chapter_0024

23 – The Ball of Two People

23 – The Ball of Two People

Even though this might be the first time she’s been separated from the Imperial Guard, she was showing such composure that I wanted to praise her.

However, the current situation was too urgent to leisurely chat.

The enemies were approaching so close that I could hear their footsteps without even straining my ears.

“Your Highness, the enemies will be storming in here any moment now.”

Selvia nodded, looking at the door.

“Yes, I know.”

“Then, when they open the door, could you fire two shots at the ceiling?”

“…The ceiling?”

Not the enemy? Selvia turned to me with a questioning look, but I was quite serious.

“It doesn’t have to be the ceiling. The purpose is to make a gunshot sound.”

“Why on earth… No, never mind. I understand.”

Selvia seemed to know that the situation was urgent, as she didn’t argue with my suggestion.

Tap, tap, tap—

Just then, the sound of the enemies moving quickly echoed in my ears.

Holding my breath, I heard the sound of the door hinges being forced open.

“Let’s begin.”

Recognizing that the door had opened, Selvia pulled the trigger twice as I had instructed.

In the dark living room, a flash of light and a deafening gunshot rang out.

Thanks to that, the agents who were about to enter retreated outside.

Silence followed.

They were probably plastered against the walls of the hallway, discussing how to handle the situation through hand signals.

‘More precisely, they’re discussing how to kill us.’

Having caused such a commotion at the banquet hall, the agents wouldn’t be able to escape the Empire.

That meant their mission wasn’t to kidnap the Princess, but to kill her.

However, from the agents’ perspective, they had no idea where the Princess was hiding.

They must have been startled by the gunshots as soon as they opened the door and stumbled backward.

Behind the sofa? Behind the bookshelf? Under the desk? Or did she open the door from another room and shoot? All sorts of guesses would be flying around.

Usually, a grenade appears at the end of these guesses.

It’s common to throw a grenade in the direction where you think the enemy is and see what happens.

That was the moment I was aiming for.

I swallowed hard and focused my senses.

Click—

The sound of a grenade pin being pulled tickled my ears.

Immediately activating Neural acceleration, I stood up and drew my revolver.

The agent beyond the door, about to throw a grenade at us, appeared to be moving in slow motion.

I couldn’t fail. Holding my breath, I carefully aimed at the grenade and pulled the trigger.

The gunpowder exploded, the bullet flew, and the world returned to its normal speed.

Bang!

The grenade, hit by the bullet, exploded, and its fragments scattered in all directions.

“Agh!”

“Ugh!”

The agents who were directly hit by the fragments screamed, breaking the silence.

I had just finished Neural acceleration, so I felt like throwing up, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Your Highness.”

“I know!”

As I went out into the hallway with Selvia, an agent who was still alive pulled a pistol from his chest.

Before I could deal with him, Selvia pulled the trigger first.

Bang!

The agent, with a bullet lodged in his forehead, let out a final gasp and quietly lowered his head.

Relieved, I looked around and saw that the other agents were all lying dead.

We had taken out eight agents in an instant, but I couldn’t relax yet.

“Your Highness, the other agents who heard the gunshots will be coming. They wouldn’t have deployed only eight people for this kind of mission.”

“Then we need to escape from here as soon as possible…”

No. It was too late. I could hear footsteps coming from the central staircase again.

—It’s upstairs! The Imperial Princess is upstairs!

—Gather everyone! Shoot on sight!

—It’s the top floor of the hotel! Block her escape!

My breathing became ragged with tension. Unfortunately, the only one I could rely on now was Selvia.

“This way!”

Grabbing Selvia’s wrist, I ran blindly towards the end of the hallway.

Selvia, startled but following me, shouted.

“Daniel! That’s a dead end!”

“It’s not a dead end! The wall is made of glass!”

“What are you talking about…!”

Realizing my intention, Selvia widened her eyes in horror.

“Are you saying we’re going to jump through there?”

“Yes! The stairs and elevators will be occupied by the enemies, so this is the only way!”

“What nonsense…! Suicide is not an option!”

Frustrated, I turned to Selvia and said.

“Your Highness, you can use space-time magic!”

“How can I… No! It’s not perfect! It only works within visual range!”

“I see! It’s fortunate that this is the top floor of the hotel!”

I didn’t know if the situation was absurd or if I was crazy, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

Running, I raised my revolver and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets struck the reinforced glass, creating cracks.

At the same time, the agents shouted from the central staircase.

“There!”

“Fire! The superiors have ordered us to kill her!”

Pushing off the floor, I crashed into the glass wall.

Crash! The glass wall shattered, and its fragments scattered in all directions.

Selvia, holding my hand, also soared beautifully through the glass shards.

However, floating in the sky was only momentary.

“Eek!”

Unable to overcome gravity, we soon began to descend towards the ground.

The wind whipped through my hair and uniform, while Selvia’s dress fluttered like a flag. It was white.

“Your Highness!”

At my shout to regain her senses, Selvia, who had been stunned, took a deep breath and nodded.

With the scenery of the old city, which was getting closer in real-time, in her eyes, Selvia recited a short incantation.

Immediately, Selvia and my body were enveloped in a pure white light.

*

When I opened my eyes, Selvia and I were still in the air.

But the ground was close.

Hugging Selvia, I landed on the ground, hitting my shoulder first.

“……!”

My body jolted, and I felt a sharp pain, but it was bearable.

