Chapter 13: Princess (?)

First thing I saw when I softly opened my eyes was Elisha, holding me, with tears welling up in her eyes.

Unable to face her as she sobbed, overcome by sadness, I…

Simply closed my eyes again, pretending to still be unconscious.

Although I unintentionally made Elisha cry, it seems I succeeded in instilling some caution in her. However, honestly, I’m not sure how long this will last.

I’d tried similar things multiple times in past regressions, but it seems one’s nature never truly changes, as I inevitably let my guard down like today.

Still, seeing her shed tears and seemingly reflect (?), perhaps it wasn’t a wasted effort.

A little more time passed.

Elisha’s soft sobs had long since quieted.

I wonder if she’s finally stopped crying now?

Given that I could still feel warmth on my body, it seemed she hadn’t let go of me yet.

But I couldn’t pretend to be unconscious forever, so I carefully opened my eyes.

“Heehee, you’re awake?”

This time, too, the first thing to greet me was Elisha’s face, her eyes slightly red.

‘Huh? But isn’t this a bit too close…?’

“Are you okay? How do you feel?”

“Um…”

“If you’re tired, you can rest more.”

“No, well…”

I turned my head to the side.

For some reason, my body and legs weren’t touching the ground; I was slightly suspended above it.

‘So…’

I was currently being held in Elisha’s arms.

And in what’s commonly known as a princess carry.

‘I, of all people, never thought I’d be carried like this by this woman…’

‘When did she even pick me up? I didn’t feel myself being lifted…’

Desperately ignoring the strange glances from the other two group members behind us, I spoke to Elisha.

“I appreciate the help, but you can put me down now.”

“Why?”

“My body is fine, so I’ll walk on my own two feet. Please put me down.”

“Hmm… No~!”

Elisha giggled playfully.

Naturally taking it as a joke, I chuckled lightly.

“Ahaha, Elisha is quite a funny person.”

“…”

“Ha… Haha…?”

“…”

“…You’re not joking, are you?”

“Hm? I wonder…”

Elisha looked at me with an expression as if I were utterly adorable.

A strange pressure forced me to keep my mouth shut.

Still in Elisha’s arms, I looked up at her.

Reflected in her blue eyes, I wore a bewildered expression.

Elisha, too, met my gaze directly, not averting her eyes.

A very brief silence passed…

As if feeling a little embarrassed, her face slightly flushed, she quickly turned her head away.

Then she grumbled.

“…Your eyes are pretty.”

“…? Thank you. Elisha, your’s too…”

“But, are they a bit cloudy? I can’t quite tell if you’re looking at me properly. …Huh? What did you just say?”

‘Well, of course.’

‘Although Elisha can see through me, she doesn’t perfectly nullify my power.’

‘So, there’s bound to be one or more ‘flaws’ in how I appear to her.’

‘My slightly cloudy-looking eyes seem to be one of them.’

‘However, even these ‘flaws’ change depending on the condition of my power, so even I, the person concerned, don’t know the exact details.’

‘Sometimes she’d say my hair looked a bit shinier than usual, and other times she’d say my lips looked a bit more moist than usual.’

‘Since Hestia, whom I meet every lunchtime, told me this directly, it’s fairly trustworthy.’

‘Well… I called them ‘flaws,’ but they don’t really change much or stand out, so I just don’t pay them any mind.’

‘Occasionally, people like Elisha, Hestia, or the Holy Maiden might notice them and find them odd, but that’s the extent of it.’

‘They didn’t seem to care much about my changes, and Elisha, who was currently staring at me with such intensity, also…’

“I asked what you just said.”

“…”

‘Seeing her talk nonsense, it seems she’s already forgotten about the part concerning my eyes.’

‘Should I be happy about this, or not?’

I subtly avoided Elisha’s persistent, intense gaze as she leaned in.

“Can you say what you just said one more time?”

“…? Thank you?”

“No, after that.”

“Elisha, your’s too…”

“And?”

“…are pretty.”

“…!, !!!”

As if my words had pleased her, Elisha wore a slightly excited expression.

Still in the ‘princess carry,’ I could see the corners of her mouth curve into an arc.

‘…I don’t know anymore.’

I closed my eyes, following Elisha’s words to rest for a bit.

‘Anyway, Elisha is carrying my body, so it should be fine to rest until we arrive.’

And so, amidst Elisha’s smile and goodwill, I briefly closed my eyes.

****

It wasn’t until we exited the northern forest that Elisha finally put me down.

“…Thank you.”

“Thank you too~!”

‘I don’t know what she’s thankful for… and I don’t really want to know.’

“I’ll be back in a bit, wait here.”

Elisha left, saying she would go report our achievements.

‘But am I your pet dog…? Am I supposed to wait just because you tell me to?’

‘Well, she is the team leader, so I’ll listen for now…’

“W-we’ll also just go somewhere for a moment…”

“Sorry!”

Lena and Tiara also left, saying they had something to talk about amongst themselves.

Having ended up alone, I sat by myself, feeling a bit lonely.

With Elisha no longer by my side, not a single person paid me any attention.

It was natural, of course, since my ability functioned normally when she wasn’t nearby.

