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At that moment.

In a dimly lit room somewhere within the Dragon Lift’s royal castle, a woman slowly raised her body.

The woman in a white gown fiddled with her disheveled hair, pushed up her glasses, and reached out to grab what appeared to be a square notebook.

As the notebook opened upwards, the upper section began to shine.

Inside, mysterious numbers and drawings glimmered, and the woman with orange hair frowned.

“Damn it, is it already this time…”

As the woman who had just straightened up snapped her fingers, the lights in the room brightened with a ‘pop.’

A strange lamp hanging from the ceiling emitted a white light from a magic stone, and she dragged her slippers over to the desk, sitting down in front of a square box that was bigger than her head.

“Yawn.”

The woman let out a long yawn and pressed the circular button on another box under the desk.

Soon, the button started to blink with a blue light, and she straightened her back to focus her gaze on the box.

“…Ugh, this is irritating. If only I could freely come and go from the Demon World, I would toss this old-fashioned computer out.”

The woman lay back, annoyed.

“Damn it, damn it. Zephar, you bastard. If you’re going to summon me, at least prepare a few things first. Ugh.”

She grumbled as she began to hit something placed on the desk vigorously.

On the screen floating above her glasses was a schedule, and she bit her lip as she checked it one by one.

“Sigh. There’s still a long way to go for development. Damn Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess. What good is suppressing the advancement of science? I can’t do anything with this. Damn it. There are limits to what you can create and use.”

The woman leaned her back against the chair.

The chair tilted backward like a bed with her movements, and she stared blankly at the ceiling, sighing.

“Should I start a war?”

It was a remarkably extreme statement for such a calm remark, but the woman’s eyes were sincere.

“They say humanity develops through war. If a war breaks out, won’t the development speed up by another century? Hmm, I wonder if the Duke will allow it.”

She continued to scratch her head.

“Ugh, it’s so annoying. If I could just bring all the things from the Demon World, I could flip this continent upside down.”

As she snapped her fingers, the darkness on one side of the wall began to dissipate.

The blinds lifted, revealing a glass wall that allowed for a clear view outside, and the woman stretched her hand towards the two moons floating over the night sea.

“…If only I could reach that.”

Beep beep.

The small object she held in her hand began to sparkle.

She pressed the green mark at the bottom and brought the object close to her ear and mouth.

“Yes, Your Grace. What’s wrong?”

[Demon Lord, there’s a strange object on the coast.]

“A strange object?”

[Yes. It’s…]

Sparkle.

The light began to flicker back to life in the woman’s eyes.

“…The shell is broken, right? I got it. I’ll be there soon. Just leave it as is.”

Zing.

The woman immediately opened the window and jumped out.

“Hehe, I can’t stand it… the item that person left behind.”

Lick.

“Bel, I’ll be taking your research achievements.”

Behind the woman.

The wings of a black bat spread out.

*

After a brief return to the Bride Ship.

Under Lucius’s judgment, we decided to enter the Dragon Lift via Teleportation.

This was done not through smuggling or anything but to enter through legitimate means.

“I planned to go without a sound, but it seems I’ll have to listen to people’s hospitality.”

“Is it uncomfortable for you?”

While the others were preparing for a moment, I briefly called Droniel to my room.

“It’s not uncomfortable. It’s just that if there are people who notice Lucius, it could become bothersome.”

The Hero of the Holy Sword was bound to be welcomed everywhere.

Especially in a place as chaotic as this Anari Principality, a hero’s visit could trigger a national festival just by being there.

“I wonder if it’s because I’m sticking my nose into things.”

“Just the princess of the pirate ship should be enough to raise suspicion, don’t you think?”

“…That’s true.”

I knocked out the pirates.

And to ensure the pirates couldn’t wander far or do anything dangerous, we trapped them in the safest place possible.

Bride Ship.

More precisely, directly above the Bride Ship, Lucius used the Power of the Holy Sword to create a barrier of wind to pull us down to the depths of the sea.

Now the pirates couldn’t go anywhere.

Even if they tried to break through the barrier, they wouldn’t be able to escape due to Lucius’s Power of the Holy Sword. From the inside, they would only see the golden shield, completely unaware of where they were trapped.

“We have at least enough food to last about ten days on the ship, so it should be fine to leave them be. Well… if they suddenly do something unexpected, then I also won’t be able to help it.”

We confiscated all the teleportation scrolls and anything that looked dangerous.

Apart from the food, it was merely a ship turned into a prison.

“Droniel, what do you think?”

“Killing them would be the cleanest option, right?”

As expected, the most cold and composed woman among us, Droniel, spoke.

“Even if she’s a princess, she’s just a haughty girl among the fallen nobles. The revival of the royal family or whatnot doesn’t change the fact that they’ve been killing people through their piracy.”

