NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30
Rosmas Terbation.
She is a High Elf and the princess of the Elves.
Elves form collective communities in each forest, and the representatives of the forests are called ‘Elders.’
So, what is a princess?
The concept of a princess comes from the human world.
Yet, Rosmas is considered a princess among elves because she holds a status similar to that of a princess in the human world.
“Princess! What are we to do if someone with the duty to protect the World Tree behaves so dangerously…!”
She is known in the Elven society as ‘the next World Tree’s priestess,’ but since the elves don’t want to call her by the long title every time, they casually refer to her as ‘princess.’
“If anything happens to the princess, as the guardian of all forests and the agent of the World Tree, I would have no face to show the Queen.”
The Elves also have a queen.
This queen supervises the World Tree and holds a crucial role in managing all the power conveyed by the World Tree.
“Mother… Must have been quite startled?”
“Startled? If it went wrong, all the guardians of the forest could have rushed out here.”
Rosmas is the daughter of the queen.
When the queen dies, she will be the next priestess of the World Tree.
Even if the highest elder and other elders assist the queen, thanks to her existence, the elves maintain an equal relationship with humans.
For that reason, special care is needed for Rosmas’s safety.
Even if there are substitutes for her, the existence of a woman named Rosmas is as significant to the elves as a princess is in the human world.
“Princess, for real! Aah!”
Such a woman almost died being captured by orcs?
The elf ‘Marzohis,’ who was supposed to be protecting Rosmas, pounded his chest in frustration because he lost her due to being bound by Rosmas herself.
“Then why did you leave me behind?!”
“I’m sorry…”
“If an apology is all it takes, then aah, really!! Do you have any idea how anxious I was until we reached the Adventurer Guild?!”
Rosmas’s protection detail was handed over to Marzohis.
It was Marzohis who reported her missing to the Adventurer Guild, and naturally, the guild sent Rosmas back to Marzohis.
“I was seriously freaked out on the way here! I was worried that some human would think the princess was actually a princess and kidnap her!”
“…….”
If they knew Rosmas was an elven princess, they would surely have taken different measures.
Thankfully, Rosmas managed to thoroughly hide her identity as a princess from humans.
Still, she found herself in a dangerous situation.
“Ugh, for real, this foolish princess…!! I can’t even smack her once…!”
“Now, now. Calm down. It’s only natural to want to roam freely in the human world once you step out. Please don’t be too upset, Princess.”
Fergus, the blacksmith of the Normans who temporarily provided a place for Marzohis and Rosmas to stay, handed them both honey tea.
“Just don’t do that next time. Ultimately, everything turned out fine, right? Okay?”
“If you make a mistake once, you could easily make another!”
“We’ll deal with that when it comes. Right now, let’s just be thankful you made it back alive. Got it?”
“Ugh….”
Marzohis dropped his trembling fists as Fergus patted his shoulder comfortingly.
“…Damn.”
If there’s a problem with the princess?
Then he would be the one facing the consequences.
The foolish princess’s wounds would mean his own death as her protector.
“And Princess, as much as you want to travel, it’s seriously wrong to seal my spirits with magic and then run away on your own. In human terms, that’s attempted murder. You wouldn’t die, but if the spirits had naughty ideas, that would have been the end for you.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“If you did something wrong, you should apologize to Marzohis, not me.”
“……I’m sorry, Marzohis. I won’t do it again.”
“Ah, really.”
Marzohis sighed deeply as he kept his temper in check.
With that kind of apology, there’s no way to push him further.
“Promise me, Princess. You’ll never leave me behind again. You’ll never do something like that again. Do you understand?”
“Uh, well…”
“You can’t make that promise?”
Marzohis’s expression started to harden gradually.
Fergus also frowned, sensing that this wasn’t going well, and the atmosphere turned increasingly tense.
“…That.”
Rosmas wiggled her fingers before meeting Marzohis’s gaze seriously.
“I’ve found a comrade I want to be with.”
“Uh?”
“I want to be with the hero who saved me.”
“…Puh, Hahahaha!!”
Fergus doubled over laughing.
Rosmas, blushing and nervously grabbing at her skirt, looked like a girl in love to anyone watching.
“Hey, this can’t be! It’s over!!”
“Not happening, Princess. You’re not seriously falling for a human, are you? Right?”
“That person….”
“That person?!!?!”
Marzohis was stunned by the shocking declaration.
“Princess, seriously, this can’t happen. You might end up creating half-elves!”
