We considered leaving immediately after saving the ship convoy, but we abandoned the idea when we remembered that the sails of the “Living Legend” were torn.
It was then that Chloe proposed repairing the sails, and we accepted. Apparently, a fleet this large has several spare sails. Even if the size wasn’t perfect, we were told that at worst, we could fix them with sewing to make the ship seaworthy.
However, the offer to repair the sails was probably just a polite gesture. The real reason for the fleet was likely to avoid seeming ungrateful to their benefactors. Especially if that benefactor was the rumored “Aikawa Kanami Christ Eurasia Valt Fuziaze Von Walker,” they might have wanted to forge some connection here.
Thus, the fleet, having overcome the monster attack, resumed their voyage while also preparing to entertain us. On top of that, they retrieved Titty’s “Primordial and Demon King’s Magic Sword Brave Fluorite” for us.
A single luxurious passenger ship was mixed within the fleet, and we were moved to it.
Military ships surrounded the passenger ship, and chairs and tables, like those found in aristocratic mansions, were prepared on the deck, where a welcoming tea party began. Accompanying us was Chloe, who seemed to be the highest-ranking official of the fleet—
“—N-no way, you were really sailing that ship with just the two of you…”
When I explained that we were traveling alone, Chloe was not just surprised but utterly dumbfounded.
However, she quickly recovered and began to explain her fleet.
“Um… our fleet is comprised of over a thousand crew members. Our mission was to escort important personnel, which is why so many people were assigned…”
Chloe seemed displeased that they were outmatched by the monsters despite having a thousand people. Though she didn’t look down, her face winced slightly.
But soon, a gentle voice echoed, soothing her.
“Chloe. The monsters from earlier were far beyond our predictions. It’s certainly not your fault.”
It was a soft voice. The owner of that voice was the second woman present—likely the important person Chloe had mentioned, judging from her demeanor and attire. She appeared to be a little older than me, perhaps a little shorter. Her long, chestnut hair was neatly styled, and she carried herself with elegance. Two maids followed behind her.
“Nice to meet you, Kanami-sama. I am Flora Vestia from the Kingdom of Vestia. I am deeply grateful for having my life saved.”
After her introduction, Chloe immediately offered a supplementary explanation.
“Lady Flora is the second daughter of the King of Vestia and holds the fourth position in the line of succession. She had been living across the sea for a long time, but lately, the frontier has become dangerous as well, so she decided to move to the Royal Capital on the mainland.”
Upon hearing that she was a princess, I responded briefly.
“My name is Aikawa Uzunami. I’m pleased to meet you.”
“This child is Titty,” Titty added nonchalantly.
The princess responded with a gentle smile.
It was somewhat moving. Titty was a former queen, and Rastiara was also a princess. However, neither of them had been particularly pleasant people, making the genuine princess before me quite a rare sight.
“There is one more royal on this ship…”
Chloe murmured, mentioning that there were two important people. She seemed eager to introduce the other one as well, looking around the surroundings.
Just then, one of the barrels on the ship’s deck suddenly moved with a rumble. Then, the lid of the barrel popped open, and a small girl emerged from inside.
“Uh, is the battle over now…? Phew, that was close. Also, was I the reason we were attacked? No, there are many other important people on this fleet, I want to believe it’s not…”
As the girl emerged from the barrel, muttering to herself, she gave me an even greater sense of emotional impact than the genuine princess. To describe it, it was overwhelmingly nostalgic and utterly surreal.
Above all else, what caught my eye was the “Japanese traditional clothing” adorning the girl, whose black hair reached her waist.
It looked like a kimono on top and hakama on the bottom… adapted for this different world and with a subdued pattern for daily wear, but it was undeniably what I would call Japanese traditional clothing in my world. For a moment, I was mistaken into thinking she might be Japanese. However, the girl’s unnaturally pale skin and red eyes dispelled that expectation. The canine teeth peeking from her mouth were unusually long, and her magical power was abnormally high. I realized she was not a pure human, but some kind of “beastkin.”
As the peculiar girl appeared, the princess chuckled.
“Heh heh. Perfect timing, Chloe… That is my friend, and someone just as famous as Kanami-sama. She is the legendary ‘Honorary Vacant Princess of the Kingdom of Regia’ and the head of the Ingrid Merchant Guild, Kuuneru!”
