Hidden Treasures (1)
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***
"It's open! But if it's in the territory of the Bridget Kingdom, why can I just use the key from Roserun's treasury to..." <Princess Yurasia>
"The ring is a treasure of the Ancient Empire, so the territory may not be relevant. The Ancient Empire was a nation that claimed the entire continent after all." <Julius >
"Oh, I see!" <Princess Yurasia>
The [Unnamed Sword] I gave Zeff is also from the ancient empire.
There might be some good things inside, I was intrigued.
"Your Highness, please equip your sword. Let's go in as carefully as possible." <Julius >
"Yes." <Princess Yurasia>
I stepped into the room cautiously, as it was not a place where safety was guaranteed.
Then the ceiling lit up, removing the darkness from the depths of the passage.
There was a small mana formation painted on the ceiling that was glowing.
"Heh...." <Princess Yurasia>
Yurasia, who had followed me with a nervous look on her face, also looked around the cave curiously.
"I'm glad there's light. There doesn't seem to be any other way in, so let's go deeper." <Julius >
Yurasia nodded at my words, and we continued down the passage for a while.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, just a straight path that went on and on.
The mana formation painted on the ceiling also continued all the way.
Half an hour had already passed, so I had no choice but to use an ordinary sword instead of my perk blade.
The only thing I could count on was [invincibility for 30 seconds].
It was a dicey situation, but as I continued walking without any danger or way out, a change finally came.
At the end of the narrow, straight road, we saw a huge space.
We looked at each other, nodded and stepped out into the space.
Right at that moment!
"Aaah!" <Julius >
"Aah!" <Princess Yurasia>
Suddenly, the ground opened up and we began to fall once again.
As we fell into the darkness of an unknown depth, I didn't hesitate to use [Invincibility for 30 seconds].
I only had enough points for one use left but I had no choice.
If there were something like spears at the end of this trap we would die.
Fortunately or unfortunately my preparations were in vain, I landed on empty ground.
The open ground quickly closed up and darkness came into the hole, a jet-black darkness where nothing could be seen.
A smooth wall with nothing to grab onto, it was a perfect trap for one to starve to death.
"Are you okay?" <Julius >
I couldn't see her in the dark, but she was lying on top of me on the ground.
It's the same posture that often appears in romantic comedies.
In addition, something chunky and soft made its presence felt having been compressed and poke up over the top of her armour.
"I'm fine. It looks like you're the one who's underneath me..." <Princess Yurasia>
"I'm all right." <Julius >
I raised my upper body and we reluctantly fell into a sitting position, hugging each other I doing so because I needed the leverage to get upright she just refused to let go since I first grabbed her as we fell.
I felt more volume and her hug sunk in deeper.
This softness was definitely the feel of her breasts.
Her assertive breasts made my head spin, and perhaps to her surprise, we pulled apart at the same time as if we were pushing each other away.
"What is this trap? It's so dark I can't see anything..." <Princess Yurasia>
"Could it be that you don't like the darkness?" <Julius >
"Not really, but it's closed and dark...." <Princess Yurasia>
That's true.
The darkness itself would not be a problem.
She didn't have any problem spending the night in the mountains.
Then maybe she's claustrophobic?
"It's more than scary, it's disgusting. I can't see anything, so I feel even more alone... Since the death of my father, I've always felt alone. After my brother became king, I couldn't treat him as a brother anymore..." <Princess Yurasia>
"It's okay. You're trapped in here, but you're not alone." <Julius >
"That's true, but..." <Princess Yurasia>
"Yuri, Time like those are precious, so I think it will be worth remembering." <Julius >
"...I didn't know falling into a trap was worth remembering this much." <Princess Yurasia>
Her reply came as if spoken by a mosquito
"I think it's a good thing that we fell here! because it gave us time to talk alone. So, why don't we stop using honorifics with each other? I want us to get away from being a princess, a lord, a general, a noble, etc., and get to know each other as people. In order to do that, I think we need to lose the distance, don't you think?" <Princess Yurasia>
After her initial quiet reply came this explosion-like request that shocked me.
She had been such a stiff character up till now, since I met her as an assassin till the over-enthusiastic princess who'd do anything to save her home.
And now the young girl who just wanted to be herself since no one else could tell her not to.
Ever since I first met her at the royal palace in Lunan, she had only shown a stiff expression in public.
Her face was filled with the dignity of a princess; she had never shown any signs of joy, anger, or sorrow.
People have emotions.
She should have had emotions too and yet, she always looked like a machine.
"So even the Princess lets her hair down once in a while huh?" <Julius >
"..." <Princess Yurasia>
She stared at me when she heard that.
It was too dark to see, but somehow the silence made me feel that way.
"Was I a little cocky?" <Julius >
Unable to endure the frustrating silence, I asked her, and this time she answered.
"Yuri..." <Princess Yurasia>
"Hmm?" <Julius >
"Call me Yuri! Not Princess, and yes it's all an act how could I not act like a royal to keep the people calm for the sake of my nation, for my people... for my..." <Princess Yuri>
Oh shit!
I didn't even noticed I dropped to using a nickname for her, and now she's demanding I keep using it.
