Ch.4545. A Woman’s Scent

I kept my head down and waited quietly.

All I could see was the blanket spread on the floor.

-Rustle.

Not long after, I heard what sounded like someone putting on armor in front of me.

Was she trying to cover herself again?

I somehow managed to control my nervous feelings.

‘I should have left as soon as I saw her.’

It was too late for regrets now.

Besides, it wasn’t just some squad leader’s impressive pectorals—it was national authority level… no, actual national authority itself with their top off, so my reaction was understandable.

“…Raise your head.”

After spending some terrifying moments, the princess who had approached me finally spoke.

“How could I dare look upon Your Highness’s noble face! Moreover, I have just committed a mortal sin, so please punish me severely right away!”

“Lower your voice…! Do you want others to hear…!”

The princess urgently spoke while forcibly pulling me to my feet.

She was wearing full plate armor.

“…I apologize.”

Not having the courage to face her, I kept my head bowed low.

Of course, I couldn’t even see the shape of her face because of her helmet, but the very act of meeting her gaze was frightening.

And for good reason—I had seen the princess’s body!

Coincidentally, I hadn’t seen the important parts since they were covered by her arms, but just seeing the princess’s body was enough to be a serious crime.

“…First, there is something you must promise me.”

I was momentarily flustered by her words, but quickly regained my composure.

From the princess’s voice, she seemed merely surprised rather than angry.

Still, I kept my head down just to be safe.

“I will keep it even at the cost of my life.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

She grabbed my chin with her hand and lifted my face to meet hers.

We were so close, and perhaps because I was conscious of the face I had just seen, I could faintly make out her red eyes.

“Tell no one of my identity. Besides the squad leader and the operation commander, no one knows who I am. You understand why, don’t you?”

I don’t.

“Of course. I’m known for keeping my mouth shut.”

“…I hope so.”

Well, I wasn’t completely clueless—I had a general idea.

‘Does the operation need the power of the imperial family?’

To suppress the contamination of Demonic Blood, sacred power was needed, so the bloodline of the imperial family, who received the goddess’s blessing directly, would be most effective for this operation.

Of course, under normal circumstances, a member of the imperial family wouldn’t risk coming here.

Hiding her identity would make it somewhat better.

“…Huff.”

The princess exhaled briefly and sat down on the blanket.

“Sit down as well. Our conversation isn’t over yet.”

“…Understood.”

Shit. She’s telling me to sit on the floor.

Though I wanted to leave quickly, I had no choice but to follow her words.

“So, how did you get in here?”

“…I thought this was the tent I was assigned to share with the squad leader. The explorers from the neighboring squad told me so.”

I felt wronged.

I didn’t see the squad leader around, so I assumed she was in the tent and came here, only to find the princess.

How could I have known she would be undressing inside?

This is all the fault of those neighboring squad members.

“I am truly sorry.”

But there was only one attitude I could take.

If I wanted to live, I just needed to keep my head down.

“No, that’s not what I’m asking.”

Unexpected words came from the princess’s mouth.

“How did you open the tent flap and enter?”

“…”

It just opened—what am I supposed to explain?

Is she surprised that a barbarian used his hands to enter a tent?

Unable to respond to this peculiar form of racial discrimination, I remained silent, and she continued.

“…Since you don’t seem to understand, let me explain. How did you break through the barrier made of sacred power?”

“Your Highness. I truly apologize, but I didn’t know there was a barrier.”

“…?”

She looked at me as if I was talking nonsense.

“Can you not feel that energy at the tent entrance? Though it’s weak, normally one wouldn’t be able to open it.”

“I don’t feel anything.”

I lifted the tent flap again and put it back.

“…How fascinating.”

The confusion and bewilderment in the princess’s eyes changed to curiosity.

I felt like a monkey in a zoo.

“Then let me try a stronger barrier.”

As the princess extended her hand toward the entrance, yellow energy began to appear.

“Can you try opening it?”

When I tried to touch the tent flap as I had before, some unknown energy prevented me from even grabbing it.

Even if I twisted my hand to try to grasp it, the tent wouldn’t budge.

“It won’t open.”

“…What about now?”

This time, the yellow energy dispersed and returned to its original state.

I lightly lifted the tent flap and looked at the princess.

“Did you feel no resistance just now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

By this point, I was starting to feel something strange too.

She wouldn’t be making me do this without reason—there must be something there.

‘A barrier?’

…Could it be?

“It seems you completely ignore weak barriers.”

The princess looked at me with interest.

“Fascinating. Do you have some ability to resist sacred power?”

I was extremely surprised too.

Judging from the princess’s reaction and the circumstances, she wasn’t trying to deceive me. She had really put up a barrier, and I had somehow entered.

As a member of the imperial bloodline who received the goddess’s blessing directly, her ability to handle sacred power would be exceptional.

