I messed up.
It’s completely ruined.
The hot spring bath is totally out of the question.
If there were just one or two people, I could pretend not to notice and go for it, but it feels like half the first-year girls are here.
In this situation, a hot spring bath is impossible.
“Hawa wa wa wa…”
Evangeline lets out a squeal with a flushed face.
She’s looking at me through her splayed fingers.
Why on Earth is she covering her face with both hands when she’s seeing everything?
Unbelievable.
Anyway, I have to get out of here.
Just as I was thinking that and about to leave…
“KYAAAHHHHHHHH!”
Beatrice, who was next to Evangeline, screamed.
Everyone’s gaze turned towards me.
“It’s the Black Beast!”
“How dare you enter the women’s bath like that…!”
“Could it be that he came to get a bath from the harem members?”
“KYAAAHHHHH! I just made eye contact with him!”
“Gasp…! What’s this?! The Black Beast… it’s so huge down there…! So that’s why the harem members scream every night?!”
“What’s up with the Black Beast… His body is amazing, right? Is that why all the beautiful girls in the academy fell for him? I might be a little smitten?”
I can hear the extra girls screaming and buzzing around.
This is exactly why I was planning to leave quickly.
Damn it.
When I saw it in the anime, I wondered why Kim was covering the bodies of the heroines like that. I even liked it when Kim was erased in the BD version, but seeing it in real life, I can’t accept it so easily.
Honestly, it was better when it was 2D.
Just as I was about to turn back…
“Ughhh! Despicable! Pervert! Scoundrel! Fool! Idiot! Sea cucumber! Sea squirt anemone! The dumbest in the universe! C-choose a time and place, will you!!”
I hear Olivia’s voice.
Through the thick fog.
I can see Olivia, with a bright red face.
She’s soaking in the hot spring with her ample chest covered by her arms, her blue eyes quivering.
“You just said to choose a time and place?!”
“Then, does that mean it’s possible in another location?”
“French Knight Princess, you’re amazing! Just like a free-spirited nation like France!”
“Black Beast… to bring down a noble princess like that… how terrifying!”
Following Olivia’s comment, the extras inevitably chimed in with nonsense.
I knew it would be like this.
Sigh.
Saying anything more would just fan the flames of the burning house.
It’s better not to say a word and just leave.
Smoothly.
I head outside, receiving the hot gazes of the first-year girls.
Damn it.
I’ll have to come back later tonight when the large bathhouse opens again.
*
After Kim Deok-Sung left.
Large Bathhouse.
In the steaming hot spring,
the chatter of the students could be heard.
“Black Beast, looking pretty good, huh?”
“Honestly, I wanted to see more.”
“I didn’t think you’d come in so boldly.”
The female cadets were gossiping about Kim Deok-Sung.
Despite not knowing much else, they couldn’t deny that Kim Deok-Sung had quite the physique, and his notable attributes kept the rumors about him circulating among the ladies.
“Ugh…”
Hearing those voices, Olivia let out a groan.
Her face flushed red.
“Hey! You there! It’s noisy!”
With a snap,
Olivia stood up, placing her hands on her ample bosom.
Hot spring water trickled down her curvy body in droplets.
“I absolutely cannot allow other commoners other than me, his personal maid, to make any evaluations about that fool! Because I am his personal maid!”
Olivia’s blue eyes scanned the female cadets in the hot spring.
Platinum-colored magic flared from her body.
“So everyone stop talking about that fool and get out right now!!”
With a snap,
Olivia pointed towards the exit and shouted.
The Platinum Princess.
The overwhelming aura of her magic made the extras’ faces stiffen.
One by one, they hesitated, then started to get up and leave.
As the female cadets exited like a receding tide, only Olivia, Rin, Eri, Makoto, Haru, Evangelin, and Beatrice remained.
An awkward silence hung between the heroines.
