Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga – Chapter 84

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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How many things in life generally go as planned?

Though I wasn’t sure, in this life at least, quite a few things seemed to be going my way.

Of course, I’d only have the leisure to discuss my current life after killing that bastard from the Demon King’s army who had ruined my first chance, but at least the process of working towards that goal was going more smoothly than expected.

However, it wasn’t entirely comforting that things were going according to plan.

There was an unsatisfactory aspect.

Didn’t programmers say that having bugs in a program was a problem, but having no bugs was also a problem?

It was exactly that kind of situation.

If I hadn’t been aware of it at all, it might have been different, but knowing clearly that the world was never easy, yet still having things go this smoothly felt more like pressure.

Especially in this fantasy world where all sorts of different races, godlike beings, and bizarre creatures that rivaled transcendents coexisted, it was even more odd.

Was I unknowingly becoming a frog in a well?

Would I one day suddenly meet something that I couldn’t resist and end my second life without even putting up a fight?

That kind of anxiety constantly lurked around, steadily gnawing at my nerves.

This was why I couldn’t escape my obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

The only reason I could endure it was purely because I was living a second life, and not because I had some comforting passive skill like immunity to mental attacks.

Wasn’t it part of being a functioning member of society to have one or two tricks for overcoming formless anxiety?

“This skewer has a truly mysterious taste. Even though I know it’s masking low-quality meat with strong seasoning… my hand keeps reaching for it.”

“Eat slowly. If you eat too much of that too quickly, you’ll get a stomachache.”

“Mm. It’s certainly stimulating enough to make one fear the aftermath.”

But Esmée, who was in front of me, wasn’t like that.

She was just an ordinary genius.

It might sound absurd to call someone an ordinary genius, but with two reincarnated individuals from another world nearby, being a genius was ordinary.

In any case, despite being a genius, she was living her first try at life, and because she was a genius, she was revered and worshiped by those around her, forced to stand alone and aloof, easily becoming isolated.

Moreover, she was a record-breaking promising talent, which said it all.

In such a situation, would it really be as easy as it sounded for someone with normal thinking, neither arrogant nor complacent, to constantly anticipate and prepare for new threats and move forward?

Especially when there wasn’t a single person to confide in about how difficult it was?

To my eyes, she seemed to be carrying a loneliness not much different from what the hero might have felt.

At least he only had to bear it for himself.

What Esmée had to bear was the entire empire.

“To think I’ve lived and grown up here without knowing these things. It’s truly amusing.”

Her smiling face was that of an ordinary girl.

Although she was called the Iron-Blooded Princess and was actually so good at politics that it was daunting, she still felt joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure just like anyone else.

She wasn’t a being with twisted emotions.

To worship such a girl, I didn’t know if it was because this was a world with gods, but by my standards, it wasn’t normal behavior.

Of course, I understood.

The problem was probably that she had done her job too well.

That’s why those high-level knights, scattered throughout the market even now, didn’t doubt her and trusted her completely, hiding their identities and keeping their mouths shut while just watching.

It wasn’t hard to guess that the reason they hadn’t rushed out immediately was purely because Esmée hadn’t given any orders to do so.

They were confident that she would make the right judgments and give accurate instructions in any situation.

That’s why they were quietly watching as I practically kidnapped her, skipping even classes, dressing her in ordinary clothes that normally wouldn’t dare be put on a princess, and eating and feeding her cheap street food.

What kind of fanatical trust was this?

It was my firm opinion that this was certainly not the attitude adults should show towards an 18-year-old.

This was a separate issue from respecting her abilities.

Being surrounded by such people might be proof of how outstanding a talent she was, but from my perspective as an ordinary person, it only looked like an extreme environment – perfect for burning out someday, running under the pressure of having to lead everyone without having proper human relationships.

If she hadn’t caught my eye at all, it might have been different, but having already noticed her and even built up a stack of affection, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

At least not until I reached the conclusion that all of this was just my unfounded worry because she was truly the ultimate genius among geniuses.

