Volume 6 Chapter 52 The Measure of Two Princesses
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Fighting was never a hobby.
It was nothing but exhausting, and there was no fun to be found in it. If possible, he would refuse outright. The ones who loved fighting—the adventurers—were all lunatics anyway.
And yet, battle was nothing more than an extension of territorial claim.
Even if he hated it, as long as he lived, there were times it could not be avoided.
”Urahh!” he shouted.
The knife flashed forward. He caught his flinching opponent, dragged him close, and slammed a knee into his gut.
The guard folded like paper, doubled over in a croaking groan before collapsing.
Other guards noticed and rushed over, claws as long as fingers slicing through the air. He twisted aside at the last instant, rolling across the ground. The guard stumbled forward, off-balance, and in that opening Klock drove an elbow into the back of his skull. The paper hidden in his chest burned hot against his skin as if alive.
”…Hmph.”
He turned toward the girl waiting behind him.
Hands on hips, her stance regal and commanding, stood the Wolf Princess.
Beside her, Kuzuha—Fox Princess—looked away with deliberate disinterest.
Klock narrowed his eyes, expecting some cutting remark. The Wolf Princess arched one brow.
”Ordinary,” she said. “Push a little harder and you might pass for a common foot soldier.”
They broke through the guard room and pressed forward. Unlike before, they had covered great distance, fighting more than once along the way. Most clashes were ambushes: the Wolf Princess sniffing out the enemy, ears twitching, leading them to either slip past or strike from hiding.
All the fighting fell to Klock.
Kuzuha contributed nothing, and the Wolf Princess merely crossed her arms and observed from behind. Without their cooperation, Klock had no choice but to steel himself, distasteful though it was.
How far had they traveled?
Beyond the guard room, the landscape began to change. Sand walls, sand ceilings, sand roads gave way to scattered stone.
What had once been smooth as a seaside dune turned into gravel that bit into bare feet. The two barefoot princesses trailed behind, their gazes pressing into his back. He climbed a slope, earth replacing sand, until the tunnel opened into a wide chamber.
”Nearly there,” the Wolf Princess said. “There may be more above, but for now, we pause.”
It was not a suggestion. It was a command, and none of them had the courage to disobey. They left the main path, seeking a darkened alcove to catch their breath.
”Mmm. Still, the security here is laughable. Nobodies, all of them. Too reliant on the prison itself.”
She sprawled on her side, propped on an elbow, nibbling on stolen white cheese.
She was not wrong. The guards were hardly a threat. The rat Beastkin were weak as a race, and while they came at him with claws bared, they fell quickly. Even Klock could handle repeated bouts, which meant they were not true soldiers.
”They never imagined escape,” she continued. “After years of peace, discipline has rotted away. Assignments are sloppy, training nonexistent. At this rate, leaving will not be so difficult.”
He knew she was right.
In truth, breaking free from the Imperial Capital Alvenia had been far harder.
These guards had the air of villagers pressed into service. No discipline, no edge. Perhaps they had simply been transplanted here by order of the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts, promised safety in exchange for serving as wardens.
Cats ruled the rats. Unlike the wolves and foxes who fought, the rats had surrendered. Perhaps once they had resisted, but now they kept the prison running.
”We’ve already reached the Sky Layer,” the Wolf Princess said suddenly. “This may be the last chance to rest. If there is anything to be spoken, it should be said now.”
She popped another piece of cheese into her mouth, her gaze cutting sharp. The weight of her words sank in.
Beside them, Kuzuha stiffened, slowly edging back.
”Klock,” the Wolf Princess said flatly. “What you did to me is beyond forgiveness. The feel of your peasant c*ck is carved into my mind forever. How will you take responsibility?”
Expressionless, half-lidded eyes boring into him, she spoke as if reciting a decree. She would deal with him first, even before Kuzuha, who had openly betrayed her. She was only now dragging into the light what she had shelved since their reunion.
”That woman told you already, did she not? My kingdom has fallen. But I remain the Wolfkin Princess. My people adored me, worshipped me. If they knew what you did, they would rage, hunt you down, and tear you apart.”
