The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 76: The Abandoned Prince Gets Blackmailed

Chapter 76: The Abandoned Prince Gets Blackmailed

“Mmm—!! Ah… guess I stayed up reading way too late.”

It was already deep into the night.

I stretched my back, rolling my shoulders to work out the stiffness.

“Alright, time to head back to my room.”

“Mm. You could always spend the night in my chambers again, Master.”

“Tempting, but I’ll pass. If I keep staying in your room, Mitama, the others are gonna get jealous.”

I had just stepped out of Mitama’s room on my way to the washroom when—

A group of young beastkin boys blocked my path, glaring at me with murder in their eyes

…Yeah, that was scary.

Although—

One or two of them… well… seemed oddly happy below the waist.

Not that I intended it, but it kinda felt like I’d stolen Mitama away from them.

Again, not intentional.

I mean, sure, I’ll admit it—

I got to hog Mitama, the beloved figure of these beastmen, all to myself.

And yes, she now calls me “master~♡,” and even after the agreed seven days and nights, I’m still monopolizing her.

The sense of superiority?

Oh, it’s glorious.

But I’m not stupid—if I let it go to my head, I might end up getting jumped in a dark alley.

So, moderation.

“Hmph. If they dare interrupt our lovey-dovey time, perhaps I should simply have those men executed?”

“Whoa, whoa—don’t say scary stuff like that.”

I’m pretty sure she was joking, but still—I stopped her and left her chambers.

What I completely forgot at the time was this—

After beating Kojiro in the duel and becoming Mitama’s favorite, I figured no one would actually try anything.

At worst, I’d just get some dirty looks.

…Yeah. I was wrong.

“Hmm?”

Standing in the middle of the path ahead was a girl.

Bathed in moonlight, she carried this strange blend of mystique and sultry allure. Her features were striking, her long reddish-purple hair making her impossible to overlook.

But what caught me off guard wasn’t her beauty—

It was the single, ominous horn jutting from her forehead.

“Wait… a Kijin…?”

“Correct. Sorry for botherin’ ya so late at night.”

“Uh… yeah, hi there.”

The Kijin girl noticed me, gave a friendly smile, and started walking my way.

Kinko had told me Kijin were basically savage, survival-of-the-fittest brutes—but looking at her, she seemed completely harmless. For a moment, I almost thought, Maybe that’s all just a misunderstanding?

…And then, it happened.

Her razor-sharp claws shot toward me, aiming straight for my eyes.

“Whoa?!”

“…Danger.”

“Aww, ya dodged me?”

In the next instant, my collar was yanked hard, and I landed flat on my butt.

Blinking in confusion, I looked up—

Kuura was standing between me and the Kijin girl, her face cold and serious.

Somehow, without me even noticing, she had been right behind me and had pulled me out of harm’s way at the last second.

She stepped forward, her posture protective, her voice laced with clear, deadly intent as she addressed the Kijin girl—

“…I’ll end you.”

“Oooh, now that’s scary talk. I just wanted to be friends with this boy here, y’know?”

“…By trying to gouge his eyes out?”

“Nhfufu, well, when someone’s standin’ there with that spaced-out face, it just makes me wanna tease ’em. He’s the one who invited me, after all.”

—No, I didn’t invite you!!

She’s cute… but terrifying!!

“…I see. Is that your final will?”

“My, my, you really are scary. You think you can take me down all on your own?”

“…I can. I’m stronger.”

With that, Kuura swung her arm in a wide arc.

The Kijin girl’s body suddenly floated into the air, her limbs twisting at impossible angles.

Then came the sharp crack-crack of bones bending the wrong way.

It looked so painfully brutal that I almost turned away.

“Well now, can’t move my body. What’s goin’ on here?”

“…Like I’d tell an enemy.”

“Nhfufu, you meanie.”

Kuura didn’t explain, but from my spot a step behind them, I saw it—

Countless, almost invisible threads stretched from Kuura’s fingertips.

They anchored across the buildings and the ground in every direction, forming something like a massive spider’s web around us.

Amazing!!

