Leave a comment

“She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was dissolving into foam.”

—The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen—

♢♦♢♦♢

In the face of the oncoming horde of pigs and orcs, the girl fired off a series of ridiculously powerful Magic Art at an unbelievable speed without missing a beat. No, she did not use magic; it was magic that bent its knee at her feet. That was what a natural gift was, a testament that she was God’s beloved. Comparing himself to her would be ridiculous as the difference in talent was simply too vast; he couldn’t even envy her.

(I guess this is the difference between a true genius and a mere bright-headed person. In the end, effort can’t measure up to talent, huh…)

Cestlavie felt forlorn just because he couldn’t feel her at his back—and something in him would break if he focused on that feeling, so he tried to brush it off.

“Then again, this is all I have,” Cestlavie mumbled as he slipped around the onrushing orcs and goblins, activating the talismans in his hand in succession.

“…I’ll run out of cards soon at this pace.”

As the young boy made a grim face, a hairy subspecies, which seemed to be a high orc, swung its rusty sword down at him from behind.

“Rapid!”

The electric shock that he unleashed hit the high orc in the shoulder, but it didn’t seem to have injured the monster, only annoyed it. The sword was swung down with brute force, however, and Cestlavie had no trouble evading it.

“Just a single card doesn’t do much. Then—”

He pulled out 10 cards and activated them at once.

“「O mighty celestial dragon who gathers lightning, in the name of the great Thunder Emperor, sweep away the foes before me」.”

Furthermore, Cestlavie held up the silver magic wand that the girl dropped when she was kidnapped, the price of which he couldn’t even imagine, and which he would never have had the chance to touch if it weren’t for a time like this, to boost his Magic Art.

“【Lightning】.”

A surge of mana condensed through the staff, simultaneously triggering a massive burst of lightning Magic Art centered around the cluster of talismans. Thick bolts of lightning cleaved through the monstrous high orc before him in a single strike, mowing down surrounding monsters in its aftermath as it surged forward.

Still surrounded by a horde of monsters on all sides, a gap opened up as if inviting an escape—a literal breakthrough.

Without hesitation, Cestlavie dashed toward that opening.

It was an escape so shameless and refreshing that he didn’t care about pride or appearances. For him, there was simply no reason to stick to a battle he couldn’t win in the first place. There was a chance of wiping out the enemies with Jill around, but now that she was gone, there was no reason to stay in this place. Sometimes, the best strategy is to flee when the opportunity presents itself.

Furthermore, he had no desire to be a hero and try to rescue Jill in the event he did manage to escape. It’s the height of folly to face an opponent you can’t defeat, and what’s most important to him is his own life.

To add to that, his mana was nearly depleted after that Lightning spell. While he might hold up for a bit more with Talisman Art, practicing the proper stages of Magic Art would be challenging. The pure white wand was, indeed, high-performance —akin to a masterpiece sword, a rarity found only a few times in an entire country’s arsenal— but it was no far-fetched Legendary Weapon that completely replenished its user’s mana or allowed them unlimited use of Magic Art. It was, at the end of the day, a very good ‘tool’.

Of course, a masterful sword would be more wieldy than a dull one, but in the end, a tool remained just a tool. It’s like assuming using a better racket will guarantee victory in a match.

Therefore, Cestlavie didn’t hesitate to flee. He felt no guilt in abandoning the ally he relied on. He accepted that matters of philanthropy and humanity were better left to those who have the luxury for it. “I don’t endorse your principle, but I approve your right to assert it,” that kind of thing.

(Well, the guy also said “Missy, you’re not our target, so we won’t do anything to you as long as you stay cooperative” anyway.)

So it’ll be okay… Cestlavie kept telling himself, despite there being no necessity to. Then again, if he was asked whether he thought that soft-hearted-looking girl would stay quiet being apprehended, Cestlavie would furrow his brows, cross his arms, and then shake his head.

Despite not having known her for long—no, precisely because of that—he recognized the girl as needlessly proactive despite her tender nature. There was no way she would willingly play the role of the “captive princess.” She must be worried about him even now.

