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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“That was the fastest day of my life!”
May, practically skipping down the street as dusk settled, seemed to be doing a little victory dance.
“Hey, treat me like this every day, okay? Then I’ll take care of you, date you, marry you! How great would that be?”
“……”
I looked down at May, who was nudging me with her elbow, and sighed, resigned.
“Okay.”
“……What? You usually tell me to stop messing around.”
I stopped walking, and May turned to face me.
“Thank you for today.”
If it weren’t for May, I would still be drowning in the memories of the second iteration Rin. Spending the day with her had eased my mind.
May, surprised by my sincerity, blushed.
She was usually so forward, but she seemed flustered by my genuine gratitude.
“Well, I… I didn’t like seeing you like that. And I wouldn’t have known if Elise hadn’t asked for my help.”
“Right.”
So Elise had asked May to help me. I would have to thank her.
May shoved her hands in her pockets, then gently linked her arm with mine.
“You don’t have to tell me what happened. If you’re not telling me, it’s because I shouldn’t know, or because it’s not important.”
“……”
Of course, I couldn’t tell her.
How could I possibly tell her that Rin had killed everyone on the continent to save me?
May, sensing my hesitation, leaned closer, as if sharing her warmth with me.
“It doesn’t matter, but… come to me when you’re struggling. I can at least do that much for you.”
“Thank you, May.”
“Yeah. I won’t ask you to love me right now. I won’t ask you to choose anymore.”
“……”
“But you have to decide when this is all over.”
There was a hint of desperation in her eyes as she looked up at me. Her warmth, both physical and emotional, filled me with a strange melancholy.
“I hope it’s me.”
Her whispered words, in the late-night air, were as sweet as the candy she had given me.
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“You look dashing.”
Elise, smoothing down my uniform jacket, smiled.
I wasn’t particularly nervous about meeting the King, but the fuss everyone was making was starting to get to me.
“I don’t know anything about royal etiquette. Will I be okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. And I’ll speak for you. Just tell me what you want to say.”
So I had a built-in translator.
It seemed a bit excessive, considering we would be speaking the same language in the same room, but…
Elise smiled reassuringly, and I agreed.
“You look much better after your outing with May.”
“……Thank you.”
“Hee hee, I’m glad you noticed.”
Bertia told us it was time to go.
The year-end banquet was tomorrow, and today, the King would be receiving reports from the nobles in preparation for the event.
Elise and I would use this opportunity to present our case.
She took a deep breath and smiled mischievously.
“Should I just tell him I brought the person I’m going to marry?”
“……Wouldn’t I be executed?”
“Hee hee, I’d love to see that someday.”
“You know, there’s quite a difference between Elise de Fresia, the princess, and Elise, my academy friend.”
“Is there?”
Elise de Freesia, the third princess, was intelligent, composed, and elegant. Elise, my friend, was… well… crazy.
“Which one do you prefer?”
“The former, obviously.”
I still remembered her barging into my bedroom last night, wearing see-through lingerie, and handing me a collar.
She had called herself a dog and me her master, but I felt like the roles were reversed.
“But the latter is more… comfortable.”
“……”
“Isn’t that the side of you that you like? I like the side of you that you like.”
Elise stared at me, then smiled and stepped closer.
“How about a kiss? I can’t hold back anymore.”
“Are you an animal? What do you mean, you can’t hold back?”
“But you kissed May! Do you know how much she bragged about it? She talked about it all day!”
“I didn’t do that willingly.”
“If you refuse, I’ll strip naked right now, barge into my father’s chambers, and declare that I’ve been corrupted by you, Master, and turned into your pet.”
“……”
“By the way, I’m wearing see-through lingerie. That’s how serious I am.”
“……”
“I’m serious.”
This was a nightmare.
I could practically hear the guards rushing in, their spears pointed at me, the King roaring for my immediate execution.
Resigned, I stepped towards Elise, brushed her hair aside, and kissed her forehead.
Truthfully, May and Elise had helped me regain my composure, easing the burden I had been carrying.
