Chapter 12 TSH Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 4

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Meanwhile, at the lord’s castle—

“Princess, ain’t ya gettin’ hungry? You should eat somethin’,” the royal guard, Emma, called out, but there was no reply from inside the room. Emma sighed and leaned against the corridor wall, looking lost.

After the match, she had taken the princess straight to the lord’s castle. There was no way they could go back to the same inn as Sieg. The princess had greeted the lord, then said she was feeling unwell and shut herself in her room. She hadn’t come out since. After the match she’d been so fired up for ended like that, it was only natural she’d be depressed.

After a while, a woman who appeared to be the head maid brought a tray of tea. She had brought them, worried that the princess might at least be able to stomach some tea and cookies. Emma bowed her head to the head maid, then decided it was time to force her way in. Moping like this wasn’t good for her.

“Princess, the head maid brought some tea. And snacks, too!” There was no reply from the princess, but she heard a rustling sound from inside. “I’m comin’ in.”

Emma paid her no mind, opened the door, and went inside. The princess’s room was the finest guest suite in the lord’s castle. It was a three-room suite, with a large drawing room in the center, a bedroom to the right, and a washroom and bath to the left.

Princess Cordelia was sitting on the drawing room sofa, hugging her knees. Seeing how incredibly dejected she was, Emma’s expression clouded over. But at the same time, it fired her up. Her charge was royalty, and her master, but Emma thought of the princess as a younger sister. And it was an older sister’s job to cheer up her sad sibling.

Emma placed the tray on the table, knelt on the floor, and poured the tea, its gentle aroma filling the room. She then swiped a cookie and popped it into her mouth.

“Mm! This is delicious! It’s different from the sweets back in the capital… I kinda like this simple taste better.”

The princess sighed at the sight of her guard munching away on the snacks before her master.

“……Save some for me.”

“Well, then you should have some too, Princess.”

The princess sighed again, then reached for the tea and a cookie.

“Honestly, Emma, you’re so pushy. …But, thank you.”

The princess knew, of course, that this was Emma’s way of showing she cared. Emma’s thoughtless behavior was often an attempt to make her laugh and cheer her up. Having something in her stomach seemed to help, and some of the color returned to the princess’s face.

After a brief pause, the princess spoke, “…Sieg-san was so strong…”

Emma’s voice was grumpy, “What are you sayin’!? That guy looked down on you, Princess! You don’t need to be callin’ him ‘Sieg-san’! ‘Siggy’ is fine, just Siggy!”

The princess smiled faintly at ‘Siggy,’ then shook her head.

“No. I understand now… That was his strategy. He did it on purpose to make me angry. And I fell for his provocation completely…”

Emma protested, “You don’t need to defend ‘Siggy’! He’s just a pathetic weakling who can only play dirty—”

“Emma, could you dodge my combination attack from point-blank range? Sieg-san did it with ease.”

The princess spoke over her, and Emma pouted. She knew it too. Dodging that technique was impossible for an ordinary person. Not only had Sieg dodged it, but he had thrown the princess afterward. His skill was on another level. And then… Emma recalled the end of the match and shivered from the depths of her soul. That final, immense killing intent… Just thinking about it made her break out in a cold sweat. If Sieg were her enemy, Emma wasn’t confident she could protect the princess. That was a first for her. Even if she put her life on the line, she wasn’t sure she could even create an opening for the princess to escape. On top of that, Sieg probably hadn’t even been serious. She had no idea what the true extent of his power was… The princess must have been thinking the same thing, because she was hugging her shoulders and trembling.

After a moment, the princess spoke, her voice firm.

“I couldn’t even touch him… I started to suspect he might be the Hero, but he didn’t have the crest. And the Hero must be even stronger than him, right? So… I’ve lost a bit of my confidence…”

Emma had also wondered if Sieg might be the Hero. With that kind of strength, it was a natural conclusion. But a Hero was supposed to have the Hero’s Crest on the back of their left hand. She had checked several times, but there was no such mark on Sieg’s hand. Therefore, he wasn’t the Hero. If that was the case, Emma couldn’t even begin to imagine how powerful the actual Hero must be.

Emma tried to make her voice sound light.

“Hmmph. So you’re gonna give up? On standing by the Hero’s side?”

The princess looked up, an uncharacteristically annoyed expression on her face. She was sensitive when it came to the topic of the Hero. She pouted and replied,

“That’s mean, Emma! Of course not! That’s my life’s dream!”

“Then you’ve just gotta get stronger. Nothin’s really changed, has it?”

The princess took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. After a moment, she gave a small nod, as if to convince herself. She knew it too.

“…You’re right… that’s all I can do… It’s what I’ve been doing all this time…”

The princess stared at her own hand and clenched it into a fist.

Seeing her master regaining her fighting spirit, Emma secretly smiled. She loved this small, determined master of hers who refused to be broken.

The princess nodded and continued, “I… I will become stronger. If there’s someone that strong out in the world, then I can surely become stronger too! …Hmm… I see… In that case…”

The princess’s face lit up as if she’d had a brilliant idea. She turned to Emma with a bashful look.

“Emma, you’ll support me in getting stronger, right? I have a small favor to ask…”

“A favor? What is it?” Emma tilted her head and listened to her master’s request. When she heard it, Emma let out a rare cry of shock.

“WHAAAAAAAAT!? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?”

The princess answered with a prim expression,

“Yes. I’m completely serious.”

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The next morning—

Sieg woke with the sun and began preparing to leave. He wanted to depart early, but he had to stop by the blacksmith to pick up his sword first. He couldn’t leave until the shop opened, which meant he couldn’t depart just yet.

