¡Hmm~!
A week had passed since the heroes left.
I was just out shopping in the capital… with Milin-san, of course.
In the three months we'd been together, she'd become much less unsettling. Every now and then she'd even give me a sweet, genuine smile.
—Ojou-sama, what would you like to buy today?
I still wasn't completely used to being called "Ojou-sama" or "Princess," but it was the custom of the kingdom, so I let it go.
As always, people began to gather around us. The citizens of Astra were so kind that they sometimes even gave me gifts. Just then, a man who claimed to be my admirer handed me a beautiful aquamarine stone that shimmered with a deep blue hue.
—Milin-san, I ran out of materials for the birthday present I'm sewing for Fon-nii.
—Understood, Ojou-sama! I'll take you to the best tailor in the capital. Please hold my hand so we don't get separated.
I had money, you know?!
Astra's monetary system was quite simple:
10 bronze coins = 1 large bronze coin
10 large bronze coins = 1 silver coin
10 silver coins = 1 large silver coin
10 large silver coins = 1 gold coin
10 gold coins = 1 platinum coin
10 platinum coins = 1 mithril coin
And a single mithril coin could support a family of four for ten years!
There was a pile of mithril coins in Fon-nii's room. He'd given me five. Five! He was being too generous. I immediately stored them in my dimensional storage. At that moment, I was carrying two large gold coins and several dozen regular gold coins. I wasn't being wasteful… I just knew how to manage what I had.
Even so, I ended up holding Milin-san's hand. I got lost too easily. That's why Lily-san and Edelweiss-san always made fun of Fon-nii.
—You and Asagao-chan have exactly the same terrible sense of direction. Are you sure that the "lost sister" thing isn't real?
They always ended up making fun of him.
Before she officially accepted being the amange Ichiro, I once asked Edelweiss-san if she had feelings for Fon-nii.
His response was direct and frankly rude:
—Feelings of attraction or love? Hmm… to be honest, I don't see him as someone of the opposite sex. He's almost like a brother, a really silly one, bordering on idiotic.
Lily-san and Violetta-san said more or less the same thing.
Although Fon-nii would occasionally give them rather lewd looks… they didn't even flinch at it anymore.
The sun was setting when we returned to the castle.
There was a strange atmosphere in the corridors. As I passed two soldiers, I overheard their conversation:
—Dozens of magical beasts have appeared in the forests west and south of the capital. We must exterminate them immediately.
—I heard it too. It seems Lily-sama and Edelweiss-sama will be leading the operation. With them in charge, it should be easy.
—Not only that… a Devil has been sighted in one of the western villages. Violetta-sama will go to investigate along with Her Majesty.
—Really? Even Your Majesty?
—Yes. It coincides with the time of the month when he conducts personal inspections. He'll take the opportunity to make a surprise visit.
Upon hearing that, I told myself there was nothing to worry about. They were all strong.
I went into my room, looked at the almost finished cape I was sewing for Fon-nii and the letter I had written him. There was also the anti-Devil amulet Violetta-san had given me, stored in the closet because I hadn't had a chance to use it yet.
I lay down for a moment… and ended up falling asleep. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
When I opened my eyes, what I saw from the window froze my blood.
Black smoke rose from various points in the city. Deformed, dog-like creatures ran through the streets. Soldiers brought them down with relative ease. In the sky, enormous, twisted birds were brought down by bursts of magic.
Astra's soldiers were really strong.
Suddenly, my bedroom door burst open. Milin-san entered, accompanied by several soldiers.
—Ojou-sama! Are you here? Thank goodness! Prioritize the princess's safety!
Five soldiers and three mages stood guard outside the room. Milin-san remained inside, by my side.
—M-Milin-san… what's happening outside? —I asked, my voice trembling.
—My dear sir, there's nothing to worry about. The people of the Kingdom of Astra are strong! Even the citizens themselves will fight when necessary!
Her smile was sweet. Despite my fear, that smile calmed me down a little.
At what point had he begun to see her as a maternal figure?
I snuggled up to his chest without thinking. I didn't want to lose that warmth.
Suddenly, the backpack where I carried my day's shopping began to glow and shake violently. I opened it hastily. The aquamarine stone shot into the air and began to distort… until it became a door.
—Ojou-sama, stand back! This could be dangerous! Soldiers!
Milin-san shielded me with her own body as she screamed. The soldiers and mages immediately entered, on high alert.
One of the magicians murmured with understanding and horror:
—…A space portal!
The space door made a wet sound, like meat tearing.
Something emerged from within that shouldn't exist.
