Princess Pheonia's Head Escort, Claire, had difficulty chasing after the princess, her charge having jumped off the arena and run towards the exit.
The princess barely managed to calm down as she saw Claire approaching.
No matter how furious she was, she still had to maintain her royal status. She wasn't in a position to show such undignified behavior in front of her royal knight.
"I can't give up on how things are currently."
She approached me with an ill-tempered look, her anger not having completely subsided.
"You know something, don't you? Surely… Whether you are bearing the weight of it or hiding it… I don't know why you aren't talking, or maybe you're being forced to, but I can tell that there is something. I can't feel any malicious or dark intent inside you, but…"
"I think you may be overestimating yourself, Princess…"
"Listen carefully. I can't say anything right now because I don't have any evidence, but…"
The princess's bright golden eyes looked straight at me.
In 'Sylvania's Failed Swordmaster', Princess Pheonia's Insightful Eyes were just a simple ability that allowed her to know an opponent's next action in advance during battle, or to peek at an opponent's stats.
But aside from that, it was treated as nothing more than a plot device.
However, living in this reality myself, actually facing her ability in my daily life had caused me much mental anguish.
I knew it. It was better to keep as much distance away from the princess as possible.
Although it would never happen as she was a main character, I needed to make sure to never become close to her. I felt like I was starting to care too much about it.
Of course, I wasn't sure if it would be easy to keep my distance. It would all depend on my effort from now on.
The princess let out a sigh. She seemed to finally realize how funny and ridiculous this whole situation was.
She put her hands on her waist and let out another sigh, finally regaining her composure.
"Anyway… I'm sorry I yelled and showed disgraceful behavior towards you."
She swept her hand over her face, seemingly recalling the terrible way she had acted earlier.
Well, even though she was furious, at least the conversation ended with an apology from the princess.
The difference in status between us was enormous. If she was even slightly irritated, it could have had catastrophic results for me.
This was an unprecedented situation in the first place. Princess Pheonia had rarely gotten annoyed or angry at others, the reason for which was quite complicated.
I knew about some instances in the princess's childhood which made it understandable why she had such an unnaturally altruistic and caring personality.
When she was young, she pointed out a slight stain on her teacup. This resulted in a maid she was friendly with getting whipped in the royal garden.
The royal family was always conscious of the dangers of being poisoned. So the fact that a stain remained on a piece of tableware for the royal family, and the fact that it even reached the table, was a clear indication that the maid was insincere in her important duty of checking.
But that wasn't all.
One day, the princess was running around the garden when she fell down, getting a scratch on her skin. That very same day, her head escort was changed.
Whenever she was tired or had a minor illness, the royal doctor's complexion would always turn pale.
Once, her shoe broke during a royal banquet. The royal tailor personally came to her room and threw his body on the floor, apologizing with tears running down his face.
For Princess Pheonia, who was born with a graceful personality, all of these were burdensome and only served to put pressure on her.
Not a single mistake was allowed on the path of a noble monarch. They must always accept that their own mistakes would be an irreversible disaster for someone else.
If the princess herself were to directly express her anger or resentment towards someone, she wouldn't even be able to estimate what kind of disaster she had brought upon them.
The Benevolent Princess was a nickname given to her in tribute to her caring nature. But I knew the truth—that her nickname was nothing but a chain that bound her.
But there was nothing I could do for her. I didn't have any reason to. But if there was something that was bothering me, it was that I had become a variable in her worries.
"It's okay to leave. You've been looking at that door for some time now. You must have something urgent to attend to, right?"
"Thank you."
"..."
'This is the first time Pheonia showed this side of hers.
As someone who will affect the early scenario, she's already involved with so many people and events enough to give me a headache.
It's probably my fault for being a new addition to the scenario.'
"No matter what type of burden I may carry, it shouldn't be any heavier than the weight the princess carries."
She might think I was being too presumptuous, but this shouldn't end up being too big of a deal.
"While it's definitely necessary to pay attention to politics and social problems, why don't you try putting your mind at ease? This isn't a place where the royal family needs to establish authority over everything… it's just Sylvania Academy."
"You look really worn out. You should relax a bit."
The princess's eyes widened at my words, even though I didn't say anything too surprising.
She lived a life spent looking through others, but she didn't have much experience in someone else being able to see through her.
Looking at the utterly stunned expression on the princess's face, I quickly closed the door and ran out.
