It’s been a while since the villainesses have made an appearance.
“Clara… is the ‘preparation’ complete?”
“Yes, Lady Elena. Lady Patricia has declined, but Carla-sama and I have already completed our preparations and are scheduled to meet at the port town within the Fuder Dukedom.”
The royal family members and their fiancées, who will bear the future of the Kingdom of Claydale, were ordered to conquer a dungeon, and each was proceeding with their preparations.
The fact that not only the royal family but also their fiancées were forced to enter a dangerous dungeon was partly to question their resolve as members of the next generation of the royal family, but more than that, it showed that the current royal family lacked enough members.
Although the dungeon to be conquered was located in the Fuder Dukedom, Patricia, the daughter of the Duke of Fuder, declined to conquer it because it was impossible for her in terms of ability and personality, and because her birth mother was the Second Queen, which meant that the Fuder Dukedom had withdrawn from the Queen’s ranking competition.
As a result, Patricia was unofficially decided to be the Third Queen, and the seat of the leading fiancée to become the First Queen, the legitimate wife, was narrowed down to Clara, the daughter of the Margrave of Dandole, and Carla, the daughter of the Count Leicester Estate.
“My brother, His Highness the Crown Prince Elvan, and I, the First Princess, will also challenge the dungeon conquest, overcoming all difficulties, but our primary goal is not to ‘receive Divine Protection from the dungeon’s Spirit,’ but to ensure His Highness the Crown Prince’s safe return. Do you understand?”
“Yes…”
In each generation, the royal family has sent members into dungeons to obtain Divine Protection, thereby building protection for the nation’s peace and against external threats.
However, “Spirit’s Divine Protection” is not always obtained equally.
The dungeon’s Spirits are generally called “Spirits,” but in essence, they are not ordinary Spirits that govern attributes, but existences closer to “Holy Spirits.”
“Holy Spirits” are considered high-ranking beings such as Spirit Kings or Fairy Kings, their true nature is unknown, their nature is capricious, and they may not grant Divine Protection even if one has survived the dungeon.
In fact, neither the current King nor the previous King obtained Divine Protection, and although the Second Prince, His Majesty’s younger brother, obtained Divine Protection in recent decades, the Second Prince, who was originally physically weak, has already passed away.
Obtaining Divine Protection does not change one’s position within the royal family. They are educated to understand that special abilities and the ability to govern the nation are separate things.
Therefore, the current King, who made a Viscount’s daughter who had not received Queen’s education his legitimate wife, incurred the resentment of the Aristocratic Faction, and the backlash reached Clara’s generation.
In that state, if the Crown Prince were to die, the country would be in turmoil. Elena could rule as a short-term Queen, but the Aristocratic Faction would gain significant influence and the power of the royal family would weaken.
Even if Clara is unofficially decided to be one of the three Queens, she is only the Crown Prince Elvan’s consort, and if Elvan cannot ascend to the throne, a lady of the same age will be chosen as the consort of the Second Prince, who is still a child, and Clara will not be able to become Queen.
Regardless of her own intentions, Clara’s hopes coincide with Elena’s desire to restore the power of the royal family and wish for national peace, and the Dandole Family’s desire for their daughter to become the legitimate Queen.
However, even when they discuss it alone like this, the “gap” that has arisen between them remains deep.
The gap arose because Clara, an “otherworlder reincarnated” who had regained her memories of her previous life, became wary of Elena, who would be called a villainess.
The trigger that deepened the gap was probably that Elena became close to a pink-haired maid, the same as the “Heroine of the Otome Game,” whom Clara instinctively rejected.
And when that maid girl went missing, and Clara inadvertently offered “condolences” out of relief, a decisive gap was created with Elena, who still believed she was alive.
The only reason they are meeting now is because the Chief of the Knight Order, worried about his daughter entering the dungeon, requested his younger sister, the Second Queen, to provide an opportunity for reconciliation.
“Since the royal family’s dungeon conquest is not disclosed to other noble families, the number of guards will be kept to a minimum. Considering the width of the dungeon passages and the speed of progress, the conquest party will consist of about thirty people: two attendants each, ten senior Royal Knights, five porters, and five Rank 5 Adventurer parties who are acquaintances of the Prime Minister as pathfinders.”
Elena stated this matter-of-factly, then paused and gave a thin, icy smile.
“Patricia is wise. She knows her capabilities well. Our first goal is the Crown Prince’s return. The second goal is to obtain Divine Protection for the four of us. The third goal is our return. Clara… are you prepared to protect His Highness the Crown Prince for the sake of the nation, even at the cost of your own life?”
“…ye, yes.”
Elena stared coldly at Clara, who replied in a faint voice with a pale face, and quietly stood up.
“Whether you become Queen or are made to (……..) become Queen, it’s time to make up your mind. Someone, the conversation is over.”
Elena called the maid who was waiting in the next room, and without even glancing at Clara, who remained bowed and motionless, she left the reception room of the Royal Palace.
(What should I do…)
Even if Clara had knowledge from her previous life, she was just a high school girl who had only played otome games.
Even if she felt a sense of crisis about the heroine’s threat and the condemnations in the game’s ending, she also longed for the glamorous world where the capture targets were, and she couldn’t clearly recognize her own death.
Her previous world was peaceful, and she had never even been aware of death. But through the dungeon conquest before the start of the main story, which was not mentioned in the game, she was finally able to understand that she was living side by side with death.
The Clara in the game did not have Divine Protection. The heroine only obtained Divine Protection during the war event with the Evil Race, but that was still after the game had started.
