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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Eleanor von Chrysos didn’t have many memories of her mother. She had already passed away when Eleanor was too young.
All she remembered of her mother was a soft hand stroking her as a child, a hand that soon grew cold and hard.
What she was left with was:
— It’s fine even if you do nothing.
Her father’s indifference.
— …
And the disregard of those around her.
No matter what Eleanor did, no one paid her any mind.
Even when she acted out.
Even when she performed good deeds.
Even when she threw tantrums and screamed.
They would only clean up after her.
They wouldn’t even give her a proper glance.
Why was that? What had she done wrong for those around her to treat her like a mere accessory?
Eleanor couldn’t understand. In the end, she did as Delayed had said.
— …
She stopped everything she was doing and simply lived.
Like a doll, like an accessory, like the blank expressions they wore, she decided to live a dry, emotionless life.
Yes, that was until she met her.
— Wow~! What a pretty hair color! They say this is a feature of the Chrysos royal family, right? And since your eyes are blue like mine, it feels like it suits you even more.
— …
— The cake was delicious, but it looked a bit plain to eat just like that, so I added some decorations. What do you think?
— …
— How about this dress? Hmm… or maybe not? I feel like blue tones would suit you better, Princess… What do you think, Princess?
— …
Eleanor remained silent. She was just silent, as always.
It had been too long since she’d become like that.
She had forgotten how to answer.
— Ta-da~! Look at this. This time, it’s my masterpiece. Goodness, I’m working so hard for you, Princess!
And yet, she relentlessly…
— Princess! Look at this!
…unlike Eleanor, who had already given up long ago…
— Isn’t it fun?
…she never gave up on talking to Eleanor.
And so, Eleanor, little by little…
— How about this?
— Mm…
…just a little bit…
— Look at this! Isn’t it amazing? Wouldn’t it be nice to have one of these?
— It seems fine.
…as if taking one careful step at a time…
— Ta-da~! This cake is my masterpiece. What do you think? It’s delicious, right?
— It’s strange. You should try a little harder, Decentura.
— Aack…
…was able to change.
She gradually began to be influenced by the woman named Decentura.
She started to dress herself like her, seek out delicious food, and eventually, began to search for strange and amusing things.
— Ugh! It exploded!
— R-run away! Princesssss!
And she started to cause trouble.
She went from being an accessory to a human, and then to a problem child.
Everyone started to look at her.
— Eleanor… I’ve told you before, it’s fine if you do nothing… No, could you please just not do anything?
Delayed, who had always muttered that it was fine to do nothing, now held his head in his hands as he said the same words.
But he was looking at her.
The people around her, who used to treat her as if she were invisible, now started paying attention to her, worried about when she might cause trouble next.
And her steps, once confined to the small castle, gradually stretched out into the world.
As if to imprint herself upon everyone living in the kingdom.
— Oh my, if it isn’t the Princess!
— Is that strange maid with the weird hair not with you today?
— It’s her day off!
Slowly, Eleanor began to melt into the world.
She, who couldn’t grasp anything in her hands, eventually grasped the world.
She grasped relationships with countless people.
But that…
— Umm… Who were you again?
…all came crashing down in an instant.
Eleanor thinks.
Was she unhappy? Or was she happy?
The happiness she had felt vanished like a midsummer night’s dream.
As if it had all been a dream from the start.
It collapsed like a mirage.
The moments of happiness she had felt were but fleeting.
They shouldn’t have been a time deep enough to harbor lingering attachments.
“When you return to the kingdom, Eleanor, what do you want to do? Revenge, perhaps?”
Eleanor still hadn’t found an answer to Lustitia’s repeated questions.
She had only thought about it vaguely.
She had only thought that she had to see it with her own eyes.
In truth, even what she wanted to confirm was ambiguous.
“Umm… As for me.”
But now she knew.
“I want to go and save the people who filled my moments of happiness.”
That brief happiness was the very foundation of who she was now.
Eleanor remembered the sight of Decentura, suffering while her soul was held captive by a monster.
If everyone was in that state, she wanted to save them.
And…
“I also can’t just stand by and watch them do bad things using everyone’s faces.”
The monster that claimed to have devoured Delayed possessed intelligence.
If it were just a rampaging monster, it would be one thing, but she couldn’t let it harbor schemes while wearing the faces of the people she loved, could she?
This might be her last chance. The serendipitous event of a martial power like the Hero helping her wouldn’t always come around.
“So, I want to fulfill my duty. What about you, sister? Why are you helping me?”
“I’m from Chrysos, too. So I need to check on what happened while I was away doing other things.”
Eleanor nodded at Lustitia’s bitter smile.
It wasn’t just her. Someone else also wanted to know about Chrysos.