If someone had completely ignored that barrier and entered without her noticing anything, it was natural for her to be surprised.

“…Though this may not be a satisfactory answer for Your Highness, I don’t know much about this either.”

But I really don’t know.

Why did it work?

“Have you never experienced anything like this before?”

“No, I haven’t.”

The princess seemed to accept my answer.

After all, encounters with sacred power were rare except for healing.

“Then have you ever ignored healing magic?”

As if she had completely forgotten that I had seen her body, the princess continued questioning me.

I suppose it was understandable since I hadn’t broken the barrier but completely ignored it.

“Not that I recall.”

“Would you mind if we experiment now? I can perform simple healing magic.”

“I would be honored.”

I made a wound on my forearm, and the princess used healing magic.

But.

“…It’s not healing.”

The healing didn’t work.

I poured a low-grade potion on it to heal it, but that wasn’t the important part.

“Now I can be certain. You possess the power to ignore sacred power.”

Thanks to her, a fact I didn’t know about myself was revealed.

‘What is this, really?’

Could it be because I’ve been getting stronger so rapidly lately?

After consuming a powerful Source and experiencing tremendous growth, have I transcended even divine power—

—that sounds a bit dramatic, but there must be some reason.

‘If it’s not because I’m a Possessor, it must be related to the current situation.’

Given that nothing happened for the past three years, it was likely due to the influence of Demonic Blood.

“A mysterious ability. Do you have any idea how you acquired it?”

“I’m not… really sure.”

“I see.”

The princess nodded and removed her helmet.

“I will keep your secret. But I hope you will keep mine as well.”

“I will take it to my grave, Your Highness.”

It seemed like a situation that could have gone badly, but thanks to this special ability I had developed, we could move past it.

‘…Or not?’

If I hadn’t had the ability to ignore sacred power, I wouldn’t have seen her in the first place.

“Then let’s talk a bit more. I’ve become somewhat interested in you.”

Well, I survived in the end, so I guess it’s fine.

***

Although our conversation went well after that, one question remained between the princess and me.

-Why was the princess in this tent?

“I received the tent from Trina. Then she turned and left without saying anything.”

For reference, Trina was the blue-haired mage.

“It seems Your Highness was supposed to share a tent with her.”

“Then why did you come here?”

Our conversation had come full circle.

“I asked the neighboring squad, but it seems they were mistaken. It’s my fault for not checking properly. I apologize.”

“There’s no need to blame yourself too much. It was… an accident.”

She stumbled over her words momentarily.

Perhaps the memory of our first meeting and her exposure came back to her.

“…Now that we’ve cleared things up, let me be clear. Nothing happened in this tent. Understood?”

“Yes, pleased to meet you for the first time, Lady Knight.”

“Yes, that works well.”

After that, our conversation ended, and I went to the correct tent to spend the night with the squad leader.

…That sounds strange when I put it that way.

Anyway.

When I woke up in the morning and left the tent, I encountered the princess in full plate armor.

“Good morning.”

“…”

Nod.

The female knight nodded and walked away.

As we had agreed before parting last night, we were now strangers.

She might still be interested in my ability to ignore sacred power, but we wouldn’t have conversations like yesterday again.

Even if we met again, it would be strictly business.

‘This is fine.’

I should be grateful just to be alive after seeing the princess’s body.

What puzzled me was that she let me go even though I could reveal her identity.

‘…Well, she would know if I talked.’

If her identity was revealed now, it would be clear that I was the culprit.

In a situation where speaking could lead to execution, anyone with a modicum of intelligence would keep quiet.

Besides, few people harbored ill feelings toward the imperial family. Even if her identity became known, the threat to her safety was relatively small.

Although they would enslave those who couldn’t pay taxes, mid-tier explorers like us wouldn’t have trouble with taxes.

The Labyrinth City itself was maintained thanks to the imperial family, so people either liked them or rarely disliked them.

“Adel.”

As I was basking in the sunlight outside, Shiro had approached me from behind.

“Ah, Shiro. Good morning.”

“Yes. Good morning to you too…?”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed as she was about to answer me.

“Shiro?”

“Adel. Stay still for a moment.”

She came closer to me and began sniffing.

…What’s this about?

“It seems like someone else’s scent is mixed in.”

Ah, so that’s it.

With her exceptional senses, she noticed even such a subtle change.

“I think it’s because I shared a tent with the squad leader. Is that strange?”

“…Yes. It’s strange.”

She stared into my eyes, and said,

“I smell a woman’s scent.”

Silence fell.

“…”

And at that moment, someone was passing by us.

A female knight in full plate armor.

“…It’s that person, isn’t it?”

Shiro’s lips moved toward my neck.

-Chomp!

“Um, Shiro.”

“…”

She remained motionless, her teeth still biting my nape.

Why does this always happen to me?