Thankfully, she didn't try to stop me. That was a relief.
Anyways, Princess Pheonia was a main character.
She may be very bothered by my existence now, but after she gets involved in all sorts of incidents in the main story, she would forget about me soon enough.
Let's not see each other again!
Please!
Huff... Huff...
I found Taylor on a wooden bench somewhere in the outskirts of the Student Center. He was sitting down, tightly clutching the wooden sword he used in the duel.
Now that I could see Taylor in the distance, that didn't mean I actually had a plan.
This is troublesome...!
I lost too much time!
If Taylor gives up, my comfortable life—no, this whole world might even end.
"Taylor!"
"Don't come any closer."
I was so surprised, but after looking at her face, I felt a strange sense of joy rising from within me.
She had a short wavy dark brown bob, with a weak appearance but a strong expression on her face showing her will.
"You are…"
"Please… don't come any closer…"
She looked exactly like she did in the game. If you've played 'Sylvania's Failed Swordmaster' even once, you would be glad to see her face.
She was practically the face of the game. Taylor's childhood friend who always supported him whenever he was having a hard time or facing a challenge. I didn't expect to see Ayla Triss in the flesh.
[Ayla Triss]Main Heroine
"Ed Rothstaylor… don't come… any closer to Taylor. Don't come closer…!"
"Even if it's not you… for Taylor… he's already gone through so much! Isn't it enough already?! There's no need to bully him anymore! I also saw you! It… It must have been hard enough already…!"
Her trembling voice was so faint it sounded as though it was going to break, and yet she didn't stop talking till she spat out everything she wanted to say. More than anything, she was truly sincere in wanting to protect Taylor. I felt unnecessarily touched by her efforts.
That's right, this was Ayla…!
It's funny how I felt moved by someone who was staring at me like they wanted to murder me…
Clank!
The iron cup Ayla was holding fell and started rolling on the stone ground. She must've been on her way to get some water.
It was only then that Taylor responded, having heard the sound of water splashing on the floor.
Taylor slowly got up from the bench and started walking toward us.
I felt a sense of disharmony then. That sense of weakness he had disappeared as he walked over.
"Ed… Rothstaylor…"
He grabbed the sword tightly as he approached me, then he sent Ayla behind his back and he stared at me.
"Still… I guess you still attend school…"
A low and serious voice. I was surprised to see that he looked fairly back to life. The Taylor that I saw when he lost the duel surely didn't look to have a bit of life left in him.
So what happened?
Taylor's unique willpower to live. No matter how powerful an opponent, he had a fighting spirit that would never break. I could definitely feel that sense of willpower in him.
Had he already resurrected?
It seemed so.
After coming all the way here, I could see the whole story of what may have happened.
I couldn't follow Taylor right away because of my duel with the Princess.
However, his childhood friend and biggest supporter, Ayla Triss, worriedly ran after him.
And what happened next could be inferred without having to see it in person.
No matter how high a wall or how difficult an ordeal may be, for anything that blocked Taylor's path, Ayla would always hug, encourage, and give him positive reinforcement.
She was always there to give Taylor heartwarming support, crying and laughing by his side.
As long as Ayla was with him, Taylor would always stand back up after getting knocked down.
"Coming here... For what reason... What business do you have with me...?"
Because of her, Taylor was able to stand again.
I was worried he might think I was bullying Ayla, which would explain why he hid her small body behind him as he looked straight at me with such burning volition.
"You were quite good with the sword. I saw how you handled it."
"Tell me clearly what you are planning."
"I don't have anything planned."
For someone who used to despise you at the entrance exam to suddenly say such things, it couldn't be helped that he thought I was out of my mind.
But I still wanted to tell him something, at the very least.
While I played the game, there were many times I felt he truly had a strong mental fortitude. No matter how difficult the challenges he faced were, I was always greatly encouraged by that strong willpower and never felt discouraged.
Coming to the hasty conclusion that he would lose the will to fight just because he got beaten by Lucy once…
I guess I worried too much.
"Euut!"
My eyes met with Ayla, her gaze still filled with contempt. But all I did was nod at her and then turned around.
After that, I just turned around and walked away.
I could feel their gazes on my back. And without looking, I knew their faces must be saying, "Just what the hell is wrong with that guy?"
…well, it was something that couldn't be helped.