The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 20: The Abandoned Prince Takes a Dip in a Hot Spring

Chapter 20: The Abandoned Prince Takes a Dip in a Hot Spring

I’d been wandering through the dungeon for several hours.

Doing my best to avoid combat, I steadily made my way toward the dungeon’s deepest level.

Sure, I could slowly chip away at enemies with a zombie-style, death-by-a-thousand-cuts approach…

But that would take way too long.

So unless there was no other option, I ignored the monsters and kept pushing forward.

“Whoa… this is beautiful.”

After walking through the cave for a while, I entered a wide, open space.

t looked like some kind of underground lake.

Stalactites stretched from the ceiling down toward the floor, and beneath them was a massive body of water.

Blue magic stones shimmered at the bottom, making the whole lake glow faintly.

“Huh? Wait… is this water warm?”

No—this wasn’t just warm water. It was…

I stepped closer to the edge of the lake and sniffed the air.

There was a faint sulfur-like smell.

And in that moment, I knew. No doubt about it. This wasn’t just a lake.

“A hot spring!!”

No way!!

Thanks to Alcarion, I had managed to get a bath installed at the imperial castle…

But to think there was an actual hot spring inside a dungeon!?

“I wanna get in. I really, really wanna get in. But this is a dungeon… and stripping completely naked here would be way too risky.”

But then I stopped to think.

Let’s be real—my only weapon was a single dagger.

And even that had gotten pretty dull after a few scuffles on the way here.

Whether I ignored the hot spring and kept moving or took a soak before continuing, the danger level wouldn’t really change.

If anything, relaxing in the hot spring might help clear my head and recover my energy, which could even speed up the rest of the journey.

When it comes to quick decisions like this, I’m confident in my instincts.

“Alright—hot spring time!!”

Without hesitation, I stripped down and dove straight into the water.

Whoops.

For all the good little kids out there—don’t dive into hot springs, okay?

I’m a bad kid, so I get a pass.

“Ahhh… so warm~.”

Hot springs really are amazing.

…Let’s see.

Five and a half hours from the imperial capital by train, and then another six hours walking through a dungeon.

Yeah, probably not worth making this a regular trip.

I wonder if there’s some way to extend this hot spring out of the dungeon to the surface.

Hmm… probably not.

With monsters roaming around in the dungeon, even if we built some kind of water channel or piping, it’d probably get destroyed at some point.

So if I ever want to enjoy this hot spring again, I’d either have to spend half a day getting here…

Or move into the dungeon permanently.

“Speaking of which… who was that person Alcarion mentioned? The one living deep in the dungeon?”

Anyone living in a place this dangerous had to be a serious weirdo.

Rosemary mentioned she’d come here a few times on errands, but I never got around to asking what kind of person that was.

I wonder if she’s okay…

“No, I’m not strong enough to be worrying about other people. I need to focus on myself. …Hm?”

Suddenly, something felt off.

I couldn’t exactly put it into words, but I definitely sensed someone nearby.

The presence was coming from behind a rock.

And honestly, anyone just casually hanging around this deep in a dungeon probably wasn’t exactly human.

Cautiously, I peeked around the rock to check.

But—

There was no one there.

“…Maybe I imagined it?”

“Peeking, are we? That’s not very admirable.”

“!?”

A voice called out from behind me, and I spun around in surprise.

Standing there—was a naked girl.

No, more like a beautiful little girl.

She had long, glossy black hair tied up so it wouldn’t get wet, leaving her armpits totally exposed.

Her doll-like face was unbelievably cute… but the whole scene felt borderline illegal.

She looked about ten years old, maybe younger.

Her soft, pale skin had that signature plushness unique to kids. I had this weird urge to poke her cheek.

W-What the heck. This girl… she’s adorable…

“W-Who are you…?”

“I am… hmm, let’s see. You could call me the master of this dungeon. This hot spring is my personal bath, and yet here you are, barging in without permission. You’ve got some nerve.”

“Ah—s-sorry!!”

Wait, seriously!?

Hold on—

Does that mean this girl actually lives here in the dungeon?

Then she might be the person I was sent here to find.

With a few questions in mind but no clear answers, I decided to just ask her directly.

“Um… by any chance, are you the one who lives deep inside this dungeon?”

“Indeed I am. I’ve lived in this dungeon for a long time. Now then, boy—who are you? You’ve trespassed into my favorite place. Depending on your answer, I won’t hesitate to act.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Her golden eyes glared at me with such intensity, it was like they could kill me on the spot.

The pressure in her gaze was so strong, I felt a real sense of danger—

Even with my confidence in surviving anything thanks to Perfect Regeneration, I couldn’t help but feel like death was right in front of me.

Yeah, I needed to explain myself—fast.

She was almost certainly the person Alcarion had mentioned.

As long as I didn’t say anything stupid and explained that I was here on Alcarion’s errand, this hopefully wouldn’t go south.