“Oh, uh…”
I had no idea why I was being compared to anyone. As I was admiring the girl’s Japanese attire, Kuuneru spotted a familiar face and approached us.
“Wow, that was amazing. That last magic just now, wasn’t that the magic that leads to ‘Demonoid Transformation’? Has someone on the ship exceeded their limits?”
“No, Kuuneru. That was the power of these two. Both of them helped us without using any ‘incantations,’ using only the magic within their bodies. This is the rumored Kanami-sama. And this is his friend, Titty-sama.”
Then, the princess introduced us. As she did, Kuuneru’s gaze shifted.
My and Titty’s figures entered her field of vision. The moment she saw us—she let out a scream unbecoming of a young girl.
“—Gh, ghah!?”
It was a voice as if she had encountered a “monster.”
“Gah?”
However, both Titty and I were now completely suppressing our magic, having learned from our previous slip-up. I couldn’t understand why she would react like that. Still, Kuuneru, the girl in question, repeatedly looked at our faces, tilting her head, and continued to break out in a cold sweat. No, it was more than just a cold sweat. Her eyes were watering slightly. It was extraordinary.
The princess, who seemed to be her friend, also looked puzzled.
“…? Could it be, you know Kanami-sama and Titty-sama?”
“Eh? Know each other…? How should I put it… Y-yes! No, I’ve never met them! Seriously, never!”
After trembling violently, Kuuneru shook her head with a blank expression.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I immediately used “Gaze.”
【Status】
Name: Kunel Chronicle Shuls Regia Ingrid
HP 25/25 MP 112/112 Class: Vampire
Level 43
Strength 0.67 Stamina 0.89 Dexterity 2.12 Speed 0.99 Intelligence 2.56 Magic Power 7.12 Aptitude 0.19
Innate Skill:
Acquired Skill: Sewing 1.33 Confectionery Making 1.02 Business 1.58 Music 1.01 Koto 1.12
“—!”
It was my turn to exclaim in surprise at the abnormal figures. First, her level was too high. And, considering her level, her stats were too low. She had many skills, but none of them seemed to be for combat. And the class… Vampire? The opponent was a woman, but I didn’t hesitate to use 《Dimension》 to scan her physical characteristics. It was easy to find differences between her and a human. Quite clearly, on her back beneath her kimono, black wings resembling those of a bat were growing.
“Whoa, a Va, vampire…?”
I voiced the conclusion derived from that information.
Kuuneru started to panic.
“Wait, here—! Kai—Kanami-san!”
Although frequent in fantasy, I had never seen a creature like this in this Another World before. Wary of her unknown power, I readied myself for a fight. However, Titty stood up and moved between us, acting as a shield.
“Hmm? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before…”
She thrust her face forward without any caution, peering at Kuuneru-chan.
“Hii!? M-M—Titty-san, please don’t startle me like that!”
Kuuneru-chan, dripping with cold sweat, quickly took about five steps back.
She had been flustered for a while now.
And just now, she had definitely called Titty “Demon King.”
However, I didn’t know what she had called me. She called out “Kai” instead of the “Ki” from Shiso, but what did she see me as?
Titty and I continued to stare suspiciously at the flustered girl in the kimono.
As if unable to bear our gaze, Kuuneru-chan bowed deeply and retreated further.
“Uh, um, I am very, very grateful to both of you. Kanami-san, Titty-san, thank you truly for saving me this time. However, I’m feeling extremely nauseous, possibly from the ship’s rocking… so I’ll take my leave for a bit. Oh, I’m so sorry. Ahaha.”
The princess opposite her looked disappointed.
“Eh, you’re not feeling well? We have Kanami-sama here, you know?”
“Sorry! No, I really feel like I’m going to throw up. I really do. —See ya!”
With that, Kuuneru-chan quickly retreated back into the ship.
She looked genuinely unwell, so I didn’t stop her. However, it seemed her discomfort wasn’t seasickness but rather from meeting me and Titty.
“Kanami-sama, Titty-sama, I apologize. Kuuneru-chan is a bit of a free spirit…”
The princess immediately followed up to cover for her friend.
