Prologue

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I, Yuuya Tenjou─was a victim of bullying on earth, but one day I found a mysterious door in my house. Beyond that door is a super-dangerous different world where monsters that you have never seen on earth are running rampant. As a legacy of a person that calls himself a sage, I decided to take over a house that monsters could not even invade along with super-powerful weapons and items.

I managed to make full use of the skills and titles I acquired by coming to the different world, as well as the items that I had inherited from that sage. Moreover, I leveled-up by defeating those monsters and was able to live a life that is one hundred percent the opposite of what I've lived until now. I could even make friends in the real world and grow up little by little in the different world…

After I spent many satisfying days like I had never experienced before, one day, I encountered a human in the different world for the first time. Before this I've only been fighting monsters, so to meet someone was very refreshing. Well, there's that sage anyway, so I could tell that humans existed there…

However, my first encounter with the otherworlder wasn't satisfying; it ended up with me saving a girl in a dress that was attacked by a monster. I thought that I wouldn't meet people again unless I went out of the forest. But now, I meet the girl again in the same way as before.

＊＊＊

"── Please marry me."

"........Yes?"

I could only be dumbfounded, hearing the sudden words of the girl wearing a gorgeous dress.

…What is this girl talking about?

I wracked my brain thinking that the thing that I just heard might be a mistake, but then the middle-aged knight rushed to the girl; he seemed to be in a panic.

"L-Lexia-sama!? What on earth are you thinking?"

"What's wrong…? That was a marriage proposal, you know?"

"I know that! What I am asking is, why did you say such a thing all of a sudden? Aren't you aware of the fact that you're a princess? And you didn't know about him yet…!"

"It's love at first sight! Do you have a complaint?"

"Why are you mad at me despite being in the wrong!"

…Uhm, is this something like a show?

I was dumbfounded seeing the manzai-like interaction that took place in front of me; then I involuntarily looked over the surroundings, the other soldiers shrugged their shoulders like saying, "Oh, it started again". Eh? Was it a daily occurrence? T-that sounds quite troublesome, huh… (T/N: Manzai is a traditional style in Japanese culture similar to double-act comedy or stand-up comedy. )

While thinking that, I looked back at the middle-aged knight and the girl.

The middle-aged knight who noticed my gaze cleared his throat and said: "Ahem! Pardon my impoliteness. I showed you something unsightly. If possible, I'd like to introduce myself and talk in a place where we could calm down…"

"I'm Lexia von Alceria! W-what's your name!?"

"…Lexia-sama. Didn't you hear me say to talk about in a safer place?"

"I asked before you decided that!"

"I-I don't know anymore…"

Hearing the girl's words, The middle-aged knight put his hand on his forehead and looked up to the sky.

"Well, uh… If you don't mind, wanna come to my house?"

The middle-aged knight looked pitiful, but since I could only think that my house as a safer place, I suggested so.

…It's quite dangerous to invite someone who I didn't know whether they're an ally or enemy yet, but considering that they had a hard fight against those goblin elites, I think I'd be able to manage it even if that's not their real strength.

If the worst comes to the worst, I'll just escape to Earth. Only me who can pass through that door, after all… But, well, somehow these people don't seem to be bad. I can't say that's the truth since it's just my intuition anyway.

The soldiers who heard my suggestion seemed to be more agitated than I expected.

"A-a house!? In this Great Devil's Nest!?"

"I don't know anymore… He seems to live here."

"Really, who the hell is he?"

As the same as the soldiers, the middle-aged knight opened his eyes in surprise, but he immediately nodded.

"That's good then. Thank you very much."

"He suddenly invited me to his house! W-wait a minute, I need to prepare my heart first…"

"Lexia-sama, please stop talking already…"

The middle-aged knight sighed as if he were tired.

＊＊＊

"There really is a house…"

"…Isn't this a completely different space?"

"Why is this kind of heartwarming space in the middle of this this Great Devil's Nest?"

At the house… or rather, when I invited them to the safe area around the house, the soldiers were stunned, looking at their surroundings.

I guided them to the house as it is, but since there's not enough space for everyone to enter, only the middle-aged knight and the girl will come in, and the others will be waiting outside. We sat on a chair, facing each other, and after taking one breath, the middle-aged knight opened his mouth.

"Once again, I'll introduce myself. My name is Owen. I am a knight who serves Lexia-sama in the Alceria Kingdom. This time, I want to thank you for saving Lex… No, I have to thank you for saving all of us. Thank you very much."

