My Yandere Girlfriend Hiding in the Dungeon Kills Me Over and Over Again - Chapter 154

Chapter 154   Triumph and Expedition

The following day, a ceremony of imperial command was held at the royal palace for the Second Prince.

In front of me, the Second Prince and the soldiers accompanying him were lined up before the King.

I blended in with the spectators, trying to avoid drawing attention due to my silver hair, which made me stand out in a negative way.

“Second Prince Dilekka, may you ensure the success of this expedition,” the King commanded.

“Y-yes, Father, I vow here to ensure the success of the mission…” The Second Prince replied with a formal attitude to the King’s command. However, his demeanor was less than impressive; he had a slouched posture and spoke with a stutter, likely due to nervousness.

“Do your best, Dilekka.”

“Yes, Brother.”

The First Prince, who stood next to the King, approached. He carried himself with a dignified and handsome presence. The public’s attention was focused on the First Prince, with no one paying any attention to the Second Prince. It seemed the Second Prince was not popular at all.

On the other hand, the person standing next to the Second Prince was incredibly popular with the crowd.

“Wise Sage Nyau, could we request your assistance for the Second Prince on this expedition?”

“Understood, Your Majesty. I will use all my wisdom to support His Highness the Second Prince.”

Immediately, the crowd erupted into cheers, the loudest they had been so far. It was surprising that the majority of the crowd had come to see Wise Sage Nyau. It was very rare for Nyau to appear on stage, so it seemed many had gathered just to catch a glimpse of her.

Although Nyau herself might find it bothersome, knowing that she was so popular made me feel strangely pleased, as if it were about me.

After the ceremony ended, we marched outside the capital with the Second Prince leading the way, accompanied by the crowd’s farewell.

Once we had traveled a certain distance from the capital, I joined the escort squad. It was a reasonably large group of sixty, so I found them quickly.

“Hey, Kiska. We managed to join up safely, huh?”

Suddenly, someone approached me. It was Lyune, a mage and disciple of Wise Sage Nyau.

“You’re on horseback?” I said. I had to follow on foot.

“Haha, Lyune is Sage Nyau’s disciple, so it’s only natural to be treated specially.”

When it’s put that way, I can’t argue with it.

“By the way, aren’t you worried about not being near Nyau?”

I was at almost the end of the line, quite far from Nyau, who was at the front.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. After all, my master’s orders are for me to stay close to you,” Lyune said.

“Really? Is that so?”

“Yeah, it’s to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t do anything weird.”

“Does Nyau think of me as a dangerous person?”

If that’s the case, it’s quite a shock.

“Hmm, I wonder…”

Lyune said that while making a thoughtful gesture.

“To be honest, I’m surprised that master is wary of you. I mean, even with that appearance, Master is still a sage. Most people wouldn’t be a match for her.”

“That’s true…”

“Also, if your prophecy is true, I’ve been told to assist you. So, I don’t think she only has negative feelings toward you.”

Is that so…?

Lyune helping me join the escort team yesterday might have been because of Nyau’s instructions.

“So, don’t be so pessimistic, Kiska-san. You like Master Nyau, don’t you?”

“Wait, why does it turn into that?”

“Eh, isn’t it?”

“No… well…”

What should I say?

If I had to choose between liking or disliking, I’d say I like her. But it feels wrong to admit it so easily.

After all, the Nyau I liked was from a different timeline, and there’s no progress with this timeline’s Nyau, who is likely to dislike me. I can’t afford to cause any trouble by saying unnecessary things.

“Could it be that you already have a partner…?”

Lyune suddenly asked me that, perhaps because I looked troubled.

I was about to answer that I don’t have a partner, but then I thought about it.

Wait, thinking about it, I don’t have a partner in this timeline, but I do in another timeline.

Wait, does that mean it’s cheating?

I hadn’t considered this until now, as I was too busy.

“Why can’t you answer right away? Are you perhaps plotting to cheat?”

Lyune looked at me suspiciously with a narrowed gaze.

“I-I’m not planning to cheat or anything…”

“That’s what I thought. If you were the kind of guy who would condone cheating, I would have turned this into a bloodbath right here,” Lyune said, pointing her staff towards my groin area.

Yikes…

Desperately shaking my head in denial, she returned the staff to its original position.

Still, I started to feel like I’m a pretty terrible guy. But surely that’s not the case…

“So, in the end, do you like Master Nyau or not?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s about liking her…”

Ultimately, it seemed better to deny it.

“Really? That’s a shame.”

Lyune’s expression shifted from the earlier threatening demeanor to a genuinely disappointed one.

“Hey, Kiska-san, why don’t you take Master Nyau?”

“Huh?”

“Well, as her disciple, I think she deserves to be happy. I’d like her to get married soon, but the problem is, she doesn’t have a partner.”

“Is that so? I would think she’d have plenty of suitors.”

After all, Nyau is cute. I would think no man would ignore someone like that.

“Think about it. Even though she looks like that, she’s a living legend over a hundred years old. Where would you find someone who could be on equal footing with her? Even if she could get engaged, everyone would be too intimidated to accept. It seems she’s even lost her connections with other elves.”

Lyune’s words might be true. Even the King showed a formal attitude towards Nyau. If even the King behaves like that, then there probably isn’t anyone in this world who can interact with Nyau on an equal footing.

“However, Lyune has found an exception. That exception is you, Kiska-san!”

Lyune pointed at me with her index finger.

“Seeing you speak informally with Master Nyau was quite a shock for me.”

“But doesn’t Lyune also speak informally with Nyau?”

“Well, I’m her disciple, you see.”

Lyune said this with a proud expression, but shouldn’t a disciple show respect to their master?

“I understand what you’re saying, but since Nyau dislikes me, it’s just not possible.”

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s the case.”

Lyune says that, but I betrayed Nyau a hundred years ago. To make any progress, I need to clear up the misunderstandings, but I’m convinced it’s impossible. After all, I’m missing memories related to the true hero.

So, how should I explain this?

“Well, rather than worrying about that right now, we need to solve the immediate problem.”

That’s right. I came here to deal with the demon, Belphegor.

After that, we walked for a long time.

Along the way, I chatted with Lyune while following along.

By early afternoon, we could see a village.

Riot Village.

It’s a small village, smaller than Katarov Village, which is local. Fields stretched out as far as the eye could see, with small houses arranged irregularly and surrounded by a wooden fence—a typical, ordinary village.

While staying overnight in this village, everyone would be attacked by the demon Belphegor.

“We finally arrived! I’m so exhausted!”

Lyune raised both hands and stretched her shoulders while sitting on the horse.

“Even though you’ve been on the horse the whole time.”

It’s clear that I’ve used more stamina walking all this way.

“Why do you have to be so mean? If you keep that up, you won’t get any girls.”

That’s none of your business, I thought with some irritation, when suddenly a soldier from the front approached.

“Lady Lyune, Sage Nyau requests your presence.”

“Alright.”

She nodded and looked at me.

“Do you want to come with me, Kiska?”

It seems I’ll have another chance to speak with Nyau.