had never once come this close to watch the soldiers train, let alone participate. The soldiers, eager to show their best to Koren-sama, let sweat, no, male juices, fly freely, and morale soared.
Me? I watched the scene while napping due to lack of sleep.
Though the climate is hot, the shade feels surprisingly pleasant, so I will use a water magic orb as a cushion and indulge in lazy slumber.
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