Vol 1 Chapter 5 – The King’s Scheme【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

“Gulp”

I felt Miriam swallow hard beside me.

Yes, I understand completely.

The girl in front of me, peering up with curious eyes, was undeniably adorable.

Yet her true identity was the infamous “Spoiled Princess.”

For Miriam—who has no special skills like mine—it was perfectly natural to be terrified of her.

“My precious darling daughter wouldn’t stop pestering me to meet you… Honestly, Hero, I’m itching to execute you.”

His Majesty King Rei looked at me with open disgust.

Summoning me from a distant place just to indulge his daughter is wildly unreasonable—yet I must thank him.

Those last words from the King were absurd, yet my heart pounded with anticipation.

Execution… in other words, death!

For an M like me, it’s the ultimate torment you can experience only once in a lifetime…!

But then again, I do have that skill…

In any case, all living things eventually die, and I will too someday.

“Gulp…”

I’m looking forward to that moment…

“Hey! You’re the Hero, right?”

“Yes. If I may be so bold.”

While I was gleefully pondering death, the girl spoke up.

Although clearly younger, I kept using polite speech.

It’s a habit—I speak that way to everyone—but even without it, I would have remained polite.

After all, she is Her Highness, Princess of the Kingdom of Vilemse.

“Huh… You don’t look very tough. Actually, you seem weak… Oh well.”

……

After staring at me for a moment, she turned away and said that.

Heh, I’m getting excited.

Yet the cold glare wasn’t aimed at me—it was Miriam beside me, shooting Princess Debora an icy look. There, there. Calm down.

“Oh?”

While calming Miriam, Princess Debora suddenly took my hand.

Execution?

“Papa, I’m borrowing Hero-kun.”

Princess Debora flashed a bright smile and spoke words I never expected.

…Uh… what is happening here?

If you intend to put me to work, I’d be delighted… but how exactly?

Meat shield? Arrow sponge? Both sound absolutely splendid…

“Are you really sure about this? You’re so adorable the Hero might be swayed and attack you. Perhaps you should bring along some elite knights.”

King Rei displayed a fluster I’d never seen before.

Ah, so this is what doting fathers are like.

I understand why Princess Debora is delightful, but there’s no way I’d attack her.

Frankly, enduring Miriam’s agony-inducing healing magic for no reason is much more satisfying.

Then again, being unfaithful to Princess Debora right in front of elite guards and getting executed afterward does sound tempting…

“It’s fine, Papa. He doesn’t look like he has the guts for that. Besides—”

Oh—quite an insult, considering we’ve barely met. Thank you.

“Twitch-twitch”

Miriam’s nonstop twitching is adorable.

“Gah!?”

“Erik…?!”

Princess Debora, after a brief pause, rammed her fist into my stomach.

W-why… such a reward…?

“I’m strong!”

Princess Debora flashed a broad, tomboyish grin.

I see—she wanted to show off her strength.

So she punched my defenseless abdomen.

Such marvelous unfairness—thank you kindly.

And just as she claimed, her punch packed quite a punch.

Heh… I look forward to our continued… delightful interactions.

…Ah, Miriam. You really don’t need to keep rubbing my stomach.

“T-that I know… but still…”

King Rei kept shooting me glances.

He doesn’t trust me at all. Heh-heh-heh.

“It’s fine, I said! Now come on, Hero!!”

“Oops.”

Apparently tired of arguing, Princess Debora seized my hand and pulled me out of the Throne Room.

“Bang!”

Miriam, jolted by my sudden abduction, hurried after us.

Is she taking me to the dungeon, perhaps?

“Herooo! If you lay a hand on Debora, I won’t forgive you!!”

King Rei’s shout hit me from behind.

I’m not going to lay a hand on her!

Of course, if Princess Debora wants to lay hands on me, I’d welcome it.

Physically, that is.

Princess Debora laughed to herself as she tugged me along.

◆

After Erik and Miriam were led away by Princess Debora, a noble confidant approached King Rei.

“Your Majesty, about that Hero…”

“What is it?”

King Rei’s brow twitched as he looked at the noble. The face he wore now was not a doting father’s but that of an absolute monarch.

Despite his low popularity, no rebellion had ever flared—solely because of King Rei’s power.

“Is it wise to let him roam free? His popularity with the people has been soaring. If this continues, Your Majesty’s own standing will suffer by comparison—”

“Yes, that’s true.”

The confidant feared Erik’s growing influence. Once a powerless pawn, he was now adored as the Altruistic Charity Hero.

So far, he’d shown loyalty to the throne, yet the court hardly treated him well. The confidant dreaded the day Erik might lead the people against them.

King Rei understood perfectly that this was no laughing matter. After a pause, he spoke.

“…Let him live for now. His power is useful. Killing him now would be wasteful.”

“…Understood.”

Erik is a pawn of remarkable ability. Though once unable to best an ordinary knight, thanks to his special skill he is now formidable, if not the strongest.

His obedient attitude also rates highly. No matter how unreasonable the task, he has never refused.

…Or perhaps he simply couldn’t refuse.

“And he can’t defy me. He has a hometown to protect. Really… they say having something to defend makes a person strong, but for him it’s the opposite. Pitiful, isn’t it?”

“Heh-heh-heh, indeed.”

At King Rei’s pitying words, the confidant’s lips curled into a dark smile. They held Erik’s weakness.

His homeland, a frigid village, cannot survive winter without royal aid. Worse, bandits sometimes plague the area.

In exchange for rescuing that village, Erik must stay utterly loyal—or so they believe.

“His skill is undeniably handy… but if we keep using it, his mind will break. Once he’s a husk, we can dispose of him.”

“Understood.”

Use him while he’s useful, discard him when he’s not—like a rag.

The confidant swallowed hard yet nodded at the cold decree. To ease the chill in the room, another courtier tried a safer topic.

Since the wrong subject might earn execution, he raised Princess Debora, sure King Rei would bite.

“…By the way, Princess Debora seems rather attached to the Hero—”

“Say another word and I’ll have you executed.”

“S-sorry!”

A landmine. Under King Rei’s stony stare, the courtier scrambled to change the subject. Close call.

King Rei threw off his icy demeanor and pounded the throne in frustration.

“Curse it! Why did Debora insist on summoning that blood-soaked Hero? I only gave in so she wouldn’t hate me!”

He’d never wanted that gore-spattered Erik near his beloved daughter. Yet when she begged… he couldn’t refuse. He couldn’t stand her hating him.

That was the trivial, personal reason Erik had been hauled in from the frontier.

“And now she’s letting the Hero into her private chambers?! They won’t even let me in anymore! What is going on!”

“Whine-whine” King Rei howled and fussed—poor old man. The guilty courtier tried frantic eye contact, but King Rei, deep in doting-dad mode, heard nothing.

“She hasn’t bathed with me in ages, either… Oh, Debora. Why…”

Of course, no one dared point out that it was only natural for a girl her age.