Chapter 25

Arteria de Cassias was currently reading a book inside the library.

She was sitting in the lounge while reading a story book. The library was a quiet place with cozy atmosphere and people rarely came here. It was the best place to relax.

Usually, people would greet her when they met her or invited her to join them. As a princess, she couldn't just ignore them especially if the people who talked to her was from a high-ranking family. It would be bad if she treated them coldly and she also couldn't act too friendly since people might mistaken it as a political move.

The commoner students worshipped her as a model student, however they didn't dare to get close to her. She knows a lot of people, but she doesn't have people who can be called friends because of her status.

She really likes the library because no one would bother her. Even if they knew it was her, they wouldn't greet or talk to her because the library must be quiet. At most, she would exchange smile with some people and continue reading the book.

Rustle.

The sound of paper being turned over was the only thing accompanying her.

"Will they be here today?"

She murmurred in a low voice. Her eyes kept looking around in expectations.

Recently she was interested with a pair of people that sometimes visited the library. The red-haired boy always had a somewhat tired look on his face, while the silver-haired had an innocent look just a little kid.

The boy usually read the adventurer's books or traveler's journals. Most people who visited the library usually read books about magic theory or books that were related with their homeworks. It was rare for people visiting the library reading story books. Of course, she was one of those rare people.

The girl would read books about magic theory silently beside him. Sometimes she would frown and pinched the boy's hand. When that happened, the boy would sneakily handed her a piece of candy or chocolate and she would accepted it happily.

It was interesting to see their interactions. The library forbids the students from eating and drinking, but the two of them sneakily broke the rules. Thanks to that, she also had a bad habit of eating snacks sneakily when she was reading book.

Even if she was caught, nothing serious would happen. It's not like the academy would ban the princess from visiting the library or expel her because she was eating snacks sneakily.

As a princess, she was raised to uphold her manners especially in public, so it was a kind of guilty pleasure for her to break the rules silently.

"Mmm"

Arteria let out a soft moan as she stretched her body.

The stood up and walked to the book cases to put back the book she was holding.

"What should I read next?"

Arteria put her hand on her chin and looked around.

The book cases in the library were categorized into 4 types. The academic section, the language section, the general knowledge section and the literary section.

The academic section was filled with books about magic theory, research, magic books, martial arts, some millitary books, monster informations and things related to general study.

The language section was filled with books written in all kind of languages that mostly came from the neighboring countries, minor tribes or even some old books that was written in rune language. 

The general knowledge section was filled with books about general economy, politics, geography, events, regional customs and specialties, dungeons etc.

The literary sections was filled with books about history books, novels, story books, journals and fictions like legend or myth.

Arteria had been walking around the literary section after she put back the book she was reading. She was looking for some interesting books, but nothing caught her interest.

After a while, she decided to went to the academic section. This is the first time she visited the section. Seeing the books with title like "Quantum Magic Theory", "Advanced Theory of Elemental Magic" or "Fusion Elemental Magic Theory" made her head hurt.

Just before she almost gave up and was about to leave the section, a book piqued her interest.

A yellow-covered book with the title "Easy Way to Become an Alchemist". Her eyes shined when she saw the book.

She unconsciously walked towards it and reached her hand out. However, she couldn't reached the book. She tried to stand on her toes but still couldn't reach it in the end.

"Hng!"

She puffed her chest in annoyance and was about to jump. However, a hand stretched out from behind her and grabbed the book.

"Here"

A man's voice was heard from behind.

She turned her head and saw a male student with red-hair was holding the book.

"T-Thank you"

She was surprised when she saw him.

"No problem"

The young man replied in a flat tone and walked away.

"Wait!"

Arteria called out to him.

He stopped his feet and looked back at her with a puzzled look.

"Yes?"

"I... Will you sit with me?"

Arteria said with a flushed face.

∆ ∆ ∆

How did things turned this way?

Out of all people, how could I get into contact with her?

How did I made such a mistake?

I became dejected at my current situation.

Right now, a beautiful girl was sitting across me. A golden haired girl named Arteria de Cassias. The only princess of Laurasia Kingdom, a member of the protagonist party and also my ex-waifu.

Let's think back for a while.

Today, I received a letter from Ash saying that he would go to the dungeon in the north to subdue a dragon and become a dragon slayer.

As far as I know, there were only 5 dungeons that have dragons inside. It was the "Ancient Dragon Cave" in the central continent. The "Frost Dragon Cave" hidden amongst the frozen terrains in the north. The "Fire Dragon Palace" inside the volcanos in the south. The "Serpent's Nest" in the east ocean. Lastly, the "Dragon's Graveyard" in the west desert.

