Chapter 5: The Princess Returns
As I tended to the vegetables in the garden, a hand axe suddenly flew toward me.
“Whoa, that was close. Who threw this thing?”
I caught the flying axe and looked in the direction it came from. A man clad in armor stood there, his face a mask of shock, as if he had just thrown something.
“W-What? You caught my hand axe from this distance?”
He muttered something under his breath, but the fact that he had thrown such a lethal weapon and was now astonished that I caught it meant he definitely harbored some intent to kill me.
That meant he was either a bounty hunter or a bandit.
Well, he was alone and looked somewhat well-groomed, so he was probably a bounty hunter. Still, I was a bit annoyed at being ambushed like that, so I decided to provoke him a little.
“Ambushing someone? Typical of a bandit to resort to such cowardly tactics.”
As I toyed with the hand axe, I approached the man. His shock at having his axe caught quickly turned into fury as he drew the sword strapped to his waist.
“Y-You… Who are you calling a bandit?!”
Well, no one would challenge a bounty target to a fair fight, but as someone who had been unjustly marked as wanted, I found this kind of ambush infuriating.
With rage, the bounty hunter swung his sword down at me, and I swung the hand axe I held.
“Wha—?!”
The axe struck the side of his sword, shattering it in two.
The bounty hunter stared in disbelief at the broken sword that spun through the air.
As the blade’s tip embedded itself in the ground, he looked from the broken sword in his hand to me, then back to the sword.
Then, he plopped down onto the ground.
It seemed he had lost his nerve.
“P-Please… don’t kill me…”
As he trembled and begged pathetically, I felt my interest waning.
“What a pitiful sight. If you’re not prepared to gamble with your life, then don’t come here, you fool.”
I pulled the sword tip from the ground and threw it at the bounty hunter.
“Eep!”
He flinched as the blade whizzed past his face and embedded itself a short distance away.
The tip grazed his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood trickling down.
“Take that and get out of here. And don’t ever come back. I’ll remember your face. Next time…”
I leaned in closer to the bounty hunter.
“I’ll kill you.”
“Y-Yes, sir!!”
As I threatened him in a low voice, the bounty hunter ran off without even picking up the broken sword.
It seemed the rumors about me being difficult to defeat had spread recently, so I had expected someone with some skill. But it turned out he was just a greedy fool.
I pondered what to do with the remaining hand axe as I watched the man flee.
“Well, he didn’t ask for it back, so I might as well keep it.”
I began to toy with the hand axe again and called out.
“Now then. Hey, how long are you planning to hide and spy on me?”
I received no response.
“Is that so? Then you must be enemies, huh? Well then…”
“P-Please wait!!”
“Huh?”
I had sensed multiple people hiding in the bushes with Detection Magic, but when I called out, there was no reply. Just then, a woman leaped out from the underbrush.
She was dressed for travel, but her attire was clearly of high quality, indicating she held a significant status.
Her face bore a slight resemblance to that princess who had visited here the other day, what was her name again?
After the woman emerged, a group of armored knights and several other women dressed in decent travel attire followed her.
“Who are you lot?”
As I asked, anger flickered across the knights’ faces.
Ah, so they’re the same bunch from the other day.
What a hassle this was.
“I-I am Wimple, the Second Princess of the Weimar Kingdom. You are Kenta Maya, are you not?”
Despite my rude inquiry, the girl who claimed to be the Second Princess greeted me, a bit taken aback.
The knights looked furious but held their tongues, seemingly having learned from the previous encounter.
So, she must be the sister of that princess from before.
“Yeah, that’s me. So? You’re the princess of Weimar, which means you’re here to ask for my help again, right?”
I disliked beating around the bush, so I cut straight to the point.
The Second Princess looked momentarily surprised by my directness but quickly composed herself.
“Y-Yes. That is indeed the case, but first, I must apologize for my sister’s actions. I am truly sorry.”
She bowed deeply, the Second Princess.
“She approached you without showing any benefits for you, asking for your help outright, didn’t she? I realize now how rude that was.”
While the Second Princess expressed her remorse, it seemed she still didn’t grasp the essence of the matter.
Interpreting my silence as contemplation, she smiled and began to outline the benefits for me.
“I have heard that you have been forced into a long life on the run. Therefore, we of the Weimar Kingdom will lift your wanted status and guarantee your freedom of movement within our borders.”
So they would lift my wanted status, huh?
I doubted they could decide that in such a short time since the elder princess’s visit.
Most likely, the elder princess had intended to propose the same thing.
I had probably cut her off before she could finish her proposal, and that foolish knight’s rampage had interrupted the conversation.
“And…”
The Second Princess smiled faintly and gestured for the women behind her to step forward.
“I thought you might be weary in both body and spirit after such a long life on the run. So, to at least offer you some comfort, I have brought with me some of the finest beauties from our kingdom.”
She gazed at me, her eyes sparkling with the hope that I wouldn’t refuse.
There was no way I would accept that, right?
I mean, how could anyone fall for me in such a short time?