She was truly a modest, elegant girl, possessing a nobility befitting royalty.
However, at that moment, our minds were filled not with a typical princess, but with the eccentric princess from earlier.
“No, we don’t particularly mind… not really…”
“Indeed… that it is…”
Titty and I exchanged glances. We decided to refrain from pursuing the matter here and continued with light conversation with the princess. If she was connected to a thousand years ago, we had to tread with extreme caution.
The princess then seemed to enjoy our conversation.
However, most of it was about me. First, she talked about hearing rumors of me multiple times in the Allied Nations, and then she recalled a story from a year ago when we attended the same ball in the Allied Nations, but I had to leave early, which she regretted.
She also told us about modern geography, such as how her home country, Vestia, was located near the country of Fuziaze.
Toward the end of the conversation, we discussed our destination.
“—Well then, Kanami-sama, are you also heading to ‘Cork’ like us? …Would you permit us to accompany you on this ship convoy for a while longer? It’s not much as a reward, but we will prepare the finest meal and rooms this ship can offer. If you rest for one night, you should arrive by tomorrow morning. Of course, the ship repairs should be completed by then.”
It was not a bad offer.
I had actually planned to just have a meal and set sail at night, but…
“Kanamin, what do you think? Honestly, we can still sail even if we lose a sail or two.”
“I was thinking of leaving this ship convoy soon… but I’m curious about ‘that’ just now. What do you think, Titty?”
“Indeed. I’m curious about ‘that’ too, child. She definitely knew about you and Kanamin. And about the children from a thousand years ago.”
Honestly, this typical princess was of little interest to me.
What mattered more was the girl in the kimono, who might be a vampire. I wanted to gather more information about her. If possible, I wanted to talk to her again. That was the honest truth.
We nodded in agreement to the princess’s proposal.
“In that case, we will gratefully accept your offer and borrow two guest rooms. We’ve been sailing alone for several days, so being able to rest here is a great help.”
“Ah, wonderful! Then we can also dine together. This time, I want to hear about Titty-sama, not just Kanami-sama.”
The princess smiled brightly with joy.
Chloe, standing next to her, also didn’t seem to mind our joining them.
“You’ve been sailing that massive magic ship on your own for days…? And after engaging in combat like that, your stamina and magic power must be nearing their limit. We’ll prepare your rooms right away.”
She immediately called out to a nearby crew member and began preparations.
At her command, the busy crew members started moving.
And so, the tea party on deck concluded. Soon after, our rooms were prepared, and we were shown to them. While we rested, the Living Legend was apparently being repaired and towed by the ship convoy’s elite, so we could rest easy.
Thus, we were able to recoup our strength in luxurious guest rooms after several days of sailing.
Considering our plans for tonight, we intended to get as much sleep as possible in the fluffy beds.
Later, as dusk settled, a magnificent dinner was served on the deck of the passenger ship. In return, we shared trivial stories with the princess and Chloe. They didn’t pry too deeply, making conversation very easy. As we talked about dungeon exploration with Titty and the “Ball” from a year ago, night fell unexpectedly quickly.
Once night arrived, the pleasant chat came to an end.
Finally, we laughed about the good fortune of our meeting and returned to our respective rooms.
—Now, the real show begins.
The voyage continued through the night, but the number of people awake was significantly lower.
In the darkness, only the sound of gentle waves could be heard.
And in the prepared room, I waited, listening to that sound.
For Titty and that girl—
“—And so, I’ve successfully kidnapped her, you see~”
“Mumu! Mumu muuuu—!!”
In the dead of night, with only the sound of the sea’s gentle waves, Titty brought Kuuneru-chan, her mouth gagged, to my room.
I stared at her with my three-white eyes.
“Hey, Titty. I told you to bring her here gently…”
“She wouldn’t open the door no matter how many times I knocked. So, I did it.”
“Don’t ‘accidentally’ kidnap royalty…”
I couldn’t talk, considering my own actions, but I’ll put that aside for now.
If things were going to turn out this way, I should have gone myself. I shouldn’t have thought Titty would be better because the other person was a girl.
While I was regretting this, Titty moved.
She forced Kuuneru-chan into a chair and bound her with ropes she produced from who-knows-where.
