Chapter 12 The Exiled Princess and the Hero’s Vow
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I take one long, deep breath and steady myself, letting the air cool the heat of my resolve. Then, I pull up the window and operate my ability, installing a campfire right next to the small table where Cleonora is sitting.
Next, I set a plate of raw meat and a water pitcher down on the table.
This ought to do it, I think.
”She’s gotta be surprised right now! Stuff just popped up out of nowhere!” Ami-chan says, her voice full of bubbly excitement.
I figure I’ll get a huge pile of Resource Points when Aion-san gets back. When that happens, I really should make another Water Splendor Flash skill.
”Hey, is it even okay to talk about the Quester power to other people?” I ask, looking around nervously.
”It’s obviously best to keep quiet about it. It’s a terrifying power—being able to freely customize a designated area—and there’ll always be scumbags who wanna try and use that power for themselves,” Ami-chan replies, her tone turning a bit serious.
Right, I know that, I thought, a shiver running down my spine.
Still, Cleonora is going to ask questions about a lot of things, including the sudden appearance of raw meat.
”Well, I think you can tell Cleonora, though.”
”Huh? You do?” I ask, surprised.
”Yeah. Because you can crank up her Affection Level, dummy. If you can get her all the way to a Slave of Love, she’ll obey everything Shou says, no matter what!”
Ah… I get it now. It means there’s no need to hide the power if the person is easy to silence. A simple chain will do the trick.
I, too, want to utterly break Cleonora. Actually, my resolve’s already set on that, anyway. Yeah, I decide, no problem at all.
My decision is fully solid after standing in the Great Phantasmal Soulstone chamber, so I exit the underground chamber. Sure enough, Cleonora’s face is etched with utter surprise.
”Shouichi. A campfire, raw meat, and water just appeared suddenly…” she wonders, her eyes wide.
”Ah, that’s my power right there,” I declare, with a hint of pride.
”Wha—”
”Let’s talk while I prepare the meal, shall we?” I propose, grabbing the knife and starting to slice the raw meat. I then thread the pieces onto a few wooden sticks.
”I have a special power. If I use it, I can freely modify the land, but only within my Dominion,” I explain carefully.
”What did you just say…?” she gasps, her posture rigid with disbelief.
Since I’ve been doing this every day, I’m getting pretty good at cooking the meat. I hold the meat near the fire, carefully rotating it so it doesn’t get burnt.
While I work, I tell Cleonora the whole story.
”Hero Summoning…! And you got caught up in that?!” she cries out, aghast.
”That’s right. Some beautiful princess completely screwed me over and threw me out in this forest.” Now that I think about it, that princess was the ringleader of a super-popular, normie group. Ugh… I can’t forgive her…
”What was the name of the country that summoned you? And that princess’s name…?” Cleonora inquires, her brow furrowed in concentration.
”Beats me. I ended up here before I could get any of those details. Honestly, I don’t know a thing about this world,” I admit with a shrug.
”It was probably the country to the west of this forest!” she says with a surprising burst of certainty.
I’m honestly shocked that Cleonora believes my story. Most people would think a tale this absurd couldn’t possibly be true…
”Okay, it’s done! The meat is cooked,” I say, presenting the perfectly roasted skewers.
”Oh… thank you…” she whispers, taking one. Cleonora blows on the meat to cool it down, then brings it to her mouth. Immediately, her brows knit together.
Well, I guess it doesn’t taste good. I, myself, thought it was delicious the first time, but now, honestly, I don’t think it tastes all that great. It’s completely unseasoned, after all. It’s 100% wild, raw-tasting meat.
Despite this, Cleonora eats several pieces of meat and washes it down with water.
”…The country that summoned you, Shouichi. It’s likely the Emmeld Kingdom… my home country.”
”Seriously…? Is that true?” I ask, leaning in.
”Yes. The Emmeld Kingdom used to be a leading country in magic civilization on the continent. …No, maybe I should say was a leading country…”
Cleonora, it turns out, is the younger sister of that princess. But she called herself the former princess… so there’s obviously a whole mess of complications there.
I remember what Ami-chan told me. She said I should try to make the other person talk as much as possible and be the listener.
