Kays Translations

Chapter 13: After the Uprising / Friendship turmoil 

After the soldiers of Berche village captured Zephen and his men, a few cavalrymen arrived at the village.

They entered the building where Zephen and the others were being held under the pretense of transporting the captives to the kingdom’s Army base.

Closing the door to prevent any sounds from escaping, a man in white armor lit a magical light, illuminating the dark room.

“Why… is You Highness here in such a remote place…?”

Fourth Prince, Rodimus. Zephen could scarcely understand why he would leave the royal capital and be here.

“I had heard you were a man of great valor, but hard to deal with… all I see is a shadow of your former self.”

Zephen had been certain his plans would succeed, but they had been thwarted. And after crossing swords with Ashrina, he was completely haggard, his eyes hollow from fatigue.

“Two years ago, one of the sacred relics entrusted to the knights was stolen by someone. I had been investigating its whereabouts… Zephen, what do you think about that?”

“…What are you talking about…? Guahhh…!”

Rodimus stepped on Zephen’s foot as he tried to feign ignorance, and continued speaking without changing a shade.

“While hiding one relic, you tried to gain favor with Count Vandel and obtain another. For a mere soldier to attempt to summon a sacred relic… such an act is a sin against God.”

“Ugh…Prince R-Rodimus… Even if you kill me, the sword won’t come back… Hypnos was taken by that princess…”

“What could a child like her possibly do? You were too greedy. Did you think you could use Hypnos’ power to take over the shadow society?”

“N-No… I’m not lying! The swordsman with black hair—it’s him, I swear!”

“Well, at least try to make your lies more entertaining. If Hypnos can’t be found, you’re of no use. Take him away.”

Rodimus’s subordinates dragged Zephen away. Some of Zephen’s own men were also in the room, but none dared to speak or move, too terrified to act.

“—Rodimus, you are not chosen by the gods! If only I had a sacred relic, I… I’d be the one…!”

As Zephen’s curses faded, Rodimus took off his helmet and shook his head.

“With a sacred relic, you understand it well, don’t you? That’s how I can become king.”

The soldier who had been listening to Rodimus nodded without saying anything

Rodimus’s men confirmed that the old castle Ashrina was held in was completely empty, but they did not conduct any further search.

If Ashrina had attempted to escape, she would have been killed by the shadow agent, Reis. However, Reis had no connections to Rodimus—even if he is royalty, he cannot interfere with anyone unless they are a member of the dark side that directly reports to him, which prevented him from searching for Ashrina.

“Either way, I now  a reason to confiscate Vandel’s territory. Poor little sister, you’ve been very useful.”

Rodimus wasn’t even particularly attached to recovering Hypnos –  this was also a sign of his confidence in the power of the Sacred Relic he already possessed.

◆◇◆

“…Achoo!”

“Your Highness, you should really take a bath and warm yourself up. You’ll catch a cold.”

“No, I’m fine. I think someone must be talking about me.”

I was escorted to a spacious bathhouse befitting a large mansion, and despite the offers from Phyllis and the maids, I declined and washed myself alone.

(It’s been so long since I’ve had a bath, it feels too good, I can’t help but smile…)

I was quite diligent in wiping my body with a wet cloth, but when I tried to fill a bucket with lukewarm water and washed my face, the water quickly became muddy.

Before I remembered my past life, the maids used to bathe me. It’s no exaggeration to say that all I had to do was lift my arms when needed.

“Maybe I should help you. With your hair being this long, it must be hard to clean properly.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. But I’m fine on my own.”

“…I might be called a busybody, but I still want to do something. Your Highness, you don’t seem to realize, but everyone is worried that you’ve become so thin.”

“Ahaha… But I’m actually okay.”

When I’m meditating, I tend to not feel hungry, and even with small meals, I don’t lose muscle. But because I don’t have much fat, my ribs stick out.

Phyllis, on the other hand, has an even, well-toned build. She clearly practices some form of martial art. Even as a woman, I think she’s incredibly impressive.

“Thanks to Reis-san, I haven’t been starving… Oh, Reis-san is my savior.”

“I heard that you’re receiving treatment at the church… but still…”

“Huh…?”

“N-No, it’s nothing. Please close your eyes, it stings if it gets in them.”

I did as Phyllis said and felt her gently untangle my hair and use hair wash to wash out the dirt.

“Ah… Lady Ashrina, how admirable…”

“You must have had it tough, but you still have such an angelic smile…”

I could hear the voices of the maids outside, though they probably thought I couldn’t hear. But with my eyes closed, my senses become even sharper, and I could hear them just fine.

“…I’m sorry, they also said they wanted to help you, your Highness, but I ended up taking charge.”

“No, it’s… I felt bad for letting you do this much, but the truth is, I’m really happy about it.”

“…”

“I’m glad to have you here. Thank you, lady Phyllis.”

“Well, there’s no need to honor …… me or anyone else with such a …… title.”

“But you also call me ‘Your Highness’, lady Phyllis  So we’re even.”

　Up until now, we had been calling each other by our first names, but there was the issue of social status – in that case, it would be good if we could get used to it little by little.

“……Ashrina, when I call you by your name, I feel like I have a little sister. Isn’t that a bit brazen?”

“Oh,…… that makes me happy too, actually,…… I have an older sister too, but we didn’t live together or anything. So it feels like your my big sister, lady Phyllis.”

“…………”

“…Ah, I, well… I got carried away, I’m sorry.”

　Phyllis fell silent. I realized I had gotten a bit carried away, and I needed to calm myself down.

“I’ve never seen hair this beautiful, almost white. I’ve heard that it’s proof that you’re a noble member of the royal family of Forlant…”

“Thank you. It stands out too much, so I’ll have to hide my hair color.”

“…I could either use magic or temporarily dye it. Either way, I want to help you hide your identity as Ashrina and assist you in your life here.”

“…Lady Phyllis.”

“This must be fate. My brother was called back from the academy so I accompanied him, but in addition to my family duties I also had a task to perform. Now, my task is to protect my new friend… Here, take a look at yourself.”

Phyllis wiped the fogged-up mirror. My hair, which had been caked with dirt, was now beautifully clean – it even looked more transparent than its original color.

“The first thing you need to do is slowly start eating more.”

“Ahaha… Well, I think if I suddenly eat a lot, my body might be shocked, so I’ll take it slow.”

Phyllis seemed more concerned about that. As for me, I wanted to do whatever it took to  thank them for letting me stay here.

And then, I thought about the wooden sword I had left in the guest room… I wanted to meet with Sensei and talk. Though I was in a rush, the maids told me to take my time and warm up, so I wasn’t allowed to get out of the bath right away.

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