Chapter 142

I had no expectations of the treatment ending in just one go, so for now, we decided to heal Princess Paina using Saint Power and then keep an eye on things.

“Hoo.”

After receiving my Saint Power, Paina let out a gentle sigh and broke into a bright smile.

“I feel a bit lighter in my body.”

“Saint Power can heal all the bad parts of your body. If you were feeling a little fatigued, that sensation might go away.”

Upon hearing my response, Paina murmured, “I wish His Majesty could receive this power too,” with a tilted head.

…

Thinking back, didn’t they say that marriage between siblings was not so strange in ancient Egypt?

If the King himself said ‘before the wedding,’ maybe this sister’s future husband is the King himself.

If she doesn’t want her partner, it wouldn’t be weird for her to act a little, but—

Even if Princess Paina happens to like someone else, there’s nothing I could do about it. If I step one foot further, I’d literally be swept into a conflict between nations.

I’m sure the King wouldn’t want that either.

I didn’t ask any deeper questions and stood up from my seat.

Suddenly, my eyes met those of one of the maids.

The maid, who was observing Paina, quickly lowered her head as soon as she caught my gaze.

I didn’t feel anything suspicious there.

She had been close to Paina, even pointing out her mistakes with gestures the last time. That time we bumped into each other in the corridor, she was also the maid following behind.

Unlike Paina and the King with their ears perked up, the maid had slightly drooping ears, resembling a cute puppy’s.

As I stared at her, her ears twitched slightly, and I found it somewhat cute—but—

“Please don’t tease me too much,”

Paina said with a smile.

“Anna.”

Then Ria quietly came beside me and warned me.

No, I didn’t mean to do that at all.

Maybe Ria was a bit more on edge since coming here, reacting more sensitively to my every move. That never happened back in the Dwarf Kingdom.

Well, technically, the dynamics between us back then and now are a little different.

…

If I had to explain how they were different, it would be a bit vague, though.

I lightly nodded to Paina as a greeting and returned to my room.

*

Still, I’m slowly getting more comfortable bathing with Ria.

I trust Ria. This is completely heartfelt. Just because I’m next to her doesn’t mean Ria would do anything weird.

That trust is also a rational belief, separate from the emotional one I have. In the original story, Ria was a character who liked men, which meant she wasn’t really sexually drawn to women.

“Hoo.”

As I submerse myself a bit more, exhaling deeply,

“Seems like you’re deep in thought,”

Ria said, slightly turning her body toward me. One arm propped on the edge of the bathtub while she glanced back at me, making the water almost overflow. Even her left armpit was fully visible.

Having a string going over or not over that armpit had quite an effect.

I forced my gaze to turn away. Still, I confidently believe I managed to look away nonchalantly. This is probably thanks to the adaptation I’ve built being next to Ria for the past few days.

“It doesn’t seem like anything is changing, even after pouring Saint Power for several days.”

“Well, that’s true. No matter how you look at it, it only seems like acting, right?”

“What about the information you didn’t know?”

“I can have a maid bring me information.”

“Maid? Really?”

“Directly serving royalty is not a lowly position. Moreover, the King of this land is not just a descendant of the gods, he is actually revered as a god. The ones assisting him aren’t just common farmers.”

“Ah.”

“They could also be descendants of those buried within the pyramids… Or, it’s said that ‘royal tombs’ are mentioned, but surely that information can’t be stored nowhere else, right?”

Ria’s words seemed plausible.

“If one were to go insane, it would be, after all, for marriage, right?”

“Exactly. Wanting to marry someone else or absolutely not wanting to marry for certain reasons.”

While the King didn’t seem like a bad person, it’s possible he could love someone else.

However, no other male was allowed to enter the Princess’s chambers.

From what I gathered about this world, virginity before marriage doesn’t seem to hold much importance. Apparently, there’s no such word as ‘virgin’ at all.

The rule of this world was to have free romantic relationships but remain faithful only to one’s partner after marriage.

This means that if Princess Paina wants to date someone, she can easily have a lover. And if that is indeed the case, surely someone else must have the chance to mingle there as well.

“…A woman?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

Ria reacted to my mumbling, but I quickly changed the subject.

For now, it’s just speculation.

There’s no evidence or anything, just a few people I’ve seen.

