CH 18

Chapter title: The princess is stalking me

――I’m in trouble. I’m in a lot of trouble right now.

「――So, I’m thinking of having the wedding at the biggest hall in the kingdom! I’m sure the citizens will be happy, and my father will bless us! Oh, but don’t worry! I’m sure that Jirei-sama is worried about living in an unfamiliar place, so I’ll always be by your side! As for the rest――」

Since then, a whole day has passed since I eliminated one of the four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army.

After that, I forcibly pulled Raffine away from me, who for some reason was holding on to me, she was refusing to leave me, and so I got the adventurers surroinding me to calm her down on the pretext of carrying the fallen adventurer to the healing center in Etar.

After shoving the man into the intesive care unit of the sanitarium, I did my best to shake off the adventurers that were surrounding me, who started asking me questions, and retreated to an inn to avoid being found.

I didn’t have any money, so I got down on my knees as hard as I could, and they pitifully let me stay there. I’m glat that the owner was so kind.

…No, really, I was tired of being bombarded with so many questions. If I hadn’t run away, they probably would have stuck with me forever. That’s how persistent they were.

I don’t know why Wad was so passionate about calling me his brother, and Cain was begging me to make him my disciple. Naturally, I refused. He’s not such a character.

Letty clung to me saying, “I won’t let you go until you join the party”, and Eve turned her face down and stared at me with vacant eyes for some reason. Why?

In addition, I tried to look for the “Red Lotus” flame sorcerer who targeted Raffine, but I couldn’t track them down because their magic traces had been cleanly erased…

But… perhaps the culprit is Lina.

If I think about it, she comes from a family of assassins, and she was a little strange when she found out that Raffine was a princess. And she was gone before I knew it… It was probably her.

…Well, that doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care about that. More importantly――

「――So, how many children should we have? As for me, I think we should have lots of children for the sake of the lineage! So we should have about ten boys and girls――」

Raffine, the girl who’s been clinging to my right arm and talked like a machine gun since a while ago, is the problem. 1

Everything was going fine after I shook Wed and the others, retreated to the inn, and comfortably fell asleep in my bed in a long time.

In the morning, I woke up, opened the window and basked in the sunshine, thinking that it’s a beautiful morning.

I immediately went into a fighting stance. And then, to my horror, I saw Raffine, drooling and peacefully sleeping.

I was really surprised. Because Raffine was lying on the bed where I had just slept, in a sensual negligee-like outfit. I thought my heart would stop. It’s like a horror story, seriously.

When I think back on my memories from last night, I don’t recall anything about this… and nothing comes to mind because of one night’s drinking mistake.

I don’t drink, and I’ve never had the experience in doing so, partly because I’ve been busy with my training and partly because I prefer to sleep in.

In the past, a strange woman said to me, “You saw me naked, so you have to take responsibility!”. I’ve been trying not to get into that kind of situation since then. It was really annoying at the time. I was a complete victim….

So I woke up Raffine, who was happily sleeping, got her to change into proper clothes, and here we are.

There were many questions I wanted to ask her, such as why she was hiding in my bed and how she knew I was here.

But I was more curious about why Raffine, a princess of a country, was folling me around so much as I am a D-rank adventurer, so I asked her.

Raffine replied with “What? Why are you asking me that?” as she made a puzzled face.

『Because you and I are destined to be married, aren’t we, Jirei-sama?』

She said that. She looked at me as if she didn’t have a single doubt.

When I heard that, I froze for a good five minutes. Because I had no idea what she was talking about. Even when I thought about it really hard, I couldn’t understand at all. Marriage? Destiny? What are you talking about?

But then, as I listened to Raffine, I gradually understood. The “man of destiny” that she was talking about was me.

But I can’t blame her for not remembering.

Because at that time, I was training in magic detection, heat detection, presence detection by blocking my vision with a mask-type magic tool that made it impossible to see what was in front of me. I could see the outline, but I couldn’t see the face.

In the first place, Raffine says that she was saved by me, but I didn’t save her for such a noble reason.

I just thought “If I help people all the time, I’ll get a holy seal, right?” so I just helped her. In addition, I helped so many people that I don’t remember each and every one of them exactly.

I think it was… that time when I heard that there was a really strong demon in the forest near the kingdom of Uniwersia and I went to challenge it with great enthusiasm.

I couldn’t find it even though I was looking for it so hard, so I took a break to kill some demons to relieve myself, and that’s when this cheeky kid came.

When I tried to get rid of her, she almost cried. I thought “Making a child cry = minus hero points” so I stopped her from crying by telling her a story that I made up at random.

But for some reason, she missed me and started to come to see me every day, so I spent my break time with her, wondering if she had any friends.

So I finally found the demon I was looking for and fought it to death, but it was stronger than I expected…. I was able to defeat it, but I almost died. For some reason, I couldn’t use my healing magic…. And I really thought I was going to die at that time.

Then I went to the kid’s house for a little rehabilitation (it was a gorgeous house) and soon when I was fully recovered, I remembered something.

The day after tomorrow was the day of the 56th Annual Auction of Unusual Magic Items.

As soon as I remembered that, I immediately started to run towards the venue.

However, I wondered if it would be right for an aspiring hero to leave without saying anything, so I decided to do tell her something.

Then, for some reason, she said that she wanted to go too. But I knew she wouldn’t be able to follow me into that fierce battlefield, so I gave her the Phantom Ring and told her to be patient.

By the way, I couldn’t win the magic tool I was looking for because I was outbid at the end. I’m really not going to let that high-flying bitch get away with it!

