The Princess's Dilemma
Two days had passed since we'd holed up in this ant-hill of a place where only darkness existed. "How's the battle situation? Any word from the teams above?"
Since they were elite troops, none of them showed signs of fatigue, so they could hold out no matter how long we stayed. That said, the search intensity had been steadily increasing, meaning we could be discovered at any moment. Judging from how the two teams above were struggling, they wouldn't lose, but they probably couldn't break through by force either. What was it again? Something about an ability that petrifies anyone his hand touches? There were no deaths, but there were injuries. And everyone who'd been touched by that guy was complaining of pain...
"...Tch. Maybe we should retreat."
As the Imperial Princess and commander, the right move was to pull the troops back and retreat before more sacrifices or deaths occurred. A prolonged war of attrition wasn't a suitable tactic for elite forces. So the correct choice was to wake Sev, who'd been unconscious for two days now, and withdraw...
"Waking him now doesn't feel right..."
Every time I tried to wake him, I kept hesitating. He'd kept giving off the impression that he could come out on his own, so what if I woke him and ruined everything? Seriously, if only he'd explained things properly...
"Your Highness."
While I was debating whether to use the hourglass Sev had given me, one of the elite soldiers who'd gone out on reconnaissance came running over and raised a hand in salute.
"No, you don't have to salute like that. I told you it makes me uncomfortable even though I'm the superior officer..."
It was a textbook military salute. I'd told them to stop because it felt too burdensome even though I held the highest rank, but they kept doing it anyway. How awkward.
"A group of soldiers is wandering near this area. They seemed to be searching for something... I believe this space might be what they're looking for."
Thanks to Sev, we'd made it here without issue, but they were probably struggling because they couldn't locate this place. We were still using the map Sev had drawn to plan our patrol routes, but they didn't have that luxury.
"What was it again..."
This room was supposedly one of Unknown's core secret chambers that only executives were ever told about or allowed to enter. So unless a whole crowd of executives showed up, there was no way we'd be discovered...
"Sev did say the executives weren't particularly strong."
He'd mentioned that because so much energy went into creating this secret room, the individual executives weren't very powerful. I didn't quite understand the connection between the energy cost of the room and the executives' strength, but since Sev had never been wrong before, I just accepted it.
"...We should consider retreating."
This wasn't the first report like this. Over the past six hours, I'd heard three times that someone was wandering around searching for something. It could just be people passing by or stopping here while looking for something else, but three times wasn't a coincidence. They were looking for this room.
Just then, the emergency radio we'd stolen from the Demon King of Technology suddenly crackled to life.
"...What's going on?"
When I asked, the team above answered in a flustered voice.
"The entire army is heading downward right now! We don't know if they've noticed the infiltration team yet. What are your orders?"
Why were they all coming down and abandoning their own base? And was it really okay for them to discover the existence of this secret room? ...This was a variable even Sev hadn't anticipated.
I quietly looked down at Sev, then at the hourglass in my hand.
"I'm sorry. I can't wait any longer."
There were six elite soldiers here with me. The longer we dragged this out, the higher the chance that some of them would die. The entire army moving downward was no small matter. If anything, we might already be too late.
These people had gathered for my sake. If the princess made a reckless decision, what would become of them? Getting out as quickly as possible was the best option. Yes, the best option, but...
'...Why does this feel so uneasy?'
It really felt like if I just waited a little longer, something would work out... No. If I kept hesitating like this, there'd be no end to it.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the hourglass's activation button against Sev.
Sorry, but it's time to wake up, little brother.
"...So that's why you woke me up?"
"Yes. I believed it was the best decision as commander, but I'm truly sorry. This is my mistake."
We were now weaving through possible entry points for enemy soldiers and making our escape under my command. I understood Cloe's position—she was the commander, after all. What she'd done was clearly the most appropriate judgment given that she didn't know what I'd been doing inside.
But still, still...
'Couldn't you have woken me just five minutes later...'
The regret was unavoidable! Though today wasn't the only day we had, if they noticed our presence like this, security would only get tighter...
"...I'll make it up to you somehow."
When I sighed, Cloe hung her head like a deflated penguin. No, it wasn't Cloe's fault at all. She must have noticed how wronged I looked.
"...We're almost out. There really weren't any casualties, right?"
Before we knew it, we'd left the dark ant tunnel and were just about to see the warm light of the surface. The soldiers below had only pushed forward with sheer numbers and didn't know the paths well, so when we slipped away, they couldn't properly follow.
