Chapter 27: Prince Kurobuta Talks to the Female Knight

--Lucky pervert.

An erotic situation that happens to a male character in an entertainment work such as anime or manga.

Every man yearns for a lucky pervert situation at least once, and this was the case for Kurokawa Yuto in his previous life as an Arasa otaku. {TN: A slang for a Japanese man or woman in their 30s}

But of course, kissing a beautiful girl at the first meeting or touching her breasts when she falls down doesn't happen very often in real life and that's why it's a situation you long for.

But after 14 years of reincarnation, and more than 40 years including his last life, such a situation has finally come to Brad.

In this lucky situation where he ran into a beautiful, half-naked girl who was changing her clothes,

"......”

The first thing Brad did was to get down on his knees.

He got down on his hands and knees on the floor, bowed deeply, and rubbed his forehead against the floor.

He remembered how men are usually treated in these lucky encounters.

For example, if the heroine's liking is at its maximum, it would be a different story, but in most cases, after such a lucky pervert situation, the heroine gets angry and attacks the man, which has become part of its charm.

Thinking back to various works, some heroes have been slapped in the face, their noses bleeding and their faces swollen like buns, while others have been blown away by magic and turned into one of the stars in the sky.

As soon as he imagined himself facing such a tragic end, Brad's body moved in a surprisingly natural way. The company spirit from his previous life as a businessman kicked in.” If you do something wrong, apologize immediately!”

Carol looked at Brad as he got down on his knees in a perfect gesture of apology for peeking into her dressing room. She looks at her change of clothes for a moment in astonishment.

"...... Um, what do you mean by this?"

She answered calmly.

The voice was so calm that he felt his head which was previously smoldering because of the lucky pervert moment quickly cool down.

(Indeed......)

The girl definitely didn’t know the meaning of the gesture Brad was displaying.

When Brad calmed down and raised his head 

"No way ... do you want me to step on your head !?"

Carol, who was still naked, was covering her mouth as if she had just seen something terrible.

"...... No, no. That’s definitely not what I meant."

Brad immediately denied it.

I don't have that kind of fetish.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be stepped on by a beautiful girl. Most things will only be taken as a plus from a beautiful girl. But I had no desire to be stepped on.

But Carol didn't listen to me.

"I've heard rumors that there are some people who are unusually sexually aroused by being hit or stepped on by a woman, but I never thought that anyone would want me to step on them. Indeed my appearance is definitely more beautiful than anything on earth. It won’t be a surprise if an unscrupulous man appears… No, as expected, this is… too much” 

 "No… that's not what I meant! Don’t mistake my gesture for something so vulgar!"

Carol seems to have misunderstood turning her eyes to me as if she were looking at a maggot.

"If that's the case, why are you bowing your head?

"To apologize, of course. I peeped at you while you were changing your clothes just now, even if it wasn't intentional.”

“I see." Carol nodded.

"I'm glad you agree with me, but why don't you cover… yourself?

Carol didn’t even pretend to hide her body even though she was in a situation where she’s being seen naked.

The fact that she’s so brazen about it makes me think that in this world, people don't feel shame when they are seen naked by the opposite sex.

"Why is there any reason to hide? Dastoria is a land where the weak are food and the strong are righteous. I'm proud of my body and I'm not ashamed of it. Be grateful that you were able to see my beautiful body. Shouldn’t you thank me for that?"

Carol asserted confidently.

I've certainly heard of such stories, but she's too eager to show them off. She seems to have a narcissistic streak, which I didn't really notice in “Final Quest”.

"You do have a beautiful body, but I'm sorry, that's not what I came here to talk about today.”

Brad coughed to recover.

"It's nice to meet you. As you may know, my name is Prince Brad von Pistel of this country. Princess Carol, Princess of Dastoria, it is an honor to meet you again."

Brad bowed gracefully, took Carol's hand and kissed the back of it.

"I know who you are of course, because it's only natural that I would remember the names and faces of the royal family of the country where I study. But I thought you used to have a bulkier figure?

"I've been through a lot, don't ask."

When Brad shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile, Carol looked at him curiously, then shrugged her shoulders as well, "Oh well.”

"But stop with this princess thing. It's not my style and I'm not good at formalities. Just call me Carol.”