…That’s why, I didn’t promise to marry Raffine, and I didn’t save her, it was all Raffine’s misunderstanding. I’m not one of those storybook princes. I only think about myself.

「Ji, Jirei-sama. If you stare at me that intently, I’ll… get embarrassed. No, it’s not that I don’t like it! It’s just that I’m embarrassed when people look at me with such a cool face…! Jeez! On our wedding night, we’d show each other what we looked like when we were born, and I――」

So, the girl who is saying all this nonsense is mistaken. This is not good. I have to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible.

「…Would you mind stepping away from me for a moment? Also, if you could stop calling me “sama”――」

When I said that.

「Ah! I, I’m so sorry! That’s right! Then, my husband…!」

「You’re wrong, you’re wrong. That’s not it.」

I don’t know what she misunderstood, but Raffine’s face fushed, and she said “my husband”. I don’t know what’s going on, but I can see something like heart marks in her eyes. What should I do?

…But it’s also my fault that this happened. Even if I didn’t feel that wat, I’m sure I acted in a way that made her misunderstand. I need to clear up the misunderstanding and say no.

…Well, it’s also a good idea to listen to her, so let’s ask her…. Yes, let’s do that.

「….I’d like to ask you a question… What if I told you that I never promised to marry you, and that I only helped you out of my own greed――――What would you do?」

When I asked, Raffine smiled and said.

「I’ll die.」

She said. Oh, death…. Eh? Eh??

「You’ll die….?」

「I’m going to bite my tongue off and die.」

No, not such a specific way to die.

「…I can’t imagine a world without Jirei-sama… Also, you can’t be attracted by women other than me, okay? Please only look at me.」

Raphine clung even tighter to my arm as she said that.

I started to break out in a cold sweat. My breathing has been unsteady ever since. What am I going to do with this? What should I do?

「Because, Jirei-sama and I are destined to get married, right?」

Raffine’s eyes were completely out of it. Those eyes said “It can’t be otherwise, or I won’t accept it.”

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, what should I do with this?

Eh? If I said 「Actually it was a lie～ the surprise was a great success～」 would she still bite her tongue off and kill herself? It’s a lie, right? Please tell me it’s not true. Please, really.

While I was shaking and was thinking..

「Jirei-sam? Why don’t you answer me? Could it be… that you’re into another woman? That can’t be it, right???」

Raffine looked at me with dark, lightless eyes.

「Ah, ah, ah…. Isn’t it obvious? That’s not the case, honey!」

「…That’s right! There’s no way the pure and innocent Jirei-sama would do such a thing! Oh, but you can’t have a mistress either, okay? I’ll make sure you’re completely satisfied! Still, if you will have one…. you understand, right?」

I freaked out and replied in a single word. Raffine’s face brightened and reddened, and the lightless eyes disappeared. This is bad.

….What should I do? What should I really do? I don’t want her to die because of me, and once we’re married I’m going straight down on the king’s hard work route. U absolutely hate it. I want to end my life as an old man, lazing around until I die.

「…Ah!」

Then it hit me. This is the only way.

「Raffine, can you do me a favor….?」

「Yes! Anything you want!」

Raffine replied, looking truly happy. …Ugh, my head hurts… 2

「Um… The Phantom Ring I gave you before. ………Can you give it back to me?」

When I said that.

「…Why? This is an engagement ring between me and Jirei-sama, a memorable item. …Why? Maybe you want to give it to another woman――」

「You’re wrong! That’s not it!」

I hurriedly stopped Raffine, whose eyes were losing their light.

…The truth is, I don’t want to do this either. I don’t want to do it, but――

「…Ah」

I pushed Raffine down on the bed.

「Because… We’re going to be together from now on, right? So you don’t need it anymore.」

I got into a pose like a kabedon, and said that in a really cool voice. I got goosebumps when I said it.

「Ha, ha… Th, that’s right…」

Raffine’s face turned red and her eyes rolled around in a circle. Alright, I got it.

I pulled the Phantom Right from Raffine’s left index finger and said “I’ll take it back then”. Good, good.

「Well, I’m going to tthe bathroom――」

「Ha….. ah, wait! I’m coming with you!」

Raffine is trying to follow me for some reason.

「No, that’s…」

「B, but…! From now on, we’re going to show each other everything…!」

「…Let’s take this slow, okay? Okay?」

Desperately, I stopped her from trying to follow me.. Raffine laughed and said “Hehehe,, from now on, we’ll be together forever” as she smiled. Oh no.

I opened the door and immediately closed it, saying, “That’s right! I’m off then!”

「…Okay, let’s get out of here.」

I decided to run away.

Because getting married and becoming a king is no joke.

She’s misunderstanding something, and I don’t want her to die because of me… Maybe she’ll cool down over time. That’s it. Must be so. That’s right.

But… Where should I run to?

First of all, the nearest country is out of the question.

Grandhero is a no-go because of that guy.

Estudioso is out of the question because of that pervert.

Then…..That’s right. That’s the place.

I’ve just received a letter from someone who wants to know what I think of her sweets, so I think I’ll just stay there for a few months or years.

If she doesn’t want to then I can say, “I’m going to tell the Order that you almost attacked me in the past? Is that okay?” or something among those lines. Yeah. Let’s do that.

I quickly thought about this with High-speed Calculation and came to a conclusion in a second.

「――Jirei-sama? Are you back already? Ah! Maybe you don’t want to be away from me….. If that’s the case――」

「――Oh no!」

It’s only been a second and Raffine already told me so. It’s too soon.

I immediately used Phantom Ring to change my black hair to red and ran down the inn’s hallway.

To Magikosmaia, the country where Charu is. At full speed.