A single drop of water fell, echoing into the silence of the cave. Every sound—the drip, her voice—rang with clarity in the oppressive stillness.
Klock’s eyes flicked to Kuzuha. She turned away, refusing to meet him for more than a heartbeat. No allies here. The three of them stood fractured, mistrust thick as smoke.
”You have committed a great crime,” the Wolf Princess said. “Ordinarily, I would dismember you without question. But—”
She rose smoothly to her feet.
”Klock. What is your relationship to the Hero?”
”…The Hero?” he asked.
”Yes. You claimed the Hero came to Boorinel.”
His brow furrowed. A memory hit him like a slap—the words he had tossed out when he abandoned her in the cell. He had not expected to see her again so soon. He had run his mouth carelessly.
”Ah… that. I only said I saw her come. Nothing more…”
”That is a lie,” the Wolf Princess said. “The Hero always moves in secret. If strangers learned her true name, villages and cities would fall into uproar. For years, her party traveled under false names, in secrecy. Even when she came to the Beast Continent, she called herself Cianie.”
She narrowed her eyes, lips curving into a sly smile. “So one could not have known she was there by a mere glance—unless you already knew her face.”
Klock bit his lip. She was shrewder than he had thought. Born to rule, raised apart from common folk, she had received the kind of education that sharpened her mind early.
And clearly, she was something of a Hero devotee. Klock himself had never asked about the party’s methods during their adventuring years, nor had there been much chance to. Their time together in the moving house was still too new. But he remembered Rocetta, the Royal Capital, where he first met them cloaked and hooded, passing as simple adventurers. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps Cianie and her companions had always walked incognito.
On the Beast Continent, stories of the Hero were rare. Without seeking information, one would hardly hear her name at all.
”You know the Hero,” the Wolf Princess pressed. “For a moment, I thought you might be her new party member. But with your strength? Impossible. So tell me—what are you?”
So that was the reason for his forced participation in battle. He had thought it punishment, not suspicion. A place in the Hero’s party was far beyond him.
”Why does it always have to turn into something grand?” Klock asked, scratching at his head.
”Because we met in a grand place. Was it not Princess Elna whose displeasure you earned? You told me that was why you were sent here. Do you expect me to take such a claim at face value?”
He had been thrown into the Bastili Hundred Pits. The lowest level, no less. It meant he had committed some grave offense. He had told her vaguely he had fallen afoul of Elna’s temper. He could hardly admit to r**e. There was no way to explain the details. Lies were all he had. They had pressed him little, but clearly, his story had never been trusted.
”…We’re from the same homeland,” he finally said.
Excuses flickered through his mind. If he said they had been lovers, suspicion would deepen. If he admitted kinship, she might demand something impossible.
”The same homeland?” she asked. “You knew her as a child?”
”Yeah. It was a backwater. I knew her back when she was a spoiled brat. We ran into each other again in the Beast Continent.”
He looked away, scratching his head. More truth than lies—that was the trick. Lies woven into truth passed easier.
”Then you can contact the Hero,” the Wolf Princess said with certainty.
The words dripped with intent, as if she could not be bothered to hide her desire to use him. Even as a young girl, she was still royalty.
”…Sorry, but that’s—”
”Introduce me to her. The Hero.”
The Wolf Princess stepped forward, crouching before him. Her young breasts pressed forward without shame as she met his gaze head-on.
”You laid hands on a princess,” she said coldly. “You forced yourself on me. I was a maiden, pure and untouched. You left me wounded and unable to sleep through the night. You bear responsibility for that crime. In exchange for your sin, you will introduce me to the Hero.”
So that was why she had not taken her vengeance. To her, the dream mattered more than revenge. In her eyes shone that peculiar brightness of youth, almost blinding to Klock.
”…That’s all you want?” he asked.
”It is not a small thing. It is everything.” Her tone was steady, stripped of emotion.
