Five days fly by when you're surrounded by such peculiar and fun people.
Everyone adapted to the new environment with surprising ease. Even I, little by little, overcame my initial shyness towards them.
Although I must admit that some have the bad habit of patting my head or hugging me out of nowhere. That includes Lily-san and Edelweiss-san.
Oh, by the way, the head maid's name is Priscilla-san. She was so furious about the castle's deplorable state that she completely forgot to mention her name at first. However, when someone asked her later, she simply replied lightly, "Oh, how rude of me!"
Based on my observations, in the last five days some proved to be quite different from what they appeared to be, for better or for worse.
For example, Ichirou-kun was obsessed with training with swords because, well, he was supposed to be an ordinary swordsman.
That's why he was sometimes seen hanging around Lily saying:
“Miss Lily! Please train me in the art of swordsmanship!”
And it happened very often.
But, when the guy casually approached the pretty Elf maiden(?) with the same friendly smile:
“Liliana, please come with me for a while.”
Or also with Edelweiss:
“Edelweiss-san! Please allow me to join your elite platoon for now!”
And considering her minimal interactions with men...
It was so difficult not to suspect his intentions that Lily-san had an expression of absolute annoyance.
As for Edelweiss? I have no idea. They got along well from what I saw, so I don't know if she feels the same way... the same goes for that flirtatious Elven maiden who acts almost like a wife in his presence... quite lucky!
This Ichirou-kun was so motivated to approach and establish relationships with beautiful women...!
Perhaps because she doesn't like it very much, Lily-san tends to use only a simple tree twig to defend herself and break Ichirou's posture in the blink of an eye during their simulated fight.
And he doesn't even use magic!
On the other hand, Mana-san seemed to be taking it too calmly, repeating the word "Vacation" as if she were at a resort.
Although, to be honest, she spent most of her time locked away in the library reading books about weaponry. I wonder what her real interest in a weapon is.
Speaking of the library, I went there the other day and had a coughing fit: "Geho! Geho!" What bad luck! Priscilla-san heard my little coughing fit from the end of the hall. What happened next was a scene straight out of a horror movie for the staff. Priscilla-san reported it to Violetta-san, and the result was immediate:
“I will not allow anyone to enter this filthy sanctuary for the next two days, no matter what it takes!”
And with that, she stormed into the library accompanied by the teams of maids and servants she's forcibly re-educating. However, Milin-san stayed behind to keep me company, sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to my clothes and telling Priscilla-san that she didn't want to leave my side for a second.
Where did your pride as head maid go in that moment, Milin-san?
I really thought Dreg-san would be training in the courtyard with the other heroes. But instead, I saw him carrying heavy tomes on enhancement magic and an encyclopedia of this world's native species. You never really know someone; as intimidating as he seems, deep down he's an incredibly kind guy.
Shun-kun, the classic NEET, devoured the history, economics, and logic section of this world in the library and locked himself away in his room. Since whatever he learns will ultimately benefit the group, everyone decided to let him do as he pleased.
As expected, Susanoo-san is on a completely different level than the rest of us. Since he spends all day sleeping, Edelweiss-san decided to drag him out to force him to train at her level. And boy, was he fast; terrifyingly fast. His lifeless eyes suddenly became sharp and piercing. For a microsecond, I thought he was incredibly cool. About three seconds later, reality hit.
Edelweiss-san faced him in brutal hand-to-hand combat, but was still repelled several times. And we're talking about the experienced and deadly warrior Edelweiss-san! Finally, with flawless technique, she managed to knock him down and leave him unconscious on the ground. When he finally awoke, Edelweiss-san said to him with an approving smile:
“Your physical skills are magnificent! But you're fighting on the wrong ground. You challenged me head-on in open combat when your true specialty is absolute stealth. Well, I'm the one who dragged you here, so I can't entirely blame you.”
Susanoo-san didn't seem to care a fig about the motivational speech, so I doubt he understood a thing. Even so, he keeps going there to train on his own every now and then, without anyone forcing him. And we soon discover a hidden talent: Susanoo-san has the ability to fall asleep at the speed of light on any flat surface.
Mito-kun, for his part, is desperate to learn magic, especially fire magic. Professor Rose-san often studies alongside him and never misses an opportunity to tease him about how diligent and studious he is. Sometimes their exchanges are so strange and endearing that the rest of us want to rewind the scene out of sheer embarrassment.