“Hmph… anyway… that fool needs me, his personal maid, to support him…”
Olivia broke the silence, crossing her arms with a pout.
Only she, his personal maid, had the right to scold him or judge him.
That’s what Olivia thought.
“Hawawa… Princess Bonaparte is right! Kim Deok-Sung can’t do without Princess Bonaparte by his side!”
With a soft thud,
Evangelin looked at Olivia and said.
Hearing the praise from Evangelin, the British princess, Olivia’s lips curled up slightly.
“Ohohoho! As expected from the noble Stuart royal family, you recognize the worth of this personal maid, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte!”
“Not just Princess Bonaparte.”
With a thud,
Evangelin placed her hand on her chest.
In her line of sight were familiar faces,
from Olivia to Rin, Eri, and Makoto.
“Shinozaki Ichiro, Nishizawa Eri, and Kamiya Makoto, they are all my cherished benefactors who saved the girl and her country from that man’s clutches.”
Hawawa.
Evangelin chuckled.
That day,
had Kim Deok-Sung not exposed William’s true nature to the world,
had Olivia not dealt with William,
and had Rin, Eri, and Makoto not helped her,
by now, William’s coup would have succeeded, and she might have fallen from a caged bird to a slave.
The horrifying memories of when William reigned supreme over St. George Academy still vividly haunted Evangelin.
Being a fellow member of the Stuart royal family, she couldn’t openly torment her, but he subtly isolated her, making those around her miserable, turning Evangelin herself into a lonely outcast.
Every time she felt his lewd gaze or heard his lewd comments, chills ran down her spine.
Done.
They were the benefactors who saved us from such a terrible time.
I couldn’t help but respect them.
Even if the target was the French princess, England’s eternal rival.
An awkward silence filled the air after Evangelin’s heartfelt thank-you.
“Hmph! It’s not like I was trying to get a thank you from some British princess! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
The first to respond was Olivia.
She spoke with a twitching lip, her face red.
Though things have mellowed greatly in modern times, England and France once had a rivalry that lasted a hundred years.
Naturally, Olivia was also watching Evangelin unconsciously.
Twitch.
The corners of Olivia’s mouth curled up.
“The princess is right. Eri was just helping our master.”
Next to speak after Olivia was Eri.
She smiled as she said, “Yeah, I was just doing what a servant should do. Don’t mind it too much.”
Makoto, who was next to Eri, chimed in, “Hey!”
“Gyaaah!”
Seeing that, Eri pounced on Makoto from behind.
“Doesn’t this make her even bigger? Our Makopi.”
“No, don’t! Eri-chan! Huh?!”
Splish-splash.
Scoundrel acts happening in the hot spring.
Olivia sighed as she watched the splashing water.
“Seriously… Having too little dignity is also a problem.”
Hearing Olivia’s mumbling, a smile crept onto Rin’s lips.
She turned to Evangelin and said, “There’s no need to feel indebted. Stewart.”
“But…”
Just as Evangelin was about to respond to Rin’s comment,
“Contractor! Why are you leaving me out!”
Splish.
Beatrice emerged from the water.
Still wearing her blindfold even in the hot spring.
Seeing this, a smile escaped Evangelin’s lips.
“Oh my! Trixie is a precious friend of a girl, right? Don’t feel too left out!”
“Hmph. I didn’t really expect such an answer.”
Beatrice puffed up her cheeks.
But her friend Evangelin knew that Beatrice was actually happy.
With a proud feeling, Evangelin placed her hand on her chest.
‘If I don’t convey my thanks to the ladies of Kim Deok-Sung…’
Just when Evangelin was about to express her gratitude.
“Nishishishi.”
An unfamiliar laughter tickled her ears.
Evangelin turned her gaze towards the source of the laughter.
There stood a beautiful girl with two-toned side tails, a mix of red and black—Kurosawa Haru.
“Eva Onee-chan.”
Haru’s voice flowed out.