I wanted to repay them somehow.
I wasn’t sure if this counted as repayment, but…
“……This is my limit. What happened with May… that wasn’t my intention either.”
“Too bad. I practiced using my tongue, but I guess I won’t get to use it…”
What?
Practiced what?
I felt a wave of dizziness, but Elise simply smiled, her face flushed.
“This is good enough! You kissed my hand before, now my forehead. Next time, it’ll be my lips, right?”
“If we weren’t about to meet the King, I would have…”
“Would have what? Hit me? Yell at me? Use the collar? Spank me? Discipline me with your big, strong hands? Or perhaps educate me with your… fire stick…?”
“……Patted your head and told you you were a good girl.”
“Really? That’s it?”
Elise looked disappointed.
I knew from experience that saying provocative things only excited her, so I chose my words carefully.
Bertia glared at me. She had warned me repeatedly not to… arouse her princess.
We stood before the massive white doors of the King’s audience chamber.
Bertia asked if we were ready, and Elise suddenly lowered her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Um… what should I do?”
A shadow fell over Elise’s face, and Bertia and I exchanged concerned glances.
Elise’s cheeks flushed, and she spoke, her voice slightly breathless.
“I’m… a little wet from imagining things.”
“……”
“I was imagining Master ripping my clothes off in the audience chamber…!”
“Bertia! Open the door! We’ll figure it out later!”
“Opening!”
“Oh my! This is more exciting than I thought!”
I felt bad for May.
I had thought she was the crazy one, but…
This was true madness.
Elise, a human, not a beast, was aroused by this situation.
I pushed her gently towards the open doors. She instantly regained her composure and stood beside me.
“I need to change my panties.”
“Damn it…”
I almost cursed, but I managed to restrain myself. We were about to meet the King, with all his nobles watching. I couldn’t say something like that.
Elise took a deep breath and warned me,
“Watch your language. If you curse, I’ll… oh, I’m imagining it again.”
“……”
I would never attend another event like this with her.
Fortunately, her long dress concealed whatever was happening beneath it.
I could practically see Bertia sweating nervously.
After exchanging formal greetings with the King, Elise began.
“Your Majesty, I’ve come here today to discuss the future of the continent.”
“The future of the continent?”
The King, no longer the frail, emaciated figure weakened by the Priestess of Time and Prince Oliver, looked regal and imposing.
Though the scars of that ordeal remained, his golden eyes shone with an unwavering strength.
He looked at me, then back at Elise, his voice laced with curiosity.
“What do you mean by the future of the continent?”
The other nobles, though silent, looked at me with suspicion, the same way they had looked at the Priestess of Time.
‘That bitch.’
I couldn’t help but curse her inwardly.
She had also warned of an impending calamity, using it to gain influence within the royal court, and look where that had led.
They probably thought I was another religious fanatic, trying to exploit the royal family.
‘And technically, I am receiving power from a goddess.’
I suddenly doubted they would believe me.
A calamity is coming, so we need to prepare, and you should help us?
That was the Priestess of Time’s spiel!
But Elise, taking a deep breath, continued calmly,
“A calamity will soon befall this continent. A terrible disaster that will wipe out all life, regardless of kingdom or species.”
“Ahem.”
“Not this again…”
The nobles coughed and glared at me.
My approach, mirroring the Priestess of Time’s, was working against me, but…
Elise’s voice rose, meeting their skepticism head-on.
“Do you remember the Priestess of Time? She was a vile criminal. She conspired with the traitorous Oliver to assassinate my sister, and even plotted against Your Majesty.”
“……”
“Such power resided within a single person. And the Priestess always warned us, didn’t she? She said a calamity was coming, that we had to be prepared.”
“Get to the point.”
The King didn’t seem interested in hearing about the Priestess of Time or Oliver.
It wasn’t a pleasant memory, his own son plotting his assassination.
“My point is, while she was evil, she had power. She was more than just an assassin, she was a fanatic with a twisted ideology.”
