My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~ - Chapter 072: The Only Single Path Where Everyone Can Spend Time Smiling

The storm had passed, and a piercing blue sky spread out to fill his vision.

Lying on the garden lawn, Kishō let out a loud yawn. Putting both arms behind his head as a pillow, he lay on his back, watching the slowly flowing white clouds reflected in his eyes.

Three days had passed since the incident was resolved.

The long sequence of events was told to Headmaster Seiran from the Princess’s side, and then the two of them were scolded soundly together on good terms. However, as a result of their independent action, they had half-destroyed the clock tower, involved Kōran, and even caused a missing person, so it couldn’t be helped. As an administrator, Seiran’s anger was reasonable, and rather, they were lucky to get off with just a reprimand.

Part of that was also because the Princess took all the blame. If she hadn’t covered for him, the trouble surely would have extended to Kishō as well.

The female student who had gone missing—Aya—was reportedly found in an unconscious state in an unmanned hut several kilometers away from the academy. Similarly, Fūyō, Alice, and the captured Kōran were found in the basement of the teachers’ building.

Due to the cruel curse of Elesia Ichnosis, a total of three people had their egos mercilessly erased and ended up in a vegetative state. The doctors declared that they would remain bedridden and never wake up again. The academy side regarded them as having died in the line of duty and considered disposing of them, but——–The sound of stepping on stones rang overhead.

Raising his chin at the sign of a person and looking behind him at the world upside down while lying down—

Elesia Ichnosis was standing there.

Out of defensive instinct, Kishō had reflexively jumped up. And when he braced himself without negligence, the person widened her eyes in surprise as she entered his vision. Realizing his own jumping to conclusions, he embarrassedly scratched his cheek.

“Sorry. I’m not used to it yet.”

“No, I am the one who should apologize for seeming to surprise you.”

With that, the person bowed her head. The golden hair reflecting the sunlight danced dazzlingly with the movement. The dress with frills was an outfit preferred by Westerners.

“Does it look like you can return to your hometown?”

“No, since I have become a person all alone in the world.”

“Eh, but in the photo in the carriage…”

“That photo is the last photo from when my mother was alive.”

“I see… that’s why the you in the photo was younger than now.”

The girl’s blue eyes wavered sadly.

Realizing his own slip of the tongue, Kishō waved both hands in a panic.

“Sorry! I’m really sorry. I have no tact, do I?”

“That is so. Kishō-kun is a student with truly no tact.”

“—A voice came from an empty space.”

“Do not say rude things like a narration!”

When he lowered his line of sight slightly, a little girl was expressing anger using both arms.

Sighing, he took out a candy ball from the pocket in his cuff, and it was snatched away by the little girl at light speed.

“Since you accepted a bribe, please forgive and forget.”

“Can’t be helped then. Just this time, okay?”

With that, the little girl rolled the candy ball in her mouth and floated an expression of satisfaction.

“Even so, what’s terrifying is the acting ability of Elesia Ichnosis who copied even the personality perfectly, I guess. Even facing the person herself like this, I don’t understand the difference at all. Actually, Sensei, aren’t you still possessed or something?”

“How rude! I will not make such a mistake a second time!”

“So, since when were you possessed?”

“Well now? Judging from the degree of memory loss, it would be about five years ago, I suppose.”

The little girl said it lightly, but five years was a time that cannot be called short even for a long-lived Dragonkin. Lost time never returns. When he patted the little girl’s head, he was brushed away with a “Uga-!”

“Please do not treat Sensei like a child!”

“No, even if you say that while rolling a candy ball… it’s making a sound.”

“My, I am grateful just in case. Because thanks to you guys, I was able to regain my sanity like this.”

“Please say the words of gratitude to Kuroyō. Because I didn’t even think that processed souls could be returned to their original state.”

When one receives the Soul Transmigration technique, the soul was processed into a vessel and lost its ego. Kishō thought that was synonymous with death. However, Kuroyō’s view was different.

“After taking over my body, what do you think she intended to do?”

According to what Kuroyō said, it seemed to be like this.

After obtaining the Princess’s body, Elesia Ichnosis intended to return to the academy with an innocent look and start a new life as a Princess. What became a problem there was the disposal of Instructor Fūyō’s body. Since she can only control one body at the same time, while using the Princess’s body, she (Fūyō) would end up in an unconscious vegetative state.

If a Warrior Princess, the highest rank of the six Princess ranks, was found in a vegetative state, it would almost certainly develop into a major incident. Even if she acted out a disappearance trying to conceal it, the result would be the same. She would definitely receive interference from the Six Consorts, and an excellent investigation team including the General Consort, the Princess’s mother, would be dispatched to the academy. If that happened, the incident might be exposed.

