Chapter 38 The Tyrant Princess
"Hey! Why are you running away? You should play with me properly!"
"Of course I'm running awayyy!!"
With the ground exploding behind me, I'm sprinting at full speed, throwing away any pretense of being a refined lady.
Seriously, what's going on!? I was supposed to be at a tea party, right!?
"Princess!! You promised we would have a proper tea party today!!"
A maid, who seems to be from Princess Rifine, screams as if voicing my feelings.
In response, the princess simply says.
"Sitting around and chatting is boring! I want to move!"
Yeah, this princess is beyond just a tomboy.
Prince Sigurt said something like, "I couldn't handle it," but of course he couldn't!? If I had to deal with this, I wouldn't have enough lives to spare!!"
"And I heard this Yumie person is a strong fighter against monsters! So, you should be a perfect playmate for me! At least better than Belmont's daughter!"
So that's why Monica reacted like that after going through this initiation!? She could've just told me that!!
Oh wait, no matter what, I couldn't speak ill of the princess; that's just not how nobles roll, right? Yeah, Monica can be a bit stiff, so I guess it can't be helped.
"So... stop running away and play with me!!"
"Ugh!?"
This is bad, really bad.
At this rate, I might not actually die... but I could definitely end up seriously injured.
But if I just keep running and abandon the princess, who knows what kind of tantrum she'll throw? I might end up tarnishing the Granbell name, and that's something I absolutely don't want.
...Guess I have no choice; I'll have to deal with her somehow!!
"Princess, let's set some rules first!!"
"Huh? Rules?"
"Yes!! No matter the duel, there must be rules!! Without them, it's not a duel!!"
First, we need to establish the conditions for victory in this match.
My magic, no matter how hard I try, won't let me hurt this princess even a little, but she can easily kill me.
So, I need to set some rules to limit her a bit.
"One! You absolutely cannot kill your opponent!"
"Hmm? That's obvious, isn't it? This is just a game after all."
Alright, it seems like the princess has at least a bit of a conscience.
If she had shown any hesitation about this, I would have seriously considered just throwing in the towel and running away.
The real issue comes next.
"Two! The first one to kneel or fall on their butt loses!"
"Not the one who gets knocked down?"
"Yep!"
It's easier to kneel or fall on your butt than to get knocked down.
That way, the risk of injury is lower.
Also, when this princess challenges other weak noble girls, I want to make sure that if her opponent faints, the match is over.
Just in case.
"Three! The winner can give the loser one command!"
"Command?"
"Yep, it's more fun if there's something at stake when you win, right? Of course, the command has to be something that person can actually do."
This is the final hurdle.
Even if this princess sets victory conditions and says the match is over, I doubt it'll end there.
I'll win and force this princess to have a tea party.
"Hehehe, so you plan to win against me... interesting, I accept the challenge!!"
Alright, she's in.
As I smirk to myself, Princess Rifine charges at me again.
"With my fist, I'll make you kneel... and turn you into my servant!!"
Oh no, this girl is trying to give me some crazy orders.
What does she plan to make me do as her servant?
...At this rate, it feels like I'll be forced to be her plaything and get beaten up endlessly.
Yeah, I've got even more reasons not to lose.
"Are you okay, young lady!?"
"Lisa, I'm fine, just leave it to me."
I smile back at the worried Lisa.
If I fight her head-on, I have no chance of winning.
But the victory condition for this match is, "the first one to kneel or fall on their butt loses." In other words, the one who falls loses.
If that's the case, there are plenty of ways to handle it.
"Nuryaaaaa!!"
Princess Rifine's fist is about to crush me.
No, I said not to kill me, but this power is way too much, right?.
Well, it's not really a problem for me.
"...Huh?"
The princess hit my Performance magic──created by my Phantom Clone Parade.
As she tilted her head at the fading clone that was glitching and disappearing, a dazzling flash of light blinked.
"Nuwaaaaa!? My eyes, my eyesss!?"
Caught off guard by the sudden light, the princess covered her face and staggered back.
At her feet, I quietly used my magic.
"(Ice magic)."
Just a small patch of ice on the ground.
My Elder Brother could probably turn this entire Detached Palace into a frozen wasteland, but for me, a diameter of less than 30 centimeters is my limit.
But this time, that's enough.
The princess stepped onto the icy ground and lost her balance, slipping hard.
"Nuwaaaaa!?"
She fell back dramatically, and I thought I had won──only for the princess to show surprising resilience.
To avoid landing on her rear, she forced her hands out and held a bridge position.
"Oh, as expected of the princess."
"Heh, heh heh... Did you think I would lose to such a trick...!?"
Clapping my hands in praise, the princess huffed proudly.
Unfortunately, it didn't look cool at all while she was in a bridge position.
"Well then, please try a little harder. (Ice magic), (Ice magic), (Ice magic)."
"Fugyaa!? S-stop itttt!!"
I slipped ice under each of her little limbs.
The slippery surface made her lose her balance even more, but the princess was barely holding on.
She's really trying hard, this princess.
"T-this level of trickery... I will not yield...!"
What she said sounded cool, but the sight of her doing a bridge on ice was just surreal.
If only I had a camera to capture this moment forever, but I can't afford to be leisurely now.
Her vision is still recovering from the flash, so she's in this pathetic state, but once it's back, she'll regain her posture and attack me again, no doubt.
So I decided to go for an attack that the princess probably never imagined.
"Hoo..."
I walked up to the princess and gently blew into her ear.
She had no resistance to this probably first-time-ever type of prank.
"Hyaaah?!"
The princess, with a much better reaction than I expected, jerked── "Twitch!" and finally lost her balance and fell.
With her cute butt on the ground, I smiled at the defeated princess.
"So, Princess, you're weak in the ears, huh. I'll remember that."
"~~~!!!"
Finally, with her vision restored, the princess glared at me, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger, letting out a roar.
I finally managed to start the tea party with the princess as originally planned.
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