"P-please raise your head! I just happened to pass by at that time!"

He suddenly bowed his head, so I hurriedly asked him to raise it, but the middle-aged knight… Owen-san didn't want to hear me at all.

"…No, although it was just a coincidence, this is the Great Devil's Nest, after all. It's a miracle that we were able to get out safely after we stepped on this dangerous place. For that reason, I want you to receive my gratitude."

"I-I understand…"

If he takes it that far, I can't say anything more.

My cheeks were twitching involuntarily, hearing the common sense about this forest, even though I've done it smoothly so far, but this place is still a dangerous place from the perspective of the people from this different world. While I was having that thought, the girl introduced herself once again.

"I'm Lexia von Alceria, the first princess of the Kingdom of Alceria. Thank you very much for saving me!"

"N-no, it's okay, I'm glad that you're safe…Hmm? Princess?"

My mind had stopped.

…Now that I think about it again, before we came here, Owen-san and the girl… When they were arguing, surely, Owen-san said that Lexia-san is a princess…

"…Umm, Owen-san."

"What is it?"

"Err… Lexia-san is… a princess?"

"That's right. She's also the first princess."

"…I've had treated her impolitely, but… Was that okay?"

Once I calmed myself, I asked Owen-san, and he nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, don't mind that, it's okay. This is an informal meeting anyway, and most of all, you're our benefactor."

"…Still, I thought I was famous, but… do you actually mean that…?"

"Oh, uh… I'm sorry."

I apologized involuntarily.

Please forgive me. I have no idea about the common sense of this world… No, it might be something that one should know about.

"T-then, should I call you Lexia-sama?"

"Lexia will do! Please just drop the honorific!"

I asked since I didn't know what to call her. She was depressed a little while ago, but this time she said so with enthusiasm—what a fast switchover. No, wait, even so, if you think about it normally, isn't it wrong to call out a princess without honorific?

Thanks to Owen-san I somehow managed to make her understand… In the end, I'll call her "Lexia-sama" only in public, and "Lexia-san" when in private. I-I wonder if it's really fine? I'm just a minor citizen; after all, I'm somewhat scared of it…

Now that Owen-san and Lexia-san have finished introducing themselves, it's time for me to introduce myself.

"Um… I'm Yuuya Tenjou. I'm living in this forest."

I have nothing else to say… I mean, I do have something else but, as expected, I can't tell them that I'm an otherworlder, right?. While in that thought, Lexia-san and Owen-san were talking in a whisper.

"Tenjou Yuuya?… It's a name that I never heard before. It really sounds unfamiliar in our kingdom…"

"But the fact that he has a family name… As I said before, probably he really is royalty or a noble from another country."

"That's true… There's too little information. Anyhow, our common sense had stopped being valid since the moment we heard he's living in this Great Devil's Nest…"

"A-ano…?"

"Ah, pardon me… So, Tenjou is your name, isn't it?"

"Eh? Ah… no, Yuuya is my given name, and Tenjou is my surname."

"Fumu… The name's order is different from our country. Well then, Yuuya-dono. To tell you the truth, we came to this Great Devil's Nest in order to looking for Yuuya-dono." (T/N: In Japanese, the surname comes before the given name, for example, Yuuya's name would be "Tenjou Yuuya", but in the order of English, his name would be "Yuuya Tenjou", I also made a mistake for his name before, so I would also use "Yuuya Tenjou" from now on. My apologies.)

"Eh? Looking for me?"

From the atmosphere, "Great Devil's Nest" probably refers to this area, but… it sounds dangerous. Well, it's really dangerous, though. Rather than that, did they come to such a dangerous place just to look for me?

And then Lexia-san leaned her body forward with glittering eyes.

"That's right. I came here because I wanted to meet with Yuuya-sama again!"

"E-ehh? Yuuya-sama is… I'm not someone befitting of something like that, so if you call me Yuuya…

"Rejected!"

"That's too unreasonable…"

Why do I have to be called like that by a princess of a country? That's not funny.

"I… Ah, do you want to meet me with the same reason as Owen-san?" (T/N: He called himself "Ore" at first and corrected it to "Watashi" to talk more politely.)

"That's right. I wanted to meet you in person by all means and give you my gratitude."

