Chapter 16: Request(2)

I have no thoughts.

Because I have no thoughts.

It was a pretty famous sentence.

A sentence that expressed the fact that I currently have no thoughts more neatly and beautifully than any other sentence.

Of course, no one knows who made up the sentence.

If I ever met the person in question, I thought I would applaud him for making a really well-written sentence.

And the reason for this was also very simple.

Crunch-

“…”

There was no sentence in this world that could express my current state better than that sentence.

A monster rushes at me.

I cut down the rushing monster.

Another monster rushes at me.

I stab the rushing monster.

Another monster rushes at me.

I cut up the rushing monster.

Just like a robot.

Just like a programmed machine, I was dealing with the rushing monster.

“……Was it always this slow?”

If the same situation were repeated over and over, a human being would grow.

It became much slower.

The speed of the monsters that had seemed faster than anything at first.

It became much weaker.

The front legs of the monsters that had seemed stronger than anything at first.

Just avoiding the monster’s attack.

Just swing your sword at the monster’s weak point.

-Cowls’ weak point is the horn that grew on his head.

It is the most imperfect part of a horse and a cow combined.

-… .

-If you are going to face this monster, it would be wise to aim for the horn.

If I didn’t know anything about the monsters, then maybe I would.

I already knew the monster’s weak point through my advance study at the Academy.

Every time I cut off the monster’s horn, the monster that had its horn cut off would squirm in pain and stop its hooves from running towards me.

Crunch- A single slash followed.

With just this one slash, the monsters lost their lives.

“……There are times when the Academy classes are helpful.”

Up until now, the Academy classes that I had never found any meaning in learning came to me for the first time in the name of help.

I don’t know how the world works.

I never thought that there would come a day when I would feel that the Academy classes were helpful.

It was a really strange feeling.

It was a feeling that things were going well, but I didn’t want to admit the reason why things were going well.

“She fights well.”

And, this was the same for Layla.

When I first encountered the monster, I sincerely cursed her because she was the one who brought me here.

Maybe it was because I was starting to think that she was worth it, but I felt like the ill feelings I had toward Layla had disappeared in an instant.

Is this it?

Gaslighting or something.

Did I fall for it without knowing it?

The gaslighting of the crown princess who would become the next emperor.

It was a claim that was somewhat credible.

Layla, who would become the future emperor, would have grown up learning how to deal with people since she was young.

It was possible that I had already fallen for Layla’s pace without knowing it.

Crunch-

“……Whew.”

Of course, all I could do was cut down the monster in front of me.

Even if that was really gaslighting, what could I do?

What could I do besides kill these crazy monsters before they kill me?

Even if I had to be specific, Layla was fighting harder than I was.

While I was taking care of each monster by precisely targeting its weak points, Layla was skewering the monster with her rapier, as if its weak points didn’t matter at all.

The monster’s hide was so tough that my sword couldn’t even cut it properly, but Layla’s rapier was able to pierce it easily.

Even though I clearly knew that the tip of the sword wasn’t pointed at me, I felt a chill down my spine.

A genius who works hard, in the literal sense.

Layla was the character with the greatest talent in the original work, excluding the main character.

“… “

That princess was fighting harder than anyone else.

For me, it was as if I had lost the way to run away or retreat even slightly.

I just quietly stared at Layla’s rapier, which had turned blue.

“……That’s why geniuses.”

I just kept following the same movements that I had been repeating.

Like a play.

Like a slow dance to the song.

***

Crunch-

“…….Haa.”

It was a sigh I let out as soon as I killed the last monster.

Wow.

It’s really over.

All those monsters are finally being taken care of.

Now that it’s over, it doesn’t feel real.

The echo of the endless battle that had just happened was still making my hands tremble.

Clank-

My hands, which had been shaking for a while, finally let go of my sword.

It seemed like my first request had really taken a toll on my body.

I sat down on the grass in the ranch for a long time.

“You did well. Lian Trice.”

“… Before I knew it, Layla had come close to me.

“You completed this mission perfectly.”

“……No. Rather, the princess worked hard.”

It wasn’t just lip service.