“…here’s hoping she doesn’t attempt anything reckless.”

Even the usually apathetic man couldn’t help but feel concerned. With that thought in mind, as he eyed his exit, he suddenly experienced a tingling sensation on his back. Instinctively twisting his body, he narrowly avoided a boulder flying past at an incredible speed.

“WHA—?!”

The mere graze sent him spinning 2-3 times, and he barely stopped himself from being launched further by dropping to one hand and knee. With a grim expression, Cestlavie looked towards where the boulder had originated, his jaw dropping in disbelief.

The swarm of orcs had halted their chase. Amidst the now-parted sea of monsters, the figure of an exceptionally large and imposing monster emerged naturally.

A colossal orc stood firm, resembling a fierce deity. That alone wasn’t surprising, given the number of monsters gathered. The expectation that there would be a Leader among them was reasonable.

Thus, it being three times larger than the rest was also anticipated. Its muscles, resembling solid rocks capable of rending steel, and its breath turning into vapor were, for the most part, expected.

However, “Gufufufu. You can’t escape, my prince charming. Will your passionate kiss break the curse placed upon me?” he hadn’t anticipated the orc would adopt a coquettish demeanor, complete with a pink ribbon on its head and a salacious wink.

“O-orc? Orc King…?”

Cestlavie found himself questioning aloud, his voice sounding detached as if this concern belonged to someone else.

“I’m no orc! I’m a princess from a faraway land, Princess Tiana! An evil witch cursed me with this hideous form! But, a kiss from a prince can dispel the curse. Let’s see if you’re my prince charming. If not, you’ll become my meal, just like those before you.”

As the so-called Orc Princess licked her lips, Cestlavie frantically searched for an escape route. However, two orcs had already blocked that path, sealing off any escape. Gritting his teeth, he readied himself, cards in one hand and Jill’s wand in the other.

♢♦♢♦♢

The scene unfolded on a mirror-like magical tool as if it were a monitor, with a clear voice emanating from a tuning fork placed on a branch, serving as a secondary audio track.

If I had the freedom to move, I might have collapsed halfway through and turned to ash. However, in this state of complete limb restraint, I couldn’t even cover my ears, let alone escape.

Just kill me already! I internally screamed as I watched the exchange between Cestlavie and the orc. But upon seeing the peddler and Chaton, supposedly superior and subordinate, laughing heartily with remarkably similar gestures, I nearly cried out in frustration.

“What is this Orc Princess Tiana nonsense?! Is this some kind of insult to me?!”

“? I understand your confusion with the development beyond human comprehension, but this wasn’t orchestrated by me. The monster concocted this scenario on its own.”

Chaton managed to say after containing her laughter.

“So, it independently came up with the prince’s kiss, the witch’s curse, and all that?!”
“Yeah, about that… To enhance its intelligence, I exposed it to children’s fairy tales every night during its sleep. Unexpectedly, it began to harbor delusions.”

Tee-hee, Chaton added with a giggle, pointing at the tuning fork.

“It successfully learned human language. We just didn’t anticipate the side effects.”

“What a mess,” she added, theatrically shrugging her shoulders in a manner annoyingly reminiscent of her boss, the peddler.

“The true love’s kiss from a prince charming will lift this curse! I shall be freed from this monstrous guise and return to my beautiful self!”

In the magical mirror, the self-proclaimed Orc Princess Tiana bemoaned her fate, writhing in discomfort.

Though aware she couldn’t hear me, I felt compelled to say, “That’s misguided. True beauty lies within, not in appearances.”

“…that’s hardly persuasive.”
“…I’ve never heard a correct assertion delivered so insincerely and monotonously.”

The peddler and Chaton unanimously critiqued me, their rudeness underscored by their synchronized nodding.

Author’s Note:

As a monster, the Orc Princess alone stands in rank B or rank C, but being the ever-rare female orc, she has absolute authority over other orcs.

You know, it’s like how calico cats are rarely born a male.

Also, a similar development definitely has never happened before (averts gaze)