If so, then she, as royalty, must stand at the very forefront.
Because that was the royal duty she had decided to bear.
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“Pfft!”
“…”
In the midst of our journey trailing Eleanor and Lustitia.
I was once again feeling the cruelty of fate.
“I-It… Pfft, it, it suits you well, Prince Oz.”
Lucia was holding back her laughter, unable to even look me in the eye properly.
It hasn’t even been that long since we made our treaty. Are you serious?
“…If you don’t shut that mouth right now, you will die, Lucia Punisher.”
There had been foreshadowing.
I had hoped it wasn’t the case, but there was no doubt that this damn situation was the result of that foreshadowing.
But, to think it would be in this way.
At this time.
“Keuk! Well, well… It’s just a wig, but to think it would suit you this well just from that. Maybe you have a talent for cross-dressing?”
To think I’d end up cross-dressing…
No, in fact, it wasn’t even cross-dressing. I just put on a wig.
The problem was that everyone around me saw me as a woman just from that.
The moment I saw the results of the poll Eleanor had conducted, I had felt a faint sense of unease. Such anxieties usually turn out to be true.
That’s why I had deliberately pushed it to a corner of my mind and tried my best not to think about it.
But what is this?
In the end, this is the state I’m in.
The one who screwed me over wasn’t Eleanor, but surprisingly, Lucia Domine.
“Besides, you brought this on yourself, didn’t you? Who told you to get so famous?”
“If you flap that mouth of yours any more, I really can’t guarantee your safety, Lucia Punisher.”
I was already famous to begin with.
But with Lucia Domine’s recent announcement, it was safe to say that interest in me had now spread across the entire world.
In a situation where we were secretly tailing Eleanor and Lustitia, this kind of attention was not good.
In the first place, hadn’t Eleanor left me and taken off abruptly?
If she found out I was following her, she might go completely underground, or she might push herself even harder on an already strenuous journey.
One might say that it’s just Eleanor we’re dealing with, but…
The problem was the Hero Lustitia, who was accompanying her.
What her purpose was in accompanying Eleanor, why she hadn’t dispelled her curse.
In a situation where I couldn’t be sure of anything, there was nothing to be gained by approaching rashly.
That’s why I needed to move while hiding my identity, but…
“Don’t be so angry, Prince Oz. You agreed to it, didn’t you? What can you do about being born with such cold eyes?”
The effect of [Contemplation] was the problem. Those cold eyes made people uneasy, even if they didn’t look directly at them.
But I couldn’t just deactivate [Contemplation] when I didn’t know when or where an assassin might strike.
It was the same even if I covered my face with a hood or a robe.
Oz’s black hair, surprisingly, stood out in this fantasy world of multicolored hair. So I wore a wig.
So.
Yes, so…
Not only am I wearing a loose-fitting robe and hiding my face with a hood, but I’m also wearing a wig in case someone calls out to me.
At first, I didn’t intend to go this far.
I just planned to change my hairstyle, but in trying to hide Oz’s distinctive black hair, I naturally needed a long-haired wig.
Oz’s face is handsome.
Not in a manly way, but more like a pretty boy with the air of a young nobleman.
Yes, just wearing the wig was enough to make me look like a woman.And just from that, everyone, including Lucia and the passersby, started to perceive me as a woman.
“This shouldn’t have happened…”
Right, should I try to think positively?
If I conceal my gender itself, no one will suspect that I am that so-called [Apostle of Dawn].
Ahahaha! It’s funny even to me.
god’s apostle, who descended upon receiving god’s call, is cross-dressing?
Who would believe that? Haha!
There would be no suspicion, but…
“From now on, I’m going to kill every bastard who talks to me.”
“No, is it really that bad…?”
Ah, whatever. From now on, I’m killing every bastard who talks to me.
“Why isn’t there a magic tool that changes one’s appearance? Come to think of it, even the academy principal uses Polymorph to live as a little kid, right?”
“Because it’s a magic officially banned by Spellerge. I suppose the idea is that concealing one’s appearance could destabilize international affairs.”
“The Mage King, Salem…!”
As I suspected, that damn bastard is my enemy. Did he say to come within three years?
I’m definitely going to crush this bastard during next year’s summer vacation.
“Stop it and let’s go get a forged ID, Prince Oz.”
“As if making me look like this wasn’t enough, you want me to go to such a crowded place?”
“It’s a forgery, but you need a photo to make an ID, so we have no choice…”
“…”
Hah! Really… I feel so wretched.
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We made the ID, overcame some minor troubles, and bypassed Spellerge to arrive at a town near the border of the Kingdom of Chrysos.
This town would be the last one we pass through. Yes, that means we have now caught up to the town where Eleanor and Lustitia are.