This must have been a situation Elesia Ichnosis, who plotted a perfect crime, absolutely wanted to avoid.

“In that case, she must have prepared an avoidance measure. No, because she is a cunning murderer, it would be strange if she hadn’t prepared one. On that point, I trusted her.”

That measure was, in short, a method to return the processed soul to its original state. Restoration of the ego.

“After taking over my body and making it her own, she intended to return Instructor Fūyō’s ego to its original state and make her return to the academy. Although a blank in memory is born, since the person herself is healthy, it will not develop into a major problem. It is the same for the female student who went missing. With this plan, she can proceed with the post-processing smoothly after establishing the swap.”

And the rumors talked about in the bar of the female teachers—that five years ago, there was a Lower School employee who lost her memory—also became grounds supporting Kuroyō’s reasoning.

“Presumably, Elesia Ichnosis stole the body of an employee working at the academy and went into hiding. And next she attacked Instructor Fūyō and stole that body. After that, she released the Soul Transmigration of the employee who became unnecessary, but the memory of the period possessed—several years worth—did not return. Therefore, a strange phenomenon called memory loss must have occurred.”

And in fact, as Kuroyō expected, a formula to restore the ego was incorporated into the Soul Transmigration technique.

“That’s right. If I had dealt with it… Sensei might not have been able to laugh like this now. Because Kuroyō shouldered everything knowing the danger. Because she made the best choice, we can smile together right now.”

While playing with the candy ball and puffing out her right cheek roundly, the little girl made a solemn face.

“That is so. I must say thank you to the Princess.”

“Yes. I also want to say thank you to my lifesaver.”—–“Such a hut is not suitable for Onee-sama. Let us rebuild it immediately.”

“What are you saying? This is the love nest of Kishō and Ōka. For us who came later to rebuild it or such is not something permissible.”

“Wa-wait a minute, You-chan. Love nest, wha-wha-what are you starting to say!?”

Noisy.

No, should I say this had become lively?

After entering the academy, he met Ōka a while later, and discovered a dilapidated hut standing quietly in the corner of the grounds of the Magic Research Building. Together with Ōka, he cleaned that space which was covered in cobwebs and full of dust, and managed to arrange the appearance of a relaxation space.

A secret base for just Ōka and him, which they visited in the free time between classes and used to kill time. But the two rarely got together, and he thought it was a somewhat lonely and quiet space. However, now, that space was filled with clamor.

When Kishō was standing still at the entrance of the dilapidated hut with the door half-opened, Alice stood on tiptoes from behind him as if peeking inside.

“Um, is something the matter?”

“Ah, no. It seems the timing was bad, so let’s leave it for another time.”

Next to Alice, the short little girl for whom tiptoeing was far from enough jumped boundingly and,

“Never mind that, please advance quickly.”

She complained like that.

While feeling pressure on his back, Kishō didn’t feel like entering inside. After all, inside the dilapidated hut, three girls were arguing.

“Anyway! I am unrelated to Kishō-kun’s flock!”

“Wait a minute you, do you intend to go against Onee-sama?”

“Kōran, you are going too far. Ōka is my benefactor.”

“Yes. I am terribly sorry, Onee-sama.”

“Ah-! This person, absolutely hasn’t reflected. Her eyes aren’t laughing.”

“Sorry, Ōka. Kōran has been like this since long ago. She has no ill will so I want you to forgive her.”

For humans with fundamentally different values, understanding the concept of a flock was very difficult. He wondered how this scene was reflected in Alice’s eyes. Was she not thinking he was a frivolous man who built a harem and was sitting back arrogantly? Feeling embarrassed, Kishō had no choice but to smile bitterly.

When Kishō was thinking of things like a bad loser, wondering if they could come back another day, Ōka blurted out something he couldn’t ignore.

“More importantly than that, how was that operation? Could you deceive Kishō-kun?”

“Ah, I was able to proceed without any blunders in all matters.”

“Eh-!? Then, could it be…”

“Ah, I was able to have him shout his love.”

“Eeeeeeh!? That Kishō-kun, really!?”

“Without hurting anyone, I subjugated Elesia Ichnosis, and additionally my dream also came true. The brilliant scheme killing three birds with one stone achieved success splendidly.”

“You-chan, looks very happy! But only Kishō-kun doesn’t know, right. That You-chan was listening as if clinging to it so as not to miss a single word.”

“That is right. I succeeded in waking up at an early stage. However, I cannot dampen the precious confession of love. That it took a form like deceiving him is the only regret.”