‘Our practical evaluation score will probably be generous.’

‘What Elisha took with her was the head of a Dire Wolf.’

‘Given that it’s a fairly difficult monster for freshmen to handle, our group, having dealt with it, has a high chance of getting a good score.’

‘Actually, if it were the Barba we caught last, we might have gotten even more points…’

‘But Elisha had utterly obliterated its corpse, leaving nothing recognizable, making it awkward to bring back.’

‘Of course, we could just haphazardly bag it and take it, but it would be problematic if other students, unfamiliar with monster corpses, got nauseous, or if the professor’s evaluation of Elisha changed to ‘severe level of violence,’ so we had no choice.’

‘Anyone who saw the Barba so utterly destroyed would be horrified.’

‘Speaking of that woman.’

‘Her emotional swings seem to be getting worse and worse.’

‘Just in this practical, for example, she seemed happy at first, but her expression completely changed the moment I collapsed.’

‘After that, she got incredibly angry at the Barba, then seemed sad and cried for a moment, only to suddenly look happy again as if her mood had improved.’

‘Honestly, her anger at the Barba was understandable since a group member was hurt, but her emotions fluctuating so wildly in such a short time seems a bit problematic.’

‘As I said before, I do think it’s inevitable for one’s mind to be affected after regressing multiple times, but…’

“Heehee, I got the scores~! They say we’re still in first place!”

“…”

‘It seems some measures will be necessary.’

****

The practical evaluation concluded safely.

As it was the first practical, a few students sustained minor injuries, but not a single student was seriously hurt enough for their life to be in danger.

‘Right, accidents shouldn’t happen on the first day of practicals.’

‘It’s not good to instill trauma in freshmen so early.’

‘Because budding sprouts need a little breathing room.’

Reports from all other groups were finished, and the professor appropriately concluded the class.

Since tomorrow was a holiday, the professor also seemed eager to wrap things up quickly and rest.

With the group activities over, it was finally time to part ways with Elisha.

I lightly shook hands with her, who asked to remain close friends, and we parted ways.

“…You can let go of my hand now.”

“Go home safely.”

“Y-yes…”

Anyway, we parted.

Leading my tired body back to the dorm, despite having done seemingly little, I returned.

Today was the first time I had a formal conversation with Elisha.

Excluding the first day when she suddenly hugged me, we hadn’t even had a chance to talk to each other before that.

Because sometimes, even when we happened to run into each other, I pretended not to notice.

Putting aside matters concerning Elisha, whom I wouldn’t be meeting for a while, I needed to focus on the freshman duels that would commence right after the weekend.

The freshman duels, beginning right after the holiday, would take place over two days.

Freshmen would engage in light duels with assigned opponents, and all combat department students had to participate without exception.

I, who was taking the ‘Comprehensive Combat’ class, would naturally participate as well.

Students participating in the duels must fight at least once against an opponent assigned by the academy, and thereafter, they can choose their opponents.

Of course, the duel would only proceed if the challenged opponent also accepted.

The person I had to face was a guy named ‘Pascal Myers’.

To be frank, he wasn’t exceptionally strong, but as the heir of a rather reputable family, he had received formal training and inherited certain things from his family.

Pascal would cause some troublesome incidents later on…

That’s for later; right now, I need to focus on the duel.

More precisely, on ‘someone’ who would be observing it.

If I recalled the conversation I had with Hestia during lunchtime, I could probably guess.

The being who had stirred up the academy since morning.

‘The Great Pioneer’ Paeren.

Of all people, he would be observing my duel.

And Paeren’s movement meant that negotiations with the academy head were as good as concluded.

‘Now he’ll be searching for my traces with a burning gaze…’

‘I haven’t been caught yet, so I’m not particularly worried, but… the important thing is why he’s observing my duel.’

‘He certainly wouldn’t have come to see me, nor would he have come to see Pascal Myers, who I’m dueling.’

‘While the Myers might be a somewhat reputable family, whether they’re worth the attention of ‘The Great Pioneer’ is absolutely not the case.’

‘Absurdly enough, it’s just that my duel with Pascal was a mere ‘coincidence’.’

‘It’s a bit funny, but the duel slots immediately before and after mine are scheduled for significant figures.’

‘Right before me is Hestia, the Hero.’

‘Right after me is Arie, the Holy Maiden.’

‘…What an unfeeling sequence.’

‘Well, it’s a bit absurd to be treated as a ‘break duel’ sandwiched between the two, but what can I do?’

‘I can only blame my bad luck.’

Paeren would observe Hestia’s duel, then my duel with Pascal, and finally the Holy Maiden’s duel, before leaving the arena.

Although I don’t know the exact reason he observed, I’d guess he wanted to gauge the level of the Hero and the Holy Maiden.

Since he moved meticulously to capture only me, it seems he wanted to enlist the help of even those who weren’t yet proper transcendents.

Of course, I doubt the Hero, who only obeys the Empire’s commands, and the unpredictable Holy Maiden would truly cooperate, but…

That’s none of my business.

What’s important to me is simply finishing the duel safely, without drawing attention.

But this time…

I’m thinking of doing something a little interesting.