That Day's Promise

"Hic... hic..."

"Shut up."

"Waaaaah!!!"

Telling her to be quiet only made her cry even louder. What the hell was she trying to pull? As always, this woman went against my every wish.

Cynthia... or rather, Cynthia de Lydorphia? What a ridiculously grandiose name. Meanwhile, I was just plain old Werther with no family name to speak of.

"I said shut up, you bit— I mean, Cynthia."

"But! But Werther. Hic... the axe... hic... it cut off your neck. Hic..."

"Yeah. I think I died about five times."

"Waaaaah!!!"

Still, I won in the end. No matter how many times I died, landing one fatal blow on the opponent meant victory for me. In that sense, the Rune of Immortality was pretty damn convenient.

...Of course, it hurt like absolute hell.

The wound on my shoulder from the axe blade still hadn't fully healed. I'd taken plenty of brutal beatings in my rough life, but I learned a valuable lesson: the pain of being stabbed or slashed by a blade was on a completely different level. I had no idea where I'd ever apply that knowledge, though.

"Hic... hic... Why? Why did you help me, Werther? Is it because you think I'm cute?"

"...Right now I don't even have the energy to curse at you."

That bun-haired bitch. She never gave me a single moment of peace.

After our first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠battle, lying on the grassy field and staring up at the star-embroidered night sky, I was alone with a (face-only) beautiful girl—the bun-haired princess. As if some romance was going to spark from that.

"I just... it reminded me of someone I know. That's why I helped."

"Who?"

"Yeah."

"Is that person as cute as me?"

No comparison whatsoever. What the hell was she even trying to imply? Comparing an angel to a bitch was absurd from the start.

"Did that person also get bullied by their father?"

"......Yeah. Terribly."

"Poor thing. Hic."

Tsk. That damn Cynthia. Her crying face looked so purely innocent that for a second she almost seemed like a delicate, pitiful princess instead of a bitch. If I hadn't witnessed her true nature during our travels, I might have actually fallen for it.

"My body's mostly recovered. Let's head back to the tent. That damn Leonhart bastard is probably shivering in there all by himself."

"Huh? Al-already? Your neck got severed, your shoulder was stabbed—you were hurt really badly!"

"It's all healed."

"No way..."

That's exactly what the Rune of Immortality did. Among all items and skills, nothing surpassed it.

"B-but what if your wounds get infected?"

"No need to worry. I'm completely recovered."

"You're lying!"

"Maybe that recovery magic you cast actually helped."

"Oh, I guess that's true. Since I'm a genius beautiful girl mage. I can accept that."

That's what convinced her? This bitch really was something else. Definitely not cute in the slightest.

Cynthia fidgeted with her index fingers pressed together as she muttered, "If I hadn't dropped my staff while sleeping in the tent and getting ambushed, I wouldn't have been caught by those bandits."

"What is it, Cynthia? It's creepy, so if you've got something to say, spit it out already."

"Creepy?! How rude! To a beautiful girl like me!"

"If you've got nothing to say, I'm leaving."

"W-wait!"

"?"

Her lips were fidgeting in a way that didn't suit her usual personality. Her cheeks were flushed red. It gave me goosebumps for some reason.

"Um... aren't you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"About my father... or my identity."

"Why should I?"

"N-normally you'd ask! If your adventure companion turned out to be a princess, wouldn't you be curious and bombard them with questions?!"

"Hoo... so you thought of me as a comrade, huh."

"Hic...!"

Now her entire face was red.

"Shut up! You're just an errand boy! I am the genius beautiful girl mage Cynthia! It's your freedom to like me however you want, but it's troublesome if you start thinking I have any interest in you too!"

"Hmph... then this errand boy will quietly head back."

"Sit down!! I'll tell you about my past!!"

If she wanted to talk, she should have just said so from the beginning instead of acting all high and mighty. Well... come to think of it, even if I went back to the tent now, I'd only get irritated watching Leonhart pretend to be asleep.

I moved a short distance away from Cynthia, brushed the dust off a patch of grass, and made a comfortable spot to sit.

"Thanks."

