Chapter 2: The One and Only
Upon hearing my shout, Princess-sama stood there for a moment, stunned, before her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“…I understand… I apologize for the disturbance,” she said, bowing her head for the first time since arriving.
“W-wait…”
“Enough. Do not speak further.”
The knight who had been so loud earlier attempted to address Princess-sama, but was cut off by her low, commanding voice, a tone he had not heard from her before.
Ah, she’s really angry.
I could tell that if that knight hadn’t been so overbearing, Princess-sama might have been more willing to negotiate.
But either way, she would have turned them down.
“Then, we shall take our leave. I apologize for the interruption,” Princess-sama declared, leading her entourage away from my home.
As they departed, the humans around us cast concerned glances at Princess-sama before glaring at me with resentment.
Good grief, even after all that talking, they still don’t understand.
Seeing their attitude only made me more determined to ignore their pleas.
I thought to myself, let them perish or whatever, as I stepped inside my house, only to hear the soft patter of slippers approaching.
“Kenta, what happened? You seem different from usual,” a worried voice asked.
The speaker was a beautiful woman with tanned skin, long silver hair, and slightly pointed ears.
This enchanting beauty, clad in an apron that accentuated her voluptuous figure, rushed to embrace me.
“Oh, don’t worry, Meileen. It’s just that the Human Tribe is asking for help because the Demon Tribe is causing trouble again,” I replied, returning her embrace.
Upon hearing this, Meileen’s expression turned sorrowful.
“It’s my fault for not being able to lead everyone…”
I quickly interjected, wanting to correct her misconception. “No, it’s not your fault. The ones who betrayed you and refused to recognize you as the next queen were those people. In fact, the chaos they’re facing now is because I defeated your father…”
Indeed, Meileen was the daughter of the Demon King I had slain.
In other words, I was her parents’ nemesis.
However, Meileen shook her head vigorously.
“Ultimately, it was a mistake for my father to harbor ambitions of ruling over the entire Human Tribe. He brought this upon himself.”
Disgust was clear in Meileen’s eyes as she spoke.
She had been pleading with her father to cease his invasion of the Human Tribe, which was no mere skirmish but a full-scale attempt at domination.
But when her father refused to listen, she had resolved to eliminate him, only to have her intentions discovered, leading to her life being threatened.
Had I not intervened to save her, she would undoubtedly have been killed.
When I rescued her, she was filled with a deep hatred for her father, who had tried to take her life.
She had insisted that she could not forgive him, that the Demon Tribe would be doomed if things continued this way, and even offered to assist me in defeating him.
Yet after I defeated her father, Meileen, who lacked the combat prowess that was valued in the Demon Tribe, struggled to restore order as the new queen. She was not recognized by the surviving nobles and was forced to flee for her life.
Around that time, I too was being hunted as a wanted man, wandering aimlessly until I fortuitously reunited with Meileen, who was also living in hiding in a rural village.
Our dramatic reunion, both of us sharing similar fates, felt fated, and we quickly grew dependent on each other, evolving our relationship into something romantic.
Together, we searched for a safe haven and finally settled in this place.
“So, Kenta, will you accept the Human Tribe’s request?” Meileen asked.
“No, I turned them down immediately. Why should I help anyone in this world?” I replied grumpily.
Meileen chuckled softly and caressed my cheek. “I understand why you dislike this world. But surely, you don’t hate everything about it?”
She tilted her head, as if asking, “What about me?”
With that expression, I had no chance of winning the argument.
“True. You are special in this world, Meileen. I love you.”
As I said this and kissed her, a shy smile spread across Meileen’s face, her eyes sparkling with joy.
“Just me? What about Ivern and Yulia?”
“They’re just here for supplies,” I replied.
“Oh my,” Meileen giggled.
For context, Ivern and Yulia were bounty hunters who believed me to be a great criminal and had come to hunt me down. They were not the typical scum but rather humans wielding the hammer of justice. After defeating them and sharing my story, they had shown me sympathy.
Honestly, I disliked this world, primarily due to its rulers.
I didn’t harbor hatred for the common folk.
In my current life, I had Meileen, and I could perhaps consider Ivern and Yulia as friends.
That was all I needed.
Or so I thought…
“…Ugh.”
Suddenly, Meileen pressed her hand to her mouth and dashed to the kitchen.
The kitchen in our home was a marvel, recreated using my magic to mimic the plumbing and cooking tools from my original world, and Meileen had praised it highly.
She rushed to the sink and began to vomit.
“M-Meileen, are you okay?!”
I hurried to her side, ready to cast Healing Magic, but…
“W-wait…”
Meileen stopped me with a hand, preventing me from using my magic.
“But…”
I didn’t want to see her in pain, so I tried to use Healing Magic again, but she requested something different.
“Please, instead of Healing Magic, can you use Detection Magic?”
“Detection Magic?”
“Yes, I can’t use it properly in my current state…”
“Understood. But, on your body?”
“Yes.”
Caught off guard by her sudden request, I hesitated but ultimately cast Detection Magic on Meileen.
Then…
“…Huh?”
The spell revealed Meileen’s magic power, along with a small, very faint magic power emanating from her abdomen.
“W-what is this…?”
I stared in shock at the tiny magic power radiating from Meileen’s belly.
Seeing my expression, Meileen smiled gently.
“Ah, I thought so. I had a feeling it would be this way.”
“M-Meileen… w-what does this mean…?”
I asked, my voice trembling.
Meileen’s smile was radiant as she replied, “It seems we’ve been blessed.”
She lovingly stroked her belly.
“Our baby.”
The moment I heard those words, I wrapped my arms around Meileen tightly.
I take back what I said earlier.
My world was complete with Meileen, a few friends, and this child.
Even if this child were to be a potential catalyst for conflict, being the offspring of a powerful otherworlder and the former queen of the Demon Tribe.
In this world, they would remain one of my few beloved existences, and that would never change.