“It seems you’ve gotten quite used to carrying yourself as a woman in the meantime.”
“I’m pretty sure I told you not to spout nonsense. Do you want to see this place burn? Huh?! You think I can’t do it?!”
Advanced Magic.
[Hellfire].
I can use advanced magic now. That means I can burn this place down and erase everything along with my cringey past. You think I can’t do it?!
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, Prince Oz. We’re almost at the end, aren’t we? Just endure a little longer. Are you really going to end it like this with no reward?”
“Kgh…”
Now that we’ve crossed all the hurdles, this ordeal is over.
Let’s just endure a little longer.
“…Somehow, your gaze seems even more intense than before.”
That’s because I have [Contemplation] activated to the max right now.
With the sole determination to kill every bastard who talks to me, I have been sending silent pressure to every bastard who looks at me.
Of course, it was also because Lustitia was nearby.
Her perception is no ordinary thing. We had only just entered the same town, yet she was already watching this way.
In the first place, she must have known that Tenebris was monitoring her. It was just that she didn’t consider it a major threat. But now, isn’t the destination right before her eyes?
If so, would she really leave her tail be?
“Didn’t they say she stopped them from advancing any further when they reached the front of the Demon King’s castle?”
“Yes, they said guiding them there was the limit of her permitted approach.”
“Then it’s highly likely to be the same this time.”
“Right, she could come to warn us as early as tonight. Or she could take immediate forceful action. Before it’s too late, we need to come up with a countermeasure… Hm?”
Suddenly, Lustitia, whom I was monitoring with [Contemplation], started to move.
It wasn’t a simple feeling of her moving or looking around.
Lustitia was now running at full speed.
“This, don’t tell me…”
Just as I could predict Lustitia’s actions, couldn’t she also predict ours?
This town is the final location.
She would surely take some measures to shake her tail.
Then what about us?
We are trying to take countermeasures, predicting her move to shake her tail.
Does Lustitia not know that?
The methods of Tenebris, whom she had already encountered once?
If so, for her to employ a method that exceeds our predictions…
“She read us.”
“What…?”
She would just have to move before we could prepare in advance.
The direction Lustitia is moving is right here.
She is heading towards us with pinpoint accuracy.
It seems that since we were near the border, she had been paying attention to the fact that outsiders had entered.
I never imagined she would immediately identify us, who joined late, as remnants of Tenebris.
“Get ready. The Hero is coming.”
In the worst-case scenario, it could lead to a battle.
“W-what, already?! T-then what should we do now?”
“If Eleanor has told her about me, we might be able to resolve this through conversation.”
“Conversation? But you’re currently…”
CRASH!
The moment Lucia was about to say something, the wall shattered, and a figure entered the room.
Hair that shone like gold, eyes like sapphires.
“Excuse me! Is this the place where the group called Tenebris is?”
[SSR Golden Hero]
Lustitia Heros.
“Hmm?”
The moment our eyes met, I could feel her tense up.
Damn [Contemplation].
It seems this might immediately escalate into a battle, just like usual.
“Hero, Lustitia. This is sudden, but please listen to what I have to say first…”
“Oh? I thought you’d be shady stalkers, but you’re cute ladies?”
“Ah…”
“I told you so…”
My plan to reveal that I was Oz and enter negotiations instantly scattered like foam.
This is no good.
I can’t reveal that I’m Oz in this state.
If I just take off this damn wig, she would be able to understand who I am. But I have no confidence in convincing her of the reason why I was cross-dressing.
In fact, it wasn’t even cross-dressing, but no one believed that.
“A pleasure to meet you, Hero Lustitia. I am a ‘Magic-user who uses magic’ from Tenebris…”
“An intuitive code name! That’s cool! But I think it would be a little unsettling for you to follow us any further.”
“Is that so?”
“So I’ll just break your arms and legs here. You’ll understand, right?”
An intuitive and terrifying method.
“Is the option of understanding each other through dialogue not on the table?”
“Who knows? Unfortunately, I don’t know who you are, and I’m not confident I can easily subdue a magic-user of your caliber if not now.”
“My, my…”
It’s a judgment I would have made myself.
You only leave your back exposed when you have an overwhelming advantage.
As long as I can’t reveal that I’m Oz, I am a suspicious person with dirty eyes and who is somehow powerful.
A battle is unavoidable.
“I’ll say this just in case, but I’m quite a formidable opponent.”
“I know! That’s why I came to get rid of you beforehand!”
“How scary…”
A cramped space like a tavern room.
The distance between us, narrowed as much as possible.
Winning this is impossible.
“Come on.”
So, it would be better to just let her beat me here.
I can just recover with [Challenger of the Divine] and then follow them.
At that point, she would never imagine that I would be tailing them again.
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