Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Journey (1)
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At our usual cafe.
Three girls were lost in their own thoughts.
Correction.
Aruru was busy eating dessert.
My little cutie.
If you start something, you should see it through, right?
I tried to give her a subtle hint.
But she seemed to be saying, *As you can see, I'm busy. You do it for me!* as she swallowed a piece of cake.
Fine, I'll let it slide for now.
She needed to recover her energy after the tournament.
When night comes, I'll have to properly teach her the greatness of her master.
“A trip…”
“…”
The girl rested her head on her clasped hands.
Ceria, in her signature pose, was thinking nonstop.
A trip? Alone with Aruru?
It didn't seem like anything would happen, but still, she's a girl…
She seemed to be wrestling with that kind of conflict.
It wasn't serious, but the ambiguity of it all seemed to leave her at a loss.
That made sense for her.
As his fiancée, all sorts of thoughts were bound to cross her mind.
But why was the princess giving off a similar vibe?
Because I'm her closest male friend?
It didn't matter to me either way, but she had no real reason to come along.
“A trip sounds nice. We've all been so busy, after all. Especially you, after what happened…”
“Hmm…”
“You must be tired from all that hard training, so I think it's time to rest your mind and body.”
She always has such a lovely way with words.
Still, I felt I couldn't let my guard down just yet.
“I'm curious about the purpose of this trip, and the destination.”
Wait a minute. I don't know that either.
The purpose might be relaxation, but we hadn't decided where to go.
Aruru must have it all figured out in her head.
My little cutie finally revealed her true intentions.
“I want to visit my hometown. I miss my siblings.”
She tried to say it casually.
But her tone was filled with a sense of longing.
Ah, that's completely understandable…
For a moment, my heart ached with emotion.
The other two girls had a similar reaction, clutching their chests.
“I thought it would be nice to bring a friend along, so I asked.”
I knew what she meant.
She needed someone who could show her family that she was doing well at the academy.
“Jace is a cool guy, so my siblings might look up to me.”
“…”
*Ta-da! Let me introduce you to my boyfriend.*
*Your big sister is this capable!*
That seemed to be my little cutie's plan, but I wondered how her siblings would react.
*Wow! Big sis brought home a human male character!*
*How can he be so perfect? I wish he would stroke my tail…*
It was just a fantasy, but…
…given how Aruru is, it felt quite plausible.
No, wait a minute.
I feel like I'm missing something important…
“---!!”
A belated realization dawned on me.
I exchanged a meaningful glance with the two girls.
“Aruru's siblings must also be…”
“As cute as Aruru, right?”
“Hmm, that would be a paradise all on its own…”
We all looked at Aruru in unison.
Sensing our anticipation, she spilled the details.
“There are five of them in total. Two younger brothers and three younger sisters.”
Six siblings…
A whole bunch of cute fox beastkin.
The thought conjured up a warm, fluffy feeling.
Ceria's eyes began to sparkle.
Not to be outdone, the princess also clenched her fists.
The girls' pure desire burned hotly.
The mention of Aruru's siblings…
…seemed to have solidified their resolve to go, no matter what.
“I've decided I want to go on this trip too.”
Ceria said with her eyes.
Of course, I welcomed her joining as my fiancée.
I nodded, then looked at Aruru.
Her opinion was more important than mine, after all.
“I'd be grateful if you came too, Ceria. I think they'll be happier the more friends I bring.”
She wagged her tail, as if to say it would be a fun trip.
With Ceria's participation confirmed, the princess timidly raised her hand.
“I'd like to join too, if that's okay…”
“…”
The three of us didn't answer right away.
We were friendly, but not quite close enough to travel together.
But rejecting her outright would be awkward.
*Should we take her?*
*Ceria might feel uncomfortable.*
Aruru wouldn't mind since she's a different race, but Esterize's presence could be a bit awkward.
It was best for me to stay quiet.
Ceria had just joined, so she didn't have much say.
Our little cutie had to make the decision.