The twins... well, Shouko-chan wields a bow with unparalleled elegance, driving the castle's professional soldiers to utter despair with her pinpoint accuracy. On the other hand, Shouta-chan (figuratively) massacred an entire unit of soldiers using a pseudo-Nanginata fighting style. A word of advice, though: it's best to avoid their room at night, as you can sometimes hear rather strange and suggestive conversations coming from inside.
Kouta-kun, being the overconfident idiot he is, had the brilliant idea of challenging Ruri-chan to a friendly duel in front of all of us. The result? Despite being a trained soldier, Kouta-kun couldn't even land a single blow.
She dodged every single one of his attacks with insulting ease. What a fine gentleman he looked! Of course, as long as his hands didn't try to grab her butt and chest at every opportunity.
Naturally, Ruri-chan ended up dominating the fight with sheer force of willpower, taking almost no damage, except for that one struggle where he grabbed her butt. The argument during the fight went something like this:
"Come here and hit me with everything you've got, Ruri-chan! Let's see how strong those punches you're so proud of really are!" "YOU DAMN SON OF A BITCH! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR BALLS OFF SO HARD YOUR OWN ASS WILL FLY THROUGH THE AIR! I'M GOING TO MESS UP YOUR FACE TOO...!" Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
Professor Rose-san covered my ears at lightning speed, so luckily I didn't hear the worst profanities during the confrontation.
And to think she's a beloved idol in our original world. Though she's clearly a delinquent idol through and through.
I also ended up discovering a secret.
Well, it was more of an open secret, but my suspicions were finally confirmed: Baccara-san was still a virgin, and all her daring, femme fatale attire was just a cosplay costume.
The truth is, she looks much more charming and beautiful without so much makeup.
Besides, she spends hours diligently studying complex magical theories. What an unpredictable woman!
I have a slight habit of sneaking into King Fon's room at night to chat with him for a while. Of course, Ishta-san always ends up scolding me for it. She also sternly warned me not to call him
"Fonfon ," so for safety's sake, I settled for simply calling him King Fon .
Upon hearing this, King Fon became utterly dejected and glared at Ishta-san with silent fury.
This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I've grown quite attached to Milin-san. If you ignore her minor flaws and occasional psychopathic tendencies, she's actually not such a bad person.
There was a time when I was curious to explore the royal capital on my own, so I sneaked off. However, Milin-san spotted me and stealthily followed behind, muttering to herself, "I won't regret this, no matter what...! "
After walking around the city streets for a while, we parted ways for a moment. Well, to be honest, I completely got lost.
And it's not like I started crying or anything, mind you! Of course not!
The problem was that the high quality and design of the clothes I was wearing attracted the wrong kind of attention, and before I knew it, a group of local thugs started following me.
I tried to make a dignified escape, you know? In the end, they cornered me in a dead-end alley (a very cliché scene, I know).
The big difference is that this time I was the real helpless victim, so I panicked so horribly that I let out a terrified scream.
And then, Milin-san appeared out of nowhere.
She looked at me with a forced smile, though her immaculate maid uniform was completely drenched in cold sweat and her face as pale as paper.
The thugs, seeing her alone, began to strut, thinking they had caught an even better target. Boy, could they have been more wrong. Milin-san snapped her fingers and materialized a tall, slender spear with a spiraling serpent design, a beautiful crimson color. In her other hand, she conjured a short sword with a sinister black sheen.
She was a Soul Weapon user, and to top it all off, she possessed two at the same time! To avoid traumatizing me too much, she simply knocked the thugs unconscious on the ground in a matter of seconds.
After that incident, I began to feel much safer by her side. Although that smile of hers still sends shivers down my spine from time to time.
When we returned to the castle, the atmosphere was chaotic. A guard shouted at the top of his lungs, "Princess Asagao-chan has returned safely!"
Excuse me, officer, at what exact moment in my short life did I become a "Princess"?
Of course, everyone rushed to the entrance in a panic at the commotion.
Milin-san proceeded to recount the events in great detail.
She received a mild reprimand for her carelessness, while the king... well, the king was truly furious with me and, with tears streaming down his face, he let go of me.
"You had us terrified! I never imagined you would run away in such an irresponsible way!"
Of course, I know perfectly well that what I did was wrong, and I felt very sorry. But seeing the king like that overwhelmed me so much that the heroes fell into a deathly silence. Violetta-san murmured an endless "Oh, my God..." and Lily and Edelweiss just stared without saying a word.
Until the king uttered the fateful phrase:
"Do you want me to throw you out of this castle once and for all and leave you to fend for yourself outside?"
