Vol 1 Chapter 23 – Battle with the Assailants【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

“You fools, do you have any idea who stands before you? This is Her Highness Princess Debora, a royal with a claim to the throne! Make way!!”

Alfred-san barks, his voice sharp with anger.

Ordinarily, I’d simply stand quietly beside him and bow my head—there’d be no need for anything more.

Yet shutting off a royal’s path with several men shoulder-to-shoulder is blatant disrespect.

With a little bad luck, they’d land themselves in prison on charges of lèse-majesté.

Prince Orace wouldn’t, but King Rei absolutely would.

Now then, as for Princess Debora…

“Hanging? Beheading? …How about death by explosion?”

I see… Just what I’d expect from the princess I’ve pinned my hopes on.

If I blocked her way too, would I get to sample that whole execution course? Heh-heh-heh.

“…That’s odd. Normally, once they realize she’s royalty—especially the ‘Spoiled Princess’—they’d run for the hills.”

Miriam mutters beside me.

Indeed, she’s right.

Under King Rei’s near-terror reign, no one would dream of defying the royal family.

A powerful noble might be a different story, but the men blocking the road look every inch the bandit rabble.

Even outcasts like them should know better than to lay hands on a royal.

If we were traveling with jewels or any real wealth, I could see their angle, but we’ve got nothing of the sort.

From a bandit’s perspective, there isn’t a single good reason to attack us.

Targeting the notorious “Spoiled Princess” makes even less sense.

“Oh, so the lady really is Princess Debora? Saves me the trouble of asking.”

The tallest of the lot says this with a smug grin.

His broad, solid frame makes it clear he’s no lightweight.

Heh… I’d love for him to beat me to a pulp…

“What? You dare—?”

“Sorry, Your Highness, but you’re dying right here.”

At his words, the bandits raise their crude swords.

Oh? They really intend to bare their fangs at royalty.

That looks like suicide to me…

“Look at the numbers. If you don’t bother resisting, we’ll let anyone but the princess walk away.”

A quick headcount puts them at maybe twenty.

Excluding Princess Debora, our charge, and non-combatant Miriam, we’ve only got a handful.

Well, yes, the gap in manpower is obvious… but.

“Don’t underestimate us, you bandit scum. Knights of the Kingdom of Vilemse do not bow to the likes of you.”

Following Alfred-san’s lead, the knights draw their swords.

Their well-kept blades gleam dully.

True, they outnumber us, yet it’s hard to imagine us losing.

After all, they’re mere bandits—no formal training, nowhere near Alfred-san and the others in individual skill.

Numbers matter, sure, but they’re not everything…

“Heh-heh-heh, the knight sure talks big! That’s what I hate about your kind… Whatever. Oi, you lot! Kill ’em!!”

“Yeah!!”

At the big man’s shout, the bandits charge all at once.

Heh… Here they come!

◆

“Miriam, stay by Princess Debora’s side. I’ll fight too.”

“N-no… Erik, your body’s a wreck!”

Watching Erik stride toward the battlefield with a smile squeezes Miriam’s heart.

Healing his wounds with her recovery magic hadn’t restored his lost stamina.

Yet hardship keeps coming, one after another—enough to make her curse even the gods.

“You’ve got guts to cross me! I’ll slaughter you!!”

“No, Princess Debora, please stay back unless things get truly dire.”

Erik holds back the raring-to-go Debora.

Partly because he can’t let her risk close-quarters combat, but mainly because Debora’s fighting style relies on her flashy “Explosion” skill.

Erik can handle getting caught in it, but Alfred and the knights locked in melee with the bandits certainly can’t.

Then again, letting the princess fight at close range without her Explosions is the last thing any guardian wants.

“Aww…”

Erik can only give a wry smile at Princess Debora puffing out her cheeks in protest.

He understands her desire to dive into trouble.

Not that Debora sees it that way.

“Fine, I guess. …Since you’re my knight, losing is out of the question.”

“Of course.”

Spurred on by Debora’s version of encouragement, Erik surveys the fierce clash between knights and bandits.

As he expected, Alfred and the knights are highly trained.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, they’re not being pushed back—they’re pushing forward.

Still, surrounded and out-swung, they can’t quite break through.

“Tch! Tougher than I thought. Looks like this job’s a bit much for the boys.”

The burly man watching from the rear says this and draws his sword.

The bandit chief is finally joining the fray.

“Oraaa!!”

And of course, he goes straight for a sneak attack on a knight’s back.

The man never intended to fight fair.

“Guh!?”

But the knight, chosen to guard royalty, reacts in a split second.

He catches the strike and tries to knock it aside, but…

“H-he’s overpowering—!!”

“Hah-haaa!!”

Bit by bit, the bandit’s blade grinds closer.

He’d swatted away every bandit before, but not this one.

Just as Erik had guessed, the man is the most skilled fighter among the bandits.

“Now, boys! Finish him!!”

“You got it!!”

The chief never planned on killing the knight alone.

He means to have his men take out the immobilized knight.

One of those surrounding answers the call and raises his sword.

“Gwaaah!!”

The knight is slashed across the back and crashes to the ground.

Grinning wickedly, the chief drives a vicious kick into the fallen knight’s head.

The knight loses consciousness in an instant.

“Y-you coward…!!”

“Huh? There ain’t no ‘cowardly’ in kill-or-be-killed! Couldn’t stand all that chivalry crap—had to bail!”

Still grinning, the chief orders his men to strike at the other knights.

Alfred, raging, had been mowing bandits down, but the fresh wave pins him in place.

In the end, the chief carves a clear path to Debora, free of knightly interference.

“With the pesky knights out of the way, the job gets easy. A royal—one nicknamed the ‘Spoiled Princess’—would be a cinch to kill if she couldn’t ‘explode’ things… but—”

He strolls forward with an easy smile.

Then he spots a lone man blocking the supposedly clear path and grins.

“So you’re the hero standing in my way, eh?”

“Indeed. I am Princess Debora’s knight.”

Drawing his sword, Erik answers with a gentle smile.

Thus begins the duel between the bandit chief and Erik.

(Heh-heh-heh… Looks like I’ll get roughed up nicely…)