Then, she removed her hand from Kuuneru-chan’s mouth.
Simultaneously, a scream echoed in the room.
“Let gooooo! I don’t want to die! I still want to liveeeee—!!”
“—Wind.’ Hmph, scream all you want. But I wonder if the girl’s wind would let any sound leak from the room?”
“What was that!? That’s terrifying!?”
Kuuneru-chan, terrified, teared up and began to tremble like a small animal.
Her tension was like that of a hostage awaiting execution.
“Hark! Spout it out! Tell me everything you know, quickly!”
Perhaps sensing her excitement, Titty also seemed to be enjoying himself, poking Kuuneru (Female) in the side. Kuuneru (Female) whimpered and shed tears as if writhing from his attack.
“Ah, no. This is bad. Why do I always end up in these situations? I should have just stayed shut up in my home where there were no enemies… Things like the ‘Great Calamity’ had nothing to do with me!”
If things were left as they were, a great disaster would surely occur.
Believing this, I immediately moved to dispel the strange atmosphere. I spoke to Kuuneru (Female) in a very serious, yet gentle voice.
“Calm down. We won’t do anything to you. We just wanted to hear your story. That idiot over there was being lazy, and it turned out like this, but…”
“Ugh, the kindness of the ‘President’ is truly… But this feels like a classic good cop, bad cop interrogation tactic…”
“…I won’t deny that.”
Ideally, I had hoped she would feel indebted to me and the matter would be resolved quickly. My unspoken thoughts were seen through by the corner of her mind, and I had to re-evaluate my perception of Kuuneru (Female).
Putting aside her strange way of speaking and her remarks, this girl was intelligent.
Perhaps being honest would earn me her trust.
“We don’t have much time for a long conversation, so let’s get to the main subject. First, I don’t know anything about you. Shiso Kanami failed his thousand-year plan because of Apostle Legacy (Male). Because of that, he’s lost his memories and his powers. So, please tell me first why you call me ‘President’.”
“Huh? Uh… Apostle Legacy (Male)? Um, first of all, what was that thousand-year plan…? And more importantly, why are you both still alive after a thousand years? I’d like you to explain that part first…”
“…You don’t know Apostle Legacy (Male)? Could it be that you know nothing about what happened a thousand years ago, or the plan involving the Labyrinth?”
A barrage of question marks filled the air.
Realizing that our perspectives were vastly different, I was at a loss as to where to begin the explanation. The same seemed to be true for her, as she mumbled in thought.
Kuuneru (Female) was the first to break the silence.
“…Uh, please listen. A thousand years ago, I was a nobody who just collaborated with the person called ‘Shiso’ (Ancestor), ‘Aikawa Uzunami’, to make money. We started a trading company together and utilized our mutual hobby of sewing to make a lot of money. But Aikawa Uzunami, who was the ‘President’ of that company, soon left everything to me and disappeared. That’s how our relationship ended. The reason I know about that Demon King over there is simply because he was super famous from the moment I was born, and I saw him from a distance…”
It was easy to understand that she had been friends with him a thousand years ago.
Furthermore, it was clear that she was a friend unrelated to my battles.
A thousand years ago, I seemed to have interacted not only with Thieves of Principles and Apostles, but also with ordinary people like her. Well, that was to be expected, of course…
I silently considered the information I had obtained.
During that time, Kuuneru (Female) continued to appeal to me with tears, insisting on her truth.
“I’m n-not lying! It’s true!”
I didn’t think she was the type of person to lie in this dead-end situation.
However, other things were bothering me, and I hadn’t been able to concentrate on my thoughts.
“No, I don’t doubt you. More importantly, I’m a bit curious about your strange way of speaking…”
“That’s up to President’s translation magic, isn’t it! I’m just speaking in my local dialect normally, and President, out of laziness, just mixed and matched it with his world’s dialects, right! And besides, I think this is the first time I’ve talked like this in a thousand years! Ah, how nostalgic!”
Perhaps because she brought up something completely unrelated, Kuuneru (Female) became reckless.
She was probably letting her true feelings out now, genuinely angry at my selfishness.
“Y-yes, that’s true. I’m sorry.”
So, I had no choice but to apologize honestly.
