The Tsundere Northern Archduchess
Even while playing through the tsundere route in Dust Saga, I had never seen this face before. But the more I looked, the more it felt like I knew exactly who she was. The Northern Archduchess. I didn't know her name. Like I said, she was a character who never actually appeared in the story.
She was only ever mentioned in passing by the other characters. Originally, she was supposed to have been killed by the incarnations of the otherworld during the Northern Frontline annihilation event. Yet here she was, alive and breathing right in front of me.
The butterfly effect of what I've done. This was the result I had created. The person I had saved. Naturally, that made me feel even more attached to her. Should I call it affection? Or maybe possessiveness? Either way, I kept wanting to talk to her.
"Hey."
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"...Do I have to tell you?"
Hah. Would you look at that? What a bouncy personality. But even that was charming in its own way.
"Yes. I want to know it."
The Northern Archduchess let out a tiny sigh and tapped the family crest pinned to her shoulder. I stared at the emblem for a moment before asking again.
"So what's your name?"
"...You don't know the Ernoer family? The archducal house of the North?"
"I do."
"But you don't know me?"
"I don't know your name. Why don't we take our time getting to know each other, step by step?"
The Northern Archduchess's mouth parted slightly, her brows furrowing. She seemed genuinely moved by my kindness.
"...Serenia. Serenia Ernoer."
"Oh. What a pretty name."
"Yes."
A brief silence fell between us. Normally, after someone gave you their name, wasn't it your turn to offer yours? But Serenia didn't seem interested in mine at all. She deliberately looked away, staring at the clothes hanging on display instead.
She must be shy.
If I had been anyone else instead of Serenia, I probably would have been shy too, so I decided to be understanding.
"I'm Kim Lena... Regina Diabolos."
"Yes."
"Am I bothering you?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
"......"
Who in this world could possibly find a beautiful girl this pretty annoying? It was official—Serenia was a tsundere. The cheeky little thing. Watching her grit her teeth and pretend to be disinterested only made me want her attention even more.
"I'm actually a demon, you know."
"I know."
"How?"
Serenia made a face like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"...When you're radiating such thick, ominous magi, anyone could tell."
"You must be really interested in me, then."
"Haa."
She sighed a lot. Sighing was supposed to chase away your good fortune, but oh well. In that case, this lady would gladly offer up her entire body to become Serenia's personal good-luck charm.
"Isn't it boring here?"
"...?"
"Want to get out of here with me?"
"...Didn't you come here to buy clothes too?"
"Oh, right."
I still needed to buy the uniform. I couldn't forget why I'd come here in the first place. Sorry to Serenia, but I'd have to leave her side for a bit.
"I'll be right back."
"You don't have to come back."
"There you go again, playing hard to get. How cute."
"?"
I waved at Serenia and turned away. The same employee who had given me that lifeless greeting earlier was still there.
"I'm here to buy a uniform."
"An Academy uniform?"
"Ahem. Yes. I'm the new student who's about to enroll in that very famous Academy."
"For Academy uniforms, please enter the room over there for a consultation~."
"Yep."
Not interested, huh.
I stepped into the room the employee had pointed out. Inside sat an old artisan who looked like he'd been working as a tailor for at least forty years.
His eyes paused on my face for a moment before slowly scanning up and down my body, as if taking measurements. It was different from the male student's gaze earlier. There was no disgusting greed in it.
It feels like a craftsman simply evaluating his materials.
Just as I was starting to feel a little strange about being looked at like a product, the tailor uncle suddenly shot to his feet and began clapping enthusiastically. A full standing ovation.
PASSED!
"Huh?"
"A magnificent physique and face that could pull off any outfit! Would you consider an exclusive contract with me?"
"I came here for an Academy uniform, though."
"Ah..."
When I turned him down gently, the tailor uncle's face fell noticeably. Academy students were busy with all sorts of things, after all. He seemed to understand that and didn't press the issue again.
"An Academy uniform... Do you have any particular style in mind?"
"Have you ever read any wuxia novels?"
"Wuxia... novels?"
"Yeah. You know, those high-level martial artists who zip around with a swish swish, swinging their swords everywhere."
The tailor uncle shook his head. He'd never heard of such books. It was a shame, but I'd have to explain the vibe one detail at a time.
After passionately talking for nearly thirty minutes about the exact uniform style I wanted, the tailor uncle nodded and summed it up in a single dry sentence.
"You want it modified to have the feel of Eastern attire."
"Exactly."
Even after my passionate presentation, he had summarized it so dryly. It was accurate, so I couldn't really argue, but it still felt a little unfair.
"How would you like the magic enchantments handled?"
"I think auto-repair is all I need."
"Understood... Auto-repair, plus fire resistance, cold resistance, and a subspace pocket... Confirmed."
"Wait. Hold on a second."
"Yes?"
He was trying to add three extra enchantments I hadn't asked for? Was this guy trying to rip me off?
"Do I look like an easy mark just because I'm from the countryside?"
"Not at all. A single auto-repair enchantment doesn't mean much on its own. I added the others out of professional courtesy."
Still, this was too much. Each enchantment cost a fortune. How could he just tack on three extra ones without asking? This needed to be addressed.
"Why would I need fire resistance?"
"If the uniform burns away completely, auto-repair becomes meaningless."