Was this the same princess who had just told me her panties were wet? Had she been replaced by someone else while I wasn’t looking?
Elise’s words captivated the audience.
“You witnessed her power yourselves! She called herself the Earliest Step. We called her the Sage, the lone observer, the one who always walked ahead.”
“Enough.”
The King, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, waved his hand, silencing Elise.
She bowed her head and continued,
“What I’m trying to say is, while she was twisted, she wasn’t wrong. The apocalypse is coming. A violent death looms over this continent.”
Technically, the calamity the Priestess of Time had foreseen wasn’t the Following Apocalypse, but the Earliest Apocalypse, but that was irrelevant.
“Your Majesty, this young man is Daniel McLean, a student at Aios Academy. As you know, he stopped the Priestess of Time and played a crucial role in capturing Oliver.”
Several nobles gasped, recognizing me.
It had been a while, and given the circumstances, they hadn’t recognized me at first.
I was the one who had faced the Priestess of Time alone at Prince Oliver’s banquet.
“He is the antithesis of the Priestess. She sought to ‘use’ everything to stop the calamity, while he asks for our ‘cooperation.’”
“……”
“Your Majesty, we must prepare.”
Elise bowed deeply, and the nobles began to murmur amongst themselves.
Most seemed inclined to at least hear me out, but the King wasn’t so easily convinced.
“We have no reason to trust you.”
“……”
“The Priestess spent years demonstrating her power, proving her abilities, instilling faith in us. That’s why we believed her.”
A shadow of worry crossed the King’s face.
“But we cannot so readily trust you, brave warrior though you may be. We’ve been burned before.”
He was right.
Why would anyone believe an academy student claiming the continent was about to be destroyed?
“Even if a calamity truly approaches, bring us proof, or someone we can trust.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Elise, surprisingly compliant, gestured behind her, as if she had anticipated this response.
“That is why I have brought those you can trust.”
The massive doors of the audience chamber opened silently, smoothly, as if oiled.
And a group of diverse individuals entered.
“Huh?”
I gasped, recognizing them.
Before I could question how they had gotten here, the answer came to me.
‘The Sky Rail.’
The royal family’s exclusive train, a monstrous machine capable of reaching the farthest corners of the continent.
It was a marvel of engineering, but its fuel source was… disturbing.
Even well-trained horses, pumped full of drugs, couldn’t survive the strain, dying prematurely.
They had used that train to travel from the distant beast-kin territory.
“Hatsim Bellok, Master Smith, wielder of one of the Seven Hammers!”
The dwarf announced himself boldly, his lack of formality a characteristic of his kind.
“Eris Anen Seriere, Guardian of Yggdrasil. I’ve come to vouch for Daniel McLean.”
Eris, the elf, offered a graceful greeting.
While the nobles gawked at her beauty, behaving like lovestruck fools, she winked at me.
“Lyger, King of the Beast-kin. It seems this is my first time meeting the human king.”
His presence was the most surprising. The audience chamber erupted in murmurs at the arrival of King Lyger himself.
Kurika stood behind them, but he didn’t introduce himself.
He seemed to assume they wouldn’t recognize him, despite King Callius being a well-known historical figure.
Finally…
A black-haired girl stepped forward.
She carefully manipulated the shadows at her feet, a feat no ordinary mage could achieve.
Rin met the King’s gaze, her eyes calm.
“Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Rin, one of the calamities foretold by the Priestess of Time.”
The room erupted in a greater commotion than even King Lyger’s arrival had caused. Elise, however, wasn’t finished.
She gestured, and…
Bertia dragged a bewildered Ares into the room.
Without hesitation, Elise pointed at him.
“And this boy, Ares Helias, honorary Paladin of Batian, is the next calamity.”
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“How did you manage all of this?”
Back in the room after the audience with the King, I loosened my tie and turned to Elise.
She grinned mischievously.
“Were you surprised?”
“Incredibly.”
I hadn’t expected Eris and the others to appear like that. Elise reached out to Bertia, and they clasped hands.