"Is that so? Well, no one would ever complain even if you didn't... ... Yuri" <Julius >
"Best not to find out though, in case the people image of us royals being basically gods among men to falter" <Princess Yuri>
Interesting? Well then at least from now on we talk casually." <Julius >
"Okay, no and honorifics or titles from now on!" <Princess Yuri>
"By the way, you said that it would be worth remembering having fallen down here what did you me..." <Julius >
Partway through my sentence she hastily interrupted me
"If you have the skills to get out of here by yourself, please go ahead and do it without worrying about me. I don't want to slow you down!" <Princess Yuri>
What's she saying?
"Have you forgotten everything I've ever said to you? If you say that again, I'll get really angry." <Julius >
"Even at...!" <Princess Yuri>
"When I said that being trapped here might be worth remembering, I meant that there is a way out. We're going to get out of here in one piece. Of course, we'll have to wait for my mana to recover, so it'll take some time, but I think in five hours I'll be able to use my skills again and get out of here." <Julius >
"Is that true?" <Princess Yuri>
"I wouldn't lie about something like that." <Julius >
"That's good to know." <Princess Yuri>
Four a bit hours later, I could use [Crush] again.
"But I can't believe you're mad at me....Pfft" <Princess Yuri>
At that moment I heard a slight laugh in the darkness.
A woman who had never shown any emotion beyond devotion was laughing!
"You just laughed, didn't you?" <Julius >
"I haven't been angry since my father... king told me never to be so when I was a little girl...It made me lose my nervousness. My acting is..." <Princess Yuri>
"Didn't you just casually say something amazing?" <Julius >
Yes.
"I think it's always an act to live as a princess. The king told me to always maintain my dignity so as to not be underestimated. Eventually, my expression became stiff. Then I started to act in front of people." <Princess Yurasia>
"So, when you laughed, does that mean you've stopped acting?" <Julius >
"In front of you, at least." <Princess Yuri>
"In front of me?" <Julius >
"When I heard you wanted to get to know me, it seemed like I didn't have to act." <Princess Yuri>
"Well, I'm flattered." <Julius >
"But expressing my emotions and showing my true face are two different things. The real me...that is hidden is different from the princess. I don't think anyone will be able to handle it." <Princess Yurasia>
No one will be able to handle it?
...I'm really curious.
"I don't care what it's like. So you can show me." <Julius >
"Are you sure you won't regret it?" <Princess Yuri>
"No. I've never known regret in my life." <Julius >
"Please don't run away when you find out who I really am." <Princess Yuri>
Run away?
What's the big deal?
"I promise. I'll be there for you no matter what." <Julius >
"Was that a…..marriage proposal?" <Princess Yuri>
"Oh... Bad choice of phrasing, Pretend that didn't just happen." <Julius >
Then the silence came again.
However, the silence was somehow different from before.
"Didn't you just secretly laugh again? and worse you were laughing at me!" <Julius >
"No, I didn't! I was just speechless. beside my true face doesn't come out that easily." <Princess Yuri>
That being said, I'm definitely motivated to see it.
"Just don't regret it." <Princess Yuri>
"I won't. Well, that's that. For now, let's get some rest; we have five hours left, so we have a chance to recover. I don't think you slept a wink in the mountains, and I haven't either. Sarah." <Julius >
Dropping the last bombshell that I knew about her side-life as an assassin, I feigned passing out to get some rest.
Yes.
This was the perfect place to rest and not be cold.
I was trapped in the dark, but on the other hand, it also meant that there was no other danger.
She of course tried to inquire how I knew that name poking and even jostling my shoulder before eventually giving up and as her breathing changed I could tell she's given up and fallen asleep
Then I felt a rush of exhaustion, the sleepiness overtook me, and I joined her in morpheus's embrace.
.
.
.
When I woke up from my sleep and opened my eyes she hadn't moved a muscle.
Her face was nestled against my shoulder.
Probably, this happened naturally while I was dozing off.
Well, sure enough, she was probably more tired than I was.
She hadn't slept much in the mountains, let alone all through the war.
I didn't dare wake her up and checked the system first.
I could read the system messages without any problem, as they were glowing.
When I checked, I found that [Crush] had recovered.
That meant that we would be able to escape.
and while I was at it, I also claimed the spoils from the last battles with the Bridget Kingdom.
______________________________________
[Earned Experience List]
[Strategy Grade A x3]
[Defeat an A-grade opponent with D-grade power x4]
[Defeat your opponent outnumber 1,000:1 x5]
[You are now level 26]
______________________________________
* * * * * * * * * *
______________________________________
[Earned Experience List]
[Strategy Grade B x2]
[Defeat a superior opponent army with a barely trained force x2]
[You are now level 28]
______________________________________
* * * * * * * * * *
The first being from my and Zeff's infiltration to destroy their food stores, while the second was the decisive battle that brought the Roserun war to a close.
No bad for a day's work I levelled up 7 times, netting myself 2,100 points in the process.
To begin with, I used my points to heighten my power level to 69 that way next time I come across the one-armed master swordsman I can kill him or even the king easily with my Crush.
Keeping hold of the remaining points for now.
" Haa..." <Princess Yuri>
She woke up sounding like a high school student who almost dozed off in class.