Friends With the Third Prince
Five years later, I had become friends with the Third Prince, Belion. We started chatting about all sorts of things.
"…Yes, that's correct."
I tilted my head at Yuri, who was suddenly speaking to me with formal respect. It was only natural for my fiancée, who had been using casual speech with me just moments ago, to suddenly switch to polite language.
After thinking for a moment, I quickly realized why Yuri was addressing me so formally.
"……N-no, that's not it."
At Prince Belion's smiling response, Yuri began trembling in a way that was completely unlike her usual self. I had no idea what she found so terrifying. I let out a dry chuckle.
In this game world with its rather loose settings, it wasn't like you'd die just for speaking casually to a prince. In the original story, the commoner protagonist went around doing all sorts of things with royalty anyway.
"……R-right."
Sighing as I looked at Yuri, I tried to think of a way to break this stiff atmosphere. When things get too rigid, a slightly dirty joke is always the answer.
"…Yeah."
"She's over there."
At the mention of Yuri's mother—my mother-in-law—I quickly scanned the party hall, my eyes darting around. Sure enough, a silver-haired woman stood in the distance. A woman wearing a dress that emphasized her chest.
'Holy shit, they're huge.'
She was probably using every trick in the book to make them look even bigger with that dress, but even accounting for that, they were the size of watermelons. Just half that size would be enough to earn her the title of "busty," so I nodded in satisfaction as I looked back at Yuri.
"…Yeah."
Belion, who had been listening to our conversation from the side, stared at us with an utterly dumbfounded expression. Whether it was me casually talking about my fiancée's breasts getting bigger or Yuri accepting it without batting an eye, neither of us seemed normal.
"—Your Highness the Prince. So this is where you were."
"Ah, Head Butler."
At that moment, the imperial head butler came looking for Belion. The butler glanced at me and Yuri before immediately relaying the party's schedule. Since the star of the party couldn't stay tied to one person forever, Belion expressed his regret and bid us farewell.
"……Please go safely."
The head butler shot me a brief glare upon hearing my casual speech, but he didn't rebuke me in front of everyone. After parting with us, Belion headed with the butler toward the area where the party's main figure was supposed to be.
As soon as Belion appeared at the center of the hall, nobles eager to join his faction immediately began lining up.
"Your Highness, congratulations on your birthday."
"Ah, thank you."
"I've prepared a gift. I hope it pleases you."
"I'll check it later."
If one were a prince, one would need to memorize the list of approaching nobles and determine who would truly join their side and who was merely probing like a bat, flitting between factions. However, Belion couldn't focus on any of that.
The reason was simple: his heart was racing because of the very first friend he'd ever made.
'A friend… A friend, huh…'
His gaze drifted over to Kyle, who was chatting casually with his own fiancée in the distance. Even though they were still young, he never expected someone to treat him so openly and without restraint. Weren't ten-year-olds supposed to know better? The fact that someone could act like that at this age meant one of two things: either they were completely clueless, or they had the bold personality to not care about such things at all.
Watching him laugh heartily while slapping his fiancée—the young lady of a ducal house—on the back, it seemed to be the latter.
'To think I'd actually make a friend.'
But it still wasn't enough. The Empire's Guardian Sword. While the Meyer family wasn't lacking in status to be friends with a prince, Kyle himself was still just an ordinary heir with nothing special to his name yet.
'If you become a Sword Saint, then…'
An Aura Master. If he reached the realm of a Sword Saint, then he could comfortably treat him as a friend without worry. Praying that his friend would one day earn the right to truly be his friend, Belion continued managing his connections.
The party was over. I couldn't help but wonder if they'd gathered all these nobles from the provinces just for this, but I figured the count must have run himself ragged somewhere out of sight. Like a swan paddling furiously beneath the water, the count had probably been working hard where no one could see. Sending my condolences to him, we headed toward the carriage that would take us back to our territory.
"Are you leaving already?"
"—Duchess."
On our way to the carriage, we ran into my in-laws. The duchess had Yuri by her side and blocked our path. I bowed my head in greeting to my mother-in-law, whom I was meeting for the first time. However, she seemed displeased by this and frowned slightly.
"We've finally gotten the chance to meet, yet you're leaving without even greeting us properly. Don't you think that's rather cold?"
"It seems we were lacking in manners. My apologies, madam."
"I wasn't trying to scold you. By the way—Kyle? This is our first meeting, isn't it?"
The duchess singled me out and greeted me. I responded with a bright, hearty smile.
"Indeed. So you're the one who said our Yuri's smile was unattractive?"
"It was the truth."
"There are truths in this world that are unpleasant even if they're factual. Hehe, I wonder how shocked the duke must have been when he heard you tell our daughter to practice her smile."
The duchess let out a soft laugh. Every time she did, her enormous chest jiggled up and down. As I stared at them in a daze, she looked down at me gently and spoke.
"She's become so beautiful now that one would fall in love at first sight. Have you seen it yet?"
"The duke told me not to look."
"Yes, that's right. The price has gone up now, after all."
The duchess suddenly turned to look at her daughter.
"They say that anyone who sees how beautiful our Yuri's smile is, or even watches her practice smiling just once, falls hopelessly in love."
"Heh, I'm curious. Just how pretty is it?"
"Which is why… I started thinking that rather than letting my daughter go so long without smiling, it might not be so bad to marry her into a family that can make her smile."