Before the pain could subside, I looked around and sighed in relief that there was no one around.

All I could see were broken records and shattered furniture.

It seemed to be a place where discarded household items were collected.

“Ugh…”

Selvia, who had been wriggling in my arms, raised her upper body.

She seemed to be feeling dizzy, probably because she had just used space-time magic.

But she soon regained her composure and looked at me.

“…Are you alright?”

That was unexpected. I thought she would ask if we had succeeded in escaping first.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Placing my hand on the ground, I stood up.

Looking down at Selvia sitting on the ground, she was a mess.

Her hair, which had been neatly combed, was disheveled, and her luxurious evening dress was stained with dirt and blood.

Ironically, her sapphire earrings and necklace were still sparkling brightly in the moonlight.

…Huh? Moonlight?

When I looked up, the ceiling had collapsed, leaving a gaping hole.

The stars that filled the sky were clearly visible.

In my haste, I must have chosen any place to hide.

Thinking that I had chosen such a place well, I reached out my hand to Selvia.

“Let’s get up. The ground is cold.”

Selvia nodded and took my hand to stand up.

I leaned down slightly to check Selvia’s condition.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Fortunately, I’m not hurt… Wait a moment.”

Selvia, blushing, pushed my upper body away.

Her tightly closed eyes contained a strange annoyance.

“Don’t you think you’re sometimes too close?”

“…I was just worried about Your Highness’s safety.”

“I know. But… Haa. Never mind. More importantly, are we safe now?”

“We should be. They won’t be able to track us down to a place we escaped to using space-time magic.”

Even if that were possible, the Imperial Guard would arrive first.

The Imperial Guard would have been dispatched immediately after the Etherium Conversion Bomb exploded, so they would have entered the old city by now.

Selvia seemed to think so too, as she nodded once and moved away from me.

After that, an awkward atmosphere settled between Selvia and me.

When the situation was urgent, we had joked and talked to each other, but now that things were resolved, an unknown awkwardness had taken hold between us.

Moreover, the subconscious thought that ‘the closer I get to Selvia, the further away I might be from being discharged’ was prevalent in my mind, so I couldn’t express any more friendliness.

In the first place, I couldn’t casually talk to the Princess, one of the noblest figures in the Empire.

So, as I was killing time until the Imperial Guard arrived, Selvia cautiously opened her mouth.

“…Daniel. Do you happen to know how to dance?”

Dance? I shook my head.

“I’ve only seen it over my shoulder, but I’ve never danced properly. As you know, I’m an orphan, so I don’t know much about social skills like dancing. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just because. I thought it would be better to dance than to spend time idly. There’s still some time left before the banquet ends.”

Now that I heard it, she wasn’t wrong.

The banquet ended at midnight.

“Your Highness. I would love to entertain you, but my skills are so poor…”

“I’ll teach you. It’s not that difficult.”

Hmm. If she came this far, I couldn’t refuse.

“Then I’ll try to receive your teachings.”

“Good.”

Selvia, who had come closer, took my hand.

“Follow me well.”

With those words, Selvia raised my hand diagonally and took a step.

She was quite slow, perhaps out of consideration for me, who was a beginner, but it was still too much for me to follow.

So, when I stumbled a few times, Selvia couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

I felt embarrassed for no reason.

“…Didn’t I say I couldn’t do it?”

“You’ll improve as you learn. Now, again.”

Selvia moved her feet again, and my feet followed Selvia’s.

After repeating that action several times, I was now able to imitate Selvia to some extent.

Something that was close to dancing, albeit clumsy, was completed.

As we were dancing with the moonlight as our spotlight, I heard the sound of a helicopter in the distance.

“Your Highness. The Imperial Guard…”

“Don’t stop.”

I was about to say that this wasn’t the time to be acting spoiled, but I stopped.

It was because Selvia was smiling faintly, as if she was enjoying it.

It was completely different from when she was dancing expressionlessly at the banquet hall.

For some reason, I didn’t want to ruin Selvia’s enjoyment.

So, I clumsily moved my feet, and the ensuing dance became a waltz, decorating the end of the waltz.

As I was feeling dazed that I had danced the waltz to the end, Selvia let go of my hand and looked at me.

“Remember this. You need to know how to dance this much so you won’t be looked down upon anywhere.”

While I couldn’t come up with a proper answer, the sound of the helicopter hovering in the sky gradually grew closer, and then the sound of the propeller was heard right above us.

“Your Highness!”

At the sudden shout, I raised my head and saw an old general, close to sixty, standing armed at the helicopter’s boarding entrance.

The old general quickly took out the radio he was carrying on his shoulder and pressed the transmission button.

“Headquarters! This is the Alter Markt 87th Street waste collection site in the old city! We have found Her Highness the Princess and Captain Daniel! Both are safe except for minor injuries! Send support here immediately! I repeat, this is the old city…”

Now that I thought we were really alive, I felt the tension leaving me.

Selvia and my gazes naturally met in the air as we breathed a sigh of relief.

We were both still for a moment, and then we let out a silly laugh without saying a word.

It was the end of spring.

Author’s Words (Author’s Afterword)

Thank you for the 30 coin donation, Happy Circuit is on fire! I never thought I would receive a donation… I’m so happy! I hope that the Happiness Circuit is as happy as I am! Fighting! Thank you!

I would also like to express my infinite gratitude to all the readers who read my work!

Then have a good day today! Have a happy weekend!