But.

Ria could never imagine it, but the moment I thought of it, I realized—

…

Oh wait.

Isn’t this train of thought getting increasingly dangerous?

Am I going to end up getting hurt and hiding away in a corner if Ria ends up dating someone later on?

No, just imagining it doesn’t feel good.

“Well, don’t get too hung up on problems you can’t solve right away. Shall we start getting out?”

Seeing Ria smile as she said that, I let out a somewhat relieved sigh and stood up.

I still covered my body with a towel.

But somehow, I was slightly looking forward to that moment of stepping out with Ria.

…

This really seems to be getting dangerous.

*

The next day.

Still, since I received a request, I decided to make sure to solve one thing before leaving, and I visited the King again.

“The magic stones, I understand what you’re thinking, but the magic stone mine is quite far from here.”

The King shook his head while speaking.

“Our clerics haven’t been just sitting around doing nothing. They were thinking of resolving the situation somehow.”

“So, in the end, you judged that a soul was involved…”

“Well, it seems to be effective.”

The King smiled a bit as he looked at me.

“At least, while you are here, my sister hasn’t had another outbreak.”

“…Is that so?”

I tilted my head while responding.

The King exchanged a few words with us, and I replied with the usual clichés of compliments. However, even as I turned to leave the room, I felt an unsettling feeling.

If the Princess was indeed acting, it wouldn’t be impossible for the King to send me in as a slight warning for her.

“Controlling someone with magic power is quite a difficult task.”

With that little doubt, I asked Glaria, who had come along with me.

“You saw it yourself, didn’t you? Back at the Dwarf Kingdom. If one used that much magic power, they would definitely show themselves.”

“Then it’s indeed…”

“That might suggest we’re entangled in some annoying political affair.”

Glaria had a similar judgment.

In the end, I was forced to return to my room with that same unsettling feeling.

*

Just to be sure, I wandered around pouring Saint Power to purge magic, but aside from really necessary parts, nothing much happened.

Beastmen don’t revere magic power that much. It seems like they mostly worship strength as their basic might is quite impressive.

Eventually, while just wasting time without discovering anything, I was pondering how to head back, when someone came to visit us.

“You are…?”

“…I-I apologize. I seem to have forgotten to fetch water for here, um… could you postpone the bath until I return with water?”

It was that maid.

The maid who was with Princess Paina.

If she directly supports the Princess, she must not be of low status.

Both of us allowed her to continue, and she hurriedly moved around using magic to resolve the situation.

…It seems I might have broken something wandering around pouring out magic just to feel at ease.

Only after watching her fix things and water flowing beautifully over the bathtub did the maid return and bow to us again.

“Thank you—”

“S-saintess.”

As I lightly greeted her to send her off, she suddenly spoke up to me.

“Yes?”

“C-could you not just leave the Princess as she is?”

“……”

No matter how high a status the maid had, saying something like this certainly shouldn’t be allowed.

“The Princess, after all, is… she likely won’t live long anyway.”

“……”

What in the world is she talking about?

Ria and I stared blankly at each other.

“Shall we sit and talk for a bit?”

“Ah, I, I…”

“You came to explain the Princess’s situation directly to me, didn’t you? If I don’t hear the story properly, I won’t know how to help her. I can’t just let this slip by without telling His Majesty that the Princess doesn’t have much time left.”

“……”

“If it’s difficult to be away for too long, I can break the storage device again.”

“N-no, I wouldn’t need you to go that far…”

In the end, the maid took a seat in front of us and barely managed to speak up.

“Members of the royalty tend to have certain specific diseases.”

Generally speaking, handling magic power means moving the weak magic within one’s body to alter parts of the world. This is called ‘casting magic.’

Dwarves can accumulate magic power within their bodies, which is a bit different from that.

And the same goes for Beastmen.

“…However, you believe it’s dangerous to depend too much on magic power, don’t you?”

“Yes. That’s because our bodies can easily become addicted to magic power.”

The maid swallowed hard, cautiously glancing around, then slightly leaned towards me and said,

“We have the blood of the Demon Race running through our bodies.”

“……”

Ria and I looked at each other once more.

Then, with serious expressions, we both turned toward the maid and said,

“Please elaborate.”