Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Not About Disciplining the Elf Princess
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Our reason for going through all this trouble is...
[Do you know what hidden function this cube has?]
[It has something like that?]
[Yeah! A bit of the lich's lingering thoughts got mixed in when it was made, so this cube reacts to negative emotions.]
[...? Negative emotions? Specifically, how...?]
Lea explained that the cube was a growth-type item.
It seemed to incorporate the lich's trait of drawing power from impure emotions.
Feeding it experience points through our tasks was killing two birds with one stone.
For that reason, we were preparing for a potential explosion just in case when an uninvited guest showed up in the empty classroom before class started.
-Creak!
A beautiful, haughty elf princess strode in boldly through the open door.
Leaving the door open like that—was it her usual arrogance? To me, it just seemed rude...
I had no time to acknowledge her, so I kept my eyes closed and stayed silent.
But as if sensing my mood wasn't great, Kanp approached me, placed a hand on her hip, and lifted my chin.
'Hah... Lucas...'
If only that guy hadn't made those racist remarks...
Swallowing my bitterness, I barely managed a greeting.
"Good morning, Second Princess of Alvheim."
"What?"
Ah...
I was already focusing hard, and now I'd slipped up with my words too.
"Hah? Your Highness, even if it was a mistake at first, isn't that too rude?"
As the situation started getting messy, Lea stepped in to block Kanp.
"Haha, hello, Princess of Alvheim~ Nice to meet you!"
"Who are you to butt into our conversation?"
Kanp glared at Lea with narrowed eyes, all haughty.
But our seasoned protagonist tried to brush it off smoothly.
"Sorry for the late introduction. I'm Lea, and thanks to His Highness thinking well of me, I recently joined the imperial palace."
"You... a commoner? Whatever, get out of the way. I have business with His Highness."
Undeterred even by her beaming smile, Kanp said what she wanted.
But as a regressor, Lea had lived through far more years.
She brushed it off with slick ease...
"You never get it unless I put it bluntly, huh? Before I chop off your limbs and toss you into a goblin den, get lost and stop interrupting."
'...? Lea?'
Her life experience made her tongue as sharp as could be—I'd never imagined it.
Kanp blinked in shock before sweeping back her hair, clearly displeased.
"Hah... First the hero, now a commoner... Do you have a death wish?"
"Can't you see His Highness is concentrating? Nah, you wouldn't, you spirit-licking trash elf."
"You insolent wench!"
-Whoosh!
I halted Lea's fist with psychokinesis just before it smashed into the elf's jaw.
Kanp, who had been channeling mana intensely, froze in confusion, and I shook my head at the protagonist.
She must have planned to erase Kanp's memory like she did with those thugs...
But it looked like it might cave in her face, so I stopped her.
"Sorry, Liam... I got mad..."
Seeing Lea withdraw her fist and sit quietly, Kanp's face flushed red as she stared blankly.
"How dare you! Mock me!!"
I sighed inwardly and reached out toward Kanp with my power.
The moment I tried to restrain her whole body with psychokinesis and seal her mouth...
-Boom!!
"...!!"
The impact from the next classroom was bigger than expected...
The cube use must have been inexperienced, leaving the barrier incomplete...
Unconsciously, more force went into my psychokinesis.
-Crack!
"Kyaaaaah!"
As Kanp screamed from the crushing pain gripping her body, students began entering the classroom.
"Ah."
Our shared sigh echoed through the room as Kanp knelt before me, both arms broken.
The students who saw it paled.
-What? What's going on?
-Ov... over there... The Crown Prince... broke the elf's arms...
-Heavens... He reduced the notoriously arrogant Alvheim princess to that state?
-Can we even attend the academy safely...?
-Come to think of it, during the entrance exam...
Students gradually gathered, murmuring louder.
-Static... Agent 7 here... Major setback in cleaning operations...
Even the agent panicked amid the crowd.
'This is fucked... This is war.'
"Hic! Hic! Waaah!"
The elf on her knees with twisted arms looked utterly pitiful to anyone watching.
Tears the size of pearls streamed down her doll-like, delicate face.
I quickly dispelled the magic around the adjacent lecture hall, approached Kanp, and began acting.
"Heavens! Forgive me, Princess. I was demonstrating magic at your request... This is my fault, so I'll make it right with proper compensation!"
I emphasized it was an accident during friendly practice.
"Waaah!!"