I see… Obviously, I'd never imagined that royalty would say thanks directly, and I can't think of her situation, but Lexia-san is an honest person. I remember the situation when the goblin general attacked her, and the fact that she came to give me her thank is…

"So, please marry me!"

"Where's the gratefulness in that?"

Yep, why and how does she use the word marriage for that? Is marriage equal as to thanks in this world? It's different, isn't it?

"W-wait… Lexia-san and I just met and talked in person for the first time. And also, why me?"

"Why not… The goblin general attacked me, and I fell in love at first sight with the figure that helped me so gallantly!"

"I indeed saved you when the goblin general attacked you, I also don't know what to do now… but as expected, it's too forced. Can you think a little more about it? Lexia-san is a princess, isn't she?"

"That's not good! It's written in the books that there is love which begins from at the first sight, too!"

"No, no… Yuuya-dono also have to study a little more about you first…" said Owen-san.

I-I'm not sure, but I'm having a hard time here, Owen-san.

"Ano… Excuse me. Um… I'm glad Lexia-san feels like that toward me, but it's too sudden…"

Yup, that must be a suspension bridge effect, right? I mean, I guess she's too excited and isn't able to make a calm decision since she just got out of the situation of being attacked by a group of goblin elites.

I can't talk about love, but I think she should calm down and think about it… And also, Lexia-san is a princess, right? Our social status are just like heaven and earth. I'm just a minor citizen, after all.

When I apologized and declined, Owen-san didn't seem to be particularly concerned, but Lexia-san flashed her eyes for some reason.

"I see… This love doesn't seem to be easy! But, I got more fired up! There's always an obstacle in every love story!"

"Eh?"

"No, it's nothing. T-then, what if we started as friends?"

"Friends?"

"That's right… It's okay, right?"

I'm delighted if you call me a friend. I hadn't had anyone that I could call a friend until a while ago. It was an unprecedented experience to say so clearly. But Lexia-san is a princess. Is it okay to quickly decide on being friends with me?

Owen-san, who realized my feelings, answered before I asked the question.

"It wouldn't be a problem if it is Yuuya-dono. …You seem to be a foreign aristocrat or royalty, and on top of that, you live in this Great Devil's Nest. There should be no problem with your surroundings…"

I couldn't hear well because the words in the latter half were sloppy. Why do I have no problem? But I wonder if it's okay even if he approves that.

I suddenly turned my eyes to Lexia-san; she was looking at me with hopeful eyes. Ugh… If you see me like that…

"…Etto, best regard from now on."

"Yes! Likewise!"

That's what she said; she was very happy and gripping my hand. To be so happy just to be friends with me… I'm so glad, too.

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"Now that we were able to express our gratitude, actually… In fact, I have something to discuss with Yuuya-dono."

"Discuss with me?"

Owen-san's corrected his seating posture. I also stretched my back.

"Yeah, because of the story of Yuuya-dono helping Lexia-sama, His Majesty, the king decided to meet Yuuya-dono to express his gratitude. So, I would like you to come to the royal castle with us."

"R-royal castle!?"

Royal Castle is the place where the king lives, right?

"No, no, no, please wait! Even if you suddenly told to come to royal castle…!"

"I'm sorry… I know that's too much. However, His Majesty would like to thank Yuuya-dono directly because Lexia-sama is very important to him."

"Y-yes, but…"

"Also, it's not good to say nothing to the benefactor of a member of the royal family. Excellent intelligence agents of other countries will soon find out that Lexia-sama has been attacked and that there is someone who helped her. If we don't do it early, they'll have a chance to get in."

"Ugh…"

The countries here… I can't say anything when it comes to different world cultures. I'm just an outsider who was lucky enough to come to this word, after all. Obviously, I have to follow this world's culture as well.

"Ano… Is it okay for me to go to the royal castle? I don't know about the etiquette at all…"

"It's okay! Not even I am perfect!"

"Why are you saying that so proudly, Lexia-sama? And as for Yuuya-dono, I don't think there's anything in your behavior that bothers me particularly."

"No, it might not bother you, but what about the king? Aren't you supposed to speak politely in front of the king? There's no way that this level can be considered proper etiquette!"

…Still, Hearing Owen-san's story, I have to go to the royal castle.

"One question, how long does it take from here to the place where the royal castle located?"

"It's not too far. Around one day's journey."

"I see…"

In other words, it takes two days to make a round trip, one day to greet the king, one day for the unforeseen situation… at least it needs four to five days, huh… I have to go to school, so it seems like the only way is to use the closest golden week holidays.