Dastoria is a new country, and a land of many wicked and violent people, so I guess such formalities don’t exist.

"I see. Carol, please call me as you like."

"I will."

Carol nodded humbly.

"So what does the prince want with me?"

 "Before that… why don't you put some clothes on? I'm having trouble deciding where to keep my eyes."

When Brad pointed this out, Carol glanced at her own reflection, her eyes widening as if she had just realized that she was half-naked.

“I don't mind if I stay like this though," she said and began to put on her clothes nonchalantly, without even turning her head.

_________________________________

"Dastoria will be destroyed?"

Carol's eyes narrowed in a grim face as Brad told her the story.

The location for their discussion is still the same, in the equipment room of the fifth magic training ground. Since he didn't want anyone to hear the story, he decided to tell it here.

There were two things that Brad told Carol.

That there would soon be an all-out war between Dastoria and Ernade, and that this would lead to the destruction of Dastoria.

"It can't be. There’s definitely an uneasy atmosphere between us and Ernade, but that is due to coincidental skirmishes between the people. My father is now working to resolve it through diplomatic talks. There won't even be a war in the first place.”

"If it really was an accidental skirmish that is, It may not be settled by talking.”

Brad shrugged and Carol frowned.

"You don't ...... think they were accidents?"

Brad nodded with a mysterious look.

"It's not a coincidence, it was planned. The chief strategist of the demon king's army, one of the four demon generals Beelzebub, is behind the scene. It's all part of their plan to create an all-out war between Dastoria and Ernade.

And when I told her that fact,

Carol's eyes widened in disbelief, but she quickly shook her head.

“Certainly, the incidents overlapped too much at the same time for it to have happened by chance, but... is there a basis for your claim that the Demon king army is pulling the strings behind the scenes?”

Unfortunately, if Brad tells her that he got the information from a game “Final Quest”, she wouldn’t believe him and will think he’s nuts.

Brad hesitated for a moment and then decided to give a fake good reason.

"Don’t worry, this is accurate information. It was obtained by my spies who I’ve placed around. You'll just have to trust them."

"Your spies? Where did they hear that? The Demon king’s base is in the phantom world and there’s currently no way to get there. Since that’s the case, where did they get this information.”

Although I responded confidently, Carol nonchalantly poked holes in my logic.

It seems she’s being suspicious.

"In the first place… You said that the coming battle will destroy Dastoria? Why is that? In terms of strength, Dastoria is currently superior. If anyone is to be destroyed in the war, it will be Ernade.”

When pressed further, Brad clammed up.

This is because other countries have sided with Ernade based on the false information that Beelzebub has spread about Dastoria's alliance with an evil entity, but telling them now will only make them more suspicious of how he came to have that information.

"......"

I was troubled.

The fact that I hadn't thought of a detailed excuse for the things I had to say but just felt the need to tell her as soon as possible, had proved to be my undoing.

"… Anyway what I’m trying to say is that if we let this go, there will be a war. I'm sure it will bring great disaster to Dastoria. So in order to avoid that, I need your help."

Brad tells her that, but Carol's well-formed face twists even more in suspicion.

"We can't talk about anything if you can't provide any evidence or your sources. And as I said before, there will be no war. I'm sure my father is already on the move and by now he should be meeting with the King of Ernade to discuss a peaceful solution.”

"The Parley is going… on now? You're telling me that the Perles parley is already taking place?”

The information that Carol had mentioned seemed trivial to her, but it was important information that he needed to hear.

“How did you know the meeting would be held in Perles? Isn't that supposed to be classified information?"　

"That doesn't matter now… is the Parley really taking place now?"

"It's getting late. ...... Not only is it taking place, it’s probably over.”

“What the hell…”

Brad’s thoughts stalled.

The all-out war between Dastoria and Ernade. The incident that started it all was the Perles Conference.

At first, the talks at the Perles Conference seemed to be going smoothly. However, just before the peace was to be concluded, the news came in that the Dastorian queen had been assassinated by someone. The emperor is enraged, and the negotiations quickly broke down due to his suspicion that it was the work of the Ernades.

(...... No, it's too early to give up hope.)

Shaking his head, he turned to Carol.

"Your mother… Where is the Queen?"

"I'm sure she's in Perles with my father, she and my younger brother  accompanied him, why?”