And then the bitch claimed that spot for herself. For a moment I fell into serious contemplation over whether I hated Leonhart or Cynthia more, but when she patted the ground beside her invitingly, I somehow ended up sitting there without thinking. Damn it. I'd planned to listen from farther away, but now we were way too close.

It was like I'd ignored the advice my little sister had given me. The sister who said those words had worn an unusually serious expression.

Cynthia's forearm and shoulder brushed against my skin. The princess didn't seem to mind the physical contact at all as she began unfolding her past.

"From my noble and elegant appearance, you can probably tell I was born a princess of the Lydorphia Kingdom. I grew up receiving all the proper etiquette lessons a princess should, but what I loved most was magic and adventure. I secretly read the hero's adventure tales behind my father's back and nurtured those dreams."

It was almost sad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that the hero she'd admired so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much turned out to be Leonhart. Well, I wasn't really one to talk.

"Of course my father opposed both my learning magic and going on adventures. He was dead serious... He locked me away in the imperial palace and wouldn't let me meet anyone. The only person I could talk to was my tutor, old man Perma... I even tried to escape by getting married, but all the marriage proposals kept falling through for some strange reason."

Of course they did.

"At first, the royals and nobles who proposed after seeing my portrait would take one look at me in person, freak out, and refuse."

I bet they did.

"I wonder why...? It must be that my father the Emperor threatened them behind the scenes."

I highly doubted it. They were probably shocked by your rotten personality beneath that pretty face and instinctively decided to cut ties.

"No, I'm definitely right about this. Our dad is more than capable of doing that."

Suddenly Cynthia lifted her skirt and showed me her backside. The approach was so abrupt that I couldn't follow my sister's other piece of advice.

However, Cynthia wasn't making any kind of sexual appeal. Her backside was covered in bruises. It was painful to look at.

"...Those bandits. I should have beaten them even more miserably."

"What are you talking about? This wasn't the bandits. This is what my father did with his whip!"

What? Her father whipped his own daughter's backside?

"Every time I said I wanted to go out or meet other people, he'd say I needed mental discipline and bring out the whip. It hurt so much and was so humiliating. I even had to lift my own skirt and show my backside to him."

That was straight-up domestic violence. Just like our father.

"But I'm not the kind of person who gives up on her dreams. I blasted a hole in the wall with explosion magic and escaped! So I absolutely refuse to return to the imperial palace! After this adventure ends, I'll marry a wonderful man and live happily ever after!"

"Dream... you mean this adventure you're on right now?"

"Obviously!"

"Now that I think about it, why did you join the hero party? If you just wanted to escape your father's grasp, there were plenty of safer places."

To my casually tossed question, Cynthia answered with an innocent smile, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"To save humanity, of course! I want to rescue the people who are suffering! Just seeing people smile happily makes me feel good, doesn't it? Isn't that why you joined the hero party too?"

"…………"

Dawn was slowly breaking. Leonhart had to be exhausted from pretending to sleep, so it was probably time to head back.

"Ah! Wait! Why aren't you answering?"

"...I'm different from you."

"Huh?"

"I fight the demon king's army for my own goals, not for humanity."

"B-but aren't you the most sincere about defeating the demon king? Sometimes I even think things would have gone better if you were the hero instead..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"N-nothing."

Why was her voice getting so small? She really was hard to understand.

"Well, there are people who never want to return to their families, and others who want to reunite with them no matter what happens."

"What? You had a family?"

"Of course. What do you take me for?"

"A lone orphan with no connections."

That was the setting, huh.

"Anyway, our goals are the same. Killing the demon king. As long as we remember that, our party will succeed."

"Hmm... b-but."

"What?"

Unlike her usual self, Cynthia fidgeted with an oddly apologetic expression.

"Since my father is still searching for me... he might keep interfering with us. There could be more times like today where you end up in danger, Werther."

"Well, it would be a problem if the hero wasted time fighting the human army instead of the demon king."

"I don't care what happens to Leonhart..."

"What? Speak up."

"Nothing!!"

Why was she puffing out her cheeks and avoiding my eyes? I'd tried to show some empathy, too.

Unlike with my sister, our conversations never seemed to flow properly.

"Don't sulk, Cynthia."

"I'm not sulking! And I'm not scared of getting caught by dad and locked up in that stuffy palace again!"