But she wailed fiercely as if I'd spouted nonsense.
Lea suddenly stood and shouted.
"Heavens, Princess! Your resistance caused the accident!"
Lea gave me a look.
I swiftly scooped up the elf and yelled as I headed out of the classroom.
"First things first, treatment! Hang in there, Princess! I'll get you to the infirmary right away!"
"Waaah... Someone save me..."
I whispered softly into Kanp's ear as she cried for help.
"Shh. You seem to want something from me. Behave, and I'll help. Otherwise, I'll have to deal with you."
"Eek!"
Carrying the elf whose broken arms dangled limply against me, I contacted Veronica.
-Veronica, can you come to the old school building's first floor without being seen?
-Yes, Apostle.
With that short reply, I teleported through the empty hallway to the old building.
"P... Please spare me... I... I was wrong..."
Kanp panicked completely in the unfamiliar surroundings, feeling kidnapped.
"Hah... Princess, it's not like that... Sit down first."
I entered an empty classroom, conjured a sofa, and sat her down.
"Hic! Hic! Your Highness... Please, like the first time..."
What was that supposed to mean...
"...I don't know what misunderstanding you have, but it's not that."
"Waaah..."
"Stop crying..."
I'd meant it genuinely that time, but Kanp bit her lip hard and pitifully held back her sobs.
"Sniff!! Uuuh... Uuuh..."
This was driving me insane.
I pulled a potion from my subspace and offered it to her.
"Here, drink this for first aid... I called someone to heal you, so don't worry."
"Hic... Waaah... Um..."
"What's wrong?"
Kanp swallowed hard, trembling violently, and looked up at me pitifully.
"That... my arms..."
"Ah..."
It was like the one who broke her arms was now feeding her by hand.
Cursing my idiotic blunder, I pinched my brow.
"...That wasn't my intent... Hah..."
-Pop!
"Open your mouth."
I uncorked the potion and looked down at the elf. Her face turned ashen as she shook her head furiously.
"N... No! I'm fine! I don't need it!"
Her arms were bruising purple—she wasn't fine.
"If left alone, the bones might not set right. Open up."
"Pl... Please... Spare..."
She wasn't hearing me.
"Hoo..."
"Eeeek!"
I gripped the terrified elf's jaw, forced her mouth open, and poured in the potion.
"Ptoo!! Nooo... Gulp...! St... Stop!"
"Hold still."
I held her thrashing head and shoved the potion bottle deep into her mouth as she spilled it everywhere.
"Guh! Thaaat... Nooo... Nooo..."
"Seriously, it's just a potion..."
"Haa... Haa... Apostle! I took a detour and was a bit late..."
Veronica burst in, then froze at the sight of the elf with tears and snot pouring out, potion forced down her throat.
"......"
"Veronica... It's not what it looks like..."
"Now even other races..."
"Uwaaah! Cough! Ptooey!"
This was truly maddening.
I had no clue where to even start explaining.
"Veronica... I'll explain later, but can you treat this elf's wounds?"
"Ah! Her arms!"
"Idio... No, uh... Please heal her."
"Yes, Apostle!"
Suppressing her useless quip, I removed the potion from Kanp's mouth.
"Urk!"
Kanp now stared at the floor, trembling all over.
Veronica frowned sympathetically at the pitiful elf and spoke gently.
"Um... Miss? I'll treat you now."
Radiant light burst from Veronica's hands, straightening the broken arms and fading the bruises.
Bathed in the warm, holy power, Kanp looked up at Veronica.
Their eyes met—Kanp's trembling gaze and Veronica's kind smile.
"Feeling a bit better now?"
As Veronica's warm hand touched the elf's head, Kanp broke into pitiful sobs.
"Hic... Waaah!"
Kanp buried her face in Veronica's chest and wept bitterly.
"Hehe, it's okay... There, there... Good girl..."
"Waaah!"
Veronica comforted Kanp for a good while.
Three people sat in an empty classroom of the normally deserted old school building.
Veronica smiled benevolently, holding Kanp's hand, while Kanp fidgeted and blushed.
And I sat across from them...
'Ah... My head hurts...'
As the situation calmed, a headache hit.
But cleanup had to be thorough.
"Princess of Alvheim... I apologize for this incident. Is there anything you want?"
Kanp's hand tightened shyly around Veronica's, refusing to let go as if calming her shakes.
