CH 45

Chapter title: Take responsibility

★

Tap, tap, tap

I could hear the sound of intruders’ footsteps, as if they were advancing haphazardly.

I hid behind a tree and waited for my chance.

(What the hell is the purpose of this? Did Erivan betray me?)

The only people who know I’m here as a princess are the overlords of the Erivan Kingdom and the knights accompanying me.

I was very careful in selecting the knights to accompany me, and more importantly, it would be a liability issue if they harmed me here.

(Or is it even Erivan, now that I think about it?)

However, the Kingdom of Erivan has no reason to be hostile to my country. In the first place, since we have never had diplomatic relations before, we have no grudge and no connection.

There’s no point in interfering with them, even if it’s for the sake of convenience like this investigation.

(In any case, if I don’t know their intentions, it’s better to preempt them.)

They’ve broken the wards to get in, so we can incapacitate them for now and then torture them to find out what they want. 1

I wait for a while, holding my breath. When I can’t figure out what they’re capable of, my heart pulses.

I managed to control my mind and drew my sword without a sound.

And when I see the shadow of my target, I…….

「Ha!」

I jumped on his blind spot and slashed at him.

――Keeeeeeeeeeeen――

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the springs.

「What are you doing!?」

There was a young man standing in front of me.

He was about the same age as me, but his face was strangely attractive, and for a moment my thoughts were dulled. 2

「That’s my line! 」

I was surprised that he was able to prevent a complete surprise attack, but I also saw a beautiful and sharp sword.

If he got out the sword at that moment, it means that he was wearing the sword from the beginning.

If so, then their goal is me.

「Shit! Damn it! You could’ve at least listened to me!」

The man ducks under my sword and continues his conversation. Perhaps he is stalling for time until his friends come running?

「You’re good. It’s been a long time since anyone has ducked my sword this well!」

There was no swordsman in the kingdom who could stand up to me.

The edge of my mouth naturally flew up in front of my first encounter with a powerful enemy.

「Jeez. Kuzmigo made me smell, and now some strange woman is slashing at me…. Am I under a curse?」

「Who is strange? You are so rude!」

I jumped into the man’s arms, thinking that my little investigation was over. And……

「【Royal Slash】」

My sword shone and it unleashed a horizontal slash that amplified its power. This power could slice right through a knight’s armor even if it defended with a metal shield. It’s an attack that can only be avoided normally.

My opponent was more skilled than I thought, so I couldn’t go easy on him. He would have to give up at least one of his arms.

The first blow that I unleashed with such determination was……

――Kink――

「Eh?」

The smallest impact felt in the hand.

Normally, when strong forces collide, there should be an impact on each other’s arms.

However, it means that the man in front of me received the shock in a way that completely killed it.

「!」

I was alarmed and moved away.

You can’t take a hit like this unless there is a huge difference in strength between you and your opponent. In other words, when someone does this, they’re stronger than you.

「Haa, no choice. If you’re not going to listen to me, I’m going to have to neutralize you.」

The man finally turned serious and held up his sword, a kata I had never seen anyone use, but he knew it.

「That’s koryu kata kenjutsu, isn’t it?」

「I don’t know what you call it. I learned it from an elf I knew who used it.」

Elves don’t like humans unless they are very strange.

The fact that he know such an elf is something interesting to me.

「Well, then…. Don’t fail to receive it, okay?」

I gulped at the serious words. The attack is coming right now. Concentrating on the man in front of me…….

「Fu!」

In an instant, the distance between me and the man dropped to zero. And then……….

「Kyaaa!」

I was blown away by the fourth blow and fell into the spring.

「Whoa! Wap!」

I panicked as quickly as I could. My hand was numb from the attack and I drank some water.

Will I drown like this? Looking up from the water like that, I saw……

「Are you okay?」

I look up from the water as he pulls my hand.

「Keh, kh, keh」 3

I spit the water out of my mouth and hugged the man in front of me.

The man seemed to have swum in the water and his clothes were wet and sticking to him.

「I’m sorry. I could have gone a little easier on you, but I felt like you could have avoided it.」

「Oh, you were lying when you said you went easy on me…….」

The water-soaked face is right in front of me. I can’t take your gaze off the man as I look at him at close range and my heart starts to pound.

For a while, I stared at the man. The man’s clear eyes almost sucked me in, and my face naturally moved closer……

「C, can I ask you to step away?」

The man turns his gaze away from me and speaks his request. I nod my head and……

「I’m very sorry to tell you this, but your clothes are soaked with water.」

At this point, I look at my own body. Then…….

「Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!」

I turned away in a panic, because my clothes were also wet and transparent.

「I’m sorry. It was inevitable.」

The man apologized. I glared at him as my eyes began to tear up.

「Y, you will take responsibility for this!」