“Pupupu, surely if he knew the truth, he might die from excessive embarrassment.”

***! The door was thrown open widely.

The interior of the dilapidated hut was deployed into vision at once. The three girls who were chatting in the corner of the room were surprised by the loud sound and turned their gaze here.

Kishō stepped into the room without a word, and stood in front of the Princess. As if looking down at her sitting on the chair,

“Oi, I don’t think it’s possible but. It’s not a punchline like ‘there was no need to shout love’, is it.”

The Princess’s eyes swam. To the right, to the left. So as not to meet Kishō’s gaze, her black eyes escaped. At the easy-to-understand attitude like a child whose prank was found, Kishō lost strength and sighed. And grabbing her shoulders and making her stand so she couldn’t escape, he looked straight into those eyes,

“Shall we speak honestly? Since when exactly were you conscious?”

Whether she resigned herself having her retreat cut off, the Princess sighed.

“From ‘It might be a cliché request, but listen to me,’ I suppose.”

“Isn’t that from the beginning!?”

A large amount of blood flow gathered in his face with a “Dōh!”, and Kishō was driven by the impulse to disappear from this place. But, there was something he had to confirm even if it meant stirring up a hornet’s nest. He opened his mouth fearfully.

“I don’t think it’s possible but, the end too…?”

“If it is about the sweet and dense kiss exchanged as if tasting each mouthful, of course I remember. I could sense the male with wild instincts exposed.”

“Ngaa…”

The moment he devoured the Princess’s lips was recalled vividly. Besides being desperate to wake the Princess up, there was also an aspect where he could go boldly from the calculation that since she was unconscious, he wouldn’t be found out even if he was somewhat bold. If it turned out she was seeing and hearing that from beginning to end without leaving anything out, it was like everything was overturned from the precondition.

As per Ōka’s prediction, Kishō thought he would die from excessive embarrassment. To that extent, his face was igniting like scorching heat, and his heart was pounding “Dokun, Dokun”, shaking his eardrums from the inside. And an unusual amount of cold sweat was coming out.

Alice, who came into the room reservedly, screamed “Kyaa,” and for some reason covered the ears of the little girl who looked like a child but was over a hundred years old with both hands. That reaction lit a fire in Kishō’s shame, granting further burning to his whole body.

Before he knew it, the Princess had regained her composure, and her jet-black eyes were directed at Kishō as if challenging him.

“That is why I said, didn’t I? That I was sorry for doing something like deceiving you.”

“Something like deceiving meant that kind of meaning! I thought for sure you said it about outsmarting me.”

“Fufu, so I have already received that punishment. Or will you give me an additional punishment?”

Saying so, the Princess closed her eyes and held out her pale pink lips.

Suddenly, Kishō returned to his senses. What posture was he in right now?

He was facing her while grabbing the Princess’s shoulders. Doesn’t it look as if he was trying to kiss her?

Ōka was throwing jeers like “Hyu-hyu.” Very annoying. It was an eyesore.

Alice let out a yellow scream “Kyaa!” and for some reason covered the eyes of the visual little girl. I’m begging you, cover your own eyes, not the little girl’s.

The little girl whose eyes were blocked was rampaging saying “Do not treat me like a child!” Honestly, I don’t care about this part. Please keep your eyes closed like that for a lifetime.

From Kōran, killing intent reminiscent of a veteran warrior was being released. She was a troublesome woman, but it was a strange thing that in this place right now, I feel hers was the quietest response.

In the chaotic situation that got out of hand, Kishō, who became desperate, screamed.

“Aaaaaaaah! Why does it become like thiiis!?”

And he who was cornered kissed the Princess on the forehead in a form of being spanked by frustration. That it wasn’t the lips was because, as expected, he was shy. Flirting in front of people was embarrassing—that essence had not changed even after the Princess’s drastic treatment was completed.

Enthusiastic screams were flying about in the dilapidated hut. Needless to say for Ōka and Ōka, for some reason even Fūyō who should be an adult dragon was blushing embarrassedly and wiggling her hips, isn’t she? There was one person out of place sending killing intent enough to die, though.

“Hmm. It seems this hut has also become quite lively. If you want to welcome Alice to the flock, I will not oppose it this time. After all, the malicious murderer has perished.”

The lover who just finished kissing said such a thing with a very serious face. To the fiancée who casually tried to proceed with the harem plan, Kishō shouted his love with all his strength.

“That’s! Why! I want to flirt with just Kuroyō! I don’t need impurities like a flock or harem. It is fine if only Kuroyō stays by my side forever.”

The girls’ yellow screams of “Kyaa!” shook the dilapidated hut.

That he was teased to death by Ōka later was another story.