Riana Has Become Strange!
“Th-this is impossible….”
“Roclea, what is the matter?”
Roclea spoke in a trembling voice.
“No matter how much of a genius someone is, manifesting aura on a sword takes at least three years. Yet Lady Riana has done it in only a month….”
Now that I heard it, I could fully understand why they were reacting this way.
Our lovely Riana is the original story’s heroine, after all!
That was all I could think.
If I actually said that out loud, they’d just call me crazy.
Sigh. My chest feels so tight.
Even in this shocking situation, the two of them continued to swing their swords without mercy, as if showing off.
Until just moments ago, Jack—who had summoned his aura first—had held the clear advantage.
But the moment Riana revealed her own aura, the situation flipped a full 180 degrees.
“Ack!”
Riana was striking relentlessly, not giving Jack any chance to defend himself.
All Jack could do was barely block each blow.
A duel between shield and spear.
The victor was—
“…I have lost.”
My lovely Riana.
The instant Jack declared his defeat, the training ground fell into complete silence.
Then everyone present erupted into cheers.
“Hey! She actually beat Jack!”
“She’s got a pretty face and she’s skilled with a blade… She’d make the perfect bride. Hehehe.”
A sharp glare shot from my eyes.
I fixed a withering stare on the knight who had dared send such filthy, vulgar words toward my lovely Riana.
“Roclea, that man has coveted what belongs to this princess. Punish him severely.”
“Yes! I will roll him until the scoundrel cannot stand on his own two feet!”
The words had barely left my lips before Roclea grabbed the knight by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away.
“Uwaa! Spare me! I was wrong!”
“Silence, you filthy wretch. I shall personally beat some decency into that rotten head of yours.”
My chest felt wonderfully clear.
I was still giggling at the sight when Jack and Riana approached.
Frustration was written all over Jack’s face, while Riana’s was blooming with a bright smile.
“Jack, Riana. It was a pleasure to watch. You both performed admirably. Especially you, Jack—continuously blocking Riana’s endless attacks was most impressive. One could already call you a fine knight, I say.”
I praised Jack first.
It was a small kindness so he wouldn’t feel discouraged by his loss.
“I will train even harder to become someone worthy of the title ‘Princess’s Sword’! If you’ll excuse me, I’ll return to my training now.”
That was what I liked about Jack.
Even in defeat he refused to wallow and instead burned with the desire to grow stronger.
I sent him off with a smile, then reached out to gently pat Riana’s head.
“Riana, you certainly have a talent for surprising this princess.”
“Ah…! I’ve sweated so much, I must be filthy right now….”
“It is quite all right! You are not dirty at all, and these hands can simply be washed, can they not?”
“Y-Your Highness…!”
Overcome with emotion, Riana threw her arms around me.
I patted her back even more diligently as she nestled in my embrace.
While stroking her hair, I asked, “Riana, exactly when did you awaken your aura?”
Riana lifted her face from where it had been buried against my stomach and beamed up at me with a bright smile.
“Just now, while we were fighting! I saw Sir Jack manifest his aura and wondered if I might be able to do it too.”
My hand, which had been automatically patting her head, froze.
When she noticed the pause, Riana began to babble in a panic.
“I-It’s not that I could do it right away! I practiced whenever I had free time, so that’s why…!”
“You may stop there.”
“……”
I stroked the now-dejected Riana’s head once more.
“In any case, it is an achievement you accomplished on your own. I was merely a little surprised by your talent. I meant nothing negative by it, I say.”
Somewhat reassured, Riana rose to her feet.
“Yes…! I will definitely become Your Highness’s strongest sword! If you’ll excuse me, I’ll return to my training now!”
Riana bowed at the waist, then hurried after Jack.
In the now-deserted training ground, I alone remained.
“This princess should go work as well, I suppose….”
Step. Step.
My feet felt as heavy as if iron shackles were clamped around them. I dragged myself all the way to my office.
“…What in the world is this?!”
Before I had left to explain things, there had not been nearly this many documents.
But look at it now.
“Who on earth dared to play such a mischievous prank on this princess’s desk?!”
The stack of papers was as tall as I was.
For no good reason, the documents looked hateful.
They seemed to have eyes, mocking me as they stared.
“Let us have a match, then! We shall see whether this princess wins or you win!”
And so the second round began, following in the footsteps of Jack and Riana.
The grand showdown of Me versus the Document Monster had been decided once again.
There were no spectators, but I absolutely had to win.
“There is no way this princess would ever surrender to mere documents!”
There is such a thing as human pride. To raise the white flag before a pile of papers?
Even back when I was an unemployed freeloader, I could never tolerate that much!
With a seal in my left hand and a pen in my right, I pulled the documents down one by one.
For papers that required a seal, I used my left hand. For those that needed a signature and entries, I used my right.
Even if I do say so myself, it was a perfectly efficient work method.
In fact, the results are visibly faster.
I processed three documents per minute and thought to myself.
In other harem stories the Munchkin protagonists always dumped this sort of tedious work on their heroines.
It was a shame that the heroines here were all battle maniacs and therefore useless when it came to paperwork.
