Chapter 56: Things you can obtain in someone elses territory (19)

“It’s open! But if it’s in the territory of the Bridget Kingdom, why can I just use the key from Roserun’s treasury to……”

“The ring is a treasure of the Ancient Kingdom, so the territory may not be relevant. The Ancient Kingdom was a country that claimed the entire continent.”

“Oh, I see!”

The [Unnamed Sword] I gave Zint is also from the ancient kingdom. There might be some good things inside, I was intrigued.

“Your Highness, please equip your sword. Let’s go in as carefully as possible.”

“Yes.”

I stepped into the room cautiously, as it was not a place where safety was guaranteed. Then the ceiling lit up, removing the darkness from the depths of the passage. There was a small mana formation painted on the ceiling that was glowing.

“Heh…….”

Yurasia, who had followed me with a nervous look on her face, also looked around the cave curiously.

“I’m glad there’s light. There doesn’t seem to be any other way in, so let’s go deeper.”

Yurasia nodded at my words, and we continued down the passage for a while. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just a straight path that went on and on. The mana formation painted on the ceiling also continued all the way.

Half an hour had already passed, so I had no choice but to use an ordinary sword instead of Daitouren. The only thing I could count on was [invincibility for 30 seconds].

It was a dicey situation, but as I continued walking without any danger or way out, a change finally came. At the end of the narrow, straight road, we saw a huge space. We looked at each other, nodded and stepped out into the space.

Right at that moment!

“Aaah!”

“Aah!”

Suddenly, the ground opened up and we began to fall. As we fell into the darkness of an unknown depth, I didn’t hesitate to use [Invincibility for 30 seconds]. I only had enough points for one use left but I had no choice. If there were something like spears at the end of this trap we would die.

Fortunately or unfortunately my preparations were in vain, I landed on empty ground. The open ground quickly closed up and darkness came into the hole, a jet-black darkness where nothing could be seen. A smooth wall with nothing to grab onto, it was a perfect trap for one to starve to death.

“Are you okay?”

I couldn’t see her in the dark, but she was lying on top of me on the ground. It’s the same posture that often appears in romantic comedies. In addition, something chunky and soft made its presence felt.

“I’m fine. It looks like you’re the one who’s underneath me……”

“I’m all right.”

I raised my upper body and we reluctantly fell into a sitting position, hugging each other. I felt more volume. This softness was definitely the feel of her breasts. Her assertive breasts made my head spin, and perhaps to her surprise, we pulled apart at the same time as if we were pushing each other away.

“What is this trap? It’s so dark I can’t see anything……”

“Could it be that you don’t like the darkness?”

“Not really, but it’s closed and dark…….”

That’s true. The darkness itself would not be a problem. She didn’t have any problem spending the night in the mountains. Then maybe she’s claustrophobic?

“It’s more than scary, it’s disgusting. I can’t see anything, so I feel even more alone…… Since the death of my father, I’ve always felt alone. After my brother became king, I couldn’t treat him as a brother anymore……”

“It’s okay. You’re trapped in here, but you’re not alone.”

“That’s true, but……”

“Time like this is precious, so I think it will be worth remembering.”

“I didn’t know falling into a trap was worth remembering.”

“I think it’s a good thing that we fell here, because it gave us time to talk alone. So, why don’t we stop using honorifics with each other? I want us to get away from being a princess, a lord, a general, a noble, etc., and get to know each other as people. In order to do that, I think we need to lose the distance, don’t you think? If we don’t do this, I have a feeling that Your Highness will only show me that stiff princess expression forever.”

Ever since I first met her at the royal palace in Lunan, she had only shown a stiff expression. Her face was filled with the dignity of a princess; she had never shown any signs of joy, anger, or sorrow. People have emotions. She should have had emotions too and yet, she always looked like a machine. I desired to know her true face, to get to know her as a person.

“……”

She stared at me when she heard that. It was too dark to see, but somehow the silence made me feel that way.

“Was I a little cocky?”

Unable to endure the frustrating silence, I asked her, and this time she answered.

“I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”

“Is that so? Well, no one would ever say that to a princess.”

“I don’t mind. I think it’s an interesting proposition.”

Interesting? Then let’s do it.

“Okay, no honorifics from now on!”

“I’m a habitual honorific, so……it may be difficult for me to do that right away. I’ll try to make an effort, but…….By the way, you said that it would be worth remembering but wouldn’t it be a memory only if we could get out of here? If you have the skills to get out of here by yourself, please go ahead and do it without worrying about me. I don’t want to slow you down!”

What’s she saying?

“Have you forgotten everything I’ve ever said to you? If you say that again, I’ll get really angry.”

“Even at……!”

“When I said that being trapped here might be worth remembering, I meant that there is a way out. We’re going to get out of here in one piece. Of course, we’ll have to wait for my mana to recover, so it’ll take some time, but I think in five hours I’ll be able to use my skills again and get out of here.”

“Is that true?”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

“That’s good to know.”

Five hours later, I could use [Crush] again.

“But I can’t believe you’re mad at me…….Pfft”

At that moment I heard a slight laugh in the darkness. A woman who had never shown any emotion was laughing!

“You just laughed, didn’t you?”

“I haven’t been angry since my father-king told me so when I was a little girl…….It made me lose my nervousness. My acting is…….”

“Didn’t you just casually say something amazing?”

Yes. I think it’s an act to live as a princess. My father-king told me to always maintain my dignity so as to not be underestimated. Eventually, my expression became stiff. Then I started to act in front of people.”

“So, when you laughed, does that mean you’ve stopped acting?”

“In front of you, at least.”

“In front of me?”

“When I heard you wanted to get to know me, it seemed like I didn’t have to act.”

“Well, I’m flattered.”

“But expressing my emotions and showing my true face are two different things. The real me……that is hidden is different from the princess. I don’t think anyone will be able to handle it.”

No one will be able to handle it?…….I’m really curious.

“I don’t care what it’s like. So you can show me.”

“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“No. I’ve never known regret in my life.”

“Please don’t run away when you find out who I really am.”

Run away? What’s the big deal?

“I promise. I’ll be there for you no matter what.”

“It’s that a…..marriage proposal?”

“Oh…..Pretend that didn’t just happen.”

Then the silence came again. However, the silence was somehow different from before.

“Didn’t you just secretly laugh again?”

“No, I didn’t! I was just speechless. Anyway, your true face doesn’t come out that easily.”

That being said, I’m definitely motivated to see it.

“Just don’t regret it.”

“I won’t. Well, that’s that. For now, let’s get some rest; we have five hours left, so we have a chance to recover. I don’t think you slept a wink in the mountains, and I haven’t either.”

Yes. This was the perfect place to rest and not be cold. I was trapped in the dark, but on the other hand, it also meant that there was no other danger.

“That would be great!”

Hearing her pleasant reply, I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. Then I felt a rush of exhaustion, the sleepiness overtook me.

.

.

.

When I woke up from my sleep and opened my eyes she hadn’t moved a muscle. Her face was nestled against my shoulder. Probably, this happened naturally while I was dozing off. Well, sure enough she was probably more tired than I was. She hadn’t slept much in the mountains, let alone all through the war.

I didn’t dare wake her up and checked the system first. I could read the system messages without any problem, as they were glowing. When I checked, I found that [Crush] had recovered. That meant that we would be able to escape.

“ Haa……”

She woke up sounding like a high school student who almost dozed off in class.