"N... No... I'm fine."
'This is hopeless.'
Lea was probably explaining hard, but if word got back to her country truthfully, it could spark diplomatic friction.
Well... it was a tiny nation, so maybe not...
No, discriminatory thoughts like that aren't good.
I signaled Veronica, who nodded.
"Um... Miss, it's okay. Relax and speak freely."
Kanp, blushing and trembling, looked at Veronica.
"A... Anais... It's Anais..."
"Ah! Anais, then. Feel better? What did you want to say?"
Kanp nodded blankly at Veronica, then fixed her gaze on the table.
She couldn't meet my eyes...
"Actually... I came to request imperial troops for Alvheim Kingdom..."
'Why would you handle that?'
"That doesn't seem like something for a princess and crown prince to discuss directly, does it?"
-Flinch!
"Military aid requests go nation-to-nation. We'll review it properly, but what is this..."
"Apostle."
Veronica gave me a 'look at this poor puppy' expression.
"Hoo... Fine, let's hear the reason. State the conditions and cause."
This was VIP treatment.
Lucky to share a class with the academy's crown prince, now indebted and straight to politics.
"The cause is the monsters' unusual movements... The conditions are..."
"Conditions?"
"Well..."
For some reason, Kanp looked to Veronica with a troubled face.
"Marry... me..."
So, Kanp was offering herself for imperial support.
I didn't think much of it, just...
"Sorry, but I don't know you well, Princess. Do you have any value?"
"Pardon...?"
"I'm not against political marriages per se, but I'll marry the people I love."
"..."
"What? Think it's youthful folly for a crown prince? Works for me—I lack nothing."
Arrogant, but nothing I'd achieved was dismissible.
"I'm saying, do you have value worth transcending that? If you're banking on looks alone... I have nothing to say."
Kanp's face burned red. I wasn't judging her worth as a person... but since she approached politically, I responded in kind.
"Whatever... Relay the military matter properly to your country. But you do owe me now..."
I said to the slightly lifted, arrogant face.
"Tell me more about the monsters. Even without troops, there might be ways to help... I'll consider it."
Too early to judge, but unusual monster activity wasn't just ecological...
'Heretics... or the Demon King...'
No way they'd request troops just for more apex predators.
I decided to hear her out first.
"Alvheim Kingdom devotes everything to protecting the World Tree..."
"Racial trait."
"We found something suspicious with the monsters defiling it."
"...Suspicious how?"
"Recently, a sinister aura surged, and their numbers increased by about 60%."
'What...?'
"S... Sixty percent?"
That was... too much.
"Original stats?"
"At most 20%... Unknown monsters multiplied massively. We're overwhelmed, hence the request."
"Heh... Investigation?"
"Too recent for results, but scouts are struggling against the surge."
I'd ask Jenia and Lea about this.
'Did the Demon King revive early...?'
"I'll think on this carefully. For now... first class is ruined..."
"Ah."
"Veronica, you okay?"
"Yes, Apostle! I'm fine!"
Class must start a bit later—good.
I stood and approached them.
-Flinch!
...I won't hit you, bitch.
"Haa... It's just teleportation, relax."
"Oh, right, teleportation..."
"Don't worry about it. Veronica, I'll escort you. Come here."
Veronica beamed and clung to my arm.
"Hehe..."
"Um... Me too, perhaps...?"
She must think teleport requires contact.
Veronica corrected her misunderstanding.
"Hm? No, just linking arms."
"Ah..."
Kanp's face darkened instantly.
I cast teleport. Kanp looked around in wonder.
She nodded and spoke to Veronica.
"Um... Veronica... Could we... be friends...?"
Veronica's eyes widened at the shy confession, then she burst into laughter.
"Hehe! Of course, Miss! Let's be friends!"
"Ah..."
Kanp gazed up at Veronica, touched.
"Yeah... Nice to meet you, Veronica..."
"Hehe... You too!"
Veronica's affinity was top-notch.
Sorry to interrupt their budding friendship, but we were late for class.
"Thanks, Veronica. We're super late, so we'll go. See you later."
"Yes! Apostle! Later!"
"Bye, Veronica! See you! Definitely!"
"Hehe... See you, Anais~"
Kanp waved blankly at Veronica's retreating figure.
"We're late too—let's hurry."
"Ah... Yes."
A suffocating silence hung between us as we headed to class wordlessly.