“Huh, my true feelings slipped out…! I said something terrible to President…!”
Kuuneru (Female) immediately came to her senses and started trembling again.
If this wasn’t an act, then she truly was just an acquaintance from the past.
If she had no connection to Apostles or the Labyrinth, then there was no need to restrain her further.
Or so I thought, but Titty seemed to disagree.
“However, isn’t she too afraid? Is there something more to it?”
“No, this is normal! Demon King, you need to understand how you were perceived by others!”
“Ah, ah… Yeah, that’s right. Ah, that’s right. That’s how others saw me a thousand years ago…”
However, his trauma was accurately hit, and he quickly fell silent. Leaving Titty sulking in a corner of the room, I continued our conversation.
“Titty can understand that. But is it too much to be afraid of me?”
“It’s because I heard so many rumors after we stopped seeing each other! They were all such bad rumors, as bad as those about the Demon King, so I thought the President I knew was gone, and I was really scared to meet you again!!”
Come to think of it, I had been in a terrible state after mistakenly believing my sister had died. When I was working with Titty, I had also tried to draw all the bad rumors to myself. Hearing the rumors from that time would explain her current reaction.
As I organized the information in my mind, Kuuneru (Female), tired from her desperate explanations, finally slumped her shoulders.
“You can just look into my brain with President’s special magic… I really have no ulterior motives… Besides, I know it’s useless to hide anything… And anyway, your charming magic works on top of my charm magic, so I can’t rebel…”
It was a swift and complete surrender.
With her permission, I gained a new method of communication: Distance Mute.
“Hmm, then if you’ll excuse me…”
After a moment of thought, I activated the magic.
Feeling a strange sense of calculation in Kuuneru (Female)’s every word, I felt it was necessary to confirm. I had to obtain a guarantee that she was not lying, otherwise, the conversation would never move forward.
“—Magic, Distance Mute: Connection.”
I gently placed my arm around Kuuneru (Female)’s chest and established a Connection.
Of course, having learned from the incident where I overdid it against the Magic Stone Human in the Cathedral a few days prior, I would only perform minimal memory communication, not emotional exchange. As she was a girl, I intended to be mindful of her privacy.
“Ngh…”
She let out a small moan, but since Kuuneru (Female) offered no resistance, the magic Distance Mute: Connection was a success.
And then, our goal became the same: to retrieve the memories from the moment we two met until our parting. The memories were unearthed very smoothly.
It felt like flipping through an old photo album.
—The first photograph was of “Kuuneru (Female) being staked to the ground in a certain mansion’s depths.”
The story began from the moment I appeared before her.
…A thousand years ago.
In that era, Vampire-type Demon people were committing inhumane acts in various places.
They abducted people, devoured them, controlled them, and even sought to destroy countries—such beings were called ‘Vampires’ by people.
My battles to not overlook the evil deeds of those ‘Demon Vampires’ were—the story of ‘Aikawa Uzunami’ and ‘Kunel Chronicle Shuls Regia Ingrid’.
From what I saw in her memories, my appearance in that era was closer to my current self than to what I would later be called Shiso Kanami. My clothes were adapted to another world, but my hair and facial features were the same.
I, who was fighting alongside the girl presumed to be Tiara, battled a clan of vampires. However, they were immortal beings. In the end, we managed to annihilate them by borrowing the help of Kuuneru, who turned out to be an anomaly among vampires.
To be blunt, the only way to kill immortal vampires was to have another vampire drain their blood. So, we had Kuuneru drain the blood of all the vampires. It was a form of soul absorption, and as a result, her level skyrocketed. Thus, she was born – a flawed yet surprisingly high-leveled vampire.
After that, she and I discovered we shared similar interests and began to travel together, eventually founding the Ingrid Trading Company. Of course, it wasn’t solely for shared hobbies; establishing a trading company as a backing also served to protect her as a rare species. However, I became busy with other matters and soon left the company. Even after I, the “Chairman,” departed, Kuuneru continued to manage the company alone and worked for the good of the world.
Her success story is grand.