"Is there any way you can contact your people right now? I want to know about the outcome of the meeting, but I also want you to make sure they're safe.”

"Why are would you do that…?”

"Please, their lives are at stake."

Brad appealed with a sincere look on his face.

Carol had a lot to say, but the fact that her family's lives were at stake must have resonated with her. She immediately took out a magic stone for communication and started to contact someone.

"Jasper… can you hear me?”

Carol called and soon a young man’s voice answered through the magic stone.

“What’s the matter Carol.”

“I want to hear about the meeting. Can you tell me the outcome of today’s meeting and what you, mother and Karl are doing now.”

When asked, Jasper said.

“Hmm… please wait a moment.”

“The talks have ended without a hitch, although there are still some issues between the two countries. I think there will be improvements soon. Also your mother and younger brother are doing well. Don’t worry.”

“Is that the only thing you wanted?” Jasper asks at the other end and not long after, he takes a deep breath.

“Yes, that’s fine. That’s it. That’s what I wanted to know.”

“Huh!”

When the communication is interrupted, Carol glares at Brad sharply.

“The meeting ended safely. It seems there was nothing for my mother and younger brother to do. Did the Prince of Pistel deceive me? You even brought up the life of my family. You should be sorry for such a joke.”

While saying this, she thrusts her sword at his throat.

It was the most beautiful sword draw he’d ever seen.

Brad shook his head in panic.

“No… of course I didn’t mean it like that. I had information about the crises in Dastoria, so I thought you should know about it. Apparently, the information was incorrect.”

“Did you tell me this without confirming if it was accurate?”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

Brad apologizes humbly, thinking that excuses will not be enough to make up for this.

“Hmm… I was wondering if you’ve actually changed. But it seems that rumors of you being a stupid black pig is still true.”

Carol clicked her tongue and turned around.

“This is very unpleasant. You disturbed my heart with unreliable information and my heart got shaken to an extent.”

“Wait Carol, I’m not done talking yet…!” 

Brad calls out to Carol who is already walking away in a hurry and doesn’t stop.

“I don’t have anything more to say to you. I completely lost the mood to train. It seems that the next king will be decided at the Sword dance festival. But if someone like you becomes king, the world will definitely come to an end. I’ll knock you down that day, so be prepared.”

She seemed to be completely angry and walked out of the equipment room.

(What does this mean?)

While Brad Is left alone, he starts thinking on the spot.

In the history of Final quest, the Peles meeting was undoubtedly the beginning of the war between Dastoria and Ernade. But according to Jasper, a young man of Dastoria, the negotiations went well.

(I hope the historical facts changed.)

It would be good if Brad’s sudden change affected the facts of history and the war was avoided in advance. But there’s no connection between Brad and Dastoria in the first place, so that couldn’t be the case.

Brad stood there for a while and activated the Demon master’s ring.

“Undead lord, can you hear me?”

“Yes, what do you want me to do my Lord?”

The response came so quickly it was like he was waiting.

“I’m sorry, I know I just contacted you earlier, but I’d like you to take a look at the state of Dastoria. Is there any chance you’re good at covert actions?”

“It is our supreme joy to be of help to Brad-sama. When it comes to covert works, there’s shadow. He has just evolved into a shadow knight and is just right for the job.”

“Oh… he’s already a shadow knight!”

Shadow is one of the seven sky mountain monsters that Brad tamed and gave a special name to.

The seven monsters that were named are monsters that become the strongest class monsters in the “Final Quest” if they evolved and were specially allowed to have rare items that helped them gain experience points, so its quick evolution may be thanks to that.

The shadow knight is a race inferior to the cyclops and werewolf lord, but it will have the power to repel most monsters.

“Then I’ll leave this to Shadow. I’ll relay the details to him, so keep training the rest of the group.”

“Everything is at your will, Great demon king.”

The communication ends and he takes a deep breath.

(It seems I’ve become a great demon king to them completely. But it’s fine. I’m more worried about Dastoria now. I really wish the meeting ended successfully.)

But the voice of the one called Jasper that Carol contacted had the breathing pattern of someone that was lying.

Even if the war had begun, one country would not be destroyed immediately, but I wanted to know the truth as soon as possible.

And as such—

It was on the day of the sword dance festival that the results of the investigation done by Shadow who was dispatched, arrived.

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