Four Days

Generally speaking, how many things in life had ever gone the way I wanted?

I didn't know for certain, but at least in this life of mine, the number of things that went my way had been fairly high.

Of course, I'll only have the breathing room to talk about this life after I kill that motherfucker from the Demon King's Army who spectacularly ruined everything for me right from the start. But it was also true that the process of working toward that goal had gone more smoothly than expected.

Still, just because everything rolled along according to plan didn't mean I could relax. That was the part I didn't like.

Didn't programmers say it's a problem if the program has bugs, and also a problem if it has no bugs? That was exactly my situation.

If I couldn't recognize it at all, that would be one thing. But I knew perfectly well that the world was never easy, and having things go this smoothly actually put pressure on me. It was even worse because this was a fantasy world, a place where all sorts of races, divine beings, and bizarre creatures that could rival transcendents coexisted.

Without realizing it, was I turning into a frog in a well? Would something suddenly appear one day, and I wouldn't even be able to resist before my second life ended too?

That anxiety always lurked around me, constantly gnawing at my nerves. This was why I could never break free of my obsessive compulsion.

The only reason I could endure it was purely because I was living a second time, not because I had some convenient passive skill like immunity to mental attacks.

Any working adult picks up a trick or two for dealing with shapeless anxiety, right?

"This skewered treat has a truly wondrous taste. Though I know they have merely disguised inferior meat by marinating it in strong seasoning... my hand keeps reaching for it."

"Eat slowly. If you eat that kind of thing too fast, you'll get a stomachache."

"Mm. Indeed, it is so stimulating that I fear the consequences."

But the Esmue in front of me wasn't like that. She was just an ordinary genius.

Calling her an ordinary genius was absurd, but with two otherworldly reincarnators in the vicinity, a genius was indeed ordinary.

Anyway, no matter how brilliant she was, she was still living through her first life. Because she was a genius, the reverence and worship of those around her forced her to stand aloof and alone, making it easy for her to become isolated. And on top of that, she was an unprecedented prodigy burdened with enormous expectations. That said it all.

In that situation, was it really as easy as it sounded for a person with normal thinking—not arrogant or complacent—to foresee and prepare for new threats each time? Especially when there wasn't a single person she could open up to about her struggles?

To me, she seemed to carry a loneliness not much different from what the Hero must have felt. At least he only had himself to put on the line. What Esmue had to bear was the Empire.

"To have been born and raised here yet remain ignorant of such things... truly a laughable matter."

The way she smiled bashfully was unmistakably that of an ordinary girl.

No matter how much she was called the Iron-Blood Princess or how impossibly skilled she was at politics, she still felt joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure like anyone else. She wasn't some being with warped emotions.

To worship someone like that... maybe because this was a world with gods, but by my standards, that wasn't normal behavior.

Of course, I understood. The problem was that she had always done ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her job too well. That was why the skilled knights scattered throughout the market even now could hide their identities, keep their mouths shut, and simply watch, trusting her completely and never doubting her.

It wasn't hard to guess that the reason they hadn't rushed out was purely because Esmue hadn't given any orders.

They were certain that no matter the situation, she would make the right decision and give precise orders. That was why they merely watched even as I skipped class, practically kidnapped her, dressed her in ordinary clothes no one would normally dare put on a princess, and took her around eating cheap street food.

What kind of fanatical trust was that? In my firm opinion, that was never an attitude adults should show toward an 18-year-old kid.

This was a separate issue from respecting her ability.

Being surrounded by such people might be proof of how outstanding she was, but from the perspective of an ordinary person like me, it only looked like an extreme environment perfectly suited to speeding along under the pressure of having to lead everyone without proper human relationships, until one day she collapsed from burnout.

If she'd never caught my eye, that would be one thing. But now that she had—and I'd already grown fond of her—I couldn't just stand by and watch.

At least, not until it was proven that she really was the absolute pinnacle of geniuses and all of these worries of mine were nothing but needless anxiety.

To me, Esmue was a hamster before she was a princess.

"I haven't played like this in a really long time either, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let's enjoy it to the fullest."

"Heh heh. I look forward to it. This is a realm I know nothing of, so I shall expect your escort."

My cute friend Hamster.

And Eldmia Ega didn't abandon a friend.

◈

Having gained confidence from the fact that no one recognized her and freaked out or knelt even as we crisscrossed the capital, Esmue began eagerly looking around at various things.

It was amusing that most of them were food items, but thinking about it, she had probably experienced every kind of high-end accessory and garment already, so the commoners' snacks she saw for the first time might have been the most interesting by necessity.

Ogwen wasn't even worth mentioning, and not even Itisel's capital could compare. The Empire's capital was overflowing with places for leisure and just as much food. With no time to get bored, we wandered through shops, buying and eating this and that and constantly trying new things. As time passed, Esmue grew more energetic too, and our food tour continued in a cheerful mood.

From what I saw, even Eselua was constantly glued to the Hero, so it didn't look like being an imperial princess prevented such leisure activities at all. It just seemed that she had been so buried in work for so long that she missed both the time and the opportunity.

After all that snacking and then dinner, Esmue was still there, now expertly settled on my shoulder. If I'd been relying on my bare body, even someone as light as her would have wrecked my shoulder long ago, but that meant nothing in the face of Magic Power.

"Goodness. Your appearance at the academy was pure pretense, wasn't it, Eldmia?"

"I'd like you to call it the ability to distinguish between public ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and private and to know the right time and place. It's on a completely different level from pretense."

"Honestly, you're far too good at talking people around..."

Laughing, the hand that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠familiarly stroked my head was tiny but warm.

With the excuse that the knights watching us also needed to clock out, we brought our little escapade to a fitting end and were now on our way back to the mansion. Esmue, not particularly surprised that I had noticed them, seemed to have a little regret left, but she didn't hesitate.

"Now that I ask, why did you suddenly decide to skip class and suggest we go out and have fun?"

"I told you the day we first met. If you use a tool without rest, it wears out before its time. How could a person be any different?"

"I do rest when I can, you know?"

"A person who has to lead a nation—how much rest could she possibly get? Probably just stretching out the fragmented sleep a bit longer."

"That's so accurate I don't even know what to say."

Really? It seemed Esmue's stunted growth had been affected by lack of sleep.

"So brilliant, and yet how can you be so tactless..."

"If you take away tact, I'm a corpse, you know."

"Then I am currently riding a corpse."

Esmue spoke in a firm tone and stroked my head.

She'd have to see me fight one against many to stop saying that. If I lacked tact, I would have died at least four more times already.

"For some reason, I feel dissatisfaction welling up from your head."

"Wait, you can feel that?"

"Heh heh. Who knows? But one thing is certain: there's a problem up ahead that the perceptive Eldmia needs to solve."

"Huh?"

The only thing ahead was our mansion... though...

Mm. Now Ragnis was there too.

As I approached, breaking into a cold sweat over what on earth I should say, Esmue unexpectedly spoke first.

"Would you like to ride as well? It is surprisingly stable."

"May I think of you as Esmue and not as Your Highness the Princess?"

"Of course. I don't pick and choose when to invoke my authority based on whether it benefits me."

"Very well, Esmue. Shall we talk for a moment?"

As I set Esmue down and glanced around nervously, Ragnis seemed intent on talking only with Esmue and didn't call me aside.

Still, she was composed, unlike the way she had appeared lately... so there shouldn't be any problems... right?

"Sir Eldmia, you will talk with me."

Just as I was about to feel relieved, Renisa, who had clearly realized she had been deceived, fixed me with a cold glare and grabbed me.

Fine. Wrong is wrong. I had to take my due.