Armed with knowledge of other worlds that I had supplied, she came to control the world and eventually grew the Ingrid Trading Company into the world’s foremost trade organization. Furthermore, she was not caught up in the “Shaka Hōkan Jin” of a thousand years ago; on the contrary, amidst the chaos, she used her wealth to establish a neutral country in the western frontier.
That became her country – the Regia Kingdom.
There, she created and occupied the perfect position of “Honorary Vacancy Princess,” allowing an entire lifetime of leisured NEET-dom. It seems she has been living out her remaining years peacefully, sewing clothes.
However, if the country were in danger, she apparently would step in. A member of royalty, yet an advisor. A princess, yet fundamentally maintaining mutual non-interference. If the country were truly in peril, she fully intended to flee the country under the cover of night. She lived for a thousand years in such a free position, leading to her current state.
But recently, due to the “Great Calamity,” she seems to have had many duties as a princess. It was while she was working hard on diplomacy and other matters that her ship convoy was saved by me.
…Hmm.
What is this life winner?
I’m so envious I feel like my stomach will bleed.
Is this girl truly living in the same world as me?
This girl’s life is precisely the otherworldly life that I have longed for with all my heart.
I thought so with all sincerity, her life was that wonderful.
“Yes, it’s over. You’ve seen the minimum necessary memories, right? I’m going to remove it now.”
Sensing the end of the memory retrieval, she herself pulled out the Distance Mute.
“Yeah, it’s fine now. I understand that you are a surviving blood-sucking species. And you have a very long lifespan. Just like the vampires in my world.”
It was truly the minimum, but most of my doubts were resolved, so I released the Distance Mute.
“Phew. With this, I think you understand everything. But it must be tough to have amnesia, Chairman.”
And, thanks to the Connection, I felt that many gaps had been bridged.
“I can call you Kuuneru casually from now on? …But, for a vampire, you’re awfully weak, aren’t you, Kuuneru?”
“T-that’s why I’ve survived until today, okay?”
When I stated my frank opinion, Kuuneru trembled and put up a brave front.
Now that I knew her abnormal status was true, I was completely at ease.
If my prior memories are correct, there are likely no other vampires like vampires left in this world.
Kuuneru is the only pure-blooded vampire, and her magic eyes are sealed. She can turn into mist, but only for a few seconds, and she rarely does it as it’s a waste of clothes. Turning into a bat is just a debuff, and she naturally has no superhuman strength. Her regeneration ability is disappointingly weak, and she lacks the ability to create dependents. She has no reproductive capacity or ambition. However, while she doesn’t have any of the common weaknesses, it’s understandable why she was ostracized and bullied by her companions as a “failed inferior” at a level of weakness.
“Um, your constitution makes you nearly immortal, so aren’t you having a lot of trouble…? I think I can definitely kill you now. What are you going to do?”
“Don’t! That’s why I didn’t want to meet you, Chairman! You say things like that so casually! I can live as a NEET with the top bourgeois lifestyle in this world now, so please don’t get involved with me anymore!”
Having just witnessed the precedent of Titty, I offered him a merciful end out of good intentions. However, it was rejected with a scream.
“Of course, I won’t if you don’t want me to. You can rest assured about that. …However, now I understand why you knew about Titty and me from a thousand years ago, but it’s a shame I can’t ask anything about the Apostles or the Labyrinth. It seems you were raising a trading company in the countryside during that period.”
Although the misunderstanding was cleared, at the same time, it was also clear that we were completely unrelated.
The information I could obtain from her would truly be of a peaceful nature.
“Ah, I apologize for that. I thoroughly avoided issues like the Apostles or the Thief of Principles because they are beyond my ability. But perhaps there are others who lived from a thousand years ago who might know about the Chairman back then?”
“Eh? Are there still people alive?”
“Yes. I am not the only long-lived species. I don’t know if they are acquaintances of the Chairman… but I believe there is the ‘Last Pure-Blooded Treefolk’, Sukuna Yggdrasil, near the World Tree, and the ‘Last Pure-Blooded Dragon Race’, Tulbu Tooruke, in the Frontier of the Allied Nations.”
I obtained interesting information.
It was worth discussing with her just for this.
“Hee. You have long-lived companions. Ah, you’ve been able to live happily until today because you have these companions.”
