Chapter 3

A time between the pages for this Princess

Part 1

The next day, I was working in the mines again.

Kayla and eyebrows were kissing up to me again, recognizing me as the top dog.

"Alice-sama, let me do the work for you, just relax!"

"Alice-sama, let me wipe your sweat for you!"

It was getting kind of annoying.

First of all, I needed to steal some high-grade manatite for senpai's ritual.

I couldn't do that with these groupies sticking around me at all times.

"Look, Kayla, you don't have to treat me like I'm your boss…"

"...Alice-sama, please don't call me Kayla around here."

Her mood turned serious all of a sudden.

"Huh? What are you talking about? You introduced yourself as 'Kayla' didn't you?"

Then again, I was using a fake name, so I couldn't really say anything.

"...Well, I still need to keep the respect of my fellow prisoners, especially since I lost my title of strongest prisoner in Cell Block 1. Besides, Kayla sounds like too cutesy of a name for a hardcore badass prisoner like me, no? So, I decided that I should be called by a nickname from now on… Let's see, since I challenge people to death games, how about you start calling me 'The Game' from now on?"

"...That sounds cool, but I don't feel like calling you that."

Eyebrows butted in, pushing Kayla out of the way.

"Alice-sama, I want a cool nickname, too! What should my nickname be?!"

I looked at her thick eyebrows.

"Let's see… How about 'Raised Eyebrows'?"

"...How mean."

She placed a hand on her eyebrows. She seemed self-conscious about them.

During lunch time, while they were heading off to the break area to eat, I stayed behind and took a high grade manatite ore and stuck it in my pocket.

After a few more hours of work, we were finally dismissed.

Just as I was about to walk out, I saw the warden come in.

The one eyed, red skinned demon came in and yelled at us,

"Not so fast, Cell Block 1! We're doing a surprise inspection! Heh, this is what we do to catch any thieving scum! We give newcomers a few days to think that we don't do inspections, then we catch them later on! Line up and prepare to be inspected!"

Eyebrow rolled her eyes and said,

"This is stupid, and a waste of time. There's only a few newcomers here, including Alice-sama, and Alice-sama isn't stupid enough to fall for that stupid trick."

Except that I did fall for this stupid trick?!

"Alright, hands up! I don't want to see any suspicious movements!"

I was about to move the ore, but before I could reach into my jacket pocket, we were ordered to keep our hands up.

I started sweating while they made us fall in line. The prisoners ahead of me were getting a pat down, getting their pockets emptied.

I thought about what to do. If I just dropped the ore from my pocket, one of the guards might see it, or one of the prisoners could snitch on me in order to gain some kind of favor from the guards.

There's no honor among thieves here, since most of the people here weren't some kind of hardened criminal. They were ordinary citizens of the empire who were unfortunately enslaved by the Demon King army.

Most of them would take the opportunity to turn on a fellow prisoner if it meant they could benefit from it.

While I was thinking about what to do, I saw the warden inspect Kayla, who was ahead of me.

"...Why is there a hole in your pocket?"

"These jackets are cheap as hell, why are you making it seem like it's my fault? Give us better clothing if you're gonna complain! The Game needs more fashionable clothing, you know?!"

"...Whatever. As if we'd spend any of our resources on mere prisoners. Just be lucky we give you jackets to wear over your filthy, stinking clothes!"

I got an idea after hearing that interaction.

I quickly bit the inside of my cheek, drawing some blood.

Then I used [Akashic Transfusion] to quickly transfer the damage I got from biting my cheek to rip the fabric of my jacket's pocket.

I felt the fabric rip and tear, leaving a hole there.

Then, I used [Shadow Thread] from my fingertips, sending a thread down to pull the ore out from the hole, slipping it up my jacket, into my arm sleeves.

"Alright, next prisoner! Ah, if it isn't the cheeky prisoner 206! Let's check your pockets first!"

After he turned my pockets out, he saw the hole on my pocket.

"...You prisoners need to take better care of your uniforms! You ungrateful lot!"

He started patting me down. When he got to my arm sleeves, I merely moved the ore up and down with the thread, not letting him feel it.

"...Alright, you're clear. Tch…"

He seemed disappointed that he didn't catch me trying to sneak anything out.

Since I was getting a lot of attention since I took over Cell Block 1 even though I was a newcomer, this attention whore warden started to give me annoyed looks.

I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled this inspection to try and catch me in the act.

…Well, he almost succeeded, if I didn't come up with that idea after seeing Kayla.

On our way out, I gave Kayla a pat on the head.

"Eh? What's that for, Alice-sama?"

"Nothing. Good girl."

I gave the confused Kayla some headpats.

Part 2

I met up with senpai and Rori-san again, after senpai's shift ended.

"So, did you come up with a decision?"

Senpai said to me, referring to what we talked about in our last meeting.

We got our first component for the ritual to increase senpai's powers to control other people, the high grade manatite ore.

However, we still needed a health potion and the holy symbol, the crest of Regina-sama, in order to perform the ritual.

We also needed both of our dolls to use the [Shadow Puppetry] skill in order to complete our espionage mission.

In order to do that, we'd have to retrieve our belongings, and the easiest way to do that, without any risk of getting found out, is to give 'favors' to the guards.

Of course, it's obvious what these 'favors' are.

"...Well, it looks like I don't really have a choice now, do I…"

Besides, since senpai was also doing it, it wasn't fair if I let her do all the work.

"Don't worry, you're using a fake body, anyway. And you can always repair what's been broken."

"You don't need to say that."

Senpai tried to encourage me, but she only made me feel worse about it.

"Alright, then I'll go ahead and tell the guards that we want our stuff back. We should probably receive word around curfew."