“Are you really saying you’d kill them just for that reason?”

“Can I speak honestly?”

“Of course.”

“…She’s an unsuitable woman for Lucius.”

As expected.

“Lucius should have a woman who suits him by his side. No matter how much of a party member she is, I can’t accept someone like her.”

“Why not? You’ve only seen her once so far.”

“…Should I be more honest?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want any more beauties joining the party. If someone falls for Lucius and wants to join, he’s too kind to refuse.”

Indeed, Droniel was accurately pinpointing the core issue.

“I see, so you don’t want to add party members mindlessly just because they’re pretty?”

“Yes. Just because they’re party members doesn’t mean we should revive a fallen nation. That’s a no for me.”

“What if Lucius desires it?”

“If that happens, I’ll do my best to help, but fortunately, Lucius hasn’t done that. Just like the Witch guided him.”

“I didn’t guide him. I merely provided him with a choice.”

A guide is someone who offers various paths; they do not force someone down a specific one.

“I just wanted to advise him not to make choices swayed by kindness. The Hero of the Holy Sword is a person of great influence.”

“…They used to say that in the Empire about the dragon disguised as a human.”

“Right. If a dragon appears and claims to transform the principality back into a kingdom, what thoughts would the people have due to its overwhelming power and fear? Such chaos could precipitate even greater turmoil in a kingdom that’s just barely stabilizing now.”

“…So you mean you want me to take up the whip.”

“Exactly.”

Droniel straightened her posture.

“You want me to decisively cut off any poor judgments Lucius might make if he’s swayed by emotions, right?”

“That’s right. Currently, you’re the only one in our party who can play that role.”

Lucius accepts my opinions without question.

Rosmas blindly follows Lucius’s opinions.

Because of her role as a Saintess, Yan inevitably has to steer the conversation in accordance with the teachings of the Moon Goddess.

Therefore, Droniel, who is the most rational and capable of cutting off emotional ties, is the only woman who can divert Lucius’s path.

“Someone needs to grab Lucius by the shoulder and change his direction. But we can’t just recruit someone for that role! You’re more than capable of playing such a role.”

“If I can’t handle that role, you’re considering calling someone else for it.”

“Right. If a princess can play that role, that’s something to be considered too.”

Even a non-princess is fine.

Someone has to step up and firmly declare things.

– Are you going to throw the people of the principality into chaos just because you feel pity for the princess?

– The moment the principality becomes a kingdom, the Empire will attempt to conquer it. You plan to face the entire Empire?

– Are you really going to start an inter-country war over one woman?

Someone needs to state it firmly.

“What do you think, Droniel? Your image might get a bit colder, but I think it’d be great as a new image to show Lucius.”

“…Then instead of me taking charge, I hope I’ll gain something good from it too.”

Droniel lowered her voice and edged closer to me.

“Since you told me to be straightforward, let me say this. Help me out.”

“…That’s quite bold. Alright, how would you like me to help?”

“During the day.”

Droniel lowered her voice even further.

“…Please have a cooking practice session with Rosmas and Yan during the day. In the meantime, let me be alone with Lucius.”

“Oh wow….”

Impressive.

I never expected her to propose a deal like this.

‘Smart.’

Indeed, a human in love is frightening.

For the sake of her love and to yearn for love, humans are bound to come up with all sorts of clever strategies.

“Alright, I’ll do that. It might be a bit much to call it a condition, but there’s one requirement.”

“Requirement?”

“Yes. When you go on a date with Lucius, keep Marin by your side.”

“…Huh?”

Droniel’s expression instantly turned pale.

“It’s nothing serious, I just wanted to coach you from the side.”

“C-coach…?”

“Yeah. It’s not a big deal, just curious if you’re having a wholesome relationship. Think about it. It’d be troublesome if sudden unpleasant situations led to you leaving the Hero Party, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t think that would happen—”

“What if you end up having a child?”

“?!?!?!?”

Droniel’s face instantly flushed again.

“Ch-child?! W-wait, I haven’t thought that far yet….”

“So you’ve thought about it unconsciously.”

“……U-uh.”

“Droniel, think about it. Our party’s journey could last for several years. But what if you just suddenly decided to withdraw halfway? Would Lucius even stay in one place for ten months… No, at least a year because of you? Can you endure that? Even if you were to stay in the Bride Ship, could you raise a child well under everyone’s gaze?”

“…….”

Droniel’s eyes trembled from side to side.

“I’ll help you. I’ll manage Marin to keep an eye on you from the side. With just one spell, you can stay in the Hero Party without leaving. It’ll only be for you. How about it?”

“…How do you do that?”

“Simple.”

I reached out my hand towards Droniel.

“Let’s get tied together.”

 

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