“No, I avoid them because they bully me unilaterally if I interact with them… They have truly terrible personalities…”
She seemed to genuinely dislike being associated with those long-lived races as companions. Unlike Titty, she seemed to be the type who could be happy even without an understanding person. Or perhaps, she might have understanding individuals other than the long-lived races.
As the conversation came to a rough end and mutual understanding was reached, Titty, who had been groaning at the side, revived.
“–Alright. Then we’ll take Kuuneru on the children’s journey. We’ve gained a companion. A lucky find.”
“Eh, eh? Companion!? Why!?”
“Those close in age are rare. We absolutely won’t let her escape.”
It seems Titty wants Kuuneru to accompany him.
“Close in age, you say…”
“Uh, the children are probably around 1111 years old—”
“Kuuneru is about 1050 years old. Hmm, when you put it that way, it sounds close, but if they’re more than fifty years apart, most people wouldn’t call that close.”
“But there really isn’t anyone any closer than this…”
Titty was uncharacteristically serious. Indeed, it was rare to find someone who had experienced the same millennium. While I and the other Guardians might exceed a thousand years in age, we don’t have the actual experience to match. Therefore, the only one truly comparable to Titty in age is the girl before me.
And, surprisingly, Kuuneru responded with a seemingly enthusiastic tone.
“Mmm, mmm… Traveling with the Chairman again after a long time might not be bad? I’ve been working non-stop for the past year… It would be interesting to hear more stories about other worlds, and it would bring profits to the company… The Chairman also makes and lets me eat lots of delicious food…”
It seemed she had traveled the world with me in the past. Based on that experience, she began to consider it with a hint of excitement.
“Ah, I haven’t asked an important question. What kind of journey is this?”
“Yes. My younger brother, Aid, has appointed Aikawa Hidaki as the substitute Ruling King and is doing as he pleases, so we are going to meet him. incidentally, someone called Apostle Sis also seems to be doing bad things, so we’re going to teach her a lesson.”
“Ah, ah… That’s a name from way back. …Are those the ‘Thief of Principles’ you mentioned?”
Even if she hadn’t met them, she seemed to know the names of people who had shaken the world. As the head of a major trading company, she had no choice but to be well-informed. This information made her face turn pale.
I immediately added to Titty’s explanation.
“I’m hoping to persuade Aid with Titty, but there’s also a possibility of a fight with him. Honestly, I think it’s going to be a dangerous journey.”
“Please, spare me from accompanying you. That level of serious battle is too dangerous. I’d lose both my arms and legs in an instant and just become an interesting ornament until the fight ended.”
Then, Kuuneru prostrated herself without hesitation.
Hmm, she’s truly resolute.
“Aren’t you higher level than Kanamin? You’ll be fine. It’s an order from the Demon King. You will come with us.”
Titty hugged her knees, matched her eye level, and poked her cheek repeatedly.
“Spare me! I’ll do anything else, really! Just please, not that!!”
She must have thought she was going to be taken by force. Crying again, she clung to Titty’s clothes and shook her head.
And so, the two continued to argue, one insisting on “taking her” and the other on “not wanting to go.”
After a few minutes of their argument, Titty scooped Kuuneru into her arms.
“—Ah, so Kanamin’s questions are over now?”
“Eh, have you asked most of what you wanted to know…?”
“Then, child, we shall go to her room! This is getting nowhere! I’ll spend the night persuading her, so look forward to it!”
She then tried to leave the room.
“Chairman—! Help me—!!”
Kuuneru’s death cry could be heard. However, I also wanted her to accompany us, so I decided to ask Titty to persuade her.
As I watched Kuuneru leave with a smile, she left behind a curse.
“You, damn you—! Chairman’s an idiot, an idiot! May the Chairman be cursed! May you be surrounded by all the girls you’ve dumped and stabbed to de—ath────!!”
“Guh…”
It was an overly childish curse, but for some reason, I couldn’t simply laugh it off.
As expected, she was once my friend.
With her all-too-accurate curse as the last word, the night before arriving at Cork passed—
***
—And then, the next morning.
On the deck of the passenger ship, bathed in the bright morning sun, Kuuneru and I met.
“Good morning, Chairman! Ah, shall I rub your shoulders!?”