"Uwaa… I wish I could help out, but my illusions can only do so much…"

Rori-san sighed, giving me an apologetic look.

After I told them about my decision, I went back to my cell and waited to receive word from the guards.

After curfew was announced, a guard came over to knock on my cell.

"Prisoner 206. Come out. Your… request has been approved."

I heard snickers from the jail cells next to me. Some of the male prisoners let out whistles.

"Ah… Too bad us guys can't do things like that! Must be lucky to be a cute girl, huh?"

"Hey, 206, give us special favors, too!"

I ignored the catcalls from the horny male prisoners as I passed by.

The guard led me to a nice looking office. There was a desk, but there weren't any documents or anything important on it, much to my disappointment. There were drawers too, but everything seemed to have a lock.

I noticed that the security and discipline was very good around here, even though the place was run by demons.

"...So, do I just gotta do it with you?"

I said to the guard. He checked me out, seeming to like what he saw, but he ended up shrugging.

"I wish it were me. No, the warden asked for you when he heard that you wanted to exchange favors."

"...The warden?"

I knew that I caught the warden's eye, but to think that he'd want to ask for this.

"Yeah, make sure to serve him well! Hahaha!"

He gave a sleazy laugh, then left me alone in the office.

I didn't need to wait long for the warden to come in.

He had a smug smirk the whole time, as soon as he entered.

"Well, well… If it isn't the cheeky prisoner 206! I wondered when you'd cave. You want your stuff, huh?"

He had my travel pack with him. He tossed it over and I looked inside. I saw that everything was pretty much there, although it did seem like they searched through it. I found the health potion, though, untouched, since Claire made sure to hide it away. I probably wouldn't know where to look for it if senpai hadn't told me where it was.

I closed the travel bag and set it down.

"Heh. I was waiting for this chance. I need to show you your place, prisoner 206!"

"...What do you have against me, again?"

"Hah? You dare ask that now! An upstart like you became a big shot in such a short period of time… You're simply sticking out too much! I need to show uppity prisoners like you who's boss!"

"...And you're the boss, huh?"

"Of course, I am! And of course the boss gets what he wants."

I was thinking about this, since one often has a lot of time to think while imprisoned.

The way the warden talked about prison life in the orientation made it seem like a hellhole where prisoners had no rights at all.

However, after spending a few days in the prison, I found that it was actually the opposite of what he said.

There were three cell blocks that rotated for 8 hour work shifts in the mines.

We had regular breaks and mealtimes, contrary to what the warden said about being lucky if we received any food at all.

Also, female prisoners weren't being assaulted forcefully by the guards, since they needed to agree on making an exchange for their possessions, or for other favors.

The guards were disciplined, and didn't dare to break protocol, almost as if they were afraid of their true superior.

And this warden didn't strike me as such a charismatic leader.

"...But you're not really the boss around here, right? You're just the warden in charge of this prison."

"What'd you say?!"

"You're the type to do whatever you want. If you were the real boss around here, you'd have forced yourself on me the moment you thought that I was being 'uppity'. That's the kind of guy you are."

I had a pretty good read on his personality. He wasn't exactly a complicated guy.

"Y-You prisoners are just lucky that we have these rules, otherwise I'd have my way with whoever, however I want!"

He proved the suspicions I was having.

For some reason, the prisoners are treated fairly well, relatively speaking.

Even our kingdom's prison didn't treat their prisoners as well as this.

In fact, onii-sama's first few months as an adventurer were probably harsher than the life I was having as a prisoner.

At least I had three meals a day and a reasonable work schedule.

"...I think that your true leader values the prisoners as slave labor for the mines, so they want to preserve our mental health and keep us relatively sane in order to increase work efficiency."

Of course, there were outliers like Kayla who went crazy… Well, that girl was probably crazy before she even got captured. She was probably having the time of her life in prison.

"What's the point of all this? If you want your stuff back, you'll still have to give your body up to me. Make your choice!"

The warden yelled, smirking at me as he drew closer.

"...Well, my point is that I think that your real boss doesn't really know that the guards are exchanging favors with the prisoners here. I don't think they even know that you popularized the Death Game among the prisoners. I think that you're breaking a bunch of rules as the warden, aren't you?"

His red-skin started paling. He pointed an accusatory finger at me.

"W-What are you talking about?! That's nonsense! Now, come over here and bend over this desk!"

He leaned forward and reached out to me.

…I considered just taking the easy way out and letting this idiot have his way with me.

But I respect myself too much for that.

And besides… I wanted to have my first time with Revi.

I raised my hand and summoned shadowy threads from my fingers, making him stumble over.

I made the threads really fine and thin, making it almost indiscernible to the eye.

"Wha…?!"

He let out a gasp as he started to trip.

Then I wound up my free arm for an uppercut to his jaw as he was falling.

"Gurk!"

Even if I used his own momentum against him, he was still a bigger male demon. There was no way a small girl like me could knock him out, ordinarily.

However, I transferred the recoil damage from my hand impacting his hard jaw, and used [Akashic Transfusion] to redirect the damage to his skull.

I felt my hand break from the impact, but the damage that I reflected back on the warden caused him to immediately lose consciousness.

"Guh…"

I looked at him slumped on the ground, satisfied with myself.

Then I looked at my poor hand.

"Damn that hurts… [Heal]."

I repaired the damage with a heal spell. It took some time, but I was able to fully heal my hand.

"Now… While he's unconscious…"

I found his key in the desk and used it to open the locked drawers.

I looked through as much of the documents as I could.

Most of them were just notes about prisoner behavior, daily functions of the prison, and records of the amount of manatite ores being gathered everyday.

In short, nothing of much interest.

"Hah… I knew it, you're just some small fry left with the task of babysitting the prisoners, huh? They don't trust you with anything important…"

I looked down at the sleeping warden, who was drooling in his sleep.