"And cold resistance?"
"If the torn sections freeze, repair becomes impossible."
"What about the subspace pocket?"
"It's convenient to have, isn't it?"
He was right. This uncle only spoke in perfectly logical arguments. I was completely convinced. The only problem was... I didn't have much money.
I counted the coins Leona had given me. Roughly sixty gold pieces.
"How much would that come to?"
"Fifteen gold per set."
"Cheaper than I expected. Then I'll take three sets."
"It's quite expensive, you know? Understood."
He had literally just called it expensive himself. Thinking about it, he was right. One gold was enough for a commoner family to live on for an entire year. Fifteen gold meant fifteen years' worth. It really was expensive. Still, this was the fair market price. My master-level senses told me the uncle wasn't lying.
"When should I come to pick them up?"
"Give the address to the staff and we'll deliver them by tomorrow."
"That fast?"
"We're specialists, after all."
Specialists really were on another level.
"Please take good care of my clothes."
"I'll make them beautiful. By the way, about that exclusive contract..."
"Ah, I'm good."
After bowing politely to the specialist tailor, I left the room only to find Serenia standing right outside.
"Serenia! Did you miss me so much that you came looking for me yourself?"
"I don't recall ever giving you permission to call my name so casually. And you're even speaking informally..."
"If you missed me, just say so!"
"...Haa. You're not listening to a single thing I say, are you?"
Serenia walked right past me and entered the consultation room. It seemed that while she had come because she missed me, she was also going to take the opportunity to get her own uniform consultation.
About five seconds after she went inside, a loud voice rang out from the room.
PASSED! Please consider an exclusive contract with—!
"Just the uniform, please."
"Yes."
To shut down the specialist tailor's exclusive contract offer so decisively. As expected, the Northern Archduchess really did possess cold charisma. But surely she'd be warm toward me... right?
Or maybe not? She seemed pretty cold to me too.
Still, that was part of her charm. I stood there blankly, thinking I'd wait for Serenia to come out and then use the remaining fifteen gold to buy something tasty, when a handsome young man with golden hair and green eyes approached.
Hah. This popularity of mine is really something.
Being this pretty really was difficult. People just wouldn't leave me alone.
"Lady Regina."
"Number. Troublesome."
"Pardon?"
The young man who had spoken to me made a dumbstruck face. Just by looking at him, I could tell he had the features of someone harboring perverted walls like a certain dragon-fucker.
"Mom told me not to follow strangers."
"I'm Rian."
"And who is that?"
"...Dragon-fucker?"
"Looks like you've finally achieved some self-awareness. So what do you want?"
"I found us accommodations. I came to escort you there."
That was faster than expected. I'd thought it would take longer. According to Rian, there was a decent inn not far from here, so he'd already secured rooms.
After giving the staff the delivery address for the uniforms, I was about to leave when I paused.
"I was waiting for a friend."
"A friend? You have a friend, Lady Regina?"
"Yeah. I just made one a little while ago. Her name's Serenia. She's really pretty."
More importantly, hadn't this guy just indirectly said I didn't have any friends?
"Serenia? You mean the Northern Archduchess Serenia Ernoer that I know?"
"Yep."
"That crazy delinquent Serenia?"
"Crazy delinquent?"
"Have you never heard the stories about the Northern Archduchess?"
"Nope."
With a serious expression, the dragon-fucker looked around before stealthily leaning in to whisper. He reeked of a man in heat who wanted to fuck a dragon, so I immediately stepped back to create distance again.
"The Northern Archduchess has two nicknames. The Butcher, and the Devil of the Northern Frontline."
"Yeah, well, I'm the Demon King and the Heavenly Demon."
"Please stop talking nonsense."
"Why are you speaking to me like that?"
Rian's tone was getting increasingly rude... As someone with great generosity, I supposed I should endure it. While I suppressed the murderous intent wriggling inside my chest, the dragon-fucker continued speaking without a care.
"Why do you think she earned those nicknames? They say she massacres otherworld demonic beasts like a madwoman and mercilessly cuts the heads off traitors."
"Isn't that perfectly normal?"
When demonic beasts appear, you kill them. When a traitor appears, you make an example of them so no more traitors emerge. That was simply the correct approach.
"And together with the Northern Archduke... they even killed one of the otherworld incarnations!"
"Oh."
Now that was interesting. Even if it had been a joint effort, killing an otherworld incarnation with just two people was quite the achievement.
Of course, it depends on how strong that particular incarnation was...
Still, they were at minimum just below Sword Master level and could wield those annoying otherworld powers. No matter how you looked at it, it was an impressive feat. Of course, nowhere near as impressive as mine???
This lady, Regina Diabolos, had repelled both Honcheon Noeje and the Mad Dragon Seiar when they attacked me at the same time.
Though I did fight alongside Dad...
Even so, I had defeated the named incarnation Honcheon Noeje in single combat. No matter how many times I thought about it, my own achievements were so incredible that I could only admire myself.
Lost in self-admiration, I didn't even notice that Serenia had finished her consultation, emerged from the room, and was giving the staff her delivery address.
"Serenia!"
"...Why are you calling me?"
"Want to hang out with me? I'll buy you something delicious."
"I refuse."
"What!"
Why?!