Chapter 10
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Pretending to Be Human Is Hard Work Today Too
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After that, I desperately made excuses to sort out the situation.
I explained that Rusla was crying because I'd sponsored her with a huge sum, and that I hadn't answered the knock because I was too busy consoling her.
The knights looked skeptical, but since they couldn't interrogate a princess, they backed off with a reluctant "Understood."
"Ahh, oh God..."
Then I took Rusla—who was still intoxicated by my mana—back to the annex.
I couldn't just leave her alone in that state.
She'd been crying nonstop and ended up dehydrating herself, fainting just as we arrived at the annex.
I laid her on my bed and collapsed onto the sofa. Liribel, who'd helped carry her, glanced at the bed and asked,
"Your Highness, what happened?"
"Well, you see..."
Normally, I'd have brushed it off as nothing, but mentally exhausted as I was, I needed someone to confide in.
I gave her a rough rundown of events.
Liribel already saw me as some kind of master black mage, so she accepted it easily.
"So... this Rusla person is actually a non-human, and she mistook Your Highness for someone else after seeing you use black magic by chance?"
"Exactly."
Liribel nodded vigorously, remarking on the wild coincidence. Then she looked at Rusla's sleeping face and let out an awed "Wow."
"Speaking of which, I never imagined an arena fighter could be such a beautiful woman..."
"You're more surprised by that than her being a non-human?"
"Well, I've never seen a female warrior in real life before. Only in fairy tales."
Fair enough. Unlike the demon realm, where anyone with mana was treated like a warrior, this world was pretty conservative about such things.
Wait a minute... come to think of it, Loreil's knights didn't bat an eye at Rusla's face.
What shocked them was her praying, not her gender.
Suddenly, I recalled what the middle-aged knight had said when ushering me into the lounge.
'No rumors will spread, so please don't worry and go ahead.'
That reaction... He knew Rusla was a woman.
Of course, he had no idea she was a fairy. Even I couldn't tell humans and fairies apart just by looks.
But if he knew her gender, that meant his boss, Loreil, was aware too.
That sly young master knew and still pushed me to sponsor her.
Loreil had probably played dumb to gauge my reaction. If he'd come along himself—able to sense mana—it could've been disastrous. His busy schedule had saved me, in a way.
I let out a sigh of relief, lost in thought, when Rusla's voice came from the bed.
"Where...?"
"You're awake?"
I sat on the chair by the bed.
I told Liribel we needed to talk privately and ordered her to leave.
Rusla propped herself up, her face still drowsy.
She really is a beauty.
Her hair was a mess, eyes puffy from tears, but she was still unrealistically gorgeous.
That stunning appearance was a Baobhan Sith trait, meant to mesmerize foes and drain their blood.
"My Lord."
"I told you not to call me that."
The frenzy had faded, but her memories remained. When I denied it outright, Rusla gave an awkward smile.
"But you are Asmo-Dina, aren't you?"
She even knows my name.
Denying it was pointless; her conviction was ironclad. Plus, my mana had let her glimpse my past self.
Mana was the essence of the soul. Even if it was an illusion, what she'd seen was undoubtedly me.
Backpedaling now would be tough.
But that's weird. I don't remember ever meeting Rusla.
I'd had countless subordinates, but few Baobhan Sith. I remembered all their faces and names, and Rusla wasn't among them.
"Rusla."
"Yes."
"Setting aside my identity for now... where did you hear the name Asmo-Dina? You're not from that realm anyway."
Now that she knew the truth, I asked casually. Rusla nodded without a care.
"Of course, I've never met Asmo-Dina in person. But Grandmother told me all about her exploits and appearance."
"What's your grandmother's name?"
"Mihilda."
One of my subordinates, alright.
Mihilda was the youngest of the Baobhan Sith under me.
Had so much time passed since my death?
A mix of nostalgia and regret tightened my chest.
"So why is Mihilda's granddaughter in the human world?"
"My family moved here during Grandmother's generation. Mother had mana sickness and couldn't survive in the demon realm."
Mana sickness was an incurable disease that poisoned the body with mana, worsening just from breathing the demon realm's air.
Grandmother Mihilda had migrated to the human world to save her daughter.
"But the sun here was too harsh. We couldn't go outside at all."
"Yeah, this is the Sun God's domain."
The sun on the surface was several times stronger than in the demon realm. The elderly couldn't just avoid it—they had to hide deep underground to survive.
"So we settled in an abandoned mine. Luckily, the human world's underground was rich in resources, so survival wasn't an issue. For anything else, I'd go up top and fetch it."
Born in the human world, Rusla had some immunity to the sun. Her power was weaker than demon-born, but she could venture outside.
Their life was inconvenient but happy. Until...
"Then the humans showed up."
"Yes."
Everything after matched what I'd heard earlier.
The Baobhan Sith had to hide their demon origins, so they couldn't fight back.
Worse, priests were among the intruders, leaving them defenseless.
Not resisting was the smart move.
If their origins got out, exile would've been the least of their worries.
No matter how strong demons were, a human mob was another story.
"Fortunately, we disguised ourselves before the nobles saw our faces. We avoided total disgrace."
"Disguised?"
"Like this."
She roughly smeared her hands over her face. Her stunning features morphed into something plainly average.
"I knew Baobhan Sith were masters of disguise, but it's not magic?"
"No, it's a physical ability. I'm still unskilled, so I can't hold it long. That's why I never took off the helmet."
Fair enough. If that face got out, it'd cause a riot.
She reverted her face and gazed at me with renewed respect.
"Grandmother raised me on stories of Asmo-Dina. She made the black lion emblem herself, saying you'd always protect me..."
"That's an exaggeration. It was just a coincidence."
The Baobhan Sith and I had been strictly transactional. I needed minions; they needed a patron.
When I brushed it off, she beamed.
"Grandmother said you'd always deflect praise just like that."
Mihilda, you little rascal.
She'd spread weird rumors in my absence.
I cleared my throat and steered the conversation back.
"Anyway, I get the situation. You need to win to free the other Baobhan Sith."
"Yes. But I've messed up in every key match..."
She bowed her head in shame.
Not just once or twice, but every time?
Something smelled fishy.
I crossed my arms, deep in thought.
Taking her black lion emblem was off the table. It was from her grandmother, and taking it felt wrong—especially from Mihilda's granddaughter.
Besides, her family's being held hostage.
Part of me wanted to storm the mine and help, but I lacked the power. As a princess or a general.
So only one option left.
I eyed Rusla's still-pale face.
"Rusla, do you really want to win?"
"Yes, no matter what."
"Even if it means facing huge hardships?"
"I'm prepared."
If I couldn't help directly, I'd make sure she won and freed her family.
Plus, helping felt better than ignoring her.
"Then I'll train you. So no interference can stop you from winning."
"R-Really?"
"What, don't want to?"
"No! To be trained by Asmo-Dina, goddess of the battlefield and savior—I'm overjoyed!"
Her teary-eyed ecstasy gave me a headache. I waved her off before it got worse.
"No, don't call me that. For starters, I'm not Asmo-Dina right now."
"Huh? Then..."
"I'm human. Asmo-Dina died long ago, and now I'm living a second life. As the perfect human, Deyna."
I'd added so many details that my explanation dragged on. Embarrassed, I coughed and wrapped up.
"So call me Princess from now on. Got it?"
"Ah-"
Rusla clapped and summed it up neatly.
"So that's your cover story?"
"...This is real."
Our relationship still had a long way to go.