I waited for him to wake up. Since he was a big guy, he only stayed unconscious for fifteen minutes.

He woke up, then sat up and looked around. He saw me in front of him, kneeling down at face level.

I gave him a cheerful smile.

"Good morning~!"

"Hieee?!"

He screamed in fright when he saw me.

"...G-Guards! A prisoner assaulted me…?!"

"Now, now, do you really want to do that? You strike me as the kind of guy to care about your reputation a lot… Do you really want the guards to think that you got beaten up by a little girl like me?"

"U-Ugh…"

"Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna give me my stuff back without saying a word of this to anyone. I'll stay here and use the bathroom you have and enjoy a nice, hot bath for an hour or so. You can pretend like you had your way with me for an hour, and I'll even walk out of your office limping, to raise your status among the guards. That sounds fair, right?"

He slowly nodded, seeming to accept his fate.

"Good! In exchange, I won't tell anyone what happened here today!"

"...How do I explain my dislocated jaw?"

"You can say you ate me out for too long and sent me to heaven, or something. I don't care."

After I took a hot bath, I gave him a wave then left his office, leaving him to lick his wounds.

I returned to the others with my loot.

Senpai and Rori-san saw me with a cheerful smile.

"Ah… That went great!"

I said, showing them my bag.

"...You actually enjoyed it? The demon I had wasn't very good. He was pretty clumsy."

…Senpai actually did it, huh? Since she was an infiltration expert, I thought she'd rely on extortion first, like I did.

Instead, she was actually forced to do all kinds of lewd things with a guard.

I chose not to say anything to preserve her dignity.

Part 3

Since we gathered all of the components for the ritual, senpai immediately began to work.

Rori-san used an illusion spell on senpai's cell, stopping the guards from seeing what she was up to.

The next morning, senpai told us that she finished her ritual.

"...I feel Regina-sama's divine energy flowing through me. I should be able to gather some slaves now."

She looked like she was eager to have some revenge on the guards.

"Make sure not to go overboard. We don't know what the situation is like outside of the prison. Besides, I think the guards here are small fry compared to the others stationed in the fortress."

If they were really that important, then they'd have command roles or even be a part of scouting and intelligence units. All I saw them doing all day was keep watch over prisoners and exchanging 'favors' with the female prisoners.

"Got it. I'll just have them free us, then, and make it look like we're being transferred somewhere. We'll have to be discreet."

"My illusions have a range, so we can't pretend to still be in our cell if we leave the prison. Serena-san's power will be useful here!"

Rori-san said, giving senpai a cheerful smile. Senpai seemed to like being praised.

"By the way, senpai, how many of the guards can you control with your power up? Can you control the whole prison?"

"No, that will still be beyond what I'm capable of. If I concentrate, I can probably control three guards completely, but my control will slip beyond that."

"You'll need to choose your targets carefully, then."

The warden was an obvious target.

"Yeah, I'll pick out the most influential guards. I've been doing a lot of observation, after all. Go back to your cells and wait for the guards to call you out. Let's meet up soon."

With senpai dismissing us, we went back to our cells.

It didn't take long for someone to come to my cell. It was the warden.

"Prisoner 206! Get up! You're being transferred!"

I felt a lot of eyes from the other prisoners on me. Senpai probably commanded him to put on a show for the others. I needed to completely disappear from the prison, after all.

"...What's happening to me?"

"Heh… I told you not to stand out too much! You're probably being made an example of by the higher ups!"

I heard murmurs not only from the prisoners, but the guards as well.

"Is that really true, boss?"

One of the guards asked the warden.

"Orders from the higher ups! Anyway, stick one of the new prisoners in her cell!"

"Got it…"

Since there was a new batch of prisoners, they didn't seem to bat an eye that I was being transferred somewhere.

I spared Kayla and eyebrow a glance when I passed through their cell. I didn't know if we'd meet again, but they made for some good idle talk during our breaks.

…Even if one of them tried to kill me.

The warden led me out to the courtyard. Two other prisoners were leading senpai and Rori-san out.

The warden took out a key and untied us from our shackles.

"...Did you bring a map of the fortress?"

Senpai asked the hypnotized warden.

"We don't have a map of the fortress, but I made one from what I remember."

He handed senpai a poorly drawn map. What an incompetent guy.

Still, the major locations were there, so it was still somewhat useful.

"Good. Go back to the prison and go about your work like usual. When someone asks about us, just use the story I told you."

"Yes, master…"

"Also, make sure to delete any mention of us from the records. We were never here, got it?"

"Yes, master…"

Senpai sent them back to the prison.

"...Let's go over to that corner to change."

Since senpai ordered the guards to give us our stuff back, even Rori-san had her travel pack.

We brought clothes that could be used for camouflage, and would make us harder to notice than the prisoner jackets we had on.

"Once we leave the prison complex, we'll be out in the Demon King army fortress, so be on guard. Rorisa, make sure to use your illusion magic to keep us hidden."

"Got it!"

Once we finished changing, we slipped away from the prisoner complex.

I promised to get out of this place, and I did just that.

Goodbye, stupid prison!

After we left the prison complex, Rori-san creating the illusion of a shadow to help us sneak around using the walls and tight corners, we entered the actual fortress.

There were many demons moving around. They seemed to be busy with training, marching around and sparring with one another.

Demons weren't exactly known for their military discipline, so it was a sight to see them act in an organized manner.

"...It looks like they're preparing for an actual war, isn't it?"

"Indeed. The demons constantly attacked the capital city, but those couldn't be called full-scale battles, otherwise the Demon King army or the Belzerg kingdom would have fallen many years ago. They were more like skirmishes."

