I arrived at the front courtyard of the castle, still gasping for breath after running.
DOOOOM
The entire castle courtyard was already filled with the kingdom's citizens, all watching the debate between Sephira Hime and the king.
They were watching the two of them argue through a huge screen installed above the castle courtyard.
"Yuu-chan, what is that?" (Me)
"That's high-level magic, Yukito-sama." (Yuu)
"That magic allows the user to display a selected area and broadcast it onto a large screen." (Yuu)
"Thanks for the short explanation… but for heaven's sake, this is way too crowded and cramped!!!" (Me)
"Your Majesty! Defeat Hime!"
"Huh? Sephira Hime, idiot!"
"What did you say!? You wanna fight!?"
"Come on then!"
Y-yeah, more or less the situation had already become uncontrollable before, a few moments later, the king finally began to speak.
"Sephira-hime, explain your demand once more."
He said it in such a light tone, his gaze fixed firmly on Hime.
"I want Yukito-san to have a position equivalent to a Yuusha in this country—" (Hime)
AHAHAHAHAHA
The king laughed loudly, causing Sephira Hime to look confused as she stared at him.
"R-Your Majesty, what do you mean—" (Hime)
Sephira Hime addressed the king not as Father, but as Your Majesty… maybe because she is the child of a concubine??
"That man only has the number 1 in every part of his status screen, right!? YOU EXPECT SOMEONE LIKE THAT TO BECOME A YUUSHA!?" (King)
AHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The castle courtyard, which had fallen silent, became noisy once again with laughter and insults everywhere.
"Someone like that, hahahaha!!"
"What's wrong with Sephira Hime's head!?"
"Sephira Hime's turned into a statue!"
"A princess like her acting all high and mighty!"
I pushed my way into the crowd and finally managed to stand in the very front row.
My body kept bumping into many people, making my right hand ache a little.
Ugh, it really felt like being in a night market.
Just as I was about to stand upright, suddenly the person next to me tapped my shoulder.
"Oi, you agree too, right? That Yukito and Sephira Hime are both shallow-minded?" (Him)
I could only fall silent at his words—he said that right in front of the person himself.
I'm here caring about myself, you know? Not about that Hime.
I thought his words would stop there, but he continued.
"But yeah, for some reason I feel sorry for Yukito." (Him)
"He only has the skills of an ordinary person, but it feels like Sephira Hime wants to make it look like Yukito wants to become a Yuusha." (Him)
"What do you think—" (Him)
"HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?!?" (Him)
I ran into the castle, which strangely had no guards, causing everyone to freeze as they watched me suddenly rush inside.
"Yukito-sama, just go straight ahead!!" (Yuu)
"Yeah, yeah!" (Yukito)
I arrived in front of the room and immediately entered, throwing the doors wide open.
"I am Sahiko Yukito—"
I was confused myself—why did I suddenly introduce myself!?!?
Ah, right. I wanted to leave something behind in this world, and with this introduction… I would start.
On the other side—
"THAT GUY IS YUKITOOO!?" (The person who tapped my shoulder earlier)
Back to the present—before I could finish my sentence, Sephira Hime's eyes had already begun to well up with tears as she looked at me.
It seemed she was truly hurt and deeply shaken right now. I had to think about how I was going to get her out of here.
The reason… I don't know. I just felt that this was what I should have done from some time ago.
"Y-Yukito-san!?"
She was shocked to see me standing in the same room as her.
I walked over and stood beside her, staring straight at the king.
The nobles and other members of the royal court looked at me with confused and disgusted expressions, as if I were a germ in this place.
It was only natural—I was like a stranger who suddenly barged into a room holding a very important event.
Besides that… the hero named Kuro was also looking at me. That guy… taking my original position—seriously annoying.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to forget Sephira Hime's request." (Me)
I deliberately used the address "Your Majesty" just to sound… cool, I guess?
The entire room was shocked and began hurling countless questions and insults at me.
Their voices really disturbed me—so noisy that my ears started to hurt a little.
"Oi, what do you mean!?!?"
"Don't spout nonsense, kid!"
"Joke around at home!"
"Kid! Get out of here!"
Finally, the king himself spoke to me as the situation became more chaotic.
"Yukito, what do you want—"
I spoke firmly to him, making everyone unable to take their eyes off me.
"I ask that this debate be stopped. And I beg that Sephira Hime be released without punishment."
"Sephira Hime must receive special punishment if you truly did not ask for—" (that was… the king's right-hand man),
"Then I have another request…"
"The situation is becoming increasingly chaotic. Before it becomes completely uncontrollable, I will do something to end this."
The castle fell silent again. Everyone waited to hear what I would say next.
"RUN!!!!"
SLEP
I ran, and as I reached Sephira Hime, I grabbed her hand.
"Let's get out of here, Hime!!" (Me)
I ran at full speed out of the room, instantly throwing the situation back into chaos.
"CHASE THEM!!" (King)
The king's soldiers immediately began chasing after Hime and me as we ran together.
"Yuu-chan, where's the castle's back exit!?" (I asked Yuu)
"Follow me, Yukito-samaaaaaa!" (Yuu)
...
After successfully escaping the castle, I stopped in a narrow alley that I thought was safe from pursuit.
As I was catching my breath, Hime suddenly asked in a cold, firm tone.
"What is the meaning of this, Yukito-san?" (She asked)
"I-I thought at first you were just trying to use me… but well… I didn't expect it to turn out like this…" (Me)
"I can't let other people suffer because of my actions…"
Honestly, my face turned slightly red at that moment, and Yuu noticed it.
"Areee~ Yukito-sama, are you embarrassed?" (She said teasingly)
"N-no, who would be—" (Me)
"It shows, you know~ hihihi." (Yuu)
"Yuu-chan, you—" (Me)
Sephira Hime suddenly pulled my hand, making me feel uneasy.
"I-I'm sorry! I did something wrong, didn't I?"
"Please believe me, I did this because you will become an important person to me. I need your ability to make me satisfied—"
Her gaze changed into something I could no longer describe.
Sephira Hime released her grip on my hand.
In one swift motion, she pulled my cheek and pressed her lips against mine—this was truly intense!
Her soft lips touched mine.
My breath was almost gone because of what she did… I didn't know why she suddenly kissed me… what is this…
A strange sensation flowed throughout my body… I can't… I can't take it anymore, Hime… let go of me…