Chapter 23: [Princess Phyllis, Part 1]
We had decided to accept the request from the princess and finally headed towards the royal castle a few days later.
"J-Jin-kun, m-my hands are trembling from n-nervousness..."
On our way to the royal castle, Chloe showed me her shaking hands, clearly nervous.
"Don't worry, I'm nervous too. We're in this together."
"I-I wish you had said that earlier..."
Chloe said that in response to my words, but it was an impossible request.
After all, the Princess Phyllis I was about to meet now was one of the most important characters in the game.
The title only mentioned "Hero" and "Seven Female Warriors," but besides those two roles, there were several other important characters in the game.
Among them, Princess Phyllis, whom I was about to meet, played the role of the "Saint," leaving behind achievements that could be considered of utmost importance to the game.
Although she wasn't a candidate for the heroine, she had achieved just as much as the heroines in the game.
"Hey, Jin-kun, it's impossible for us to quit, right?"
"Well, yeah. I think the royal family has already been informed, so if we were to back out at this point, it would greatly affect our adventurer's life. Therefore, we have no choice but to endure and be patient."
As I said that, Chloe took a deep breath but immediately said, "Ugh, I'm still so nervous."
After a while, the carriage we were riding in arrived in front of the royal castle.
Duld Kingdom, that was the name of the main stage of the game and the country we lived in.
The land occupied about a third of the continent, making it one of the great nations.
It was a country abundant in nature, with mines and dungeons, a place where everyone could live comfortably.
The royal family of such a country was kind to its people and loved by them.
"Nice to meet you, Jin-san, Chloe-san. I am Princess Phyllis of the Duld Kingdom."
"I am Jin, a Copper-rank adventurer."
"Likewise, I am Chloe, also a Copper-rank adventurer."
After arriving at the royal castle, we were guided by the princess's attendants, who had been waiting for us, to the room where the princess was waiting.
Princess Phyllis was three years older than me, at the age of fifteen.
At the beginning of the game, she was already a beautiful woman at the age of eighteen, and I had the impression that she had already blossomed into a full-fledged woman from that time.
"This place is like a private room exclusively for me, so you don't have to be too nervous. As long as you use a certain level of language, no one will overhear, so I'll allow it."
Setting myself aside, I immediately understood that the princess was saying that with Chloe, who came from a commoner background, in mind.
When Chloe and I expressed our gratitude for the princess's words, she quickly moved on to the main topic she had called us for.
"The main topic was about hearing the story of that adventure. Did you really summon us for that reason?"
"Oh? Did I call you under false pretenses?"
"...Honestly, if you had called us for that reason, there are other adventurers as well. If it's because we are of a similar age, I believe there were other candidates besides us."
I had been wondering about that for a long time, so I asked carefully, being mindful of my language.
"...Well, yes. There were indeed other candidates. However, I didn't find them as interesting as you two."
"Interesting?"
"Yes, Chloe-san registered as an adventurer about half a year ago, and I heard that Jin-san, on the other hand, became a steel-ranked adventurer in less than a month. After that, I became interested in both of you and looked into you, and some truly interesting things came up."
The inn was secured for dozens of days at once from a rough-looking innkeeper, and immediately after registration, they became partners. Despite never having seen them trained as former nobles, their swordsmanship and magical skills were impressive.
"...All of that is about me, right?"
"Yes, even just Jin-san's story alone provided quite an interesting topic. And Chloe-san is also quite an interesting person. That's the real reason I called you here."
...Come to think of it, I remember this princess's character setting! For a long time, she has been living in the royal palace, bored, occasionally seeking out interesting individuals and keeping them by her side—a peculiar princess!
How could I have forgotten such an important thing!?
Undoubtedly, I shouldn't have accepted this request!
"Oh dear, Jin-san, what's the matter? Is this room too hot for you?" the princess asked, smiling with a smile on her face as I sweated in haste.
"Oh, no, it's not like that at all. I'm just a little nervous..."
"Oh, I see. Indeed, Chloe-san has been frozen like a statue since earlier."
"...Hahi."
I had thought she had been silent since the greeting, but was she frozen stiff with nervousness...?
Glancing at Chloe next to me, she was already pale as a ghost.
No, Chloe, there's no topic about you at the moment! I've been the target all along!
I was about to scream, but when I felt the gaze of the princess, I turned and she smiled at me with a little grin.
"There's one thing that intrigued me the most about you, Jin-san. Is it true that you are the eldest son of the former Ragnia family?"
"That's correct. I mean, if it's about the royal family, they can definitely obtain that kind of information, right?"
"Yes, I was told that obtaining information about the adventurer Jin-san was quite difficult, but information about noble Jin-san was relatively easy to acquire. And among that, there was something that caught my attention."
The princess paused for a moment and looked at me with a serious expression.
"How did you acquire such power? You were supposed to be despised and live in a closed-off place for 12 years. Yet you possess the same level of power as the ones guarding the royal castle, don't you?"
"It's talent."
"...Talent, you say?"
"Yes, even if I proved it when I was at home, it wouldn't mean anything. So, I decided to secretly train myself to protect myself when I eventually left home, as my late mother had decided. About a month ago, my father, Albert von Ragnia, gave me the choice to either stay at home or leave, and I made up my mind to leave."
It was a little embarrassing to declare it as talent, but I explained it with enthusiasm.
Upon hearing my words, the princess wore a troubled expression, struggling to digest the content, and finally said, "...I understand."