At those words, I looked at Yuri's face. Even though there had been talk of breaking off our engagement, her expression remained completely calm without the slightest change. It was hard to imagine her smiling at anyone. But… if by some one-in-a-million chance, my former fiancée were to smile at someone else—.
'That'd piss me off.'
I hated having what was mine taken away the most. NTR was a sin. Even if it was an engagement made when we were children, having something taken was still having something taken.
"Mother-in-law."
"Hm?"
"You don't need to worry."
After looking around the party hall today, I could say it with confidence. At this very moment, among all the noble children my age gathered here—I was the strongest. In this other world where military power was authority itself, that was an incredible advantage.
The duchess closed her eyes for a moment as if thinking about something, then carefully opened them and spoke.
"Very well. I'll leave my daughter in your care. Go ahead and take her with you."
Leaving behind those devilish words, the duchess climbed into her carriage and disappeared. I stared at her retreating figure for a moment before boarding our own carriage with the count.
Right after we got in, the count smiled slyly and asked,
"Kyle, it seems you really do like Yuri."
"Pardon?"
"You practically bared your teeth in front of her mother. You must really like her, huh?"
"Ah, yes. I do like her. She's pretty and has big breasts."
There weren't many women like that even back on Earth. Pretty face, and those breasts would probably get even bigger. I wasn't stupid enough to refuse when someone was offering.
The reason I'd pushed back against the duchess was simply my instinctive certainty that she would prefer someone like that. As the wife of the Northern Archduke, she gave off the strong vibe of someone who liked manly types.
'She'd probably like someone who stands up to me more. Saying I have spirit or whatever.'
But upon hearing my words, the count's face stiffened as if he'd misheard, and he stared at me.
"…Pretty face? Big breasts? Is… is that all?"
"What? Is there anything else a woman needs?"
"Uh, well… I guess not, but…"
"Oh, it'd be nice if her hips were wide too."
"…You're my son, but you're really simple-minded."
The count looked out the window and let out a deep sigh. It almost sounded like he was muttering my late mother's name. Wondering what was wrong with him, I tilted my head but eventually just leaned back against the cushion, slumping down.
I should have taken off this suffocating tuxedo, but I couldn't because I was worried about what others might think.
'Once I become a Master, I'll just wear whatever I want.'
If I became a Master, no one would dare say anything even if I walked around showing off my muscles. No one would want to risk getting their skull cracked for saying something unnecessary to a Master.
Unable to endure wearing this stifling tuxedo all the way back to the count's territory, I loosened the buttons around my neck. It was then that the count, who seemed to have finally come to his senses, asked,
"Now that I think about it, it looked like you were having quite the conversation with His Highness the Prince. What were you talking about?"
"……What?"
The count froze and stared at me. I looked back at him as if asking what the problem was, then belatedly realized I hadn't mentioned everything.
"E-eek—!"
"……Father?"
The count, who already seemed at his limit, clutched the back of his neck and collapsed right then and there. That day, I learned that even an Aura Expert knight could suffer a stroke from high blood pressure.
"Please come in."
"Yeah."
At Sir Leon's words, I channeled Aura into my entire body and my weapon. The weapon infused with Aura began to hum and resonate. Seeing my Aura-infused sword, Sir Leon also channeled Aura into his own blade, preparing for the upcoming clash.
A moment later, we both charged forward, crossing swords and demonstrating our swordsmanship.
Clang-clang-clang-clang—!
Dozens of strikes per second. Sparks flew in every direction from our blades, creating a scene like a blazing furnace. After swinging my sword with full power for several minutes, I reached the limit of my stamina. Sir Leon was the same.
Clang—!
After our final clash, I stepped back and took deep breaths. The unique Aura breathing technique passed down in the Meyer family circulated through my body, instantly replenishing my depleted energy.
Sir Leon, who had also recovered his breathing, stood still and provoked me.
Seeing Sir Leon smirk as he provoked me, I deliberately took the bait. The fundamentals of all martial arts are defense and counterattack. To attack the opponent one-sidedly without taking any damage yourself. In that sense, it's easier to defeat an opponent who's charging at you than to charge at them yourself.
I knew it in my head. I knew rationally that it was something I shouldn't do….
'If I can't even win against this much, how am I supposed to become a Sword Saint?'
The Sword Saint I aspired to be wasn't someone who stood in place waiting for enemies to come, then counterattacked when an opening appeared. It was an incarnation of the sword who could charge anywhere with a single blade and smash everything to pieces. I needed to be able to crush a knight of the same rank head-on even in an unfavorable situation.
"Here I come."
"Yes, come at me."
After kindly giving the signal that I was coming, I kicked off the ground using Aura-enhanced leg strength. I arrived in front of Sir Leon in an instant like a cannonball, but he casually swung his sword to attack me.
I waited until the very last moment before deflecting his blade, then smashed the pommel of my sword straight into his face.
"Ugh—!"
As blood poured from his crushed nose, I followed up, swept his legs out from under him, and pointed my sword at him.
"…Where did you learn such techniques that only mercenaries would use?"
"Well, there's nothing that isn't allowed if you win."
Sir Leon stood up and left a remark as if to make sure I remembered.
"……Young master, you seem quite excited. Shall we go another round? I won't hold back this time."
"—Young master? Young master? Come at me right this instant."
Ignoring Sir Leon's threats, I headed to the private training ground. Five years had passed since Prince Belion's party. I still hadn't reached the level of Master.