Klock understood. She adored Cianie. To meet her—even an introduction—was no triviality. Heroes were figures one could not simply approach. Teleportation carried them from nation to nation; only those countries with established ties ever met them face to face. For a princess of a fallen land, the chance was nearly impossible. Her demand carried real weight.
”…You, friends with the Hero? That’s absurd,” a new voice cut in.
It was the Fox Princess, Kuzuha. She stood a little apart, bare save for the bands around her arms. Her hair, damp from bathing, clung darkly to her shoulders. One hand rested on her hip as she stared down at them with cool disdain.
”The Hero is the savior of the world, called the noblest, purest of women. And you expect me to believe a filthy wretch like you could know her?” she spat.
Her eyes flicked toward his lap, where something stirred at the sound of her scorn. Flustered, she covered herself with crossed arms, one hand dropping instinctively lower, shielding her sex.
It was a gesture of instinctive modesty—something new in her. The kind of shift that came once a woman had been touched by a man.
”What’s wrong?” the Wolf Princess asked smoothly. “Do you hate that Klock and I are… improving our relations?”
”As if I’d care about that—!” Kuzuha snapped.
The Wolf Princess looked at her. Klock looked at her. Kuzuha looked back at both. In that instant of distraction, the Wolf Princess’s hand slid onto Klock’s groin, squeezing hard. He felt it instantly; Kuzuha saw it, eyes widening in shock.
”Among three snarling rivals, balance looks good but is rotten beneath. If two mend ties without the third knowing, it becomes two against one. Better to strike first and forge an alliance. Taking allies before your opponent does—that is diplomacy’s foundation,” the Wolf Princess murmured with a crooked smile.
T/N: pun on ‘snarl’—dogs baring teeth.
Her lips curved cruelly, revealing her intent. Her purpose was not merely a pipeline to the Hero, but to dominate this triangle, to stand above them both.
Kuzuha’s brows furrowed deeply. Was it fear—because this Wolf Princess had endured r**e without outward anger, facing it coldly? Or was it despair—realizing that, stripped of magic and freshly defiled, she was now in a far too powerless position?
”So then, Klock. Will you link me to the Hero?”
”Yeah, I don’t care about that. Just don’t expect me to guarantee how she’ll judge it.”
”That does not matter. I’ll make her agree by strength alone.”
Her expression was strangely radiant, as if savoring a promised delight, like a child eager for tomorrow.
Did she not even consider it might be a lie? The entire claim of her ties to the Hero could be false. Yet she held herself with certainty, as if seeing something none of them did.
And while speaking of serious negotiation, her hand kneaded, coaxing him awake. His member, already spent inside the Fox Princess, rose eagerly at her small, soft strokes.
”So, what’s this supposed to mean?” Klock asked, brow furrowing.
She ignored his words. Metal snapped as she freed him, and Kuzuha stared at the sight as though glimpsing something alien.
”The Hero’s introduction is bought by your obedience. I’m not absolving you of that. You still have work to do.”
Work? The word meant nothing to him. Yet his flesh, stroked to heat, swelled harder still. Shameless, even after pouring into the Fox Princess moments ago.
”What kind of work? Another… thing like before?”
”Don’t be a fool. R**e, of course,” she said flatly, glancing toward Kuzuha.
The fox princess shuddered visibly.
”Retribution is duty. I must pay Princess Kuzuha back—hold her down, r**e her, bathe her in my urine. Yet I lack what you have.”
With that, she released him, her heat gone, directing his gaze instead to the trembling fox.
”Now, Princess Kuzuha. Your turn. For all the torment you dealt me, we’ll talk thoroughly.”
The Wolf Princess rose, hair flicking like a whip as she strode forward with bold, unashamed steps.
”To see you, pampered and delicate, crying for mercy—that will be art. Perhaps then my wrath will cool.”
Yet she looked anything but angry—her eyes danced with joy. She leapt, closing the distance. In a blink she loomed before Kuzuha, who stumbled back, then collapsed to the ground.
”What’s wrong, Princess Kuzuha? So frail now,” the Wolf Princess mocked.
