It's Not Like I Want to Play the Role of a Misunderstood, Good-for-Nothing Prince in a Villainess Story! - Chapter 56 – Tourism Problem Solved?

“Oh, you’ve returned.”

We returned to where Tarsen and the others were.

After that, there was hardly any conversation between Misty and me.

Or rather, I didn’t know what to talk about.

Even though I said I would trust Misty, things remained vague.

I understood that Misty didn’t hate me.

But I still didn’t understand why she wouldn’t make eye contact.

I racked my brain wondering if maybe she was under some kind of curse, but our eyes did meet occasionally, so that probably wasn’t it.

I thought of several other reasons, but they all contradicted and fell apart.

In the end, as long as I didn’t know Misty’s true feelings, I had no choice but to maintain the same distance as before—neither too far nor too close.

Somehow, it felt like having a small bone stuck in the back of my throat—not refreshing at all—but rushing things like this probably wouldn’t lead to anything good, so I left it as is.

When I was in Japan, I used to get angry at characters in romance manga asking “why can’t you just make things black and white,” but when I actually became that character myself, I couldn’t take that step forward.

“Mm, is something wrong? Your expressions…”

“No, it’s nothing. Right?”

“Yes, it’s nothing.”

“…I see.”

Tarsen looked back and forth between me and Misty, then closed his mouth.

I’m grateful for this adult who notices something happened but deliberately doesn’t bring it up.

“More importantly, what’s the situation now?”

Looking around, about half the people had disappeared. Did they go somewhere?

“Ah, right. I had the energetic ones go investigate, led by the two squad leaders. We’d be in trouble if they got attacked by another master-level monster.”

Looking around, Ted and the others who had been injured were waiting here after receiving treatment.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, no problem!”

Ted said energetically, but I could see blood seeping through the bandages wrapped around him. Was he really okay?

“Still, Lady Misty’s magic was amazing.”

“No, no, it wasn’t a big deal. I’m just glad I could be helpful.”

She was being modest, but I thought stopping such a violently rampaging large monster was amazing.

Dark magic couldn’t do something like that, which made it even more impressive.

…Wait, if we fought at long range where my sword couldn’t reach, wouldn’t I be completely shut down by Misty?

Well, we’d never fight anyway. So I’ll never lose… yeah.

But maybe I should work a bit harder at training than before.

Can’t be satisfied with the status quo.

“Assistant Commander Tarsen.”

“Mm.”

A soldier came running immediately.

“There were no monsters, but… anyway, please come right away.”

As we proceeded deeper into the forest, a strange smell hit us.

Going further, the forest trees suddenly became sparse, and we arrived at an open area.

We could see the mountain deep in the forest, but parts of it were yellowed, and some of the trees growing there appeared withered.

“Hmph. Zeke-sama and the others came too.”

“Mm, how strange… What on earth is this?”

Debut and Garim were groaning.

Before them was a wide, shallow hole with smoke rising from it.

Soldiers were gathering around it in droves, debating this and that.

“What is that?”

Misty asked from behind, but though I had a pretty good idea, I asked Tarsen just to be sure.

“Tarsen.”

“Yes?”

“Are there any volcanoes around here?”

“Volcanoes? No… but I have heard stories that the mountain before us used to spew fire in ancient times.”

“Hmph. I know about that too. I was told as a child that a fire god lived there.”

“Mm? Wasn’t it a fire fairy?”

“I-I heard it was a beautiful fire goddess…”

“Why is everyone saying something different?”

“Um… Father told me there was a fire incarnation…”

Even Misty raised her hand.

Everyone had serious faces, so they weren’t joking around.

Anyway, I checked the surroundings before approaching the source of the smoke.

“Zeke-sama, it’s dangerous!”

“It’s fine.”

Below the smoke, I put my hand in while being careful of the hot water.

Since it wasn’t boiling, I thought it would be okay, and indeed, it wasn’t hot enough to burn.

The strange smell was also sulfur.

“Tarsen.”

“Did you figure something out?”

“Yeah, so let’s head back right away. We need to report this.”

☆☆☆

“A hot spring, then.”

After returning to the palace, I immediately faced Father in work mode.

“If I recall correctly from the literature, our country was weak in terms of tourism. If we construct a building here and have the state manage it properly, wouldn’t that increase the number of visitors even more?”

“Hmm, certainly the emergence of a hot spring is good news. Travelers will come not only from nearby but from distant countries as well. I’ll call the ministers immediately and have them allocate a budget. Well done.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

“…………”

Father clasped his hands together on the desk and looked straight at me with a glaring expression.

Father in work mode was, to be honest, quite frightening.

Unlike usual, jokes didn’t work at all.

“By the way, I heard. You apparently took not only the knights but also the young lady of the Claudia house.”

Hm? What’s this question about? A scolding about how it was dangerous?

“More like she came along rather than me taking her… Well, I was prepared to protect her if anything happened.”

Though in the end, I was the one protected, but let’s keep quiet about that.

“…………”

The silence is scary. If you don’t say something, I won’t understand.

“Um… is there something?”

Father stood up and walked toward the window with his hands behind his back.

“Your suspension will end within a few days. Prepare for school.”

Eh, isn’t that fast? That’s sudden.

“I-I understand. I’ll prepare.”

When I responded, Father just nodded once and then continued gazing out the window.

I guess that means we’re done talking.

I stood up and bowed.

“Then, excuse me.”