Even if you just looked at the corpses of monsters scattered around where Layla had fought, you could tell that Layla had contributed much more to completing this mission than I had.

A real monster.

Maybe the monster didn’t mean the corpses scattered around, but the blonde-haired woman standing next to me.

It was a very disrespectful thought to have toward the princess.

Fortunately, Layla didn’t seem to notice this disrespectful thought.

“No. I didn’t tell you about myself. I only told you about the process of how you worked to complete this mission.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. The gap between you and me due to the difference in skill is inevitable.

I don’t think you’re weak enough to be lost in such thoughts.”

It was a statement that could sound rude if you listened closely enough.

The gap between you and me is inevitable.

Only a weak person would despair over that gap.

If I were to summarize what Layla had just said, it would have been something like this.

It was a remark that would have made someone who was proud of their own skills or had strong self-esteem angry.

“……Thank you.”

However, the words that came out of my mouth were a sincere expression of gratitude.

Because the other person was Layla.

Because the other person was Layla von Pelias, who was known as a genius who only appears once in a hundred years.

The remarks of someone who was moderately strong sounded like provocation.

But the remarks of someone who was so strong that they couldn’t even look at me sounded like sincere recognition.

The difference in the speaker.

It was very important to me who was telling me those words.

In the original world, the second strongest character acknowledged me, but anyone who didn’t accept it was stupid.

“I didn’t know that the princess would think so highly of me.”

“Of course. I watched your last duel with you.”

“…… Did the princess see it too?”

“Of course. I watched it with Ellis Akstra from beginning to end.”

“…”

Why is Ellis popping out again?

I clearly said that I didn’t like the princess that much.

I briefly wondered about this, but the thought that came to mind soon disappeared without a trace.

‘……I was dragged here too.’

The other person was the princess.

Even if they were the Marquis of Akstra, who were called the emperors of the underworld, they couldn’t go against the imperial family.

“…”

Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that I should treat Ellis well.

Maybe Ellis is having a harder life than me.

I’ll just live comfortably and die, but…

Ellis has to go through more hardships after meeting the main character.

I feel needlessly depressed.

Until now, I felt like the worst person in the world for taking information from Ellis by holding her identity hostage.

Feeling that way, I lowered my head with a slight sense of guilt, and then Layla, who had been quietly looking at me for a while, opened her mouth.

“Anyway. From then on, I clearly knew that you were no ordinary person.”

“…”

“So, I’m going to make you an offer. Are you willing to accept it?”

Layla asked me with a very serious tone, throwing away all the lighthearted atmosphere from before.

“…… Could you tell me what kind of offer it is?”

That’s how I answered, but inside, I was feeling extremely uneasy.

What on earth was she trying to say by laying out the groundwork like that?

In this situation, only really important or serious things are said.

My worries were gradually growing, and Layla, who had no idea about my worries, nodded and said, “I would like you to be mine while you are attending the academy.”

“…”

“In return, I will grant you one of your goals. Of course, it won’t be a goal that I absolutely cannot grant.”

Perhaps because she didn’t like the serious atmosphere, Layla smiled and finished her speech as if she was joking.

It was a very unconventional proposal.

There must be many people who would want to become the princess’s person without any reward, and to grant them one goal in return.

It was an offer that a normal person would never refuse.

“You obviously don’t have to answer right now, so I would like you to think about it carefully and then give me an answer……”

“I will decline.”

“……What did you just say?”

“I’m sorry, but I told you that I think I should decline the princess’s offer.”

……That would be the case for a normal person.

Layla looked at me as if she couldn’t understand at all.

“What’s the reason? It’s not like my proposal was lacking anything.”

“Because the goals I have are not ones that you, Your Highness, can achieve.”

“Really? Then I have no choice but to listen. What is your goal that’s so great that even I can’t help but listen to?”

“…….To die comfortably.”

“……What?”

Layla looked at me with a bewildered expression, perhaps thinking that she hadn’t heard properly.

“To live comfortably like this, and to die when it’s time to die.”

“…”

“That is the only goal that you, Your Highness, cannot achieve.”

Even so, the answer that came out of my mouth wouldn’t change.