[FGO]: 138

"Sorry."

Ryou quickly put her down.

He wasn't stupid. From the girl's attitude, he gradually realized she wasn't the die-hard fan of Ivan the Terrible he initially thought she was. Perhaps she was just an innocent girl, caught up in something beyond her control.

"May I... know your name?"

The snow-like girl timidly asked.

"My name is Kenshou... but you can just call me Nguyen Ryou."

Ryou hesitated for a moment before giving his real name.

"Nu... Nu yen Lou?"

Unfortunately, the pronunciation of a foreign name seemed too difficult for a Russian girl. Hearing her mispronunciation, Ryou couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

"No, it's Nguyen Ryou."

He spoke slowly and clearly, enunciating each syllable.

"Nyuen Ruu?"

Seeing that Ryou was becoming a bit impatient, the girl cautiously spoke again but still got it wrong.

Ryou was speechless. He glanced at the distant Kremlin, still being ravaged by lightning. The storm wasn't going to clear anytime soon, so he decided to stop thinking about scavenging loot for now.

Since waiting was boring anyway, he resigned himself to teaching the girl how to pronounce his name—over and over again.

"Nguyen... Ryou?"

Finally, after what felt like dozens of attempts, the girl correctly pronounced his name.

"That's right! You got it!"

Ryou wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead. For a moment, it felt even harder than defeating Ivan the Terrible.

"Nguyen Ryou... Ryou-sama!"

"Just call me Ryou. You can drop the -sama."

Ryou felt a bit awkward having a princess-like girl call him "-sama".

"No, that won't do! Ryou-sama is my savior. How could I be so casual with your name?"

To his surprise, the girl was quite firm about this.

"Uh... whatever makes you happy. So, what's your name?"

"Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. That's my name."

Ryou thought the name was long, and that was about all the impression it left on him.

After all, before his transmigration, he stopped at the Lost Belt Prologue to wait for more chapters before finishing them all in one go. So his knowledge was limited.

One thing he knew for sure was that Anastasia was paired with Kadoc in Lost Belt One.

But her appearance reminded him of someone.

Emilia, the lovely elf, to be precise.

Except for the length of her bangs and her clothes, her appearance and aura were almost identical to Emilia's.

When Ryou first saw her, he almost thought that Emilia had traveled here too.

This was one of the reasons why he softened and saved her.

Cute girls deserve rights and girls who look like anime heroines get extra privileges.

"Your name is too long. How about I just call you Ana?"

Ryou scratched the back of his head.

But, unfamiliar with the noble culture, he didn't realize that arbitrarily changing someone's name was considered very disrespectful, especially since she was of royal blood.

Yet, for some reason, Anastasia didn't object. Instead, she timidly stayed quiet.

"I was just joking. Don't take it seriously, Anastasia."

Seeing her reaction, he couldn't help but laugh.

He wasn't suffering from memory loss. Her name might be long, but how could he possibly forget it?

For some reason, seeing Anastasia's pitiful expression made him want to tease her a little.

"Ugh~! Please don't play with me like that, Ryou-sama!"

Anastasia puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

But she didn't realize that this only made her look even more amusing, fueling his growing desire to keep teasing her.

He had to force himself to change the subject.

"Ahem! Anastasia, what are your plans from here?"

To his surprise, Anastasia nervously fidgeted when she heard his question. She clutched her skirt, shyly sneaking glances at him.

"I... Can I be your personal maid?"

"Huh!?"

What kind of development was this?

Ryou was momentarily stunned.

How could such a cliché, hero-saves-the-damsel, and the beauty offering herself in return happen to him!?

Ryou suddenly felt the need to stop and think things through.

"Is that... not okay? I-I don't know how to do anything, but I'll work hard to become a good maid!"

Anastasia hurriedly explained, thinking that he was about to reject her.

Her words left him speechless.

You don't know how to do anything, yet you want to be someone's maid?

Have you been reading too many third-rate knight novels, you naive princess?

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Ryou's head.

He got it! This must be the so-called suspension bridge effect!

Because I saved her life in a moment of danger, she mistakenly thinks she's in love with me!

Ryou suddenly had a look of realization.

Not understanding Anastasia's true thoughts, Ryou misunderstood the situation.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke seriously.

"Anastasia, you need to rest and calm down. As for becoming my maid, we can talk about it once you've had time to think it over, okay?"

"Ugh~"

Anastasia's face showed reluctance.

She couldn't understand. She had finally mustered the courage to make such an embarrassing request to a stranger, a request that made her want to crawl into a hole out of shame.

And he rejected her!?

Anastasia might be naive, but she wasn't stupid. She could tell from his words that he was trying to brush her off.

A beautiful girl offering to be your personal maid—what kind of normal man would turn that down?

A personal maid, in noble households, was practically a concubine. Not only would she take care of her master's daily needs, but if the master wanted, she was also responsible for warming his bed. It was practically the dream of modern men.

Ryou almost agreed on the spot, but what if she was only acting out of the suspension bridge effect? What if it wasn't love but just gratitude? What if she regretted it later? Wouldn't he be ruining her life?

Ryou considered himself a flirt, but he wasn't a scumbag.

Any relationship not aimed at marriage was just fooling around.

So, the best option was to give her some time to calm down.

If she was just acting impulsively, this would give her a chance to back out.

If she was serious, then Ryou wouldn't let down such a beautiful girl's feelings.

He decided to take Anastasia back with him, giving her time to cool off and think things through.

Ryou hadn't suddenly experienced a change of heart or developed any bold ideas.

He simply couldn't bring himself to leave behind a delicate and fragile girl like Anastasia.

With Ivan the Terrible and many Russian nobles dead, the remaining nobles would certainly fight for power. The Soviets might also rise again, plunging Russia into another period of great turmoil.

