The Mob Noble Who Got Reincarnated in a World Where Men Are Naturally Protected—So I Trained Like Crazy to Protect Girls Instead, But Their Love Got Way Too Heavy - Chapter 43: [The END]

Chapter 43: The Princess Whose Curse Was Broken

As for cleaning up after everything—

The first thing we settled was an agreement between the four of us.

A lot had happened, but given the nature of it all, we decided it was best to keep it quiet and bury it in our own hearts. After all, the truth was inconvenient for everyone involved.

I was a low-ranking noble who had effectively put a royal in danger. Shia had carried out a reckless and dangerous ritual. And Wiz and Aegis were in awkward positions themselves. 

And then there was one more important issue.

“…It seems most of the phantom knights can no longer be summoned.”

When Shia rang the handbell, the only phantom knight that appeared was the commander—the one I had fought.

That was a pretty serious problem.

Shia was the foremost heir of the Phantom Queen bloodline, a princess with a very promising future. If it got out that the number of phantom knights she could summon had drastically decreased, it would turn into a major scandal.

On the bright side, there was good news too. The strength of the phantom knight commander she could summon had skyrocketed. Apparently, compared to his old, controlled state, his movements were now far sharper and more refined.

“He was already a powerful phantom knight to begin with, but at his current level, he could probably do the work of about half of the previous phantom knights on his own. If the other phantom knight issue is resolved, he may grow even stronger.”

“You really think it’s that simple?”

“Ufufu, you see right through things, Tect. In reality, if I force the other phantom knights to appear, they would likely turn their blades on me. Just like with the commander, I would need to earn their acknowledgment first.”

—And so, Shia stayed positive about it all.

That was just how she was.

Anyway, we were completely exhausted, so we decided to head back to our own dorms for the time being.

Now then—the next day.

“…”

In my room, I stared at the cursed blade and sank deep into thought.

It wasn’t very user-friendly, but even if the pile bunker ran out of magic stones, this cursed sword could still win a straight, no-nonsense fight in a pinch.

I glared at it.

And glared some more.

And glared even harder.

Then, finally, I spoke.

“Clear Mind, Still Water… that’s it! That’s gotta be it! Decided! Your name is Clear Mind, Still Water from now on! Decision made!”

The cursed blade—Clear Mind, Still Water.

Whoa—That sounded insanely cool. Way too perfect.

It even matched the blade’s nature perfectly.

So, feeling extremely satisfied after naming my sword, I headed off to school. Since I’d technically already been fired, I didn’t go to Shia’s dorm that morning. Instead, I restarted my paused morning training routine, but…

“Something’s missing…”

Turns out, not pampering Shia in the morning left me feeling weirdly empty.

Damn it, what’s wrong with my body…!?

“…The pay’s good too. Maybe I should come back for mornings.”

The only downside was not being able to hang out with everyone after school, so maybe just doing morning shifts would work.

While thinking that, I realized I’d already arrived at the academy.

“Tect!! Good morning!”

“Oh, Wiz. Morning.”

Just like always, I greeted Wiz as she ran up to me.

Behind her, Narcis was staring at me nervously, surrounded by a group of girls.

“Man, yesterday was rough! But I’m so glad you safely got away from that hateful princess!”

“Hateful princess?”

“Shorty and I were treating her like a Demon Lord, at least halfway.”

“She’s way too hated.”

Though… thinking about it, this world could also be seen as one invaded by a Demon Lord called the Wretched Witch, which was kind of terrifying.

Shia herself was a clingy, adorable girl—but if you barely interacted with her, your impression would probably be very different.

“Hehehe… now I get to monopolize Tect until noon… During the attendant job, she even called him out sometimes during lunch… This is my era now…!”

Wiz started saying some very suspicious things. I listened with a half-smile, planning to just let it slide.

That was when two figures appeared in the classroom.

“Huh? Aegis and Shia?”

“W-What!?”

Students from the upper noble class had arrived, and the classroom immediately began buzzing.

Ignoring the noise completely, Aegis approached first, with Shia following behind her.

“Heya, Tect. The princess said she wanted to talk, so I used that as an excuse to come see you.”

“That excuse completely turned into the real reason just now.”

The “came to see you” part had clearly become the main point.

“…What are you here for, little one. Princess. I’m not handing Tect over…”

Wiz stepped in front of the two of them and struck a threatening pose.

The stance looked exactly like a red panda standing on its hind legs with both paws raised.

Slipping past Wiz with ease, Shia spoke to me.

“Good morning, Tect. In the end, it seems I caused you quite a bit of trouble yesterday.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s fine. Helping each other out is just how things work, right?”

When I said it casually, Shia smiled.

“Ufufu. I thought you would say that, Tect.”

Still smiling, Shia looked at me quietly and spoke in a softer voice.

“You broke my curse. I realized I never properly thanked you for that, so I came today to do so.”