These 5 dungeons were part of side scenario quests to obtain a legendary set equipments. The monsters inside these dungeons were around level 60-75 and the boss was at level 80-85.

I was worried the future events changing even when I didn't do anything. So, I visited the library to look for any informations about dungeons with dragons in the north.

As I searched through the informations about dragons in the monsters encyclopedia, I found informations about a sub-dragon species called earth dragon. It was a dragon variety that lives inside the underground cave. It doesn't have wings so it couldn't fly.

Only then I recalled an event in the game that will happen 4 months from now. The vice-commander slayed an earth dragon and cleared a new found dungeon in the north. The dungeon then was used as a new mining ground due to it's abundant resources.

It was named as the "Earth Cave" because the monsters inside had earth affinity and the items and magic crystals was mainly contained earth element. This dungeon was also the reason why the Eurasia Kingdom attacked the north.

In the Act 2, the protagonist party would explore the dungeon to train while defending the north border.

Knowing this informations, I quickly realized that Ash was only bragging.

Although an earth dragon was a dragon sub-species, it could only be considered as a lesser dragon. A dragon without wings could only be called a big lizard.

That damn liar wanted to fool me into believing he would become a dragon slayer. While in fact he would just become a lizard slayer. Hell no! He wasn't even the one who killed that big lizard. It was the vice-commander who killed it.

Bad liar! Scumbag! He made me panicked for no reason!

I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I recalled how foolish I am for almost believing his nonsense.

That earth dragon was a boss at level 55. Although it was only a lesser dragon, it's stronger than the normal monster. As a lesser dragon, it could still fight against a level 60 boss troll or a war ogre.

It was still a powerful mid-tier monster nonetheless due to it's high defense and high HP. Of course, after the vice commander killed it, there were only level 40 baby earth dragon for the protagonist party to kill.

The dungeons in "War of Generations" doesn't respawn the boss that already got killed nor will refresh the treasure chest that was already opened. The only thing that was refreshed was the monsters on the dungeon floors because they were born from the dungeon's mana.

This is also the main reason I'm avoiding any dungeons and items that the protagonist party might need.

Anyway, my frustration of being deceived by Ash led me to wandered the library like a zombie. I helped a girl without even looking at her appearance. And then, the moment I realized her identity, it was too late for me to escape.

Rejecting an invitation from the princess might left a bad impression. So, I had no choice but accept her invitation.

And so, here I am sitting alone with the princess.

"Umm... Excuse me, is there something on my face?"

Arteria was looking at me nervously.

"Ahー P-Please excuse my rudeness, Your Highness! I was lost in thought!"

I hurriedly apologized to her.

Damn it! It happened again! Why must I lost in thought while looking at her face! The first time was with Lucia and now with Arteria! I'm doomed! What if she report me for sexual harrassment!? I won't get executed, right?

Cold sweat dripped down as I imagined my head flying under the executioner's hand.

"I-Is that so?"

Arteria let out a sigh of relief.

"Right, I haven't heard your name yet"

Shit! It's here! Is she gonna kill my entire family!?

"R-Rain Scarlet. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness"

I bowed my head as I introduced myself. It's useless to hide my identity because she had a way to track me down.

"Rain, huh? You're not with that silver-haired girl today?"

Hmm? Why did she asked about Lucia suddenly?

"No. Lucia had something else to do today, so it's just me"

"So her name is Lucia"

Arteria nodded as if she was confirming something.

"Your highness, do you need something from her?"

I asked curiously.

"No. I usually saw you two together, so I'm just curious"

"Is that so?"

"Seeing how you two were so close makes me envious"

Arteria said with a wry smile.

"Why?"

"You see, as a princess I know many people. However, we're acquaintances at most. I don't have a single person that I could call a friend. So it's really envious seeing how you close you were with her. Especially when you sneakily handed her a piece of candy or chocolate"

Arteria chuckled.

She was smiling but I could see trace of loneliness in her eyes. Back in the game, she was loved by the people. In the academy, she was surrounded by the students. In the castle, she was surrounded by the maids and knights. And when she visited the town, the people would cheered at her sight.

The nobles were currying her favor one after another. Moreover, the protagonist party were there to help her. Especially on her route, Leonhardt would always accompany her on their free time and helped her with her alchemy experiments. She was also doted by her family.

Compared to the villainess, her life was much brighter. And yet, she was showing a lonely expression to a stranger like me. I don't know if it was because I was able to experience more things clearly in reality compared to a scripted text with illustrations. I feel like she was a bit different compared to Arteria de Cassias in the game.

Maybe she was originally like this or maybe something happened outside the script before her supposed appearances or maybe she was hiding her true self the entire time. No one knows the truth except the person herself. Even I doubt the story writer know about her true self.