”If you don’t mind, could you tell me about your situation, Cleonora?” I ask gently.
”Huh…?”
”I really don’t know anything about this world. I’d like to hear anything you know, anything you want to share with me. Please,” I urge, keeping my voice soft. Providing food and listening to her story—that’s the first step to lowering her guard. I’ll start with that.
”…The Emmeld Kingdom. It used to be considered one of the great powers. But over time, the central government just became more and more corrupt…”
Ah, the classic story of rise and fall¹, I thought. It seems the Emmeld Kingdom used to boast a considerable amount of territory.
But the royal family and central nobility began to demand more luxurious lives, soliciting bribes and constantly raising taxes everywhere. As time went on, the rift between the provinces and the center grew wider. One by one, the feudal lords defected, and the country’s territory shrank rapidly.
The king of the previous generation managed to turn things around for a while, realizing the danger. But his time on the throne wasn’t long, and after the current king took over, the central nobility started throwing their weight around again.
”Our relationship with neighboring countries isn’t good, either. We’re in constant skirmishes with the Egdia Empire, and the Shaitar Grand Republic is gradually buying up our capital…” The Emmeld Kingdom apparently has more excellent sorcerers than other nations. And they supposedly possess ancient, wide-area destructive sorcery from a bygone era.
Because of these skills, they managed to avoid total collapse even as their national power declined. But recently, even that has become unsustainable.
”Every country has a small number of sorcerers, but the Empire is rapidly advancing its sorcery research. They took one of the Kingdom’s fortresses a few months ago… and the Kingdom might be destroyed soon.”
”Wow… that’s intense,” I whisper, genuinely concerned.
When I was summoned, that princess had asked me to defeat the Demon Lord. I bet she was talking about the Empire, calling them a ‘Demon Lord-ruled country.’
Why would she say it that way? To turn the hero’s power against the Empire. At this rate, the story about the summoning circle collecting Magic Power based on the strength of the hero’s defeated enemies is probably a lie, too.
”I thought things couldn’t go on like this. I believed there must be something I, as a princess, could do. So, I gathered allies, took control of a knight order, and tried to stage a coup d’état.”
”Wait, what?!” I shout, completely shocked. Unbelievable. She was plotting a coup d’état. Cleonora is clearly a princess of immense initiative and action.
”But I failed. My older sister was just a step ahead of me when it came to schemes. I didn’t realize until it was too late that I was dancing right in the palm of her hand.”
Cleonora was captured before the uprising and exiled to this Demon Forest. The others who were captured are apparently living near the forest entrance.
”Hold on…? Then why did Cleonora come so far into the depths all by yourself…?”
”I have a few reasons. The first is to get amnesty for my comrades.” Cleonora and her allies were ordered to develop the Demon Forest. But that’s an impossible task. “On the other hand, the Demon Forest has both dangerous and highly valuable demon monsters. There’s also a legend that a Holy Sword is sleeping somewhere in this forest.”
”A Holy Sword…!”
”It’s only a legend, but if I could find a rare demon monster or, better yet, the Holy Sword, I could use it as a bargaining chip. They might grant my comrades amnesty.”
That’s why Cleonora was exploring the forest alone. Apparently, she’s one of the strongest among her group of allies. But she ventured too deep and ended up being chased by that Lion-Headed demon monster.
”I can’t believe you decided to go in alone…” I marvel, shaking my head.
”I had a trump card. Though, honestly, reaching that lake alive was a miracle. I don’t think I can return from here alone now…” Besides searching for the Holy Sword, she was also looking for a route through the forest that led to the Grand Republic. Apparently, this forest borders the Emmeld Kingdom to the west, the Grand Republic to the south, and the Empire to the north.
If she could establish a secure route, she planned to escape to the Grand Republic with her comrades.
”But there’s one thing I can’t leave behind. My younger sister is still in the capital.”
”Your sister… the Third Princess?” I clarify.
”Yes. My sister and I share the same mother, so we were closer than I am to my older sister.” She said she was threatened that if she returned to the Kingdom without having made enough progress in developing the forest, her sister would face terrible consequences.
”But knowing my older sister, once she’s convinced I’m dead, she’ll eliminate my sister too.”