"Huh...?
Was he really that angry to say that?!"
Those words echoed in my head like thunder. I started trembling from head to toe as I stared at the king, my eyes wide.
The terrible, dark scene of the day I died flashed through my mind. If a useless person like me is thrown out into the open in an unknown world... could I even survive three days?
Just asking myself that question broke down my last defenses, and I began to sob uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry… hic ! I’m so sorry! I’ll never do it again, I swear, hic !”
“¡Ueehhhhhh!”
“Wait, no, no, no! Asagao-chan, please calm down! I was just kidding! I wasn’t serious! I would never kick you out of here, you know I would never do something like that! So please, stop crying like that!”
“R-really…?”
"Of course I am, I swear on my crown!”
"Yes…! Forgive me, King Fon…”
I was so scared I thought I'd be homeless again. Meanwhile, the other spectators glared at the king with pure hatred. Violetta-san decided to intervene in a highly threatening tone:
"Fonfon, don't you think your shitty jokes are totally out of place in a situation like this, huh...?"
Lily-san and Edelweiss-san immediately seconded the threat:
"Fonfon, right now I have a huge urge to shove this training ball straight into your skull until it reaches your brain." "Fonfon, tell me... between bone 99 and 100, exactly how many do you want me to break today to calm my urges?"
Poor King Fon jumped in fright and began flailing his arms in the air:
“AHH! Please stop calling me Fonfon in public! I’m so sorry! I’m also reflecting on my actions right now! So please put down those weapons and stop threatening me with so much violence!”
In the end, they decided to strip him of his royal title and simply call him Fonfon . Although, come to think of it, it sounds rather endearing. King Fon quickly approached me, knelt down to my level, and took my hands:
"Asagao-chan, I apologize from the bottom of my heart! I promise I'll never make such a cruel joke again, and if anyone in this world tries to hurt you, I'll have to walk over my dead body to stop them. I swear I'll protect you with my life!"
He told me with such a genuine and repentant expression that I had no choice but to forgive him. So I wiped away my tears, gave him my best smile, and said:
“Yes… understood, big brother! I’m fine, I’m not crying anymore!”
Wow!
The king's body tension suddenly skyrocketed! Was it because I called him " Big Brother" or because of my direct statement? At first, Ishta-san wore a rather complicated expression, but he decided to bite his tongue and say nothing.
"Is the old man feeling alright today? " I wondered silently.
Then Baccara-san crossed his arms and dropped a bombshell on all of us... or rather, directly on the king:
“If you really want to care for and protect this adorable little girl so badly, why on earth don’t you officially adopt her once and for all as your little sister in the eyes of the law? You’re the king, but deep down you’re the most indecisive and annoying man here for beating around the bush so ambiguously.”
That's exactly what she said. And to back her up, the other heroes began to murmur among themselves with complete complicity:
“I would have adopted her the very first day I saw her, you know?”
“Exactly! How hard can it be to love and protect someone as precious as Asagao-chan?!”
“The king definitely has a screw loose, because he didn’t make this obvious move in the last five days.”
The king's royal pride must have shattered into a thousand pieces at that moment, but instead, his face lit up with tremendous innocence:
“Huh…?! I can actually do that officially…?!”
“Wow… Her Majesty finally processed the information after what felt like forever…”
“I told you it would take him more than three days to figure it out!” “Darn, you won the bet, Baccara-san!”
The soldiers at the back of the room began to murmur and chuckle. I truly thought he already knew, considering I'm just a simple street orphan. But to think this wise monarch is so oblivious...
“I already figured this would eventually happen, although I admit it took him longer than expected to react. In fact, I had strictly forbidden Miss Asagao-chan from calling him 'big brother' or 'Fonfon' precisely to force him to take the step and accept her as his official little sister once and for all.”
Ishta-san, you're a sly old fox and a real schemer. But if you spend your life plotting things in the shadows without anyone noticing, your existence will always end up seeming suspicious.
And in that rather eventful manner, all the events of the last few days leading up to the arrival of the magical purifying device came to a close. As for the matter of formally adopting me as his little sister, King Fon assured me with a broad smile that he would make the official declaration as soon as we completely eliminate the troublesome vacuum particles from our bodies.
However, to ruin the emotional moment, Ruri-chan started screaming at the top of her lungs from the back of the room:
"Hey, listen up, you silly king! She's the little sister of the whole group, so don't even think about hogging her just for the royalty!"
And with that... chaos reigned once again.