(In order to survive among these scary people, I… I have to obtain Divine Protection.)
While Clara was quietly preparing herself, Elena, accompanied by her attendants, returned to her room, where a Cruzian maid, rare even in the Royal Palace, greeted her.
“Sera, what is it?”
This senior maid is a Shadow Knight and also the security chief of the Queen’s Palace. The Crown Prince does not particularly like the Shadow Unit, but Elena’s attendant and maid is also a member of the Shadow Unit, and she trusts her because she knows her well, and she had requested her as one of the attendants to accompany her in the dungeon this time.
The maid with her glossy, tanned skin bowed and gave an elegant smile, then handed a letter to Elena’s maid.
“I have written a letter to inform you of a matter I wish to report. It would be best to dispose of it after you have read it.”
“…I understand.”
If she says so, it must be important.
After Sera withdrew, she had her maid open the letter and confirm its safety, then had the maids wait outside the room before opening the letter and reading it alone.
“………!”
The letter contained information about a certain person.
Elena’s time with that person was not long. In reality, it was only a few weeks, but for Elena, who was fighting alone in a situation where she couldn’t even rely on her own parents, “her” existence taught her that she was not “alone,” even though their positions were different.
Even when Elena told her father, who had caused this situation, that she was seriously worried about the current situation, he laughed and said it was not something a child should worry about, and her brother, whom she seemed to admire, had no sense of crisis despite being in the most dangerous position.
Only “she” “understood” Elena, who was fighting the current situation. She risked her life to save Elena when she was attacked by the enemy in her lonely battle.
The feeling that only “she,” who was “of the same kind,” understood, that only they knew even if no one else understood.
She believes that the words “she” swore that night came from a sincere response to Elena’s determination.
That’s why Elena also swore to repay “her.”
That’s why, even when she heard that “she” had gone missing, she believed that she could not have died.
Alone in the room, Elena held the letter to her chest and hugged it tightly.
“I’m glad… Aria… you’re alive.”
＊＊＊
It’s autumn, and I’ve turned 11.
I was surprised when I was in the Royal Capital, maintaining my equipment and adjusting tactics and schedules with Feld, and before I knew it, Mira had slipped some sweets into my pocket. Dolton, the leader of “Rainbow Sword,” who had apparently been adjusting things with the nobles together with Viro, returned.
Samantha is not here because she has retired, but it seems to be the first time in several years that “Rainbow Sword” has gathered as a party.
In the Royal Capital, there was a mansion owned by Dolton, which housed his items and such. It seemed the members of the Rainbow Sword could use it freely, but this was my first time inside.
“I’m Dolton. You’re Aria, the one Viro’s bastard was teaching?”
“I learned scouting techniques from Viro.”
Dolton was a dwarf, but not a “Rock Dwarf” who lived in mines like Galbas and Gelf, but a “Mountain Dwarf” who lived in the forest.
The difference wasn’t as obvious as the difference between a Forest Elf and a Dark Elf, but was judged by birth, physique, and personality.
Rock Dwarves, who lived in mines and worked as blacksmiths, were often exclusive and stubborn, with bodies like lumps of muscle. Conversely, Mountain Dwarves, who lived in forests and did woodworking and silverwork, had physiques relatively close to humans, were good at detailed work, and were often sociable.
However, Dolton, who had been active as a first-class Adventurer for over a century, had a height close to that of a human, and a width and muscle mass that exceeded Rock Dwarves. Compared to him, Feld, who I thought was muscular, looked like a pretty boy.
The mithril full plate armor and giant warhammer lined up in this living room were things that ordinary warriors couldn’t even wear and move in. Of course, I didn’t think an ordinary warrior could buy a full set of equipment that could buy this mansion.
“…Hmm.”
Dolton stroked his short-cropped beard, a rare trait for a dwarf, stared at me intently, and grinned.
“I wondered how good you were since Viro boasted about you so much, but I see, your combat ability alone passes. But if you’re going to act as one of the Rainbow Sword, show me your ‘guts’.”
At that moment, a “Killing Intent” burst forth from Dolton, so intense that I could even hear the illusion of the air rupturing with a thoom!! In a blink of an eye, Dolton, who had raised a warhammer as tall as himself with one hand, swung it down at me.
The moment I felt the Killing Intent, I used Body Enhancement and shot out like a released arrow.
Whoosh!!!
In the brief exchange, the air in the room swirled into a wind, Dolton’s warhammer was placed so that it touched my shoulder, and the tip of my Black Dagger stopped a few millimeters in front of Dolton’s left eye.
“If you do more than this, we’ll be seriously trying to kill each other.”
“…Kukuku, Viro, where did you find a guy like this? There’s no way you’re his only teacher.”
“That’s harsh. Well, this guy also has a Magic teacher, and has experience studying under Sera of the Shadow Unit, so if you underestimate him as just a kid, even you’ll get ‘eaten’.”
“Hahaha! Understood!”
Dolton casually lowered his warhammer, approached me carelessly while I still had my Dagger drawn, and lightly patted my shoulder.
“I like you! Welcome to the Rainbow Sword!!”
And so, I officially became one of the “Rainbow Sword,” and a few days later, we set off for the Fuder Dukedom to head to the isolated island where the Dungeon was located.
Aria and Elena finally reunite in the Dungeon. It’s a strange way to put it, but I like girls with strong inner selves like Elena.
Carla will also be reunited, but I wonder what will happen.
Next time will be the port town of the Fuder Dukedom. I wonder if I can write up to the reunion…
The next update is scheduled for Wednesday.