"── Please, marry me."
"........ Huh?"
He was left completely dumbfounded at the sudden words coming from the girl in the beautiful dress.
What is this girl even talking about?
He wracked his brain, thinking he must have misheard, but then the middle-aged knight ran toward the girl, clearly panicked.
"L-Lexia-sama!? What on earth are you thinking?"
"What's the problem…? That was a marriage proposal, you know?"
"I know that! What I'm asking is why you suddenly said something like that! Don't you realize you're a princess? And you don't even know anything about him yet…!"
"It was love at first sight! Do you have a problem with that?"
"Why are you mad at me when you're the one in the wrong here?"
Shinji watched in stunned silence as the manzai-like comedy routine unfolded before him. Out of reflex, he glanced around—the other soldiers just shrugged as if to say, Oh, here we go again.
He turned his gaze back to the knight and the girl.
Noticing Shinji's stare, the middle-aged knight cleared his throat and said,
"Ahem! My apologies. You had to witness something so unseemly. If possible, I'd like to properly introduce myself and talk somewhere calmer…"
"I'm Lexia von Alceria! W-what's your name!?"
"…Lexia-sama. Didn't you hear me say we should talk somewhere safer?"
"I asked before you decided that!"
"I… I give up…"
At her words, the knight put a hand to his forehead and looked up at the sky.
"Well, uh… If you don't mind, would you like to come to my house?"
The knight looked pitiful, but since his home was the only safer place he could think of, he suggested it.
It was pretty reckless to invite strangers into his home, but remembering how Shinji had fought off the Goblins earlier, he was confident he could handle them if things turned bad.
And if he was wrong, well, it was as simple as going back to Earth. After all, only he could cross the gate.
The soldiers who heard the suggestion seemed more agitated than he expected.
"A-a house!? In the middle of the Great Demon Nest!?"
"I give up… It seems he actually lives here."
"Seriously, who is this guy?"
Like the soldiers, the knight also looked surprised for a moment but soon nodded.
"That's good then. Thank you very much."
"He suddenly invited me to his house! Wait a minute, I need to prepare myself mentally first…"
"Lexia-sama, please… just stop talking already…"
The knight sighed, looking exhausted.
"There really is a house here…"
"…Isn't this like, a completely different space?"
"Why does such a peaceful place even exist in the middle of the Great Demon Nest?"
When Shinji led them to the safe zone around his home, the soldiers were stunned, looking around in disbelief.
He guided them to the house, but since there wasn't enough room for everyone, only the knight and the girl came inside while the others waited outside.
Taking seats across from each other, the knight let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Owen. I'm a knight serving Lexia-sama of the Alceria Kingdom. This time, I want to thank you for saving Lex—no, for saving all of us. Truly, thank you."
"I don't think it was anything that serious. I just happened to be there."
Owen suddenly bowed his head.
"…No, even if it was just coincidence, this is the Great Demon Nest. It's a miracle we made it out alive after stepping foot in such a dangerous place. That's why I want you to accept my gratitude."
"I see…"
Shinji was surprised to hear how dangerous this place really was. To think even people from this world found it hard to survive here, and yet he had been moving around like it was nothing.
While he was lost in thought, the girl spoke up.
"I am Lexia von Alceria, the First Princess of the Alceria Kingdom. Thank you so much for saving me!"
"It's fine, I'm just glad you're safe… Huh? Princess?"
Shinji's mind froze. It was like a computer rebooting.
Now that he thought about it, Owen had called her princess before they reached his house.
"…Uh, Owen-san."
"Yes?"
"Lexia-san… she's a princess?"
"That's correct. She is the First Princess."
"…I've been speaking to her so casually, but… is that okay?"
Shinji asked, looking uneasy. After all, this was royalty from another world.
"Yes, don't worry. This is just an informal meeting, and more importantly, you're our benefactor."
"…Still, I thought royalty would be, you know… more famous or something…"
"Sorry, I don't know who you are."