But she seemed to say, *I don't really care! You guys figure it out!* as she devoured a fancy pudding.
“Ugh…”
Perhaps feeling a sense of crisis from the lukewarm response, the princess groaned before desperately starting to pitch her strengths.
“I'm sure I'll be helpful! I've traveled all over the place.”
No need to get lost.
Can pick a good inn right away.
Knows all the precautions for camping. And if that's not enough…
“I'll even stand watch at night. If any trouble comes up, be it bandits or monsters, I'll take care of it!”
Ah, this is so pitiful!
The princess is volunteering to be a slave!
What terrifying persistence.
I get that she wants to see Aruru's siblings, but still, this is a bit much!
Suddenly, I recalled Esterize's activities.
Though a student at the academy, she spent more time outside its walls.
Participating in the movement to rebuild her kingdom.
Showing her face to a few loyal retainers to discuss future plans.
Exploring dungeons across the continent.
Most importantly, she was short on funds, so she was looking for a big score.
Sometimes finding an easy target in the Demon King's army and wreaking havoc.
It was partly for revenge, but she was also in a position where she had to steal their equipment to raise war funds.
Besides all that, the princess had endured many other hardships.
These were things even someone who had lived a hard life from the start would struggle with.
Yet she, who had lived in luxury at the royal palace, was struck by disaster and still managed to persevere.
You couldn't help but respect her.
It was to the point where I felt so sorry for her that I wanted to take care of her.
If everyone knew her circumstances, they would all nod in agreement.
Unfortunately, I was the only one who knew, so there was no particular reaction.
Finally, the princess played her last card.
She looked at me and brought up our old promise.
“We promised to get some real combat experience together. Remember?”
“Hmm…”
“How about we let this trip count for that?”
Her original plan was probably to take me along to harass the Demon King's army.
A sense of aversion crept over me.
Right now, I wanted to avoid facing them as much as possible.
In that case, I'd rather let Esterize join the trip.
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Ceria suddenly cast her vote in favor.
Her inner thoughts were probably something like this:
*Take my man to a dangerous place? The two of them alone? Who does she think she is? Not a chance. This is better. I can rest easy if we all go on a trip together.*
It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was probably close to the truth.
Putting myself in her shoes, the answer was obvious. I would have done the same.
Anyway.
I nodded as well, sealing the deal.
Esterize smiled, looking truly relieved.
“Then let's start planning the trip right away. Leave it to me!”
The girl immediately sprang into action.
She pulled a map from her clothes and looked at my little cutie.
“Aruru. Point to where your hometown is.”
“Here? I think it's somewhere around here.”
“Hmm, it's not that far. If we take the gate and travel for about four days…”
She was already figuring out the optimal route.
As expected, the difference between having an expert and not was huge.
With the princess as our guide, it seemed like we were in for a comfortable journey.
Without her, we might have been in quite a bit of trouble.
This world was a medieval-style fantasy, so it was inconvenient in many ways.
The transportation issue in particular was a headache just to think about.
Gates existed, but outside of the major cities, it was all country roads.
Well, a trip by carriage would have its own charms.
Being with people I liked, it was bound to be fun.
In a way, it was a preview of the hero's party.
Aruru and Esterize were slated to become my companions.
We hadn't spoken about it yet.
And Ceria would probably stay by my side, saying she'd support her lover.
“Here, take a look. I've planned a fifteen-day trip.”
Huh? Didn't you say four days?
Even with a round trip and some delays, it should only be about ten days…
“You didn't think we were just going to Aruru's hometown and back, did you? Come on, that's no fun. We should enjoy what we can along the way. If we take a little detour, there's a village famous for its hot springs.”
“---!!”
Ah, I never expected an event like that!
The main story wasn't without its fan service, but things had been so hectic that I hadn't even thought about it.
In the first place, Jace was designed to be one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings.
In other words, there wasn't a single event associated with this body.
No, there was the gruesome death ending…
Of course, even that has disappeared now.
And in this situation, our princess announced an event.
An achievement that not even the system window could manage. Her holiness deserved to be praised.