At a time like this, I wished Lucia was here with me to ease this awkward atmosphere.

"Your Highness, please don't tell anyone about it"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Because I also had a habit of eating sneakily after I saw you two"

She puffed her chest with pride.

Hey, why are you giving me this kind of information!? What if I spread a rumor about a princess who likes to eat sneakily? Won't it leave a bad reputation for you!?

I was speechless. Somehow my heartbeat fastened unknowingly when I saw her.

Not good! I have to control my emotion, otherwise I will fall for her for the second time!

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness"

I said politely while holding back my emotion.

"Why are you so stiff with me? Is it because I'm a princess?"

Arteria pouted and looked a bit sad.

"My apologize, Your Highness. As a noble, I have etiquette to follow when talking to a royalty"

"Then, if I'm not a royalty will you treat me like you treat that girl?"

Arteria was looking at me with hopeful eyes. Her pupils wavered for a bit. I could see her hands trembling softly. I know that expression well. The longing expression wishing for something from the depth of her heart. I saw this expressions many times in the game.

It must have taken a lot of courage for her to say that to a stranger like me.

"Yes"

I nodded.

"Then, Rain. Will you grant my wish?"

"Your wish is my command, Your Highness"

"Please stop treating me like a princess and treat me like your friend"

Arteria said in a soft voice.

"My apologize, Your Highness. I couldn't grant your wish"

"Why? didn't you just say my wish is your command?"

She said in a trembling tone. Her face was filled with disappointment.

"It would be bad if rumors were spreading around about how a mere second son of a viscount house was treating a princess so casually"

I shook my head.

"I see"

She nodded her head.

"That's why, it's bad for Your Highness reputation if such rumour were to sprー"

"Then you just have to treat me casually when we are alone"

She interrupted my words.

What did she just say?

"Yes?"

"Like I said, it's fine to treat me casually when we're alone. So, Rain, will you be my friend?"

Huh?

She was looking at me with hopeful gaze. Her clear eyes were to dazzling for me to stare.

Damn! I forgot she was a stubborn girl! There is no way she would give up just because I reject her wish!

"Wait a minute, Your Highness!"

"Staring at a girl's face without her permission is sexual harrasment. Even more so if the girl was a princess. The capital punishment was either death or castration"

Who the hell are you!? I don't remember you being this sly when you were my waifu!

"Damn! I didn't to stare at your face alright!?"

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"So, what is your answer, Rain?"

"Do I still have other choice?"

"Your answer?"

She blinked at me while waiting for my answer.

"Yes. I will be your friend"

"Great!"

She clapped her hands and smiled widely. Now that I looked at her closely, she was more lovely in reality than back in the game.

"However, it's only when we were alone! Otherwise I will avoid you both in public and in private!"

"Tsk! What kind of a man are you for running away from a beautiful girl like me? You should be grateful instead"

Arteria was pouting as she said her words.

"A man who doesn't like trouble"

I grinned at her.

"Okay! Let's start from calling me properly. If you still calling me Your Highness there is no point in being friend"

"Then what should I call you? Arteria?"

She crossed her hand on her chest with a pondered look on her face.

"It doesn't feel right"

Arteria shook her head.

"Rain, what did you call Lucia?"

"I called her Cia"

Her eyes sparkled when she heard my words.

"That's it! A friend must have a nickname for each other! So, Rain, you have to call me Arte!"

Arteria said in an excited tone. I was dumbfounded.

Is this for real? We've just met and she want me to call her with her nickname already? Back in the game I have to give her many items and raise her Love Points before I could finally called her Arte!

"A-Arte?"

I tried to call her name.

"Yes, Rain!"

She was smiling happily.

What is this? Why does it feels like we were a pair of middle schooler couple who were dating secretly!?

It feels so wrong in many ways! I have to bring Lucia in to avoid it no matter what. I also have to make sure she doesn't leave the protagonist party even though we are friends now.

"Listen, Arte. I will introduce Lucia to you later, so please hide our friendship at all costs! Also, Lucia is no good with people who had the air of nobility so please forget about manners etc when you meet her. Moreover, never bring attendant whenever we meet otherwise our friendship is over. In short, just hide our friendship as a secret! You know friends share secrets with each other, right?"

"Okay, I get it!"

She was smiling happily and saluted her hand like a soldier obeying the commander's order.

I hope she really understand. I don't want to take over the protagonist job of saving the world. I just want to change my family fate silently and live my life peacefully. Also a mob character like me usually became a sacrifice for the protagonist party to awaken their power.

I have to make sure we hide our friendships from the public and avoid that kind of plot developments at all cost!