Without her magic, she was nothing more than a well-bred girl. Her mouth worked soundlessly, pride twisting her silence. Klock advanced from behind.
”S-stop! Haven’t you done enough already?” she cried, like a villager’s daughter beset by soldiers. “I can’t fight anymore. Please—just stop!”
”And you think whining will earn you mercy? Did you not do the same to me?” the Wolf Princess retorted. And it was true. They had once cornered her two against one. Now the roles had reversed.
Klock stepped close, and Kuzuha’s eyes darted to his rigid length. Her fear only stiffened him further. Had she not once sought meaningless humiliation, perhaps vengeance would have been lighter. But now—this was karma.
”Go on. Violate her. Mercy comes after. First, this arrogant girl must learn reality,” the Wolf Princess commanded, circling behind. She seized Kuzuha, pinning her arms, wrenching her legs apart.
Royalty assisting in her rival’s rape—an obscene turn. Klock remembered how his flesh had ravaged her not long ago. Now, more swollen than ever, it aimed between her legs. Kuzuha, trembling, showed eyes of resignation.
”…Remember this. You won’t get away with it,” she hissed. Even at her breaking point, her spirit as a princess did not shatter.
And yet—in her eyes, the Wolf Princess was gone. What filled her gaze was not her eternal rival, but Klock. While the Wolf Princess schemed for the grand game, Kuzuha’s narrow sight saw only the brute about to force himself on her.
”Kuzuha…” Klock spoke her name, and both princesses looked at him. He had never done so before, not in front of the Wolf Princess. Kuzuha clenched her teeth, glaring with defiance.
Then—
A shockwave slammed into them, loud enough to split the air, making their ears ache.
”—?!” Klock staggered. The sudden interruption, if meant to halt the r**e, could not have been more effective. The blast roared so vast that the Wolf Princess leapt back instantly into battle stance. Kuzuha scrambled to her feet, eyes darting toward the cave’s entrance. Klock turned, ears still ringing, grimacing.
”What was that? Such power… Magic surging. An attack?”
This was no quiet alley, but a hidden passage branching from the main street. And the explosion had thundered from that very thoroughfare.
”We’d better check it,” he said.
On his own, Klock might have hesitated. But when he stole a glance, the Wolf Princess met his eyes and gave a sharp, brief nod. Taking that as approval, he jogged toward the main road.
That came from above… didn’t it? Could it be—?
If so, then someone had launched an attack from the outside. It might have been an attempt to break into Bastili Hundred Pits. A single possibility flickered across Klock’s mind.
When he reached the thoroughfare, the silence was thicker, heavier. The prisoners seemed to be holding their breath, cowed by the thunderclap of that blast.
An unease gnawed at him as he slowed to a steady pace, conserving energy but ready to spring. A guard could appear at any moment. He drew his partner blade from its holder, grip firm, keeping his strength for whatever truth lay ahead.
”There you are. Saves me the trouble of searching, Klock Livorno!!”
The voice rang sharp and high from deeper within the passage, reverberating powerfully through the cavernous space.
There was no time to duck behind a corner. Knife raised, scanning his surroundings, Klock braced himself.
Then—before his eyes—a figure descended.
White hair, long and silken, fluttered as it touched the air.
Notes:
• Alvenia – The imperial capital, located at the continent’s northernmost point, is a grand city that becomes the next target of the Demon Lord’s fleet. It is a powerful empire ruled by Magdous Augusk Vilnessa.
• Boorinel – A town east of Ryzan, where Lord Cattleya’s manor is located; said to be a long journey from Ryzan.
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Rocetta – The royal capital of the Kingdom of Crotopone, where the knight barracks are located.
• Elna – Female. A young apprentice mage. Her appearance is that of a child with white hair reaching her shoulders. She wears a black hooded mantle with strange patterns. Her relationship is as an apprentice to Hermine, the Great Mage. Her power involves advanced magic, including spatial teleportation. Her combat style is magical, and she is described as childish and easily provoked.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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