“Hot springs? I'm in!”
“It would be a great way to relieve our fatigue.”
Was it because of the positive reactions?
She explained the itinerary in detail with a beaming smile.
“But it'll cost a bit. Well, I guess that's not something I need to tell you guys.”
Esterize stared intently at me.
*You're the heir to a wealthy family, right? I'm counting on you!*
She seemed to be pressuring me to be the sponsor.
“…”
It looked like she wasn't planning to pay a single penny, but that was fine.
You can't get blood from a stone, so how could I ask anything of a poor princess?
She'd already taken on the role of guide and even created an event; I couldn't ask for more.
The problem was that I didn't have much money on me.
I only had about ten million, and a simple calculation showed I'd need two or three times that amount.
Just as I was pondering this, Ceria quietly took my hand.
She nodded silently, as if to say she would chip in too.
I was truly grateful for the sentiment.
And she was probably richer than me…
But a man's useless pride spurred me to bluff.
“This much is fine.”
“Really?”
“…”
*O loyal knight of my family.*
*Appear before me at once and offer up the war funds!*
It had been about ten days, so it was about time for them to send it.
And as if on cue, a knight arrived right on time.
“My lord.”
Armor that was both ornate and practical.
He was a young knight bearing the Crodain family crest.
He carefully watched my expression.
He seemed to have brought the money, but he was conscious of the people around us.
“It doesn't matter.”
“Then…”
He smoothly took out a silk pouch and set it down.
I wanted to check it immediately, but I held back.
My dignity would not permit such a materialistic act.
The knight glanced around me and left immediately.
He would probably report to the family head that I was getting along well with the hero candidates.
They could finally rest easy.
Ceria smiled, as if thinking, *My man is so thorough, as expected!*
The other two girls showed their curiosity, seemingly wondering about the contents of the silk pouch.
“Curious?”
“Yeah!”
Encouraged by their enthusiasm, I gave the pouch a little shake.
*Clink.*
Even the sound was different.
They were obviously gold coins, but there were several types.
Judging by the bulk, there were about thirty of them.
A gold coin is worth roughly one million.
If these were regular gold coins, it would be thirty million.
It wasn't a small amount, but compared to my status, it was mere pocket change.
I took a coin out of the pouch.
Instead of a yellow hue, it had a subtle, silvery-white sheen.
Aruru didn't seem to recognize it, but Ceria and the princess knew its value immediately.
“It's a platinum coin.”
“Ah, that's worth ten times a regular gold coin!”
“---!!”
A coin made of platinum.
At the princess's surprise, my little cutie's ears perked up as well.
Then, she looked at me with sparkling eyes.
I could feel her relief at being friends with a rich young master.
Ten million per coin.
In an instant, I had three hundred million. Now I could finally breathe.
“Esterize.”
“Yes! Just give the order!”
W-wait a minute! Please don't do that…
It breaks my heart every time you act like a slave to money!
What's three hundred million, anyway?
The princess's dresses probably cost around a billion.
The Demon King's army, those bastards…
She, who once enjoyed every luxury, had fallen this far.
“What's the estimated cost?”
“Um…”
She carefully counted on her fingers.
Between twenty and thirty million. Not too different from my own estimate.
When I handed her four platinum coins, she trembled as if she were receiving a great honor.
“I'll leave it to you. Handle it as you see fit.”
“Y-you gave me too much.”
“I want the best trip possible. Spend it freely, and you don't need to return the change. That's how much I liked your travel plan.”
“---!!”
I tried acting magnanimous, like the original Jace.
She seemed burdened, but the princess succumbed to the large sum of money.
“Alright, you can count on me!”
Surprisingly, her favorability went up.
Or perhaps it was only natural.
I had unexpectedly realized the power of money.
Her traits couldn't be bought with money, so this was a huge gain.
“…”
I felt very conflicted.
But seeing the girl look so happy calmed me down a little.
I don't know about anyone else, but I hope that at least our princess can walk a path of flowers…