Three meters tall. Skin as black as tar, covered in jagged bony plates. Arms too long that ended in claws the size of daggers. And a face… if it could even be called a face: a mass of lidless yellow eyes and a jaw divided into four parts that opened like a carnivorous flower.
The stench that accompanied it was of rotten meat and burnt sulfur.
"Ojou-sama, back off!" shouted Milin-san.
His two Soul Weapons materialized with a crimson and black flash. The serpentine spear vibrated in his right hand; the black short sword, in his left.
For the first time since I'd known her, her voice didn't sound elegant or controlled. It sounded terrified… and determined.
The soldiers did not hesitate.
—Form a line! Protect the princess with your lives!
The first wizard threw an ice spear the size of a tree. The Devil shattered it with a single blow as if it were glass. Shards flew in all directions.
One of them pierced the magician's neck.
The man didn't even scream; he simply put his hand to his throat and fell to his knees, choking on his own blood.
The second soldier charged, shield raised. The Devil's claw pierced the metal, the shield, the armor, and the chest in a single motion.
He lifted him into the air like a broken doll and shook him. Organs and warm blood splattered the marble floor at my feet.
Vomiting.
I couldn't stop it. The acid burned my throat as I watched the soldier's body being thrown against the wall with a wet, final thud.
"Keep formation!" roared another.
Three more soldiers advanced together, casting reinforcement spells and slashing in coordinated fashion. The Devil barely flinched. One of his tails (did he have tails?) moved too quickly. I heard the sharp crack of vertebrae breaking. The body of the soldier in the center bent backward at an impossible angle before collapsing.
Milin-san didn't wait any longer.
He lunged forward with a speed I had never seen from him. The crimson lance traced a brilliant arc and plunged deep into the monster's side. The Devil let out a shriek that shook the windows. Black blood, thick as tar, gushed from the wound.
"Now!" she shouted.
But the monster was not that simple.
His free arm whipped around. Milin-san managed to interpose her short sword in time, but the impact was brutal. I heard her gasp in pain. Several soldiers tried to take advantage of the opening. One managed to sever a tendon in the Devil's leg. Another drove a light spear into his shoulder. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
It wasn't enough.
The Devil whirled around in blind fury. His claws closed on the torso of the nearest soldier and ripped him in two from top to bottom, as if he were opening a ripe fruit. The two halves fell to opposite sides, still trembling.
I vomited again. This time only bile came out. Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn't stop staring.
Milin-san was covered in black and red blood. She was breathing with difficulty. One of the Devil's bone plates had ripped open her side, and her own blood soaked her apron.
Even so, he did not back down.
"Ojou-sama…" he said through gritted teeth, without taking his eyes off the enemy. "When he plunges the spear in again… and the sword into your foot… that's the signal. Run. Don't look back. Don't stop. Understood?"
I couldn't answer. I just nodded, trembling so much I almost fell over.
Milin-san inhaled deeply.
—Goddess Nyvalis… if you truly exist… guide me just this once.
He pushed himself with everything he had left.
The spear found the same wounded flank and sank in to the hilt. At the same time, with a cry of pure exertion, he drove the short black sword through the monster's foot, piercing flesh, bone, and the stone floor.
The Devil howled in true pain for the first time.
—¡CORRE!
I ran.
My small legs moved more by instinct than by will. My heart was beating so hard it hurt. Behind me I heard the sound of flesh tearing… and Milin-san's scream.
An instant later, an impossible force lifted me off the ground by the waist.
The world turned.
For a split second, I saw Milin-san's left arm fly through the air, still clutching the hilt of the short sword. I saw her face contorted with pain and despair as she cried out my name, her voice breaking:
—¡ ¡ OJOU-SAMA!!
The Devil paid no more attention to her. He went through the portal, still with me trapped in his grasp as if I were an insignificant object.
The last image I had of the castle was of Milin-san on her knees, with the stump of her left shoulder dripping blood, extending her remaining arm towards me in a useless gesture.
Then the portal light went out… and only the darkness of the night forest remained. Yes, when I stepped out of the portal, it was already night.
We were in the middle of a forest. The Devil let me down on the grass and knelt before a figure waiting in the shadows.
My whole body was trembling.
I couldn't scream.
I couldn't even cry.
The existence that lay before him was impossible.
Silky black hair.
A face that could be mistaken for that of an exceptionally beautiful young woman.
One meter seventy-five.
Skin so pale it seemed to glow in the moonlight.
And an overly friendly smile.
There it was…
-...! Me too?!
…my own body from my past life!
"Hey..." I said in my old voice, tilting my head slightly. "So you're Asagao-chan, huh? My other self is really cute~"