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~

Chapter 13: The Star Maiden’s Love Call

“――Who are you…!”

A sharp challenge flew from Suu-san.

“K-Knight lady, you don’t have to speak so harshly… She’s still just a child, even if she’s in a place like this, right?”

“Could amateurs please stay quiet…! Both Al-kun and I completely failed to notice her. Just an ordinary child? Where in this world would you ever find one like that…!”

――I completely agreed. Even though the effect was weak, I had been using detection magic. There was no way I should have missed someone at such close range.

The fact that I didn’t notice her meant this girl was definitely not just an ordinary child as she appeared.

I stared closely at the girl’s figure.

She wore some strange clothes. It felt kind of like a church sister’s outfit, but made much more luxurious…

The main color was white with deep navy accents, and gorgeous gold thread was used everywhere. The collar, cuffs, and hem were all edged in gold, and on her head sat a mysterious tall, vertical hat.

From beneath it flowed pure white hair tied softly on both sides of her head. She had slightly upturned eyes that looked a little cheeky, and she was gazing at us—no, maybe just at me?

Her age was probably about the same as Karen’s, or maybe a little younger. With such elaborate clothing and perfectly groomed, refined looks, she didn’t seem like an ordinary child at all.

I wondered how I should ask… This was right in the heart of enemy territory, so maybe I should just be direct and quick?

I glanced at Suu-san. She had tensed her body, but it seemed she was waiting for me to make the first move.

In that case. I let the golden light I had summoned earlier hover gently around my hand and slowly opened my mouth.

“Who exactly are you? We were forcibly brought here by someone. Does that have anything to do with you? ――Are you our enemy?”

The moment I spoke, sharp tension crackled through the air.

I didn’t expect an honest answer, but we couldn’t start without saying something. With all the villagers here, we couldn’t just try to escape while this unknown girl remained such a wild card.

…So, what would her response be?

“――Um, excuse me. I asked a question earlier too, you know. You should answer first, Onii-san.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

The girl—Mel-chan, as she called herself—puffed out her cheeks in mild dissatisfaction, though not quite angry.

What she said made perfect sense under normal circumstances. Since Suu-san was making a scary face and reaching for her sword, I held her back.

Okay. It looked like we could actually have a conversation, so I decided to keep going.

“Sorry, Mel-chan… Is it okay if I call you that? We were suddenly brought here, so we’re just a little on guard.”

“Wow. Calling Mel by such a cute name—Onii-san, you sure are fearless. If the knights were here, they’d beat you to a pulp… Oh wait, they can’t. Onii-san can use star power, after all.”

“…That’s what you asked about earlier. Um… by ‘star power’ you mean this?”

I made the golden light sway gently back and forth.

The reaction was immediate.

“Ehh, amazing! Yes yes, that’s it! It’s different from Mel’s color, and Mel can’t move it so easily either! Wait, does that mean Onii-san is actually someone super important at our place?”

“At your… place? You can use this star power too?”

“Yup, sure can. Look!”

She really could…

When Mel-chan turned her palm upward, a silver light appeared out of nowhere.

It wasn’t magic power or ki, but it was definitely the same power the princess used—the one Mel-chan called star power.

“See? Mel and Onii-san are the same! Onii-san is super cool, and having a matching one makes Mel so happy~”

Mel-chan gave a playful little grin.

She was a strange girl. Her speech was a bit more childish than her appearance suggested, and the fact that she could use this unknown power too.

Also. She had just said something very interesting. “Someone important at our place”—

“Mel-chan, what did you mean by ‘our place’ just now? I’m probably not part of whatever organization you belong to, but can I ask anyway?”

“Ehh? Asking that means Onii-san definitely isn’t one of us~ But okay, sure. I’ll tell you.”

Beside me, Suu-san—who had been baring her teeth the whole time—made an audible gulp. And then—

“Mel is… the star maiden of the Only True Faith that spreads the one correct teaching in this world—the Church of the Supreme Star.”

“! Church of the Supreme Star… and a saintess?”

“It’s star maiden because it’s the woman of the star, okay? Don’t get it wrong~”

I had heard of the name before.

The Church of the Supreme Star was exactly what it sounded like—a religion. I was pretty sure there were churches of it even in the Atlas Kingdom. In some countries—especially the Jikir Republic—wasn’t it actually the state religion?

I didn’t know exactly what “star maiden” meant in that religion, though.

“So Mel-chan must be in a very special position, right?”

“Pretty much! Even if she looks like this, Mel is an important person who teaches the faith to a million believers. So? Shouldn’t you be bowing down already?”

She giggled mischievously, but… I couldn’t quite dismiss it as a joke.

Her clothes and the way she carried herself clearly showed she was used to standing above others.

And this star power—the mysterious force she and the princess and I could use—was something I had never seen anyone else wield.

Church of the Supreme Star, star power, star maiden, and the princess’s 【Stellar Heaven】. The similar names couldn’t just be coincidence, could they?

…Yeah. I had managed to get quite a bit of information out of Mel-chan.

Now then, the most important part.

“So… can I ask one more thing?”

“Sure, go ahead. What is it?”

To her innocent question, I answered.

“――Where exactly is this place? We want to go back to where we were before. Could you tell us how to get outside?”

“…Hmm…”

Mel-chan pressed her index finger to her cheek and thought hard.