In the World of Midgar Extra 9 — The Melancholy of the Rose Princess (2)

꒰ঌ The Melancholy of the Rose Princess 2

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Around four hundred years had passed. At this point, the continent of Éljúðnir, once considered a paradise for monsters, had become the safest continent in the world. The reason? Ruby had erased them all.

Looking for enemies, she'd continued to kill monsters. She'd continued to fight, hoping to find an equal. However, the more she fought and the more she killed, the more the gap between her and others widened, and the more alone she became. At some point, the title of the world's strongest was hers to do with as she pleased, and not only was it said amongst people that it would be impossible to equal her, even dragons started to avoid her. She had no equal, much less a better. Others simply walked down the path she had opened while giving thanks and singing her praises. To the world, Ruby had no siblings. In fact, even the existence of her parents was called into question, and people had started to think that she had no family at all. However, that wasn't true.

With her butt planted firmly in her throne, Ruby looked down at the kneeling masses arrayed before her. I believe the one standing closest to me and the throne but refusing to break her respectful bow is supposed to be my older sister? And the head servant who takes care of me so diligently should be my father? There should also be many of my sisters and brothers among the masses of other servants as well. The woman kneeling ahead of all the other ones should be the previous queen as well as my mother too.

Aah… What a dull, worthless life. Ruby's ice-cold gaze swept past the crowd in front of her once more as she fought back a sigh. Unable to find a goal or even a reason to live, accomplishing everything so easily and not experiencing the slightest bit of trouble… It's as if I'm a golem given the role of being a ruler. I'm dead, even though I'm alive… Ruby was utterly bored of her own life. That was why that meeting was heaven-sent to her.

It happened one day out of the blue. An invader had appeared in her land, a place even dragons and the grimfolk avoided. She was a flugel girl with flowing golden locks and black wings. She also came by herself.

She didn't bring any comrades, led no armies, and had given Ruby a declaration of war all by herself.

Of course, Ruby just thought of her as a simple idiot at first. Even after hearing the report, she couldn't work up any interest. However, she came to understand that her decision was a mistake when the girl barged into the castle by herself a scant few minutes later.

Ruby was sure she would never forget the shock she felt at that time. In this world that was devoid of color, where everything felt thin and worthless, she was the only one who was different. Not just the mana cloaking her, but the entire feeling of her existence was clearly different from the rest of the world in Ruby's eyes. That day, Ruby had met someone who was not just a member of the swirling, uncountable masses for the first time.

By the time she'd noticed, she'd already stood up from her throne and was staring at the girl, fixated. The emotion she felt at that point might honestly have been love at first sight.

"You're the Rose Princess, are you not? First, allow us to apologize for our rude entrance."

"You're…" Ruby paused. "Right, you're the girl who defeated the Dragon King. I see. I guess rumors turn out to be true sometimes. I thought it was all just exaggeration, but it looks like I was wrong."

Ruby had known about the heaven-winged girl who'd defeated the Ten-headed Dragon King Orochi, but she hadn't cared. She'd figured that it was either all a huge embellishment or the Dragon King had just been that weak. However, she now regretted that and wished that she'd looked deeper into it. If she had, she would have met the precious monster in front of her sooner.

The black-winged angel spent some time looking Ruby over, but she kept her mouth shut, probably because she couldn't find anything to say.

It took Ruby a while as well before she asked, "What? Why are you being so quiet?"

"Oh, sorry… There's a lot We should say, but We were just so moved. The Rose Princess, the strongest in the world… You were one of our goals, and someone We admired. After seeing you face-to-face, We weren't sure what We should say anymore."

"I see. It's an honor."

No one had ever told Ruby they admired her, and likewise, it was the first time anyone had said that she was their goal. Admiration meant that the object was an ideal, something the admirer held a strong longing for.

However, Ruby could count those who admired her — someone who had far surpassed a simple ideal — on a single hand, and there were even less people who made her a goal. Also, this was the first time she'd been honestly happy that someone had valued her as such.

"Then there's no need for words. There's something much faster than such things."

However, as Ruby was at the moment, even that praise was vexingly slow. No, exchanging words itself isn't vexing. It's that there's something else we should be doing with this time. So, Ruby flared her magic power and tossed her outer layer of clothing as she stepped forward.

"You came to fight, didn't you? Then let's!"

Ruby acted calm, but she was actually about to explode. It's like I'm a monkey in heat, she thought, self-deprecating. Or maybe like I'm a virgin in front of a naked woman for the first time… Either way, I can't hold back anymore. I want to make this happen even one second faster!

I never dared to hope for this until now… A gift that I could never even think of in my wildest dreams came rushing to me! If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up.

With that wish, Ruby laughed grandly. In response, the black-winged girl also smiled.

"We see. It's as you say. Words aren't needed."

"Yeah. Let's do this."

Even though this was their first meeting, the two women acted like they'd finally seen a lover they'd been separated from for years as they jumped at each other almost wordlessly. Of course, this wasn't for anything so sweet as a lover's tryst. They were starting a fight to the death.

Well, it might have actually been a tryst, since longing desperately for a strong opponent was similar to love. Like separated lovers who would go for a hug before exchanging any words or a reuniting couple's silent kiss, the two of them slammed their fists into each other's cheeks with all their might, as if they were sending a message.

Ruby was shocked. "You're good!"

Even while still flying backwards from the wind pressure given off by Lucifen's fist, Ruby stuck her feet out into the ground to stop herself.

Then, she laughed while spitting out blood.

That hit just now busted my skull, didn't it? I can see a broken fang rolling around on the floor.

While regenerating the damage at unbelievable speeds, Ruby's heart was filled with joy. In one hit, she'd understood. She's stronger than me, overwhelmingly so. That was why Ruby was so happy. Finally… For the first time since I was born, I've finally found something to aim for.

Without waiting for the damage she'd taken to fully heal, Ruby once again dashed off.

I don't care about the future. I just want to extend this happiness by even one more second!

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