“Well done. The plan was a success.”
“I’ll never forget the look on your face.”
“Huh.”
I couldn’t even be annoyed at being so thoroughly deceived. It wasn’t a malicious trick, but a comforting gesture.
People entered the room behind Bertia.
The King had dismissed us, saying he needed time to discuss the matter with his advisors.
Everyone except for King Lyger had been led to guest rooms.
“Why me…”
Ares grumbled about being dragged into this. I remembered him almost crying when I told him he was the Following Apocalypse.
“It couldn’t be helped. We had to show Father how seriously we’ve been preparing.”
Elise was right.
Simply warning of a calamity wasn’t enough. Presenting the calamities themselves, demonstrating our preparedness, was far more convincing.
Ares still looked disgruntled.
Kurika, taking up most of the space in the room, approached us, sniffing the air, a frown on his face.
“Daniel McLean. The situation in the beast-kin territory was exactly as you described. A beast-kin named Hoback, driven by vengeance for his daughter’s death, started a rebellion.”
“See?”
Kurika, who had been skeptical before, nodded, his expression softening.
“Thanks to you, I was able to take responsibility for my actions. I believe you now, about the Goddess of Time revealing the future.”
I had earned Kurika’s trust.
I reached out, and he grinned, shaking my hand.
“It’s easy to talk to you.”
“Let’s have a drink sometime. I have a lot to discuss with you.”
“A grand feast? I’m in.”
“And no drinking party is complete without a dwarf!”
Hatsim Bellok, the dwarf who loved alcohol and weapons, joined in.
His usually round belly was flat, likely due to his imprisonment in the beast-kin kingdom, where he had been deprived of both food and drink.
I told him there were plenty of good taverns in the capital, but Rin, peeking out from behind Kurika, spoke up.
“Daniel’s not old enough to drink.”
“Oh…”
I had forgotten.
“Can’t I make an exception? My mental age is definitely adult.”
“Absolutely not.”
Rin’s tone was firm.
Kurika and Hatsim laughed.
“He’s not even old enough for a proper drinking party.”
“Here, have some orange juice!”
“……”
I sighed, and Rin approached me.
She looked me over, then met my gaze, tilting her head.
“Are you okay now?”
“Huh?”
“You were avoiding me before. Suddenly. I was worried, but you seem better now.”
“……”
I stared at her, her eyes bright and inquisitive, and my hand, as if with a will of its own, reached out and gently pinched her cheek.
“Boo!”
I stretched her cheek slightly, savoring the sensation, and smiled.
“I’m okay.”
Rin nodded, rubbing her cheek.
And finally…
Eris, who had been watching us from behind, seemed to snap out of a daze and approached.
“Daniel, it’s been a while.”
“It has. I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried.”
I smiled at her, but she fidgeted, looking dissatisfied. I deliberately turned away, avoiding further conversation.
“I doubt His Majesty will reach a decision immediately. So let’s rest. The Sky Rail is exhausting.”
“That contraption is an abomination.”
Hatsim Bellok, a master craftsman, grimaced.
“I’ve heard there are humans who abandon their emotions to become killing machines. That train is the same. It sacrifices too much for speed.”
“It was efficient, but cruel.”
Eris, a lover of nature, also expressed her disapproval of the Sky Rail. Elise simply shrugged, not bothering to defend it.
There was no better mode of transportation.
“Elise and I will handle any summons, so why don’t you all get some rest? Bertia, could you arrange some rooms?”
Bertia nodded and led them away.
They had anticipated their arrival and prepared accommodations.
Elise and I were left alone. We decided to wait in case the King summoned us.
Elise suddenly gasped, a look of disappointment on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Her exaggerated gesture made me curious, and she looked up at the ceiling, her voice completely unashamed.
“I forgot to ask Bertia to bring me a change of panties.”
“……”
“Do you think that beast-kin, Kurika, noticed?”
“Apologize to him later.”
I had noticed his discomfort.
What kind of host subjects their guests to such… scents?
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