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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“I’m… I’m never getting married…”
Elsie sat there, looking utterly dejected.
I told her,
“It’s fine. It wasn’t anything special.”
It was true.
It felt no different than, say, checking if a cat was male or female.
I didn’t feel anything strange.
Besides, having weird feelings for this little troublemaker would be a crime.
“You… you jerk.”
Yeah, even I had to admit, my words came out wrong.
I scratched my head, at a loss for words.
After a moment of silence, Elsie spoke.
“Well, I forgive you.”
“Huh?”
“I forgive you. It wasn’t like you did it on purpose. You said you thought I was in danger and were just trying to help, right?”
That was true.
Come to think of it, I had done nothing wrong.
I just…
“You didn’t know I was a girl. That’s why you let me sleep in the same room, right?”
That’s not…
It was true that I knew she was a girl, but she looked like nothing more than a stray cat, so I took her in.
However, bringing that up would only complicate things, so I decided to stay quiet.
“I’ll forgive you. But on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Keep it a secret that I’m a girl.”
“Of course. But…”
There was a flaw in that plan.
“Even if I don’t say anything, I doubt other people will be fooled so easily.”
I had to admit, if she was still covered in grime like before, she might have been able to deceive a few people.
But now, freshly washed and cleaned up, she looked completely different.
Her fair skin and bright blonde hair seemed to radiate light.
‘Is this because of her Trait?’
Her Status window mentioned a Trait:
[Authority of the Lodraim Royal Family (High)]
As a player, I never really felt its effects during the game.
But now, witnessing it firsthand, I could sense its distinct presence.
‘So this is what it meant…’
Perhaps it wouldn’t be easy to conceal a Trait like that.
But more importantly, with hair that bright, she would stand out wherever she went.
I unfolded the handkerchief I had with me. Fortunately, her hair was short, and her head was rather small, so this should be enough.
“Let’s cover your hair before we go anywhere.”
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I took Elsie to a shop that sold dyes.
“What color do you want? Black is always a safe bet, right?”
As I browsed the selection of dyes, Elsie asked hesitantly,
“W-wait a minute. Why do I have to dye my hair?”
“You want to walk around with ashes in your hair? The rain will just wash it all away anyway.”
“Well, that’s…”
Elsie hesitated, so I asked again.
“So, what color do you want?”
“…Black.”
After purchasing the black dye, I asked the shopkeeper for advice on how to dye hair.
It seemed more troublesome than I expected, but not impossible.
“Let’s go back to the inn. We can dye your hair there.”
Following me out of the shop, Elsie asked urgently,
“How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That… that I’m a fugitive.”
If I explained that I already knew because I was essentially the same type of being as her patron, she would think I was crazy.
Fortunately, there was another explanation.
“It was pretty obvious. You looked like you were on the run from someone. And your hair color isn’t something you see around here.”
“You made that judgment based on that alone?”
Elsie didn’t seem convinced.
I decided to play my trump card.
“I heard about the coup in the Lodraim Kingdom.”
Her eyes widened.
“You…!”
“Let’s talk about this back at the inn. Walls have ears, even if we whisper.”
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“Just how much do you know?”
Information disparity.
It was a powerful weapon that I had also utilized during my deal with Gwen.
While I preferred not to rely on it due to the complexities involved, it was a useful tool when needed.
“Close your eyes. The dye’s going to get in.”
“Answer me first…”
“Did you just get dye in your mouth?”
“Ack! Ptooey!”
Whatever the dye was made of, it tasted absolutely horrible.
“So how much do you know? About the situation, I mean.”
“Well, there was a coup in the Kingdom, the Royal Palace was shut down, and in the process, the Third Princess disappeared. That about it?”
Elsie’s jaw dropped.
“Now, now, keep your mouth closed. You’ll get dye in your hair.”
I continued applying the black dye to her hair, ignoring her stunned silence.
The spring sunlight streamed in through the window. Elsie’s hair, though short, was surprisingly soft.
“So you helped me knowing that I’m a princess?”
Not really.
“Well, that doesn’t really matter. Whether you’re a princess or not has nothing to do with me.”
“Are you sure you’re not after something? Some kind of reward?”
Her destination.
I suppose you could call that a reward. But I could have figured that out without going this far to help her.
If I had left her alone, she wouldn’t have made it to Sak anyway.
There was a different reason why I decided to help her.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I helped you because I felt sorry for you.”
There was no other reason.
After meeting Gwen and living with Weiss, I had started to see the people of this world differently.
And Elsie, from what I knew, had one of the most tragic fates in the entire game.
If I could help, I wanted to.
Perhaps that was why I had been putting off asking about her destination.
I wasn’t sure how I would react if I learned she was heading to Sak.
But one thing was certain, I didn’t want to see her die as a fugitive.
“I just… want you, one human being, to survive.”
When we defeated the 71st Demon King, Finn’s death was unavoidable.
But it was the first time I had experienced death in this world, and it left a lasting impact.
If I were to ignore Elsie and she ended up dying because of it, I knew I would regret it forever.
“This should be enough.”
After meticulously applying the dye, I wrapped her hair in the handkerchief.
Now we just needed to wait a bit before rinsing it off.
“You want me to survive, right?”
“That’s right.”
Elsie’s expression was serious.
“What if your life was at stake? Would you still protect me, even if it meant sacrificing yourself?”
That was a question worth considering.
‘If my life was on the line…’
Of course not.
My priority was my own survival.
I decided to participate in the last Demon King subjugation because the odds of winning were good, and the potential SP rewards were too tempting to pass up. It wasn’t as if I risked my life purely to save the village.
But…
“It won’t come to that.”
Elsie stared at me, dumbfounded.
“Don’t underestimate them. The pursuers hired by the Kingdom are armed and dangerous. In Hailen, even heroes were after me.”
From what I knew, those weren’t real heroes.
Most likely hero candidates. True heroes could earn far more by hunting Chaos Beasts than chasing after a runaway princess.
If a real hero had set their sights on Elsie, she would have been done for.
‘But even I could handle those guys now.’
The problem was, how could I convince Elsie of that?
Maybe if I showed her my skills with a sword or my relics…
But then again, that might just make her even more anxious.
“Elsie, listen carefully.”
So I decided to tell her a half-truth.
“I have somewhere I need to be, too. This is just a temporary stop for me. Once I make sure you can survive on your own without getting caught, I’ll be on my way.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Most likely tomorrow. So don’t worry about me.”
I unwrapped the handkerchief from her hair.
Then, grabbing a basin of water, I started to rinse out the dye.
‘The color came out nicely.’
With this, no one would think she was a princess.
It’s not like the pursuers had seen her face anyway.
“Ah…”
Elsie nervously gathered her now-black hair in front of her face.
“It’s… it’s not strange, right?”
“Of course not.”
Even with black hair, the air of dignity she exuded was impossible to conceal.
I would need to figure out a way to tone that down as well.
“Are you sure it’s not weird?”
“Yes, I’m sure. You look like you’ve always had black hair. Whoever dyed it before did a good job.”
“Then… maybe we should go out again?”
“Go out?”
What was she talking about, after being so worried about pursuers just a moment ago?
‘I was planning on going out again anyway.’
I couldn’t have her walking around in my oversized clothes forever.
I was thinking of buying her some new ones, along with other necessities.
“But what about you? Would you be comfortable going out?”
“I have black hair now. I wouldn’t say I’m completely at ease, but… I want to go out.”
She hesitated for a moment, then added,
“You said you’re leaving tomorrow. So today… it’s okay, right?”
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