"Don't worry about that either."

"I'm not worried?!"

Her voice was trembling, though. Geez... If this self-proclaimed beautiful girl was even one-hundredth as cute as my sister, things would have been a lot easier.

But this time... yeah, I'll honestly admit it. It wasn't that my sister and Cynthia had nothing in common.

My sister would sometimes shyly confess, "I have a dream too." When I asked what it was, she'd say "It's a secret from you, oppa" and turn her head away. Even that was incredibly cute.

If it weren't for that damn father's violence worsening her illness, Jiwon might have stepped out into the wide world like Cynthia and pursued her own dreams.

Really... Whenever I saw a father trying to control his daughter like a possession just because he sired her, it made my blood boil.

So this was practically a promise I'd made for my sister's sake.

"If that emperor bastard tries to capture you again, I'll help you out."

"...What?"

"Why are you making that dumb face? Want me to repeat it? If the emperor kidnaps and imprisons you, I'll come rescue you."

"Eh...?"

What was with that dumbfounded expression that said she couldn't believe it? Just so we're clear, this wasn't for her sake—it was for my sister. Ah... Our angelic little sister was saving even someone she'd never met.

Thank Jiwon for this, Cynthia.

"Eh? B-but. Eh? For real? But everyone always just told me to 'Obey His Majesty Father' and never listened to what I wanted?"

"What is that? People are free the moment they're born. You don't need to obey anyone. You just have to be honest with yourself."

"Those words... no one's ever... hic."

"Don't cry. It's annoying."

"Hic. Hic."

The way she cried even harder when told not to was a little similar to my sister.

It happened around the time I was twenty. While working an all-nighter at the factory, I had an accident where my pinky finger got severed by a machine. It was reattached quickly so there weren't any major issues, but I didn't want to worry my sister, so I lied about going on a business trip and checked myself into the hospital.

I figured I'd get treated for a few days, collect the injury insurance, and return home with no problems. But my sister—who wasn't in good health herself—showed up at the hospital and surprised me.

"Oppa! Is it true your finger got cut off?"

"J-Jiwon. No, I still have all my fingers. It's attached, see? Hahaha..."

"Hic."

She cried as if it were her own pain, looking at my bandaged finger.

Thinking about it now, her crying sounded a lot like Cynthia's.

"D-don't cry, Jiwon. It doesn't hurt at all. The doctor said it was a clean cut, so it was actually easier to reattach."

"Waaaaah!"

"I told you not to cry?!"

My sister and Cynthia... maybe they were a little similar after all.

"Werther really... loves me, doesn't he?"

"Ha?!"

I wanted to punch myself from one second ago.

"You fought for me even after your neck got cut off. And you'd even turn against His Majesty the Emperor for my sake. It means you can't help but like me that much, right?"

"Hold on, you idiot."

Sorry, Jiwon. You have absolutely nothing in common with this thick-headed girl. Really, even if you scrubbed your eyes and searched, there was nothing.

"Today you can step on me as much as you want. With shoes or barefoot—I'll let you choose whatever you prefer."

"The only thing I want to choose is your lifespan, you bitch."

"What?! I was trying to be nice for once!"

"That's my line!"

"Even if you get mad, I won't let you take back the promise! No refunds!"

"I intend to keep any promise I make! Because my sister said, 'Men who break promises are the worst'!"

"What kind of pathetic siscon reason is that! So you love me and your sister too?!"

"I have zero memory of ever loving you! I'd rather love Leonhart than love you!"

"You like men?!"

"You're the first woman I've ever seriously wanted to hit... Cynthia. Can I hit you just once?"

"No——! Leonhart! Help me! Werther is bullying me!!"

"As if that bastard would come out! The guy who pretended not to notice when the bandits kidnapped you! Get over here! Please just let me hit you once! Just one hit!"

"What's going on, Werther? It's noisy."

"This crazy bastard finally crawls out now that it's safe!"

"W-what are you talking about? I've been asleep the whole time and didn't hear any commotion from bandits."

"That's practically a confession!!!"

——Sigh... That day we were all idiots, but I was the biggest idiot of all. Why did I make a promise like that?