Anastasia, with her noble bloodline, was exactly the kind of target the Soviets would go after.

The Soviets weren't known for being polite or humane toward their prisoners.

Historically, the Soviets were extremely brutal, slaughtering the old Russian nobility and even German POWs. Though history is often written by the victors, this brutality can only be truly understood through indirect accounts.

Of course, the old Russian nobility weren't exactly saints either. If they got their hands on Anastasia...

This snow-like girl would likely end up as someone's plaything or a tool of war for the rest of her life.

That was unacceptable, whether from a sense of responsibility or possessiveness.

There was no way Ryou could stand by and let such a thing happen.

Of course, at the end of the day, this was a world that judged people by appearances.

If Anastasia were an eight-foot-tall, bulky, typical middle-aged Russian woman, Ryou would 1000% not care. He'd just offer a quick apology and politely say goodbye.

By now, the lightning storm caused by Ivan the Terrible had gradually subsided.

Seeing that the time was right, he immediately called for Anastasia to gather her things so they could leave.

Anastasia seemed slightly upset that he had gently rejected her earlier, her brows furrowed slightly.

She followed behind him in silence, her expression somewhat cold.

But this was only on the surface.

Inside, Anastasia was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

Ugh~ I finally mustered the courage to say something so embarrassing.

And Ryou-sama turned me down.

Is it because I'm not attractive enough to charm him?

Or maybe their Eastern beauty standards are different, and he thinks I'm ugly!?

He said he'd take me away, so maybe he does have some feelings for me.

No, no, maybe he's just being a gentleman.

Ugh~ What should I do?

Though her face remained cold, Anastasia's heart was in turmoil.

Ryou, of course, had no idea about Anastasia's internal conflict.

He was preparing to head back to where Ivan the Terrible had died, hoping that he might have dropped some sort of Abyssal Crystal.

According to the system's introduction, these were far more valuable than energy points.

They could even be exchanged for the Noble Phantasms and skills he had long dreamed of in the in-game shop.

It was practically like discovering a hidden high-level shop in a game.

After thoroughly searching the area where Ivan the Terrible had fallen, Ryou had to face a sad truth.

He was unlucky.

Despite killing two elite demonized enemies, not a single Abyssal Crystal had dropped.

Frustrated, he opened the system panel and took a glance.

The mission completion rate had already reached 55%. It seemed that things were progressing smoothly on Ais's end as well. Next up was to settle the score with the Queen!

Murderous intent filled Ryou's eyes.

What he didn't know was that, five minutes earlier, right after Ivan the Terrible had turned to ash, a small, black, marble-sized orb had rolled out from his remains.

The black orb, as if it had a life of its own, flew toward the palace, slipping through a window.

That window led to none other than Anastasia's bedroom.

After flying into the room, the black orb hovered for a moment, as if scanning the surroundings. Then, as if drawn by something, it shot forward and embedded itself into a strange object.

That strange object was the faceless doll Anastasia had been holding.

As the black orb lodged itself into the doll, the previously featureless face became even darker, resembling the depths of an endless abyss.

...

Still unwilling to give up, Ryou continued searching the spot where Ivan had fallen.

He brushed away snow, moved stones, shifted bricks—but found nothing.

Just when he was about to accept his bad luck, a sudden scream echoed from within the palace.

"Not good!"

Ryou's expression changed instantly—Anastasia might be in trouble.

After Ivan the Terrible's self-detonation, the rampaging lightning storm killed nearly every living thing in the castle, even the rats in the sewers and the cockroaches in the walls.

That was why he had felt safe enough to let Anastasia move around on her own. But now, something had gone wrong.

A wave of regret flashed through his heart as he rushed toward the source of Anastasia's scream.

When he arrived, Anastasia was safe.

Well, not exactly. The snow-like girl was slumped on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, her face as pale as a sheet.

"What's wrong, Anastasia?"

Ryou hurried to her side.

Anastasia's lips quivered as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out. Trembling, she raised a hand and pointed toward a nearby open doorway.

Ryou's eyes narrowed as he approached.

Despite being used to the carnage of battle, hr was almost sick to his stomach.

The once lavish banquet hall had turned into a literal hell on earth.

A pile of charred corpses, stacked like garbage, filled the room. The air was thick with the nauseating stench of burnt flesh.

Ryou sighed and returned to Anastasia's side.

No wonder she was so terrified she couldn't stand.

For someone as innocent and sheltered as Anastasia, this scene was likely beyond terrifying. It was a testament to her inner strength that she hadn't fainted on the spot.

He hesitated for a moment before gently suggesting, "Why don't you tell me where your room is? I can go get what you need."

Upon hearing this, Anastasia shook her head vigorously and immediately clutched the hem of his clothing, as if afraid he would leave her behind.

Seeing her frightened expression, Ryou felt conflicted. After thinking for a moment, he made another suggestion.

"How about this? You close your eyes, and I'll guide you there?"

Anastasia thought for a moment, then obediently nodded.

Ryou stood up and reached down to help her to her feet.

But the moment she stood, her legs gave out, and she collapsed again. He had no choice but to quickly catch her by the waist.

Her body felt soft and slender to the touch, but Ryou didn't have a single impure thought.

All he could feel was the constant trembling of the fragile body in his arms.

With no other option, he half-carried, half-supported Anastasia as they made their way through the horrifying banquet hall and slowly ascended the spiral staircase.

Anastasia, for her part, was completely obedient, like a doll, allowing him to move her as needed.

As they climbed the stairs, one lavish bedroom after another came into view, and Ryou began to suspect more and more about Anastasia's true identity.

By the time they finally reached a particularly cute bedroom, following Anastasia's directions, Ryou's suspicions had reached their peak.