This round will be from Kyoka’s perspective.
Please be advised.
Despite my reluctance, I have advanced to the semi-finals.
As for me, I wish to return to guarding the Princess as soon as possible…
It’s already the final day of the tournament.
Is the Princess’s guard being carried out flawlessly and perfectly?
Oh, I’m worried!
However, as Katia-dono said, if I hold back in the match, there’s a risk of Lord Spike finding out.
That person’s discerning eye is the real deal.
Even so, how pathetic are the martial artists of our country.
I’m not saying they should win against me, but I wish they’d put up a bit more of a fight.
And in the semi-final ring… she was there.
“Alright, finally the semi-finals! In the east ring, you know who it is… the Crimson Magic Swordsman, B-rank soldier Katia Myers!”
Cheers loud enough to make me want to cover my ears erupted from the stands.
The person herself seemed completely unfazed by such cheers, and that, again, displeased me. It’s true that her beauty is enough to explain her popularity, but I think she’s strangely too calm for her age.
Though, that’s a minor point compared to the main reason I dislike her.
“Opposing her in the west is a member of the Royal Guard, A-rank soldier, and Princess Lily’s bodyguard! Known as the Iron Woman, Kyoka!”
I knew I was being called “Iron Woman” behind my back.
But if it means I can protect the Princess, I will gladly accept any derogatory name.
“Including the finals, there are three matches left… Who will be the last one standing among the four? The match begins!”
The signal for the match to begin rang out, and I glared at her, Katia-dono with my mace and greatshield at the ready.
In response, she held her black sword with both hands.
A wise decision.
Whether I strike with my mace or my shield, parrying with that short sword would be impossible. In that case, focusing on a single strike and moving is what you’d call a standard strategy.
“Katia-dono, I dislike you.”
How strange.
Is there a need to say such a thing now?
But my tongue, once it started, wouldn’t stop.
While shuffling my feet to gauge the distance, I uttered those words.
“…May I ask for the reason?”
Katia-dono showed no disturbance at all to my malicious words.
Or perhaps she thinks I’m of no consequence?
“From the first time we met, I knew. Katia-dono, that you hold someone precious you wish to protect, just like me.”
Something like the same scent as myself.
If she were of the same kind, it would normally be pleasant, but she is no good.
“And then I realized. Can someone who already possesses irreplaceable precious people truly prioritize the Princess and guard her? That was my doubt.”
“…That is…”
“Of course not! That’s why I—”
I raised my mace and entered her range.
I’ve heard she possesses an extreme-grade aura.
Assuming it wouldn’t be an instant kill, I aimed for her head without hesitation and swung—!
“!”
However, a high-speed slash deflected my mace and aimed horizontally at my torso.
My shield!
“Hmph, you’re quite capable, Katia-dono.”
Even through the greatshield, the impact traveled all the way to my arm.
An extraordinary skill, power true to the rumors.
But it’s only this much.
“…Is it wrong to have many precious people, Kyoka-san?”
It sounded as if words filled with resolve, as if she had something in her heart she was determined to achieve, resonated.
However, their content did not resonate with me.
“…What are you talking about? Are you saying you can protect all of them? You?”
“I wouldn’t say that. However, I’ve had two precious people since I came to this world.”
This world? What does she mean?
“It’s true that I haven’t known the Princess for long. Even if I were to say she’s more precious than those two, it would only be a lie. But…”
“…”
“Now, even towards the Princess, I wish to cooperate if my humble talent can be of use.”
“…! With such resolve, can you truly protect the Princess?!”
It’s hopeless, she’s no good after all!
By winning here and now, I shall remove her from the Princess’s side!
I brought my mace down—
“It’s not just the Princess. What my grandfather protected… if I can, I want to protect all of it, that’s my honest feeling. The capital, the country too.”
However, it was easily parried by her sword.
I gripped my mace again and struck once more.
“Such things are not for a mere soldier to consider! You should leave everything to the Princess!”
“…You are…”
However, the result was the same.
And then she, Katia-dono, suddenly made a face as if she had lost interest in me.