When it was time for breakfast, Sieg went down to the dining hall and ordered a meal. As he was listlessly eating, he could hear the other patrons whispering.

“…Isn’t that the guy from the tournament yesterday?”

“You’re right… I lost so much money because of him…”

“The rumor is the match was fixed.”

“What? The nerve of that guy.”

Sieg clicked his tongue internally. The rumors were already spreading. And apparently, they were being exaggerated.

I should get out of this city as fast as possible…

Just as he was trying to finish his meal quickly, the dining hall suddenly fell silent. Sieg looked up—and saw two familiar figures standing in front of him. …Huh? He gasped, his eyes wide. It was Princess Cordelia and her guard, Emma. The other patrons all began to murmur at once.

“Whoa! Isn’t that the girl from the tournament!?”

“It’s Juliet!”

“No way!? It really is!”

Wary that they might have come for revenge, Sieg tensed. But then, the princess suddenly bowed her head deeply. What!?

The princess spoke, “Sieg-san! Thank you for the match yesterday! I learned a great deal. That final blow was your way of encouraging me, wasn’t it? Telling me that I must become stronger!”

No, no, no, I was seriously trying to hurt you! You’re taking this way too positively!

Not just the other patrons, but the inn’s proprietress, her husband, and the servers were all holding their breath, watching the scene unfold.

Ignoring the stunned Sieg, the princess continued.

“I was so impressed by your strength, Sieg-san. And so—” With that, they both dropped to their knees and bowed their heads low to the floor. The princess spoke, her voice filled with resolve. “Sieg-san. Please—take me as your disciple!”

…………Huh?

Not only Sieg, but everyone in the room gasped, the sound echoing strangely in the quiet hall.

Anxious at his lack of response, the princess whispered to Emma, “Come on, you ask too.”

Emma hesitated for a second, then pleaded with a sense of desperation. “I-I’m askin’ on my own behalf, too! Please make the princess your disciple!”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?” Sieg couldn’t help but let out a cry that matched his apparent age. He quickly added, “W-What are you thinking!? I put you through a horrible ordeal! Are you insane, asking someone like that to be your master!?”

The princess immediately shook her head. “No. You are not a bad person, Sieg-san. You deliberately acted rudely to the crowd to give me time to leave the stage, didn’t you? By becoming the villain, you allowed me to leave without further embarrassment. I am grateful for your consideration.”

Sieg was at a loss for words. That was, in fact, exactly what he had intended. The other patrons blinked and started whispering.

“Huh? Was that what happened?”

“If Juliet says so… it must be true.”

“He did draw the crowd’s attention, that’s for sure…”

Sieg bitterly ignored their new, favorable gazes. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

“Look! I have no intention of taking on a disciple! I’m leaving this city! Don’t get in my way—”

Just then, a voice rose in support of the princess. It was the inn’s proprietress.

“Hey, you! A young lady is on her knees begging you! I hear she lost to you yesterday, is that right? And she’s still desperately asking for your help! If you don’t accept, you’re no man! If you refuse, I’m doubling your bill! No, tripling it!”

Hey, hey, hey, that’s completely unreasonable! You’re not even involved in this, lady!

As if inspired by her words, the other customers began to side with the princess as well.

“That’s right!”

“Juliet is bowing to you!”

“Call yourself a man!?”

…I’ll say it again, none of you are involved either!

Cheered on by the entire dining hall, the princess looked up with tears in her eyes and murmured, “Everyone…” A strangely moving atmosphere filled the room, and Sieg closed his eyes with a pained expression.

…If I refuse now, it’ll just cause an even bigger scene… I should avoid trouble, but…

After agonizing over it for a moment, Sieg gave a reluctant nod.

“…Fine… I’ll do it…”

The princess’s teary eyes lit up.

“Really!? Sieg-san! Thank you so much…!”

Seeing the innkeeper also tearing up, Sieg quickly added a condition.

“However! I’m in the middle of a journey. I have no intention of changing my destination. I won’t be accompanying you on your travels, understand? My next stop is—”

“Ecclesia, right!? We were planning to head there as well!”

Sieg groaned at the princess’s words. For a traveling warrior, the holy city of Ecclesia was indeed the logical next destination from here. He let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“That’s right… I will train you for the duration of that journey. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes! Sieg-san… no, Master Sieg! I look forward to learning from you!”

The whole inn offered their congratulations to the beaming princess.

Sieg spoke to her guard, Emma, with a look of sympathy. “…You’ve got a troublesome master.”

Emma replied with a look of resignation. “You’ve got your hands full too, Siggy…”

The two looked at each other and sighed in unison.

After that, Sieg stopped by the blacksmith and picked up his Sacred Silver Sword. It looked perfectly like a normal blade. Sieg praised the work and paid the remaining fee. Incidentally, the apprentice had bet on Sieg, but since the princess had been declared the winner by default, he hadn’t made a fortune. Sieg felt a little guilty about that.

Sieg then bought a carriage and left the commercial city of Treden. Though it wasn’t what he wanted, Princess Cordelia and her guard, Emma, were now accompanying him.

“…Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes, Master Sieg! Come on, Emma.”

“R-Right… let’s go… Master Siggy…”

Glancing back at his troublesome passengers, Sieg took the reins.

They’re not my companions… just temporary travel partners.

Telling himself this, Sieg resumed his journey. His next destination was the holy city of Ecclesia. There was a Blessing there that he wanted to obtain.