The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away
Breath in... the damp, sour stench of the underground dungeon filled my nostrils with every inhale. My face tightened naturally.
Every time I shifted, the clinking of the chains and shackles grated against my skin. The situation I now found myself in was far from pleasant.
No, it wasn't pleasant at all — just the lesser of two evils.
It certainly wasn't the worst. After all, I'd been arrested without offering any resistance, and they had promised to hear my excuses.
Yesterday, turning Bifrons into a shapeless lump of meat had been the problem.
When the instructors and Irene arrived, what would their eyes have seen?
The training ground had become a slaughterhouse.
The imperial princess of the Empire lay unconscious, covered in wounds. And there was a boy, looking perfectly fine, vigorously stabbing at a pile of flesh.
That pile of flesh was, in fact, a named demon! There was no way the excuse would have worked right there.
All the named demons we'd ambushed had been erased without a trace by Solaris's sun. And right now, I wasn't Veri — I was Finn.
If Ian or Selina had been present, that would be different, but the moment they reached the main building they must have collapsed and not shown themselves.
I had no witnesses to prove I was Veri, and in this chaotic scene, the only person standing upright with a sword in hand was the one-eyed examiner.
"Fuck, even I would have arrested him on the spot."
Thankfully, before that crazy Irene could hack me apart, surrendering to the instructors had been the right call.
Thanks to that, I avoided immediate execution, which was why the situation now felt like the lesser of two evils.
After all, if Ian or Selina or Lily regained their senses, my doubts would be cleared.
Still, it was impossible to shake off the resentment.
I'd worked my ass off to save the academy, only to be treated like this after returning... It was a fair judgment, but deeply unfair.
"This won't do. Once the doubts are cleared, I should milk a decent amount of reimbursement out of them."
Yeah, originally I was thinking about one treasure from the academy, but since I was really pissed, I'd demand two at least. Somehow.
"Hah... anyway, when exactly is she going to regain her senses...?"
With nothing but an empty sigh escaping in this tedious prison life, a loud noise rang out. Followed by a cheerful voice.
BOOM!!
"As the imperial princess of the Empire, I swear on my honor! Move aside right now?!"
I had no idea when our Lily had become this fiery-tempered... but watching Lily's antics right now, I could barely hold back the laughter.
According to my thoughts, Lily should know most of what happened to me by now.
Yet her being able to act this way meant she had accepted the truth enough to move on.
BOOM!!
"Finn!!! Where's Finn!!!"
"Heh heh heh... I'm losing it..."
That's why I had no choice but to look up at my imperial princess who had come all the way down to this underground dungeon and say:
"P... Finn...!"
"Yes, Your Highness. I hope you've been well. Your attendant, Finn, has returned."
***
Eventually, after failing to endure Lily's stubborn antics, they decided to confirm my danger level through a three-way conversation with me, Lily, and Grace, and let out a sigh.
Grace, who had been part of Veri's party and could perceive truth, would surely see through my true identity.
During the process, Ian and Anna somehow ended up joining in... but whatever. It didn't matter.
After all, the Trace Changer had already broken. Now I had to go to the academy in my original form.
"Uh... um... that... are you Ver... or, Finn...?"
The response machine, which usually gave gentle answers with perfect composure to everyone, was stuttering unusually.
And Lily was glaring at her as if she wanted to devour her.
Probably distracted by checking on me, she didn't focus properly, so I stepped closer to Grace and asked.
"Call me as you like. So... am I really Finn who was Veri... is there a problem, Grace?"
"Finn...!!"
Before even hearing Grace's answer, Lily called my name with an anguished tone, tilting her head.
"...Why are you doing this, Your Highness?"
Then, just like a scolded puppy, she avoided my gaze, lowered her head with a voice that seemed to crawl away.
"Ah, no... nothing..."
"W-well, first of all, Finn is indeed Veri's, the original hero... I carefully observed just in case, and the truth is clear! However..."
Grace's gaze toward my missing left eye.
Her expression held a mixture of pity and regret, something deeply sorrowful.
Then Grace gently stroked the spot beside my missing left eye and said.
"Even if Finn wasn't Veri, the fact that it was the named demon Bifrons you defeated has been confirmed in the Divinity Department, so there won't be any issue. The circumstances Ian and Lilisciana mentioned provide sufficient evidence."