About three hours later—
“Th-this princess has won…! You pathetic bundle of documents!”
I had seized a glorious victory.
As if he had sensed I was finished, the minister appeared to collect the completed documents.
The fact that he left behind an even larger pile than before was simply the cherry on top.
“Th-this princess wishes to rest now….”
I had already reached my physical limit.
“Rocleeeea…. Rianaaa…. Would someone please come to this princess’s office….”
As though answering my call, the office door opened once more.
“Your Highness.”
“Where has Roclea gone that you have come instead?”
Riana stood there, fidgeting shyly.
“I already spoke with Sir Roclea. I asked if I could be the one to guard Your Highness this evening.”
“And that Roclea actually permitted it?”
“Yes…. Why…? Am I not trustworthy? Do you doubt me?!”
This was nothing like the usual Riana.
The normal Riana would have been flashing a silly smile with an overwhelmingly feminine aura.
Right now she seems more like an obsessive yandere… is that the right word?
I wiped away the cold sweat trickling down my cheek and answered.
“Hmm, no. You are one of the retainers this princess trusts and relies upon most. How could you possibly be unreliable? That is not the case at all.”
Riana suddenly lifted me—chair and all—into the air.
Then she sat down and placed me on her lap.
“If we work together, the task will finish quickly, right? Let’s finish fast and go to sleep.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, and above all I was sleepy, so I rubbed my heavy eyes and nodded.
It’s just signing and stamping anyway. Even Riana should be able to manage that.
That was what I had thought, but….
“Riana, why did you stamp the seal on the documents that required signatures…? And why did you sign the ones that required seals…?”
“Uwaaa… I’m sorry…!”
What should have taken me about five hours ended up taking a full eight hours once Riana’s mistakes and the subsequent cleanup were added.
Thanks to Riana, my appearance was far from normal.
My face was so haggard it seemed impossible for a child’s face to look that exhausted, and the dark circles under my eyes made my fatigue painfully obvious.
“Riana, if you feel sorry toward this princess, carry me to the bedroom on your back…. I have no strength left to move at all….”
Knowing she was at fault, Riana obediently lifted me onto her back and carried me to the bedroom.
The moment I flopped onto the bed after her staggering journey, Riana lay down beside me.
When on earth did this girl change her clothes?!
I hadn’t sensed any movement at all. When she had been carrying me she had definitely been wearing the armor I had given her.
Yet now Riana was dressed in the most comfortable clothes imaginable.
“If Your Highness were to be attacked again like last time, His Majesty would scold me. For the time being, Sir Roclea and I will stay by your side to protect you!”
At Riana’s absurd declaration I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“I understand the reason, but… why must you sleep in this princess’s bed? If your intention is to guard me, you should at least remain seated…”
“No! I am strong enough to protect Your Highness even while lying down!”
Her baseless confidence was admirable—in its own way.
But why are you spreading both arms like that, Riana?
Riana was holding both arms wide with a triumphant expression.
“Why are you spreading both arms? Do you wish for this princess to embrace you?”
“Sir Roclea boasted that he received a happiness charge from Your Highness…. Can’t I do the same? Even though I only caused trouble today, I worked hard during the sparring because I wanted to look good in your eyes…”
Just what sort of conversations does Roclea have with Riana during training?
I was dying of curiosity.
I let out a small sigh and opened my arms.
“Come and embrace this princess. This princess is tired, so I shall close my eyes for a moment…”
I wanted to keep my eyes open, but my eyelids had already sunk too far to lift again.
“Yes, Your Highness. Sleep well.”
All I could feel was a warm body temperature.
It was a sweet, lollipop-like night.
Lately, because of the Grayton matter, I had rarely been able to visit the capital.
As a result, I hadn’t seen Calian for several days now.
Since he sent a letter every single day, today I made up my mind and headed back to the capital.
The journey from Grayton Garden to the capital took only forty minutes.
The road had been so bumpy that the entire route had been converted into paved highway.
After traveling forty minutes by carriage, I arrived at the imperial palace.
However, the palace was in a state of chaos.
It didn’t seem to be because of my return; something else was clearly going on.
The ministers didn’t even greet me when they saw me—they simply hurried past with heavy expressions.
“Excuse me. This princess has returned, yet why is everyone behaving like this?”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I singled out the minister who looked the least busy and asked him directly.
The minister fidgeted anxiously, his lips trembling as he answered.
“J-Just now we received word that foreign nations have invaded the empire’s borders! Everyone is in an uproar because of it…!”
“…Is what this princess just heard true?”
Well, it was a medieval era. Wars could happen somewhat frequently.
But this was the empire.
The strongest nation on the continent.
There should only be weak countries around it.
Whoever it is, they’ve done something incredibly stupid.
The empire’s military strength was S+.
No one should dare challenge it.
So why was everyone making such a fuss?
“Why are you all panicking over a single weak country invading?”
“Because it’s weak countries, plural…!”
The moment I heard the minister’s words, I headed straight for Calian’s office.
“Dad! War? Is that true?!”
Calian sat in his office chair fully armed.
He looked at me with an extremely grave expression.
“Iris, there is something important I must tell you.”