Even though we parted with a curse last night, it was a different story after a night passed. She was the first girl who didn’t dwell on things like this. However, from her expression, I could tell she had something to ask of me.
“You have a request…? ”
While genuinely rubbing my shoulders, Kuuneru bowed her head as she had yesterday and confessed.
“I’m sorry… Frankly, could you do something about the Demon King…?”
“Ah, so that’s what it is… You really don’t want to go, do you…”
It seemed I had really spent the night persuading her.
And she had decided it would be faster to ask me instead of Titty.
“Hehehe, I’ll prostrate myself or do anything if it means staying alive, you know?”
She said something like a petty thug while giving me an unusually skillful shoulder rub. But I told her she didn’t need to worry.
“It’s okay. She’s not the type to do things that seriously bother others.”
“…Really? If the Chairman says so, I suppose that’s how it is. Alright, I’ll continue to actively dislike her. That seems to be the only way to survive.”
I decided not to voice the thought that Titty would probably keep bothering her until her limit because her disgusted reactions were amusing.
Titty is an unfortunate person in that regard.
And this journey is also her ‘final time.’ It was natural for me to want to fulfill Titty’s wish more than Kuuneru’s, whom I had only just met.
“Um, Kuuneru-chan…?”
At that moment, someone saw Kuuneru rubbing my shoulder and laughing “hehehe.” It was the orthodox princess. Chloe was behind her, like a guard.
Kuuneru quickly composed herself and turned to face them.
“Flora-san, Chloe-san. Please don’t mind me. I’m just doing this because I want the Chairman to be happy… Ufufu.”
“Eh, ehh…?”
The fact that Kuuneru, who was a distinguished princess on the Mainland, was acting like a maid giving a shoulder rub naturally elicited confusion. Kuuneru, to make her words more convincing, quickly came up with a plausible excuse.
“Last night, when I went out for some air, I happened to meet the Chairman, and we became very close in just one night. Right, Chairman?”
“Ah, ah. Something like that.”
I cooperated with her. The princess seemed convinced, but Chloe, who was in the military, was not. She took a step forward, intending to press for details.
“No, that’s absurd… What could have happened in just one night…?”
“We just talked a little. Yes, that’s all. Chloe-san.”
Kuuneru stopped her with a firm tone.
“That… No, it’s not my place to interfere.”
“Yes, that’s right. As expected of a daughter of the Siddharuku family. You are very wise.”
She silenced me without argument. For that moment, there was an aura that made me believe this boisterous vampire was royalty.
However, the aura quickly vanished, and she started rubbing my shoulder again, asking, “If anything happens, Chairman, please handle the Demon King!” The orthodox princess, with a bitter smile at her sudden change of demeanor, changed the subject.
“Let’s just say there’s something between Kanami-sama and Kuuneru-sama that only the two of you understand… More importantly, it’s almost time.”
She looked not at us but at the sea, indicating that our destination was approaching. To change the subject, I asked Chloe about the situation at our destination.
“Um, are we almost there at ‘Cork’…? However, I heard the Mainland is currently at war. Is it safe…?”
“It’s true that there’s a war on the Mainland, but ‘Cork’ is safe. The flames of war will absolutely not reach there. Rest assured, Kanami-sama, Flora-sama.”
Chloe, who was in the military and a daughter of a great aristocratic Siddharuku family, calmly dispelled the princess’s anxieties with her noble demeanor. She then loudly declared the biggest reason why ‘Cork’ was safe.
“More than anything! We have the Deputy Commander-in-Chief at our ‘Cork’— none other than Snow Walker herself! No matter what happens, Snow-sama will surely resolve it!!”
It was the existence of a girl named Snow Walker.
As I heard the name of a familiar companion, we saw it. Just then, a sailor who had been on lookout spotted the continent on the horizon and shouted, “We’ve arrived!” It seemed the long ship journey was finally over. Kuuneru and I walked to the edge of the deck and saw the continent with our own eyes. A continent that filled the horizon. —It was the Mainland. Visible to the naked eye, not through a Dimension.
Ah, I’ve come here again. To this battlefield—
There are no hidden landmines in this new character. The protagonist, Kanami, confirmed it. It’s completely clean. According to Kanami’s confirmation.
