Chapter 67
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Rolling Stone... (2)
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About two hours later.
In front of the house I shared with Erzena.
I grabbed the doorknob, my face twisted in utter reluctance, and said,
"Are you really sure about this? I can still find you a nice inn right now."
But Elaine and Hannah were adamant.
"It's fine. Right, Princess?"
"Yeah!"
They stared at the door with eyes full of eager anticipation, poised to charge inside the moment it swung open.
At the sight, I let out a deep sigh. Erzena, standing beside me, whispered softly,
"Erzena. I hope your plan works out."
"Don't worry. This'll make those two give up on the spot."
Two hours earlier, she'd shattered everyone's expectations by telling me,
"Let's take the princess back to the house."
"What!? No, you know what kind of state the place is in..."
"That's exactly why. It's the surest way."
The best way to turn down a stubborn person's resolve was to show them the unvarnished, brutal truth.
To break Elaine's determination to stay at my house, she'd have to witness it firsthand with her own eyes.
The fact that my home was utterly unfit for someone of a princess's station.
And it wasn't exactly a win for me either.
I'd have to lay bare my entire private life to Elaine.
But there was no other way to sway her.
'Please, let this ruthless method do the trick.'
Praying fervently, I opened the door.
"Very well, then. Come on in."
- Creak.
"Pardon the intrusion!"
"...Ugh."
The moment the door swung open, Hannah bolted inside first, not even giving Elaine a chance to stop her.
"Whoa, not quite palace-sized, but bigger than I expected-, huh?"
"...Huh?"
And there it was—the pitiful state of the interior, laid bare.
Even with Erzena around, the total disaster hadn't changed a bit, greeting our quartet.
Blankets tossed haphazardly over the sofa.
The table had been wiped down at some point, but it sat barren without so much as a tablecloth.
Peeling old wallpaper we still hadn't stripped, dusty window frames.
The only clean spot was the space right in front of the fireplace—the one where Erzena and I often sat together and talked.
Everything else was just as messy as it had been a few days ago.
"..."
"..."
Hannah and Elaine slowly turned to stare at me.
Their eyes screaming, 'This is a house?'
It was exactly the face Erzena had made when she'd first stepped inside a few days back.
I'd steeled myself for it.
Erzena had already given me my shot.
So why was my face burning up anyway?
"If I'd had the time, I would've cleaned."
I tossed out the cowardly excuse, but got no reply.
Just Hannah's gaze, a mix of half-contempt and pity.
"It's true! Please believe me!"
The harsh truth cuts both ways.
It shocks your target, but it hits you with plenty of mental damage too.
Erzena flashed a triumphant smile at the scene.
"See? Nathan's place isn't exactly great. Now you get it, right?"
"Erzena..."
But when their eyes shifted to her next, even Erzena faltered.
"Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hannah fell silent for a beat.
Elaine couldn't speak anyway, her mouth firmly shut.
But their eyes said everything.
'You lived here for days? You, a former saintess?'
Disbelief. Horror. Even a touch of pity.
'You could've at least cleaned it yourself.'
Complex emotions swirled on their faces as they stared Erzena down.
"Ahem! Well... I wanted to clean, but Nathan kept insisting no..."
Erzena's face flushed as red as mine while she cleared her throat with an excuse.
"If I'd had the time, I would've! For real!"
The harsh truth cuts both ways.
The blame didn't fall solely on me. As my cohabitant, she shared some of it.
'Still, this is a golden opportunity.'
After seeing the disaster, they couldn't possibly insist on staying anymore.
"As you can see, this isn't fit for a princess, so let me show you to—"
Right as I jumped in to add,
"No good. That elf sister was right."
Hannah muttered in a low voice.
- Snap!
She suddenly rolled up her sleeves and pulled a tie from her pocket, yanking her hair back into a tight bun.
"Time for a full deep clean! Everyone out!"
"...Pardon?"
Now?
The sun had already set, and she wanted us gone?