But for some reason, I couldn’t get the words out.

No—I knew exactly why.

I was instinctively terrified of the little girl standing in front of me.

My lips trembled from fear, and no matter how hard I tried, the words just wouldn’t come.

I was scared. Truly scared.

“Silent, are we? Well, no matter. I’m not nearly as soft on humans as she is.”

With that, the girl grabbed my arm.

Her grip was unbelievably strong.

And the moment she touched me, a strange sensation hit me like a wave.

“Ghh… poison!?”

“Kukuku… I love seeing humans in pain. Now then—let’s see what kind of face you make.”

“Ghh—UOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

“Oh? And where do you think you’re going?”

I bolted from the spot, sprinting toward the pile where I’d carelessly thrown my clothes earlier.

I grabbed the dagger I’d left there.

“Oh? You’re going to fight me in that poisoned state?”

That’s not it.

I’m not some brave hero who can take down enemies even when my life’s on the line.

The reason I went for the dagger wasn’t to fight—

It was to heal.

The poison she injected into me wasn’t normal. It would take time for Perfect Regeneration to fully cure it.

I tried to detoxify it the moment it entered my system, but… it wasn’t working.

That’s something I’ve come to understand after using Perfect Regeneration for over twenty years.

At this rate, the poison would kill me faster than I could heal it.

Another new addition to the “ways I might die” list—right after suffocation and being buried alive.

On the flip side, this particular poison spreads slowly.

So, if I cut off the affected area before it reaches the rest of my body—

I might just survive.

“Gh!!”

“Hoh!?”

I raised the dagger and sliced off my own arm.

I’d done this a few times on the battlefield, too.

When an injury shattered the bone beyond saving, it was quicker to regrow the limb entirely.

Even with a slightly dull blade, cutting it off wasn’t impossible.

It’s all about experience.

It hurt so bad I nearly passed out… but it was still a better option than dying.

“…You cut off your arm before the poison could spread, and now you’re regenerating it? You’re like some kind of lizard.”

“Hah… hah… hah…”

It hurt.

I regenerated the arm instantly, but the lingering sensation still felt awful.

More than that, the real problem was that I wasn’t out of danger yet.

The girl in front of me clearly still saw me as an enemy.

Would she let me live if I begged for my life…?

“Hm. Boy, you…”

Her gaze slowly shifted downward.

Following her line of sight… led straight to that.

My loyal partner—my beloved sword—was fully prepared for battle.

It’s said that living creatures, when facing death, instinctively try to preserve their lineage.

Looks like I wasn’t an exception.

And standing in front of me was, technically, a female—even if her body was still immature.

Even while terrified, my instincts had clearly registered her as a woman.

What a messed-up contradiction.

“Pfft… kuhuhu…”

The girl started laughing.

A mocking, teasing kind of laugh—like she was openly making fun of me.

“Could it be, boy, that you’re getting excited by my body? What a hopeless little pervert you are.”

“T-That’s…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. That was the best laugh I’ve had in a while. I’ll let you off the hook—just this once. But letting you go without a price? Now that would be boring.”

With that, she slowly stepped toward me.

I backed away instinctively, only to fall flat on my butt.

Now I was looking up at her—from below.

From that low angle… a completely naked little girl stood before me.

I gulped.

Terrified and aroused at the same time.

T-This angle is… way too indecent!!

“Let’s have a match, boy.”

“A m-match?”

“You wouldn’t want to die without ever knowing a woman, would you?”

Uh, actually, I do know what that’s like, thank you very much.

…Oh, right. I still looked like a kid on the outside.

She probably thought I was some innocent little virgin!!

“The rules are simple. We do it—and the first one to finish loses. If you win, I’ll let you go. If I win, you die. Sound fair?”

“F-Fine!! Deal!!”

“Kukuku… Then let’s begin.”

I may not stand a chance in a straight-up fight to the death.

But if this was the kind of battle we were talking about—then I had a real shot!

This cocky little brat thought I was just some clueless kid…

Time to prove her wrong!!

And no—this wasn’t cheating.

This was self-defense. A life-or-death struggle.

Totally not cheating. Not at all.

With that iron resolve in my heart—

I braced myself for the battle to come.



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[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “I want to sniff the armpits—not sides, but armpits—of a crazy, black-haired loli gremlin while poking her squishy cheeks, and then be murdered. Yes, it has to be armpits. This is important.”

R: “Officer, we found him.”

★ Announcement ☆

A new series has begun!

“The Overpowered Villainous Mage Mastered Utility Magic and Made an Absurd Comeback with Broken Skills!”

If you’ve got some spare time, go check it out! It’s going to be pretty weird in its own way too.

If you thought, “I wanna bathe in that dungeon hot spring,” “Dude just cut off his own arm, lmao,” or “This afterword is so unhinged it’s hilarious,”—Then please consider leaving a comment, bookmarking, giving a ★ rating, or writing a review!