What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally?

“Is Yuu-san safe, I wonder…”

Some time had passed since Yuguram left the village.

With Yuguram still not having returned, Iris felt her chest tighten with worry.

“Yuu-san, you say… that would be the masked gentleman from earlier.”

The village chief nearby responded to Iris’s words. She nodded with a small nod.

“Yes. That person is very strong, but this time we don’t know what might happen. I’m just a little worried…”

“To be worried about by Princess Iris… you must have quite strong feelings for that person.”

“Huh…!?”

Having her feelings hit right on target by the village chief, Iris’s face turned bright red. She hurriedly tried to deny it, but it was already too late.

“N-no! That’s not it at all…!”

“What’s wrong with that? Who you fall in love with is Princess Iris’s freedom. Even if you are royalty.”

“But… I’m the Second Princess. I have to marry for the sake of the country… hm?”

Having said that much, she suddenly realized something.

“(Yuu-san… Yuguram-sama is the Empire’s Third Prince, right? He has succession rights, possesses an excellent ability like a magic core, and has talent… wait, what?)”

Could it be that there was no better catch than Yuguram? She realized this now.

“(He is a prince of an enemy nation, but excellent bloodline is an important element for passing on to the next generation… in that regard, Yuguram-sama is perfect…)”

No matter where she looked, she couldn’t find any flaws in Yuguram. Well, he had plenty of personal flaws.

He was perverted. Stupid. Couldn’t read the atmosphere. Always trying to slack off.

But at the same time… he had many good points too.

“(He’s somehow kind, and he helped me… he protected me… he’s strong and reliable…)”

What came to mind were the times she’d spent with Yuguram up to now.

Just remembering made her chest feel fluffy and strange.

“Princess Iris? What’s wrong?”

“—Hah!? …Oh. S-sorry! I was spacing out…”

Only when the village chief called out to her did she realize she’d been lost in fantasy.

She could never say that she’d been thinking only about Yuguram. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment.

“(Oh my, what’s gotten into me… I let the village chief’s words get to me…~~~~!)”

But the fact that she didn’t find it unpleasant—was that because her feelings were genuine?

Being completely at the mercy of emotions she was experiencing for the first time, Iris was in chaos.

“Hohoho. From that reaction, Princess Iris seems fine.”

“S-so I keep telling you! I’m not—”

“—Mo-monsters! Monsters have appeared!”

“?!”

In the middle of Iris’s words, a loud male voice echoed throughout the village. Hearing the content, both Iris and the village chief turned pale.

“You… that announcement just now…”

“Ah… it seems monsters have appeared again.”

“I’ll handle it! Village chief, please instruct the villagers to absolutely not go outside!”

“U-understood! Please take care of yourself…!”

“I’ll be fine. There’s only one person in this world who can defeat me.”

Saying only that with a smile, Iris headed toward where the voice had come from.

▼△▼

“I’ve come to help! Where are the monsters!?”

“P-Princess Iris!? Princess Iris came to help us?”

“Yes. I’m the only one here right now… More importantly, where are the monsters?”

“Over there. This time it’s not just one, but multiple…”

The man on watch pointed. When she looked in that direction, she could indeed see multiple monsters peeking through gaps in the trees.

They appeared to be small monsters, but…

“What… are those?”

Iris had no memory of those monsters.

No.

She had seen them before. But they were subtly different from what she remembered. As if multiple monsters had been stitched together…

“P-Princess Iris? Do you think you can win…?”

The man standing next to her became anxious seeing Iris’s reaction.

Thinking Oh no, Iris hurriedly smiled and answered.

“I’ll be fine. Their appearance is somewhat unusual, but ability-wise they shouldn’t be that strong. Please gather people who can fight. In the meantime… I’ll go out.”

Iris leaped.

Landing on the other side of the fence, she pointed her sword at the multiple monsters watching her.

“I absolutely will not let you pass this point. If you want to get through… know that your lives are forfeit!”

She pulled in the magical power around her. Refining it within her body, she instantly increased her physical abilities.

She kicked off the ground and approached the growling monsters.

The wolf monster that reacted first ran toward her, swaying the eerie arms growing from its back.

They collided head-on—and Iris’s sword severed the monster’s head.

“That’s one. Now… come at me one after another!”

Without even glancing at the monster that had fallen in a spray of blood, Iris turned her gaze back to the remaining monsters.

Her battle began.