episode_0048

Kwahng.

“There. Are you okay?”

Claudia, lightly blocking the ogre, turned to Vessus, resembling a goddess from mythology.

“…Beautiful.”

Vessus muttered unconsciously at the sight.

“Hmm?”

“Ah…!”

Though he belatedly covered his mouth, Claudia, with her pristine physique as a skilled magician, had undoubtedly heard it.

“Heh.”

Claudia chuckled softly.

“Judging by your ability to joke, you seem unharmed.”

Chin up,

Claudia extended her hand to the fallen Vessus.

“Ah… Thank you for saving me.”

Vessus took her hand and rose to his feet.

“It was nothing. If anything, I should be apologizing.”

“…Pardon?”

“That ogre was one of the palace’s creatures. I don’t know why it’s here, but it must be its doing.”

“Palace? That creature?”

“…Huh? I’ve spoken too much nonsense. Forget it.”

Palace… Her…

Wait, could it be!

Although this world’s Vessus didn’t know Claudia’s true identity, at this point, even he couldn’t help but realize who she was.

“Wuwaaaaa!”

In an instant, the ogre swiftly lunged from behind at Claudia.

“It’s dangerous!”

“Ugh!”

Responding swiftly, Vessus leaped in front of Claudia, blocking the ogre’s path.

“Sif!”

-Beep!

Answering Vessus’ call, the wind spirit materialized.

“Blow it away!”

-Beep beep!

Taking the form of a small girl, the spirit created wind blades with her hands and shot them forward. Unlike before, there was a clear determination and command from the spirit master, making it possible.

Chaeng.

The fiercely shot wind blades cleanly severed the two massive heads of the Twin Head Ogre.

Thud, thud.

Losing both heads simultaneously, the ogre fell to its knees and collapsed.

“Haa… haa….”

With no prior combat experience, Vessus had been paralyzed by fear moments ago. However, upon thinking that Claudia was in danger, he unknowingly exerted his full power.

“You… are quite strong.”

The Twin Head Ogre, a monster with tough skin and sturdy endurance far surpassing a regular ogre, known for its difficulty due to its ability to regenerate the opposite head even if one is lost.

To cut off the heads of such a Twin Head Ogre in an instant…

“A spirit master, then. Such a rare sight…”

Come to think of it, he had heard of one before.

There was a distinguished spirit master in the same year.

If the opportunity arose, he thought he should try to recruit them as a guild member, but never did he expect to encounter them like this.

“Haa… haa…. Ah! Wasn’t that monster from the palace…? I defeated it without realizing… Uh, what should I do? I’m so sorry….”

“Haha. Hahaha!”

After effortlessly defeating the formidable Twin Head Ogre, Claudia displayed a cute expression.

Seeing this contrast, Claudia burst into laughter.

?

Vessus simply stared at Claudia, who was laughing heartily.

“Oh, my apologies. It’s fine. It was all to save you, wasn’t it? Since you were planning to kill that troublesome monster anyway, I helped lighten your load. I’m almost grateful.”

“…Hehe.”

Ves looked flustered, slightly bowing his head and scratching it.

“May I know your name?”

Claudia leaned in closer to Ves.

“Wow!”

Startled, Ves took a step back.

“I am Ves Granquinel!”

“Ves Granquinel. I see. I am Claudia.”

“I… heard of you. The Iron Blood Princess…”

“Hmph. Yes, that alias has been circulating.”

The Empire’s princess who never easily revealed her emotions.

Known for her rare smiles, unseen by anyone.

While there were other reasons, her stoic face played the biggest role.

“Huh? But didn’t they say she never smiles? She’s smiling so beautifully though?”

Ves, distrusting rumors, thought to himself.

“Once again, thank you for saving me. If not for Your Highness, I would have been eaten by that Ogre by now.”

“Hmm…”

“…?”

Claudia pondered upon Ves’s gratitude.

“Ves, you possess the ability to defeat a Twin-Headed Ogre in an instant, so why did you struggle in combat?”

“Uh? Oh, well, I’m not very good at real battles… When it comes down to it, my body freezes up…”

“Freezes up, you say. Despite that, your handling of the Ogre earlier showed a skill akin to a Mithril-ranked mercenary. Are you hiding your true strength?”

“No! That’s not it!”

Ves vehemently shook his head.

“I just… felt compelled to act when I thought Your Highness was in danger…”

‘Was it to save the princess?’

Claudia’s interest in Ves grew stronger.

Initially, she had only rescued the student who fell into danger due to the prince’s terrorist acts.

She even found herself smiling at his self-admiration.

Although she had heard countless praises of her beauty, they usually left her indifferent.

But for some reason, this man’s compliments on her ‘beauty’ made her feel good enough to crack a smile unknowingly.

When she discovered he was an Elemental Mage, she considered recruiting him.

After witnessing his swift defeat of the Twin-Headed Ogre, she deemed him essential for competition with the prince.

However, she had only seen him as a potential recruit until…

‘He couldn’t move properly when in danger himself but displayed such combat prowess to save me… It’s somewhat appealing.’

Not just his abilities, but the idea of possessing Ves intrigued the princess.

“In that case, how about this?”

“Yes?”

“Be my personal guard.”

“Um…?”

“You mentioned not being able to use your strength properly in combat. Yet, to protect me, you could harness that power. Your power intrigues me, and you’re not utilizing it fully. If you protect me, then… wouldn’t you be able to use that power?”

“But… I’m not a knight…”

“It’s fine. The power you just displayed is beyond what regular palace knights can muster. Or else…”

Claudia smiled brightly, extending her hand to Ves.

“Are you planning to reject the proposal of the main character?”

“No… I don’t want to refuse. But if I cause trouble…”

Chin.

Claudia grabbed Vistus’s hand.

“It’s fine. The main character, my lord, will bear all responsibility. So, please. I entrust you, the knight of the main character.”

“Yes.”

Vistus replied in a subdued voice.

“This is our first meeting in this world, Claudia and me.”

Vistus observed their encounter from within that body.

***

The Emperor’s private carriage, splendidly decorated.

Inside, Claudia lay comfortably.

She felt like teleporting to the academy immediately to meet him, but she was the Emperor now.

If she were to go meet him like that, the Emperor would have to maintain his dignity and scold her.

Vistus’s impatience.

It wouldn’t be bad to scold him after so long. How much she had missed him.

But now she was on her way to meet him as an Empress.

She wanted to show him the best side of herself.

“It’s hard to wait, my lovely secretary Vistus.”

To make the carriage go faster, she had already cast numerous spells on it.

Even riding a warhorse at full speed couldn’t match the pace of her carriage.

Yet, it still felt too slow for her.

“I want to meet you a little faster, my dear.”