One side would have been crushed from defeat if an actual, full-blown war erupted. Based on what I knew about demon military movements, most of their assaults were focused on stealing rations and supplies from Belzerg.

Whenever they attacked the capital, it was usually to steal from the capital directly, or to divert attention to a raid on some other settlement.

Contrary to what one might think, the demons don't go razing these settlements or harm the citizens anymore than they needed to. They mostly focused on stealing supplies and food.

As for why Belzerg tolerated these constant attacks… It was due to the profit they were making after demanding exorbitant taxes from neighboring nations like Elroad, to pay them a security fee for keeping the Demon King army within their borders.

It was the longest running, not-so-secret scam in the history of this continent.

The Demon King army was enough of a threat that the other countries couldn't afford to let Belzerg fall, but at the same time, they knew that if Belzerg was serious, we could try to end the threat once and for all.

But why take the risk when the demons never made any sign of wanting to occupy Belzerg, and when the kingdom was making a lot of money taxing the other countries?

This stalemate has been kept for nearly a century now.

However, from what we were seeing, the Demon King army was actually serious about starting a war this time.

The Demons in this fortress were fully equipped with full plate armor, even using them in sparring sessions and practices. They were even using captured slaves to mine high-grade manatite ore.

This amount of equipment and soldiers could only mean one thing.

"...Let's use [Shadow Puppetry] and try to see more of the fortress without being seen."

I nodded at senpai's orders and took out my doll, connecting [Shadow Thread] to it.

We controlled the puppets from the shadows, sending them out to scout the rest of the fortress, using the map as reference.

We gathered as much intelligence as we could, trying to get an estimate on the numbers of how many soldiers were in the fortress, as well as how much equipment and rations they had.

After a few hours of scouting, we found that they had enough forces and equipment to give Belzerg some problems.

"...This is assuming that they don't have another base somewhere else. I saw some demons making shipments of the manatite ore, so they might be transferring those ores to another base."

"Wah… This is a problem, huh?"

We needed to inform the others about this, especially my father.

"We should report back as soon as possible…"

Just as senpai finished saying that, we saw movements from the demons.

"Hmm? They seem to be headed somewhere?"

They were gathering in one place.

We had our puppets follow them to see where they were heading.

We saw what appeared to be a stage, and the demons were gathering around it.

"...What's going on… Eh?!"

Through the puppets, we could hear some kind of music being played.

"Wohh! Maouko-sama!"

"We're waiting for your cheerful performance, Maouko-sama!"

"Maouko-sama is… cute as always!"

The scarred and battle-hardened soldiers started squealing happily around the stage.

Just when I was wondering what was going on, I saw what appeared to be a human girl appear on stage.

She was a cute girl with long red hair and a slim, but attractive figure.

…At least, she appeared human at first, but I saw that she had black horns on her head and a tail.

"Hello, everyone! It's your half-demon idol, Maouko-chan~! Are you ready for my live?!"

"Kyaaa~!"

Did these demons actually say 'kyaa'?

Also, they were carrying the light sticks that onii-sama invented.

The girls picked up a magic microphone and started singing and dancing.

"Little devil, little devil~! I'll be the little imp that drags you around~!"

As soon as she started singing, more demon girls came out, but they were clearly fully demon.

In fact, I don't think I've heard of something like a 'half-demon' anyway…

She had horns and a tail, but she looked like an ordinary beautiful girl.

She even had the same shade of hair as Revi.

Well, not like that guy could be described as ordinary.

The girl sang for about an hour, and then the performance ended.

"...Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules everyone! I hope you enjoyed my live!"

"We love you, Maouko-chan~!"

The audience cheered for her as she happily skipped away from the stage.

…Hearing her name being called, I remembered that Sonia actually told us the name of the new leader of the Demon King army.

The name she gave was Maouko…

…But is this girl really that same leader?!

"...Do you know who that is, senpai?"

After the performance, I asked senpai, who was silent the entire time.

"That was… The daughter of the Demon King. I saw her around the castle a few times."

"What do you think about her? Apparently she's the new leader… The new Demon King, or I guess Demon Queen? What's she like?"

"I only remember her as being a cheerful girl… There was also an incident where she got mad because apparently the Crimson Demons invented a magic item that let them see across far distances, and they used it to peep in Maouko's room to watch her change."

What creepy guys… I felt a bit sorry for her.

The soldiers left the stage area and went back to their training.

However, this time…

"Now I'm motivated! After watching Maouko-chan's performance… I feel like I can take on Belzerg's entire army!"

I saw a demon lift an entire boulder with one hand.

Demons were naturally strong, but this is too much?!

"What's going on here?!"

Rori-san answered me,

"Ah… I think there's a class called 'Bard' that lets one give buffs to empower their allies through music and performance."

I looked through the puppet and saw that practically every soldier was affected by the buff.

…This was starting to look really bad for Belzerg.

After the crowd dispersed, we went to a quiet place to discuss what we saw.

"...Not only are they well equipped and prepared for war, but they even have a high-level Bard with them. Not to mention that she must have the inherent ability that runs through the Demon King family line, the ability to empower one's allies."

That meant that the army was double buffed, not only from the Bard buffs but the Demon King buffs.

"They also have a lot of manatite ores to go around…"

"Not to mention that their leader is super cute! So that raises morale a lot!"

Rori-san said, imitating Maouko's poses that she did on stage.

S-So cute.

"In any case… we should head back and report our findings. We can stick around to try and snoop for more information, but I don't think we have the time to spend doing that. It seems they're ready to mobilize at any moment."

We agreed with senpai's assessment.

With the demons preoccupied with training and chatting about Maouko's performance, we were easily able to sneak out of the fortress.

Since we didn't know what happened with our carriage, we had to go to the closest settlement and hitch a ride to the closest city with a teleport circle.