“Huh? No, wait. That curse was originally on me, wasn’t it? Isn’t it weird to say I broke your curse?”

“Ufufu, no, Tect. I am speaking of a different curse.”

A different curse? I tilted my head.

“When I was about to be killed… when you saved me… I was freed. From the curse of believing that no one would help me, and that I could trust no one.”

I had absolutely no memory of doing anything that dramatic, so I blinked a few times.

“…Well, that’s… good, I guess…?”

“Ufufu. I understand—it must sound strange when I say it so suddenly. That is why… this.”

Shia took my hand.

“A-Ah!”

“Huh?”

Wiz and Aegis both reacted instantly.

Shia pressed a small box into my palm.

“Please, open it.”

Feeling suspicious, I flipped it open.

Inside was a crown.

“Huh?”

I lifted my face and looked at Shia.

Her cheeks were bright red as she spoke shyly.

“The attendant contract has ended. However, there was never a rule saying we could not form a new contract. Therefore—this time, I would like you to become my papa, Tect.”

“…Hah?”

I blinked again and again.

Gently, as if explaining something precious, Shia continued.

“The time I spent closely with you was truly precious to me. I realized that this morning—when Hedda woke me up rather roughly.”

“Y-Yeah…?”

“And then I thought about it. Your gentle way of waking me. The care you gave me afterward… Tect, you are truly someone worthy of being my papa!”

“…Huhhh?”

Shia was definitely saying something, but my brain flat-out refused to process it.

What?

Why a crown?

What do you mean papa?

Wait—Shia’s a princess, so papa equals king, and king equals crown…?

What?

“HAAAAAAH!? What the hell are you saying to my Tect!?”

The one who snapped was Aegis.

Relief washed over me—backup!—and I looked at her with hopeful eyes.

…Wait.

My Tect?

“Tect was already proposed to by me, you know!? He’s my future husband, you know!?”

“Aegis?”

This was bad. Aegis wasn’t backup—she’d entered as a third faction.

As Aegis and Shia glared daggers at each other, I stood there completely lost.

Hey. What am I supposed to do here?

And right then—

An arm suddenly reached out from behind me.

“Huh?”

Before I realized it, I was being princess-carried in someone’s slender arms.

The one holding me was Wiz.

When I stared at her in pure confusion, Wiz gave me a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry, Tect. —I won’t hand you over to people like them.”

“Wha—”

The next instant, Wiz took off at full speed.

“WHOOOOOOAAAAAA!?”

“Ah! Tect got kidnapped by the gloomy girl!”

“W-What did you say!?”

The two of them panicked and chased after us.

I had absolutely no idea what was happening and yelled,

“W-Wait wait wait!? What’s going on!?”

Then Wiz answered.

“Tect! You’re my angel, right!? Not theirs, right!?”

“Wiz, don’t lose your mind toooooo!?”

What!? What is happening!? Why is everyone going insane one after another!?

Did someone spike the water with a love potion!?

“Huff… huff… I won’t… let anyone… take Tect…!”

Already out of breath, Wiz ran wildly.

She dashed out of the school building and sprinted along the path beside the courtyard.

That was when I said,

“Oh.”

“This is bad. This is really bad, Wiz.”

“It’s fine! I’ll take care of everything, Tect!”

“No, that’s not it. She saw us. My sister saw us.”

“Huh? What do you—”

“GOT YOUUUU!”

“You’re not getting away!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Aegis and Shia caught up, Wiz got grabbed, and I was finally released. I took a proper fall, rolled, and got back on my feet.

Immediately after, Wiz, Aegis, and Shia dove straight into a full-on wrestling brawl. But honestly, that was the least of my problems. I quickly looked toward where my sister had been.

She was gone.

Which meant… yeah.

The event where my terrifyingly hardcore bro-con sister—The one who grew up with me, survived the same training, and shared the same hell—Came after me? I’d already missed the chance to avoid it.

“…”

Behind me, my precious friends were yelling and fighting noisily, while I imagined the disaster that was absolutely about to happen next, and grabbed my head.

Then I muttered,

“How did it come to this…?”

I had planned to get strong, protect girls, and somehow survive in this world.

But things were drifting into a direction that felt… just slightly off from what I’d imagined.

Every girl I got close to had ridiculously strong possessiveness.

On top of that, all the girls I was close to were way out of my social class, so marriage was basically impossible from the start.

No—I wasn’t saying I was dissatisfied.

They were all cute.

They were all kind.

There was no way I could complain.

…But they were too much for me.

Too good.

Too precious.

I couldn’t see myself being able to properly respond to those feelings.

“Why did things end up like this…!”

Behind me, the intense catfight raged on.

And as it did, my confusion was completely swallowed up—

Fading away without a trace.

[☆★☆★ To Everyone Who Read Until the End ☆★☆★]

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