I was the homeowner here?
But Hannah declared firmly,
"As Hannah Mayer, palace maid and the princess's personal attendant, I cannot abide this pigsty!"
"Pig... pigsty?"
Erzena suddenly cried out, as if struck by trauma.
"What's wrong with pigs!? They're so cute and clean and adorable!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
A brief silence.
I—the one who knew the truly brutal truth of the "sow saintess"—broke it.
"Miss Hannah. My house has two floors plus a basement. It's too much for one person. Don't wear yourself out—just let me find ano—"
"Three hours."
"Pardon?"
"That's how long it took me to clean twenty-four rooms, including the princess's, plus the entire third floor at the palace."
Flames of passion blazed in those blue eyes.
The girl, armed with unyielding professional pride, declared,
"Just give me three hours. Go grab dinner. I'll have it all done by then."
Ah.
That's when I knew.
Reason wouldn't work on these two.
Even if the sky fell, they were dead set on staying here.
Erzena sensed it too, pressing her forehead with a sigh.
"Haa... No helping it."
"...Yeah."
Pushing back against a royal request any further would just come off as rude.
We'd already made it to the house—no backing out now.
"...Miss Hannah. It's late, so could you just clean the princess's room for tonight?"
"Fifteen minutes! Where's the broom?"
In the end, Nathan and Erzena were the ones who caved.
- Bang! Crash!
An unexpected racket shattered the peaceful evening inside the house.
- Swish swish swish.
From behind a closed door on the second floor came the relentless sound of a broom—something we hadn't heard in ages.
"...How did things end up like this."
"No idea."
Nathan and Erzena squatted by the fireplace, staring blankly at the flames as they muttered.
"This wasn't what I wanted."
"No kidding."
"I just hoped they'd stay somewhere more comfortable."
"Yeah."
Elaine timidly scooted closer to my right side, hugging her knees in the same pose as us, and mumbled,
"Uuuu."
[Yeah.]
With Hannah hauling a full load of cleaning supplies straight into the second-floor room, she only had us three left to rely on now.
"Haaa..."
"Haaa..."
Nathan and Erzena sighed in unison, scooting over just a bit.
Three young folks crammed onto the tiny carpet, squatting.
Too exhausted for words, we just gazed at the fire when Erzena finally spoke up.
"Now that the princess has a place to stay, you'll have to head to the Immigration Control Office with me tomorrow."
"Pardon?"
I turned to her in surprise.
"What are you talking about?"
"You said it yourself earlier—this is her first time outside the palace. No better place than the border to shatter her preconceptions, right?"
I thought it over briefly.
'Yeah. Could be the right call.'
My original plan had been to let her get her bearings safely around here while staying at my place.
Wandering the market together after work.
Strolling quiet streets first—taking it slow.
But Erzena's idea might actually be more effective.
The border was where you'd run into countless people and races, after all.
For Elaine, just being at the office would throw a ton of new experiences her way.
No reason to say no.
As long as the princess agreed.
"Princ—"
I caught myself mid-word.
'Gotta be careful with titles from now on.'
If I kept calling her that at the office, it'd put her in a real bind.
We were alone now, but we'd go out together someday, and if I slipped into "Princess" out of habit...
'Every eye in the world would turn our way.'
It was just like with Erzena.
Call her "Saintess," and people clocked her.
But her name? Barely registered.
With the Church's influence so weak here, hardly anyone recognized her as long as she hid her holy power—just saw a beauty.
Time to do the same for the princess.
'Green eyes can be concealed somehow, but the title changes now.'
We needed to start shifting things right away.
"Elaine."
- Flinch.
Erzena shot me a startled glance, then caught on to my intent and relaxed.
Elaine, who'd been blankly watching the fire dance, looked up.
"If that's what you want, how about coming to the Immigration Control Office with me and Erzena tomorrow?"
[...]
"The best way to learn about the world is to dive in headfirst."