“The way you talk is so funny, Eva Onee-chan. Don’t you have anything to say to me? Just talking to the older girls makes me sad.”
Evangelin’s face stiffened.
Her eyebrows twitched.
It wouldn’t matter if it were someone else, but that girl.
Evangelin didn’t owe anything to Kurosawa Haru.
Moreover, to laugh at her way of speaking?
To mock the cultured way of speaking she had refined growing up in the British royal family?
The honor of the Stewart royal family was being trampled upon.
She couldn’t back down.
“What do you mean by ‘the way I talk is so funny’?”
Evangelin’s voice sharpened slightly.
“Hahaha! Eva Onee-chan is just so funny! Why are you so sensitive? I was just trying to joke around…”
Haru narrowed her eyes.
Splish.
She cut through the water and approached Evangelin with a smile.
“…I just wanted Eva Onee-chan to treat me super friendly too. I totally love Deok-Sung Onii-chan just like you do. Nishishishi.”
“I was just joking, hoping that sister would treat me super close too. Haru totally loves Deok-Sung oppa just like Eva does. Hehe.”
Haru covers her mouth.
“Of course, it’s way better that I’m a super☆kawaii☆meisaku gyaru★little sister than some plain, unappealing air heroine like Eva. Hehe. Give it your all.”
At Haru’s words, Evangelin’s eyes sink heavily.
Though she is evaluated as a heroine by those around her, there’s only so much pain one can take.
‘What?! A plain girl? An unappealing heroine?!’
The audacity displayed by the girl in front of her was more than enough to push Evangelin’s patience to the limit.
“Who decided that I want to be friends with you? Miss Kurosawa! And I am definitely an attractive lady! Kim Deok-Sung will surely notice my charm!”
“Really? Are you confident, Eva-nee?”
Haru’s question makes Evangelin hesitate.
A simple question about her confidence.
But Evangelin couldn’t answer with a clear YES.
Her feelings were mere one-sided fan enthusiasm and unrequited love.
As a lady, she had never properly showcased her charm to him, and naturally, he had never looked at her in the same way.
That fact pierced Evangelin’s heart like a dagger.
“………”
Evangelin falls silent.
She stands up.
“It’s fine. I think it’s better if I take my leave now.”
Evangelin exits the bathhouse.
“Eh? Eva-nee! Eva-nee!”
Ignoring Haru’s voice calling her from behind, Evangelin walks out of the large bathhouse, putting on a yukata.
While she was walking aimlessly to clear her head,
“Miss Stewart.”
A familiar voice calls from behind.
Evangelin turns her head.
There stood a tall, slender beautiful girl in a yukata, with impressive navy blue ponytails and a worried expression—Shinozaki Rin.
*
At the same time.
Tokyo, Hero Association Headquarters Building.
On the top floor overlooking the vast cityscape of Tokyo.
In the President’s Office, Shinozaki Ichiro, the President, and Nakayama Sojiro, the Vice President, are facing each other.
“This time, we’re in charge of protecting kids, not just any protection but a secret one. The two EX-rank personnel involved in this secret protection are you and me? Is the old lady losing her mind?”
The vice president, Nakayama Sojiro, grumbles with an annoyed voice.
Ichiro blinks, then opens his eyes.
His somber green eyes reflect Sojiro’s face.
“Losing her mind? That’s absurd. This secret protection mission must be completed, Nakayama.”
“It’s because of the president’s daughter, right? I know you just want to use this escort mission as an excuse to see her. Can’t you please leave me out of this? I really hate these provincial trips.”
“Ahem. No can do.”
Ichiro coughs lightly in response to Sojiro’s sharp comment.
“I’m just curious about how our daughter is doing in Beppu······. I already miss her.”
“An ultra doting father is running this damned black company called the Hero Association······.”
After hearing Ichiro’s muttering, Sojiro scoffs.
This was a conversation at the Japanese Hero Association before the claws of the New World League reached out.
