The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 19: The Abandoned Prince Goes to the Dungeon

Chapter 19: The Abandoned Prince Goes to the Dungeon

“Whoa, so this is a dungeon…”

“Don’t wander too far from me. The deeper we go, the more dangerous it gets.”

Following behind Rosemary, I couldn’t help but get a little excited.

This was my very first dungeon expedition, after all.

It wasn’t the usual ruins-type dungeon.

This one was a cave-type, with walls of rock lined with glowing blue crystals.

Thanks to their faint light, we didn’t even need torches to see.

According to Rosemary, those glowing blue stones were magic stones.

“So even the kingdom produces some magic stones, but the ones here in the empire are blue, huh?”

“They’re different in the kingdom?”

“Yeah, the kingdom mostly has red magic stones.”

“R-Red magic stones!?”

“Whoa, you scared me!”

The moment I mentioned red magic stones, Rosemary’s eyes went wide.

Was something wrong?

“That means… the kingdom might actually be a goldmine of resources.”

“What do you mean?”

“Blue magic stones are more common, but they contain less magical energy.”

“Oh? So then red ones are…?”

“Yeah. Red magic stones hold at least ten times more magic power than the blue ones. They’re extremely rare. The downside is they’re difficult to process, and using them in other countries ends up being more expensive.”

“But with the empire’s technology?”

“We’d get way more value out of them.”

“That’s impressive…”

Man, it’s hard to understand the value of things until you hear it from someone who actually knows.

“…Hmm. If we win the war against the kingdom, maybe I should suggest to Mother that we demand a massive compensation on purpose and use it to pressure them into handing over the red magic stone mines. —Ah, wait. That’s probably not the kind of thing I should be saying in front of you, Reyshel.”

“I don’t really understand politics, and I’ve got no attachment to the kingdom anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

…Well, if I had to name one thing I still felt a bit of regret about, it’d probably be Hecton-mama’s boobs.

Sure, now I had Rosemary, Alcarion, and Eliza, but those were the first pair I ever fell for in this world. My first love, in a sense.

As I was lost in those nostalgic thoughts, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze.

“Whose chest were you just thinking about?”

“G-Guh. I… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“…Whatever. Let’s keep moving. Don’t fall behind.”

“Okay~.”

We continued making our way deeper into the dungeon.

At first, it was just weak monsters like slimes and goblins.

But gradually, stronger variants began to appear.

Rosemary was getting hurt more frequently the deeper we went…

“Heal up~.”

And I instantly healed her injuries in seconds.

As her wounds vanished right before her eyes, Rosemary muttered to herself, clearly surprised.

“…Reyshel, your power really is incredible. I’ve had to reach the deepest level of this dungeon many times on Mother’s orders, but it’s never been this easy.”

“What did you do before?”

“Healing mages aren’t much help unless they’re extremely skilled. So I used to just chug potions and force my way through.”

“W-Wow. That sounds… kinda reckless.”

“I didn’t do it every time. Only when it was urgent.”

Still, the fact she could brute-force her way through a dungeon like that was impressive in its own right.

“…Reyshel. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Your power… were you born with it?”

“…”

I froze for a second.

I couldn’t exactly tell her, ‘Oh yeah, it’s a cheat skill I got from a goddess when I reincarnated into this world.’

Guess I’ll just dodge the question.

That was the plan… but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.

…Well, it’s Rosemary. Maybe it’s okay.

“My power… I got it from a goddess when I was reborn as a prince.”

No one would believe me anyway.

At most, they’d think I was joking.

But contrary to my expectations, Rosemary placed a hand on her chin, thinking deeply.

“…I see. That actually makes a lot of sense.”

“Huh?”

To my surprise, Rosemary nodded.

“Between things like refrigerators and wyvern carriers, your ideas always catch me off guard, Reyshel. But more than that—”

“More than what?”

“When you saw the imperial capital, it looked like you recognized some things and were genuinely surprised.”

“Whoa… sharp.”

She was right. When I first arrived in the imperial capital, I was shocked by things like the magic trains.

Looks like Rosemary picked up on that reaction.