Shinji didn't know the customs of this world anyway.
"Th-then… should I call you Lexia-sama?"
"Just Lexia is fine! Please, no honorifics!"
She had looked a bit down just moments ago, but now she was suddenly full of energy again. The mood swings were something else.
Shinji didn't particularly care, but Owen immediately started arguing with her about it for a good minute.
Shinji simply watched until they both apologized to each other, then used the chance to introduce himself.
"My name is Shinji Motohama. I live in this forest."
He had no plans to tell them he was from another world. That would be way too reckless.
As he thought this, Lexia and Owen began whispering to each other.
"Motohama Shinji… I've never heard that name before. It sounds completely foreign to our kingdom."
"But the fact that he has a family name… like I said before, he might be royalty or nobility from another country."
"That's true… there's so little information to go on. Anyway, the moment we found out he lived in the Great Demon Nest, all common sense went out the window…"
"Hey…"
"Ah, sorry… so, Motohama is your given name, right?"
"Huh? Oh… no, Shinji is my given name, Motohama is my family name."
"I see… the name order is different in your country. Alright then, Shinji-dono. To tell you the truth, we came to the Great Demon Nest to look for you."
"Huh? For me?"
Hearing the name of this place again, Shinji thought it really was far too dangerous for people to be wandering around in.
As he thought this, Lexia leaned forward, eyes sparkling.
"That's right. I came because I wanted to meet Shinji-sama again!"
"'Shinji-sama,' huh… Just Shinji is fine."
"Rejected!"
"That's… unreasonable."
Shinji let out a dry laugh at being called that by a princess.
"So, you wanted to see me for the same reason Owen-san did?"
"That's right. I wanted to meet you in person no matter what and give you my thanks."
Shinji couldn't help but think the royalty of this world were pretty strange if they'd risk their lives just to say thank you. Then again, maybe she was the strange one.
"So please, marry me!"
And there it was again—the unreasonable proposal.
"Where's the gratitude in that?"
Maybe it was some weird local custom or something?
"Wait… Lexia-san, we only just met and talked for the first time. And besides, why me?"
"Because… when the Goblin General attacked me, I fell in love at first sight with the brave figure who saved me!"
"I mean, yeah, I did save you from the Goblin General, but… as expected, this is too much. Could you think about it a little more? You are a princess, right?"
"That doesn't matter! The books all say there are loves that start at first sight!"
Shinji made a face at that. What kind of princess was this? Was she really fit to rule a country with this kind of mindset?
"No, no… Shinji-dono needs time to get to know you better first…" Owen said, trying to talk some sense into her.
"Lexia-san, I'm flattered you feel that way about me. But the fact is, I don't even know you. It's just… too sudden."
Shinji thought this might be the classic suspension bridge effect. He saved her twice, so it was natural for her to feel gratitude, maybe even admiration—but that wasn't love.
Owen nodded in agreement with Shinji's words, looking like he was thinking, Exactly! Meanwhile, Lexia blinked in surprise.
"I see… so this love won't be easy! But that just excites me even more! Every love story has obstacles!"
"Eh?"
"It's nothing. S-so… how about we start as friends?"
"Friends?"
"That's right… is that okay?"
Shinji was confused again. He didn't particularly mind, but the princess's whimsical attitude reminded him of a certain redhead he knew. They'd just met, and yet she was already determined to build some kind of relationship.
Owen noticed Shinji's confusion and quickly explained.
"There shouldn't be any problem if it's Shinji-dono… you seem like a foreign noble or royalty, and on top of that, you live in the Great Demon Nest. Your circumstances should be fine…"
Shinji rolled his eyes. Noble? Royalty? Even in this world, people were assuming things about him.
He glanced at Lexia—she was looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"…Fine. I look forward to getting along."
He said with a resigned sigh.
"Yes! Me too!"
Lexia's childlike behavior made Shinji once again question if this girl was really fit to rule a country.