"Excuse me, could you wait for another month?"

"A month? In other words, in thirty days?"

Oh, right. I casually said a month, but even if the flow of time is the same, it may not be the same as how to count the days and months!

Fortunately, it's roughly the same as on earth, but… I'm going to the royal castle, and I have the opportunity to spend time in a different world as well, so I have to be careful about that. The thirty days that Owen-san says were just the same as the number of days until the golden week.

In response to my request, Owen-san showed a little trouble but nodded.

"…I know this is unreasonable to say. We'll definitely wait for a month. After a month, it will be fine, right?"

"Yes. I can leave the house for a little while at the time."

"You did it. Owen! It's the best thing you've ever done!"

"Isn't that really terrible? Lexia-sama…"

Owen-san sighed; he looked tired. Then, they suddenly looked around inside the house, impressed.

"Nevertheless… This house is amazing. There is no sign of monster attacks at all, even though it's in the middle of Great Devil's Nest. It looks simple, but the house and furniture seem to be made of some fine wood… How on earth is it even possible?"

"A-ahahaha… that's a secret…"

Since I am only benefiting from the wise man, I can't explain why monsters can't attack it. If there's something I can say that is that the wise man-san is impressive. Yup, he really is!

"I won't force you to answer. For a magician the results of their research are assets, after all… I don't think it's so easy to teach because magic created in the process of research is an arcane technique. But still, if we could learn how to safely stay in the super-dangerous zone such as this Great Devil's Nest, all of our common sense would be overturned from the root…"

Yep. Wise man-san, who are you actually? It's not normal to overturn common sense, you know?

"Come to think of it; I'd like to ask you one thing…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"That's… Is this forest really dangerous?"

"Huh?" Hearing my question, Lexia-san and Owen-san were dumbfounded.

"W-wait a minute! Wasn't Yuuya-dono living here knowing what kind of place it is?"

"No, no, that's not how it was…"

The only thing that happens was the door that I found was connected to a different world, to be precise, it's connected to this house where this wise man lived, and I do not know anything about this Great Devil's Nest that has appeared in the conversation a while ago. Well, if I say that they won't believe me…

"Aah… Yuuya-dono. Are you serious?"

"Yes."

As I nodded with a serious expression, Owen-san sighed.

"Haah… I've never thought that someone would live in this forest without knowing anything."

I looked straight at his face; he corrected his posture and started to inform me about this forest.

"This is a place called Great Devil's Nest, and it is said to be the top-class among the super-dangerous zones that many countries decided."

"He~h!"

I-is that so!?

"Why is it dangerous… The reason is simple. The deeper you go, the more super-powerful monsters are running rampant. There are lots of monsters inhabiting, right? Even though just one of them has the power to destroy the city or even the whole country. Moreover, since the monsters compete for survival, they also have territory. However, the adjacent entrance area isn't safe either, since the monsters that could destroy a large-scale town such as goblin elites are common to be found there. This isn't a nightmare anymore."

I can't say anything after hearing that, I-I didn't think it was such a terrible place.

Sure, when I helped Owen-san and the others, who were attacked by the group of goblin elites, Owen-san was crossing his sword alone against a goblin elite, but the other soldiers weren't able to compete with them, they were pushed all together. If they continued fighting like that, they would have been killed there.

"Now I've talked about this Great Devil's Nest lightly, but if I had to put it together in one simple phrase… I think it's the most brutal land where the living creatures live by the rule of the survival of the fittest."

"Huh…"

"And since it's such a dangerous place, it's not possible to collect special medicinal plants in this forest… No, it just not confirmed since no one has ever reached the hinterland, but there would be no one looking for a super valuable herbs without any information. After all, if you enter this Great Devil's Nest, you will lose your life."

I couldn't say anything hearing a lot of menacing stories about this Great Devil's Nest. Wise man-san… Why did you live in such a place?

My face couldn't stop twitching hearing that, then suddenly Lexia-san murmured something while looking around the room.

"Come to think of it, we have to go back through this Great Devil's Nest again, don't we? That's so troublesome."

"Ah."

Owen-san looked pale as if he completely forgot about that.