“…I’ve made up my mind!”
“Princess!!”
“I can’t ask him to come with me. What if he ends up liking you?”
“Ah, no. Are you keeping me in check here, Princess? Ugh….”
Marzohis looked like he had a lot to say.
“Fine. It’s great that you want to travel the human world freely and you sealed me in the lake with spirit magic for days, got registered as an adventurer, wandered the human world, and got captured by orcs, and miraculously survived thanks to the World Tree and the blessings of two goddesses. But at this point, don’t you think you should stick with me a bit?”
Marzohis began to genuinely get annoyed.
“But….”
“But what?”
“Marzohis, you’re weaker than me.”
“…….”
The princess was much stronger than Marzohis.
Although he had the title of a protector knight, in reality, he was more like a servant to her.
“No, Princess, still….”
“And you’re weaker than Fergus.”
“That’s true.”
“No!! Still, I belong to the guardians!”
“Yeah, I’m a former vice captain of the guardians.”
“I’m stronger than the captain of the guardians.”
“Then how did you get captured by orcs?!”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Rosmas tightly took Marzohis’s hand.
“Tell the queen and the elders how I got captured. There was an orc who could seal spirit magic.”
“…….”
Yes, that was a serious issue.
The elves’ main power of spirit magic had no effect in a dispel field as if casting spells had no effect.
If Rosmas was taken down effortlessly, then so could other elves.
“The sealing magic of spirits is their strength. Perhaps they’ve reappeared again. It’s an old story, but still.”
“Princess.”
“I’ll gather information while acting with the person who saved me. It’s alright; those are the ‘real’ experts who wiped out the orcs.”
“……Can I really trust that?”
“Yes. Of course. I made a big mistake, but for this, please trust me.”
Sssss.
A huge jet of water erupted beside Rosmas.
In the blink of an eye, the water stream transformed into a human shape and soon pulled out a sphere made of droplets from its chest.
“Marzohis, give this to the queen.”
“This…?”
“It contains my memories of what transpired. Please make sure to deliver it. Got it?”
“…Can I really leave without you?”
Marzohis struggled to find the words to say.
“Are they really trustworthy people?”
“Yes. More than anyone. Once you deliver this to the queen, she’ll definitely tell me to act alongside them.”
“Are they that trustworthy…?”
“Yes. I swear on the World Tree. They’re not dangerous people. You can go back to the forest and pass this on without worry.”
“!!”
A vow to the World Tree.
That is a stronger bond for elves than a vow to their parents or to any goddess.
Having sworn to the World Tree, there’s no going back now.
“I, Rosmas Terbation, swear that I am not running away from Marzohis or moving separately to avoid falling for a man.”
“……To that extent.”
Marzohis hung his head low.
The World Tree is like a parent to the elves.
Having sworn by such a being, he must believe.
“I may not be able to trust you… but since you swore on the World Tree, I have no choice. However, my concerns for safety remain. I’d like to meet them once.”
“…No.”
“Princess. I can’t back down on this. If not to meet them directly, then I’ll keep watch from afar.”
“…Alright. Then let’s go right now.”
Rosmas kicked the door open and rushed outside.
Marzohis was left anxious by her urgency but followed her, hiding behind the inn’s stairway wall.
And then.
“Yikes!”
Rosmas gasped and stumbled back.
Marzohis tried to rush forward, but Fergus caught him.
“Wait. Watch. Over there… whoa.”
“…Wow.”
The two elves gulped at the sight of a blonde man stepping out from the room into the hallway.
Wearing only loose trousers, soaked in sweat, the human man’s appearance made their expressions turn grave.
“Let’s step inside and talk, Lady Rosmas.”
“Y-yes.”
Creeeak.
Rosmas entered the room, and the two stepped out of the staircase to the corridor.
“Did you hear that voice?”
“…Yeah. It was a guest from our shop. But… he looks really fit. Hold on a sec.”
Fergus turned pale.
“One companion, a woman—”
-You want to be my comrade?
From inside came the voice of a woman.
The two elves in the hallway gulped once more.
-Okay. A comrade. But call me your master.
“How dare you to the princess…?”
“Wait. Calm down. That lady knows the High Elder.”
“What…? How? She hasn’t stepped outside for 500 years…?”
“Exactly.”
-In exchange.
-In exchange for fighting me and winning, I’ll accept you as a comrade.
-Understood.
Rosmas’s voice rang with more resolve and enthusiasm than ever.