Part 4

After making it back to the capital, Claire fussed over me, as expected.

"Iris-sama! It took you a while to come back, so I was getting worried! I almost sent the whole army to look for you!"

She said such a worrying thing so easily.

"...Well, I'm fine. Listen, I have big news… I think my father will want to hear it directly. Is he here?"

"Yes… He isn't commanding the troops right now, so he should be in his study…"

Claire seemed a bit surprised, since I never usually asked to have an audience with my father.

The fact that I had to schedule an audience with my own father speaks volumes of our relationship.

"...By the way, is Revi and Komekko-chan here yet?"

"Ah…No, we haven't received word from them yet."

Komekko-chan was only supposed to take a test out of some bureaucratic formality, I found it strange that they would need to stay several days in the village.

I understood staying a few days to let Komekko-chan be with her family, but it had almost been a full week since we split up.

…Don't tell me that little punk is getting cozy with Komekko-chan?!

Since I was excited about going on an espionage mission, I didn't even think about how romantic developments would come from their little trip!

Rori-san had been easing me into the idea of one day sharing Revi with Komekko-chan… But I still feel a bit uneasy thinking about it.

I wrote a letter to Revi, ordering him to come back to the capital. It wasn't only because I was jealous about their lovey dovey time in the village, they also needed to know about the important information we found.

After I sent the letter, Claire told me that my request for an audience with my father was granted.

Gee, how generous of him.

I prepared myself for the meeting with my father, putting on a nice dress and fixing myself up.

While I was looking at the mirror, I saw my blue hair.

…He was probably going to have some questions about that.

"Hey, Rori-san, can you cast some illusion magic on my hair? Make it blonde again?"

"Sure thing!"

I asked Rori-san to change up my hair color. I didn't want to bother explaining my whole misadventures to my father. I doubt he'd care. He'd just rebuke me for abandoning my duties, or whatever.

After I finished fixing myself up, I went over to my father's study. I stopped in front of the door and knocked twice.

"...Enter."

I opened the door and stepped inside the study. There were tall book shelves that held some of the most famous literature and academic books and essays in Belzerg. Well, since we are a military nation, most of our literature and academia were still focused on warfare, including military strategies and war technologies.

Our most famous novel is a 1000 page epic saga called 'War and War', for example.

"...What do you need from the king, daughter?"

He couldn't even bother to call me by name. Also he was referring to himself in third person. What an ass.

My father had grown older over the years, but he was still a tall, well-built man who had the ideal warrior's build, muscular, but not too stocky that it would limit his mobility. His blond hair and beard had gray streaks now, showing his age.

"...Father, there is an important matter I must discuss with you."

"There's some new doll you want? Or a new book about adventurers?"

He gave a bored sigh, seeming to think that I wanted to ask for presents like I did when I was young.

…He probably still saw me as an eight year old brat.

"No, father. This is truly an important matter. We discovered a secret Demon King army base, near the forests of our border, approaching the Demon King territory. It seems they are amassing forces for a general assault, as opposed to the mere skirmishes we've faced so far…"

"Those are not mere skirmishes, child. I lost many good men the past few years…"

He picked out that one minor detail of what I said and chose to berate me for it. What a difficult guy to talk to.

"...I'm sorry for my poor word choice. But the fact of the matter is that the Demon King army is preparing for something big."

"I see. Very well, then. I'll do something about it."

I sighed in relief. At least he was taking me seriously.

"Thank you, father. May I ask what exactly you're planning to do?"

"I'm going to ask Claire to take away those adventure books you like to read. Your imagination is getting too wild."

"...!"

He wasn't taking me seriously at all.

"Father… I'm serious! If you really need to confirm the details, then you can ask my companions!"

"...Companions? Who are you referring to? Are you playing around with my spymaster again?"

"No, well… I did ask Thea for a favor a few months ago… But I'm talking about Serena-senpai and Rori-san!"

"...Who? I don't remember those girls being under my employ."

"Because they're not. Serena-senpai is a former Demon King general and Rori-san is a succubus!"

"I'm going to cut your sugar intake, too."

He thought I was completely delusional.

"Now, if you don't have any pressing matters to talk to me about, you can leave now. I have important things to take care of."

"Father, please. This is serious! The Demon King army could attack any moment now!"

Just as I said this, Thea appeared in the room, stepping out of the shadows, the aforementioned spymaster making her entrance.

It always surprised me a bit when she did that.

"...Your majesty. The scouts have spotted the Demon King army making its move, making their way to the capital."

"...! Could it be…?!"

He looked at me in surprise. I tried not to gloat too much.

"I told you, father! Now, please prepare the troops!"

"At once! Thea, tell everyone to get ready! Have the prince get ready, too!"

"Sir, he's currently engaged with… the daughter of a noble house right now."

"Then pull him out of her! Move, now!"

Thea bowed, and gave me a nod as well, before disappearing.

My father turned to me, and said,

"Iris… You did your country a great service. I will ask you to stand with me and your brother on the battlefield, now. Equip your arms and join us."

"Y-Yes, father…!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I was finally getting respect from my father, and I would stand with him and my brother on the battlefield as equals.

I went over to Claire and told her the good news.

"Wah, Iris-sama, you really deserve this!"

"S-Stop crying and help me put on my armor!"

After getting fully equipped, I saw Regina-sama coming out of her lab.

We tried to get her to come out and greet us earlier, but she was rambling on about almost coming across a breakthrough with her research.

"What's going on…?"

"The big battle is going to happen, Regina-sama!"

"Oh dear… Well, tell me how it goes when it's over."

She turned around and headed back to her room.

"...S-Sorry… Regina-sama gets like that when she's invested in her research…"

Senpai explained, as I watched Regina-sama leave.

