Chapter 44: The living kind
The match ended with Eiros deciding to leave the arena together with the crown prince.
He had no idea what Leiden had been up to, but it seemed the guy had won some kind of bet and made a decent amount of money off it.
Walking beside him, Eiros listened to the crown prince for a moment before raising one eyebrow.
"Ah, that one?"
The crown prince nodded.
"Yeah, that was honestly a bit shocking. You threw your sword like a spear, haha."
Hearing that, Eiros laughed a little.
"Well, you probably didn’t see it. But what I did was meant specifically so you wouldn’t see it. Right after that, I ran to your side, dismissed the manifestation, and summoned it again."
The crown prince looked stunned for a moment before nodding, "Ah, so that’s what happened."
It wasn’t exactly a great technique—most people never even considered doing that once they realized how much soul essence a manifestation required.
So people tended to keep their stigmata manifested rather than do what Eiros had done. It really was a somewhat regrettable trade-off, but as long as it worked, why not?
"I heard you’d only just Awakened right around when that whole attack happened, and honestly, I still can’t believe it. I mean, well, given your prior skill level, it’s clearly still lacking. But what I wanted to say is—rather than relying on raw strength, I noticed you fought by relying on your own thinking."
"You’re just flattering me now, aren’t you? Besides, what happened earlier was just luck, since you ran out of soul essence."
"You really are humble, huh. Well, either way, even if you don’t realize it yourself, just wait until the beginning-of-semester exams start. I’m confident you’ll land yourself a solid rank."
By then, Eiros and the crown prince had reached the academy gardens. Right near the shimmering lake with that massive tree, the same spot where Eiros had once been kissed by Erness with the intent of poisoning him.
"By the way, why haven’t I seen the princess around? I thought you two were always together."
Eiros asked that mostly to keep their conversation going after it had trailed off. But somehow, the question made the crown prince’s whole body flinch, his expression turning gloomy.
Wow, cold sweat was practically pouring down his face. His pale golden eyes met Eiros’s frozen red pupils.
Eiros realized he’d said something wrong and was about to apologize, but the crown prince spoke first.
"...So, um.... could I ask you for a favor...?"
".....?"
Then, with an expression that was every bit as serious, the crown prince laid out his complaint.
"So, when you and the Saintess nearly got killed, you decided to sacrifice yourself, right?"
The crown prince nodded.
"And then, after you both managed to survive, the princess got upset over that whole thing and refuses to talk to you anymore?"
He nodded again, his face genuinely pale this time, as though he were about to cry. Eiros froze for a moment, his mouth hanging open like he had no idea what to say.
He was about to say something, but stopped himself to scratch the back of his own head instead.
"T-this is... complicated..."
"Hey, Eiros, you’ve got an older sister, right? Maybe you could give me some advice, since we both have sisters who are kind of... sensitive, you know?"
Hearing that, Eiros was even more lost than before. I mean, he’d only recently possessed this body, and on top of that, he hadn’t had a sister in his previous life.
So what was he supposed to say...?
He thought hard, then—
"Um... Do you know what the princess really likes...?"
The crown prince blinked, scratching his cheek awkwardly, then said:
"....Toys? Yeah, I think she likes toys."
This time, Eiros genuinely had no idea how to react.
The princess liked toys? Toys???
"Seriously...?"
The crown prince nodded.
"Yeah, she likes toys that are wicked and can be... tortured... yeah, something like that, I guess."
This was somehow even stranger.
Eiros nearly gave up on the whole conversation before something suddenly made him pause, his thoughts snagging on a few things.
"Your Highness... Are we even talking about the same kind of ’toy’ here? I mean, the toys you’re talking about aren’t the living kind, right? Like, dolls, right?"
But the crown prince smiled darkly as he shook his head.
"...The living kind."
Eiros’s entire body broke out in goosebumps.
What in the world?!
He nearly let out a strange yell, but thankfully managed to hold it together with a forced smile.
Then he noticed the crown prince was suddenly staring off toward something with a bright, cheerful expression, which made Eiros turn to look too.
"Reeiiinnaa!!"
’Oh.’
It was the princess, walking alone, apparently having just come out of the library, a stack of books held in her arms.
The princess’s gaze landed on the crown prince first, and her expression turned cold, brow furrowing, before she looked away.
Her gaze then shifted to Eiros.
Her eyes blinked, and without any hesitation, she started walking toward him. The crown prince looked delighted from where he stood, probably thinking his sister was coming over for him.
"Reina, ha—"
"—Thank you for saving me and my idiot brother."
But well, once she reached them, the princess coldly ignored the crown prince entirely and gave a small bow toward Eiros with a faint smile.
Eiros stood frozen in place. The crown prince was frozen too, though far worse off than Eiros—Eiros could practically feel the prince’s very existence crumbling into grains of sand beside him.
As for Eiros himself?
’She likes toys. What kind of toys? The living kind.’
He swallowed hard.
Reina Von Augusta. The princess of the Augusta Empire, with an appearance every bit as adorable and beautiful as Erness. But once again, just like Erness, beneath that calm, porcelain-doll composure lurked something dark and unsettling.
How was it that every cute girl in this world ended up with some kind of sadistic streak underneath?
Eiros suddenly found himself thinking about the Saintess.
’...She’s not like that too, right? She’s not, right? Haha, of course she isn’t.’
Reassuring himself, Eiros wiped the cold sweat from his face before quickly responding.
"No need to worry, Princess, I just happened to be passing by, really."
He gave her the exact same answer the crown prince had used earlier. The princess, however, just smiled at that.
She nodded slowly, then looked at Eiros with her pale golden eyes.
"...I owe you a great deal. So, would it be alright if I treated you to a meal today? It might not be enough, but I think I should at least do something, however small, to repay your kindness."
And there Eiros stood, at a complete loss for what to do, when he heard the crown prince’s voice beside him.
"O-oh! Yeah! I’ll come too! That’s fine, right, Reina?"
But once again, Reina merely glanced his way—Eiros might’ve been imagining it, but somehow the princess seemed to be radiating a chilling wave of cold energy right at that moment.
Eiros shuddered.
He had no desire to be alone with a sadistic girl like the princess, not now and not ever.
Eiros swore to himself that he needed to be extremely careful around anyone with a cute appearance from now on.
So he cleared his throat lightly.
"...Umm, you really don’t need to go to the trouble, Princess."
But the princess shook her head.
"I’d feel bad if I didn’t. Also, could you please just call me by my name? It feels uncomfortable being addressed like that around the academy."
’...What about me? I’m the one under all the pressure here!’
Even as he thought that, Eiros knew there was no way he could turn down Princess Reina’s request at this point, so he hesitated for a moment, glanced at the crown prince, then—
"...Could we bring the prince along too then, um... Princess Reina?"
"Just Reina, I said. And... I don’t care if you decide to bring along a stray breeze."
A breeze.....
Eiros felt his lips twitch, while beside him, the crown prince looked genuinely moved. He must’ve assumed Eiros had said that just to help him out—though the real reason, mostly, was that Eiros simply refused to be left alone with Reina.
"...Eiros, you need to start calling me by my name too, now. You’re a good friend!"
Given the opening, however painful it was, the crown prince, Rein, didn’t seem to mind and chose instead to fight on.
***