As if she were looking at a roadside stone—
“…Why do you look at me with such eyes!?”
“Whether one can protect something or not is, unfortunately, only determined by the outcome. Whether you can only protect one person, or something much larger. Or perhaps you’ll end up unable to protect even yourself. Such things are only known at the very end.”
? Her expression when she said “even herself”…
It carried a resonance that felt like my chest was being squeezed.
As if feeling an inexplicable weight.
“Is it truly the Princess you wish to protect?”
“—Of course! Without the Princess, this country…”
Katia-dono quietly shook her head.
What on earth are you trying to say?
I don’t understand.
“To me… it looks like what you’re desperately protecting is your own heart. As if to avoid getting hurt, hugging your knees…”
—!
The scene from that day resurfaced.
That day when a precious friend was trampled by violence, tormented, and sank into despair.
I could only watch, trembling.
Unable to call for help, unable to intervene, just…
…My heart ached.
I regretted countless times that I should have gone to help, without fearing my own body getting hurt.
That’s why, no matter how painful it was, I trained and trained and trained…
Compared to the pain in my heart, no training was difficult.
So that I would never regret it again, I honed my body.
And then, I was selected to be the Princess’s bodyguard.
“Are you denying me?! What’s wrong with it?! What’s wrong with trying to protect my homeland’s Princess?!”
While getting hurt in someone else’s stead, there’s a definite sense of fulfillment.
I don’t have to remember that pain in my heart!
“Do you know the Princess’s favorite foods, colors, or clothes?”
“Huh?”
“The Princess may seem expressionless, but her inner world is lively. Her speaking pace is slow, but… if you wait patiently, she’ll tell you many things. She also has many unconventional aspects, befitting a princess, but…”
“What does any of that have to do with what we’re talking about now?! What my charge thinks has nothing to do with me—”
“Don’t you understand? You’re saying the same thing as this: ‘As long as the Princess’s body is safe, it doesn’t matter what happens.’ That it doesn’t matter if her heart gets sick or she becomes withdrawn! That there’s no need to protect her heart!”
“!”
“Do you think someone who is so busy protecting their own heart can truly protect anyone?! …Stop relying on the Princess already!”
“Shut up!”
I swung my mace and greatshield wildly.
I received multiple counter-attacks on my body, which seemed to have more openings, but… such pain is nothing!
Ignoring the pain in my body, I went in to strike!
“Ahahahahaha! It hurts, it hurts! But as long as my heart doesn’t hurt, I can do it again and again—”
“Is that truly so? That you have no affection for the Princess?”
—Princess?
Indeed, as she said, I know almost nothing about the Princess.
What she thinks, what she likes, why she keeps someone like me by her side for so long.
Even after being together for three years, I don’t know… I DON’T KNOW anything.
It hurts.
My heart, IT HURTS—
“If you don’t know, you should ask. If she doesn’t talk, it’s fine to just stay by her side. Did you… do even a little of that?”
Along with her words, the black, beautiful sword flashed.
With that, I lost consciousness.
My right hand was enveloped in a warm embrace.
When I opened my eyes, I seemed to be on a bed in the arena’s infirmary.
The one holding my right hand was… the Princess.
I suppose I must ask.
The reason why she keeps me by her side.
And what I should do from now on.
However—
“…Princess… I’m so, so sorry…!”
All that came out of me were tears and words of apology.
I hate… the weakness of my own heart.
“…Kyoka.”
The Princess called my name.
As Katia-dono had said, I patiently waited for her next words.
“…I cannot be a substitute for Kyoka’s friend… nor do I intend to be. But…”
Ah, so that was it.
I had been deluding myself into thinking I was atoning for that precious child by seeing the Princess as a substitute and protecting her…
And the wise Princess had seen through it.
How shallow I am.
And how foolish…
“…Someone who knows the pain of the heart is surely someone who can be kind to others… That’s why, I believe in you.”
“…Princess…!”
Beyond that, the Princess said no more.
Only that she believed in me.
…I want to become strong.
Not just my body, but my heart too.
To become a knight who can save not only someone’s life but also their heart, someday—.