”She would…?” I ask, surprised by the ruthlessness.
”I have no doubt. For my older sister, a child of the First Queen is nothing but a nuisance.”
Wow… that’s a seriously messed-up family. And that princess… she’s genuinely terrifying. Behind that smiling face, she’s plotting some seriously messed-up schemes.
”If only I… had more power. Even if I couldn’t become a princess again, I could at least take my sister out of the capital…” Cleonora whispers, her voice laced with regret.
Her words cause Ami-chan to react instantly.
”Hmm, I see now~ Cleonora wants strong power, doesn’t she!” Ami-chan cheers, her voice annoyingly enthusiastic.
”Huh…? Ye-yes… that’s right. Power like Shou’s… the kind that can defeat a Gardan in one hit is what I want.”
But there’s a recoil that’s going to throw my shoulder out if I’m not careful! I seriously think my shoulder would’ve popped out if I’d kept firing that beam. I must have stopped the beam unconsciously…
”In that case! If you use Shou’s power, Cleonora, you can gain a top-class strength!” Ami-chan exclaims, almost vibrating with excitement.
”Huh…?”
”H-huh…”
”You’ll still need to train after you get the power, but there’s no doubt that the more time you spend, the stronger you can become!”
This… this is what they call the Magical Girl and Class Affliction thing, I realize. The Magical Girl Class, unlike the Maid Class, has fluctuating levels. So it’s definitely true that she can grow stronger over time.
”Shou… is what you’re saying true…?” Cleonora asks, her eyes locked on mine, full of renewed hope.
”…Yeah, it’s true,” I confirm, trying to sound calm. “I can give you tremendous power. I can do it right now if you want… so, what do you say?”
Damn. My heart is pounding like crazy! The result is going to be the same no matter what Cleonora answers, but her reply comes quickly.
”I definitely want that! I know it’s a lot to ask, especially since we just met, but…”
”…I understand,” I say, the decision made. “It’s too much out here… let’s talk in the cabin.” The moment is here.
—
Summary:
Shouichi, the hero, shares his secret of the Quester power with the exiled Princess Cleonora, who is desperate to save her sister from the corrupt Emmeld Kingdom. Her tale of the failed coup and the ruthless older sister’s schemes builds tension. Ami-chan, the manipulative AI, encourages Shouichi to offer Cleonora the ‘Magical Girl’ class power, promising increased Affection Levels and total obedience. Cleonora accepts, hoping to gain the strength to protect her last family member, leading them to the cabin for the next stage of their partnership.
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Character Insight:
Shouichi is fully committed to his own self-serving path, relishing the chance to ‘break’ Cleonora even as he helps her. His loyalty to his own dark desires overrides moral judgment. Cleonora, the strong-willed power-type Princess Knight, is at her breaking point, willing to accept power from anyone to save her younger sister, making her vulnerable to Shouichi’s schemes.
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Behind the Scene:
This chapter is the pivotal moment where Shouichi fully accepts the amoral advice of his AI companion, Ami-chan, choosing the path of manipulation and power in this hostile world. It sets the stage for the ‘Magical Girl’ system, which binds Cleonora to him and guarantees her unwavering devotion, regardless of the consequences.
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T/L:
¹ [栄枯盛衰 (eiko seisui): A Japanese four-character idiom that means the rise and fall of power, prosperity, or fortune. It perfectly describes the cyclical nature of kingdoms and empires.](The classic story of rise and fall ↩)
Notes:
• Cleonora – The second princess. Have a yellow blonde hair. Usually styled as hairbun.
• Ami – A palm-sized fairy-like being from a world separate from both Earth and the isekai realm. She has light blue hair tied in a ponytail, mischievous blue eyes, and tiny wings that flutter behind her. Her outfit consists of a provocative high-cut leotard and a short jacket that looks like a miniskirt from the back, leaving her legs bare. Despite her playful appearance, she is actively searching for a contractor who can protect her from dangerous pursuers in exchange for the powers she offers.
• Aion – The maid golem. She has chestnut-brown hair and and a well-featured, but utterly expressionless, face. Looks like Karakuri from certain series.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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