"...Whatever. Let's meet up on the battlefield, everyone!"

With a beating heart, I went to join my father and brother.

Part 5

"Behold! I am the great Karshan, the commander of this demon army! Face my wrath and… Gack!"

The great Karshan was taken out by a stray arrow.

"..." x 3.

My father, brother and I watched as the Demon King army's forces were quickly decimated by Belzerg's army.

Us royals didn't even need to step a foot forward.

"...Is this the big threat you were talking about, daughter?"

"Um… Erm…"

I saw a three eyed demon running with a flail, swinging it around, only for that flail to hit the back of his own head, knocking him out. A big demon with four arms tripped on his body and fell on his own sword, stabbing himself through the neck.

These guys are rejects!

Just when I was thinking that the Demon King army didn't send any of their main forces, I recognized the warden among the crowd, as well as some of the guards.

"I am the great warden! You will all become my prisoners! Ow! Ouch, those spears are sharp! Ouch!"

I buried my face in my hands, as my father and brother stared at me.

"Wow… I can't believe you guys pulled me out of the sweet babe I was with just for this… I was about to finish inside her, too…"

My brother was saying some perverted things as he watched the weak demons being easily taken care of by our army. A demon got a lucky shot with an arrow and actually made its way over to us, but my brother simply batted it away with a flick of his hand.

"...No, you don't understand. The leader of the Demon King army is a bard named Maouko, and she has the ability to give powerful buffs to the army… She's the Demon King's daughter, so we have to be careful about her!"

"I see, then if she shows up, then the tides of battle might turn…"

"...Wait, I think I see her!"

My father and brother turned serious again and drew their swords as they saw a half-demon girl walk out to the battlefield. Red hair, horns and a tail… It was definitely Maouko!

"Yes, that's her! She has the power to empower her troops with her singing!"

Maouko took out her magic microphone and started singing.

"T-T-The Devil cutie is cheering you on YeEeaUgh… So please f-f-fight for me… YeEeeUguhhh…"

…She was completely horrible.

Unlike what I heard from the fortress, she was out of tune and her voice cracked.

Was she being affected by stage fright?

The demons weren't getting motivated by her singing at all. Rather, it seemed that their morale dropped even more when they heard her horrible singing.

It didn't take long for the demons and Maouko to retreat from the battlefield.

My brother watched the demons retreating and whistled.

"Wow, I think that was the fastest victory we had in the history of our country. We didn't even lose any of our own."

"...So that's the new leader of the Demon King army, huh? She's a horrible leader and an even worse singer. I feel like we can take out the Demon King army when we get a chance."

"She was pretty hot, though! Hey, father, do you think I can keep her as a 'spoil of war' if we end up beating the Demon King army?"

"Do as you wish."

My father turned to me next and said,

"Some great threat, huh? Well, I suppose you did give us vital information. The Demon King army is weaker now than it's ever been. Once the neighboring nations hear of this, they might cut our funding. We might as well defeat the Demon King army now and try to get as many tributes out of our victory while we can."

If the Demon King army wasn't a threat anymore, then there was no more ways for Belzerg to use them as an excuse to keep taxing the other countries.

There was no purpose in tolerating the Demon King army's constant attacks anymore.

"Cheer up, sis! You overestimated the enemy, it happens! One time, I overestimated this girl I was with and ended up making her pass out…"

I ignored my brother's lecherous remarks and headed back inside the castle, hanging my head in shame.

Senpai and Rori-san were waiting for me. They had awkward looks on their faces.

"...We are also partly to blame for overestimating their forces. Perhaps we were just caught up in the mood, since we were right in the middle of their preparation."

"We did assume that there were other hidden fortresses holding more troops… If that was the extent of their numbers, they didn't really have much of a chance. Plus that Maouko is new to the job, so it would make sense that she'd choke during the important moment…"

They tried to cheer me up, to which I gave them a grateful smile.

"Thanks, you two, but I just made a complete embarrassment out of myself to my family. I'm gonna need to sleep this one off."

"As you wish…"

"Ah, do you need my help? I can help you have a good rest! Hehe…"

"N-Not for now, Rori-san. I'd like to be alone."

I politely declined her offer to join me in bed. It sounded tempting, but I needed some alone time.

Plus, I didn't want to give Claire any funny ideas if she found out.

I headed over to my room, closing the door behind me. I leaned against the door and sighed, putting my hands over my face.

I thought I could finally get my father and brother's approval. I had always been starved for their respect and attention, I just never realized how badly I wanted it.

I walked over to the bookcase and took out my favorite book. I took the book to the bed and laid on my tummy, opening the book to the bookmarked page.

The bookmark was special to me, a red ribboned bookmark that my mother apparently used. I never really got to know her, because she died after giving birth to me, and this bookmark was one of the few things I had that could give me some form of connection to her.

One of the few things I knew about her was that she liked to read adventure books. Books about adventurers, heroes, the princesses they save from towers guarded by big, scary dragons… those kinds of juvenile stories.

I can't say for sure if I developed a liking for those books as an attempt to connect to my dead mother, or if I simply inherited her bookworm personality. Maybe it's a bit of both.

I read the book for some time. I must have reread that book over a hundred times, if not a thousand. Everytime, I'd use my mother's bookmark to mark the pages. The bookmark moved back and forth around the pages of the book, as I kept restarting from the beginning of the story, after reaching the end, many times. Maybe the bookmark was tired of me using it.

I closed the book and put it away back in the case. I laid back down on the bed, this time laying on my side.

I played with a strand of blue hair, looking at the strange color that I had gotten used to after all this time.

I felt a bit of a disconnect between my made up identity as Alice, the adventurer from Axel, and Iris, the royal princess.

