The Invincible Aloof Yandere Princess Falls in Love with Her Younger Court Mage's Fatherly Warmth! ~She Clung to Him So Much That the King Fired Him. When He Made Marriage His Official Reason for Resigning Under Royal Order, the Light Vanished from the Princess's Eyes~ - Volume 2 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Power of Gold

My entire field of vision… was crushed by dazzling light.

Holding Suu-san tightly in my arms—she didn’t even twitch—I felt a strange floating sensation and recalled what had just happened.

――That person definitely said the word 【Transfer】, right?

So this means we’re in the middle of being sent somewhere else? Wait, this is actually my first time seeing transfer magic… it’s pretty rare…

While I was thinking such things, the odd acceleration pressing on my body gradually lessened. The overwhelming light that filled my vision also began to waver little by little――.

“Suu-san, it looks like we’re about to arrive. We don’t know what’s waiting for us, so please stay on guard.”

“Ah… fufu…”

Fufu? What’s with… ah, oh… ――

The change in scenery came abruptly.

Before I realized it, the blinding light had completely disappeared. Instead, I found myself inside a dimly lit room.

What entered my eyes were cold steel-colored walls, floor, and ceiling. There was also a narrow slit in the door that probably led outside the small room, letting in a thin ray of light from beyond it.

…………This is… a prison cell, isn’t it.

I had considered the possibility that enemies might be waiting at the transfer destination.

“Compared to all the possible patterns, this one is actually on the kinder side…”

They could have sent us to a high altitude, inside a volcano crater, or into the deep sea—places where the environment itself would be lethal. Compared to those options, the fact that there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger to our lives right now actually counted as good luck.

Still… as the princess’s subordinate, the very fact that I let something like this happen was extremely bad. Maybe I really had let my guard down too much.

…Haa. I need to properly remind myself once again—failing a mission shakes the princess’s position, which ultimately puts the princess herself in danger.

After firmly admonishing myself, I gently released the arms I had wrapped around Suu-san, then stomped my feet a few times on the hard metal floor to correct the lingering floaty feeling. While doing so, I spoke to her.

“Are you okay, Suu-san? You’re not hurt or feeling unwell from the battle earlier or the transfer, right?”

……

She was staring at me blankly with a dazed expression. It didn’t look like she was injured, but… are you even hearing me, Suu-san?

“Um, are you alright? If something hurts, please tell me. I’ve recently learned some simple healing magic that can be cast on other people.”

Not the full-recovery kind, but the easy-to-use one. So I meant that she could leave any minor injuries or discomfort to me.

“――…! N-no, I-I’m fine! Look, see? There’s not a single scratch on me! It’s because Al-kun… you protected me with your own body…!”

“Wah. Really? ――Then I’m glad.”

When I smiled at her from the bottom of my heart, Suu-san’s eyes widened in surprise.

But wow, she startled me. She suddenly spoke so loudly.

“Haa… haa… …Ugh. ――…H-how can you be so kind? Even though I said such awful things to you yesterday… Normally anyone would end up hating me after that…”

“Huh?”

“Al-kun is younger than me, and such a small boy… Ahh, I already――I want to entrust everything to you… I want to become your personal servant, Al-kun…!”

She was saying something I didn’t quite understand. Maybe all the bad things piling up were confusing her…

…Well, anyway, for now. We had to break out of this current situation—being locked inside some unknown room.

But actually, I had already noticed something. The dull-colored metal that made up every surface of this room was quite a rare material.

Yes, this is…

“――Anti-magic steel, right?”

A special metal with magical properties—anti-magic steel. Its characteristic was extremely high resistance to magic. Incidentally, it was also highly resistant to ki.

Moreover, judging from the thickness of the wall visible through the door’s slit, it was easily as thick as a human body.

“Even with my magic, or even if Suu-san used a ki-based attack, anything half-hearted wouldn’t be able to break through. If we went all out, I think we could smash it, but…”

From the quick glance I took through the slit, there was only a sterile white corridor stretching outside. Still, if there were other people nearby, making a huge noise and drawing attention would be bad.

…In that case. There was only one option left for me.

“Okay. ――Suu-san… could you move back just a little?”

“Fuuu… ……Eh, ah, me…? …D-did you just say move back…? So after all… you’re angry at me because this happened because of me, aren’t you, Al-kun…?”

“Fufu, no, that’s not it. It wasn’t on purpose, so there’s no way I’d get angry or start hating you. Especially not toward you, Suu-san.”

After all, you’re one of the only two friends I have.

“S-so… it’s almost like you’re saying I’m special… …Th-then why… why tell me to move back?”

“We have to escape from enemy territory quickly, don’t we? If you’re too close, it might be dangerous.”

“What are you… going to do…?”

“Fufu. If no enemies come, staying here chatting with Suu-san forever actually sounds really appealing, you know? ――But right now, look.”

I placed my index finger in front of my lips.

“Shh…”

“!”

Good. While we kept talking like this, I continued my preparations…

After confirming that Suu-san had silently stepped back with her head lowered,

I drew out my magic power—the mana of the four great elements—as a catalyst.

“…!? W-what is this…? Al-kun…!”

Suu-san lifted her face and looked at me with a shocked expression.

And then, I chanted.

“By the four great elements of 【Fire】【Water】【Wind】【Earth】, I summon a power that does not belong to this world. Pseudo-【Stellar Heaven】…――Adamantine Reinforcement.”

Immediately after,

A golden light filled the prison cell. A radiance clearly different from normal magic power.

Imitating the princess’s unique magic, I summoned that mysterious power and strengthened my own body.

――And tore apart the steel cage that imprisoned us with ease.

―――

Suu-san has also grown quite distorted in her own way, hasn’t she…

By the way, sorry everyone. The end of the year is pretty packed with plans, so the update frequency will probably drop for a while…