But... what exactly did you sacrifice to defeat that demon...
Her voice was so small that only she could hear it.
Probably Grace had mistaken my sacrifice of my left eye for defeating Bifrons.
Correcting that misunderstanding felt complicated, so I turned my head and looked around.
There, each of the three showed interesting reactions.
First, Ian spoke.
"Uh... so, Finn disguised himself as Veri... but now Veri's Finn... wait? Then who am I friends with? Veri? Finn?"
'...That guy is definitely an idiot.'
I had no time for idiots. Recalling that logic, my gaze shifted to Anna.
"Uh... can I call you Anna...?"
"Of course."
"Then, Anna! Do you happen to have... that missing left eye... something like an artificial eye?"
Startled.
At the word "left eye," Lily's shoulder twitched visibly, and it caught Anna's eye.
Since I couldn't ignore a child with sparkling eyes gazing at me like that, I focused on Anna and answered.
"Um... no, I don't have an artificial eye. Why? Want me to make one for you?"
"Yes! The only thing I can help with in the party is this!"
Anna couldn't sit still, fidgeting like a child opening a gift box.
Whether it was her alchemist instinct that something new could be created, or pure happiness from being able to help the party, either way, it was clear it would benefit me, so I nodded.
"Then, please take care of it, Anna."
"Yes! Leave it to me...!"
And now the only remaining thing...
"Everyone, I have something to discuss with Her Highness the Princess, so please step out."
As my gaze turned to them, Grace, Ian, and Anna each nodded silently one by one.
Creak. Boom.
With everyone except me and Lily having left, a quiet stillness followed.
Even in that silence, I could feel Lily's eyes darting toward me, making me wonder if I was hearing the sound of rolling eyes.
"First, I must say this. As you can see, this Finn is alive and well, Your Highness."
"Eh, how...?"
How could he survive a fall from that cliff? Lily asked in this way.
Sufficient evidence was right in front of my eyes without needing to explain the details, so I pointed at myself with my finger.
"You saw how strong I am, didn't you, Your Highness?"
"That... is true."
Lily had been fidgeting with her fingers the whole time, hesitating.
Normally I'd ignore it, but now that my identity was exposed, couldn't I ask boldly?
If my thoughts were correct, she must have learned why I sacrificed myself for her, and as a result, just like before, she had fallen ill again.
So the only thing I was curious about was one thing.
Just what kind of bastard had seduced my delicate Lily and stripped her bare?
'People have morals. How could they even think of seducing a sick girl? An utterly disgusting guy. I'm going to kill him right away.'
So I asked.
"Your Highness."
"U, um?"
"Where exactly did you get that ring?"
"So, who is the fiancé who keeps spreading rumors about you, Your Highness? The one who proposed to you while I was away."
As an attendant.
Or as the one who received a favor.
With a tone that implied it was fine for me to know, I asked this way, and Lily's pupils trembled openly, unable to answer.
"U, ah... th, that's... so..."
One thing I heard about from others, now seeing it with my own eyes.
It was shocking, but it felt completely revolting.
Given Lily's personality, there should have been at least significant affection toward me, Finn, yet she was hiding the fiancé's identity like this.
So this time I asked again with a plainly wounded expression.
"Is that so... well, of course. A mere attendant asking about the princess's fiancé. Even in the academy, this was an utterly shameless act. Please forgive me..."
"T, that's...!!"
...Caught.
Lily, who had been caught in my conscience-pushing scheme, glanced at me with her head still lowered, eyes moving upward.
Without saying a word, her hand slowly reached toward me.
Then Lily spread out her trembling fingertips like a trembling leaf, exactly her trembling index finger pointing toward me.
"...?"
Exactly Lily's finger pointing at me.
Clearly I had just asked who her fiancé was... but...
I turned my head to check behind me. Thinking maybe there was a window behind me and someone was standing there.
'No one is there.'
But even after turning, all I saw was the endless gray brick wall behind me.
Even when I turned back to Lily, her finger was still pointing at me.
...with a bit of doubt, I asked.
"Your Highness."
"Hic! Yes!!"
"Did you perhaps get married in some soul wedding...?"
Did I have some unknown ESP ability?