"Y-you're right. Even to get here was risking our life… Still, we have to go back, right!? And if a group of goblin elite… No, if a goblin general attacks us…"

Just after I heard the story, I completely understood why Owen-san turned pale. Well, it's unpleasant just to think about going home in a horrible place. I wonder if it exists? Uh… The magic that makes you able to go back to the place where you want to go in an instant.

I know magic itself exists since I've seen the soldier treated Lexia-san injuries before, and on top of that, the devil bear also used it against me.

"Ano… If you know the way, I'll accompany you back."

"Eh!?" they were surprised, hearing my suggestion and then started looking at me.

"No, I mean, it's dangerous around here, and I'm used to it… Ah, I mean, I…" (T/N: the same as before, he used "ore" at first then corrected it to "watashi", I don't know how to put it in English, so bear with it :D)

"No, you don't have to correct it. There is only us and Yuuya-dono here. More than that, is it really okay? No matter how many monsters reside in, letting you accompany us along this Great Devil's Nest is just…"

"It's alright. Oh, but if it's late at night, the monsters will get stronger, you know? So if you want to return, you'd better go early."

I haven't experienced it that much, but sometimes when I explore this forest at night, I encounter a strangely strong individual of the same kind of monster. Therefore, daytime is preferable if I want to explore safely in the forest. The visibility is excellent, too.

And on top of that, now that I know the true nature of this forest, I don't want to know how strong the monsters I encountered at night are. Because, you know, there's that monster that can destroy a country. I don't want to think about it…

Seeing me looking at the distance, Owen-san nodded with a little trouble.

"I-I see. Then, we'd better leave now!"

"Yuuya-san still with us, right? This is a chance to get along!"

"Lexia-sama. You're a princess, so please be a little more modest…"

"I've abandoned that!"

Apologize to modesty. Lexia-san… It's a pity to throw away your modesty, so please don't do that. Just like that, I accompanied Owen-san and the others to the entrance of the forest.

＊＊＊

"It's here… Isn't it?"

"Y-yeah… That's right…"

Following Owen-san's immediate decision to leave the house, I'm currently at the entrance to the forest with Lexia-san and the soldiers. Of course, I followed them to protect them from the monsters, but if I have to go to the royal castle a month later, I thought it'd be better for me to know the way to the entrance of this forest.

They went into the forest to find me, it was dangerous, so I thought I had to remember the path to the entrance, so they just need to wait for me and go from there together to the royal castle.

"Nevertheless, I'm glad we didn't find a very powerful monster."

"Eh?" the soldiers were stunned.

Perhaps, we're lucky since the strongest monster that appeared was a devil bear, and the others were just a group of the bloody ogres, goblin elites, and hell slimes. In other words, I didn't find a new monster.

"…H-hey, did I just misheard that? I heard that he said those weren't powerful monsters."

"I-I think so. It's said that a country has to mobilize an army for a devil bear, or that hell slime, it would be the end once you meet it."

"Huh? Weren't we just got attacked by one? And we're still alive."

"…Sigh, I don't know what anything means anymore…"

"As expected from Yuuya-sama…! Yuuya-sama is my prince, after all…!"

Hmm? I somehow feel like I'm being seen with mixed emotions. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?

Owen-san looked at me while I was thinking about that.

"Sigh?! I wasn't thinking about how big the impact was…"

"Eh, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. This is just a personal problem… Even so, it seems Yuuya-dono alone could break this world's balances. This… I wonder if it's good to have Lexia-sama do her best here…?"

Hmm? I don't know; I didn't hear it, I thought it would be a pain to back to my world again when I returned.

"Yuuya-sama!"

"Yes? Eh!?"

I turned around, reacting to Lexia-sama's voice, but she suddenly hugged me!?

"Yuuya-sama, I don't want to say goodbye here… I'll be so lonely…"

"Eh, ah, no, that… I understand if you're lonely, but what are you doing?"

Lexia-sama was hugging me from the front; her whole body transmitted directly, but… Perhaps because I exceeded the allowable range that can be processed with my brain, I had returned to the original tone unintentionally. No, wait, but this situation is too bad!

"Yuuya-sama had indeed refused my marriage proposal, but… I won't give up! I'm getting more and more attracted to Yuuya-sama's gallant figure and the kindness that cares for the soldiers and me along the way."

"Uh!?"

"Therefore, when we meet again in a month… I'll captivate Yuuya-sama's heart at that time! No, I'll show you!"

Lexia-san ended up changing her tone and using her finger to point at me.

"Be prepared."

All I could do was nod.