"There were no casualties. No one from the infiltration team was left behind either. It's all thanks to you."
...Being praised so highly made me feel burdened. I'd forced my way here in the first place, hadn't I?
"It's nothing. You had it harder, Your Highness. Thank you for enduring two days."
As if disgusted by the warm atmosphere, the Blood Demon spoke up from inside the glove.
"Yeah, it would've been better if you'd woken us just a little later."
Wow, he really had to pour salt on the wound. The mood had been so touching, too.
Just in case, I glanced at Cloe beside me. She was all hunched up with a sad expression. Right, it was all our fault. What could the kind princess possibly have done wrong?
Recalling a video I'd seen of a penguin looking sad because its food had escaped, I felt a pang of guilt for no reason.
'Is this... what it feels like to see a sad older sister...?'
I'd never thought this way when looking at the menace back home. As expected, you had to treat people kindly on a regular basis if you wanted to have the urge to comfort them when they were sad.
"No, seriously, why is Her Highness so sad? I keep telling you there's no need for that."
As I tried my best to console Cloe while moving forward, light suddenly filled my vision. We'd finally reached the surface after hours of marching.
"What, you couldn't even handle this properly... Huh?"
Then came a familiar voice from behind me. I'd definitely heard it somewhere before...
When I quickly turned around...
"...You're, Pikachu?"
There stood the blond-haired Pikachu. Yeah, the same guy who'd been shot down by the young lady. Why was he here?
"He matches the description from the radio. Blond hair and not particularly tall. Mm, it's certain."
Wait, Cloe had already heard about this? Don't tell me the guy whose touch petrifies people that Cloe mentioned in passing on the way here was this Pikachu? Come to think of it, he'd used a similar technique during our last sparring match too...
I'd thought he was just a passing extra, but both the young lady and Ankillé seemed to have connections with him. Why did he have so many ties?
"Who are you calling short?!"
As if he could read my mind, Pikachu seemed more upset about being called short than anything else. Still, since we were fellow academy students, maybe we could talk this out...
-Zzzap!
Yeah, I knew it. A guy who keeps pushing himself on a woman who clearly doesn't want him couldn't be normal. When I blocked the electricity he'd fired, thinking I wouldn't react, he looked surprised.
"...So he wasn't just a butler with a decent face?"
He had been, before I picked up the Blood Ghoul in the principal's office. I didn't know what I'd say when I met the principal again. Should I give him some kind of reward? It felt like I owed him too much.
"If you get it, just let us go. Do you think you can win with Her Highness here?"
The guy hesitated for a moment before backing away. Right, that's what he should do. Cloe was holding a gun right now. People die when they get shot.
Then he spat out one last line, sounding annoyed.
"I'm backing off because of that princess, but you'd better watch your back at night."
I carefully smiled and raised my middle finger.
What kind of threat was that from a crazy bastard? I'd beaten Laplace and Itz, so why wouldn't I beat some small fry? Just because Pikachu was good with a million volts didn't make him the strongest in the Pokémon series, did it?
While the guy trembled with rage, I decided what to say to him. I delivered the line that a man who'd only ever had unrequited love and then watched the person he liked get taken by someone else would hate the most.
"I'm going home to date the young lady!"
And just to twist the knife, I added one more line.
"You can stay home and fantasize about dating Byre."
It was a childish provocation, but since the other guy was being childish too, I figured I could be childish as well, right? Besides, in a heroine争夺 war, the winner becomes the legitimate wife. Mm-hmm. If this were a romance fantasy with the young lady as the protagonist, I'd be the legitimate wife, and that guy would be the discarded heroine.
"How dare a mere second-place contender speak to the legitimate wife so arrogantly?"
The guy's face flushed red as he struggled to contain his anger. I didn't know what kind of relationship he had with Ankillé, but if he was showing up here, he had to be a bad guy. Honestly, I wanted to knock him out right now and interrogate him, but I was too exhausted from fighting Itz. Plus, if I got dragged into a fight with him and wasted time, what if the drug cartel guys showed up, or worse, another Demon King?
But what exactly was this guy? Was he even a Demon King? He didn't seem to have enough impact for that...
-Bang!
"...?"
Startled by the sound, I looked to the side. There stood Cloe, who'd already put a bullet hole through Pikachu's stomach.
Why was she being so extreme?!
Startled that a fight might break out, I quickly looked back at Pikachu...
"...Ow."
There he was, the hole in his abdomen regenerating. What the hell was that? He wasn't even Hibriel.