I was fully aware of how much of a jerk I had been.
“Take these women and go home already.”
When I said that, not only did the Second Princess look shocked, but the women she had brought with her also displayed expressions of disbelief.
“W-Wait! Is this not enough!? O-Of course, we have money as well! Please, just accept that…”
“Listen.”
I interrupted the Second Princess’s desperate plea, and she fell silent.
“I have no intention of doing anything for this world. I said the same thing when your sister came, didn’t I?”
Had she not heard me?
“T-That’s because my sister’s negotiation style was lacking…”
“It’s not about whether it’s paid or unpaid. I don’t care what happens to you humans or the Demon Tribe. Just kill each other off as you please.”
As I said this, the knight, who had been holding back until now, stood up and accused me.
“Y-You! Are you saying you don’t care what happens to the people of this country?!”
To this knight, it must have seemed like I was abandoning the people.
I replied to the knight, who seemed to have a strong sense of justice.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Perhaps my honest answer caught him off guard, as both the knight and the Second Princess stared at me in shock.
“W-What kind of…”
“I’m a terrible person, right? Well, that’s true. I’m not even from this world. I was forcibly taken here. In the end, I was deceived, nearly executed, and when I resisted, I was marked as wanted and forced to live on the run. How could I possibly empathize with the people of this pathetic world? Tell me how.”
As I spoke, the knight fell silent, unable to respond.
“Now that you understand, hurry up and leave. You’re seriously a nuisance.”
I turned on my heel, but then a voice called out to me.
“Please wait!”
“Huh?”
I turned back, curious if there was more to say, and saw one of the women brought to comfort me stepping forward.
“I had no idea you were suffering so much! Please, let me comfort you! I want to soothe your heart, regardless of any requests or rewards! I just want to be there for you!”
“…Huh?”
So, she was saying she wanted to do something intimate with me?
Wait, what?
How could she possibly have fallen for me in such a short time?
I mean, I was fully aware of how much of a jerk I had been.
“…I don’t need that. Just go home already.”
“B-But! I—”
“Stop being so persistent!”
“Eep!”
The woman was so persistent that I couldn’t help but direct my Magic Power toward her.
“I told you it’s unnecessary. Don’t push your feelings onto me.”
“W-wait, it’s not like I’m pushing anything…”
“Then, since I said it’s unnecessary, you’ll be leaving, right?”
I smiled at her with a hint of intimidation, and she nodded vigorously in response.
“I won’t entertain any negotiations. I have no intention of getting involved in this world. So, don’t ever come back, okay?”
With that, I left her behind and finally headed home.
As I used Detection Magic to sense my surroundings, I noticed that my younger sisters, the Princesses, were slowly making their way back.
I never expected her to set a honey trap like that.
Even if that wasn’t her intention, I couldn’t trust her claims of love after that encounter.
What was she thinking?
For now, I should remain on guard.
◆◆◆
“Did you really fall for that man?”
Wimple asked the woman who clung to Kenta as they walked toward the hidden carriage.
She was genuinely curious about why the woman had acted that way after the brief exchange and the disgust Kenta had directed at her.
However, the woman’s response exceeded Wimple’s expectations.
“Of course not. He rejected us so thoroughly, didn’t he? There’s nothing about him that would make us fall for him.”
“What!? Then why did you act like that?”
Wimple was taken aback by the woman’s answer and wanted to know the reason behind it.
“Didn’t His Highness mention that after a long life on the run, that man must have pent-up desires? Yet, he didn’t even glance at us, the top courtesans from various brothels. So, I deduced—ah, he must have a woman.”
Wimple was astonished by those words, but the other women nodded in agreement.
“Oh, so you thought that too? I felt the same way.”
“Right? A young man with pent-up desires would surely be eyeing our bodies.”
One of the women cast a meaningful glance at the knights.
The knights, caught off guard, quickly averted their eyes.
It seemed they had been looking at them with lewd intentions.
“But that’s just a guess. So, I thought I’d test it out.”
“Ah, I see. That’s why you acted that way.”
“Yes. Well, the outcome was as expected. He’s definitely involved with a woman.”
The woman said this with a proud smile directed at Wimple.
“If he doesn’t respond to honor or rewards, then we should take a hostage to make him comply, right?”
Wimple looked intently at the woman who had just spoken.
There was no hope of Kenta acting on his own will.
However, if there was a hostage, he might be compelled to listen.
He was a man who hadn’t even glanced at the most beautiful courtesans in Weimar; he must be deeply infatuated with that woman.
As a hostage, she would hold significant value.
“That might be the only option.”
Upon hearing those words, the woman smiled brightly.
“Is that so? Then, Princess Wimple…”
“What is it?”
“I went to great lengths to ensure the credibility of that information. Naturally, I can expect a reward, right?”
Wimple let out a weary sigh at the cunning woman’s request.
“Very well. How much do you want?”
At those words, the woman beamed with delight.
Unbeknownst to them, as they chatted so casually, the woman they were targeting was Kenta’s greatest taboo.