Our eyes met.
Hesitant gaze.
Elaine wavered.
One final step from the world, locked in her last dilemma.
That's when Erzena's voice chimed in.
"You've come this far—one more step won't hurt. Princess... I mean, Elaine."
Only then did Elaine realize it.
Since she'd swatted away her hand at the office, the woman in front of her hadn't shown a single hint of holy power.
[...]
It was unmistakable goodwill.
"Otherwise, Nathan'll just be stuck with me."
"...Uuu."
At that, Elaine's face twisted in indignation, and she finally nodded.
[I'll go. Let's head out together tomorrow morning.]
She'd finally mustered her courage.
No clue where that spark came from.
"There, we've got her buy-in. You can't say no now, can you, Nathan?"
Erzena shrugged.
I gave a sly smile and told her,
"Didn't see that coming."
"What?"
"Figured you'd be the one against it. Never thought you'd help out."
"Ha."
A short laugh escaped her.
"Embracing a rolling stone might just be the settled stone's role, after all."
She turned back to the fireplace with a wry smile.
"How could I turn away someone who's only ever been rejected...?"
I watched her silently for a moment.
Settled stone.
There was a thorny self-mockery laced in that phrase.
'Not exactly thrilled about newcomers.'
From her position, fresh faces raised the odds of her secret getting out—that she was hiding from the Church at the southern border.
And if word spread about the princess being here, crowds would swarm, putting her own safety at risk.
Yet Erzena had still extended a hand.
'Why?'
It couldn't just be altruism.
Back at the office, she'd been quietly wary of Elaine.
Maybe a sense of kinship.
Or just Erzena's true nature.
Either way, it stirred something in me I couldn't quite name.
So I said,
"Thank you, Erzena."
"Huh?"
She blinked in flustered confusion.
"Wh-what for?"
Her face flushed crimson in the firelight, like I'd poked a weak spot.
I couldn't help but smile.
"For everything."
Thinking back, our meeting had started from the bitterest bad blood.
But in hindsight, it had steeled my resolve.
It'd only been a week since she'd arrived.
Yet at the office, Erzena was already shining as a top-notch healer and counselor.
"Tired? Come here. One prayer and your muscle aches vanish."
"Aw, it's fine. Try telling your wife, 'Sorry, honey. I love you.' That fixes everything."
Her restored holy power and endless experience from saintess confessions were proving invaluable.
The Gustatory Officer sought her out first after messing up and feeling down. Same for the Olfactory Officer when early retirement tempted him.
"Ahem!"
Finally regaining her composure, she fanned herself furiously and replied,
"If you're that grateful... let's have another meal together next time. Just the two of us."
"Leaving out Elaine?"
"One day won't kill her. She can eat with Miss Hannah."
Her pouty response finally cracked me up.
"Of course."
No reason to refuse.
That's when Hannah called from upstairs.
"All done! You can come up now, Princess!"
Exactly fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, in a shadowy alley somewhere in the southern continent.
Two men's voices echoed from a pitch-black corner untouched even by moonlight.
"Hey, you get it all loaded?"
A slightly anxious tone got a cocky reply from the other side.
"No issues."
"Like that guy said—no dents allowed. It's unstable."
"I know, I got it. Relax. No way we'll get caught."
- Thud, thud.
A burly man emerged from the darkness, hefting a heavy crate.
"Forget the rest—just get it to the western volcanic zone. That's all."
"But the Crossroad Kingdom's south has the Sensory Officers..."
"Don't sweat it. We've got countermeasures for all of 'em."
He flung something into the shadows.
- Thump.
A skinny hand snatched it midair.
The other man peered slowly into the fist-sized metal capsule.
"Nail this job, and we're set for life."
Greed flickered in eyes lit by torchlight.
"Just one success—that's it."
Etched on the capsule:
Special Modified Defense Artifact.
An illegally tampered magic tool, without permit.
"This ain't our first smuggling gig."