Kuura’s a thread-user!!

“…I’ll just cut your body to pieces like this.”

“Nhfufu, honestly, I’m hopeless. I just can’t help loving a good fight to the death. But if I hang around too long, Suzu’s gonna get mad at me—so I’ll take my leave for today.”

The moment the Kijin girl said that—

Tremble…

It felt like an earthquake… but different.

More like… footsteps.

Footsteps of something huge, charging straight toward us.

“Kuura!! Look out!!”

“…!!”

Smashing through every nearby building, reducing them to paper scraps, the figure finally appeared—

A giant.

Eyeballing it, it had to be at least thirty meters tall.

The massive shadow swatted Kuura aside, then scooped the Kijin girl into both hands like she was the most precious thing in the world.

“Mou!! Ibara-chin, you took way too long to get here!! I was super worried, y’know!!”

…She was a gal.

A blonde gal, hair pulled into a high side ponytail, voice breezy and playful and sporting two horns on her head.

And she was… big.

Very big.

Her figure was all curves—boing-slim-boom—and her outfit had sky-high exposure levels.

Actually, it was basically just a few scraps of fabric covering the essentials—practically naked.

Not that she’d find clothes in her size anyway.

“Nhfufu, sorry ‘bout that. Thanks to Suzu, I’m saved.”

“Ehehe, you can praise me more if you want~.”

Watching the two Kijin girls chat, I suddenly snapped back to my senses and turned toward Kuura.

She was still breathing—but the damage looked bad.

I rushed over, placed my hands on her, and activated Perfect Regeneration.

Kuura’s eyes fluttered open almost instantly.

“…Healing… that helps.”

“Anywhere still hurt!?”

“…No. By the way—why are you groping my chest?”

“Oh—”

“…Shameless.”

A faint blush spread across Kuura’s cheeks as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cover herself.

I swear, it wasn’t on purpose.

It was just… an accident. My hands moved out of habit, that’s all.

“Hooon? So that power works on other people too, huh. Saves me the trouble of checking~.”

“…Eh?”

The next thing I knew, the giant gal Kijin had grabbed me and lifted me clean off the ground.

Kuura immediately tried to spring up to save me—

But the gal Kijin stomped her back down, pinning her in place.

Crap—this is bad.

If this kept up, Kuura would be crushed to death under those massive gal-Kijin feet.

W-What do I do!?

I scrambled for a plan, but my brain just kept spitting out static.

And then—

“Hey, bro—how ‘bout we make a deal?”

“A… a deal?”

“Yep. You come with us to Onigashima, heal a certain someone, and in return, we won’t kill your bodyguard lady. We’ll even stop attacking Ashuhara.”

“—!”

It sounded like a dream offer.

Not only could I save Kuura, who was currently being held hostage, but I could also protect Ashuhara.

But… there was a problem.

“A-And what guarantee do I have you’ll keep your word?”

A deal’s supposed to be built on trust.

And right now? I had zero trust in the Kijin standing in front of me.

I mean, would you trust people who jumped you in the middle of the night, nearly gouged your eyes out, and are still holding your guard’s life in their hands?

Yeah. Didn’t think so.

“Mmm, fair enough. Bro’s right—guess that doesn’t make much of a deal. In that case—”

“—!”

The Kijin girl grinned at me while I was still locked in the giant gal’s grip, completely immobile.

“Let me rephrase it: If you don’t do what we say, we’ll kill your guard lady. And we won’t stop attacking Ashuhara.”

“…That’s not a deal, that’s a threat.”

“Ehehe, sorry ‘bout that~. So don’t try resisting, okay? Otherwise, I might just get the urge to rip your arms and legs off~.”

…Terrifying.

And just like that—

I was hauled off to Onigashima.

―――――――――――――――――――――

[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “Oni… Kansai dialect… FG◯… ugh, my head!!”

R: “You’re not even trying to hide it.”

If you found yourself thinking: “Bigger girls are always better!” “Tall, gal-style oni girls are 100% my type!” or  “Shuten Dou—” …then make sure to leave a comment, bookmark, ★rating, or review!