A Successfull Otaku and the Prince’s Curiosity

I looked around; besides that man, three or four others were surrounding my barrier. No matter how sturdy my barrier was, and no matter if the opponents were NPCs, the fact that men with the physique of adults were surrounding me was quite a burden in itself.

No, …I was scared. What should I do?

The assassins, who searched for a gap to break the barrier for a while, naturally found none. Consequently, they began attacking to destroy the barrier itself.

It might have been less terrifying if I had heard voices during the process. But they made no sound at all, which was eerily frightening. In the middle of that suffocating silence, they only produced sharp, metallic noises.

“…Azrael.”

I muttered Azrael’s name in a whisper. Like a fragile character waiting for the protagonist’s entrance.

And Azrael appeared as if responding to my call.

Puk—.

With the distinct sound of a sword piercing flesh, one assassin collapsed, spraying blood. Both the assassins and I realized Azrael’s presence only after hearing that sound.

Azrael continued the fight with ease, even against a number of enemies too great for one person to handle. He was incredibly calm. Rather, the problem was my heart, which throbbed with anxiety every time Azrael’s sword clashed with the assassins’ blades. I had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming at every metallic clang.

Once I was certain all the assassins had been dealt with, I stood up unsteadily and approached Azrael.

“Azrael, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I am perfectly fine, as you can see. You do not need to worry. What about you? Are you injured? I was so startled to find assassins here when I came looking for you.”

Azrael looked back at me while flicking the blood off his sword. I gripped his arm, trying my best not to look at the corpses. Azrael willingly offered his arm for me to hold.

“This aspect of this world… I can never get used to it.”

My voice trembled pitifully.

“Why do these people want to kill you so badly, Prince?”

After sheathing his sword, Azrael patted me comfortingly.

“There are many reasons. Because I am a commander of an enemy nation, because I possess the Holy Sword despite not being the Crown Prince, …and this time, because our group carries many weapons.”

“But if they kill you and take the weapons, a crisis will fall upon this world. And they still try to kill you? Why?”

When I pushed my face forward as if demanding an explanation, Azrael took a step back with an embarrassed expression.

“Subjugating the Demon King is the duty of the Holy Sword’s master, but there is no law saying it must be me.”

He continued as if simply stating that water flows from high to low.

“If I die, a new master for the Holy Sword will be chosen, and the weapons lost with my death will be recreated through the sacrifice of other royals.”

“What if the world ends before then? What if the Demon King gains power?”

“Even the Demon King cannot destroy the world all at once.”

No matter how much I asked, his answers remained calm. The person actually in this situation acted as if he were the one trying to comfort me. It made me frustrated and angry.

Why doesn’t he get angry at such an irrational and desperate situation? Is it because he’s an NPC programmed that way?

“Do not be sad, Andrealphus. I am merely fulfilling the duty given to me as a royal.”

Azrael spoke the saddest lines in the world with a kind, smiling face. And then, just like that, he kissed the corner of my eye.

Huh?

“Let us head back then.”

Huh?

Huh??

Huh???

Azrael kissed the corner of my eye.

Is this a dream?

No, no matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t a dream. It was definitely reality. Azrael said an incredible line that I could have recorded and watched for the rest of my life, and then he kissed the corner of my eye.

Really?

Even though it clearly happened, it didn’t feel real. I couldn’t even remember the conversation we had just before. Even while eating dinner, I didn’t know if the food was going into my mouth or my nose.

Simon pointed at me and asked John.

“Has he lost a screw or something?”

“How should I know?”

“…Hey.”

I turned my body toward Simon like a zombie. Simon winced at that non-human movement.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Pinch me.”

When I held out my arm, Simon looked at me like I was a madman. Regardless, I shook my arm urgently.

“Hurry.”

“Did you… lose your mind after seeing the assassins’ corpses?”

“Ah, just do it quickly.”

When Simon showed no sign of doing it, I held out my arm to John, who was standing nearby. John pinched my arm immediately without hesitation.

“F*ck, that hurts.”

“I suppose it would.”

“I’m not dreaming, right?”

“I wish I were dreaming right now as well.”

Whether John said anything or not, I was still dazed and only muttered what I wanted to say.

“…It’s really not a dream.”

“I wish I were lying in my bed right now, just having a nightmare.”

“I wish I were sleeping in my bed, scratching my stomach too.”

Unaware of what I was thinking, the two knights just babbled peacefully. If they heard that their commander kissed the corner of my eye, they certainly wouldn’t be able to spout nonsense like that.

I covered my face with both hands. This is crazy…. I am a successful otaku…. I am a successful otaku.

I couldn’t think of anything regarding the current situation anymore. It felt like cherry blossoms were fluttering inside my head.

What do I do….

I just kept washing my dry face with my hands like an idiot.

Now that I’ve calmed down and thought about it, something was strange. Kissing the corner of the eye is classified as light skinship, but…….

Do friends usually kiss each other on the corner of the eye?

This time, I clutched my forehead and fell into deep thought. If it were the forehead, I might not know, but it was definitely the corner of the eye. Isn’t the eye area a bit… much?

I glanced at Azrael sideways, but he didn’t seem to be paying me any particular mind. He did smile when our eyes met, but that was closer to his usual behavior anyway…….

Am I being too conscious of it?

I tried to judge the situation calmly with a slightly cooled head.

Of course, it wasn’t possible. If there had been a bed, I would have slammed my head against it while agonizing. I had forgotten for a while, but I desperately missed the logout function.

Due to that d*mn assassin problem, I had to change the action plan for when assassins appeared.

Many opinions were voiced, such as it being better to stay at the very back of the group, in the center of the group, or staying away at a distance where I was still visible to them, but ultimately, it was decided that I would stay together with the group.

“The assassins will not appear anyway if we advance for just another day or two.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Even the elite members, Azrael and his knights, were starting to find things taxing. If the monsters started getting stronger than this, it would be difficult for mere assassins to appear.

“You can’t stand the sight of blood and you can’t fight, so how did you end up in this group?”

Raphael, sitting on the floor listening to our meeting, asked indifferently. When I looked down at him with a frown, he shrugged.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“You know that I am more helpful to this group than… Prince Raphael, right?”

It wasn’t exactly wrong, so instead of being discouraged by his words, I gave a light sneer. Raphael crumpled his face and spoke again.

“Are you aware that you are currently a burden to the group?”

“If Prince Raphael wasn’t here, no one would think that.”

Raphael opened his mouth to refute my words but then closed it.

I suppose so. Since I was speaking the truth. He repeated opening and closing his mouth. Judas frowned behind him, seemingly displeased with the situation.

“Were you originally acquainted with the knights? As far as I know, there was no one with your abilities in the Knight Order.”

“I joined them recently.”

“What did you do before that?”

I felt a slight surge of irritation at that persistent questioning.

“What do you plan to do with that information?”

When I reacted cynically, Raphael leaned forward as if interested.

“What if it is just personal curiosity?”

So what. When I looked at him with that expression, Raphael burst into loud laughter. Seeing him laughing and even clapping his hands, I was momentarily at a loss for words. Even in this absurd and annoying moment, he was so handsome that it didn’t look bad. This must be why they design unpleasant characters to be good-looking.

In addition, since even his laughter was that of a bright and energetic young man, it was all the more pleasant to hear. They must have used an expensive voice actor.

“Your personality is truly a masterpiece. This is the first time I’ve seen a human act this way toward royalty.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I am not usually this kind of person, but do you want to be friends?”

I looked at Raphael as if he were a madman.

“Do you enjoy being treated like this?”