“Usually, people visiting from other nations are completely lost when they see the capital. But you, Reyshel… You were confused, sure, but you accepted it way too fast. Could it be… you were reborn from a future era into this one?”

“Close!! You’re so close it’s scary!!”

“Muu… I can’t figure it out. Just tell me the answer.”

While we took a short break, I decided to tell Rosemary about my original world—Earth.

I gave her a basic idea of what life was like there, a world more than a hundred years ahead of this empire’s civilization.

I talked about things like TVs, smartphones, and video games—

Stuff that didn’t exist in this world.

As she listened, Rosemary’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

It was honestly kind of cute.

“…That’s amazing. I had no idea civilization could develop that far. I’m especially fascinated by this thing you call television.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. It’s not like a newspaper—it shares moving images and spreads information to everyone at once. I think the empire could replicate that.”

Now that I thought about it—when Rosemary and Eliza had that duel, they broadcasted it across the entire imperial capital too.

From what I’d heard, that kind of projection only lasts about an hour because it uses a huge amount of magic.

But if they made something like a TV to display the images instead, it might reduce the magic cost.

Apparently, that’s something they’d have to discuss with Yelona.

But knowing her, she could probably make it happen.

A TV in another world, huh.

I mean, there’s no way they’d be able to make anime or anything like that…

But maybe by the time I’ve grown old and turned into a grandpa, I might get to see it.

A literal isekai anime.

I’d love to watch something like that.

“Anything else? Something else interesting from your world?”

“Huh? Hmm…”

That question was a bit tricky.

I didn’t really want to talk about guns, bombs, or other kinds of weapons.

This world didn’t have those things, and bringing up tools for killing didn’t feel right.

So, putting that aside…

“There were cars, airplanes, and all kinds of convenient ways to travel.”

“Hmm? And what are those exactly?”

“Uh, well…”

I gave her a rough explanation.

Since Rosemary didn’t know anything about Earth, even the simplest things made her react in these big, exaggerated ways—

It was honestly kind of adorable.

“To think there’s a way to fly without wyverns… Reyshel, your previous world must’ve been insanely advanced.”

“Yeah, it really was.”

“…Hmm. Making an airplane right away might be tough, but this ‘car’ thing seems doable. I’ll talk to Sister Yelona about it when we get back.”

“Between the TV and now cars, sounds like Yelona’s going to be super busy.”

“Haha, no doubt about it. —Alright, break time’s over. Let’s keep moving.”

We stood up and started walking again, continuing our journey toward the dungeon’s deepest level.

But that’s when trouble hit us.

Just when we were about halfway to the final floor, we ran into a huge monster.

“A Lesser Dragon! Reyshel, stay back!!”

“G-Got it!!”

I quickly did as Rosemary told me and moved to the corner of the room so I wouldn’t get in the way of the fight.

That’s when it happened.

Click.

I felt something underfoot, like I’d just triggered a switch.

When I looked down—

The ground beneath me had sunk slightly.

“Ah, sorry, Rosemary.”

“What is it!?”

“Uhh… I think I stepped on a trap.”

“What!?”

“Whoa—my body’s glowing!?”

“That’s a teleportation trap!! Get away from there, now—!!”

Before Rosemary could even finish her sentence—

She vanished.

Actually, the Lesser Dragon was gone too.

Looks like I was the one who got teleported to a different place.

“…Well, I’m sure it’ll work out!!”

I’m not the kind of guy who dies easily.

I gripped the dagger I’d brought along just in case, and with that—

I set off once again, aiming for the deepest part of the dungeon.

―――――――――――――――――――――

[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “This protagonist really has no sense of danger.”

R: “HAHAHA.”

★ Announcement ☆

A new series has started:

“The Overpowered Villainous Mage Mastered Utility Magic and Made a Ridiculous Comeback!”

If you’ve got some free time, go check it out!

This one’s going to get pretty quirky too.

If you thought, “The civilization bragging was kinda funny,” “Rosemary’s adorable,” or “This guy really has zero fear and it’s hilarious,”—Don’t forget to leave a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, and review!