To me, Esmée was a hamster before she was a princess.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve played like this, so let’s enjoy it to the fullest.”

“Hehe. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be counting on your escort in this entirely unknown realm.”

My cute friend, the hamster.

And Eldmia Egga doesn’t abandon friends.

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Gaining confidence from the fact that no one recognized her or fell to their knees in shock as she roamed freely around the capital, Esmée began to look at various things quite seriously.

Most of it was food, which was another interesting point, but thinking about it, it might have been inevitable that the commoners’ food she was seeing for the first time would be the most interesting to her, who had already experienced all sorts of high-class ornaments and clothing.

The capital of the Empire, with its abundance of leisure facilities that far surpassed even the capital of Itisel, not to mention Ogwen, had that much more to eat, and we were able to continue pursuing new things without a moment of boredom, looking at shops and buying and eating various things.

As time passed, Esmée also moved more actively, allowing our food tour to continue in a joyful atmosphere.

Even in Esselua’s case, seeing her sticking closely to the hero, it didn’t seem like being the Empire’s princess particularly prevented such leisure activities, but it seemed that having been caught up in work for so long, she had missed both the time and opportunity.

By the time we had finished various snacks and even dinner, only Esmée remained, now skillfully perched on my shoulder.

If I had been barehanded, my shoulder would have been destroyed long ago no matter how light she was, but in the face of magic, such things were meaningless.

“My, my. Your behavior at the academy was all just pretense, wasn’t it, Eldmia?”

“I’d prefer if you called it the ability to distinguish between public and private matters and to know the time and place. It’s on a different level from pretense.”

“You’re always so good at persuasion…”

The hand that gently patted my head while smiling was small but warm.

We were on our way back to the mansion, having properly concluded our escapade with the excuse that even the knights on surveillance duty needed to go home.

Esmée, who wasn’t particularly surprised that I had noticed them, seemed a little disappointed but didn’t hesitate.

“I’m saying this now, but why did you suddenly suggest skipping class and going out to play?”

“I told you the day we first met. Even tools wear out if used without rest, so how would people be any different?”

“But I do rest when it’s time to rest?”

“How much rest do you think someone leading a country gets when they say they’re resting? Probably just extending the sleep time they’ve been cutting into a bit more.”

“It’s so surprisingly accurate that I’m at a loss for words.”

Was it really?

It seemed that Esmée’s poor growth was likely affected by her lack of sleep time.

“How can someone so intelligent be so lacking in perception…”

“I’m nothing without my perceptiveness, you know.”

“Then I must be riding a corpse right now.”

Esmée said in a firm tone while patting my head.

She wouldn’t say such things if she saw me fighting one against a hundred.

If I lacked perception, I would have died about four more times by now.

“Somehow, I feel a surge of discontent emanating from your head.”

“What? You can feel that?”

“Hehe. Who knows? But one thing is certain: the perceptive Eldmia has a problem to solve right in front of him.”

“Eh?”

The only thing in front of us was our mansion…

Oh.

Lagnis was there now too.

As I approached, sweating internally about what to say, Esmée unexpectedly spoke first.

“Would you like to try riding too? It’s surprisingly stable.”

“May I think of you as Esmée rather than the princess?”

“Of course. I don’t assert my authority to distinguish between advantageous and disadvantageous situations.”

“Alright, Esmée. Shall we talk for a moment?”

As I let Esmée down, I cautiously observed the situation, but Lagnis seemed intent on talking only with Esmée and didn’t call me separately.

Still, unlike her recent behavior, she was calm… so there shouldn’t be any problems, right…?

“Lord Eldmia, let’s have a chat.”

Just as I was about to feel relieved, Renisa, who had clearly realized she had been deceived, grabbed me with a cold gaze.

Right. I had done wrong, so I had to accept the consequences.

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[To me, Esmée was a hamster before she was a princess. – Legendary line. Also, Eldmia is FUCKEDDDDD ]