As Alice, I felt like I could do what I wanted. I beat strong foes, and monsters, and I even escaped from a Demon King army prison.

I thought that those accolades would be enough to help me improve my image in my father and brother's eyes, but they didn't know that side of me at all.

It's kind of ironic that I'm much more powerful both in status and combat ability as Princess Iris, but I felt more free and capable as Alice, the adventurer.

When you live a life as two characters in vastly different books, I guess it can get a bit confusing.

Not to mention it's frustrating when the two refuse to overlap.

While I felt my eyes getting heavy, my body begging me to take a nap already, I heard a knock on the door.

"...What is it? I could really use a nap right now."

"...Oi. You told me to rush over here, and this is the kind of reception I get? What a meanie…"

I sat up, surprised by the voice at the other side of the door.

It was Revi.

Part 6

"Come in…"

Revi walked into the room with a sheepish smile.

"...What is it?"

I said, seeing the guilty look on his face.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"...You walked in like a kid who got caught with a hand in the cookie jar."

"How do you even know what that looks like? I don't!"

"That's because you're a friendless loner, aren't you?"

"Oi, I know that I lived a mirror image copy of your lonely childhood, so don't even try to pretend otherwise!"

I shifted on the bed and patted the spot beside me, on the bed.

He walked over with those long strides of his. It always surprised me how much taller he had become. Puberty was very kind to Prince Revi of Elroad.

When he sat down, I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"...I missed you."

"You know, you should say that first, instead of the other mean things you said."

"I just can't help it. Saying mean things to you as a form of greeting has become habitual."

"Then fix that bad habit!"

He sighed, then put his arm around me.

We stayed sitting there, leaning against each other, for a few minutes. I could feel Revi awkwardly squirming, words he wanted to say threatening to spill out of his mouth, but he kept biting them back.

"...Just spit it out."

"Erm… Well…"

"To start with, how about you tell me what took you so long to come back from the Crimson Demon village?"

He scratched his cheek, and said,

"Well, it turns out that Komekko-chan is what we call an idiot savant… emphasis on the idiot part."

"...What do you mean by that?"

"You know the test that was just supposed to be a formality? She completely failed it. I mean, in the most spectacular academic choke job you could ever imagine. We were stuck in the principal's office for like… three hours. It felt much longer than that."

"...I thought she was a genius, or something? How could she fail a test?"

"She's too much of a genius. It's like asking a bird how it flies. It won't be able to teach you how to do it, because the concept of flying comes so naturally to it that it can't explain the instinctive process that goes into flying."

"It won't be able to teach you because it's a damn bird, and it can't talk."

"Are all those books on your shelf just for decoration? I didn't mean it literally!"

It was my turn to sigh this time.

"So, she's really that much of a dummy when it comes to school, huh? Did she end up passing?"

"Yeah, but it was more complicated than it had to be. We had to shut down an entire Moguninnin facility."

"What the heck is a Moguninnin?"

"Nevermind. Just nevermind. I think I lost a bit of my common sense while I was in that village. Erm… Listen, Iris… There's something I should probably tell you…"

He tried to look me in the eyes, but he glanced away again.

"What is it?"

"Promise you won't get mad?"

"...When someone says that, that's how you know you should get mad."

"Just promise, OK?!"

"I'll promise not to kill you, at least."

"You know what, I'll take it."

He took a deep breath, then properly looked me in the eyes this time.

"...Iris, I did it with Komekko-chan."

I froze. His grip on my shoulders tightened.

"You did, huh?"

"Y-Yeah, I did."

I couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion I was feeling. I didn't feel angry or even upset. I wouldn't say that I was surprised, either.

A small part of me even felt a bit relieved.

I was thinking, 'well, at least it's not the worst that could have happened'.

Maybe I had always been expecting the worst after hearing that Revi and Komekko-chan hadn't returned from their trip yet.

The worse case scenario I was imagining was that they had eloped, or something like that.

"...Are you mad?"

He said, while searching my eyes.

"You know, I thought that I'd be pretty livid, but I don't even know what to feel anymore. Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I do."

He answered without hesitation.

It was as if I asked him what his favorite food was, or his favorite color.

"Then do you want to be with her? You want to stop… whatever it is we've been doing…?"

"No, I want you too."

He also said that without any hesitation. In fact, he didn't even wait for me to finish my sentence.

"...What the hell? So you want some kind of harem?"

He flinched and couldn't maintain eye contact with me.

"Well… I guess that's what I'm asking for, so I won't beat around the bush and just say, yeah I do. I guess. I want a harem."

I gave him a 'did you really just say that aloud' look.

"Damn, it! Who knew that saying 'I want a harem' is this embarrassing?! All those stupid stories lied to me!"

What kind of stories was he reading?

"You know, when you want to be in a relationship with multiple people, an unasked question always lingers… 'Who do you love the most'?"

"You say it's an unasked question, but you just asked it…"

"Well, I'm the kind of girl who'd straight up ask those kinds of questions, I guess. So, who do you love the most?"

"...Well, you're my first love, so…"

"So you're saying Komekko-chan is your current love?"

"I didn't say that?!"

I drew away from him, then walked off from the bed. I went over to the balcony.

Revi followed me, cursing to himself. He kept mumbling 'I really screwed up' over and over.

I didn't feel mad before, but I felt a sense of frustration all of a sudden.

Maybe I was just too shocked to feel anything before, and all the anger I should have felt was starting to come in.

"...Iris, I do like you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done those things with you. You really think I'm the kind of guy to fool around with a girl just because she gave me the chance to… Urk!"

He clutched himself and groaned in pain, as if he just got punched in the gut.

"...What?"

"...Listen, there was this insanely hot school teacher who had a great rack and she was seducing me in the bathtub, and there was this crazy hot oppai loli noble girl who also seduced me… I didn't go all the way with them, I swear!"

He started listing off all the girls he fooled around with while he was away.

"...Give me one reason why I shouldn't dump your ass right now."

"Because if you really wanted me to, I'd break poor Komekko-chan's heart right now if you told me that you don't want to share me with her."

I didn't expect that answer.

Even though he said something that would classify him as a scumbag by women everywhere, he said it with such conviction that I couldn't even get mad at him.

"...You serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious."

"You do realize that you're using Komekko-chan as a hostage to make me feel bad about rejecting the harem idea, right?"

"Yeah, I do realize that, and I'm really sorry, but I really want this to work out! Also, the fact that you can psychologically pick me apart is both very scary and very attractive!"

This guy was needlessly honest.

"Alright, fine. You earned yourself a chance. Maybe I'm just that desperate and needy for romance, but I'll give a scumbag like you a chance."

"Thank you!"

"But! You have to give me the best damn confession ever. And it better not be something I've heard before. And I've read a lot of shitty romance books, so be warned!"

"...You can't just put me on the spot, like that. Do you think I just walk around with a confession ready to go?"

"I want one straight from the heart, not something premeditated, so this works out."

"I don't even know what to say! I mean, you're really setting the bar high here!"

I rolled my eyes and went over to the balcony railings. I leaned over and watched the city at night. The silhouettes of the buildings and houses were blocky shadows that held bright, magical lights within their dark contours.

Revi took the place to my left, watching the view of the city at night as well, as if the magic lights would spell out an answer for him.

I decided to help him out a bit. I wanted this to work out, after all. I wasn't some adversary he needed to beat; I wanted to find the answer with him.

"How about you start off by telling me what you like about me, in the first place?"

"You're hot."

I was happy that he said that with such confidence, but I still smacked him on the head.

"Come up with something more meaningful than that! Geez, you're so childish sometimes!"

"Again, I can't just come up with something on the spot!"

I sighed and buried my face in my hands.

"What do you even like about me, anyway? And don't give me any of that 'dragon slayer' crap that you used to tell me."

I didn't want to hear things about childhood crushes or first loves. Anyone who puts value in those meaningless abstractions needs to grow the hell up.

Making decisions based on what-ifs and wild guesses about what the future may hold is beyond idiotic. Unless you're an all-seeing devil, letting conjecture dictate your life will only lead to bitter resentment. However, what's even more stupid, if you ask me, is letting anything from the past dictate the present.

Crushes, first loves, rose-tinted memories cloaked in the delusion we call nostalgia, letting those things affect your present state of life is a childish sentiment.

"Right here, as I am, tell me what you like about me, Revi."

In the darkness of night, with the starlit sky covered by thin stretches of inky, dark clouds, I couldn't quite make out Revi's face.

Was he annoyed, embarrassed, indifferent? I could only make out his red hair.

"You probably think that I'm a hopeless romantic, huh? That I have childish notions of how love works, and all that. Well, I actually think that you're the childish one here, princess."

"...What?"

Me? Childish?

That's like saying that Komekko-chan isn't a glutton.

It was such a blatant discrepancy that I couldn't help but let out a loud, mocking snort.

However, he wasn't joking. He was dead serious. He said,

"You don't think so? Do you think adults concern themselves with things like the reason why they like someone? What do you want me to say? I like your looks, your charm, your personality? Those things change with time. When you grow older, your boobs will go saggy, your sense of humor will become outdated, and your personality will change, too. Your likes and dislikes won't be the same as they are now. You might hate black coffee now but grow dependent on it somewhere down the line. Here's what I think, what I like about you now, in the present, doesn't matter at all. It could be subject to numerous changes, after all."

It feels like he's trying to avoid the question.

"Fine, if you don't want to answer, whatever."

"Let me finish."

He grabbed my shoulder when I turned around, ready to head back in.

"...What I used to like about you, what I like about you now, what I'll like about you in the future, it doesn't mean shit. What matters is that if I see you end up with some other bastard, I'll regret it no matter how hard I try to move on. What matters is that I get a bad taste in my mouth whenever we have a bad fight. What matters is that when I screw up, I'll always apologize to you, and that when you screw up, I'll always forgive you. What matters is that when I think about the future, the image of your smug, arrogant, condescending smirk always seems to pop up in my brain, hitting hard like the chill you get in your head after drinking Iced Neroid too fast. Basically, I want you because I can't imagine life without you. I can't imagine you in someone else's bed, but I can readily imagine waking up beside your dorky, drooling face every single damn morning. If that's not the kind of love you want, then that's fine."

I couldn't breathe. My face was on fire. When I tried to open my mouth, my lips trembled.

This bastard can't even confess right.

And yet, I was red all over.

Absurd, yet grounded, brash, yet thoughtful.

What can I say? The confession reeks of Revi.

And I loved everything that came out of that smart-ass mouth of his.

"So… What now? Will my answer cut it?"

He was studying my face intently, but he probably couldn't see too well in the darkness.

"It's decent."

"Alright. Good. Then, I guess we're OK now?"

"Yeah, we're OK."

"Nice, that's good to hear. Really. Well, I guess I should probably kiss you now?"

"Maybe you should."

In the end, was there really anyone else?

It feels weird when I try to think of anyone else I'd spend my life with aside from Revi.

The guy did it. He wormed himself into every facet of my life.

When I tell a joke, it's probably one I heard from him. When I eat something, it's probably a meal we already had together, or one we'll try out in the future. If you wrote a story about my life, this dork will probably appear in most of the chapters.

Like a bookmark, he can slide between any page.

He pulled me closer, and at this distance, I could see his face clearly.

Let's make it memorable, this chapter I'll never forget; this page I'll always return to.

A red ribbon marks the page.