Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru Chapter 114

   I'm so glad I didn't give up on them.

   I told myself as I looked on at the restless faces of the Kua.

   Despite the fact that the Chief was the one who had orchestrated the Goddess plan himself, he still seemed guilty about the whole affair. When I refused to carry out the original plan and followed my own heart, my legs instantly froze.
   But if I had stuck with pretending to be their Goddess, I would've missed out on the expressions they have on their faces right now.

   It wasn't the joy of following the Goddess that moved them to work, but rather their pride as doctors—to save as many people as they could—was what motivated them to keep running around so tirelessly.
   Multiple honey-coloured eyes that once held shades of hopelessness and despair now carried flames of determination. When I saw them like this, I was really glad I hadn't trampled over their pride.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

   At the Chief's call, I was pulled back to reality.
   While everyone else was busy, I was ashamed that I had lost myself in thought, but the Chief didn't mind.

“Considering the distance and time required of this journey, I've decided to have the young'uns follow you. I've a list of more than thirty names. The rest of us will stock medicine, food, and equipment needed for several days' worth.”

“Thank you very much.”

“I'll be staying behind in case we need more medicine. I have also assigned Wolf to lead your party.”

“I understand.”

   It's a shame the Chief himself couldn't come, but it was reassuring to have Wolf by my side. Of course, I have my utmost confidence in his skills, but it's nice to have the mental support as well.

“Speaking of time restraints, the preparations won't take very long… The real problem, however, is how to get there.”

   The Chief said so and called for Wolf who was busy working the lines in the distance. Wolf gave his luggage to a man next to him and came rushing over.

“What is it? Can't you see that I'm busy?”

“You will go ahead and ready a carriage in the village at the foot of the mountain.”

“I was thinking of going there… but that small village doesn't have any big carriages we can use, you know?”

   Wolf wrinkled his brow and rubbed his chin in deep thought.

   I didn't know what the size of this village was, but it was safe to assume there didn't exist any large transportation we could use from such a small fishing village. However, compared to a party of thirty people moving on foot, a small carriage or two would still be faster.

“I guess. I didn't expect much in the first place, but this is urgent. Ready as many horses and carriages as you need, and put whoever's ready to go on them.”

   Perhaps there is no other choice but to move independently from each other.
   Although, if we do that, it'll be hard to group up later.
   The goal was to meet in a border town of Wind, but in a world with no phones, I doubt we'll be able to rendezvous properly. What would we do if we had to change the meeting location? Or if some trouble comes up? How can we coordinate ourselves accordingly in those situations?

   It's not like we can rely on something as slow as a letter either…
   Thinking up to this point, I suddenly remembered a rare existence that breathed letters on a daily basis.

“Can I help?”

   Did you read my thoughts just to come out at the right time? The timing of the voice was so perfect that I doubted my hearing.

   As if he was doing nothing out of the ordinary, the man came out of a building's shadow and greeted me naturally. When I saw him raised his hand slightly and said ‘Yo,' my eyes were wide open along with my mouth.

   With a relaxed demeanour unfitting of a spy, I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he walked towards us.
   Normally, a spy wouldn't be revealing himself like this, right!? In fact, don't they usually try to be more stealthy!?

“Eh, wai-, what!?”

“Ahaha, the princess' face is quite interesting right now.”

   And whose fault is that!?

“Well, I'm sorry! I didn't expect you of all people to be spattering about the village in broad daylight!”

"To be honest, I did hide myself up until a moment ago. I just think it's not necessary anymore.”

   ‘Right?' Crowe nodded towards the Chief.
   The Chief simply made a bitter face and sighed.

“I didn't think there would be anyone else out there looking out for the princess… It's kind of embarrassing that I didn't notice him earlier. But as the man said, there's no need to hide from us any longer because we've already agreed to lend you our strength.”

“See?”

  ‘See?' my ass!!
   And wipe that grin off your face!     

   Seeing the Chief's tiring expression, I would like to apologise for the spies of my country from the bottom of my heart.

“Now, now, princess. If you make a face like that, you'll ruin your beauty, you know?”

“And whose fault do you think that is?"

   For some reason, Crowe seemed happy to laugh and poke at my forehead for the next minute. When I finally pushed his hand away and glared back at him, he returned fake puppy eyes and deliberately pressed his hands against his chest.

“Princess, you're so cold. After all the arrangements I've made for you too…”

“…What?”

   Arrangements?
   At those unexpected words, I looked back at Crowe, dumbfounded. When I met his gaze with my own, his wine-coloured eyes narrowed.

“Surprised you, didn't I?”

   I just nodded back.
   He prepared arrangements, meaning that he made a move for me. While he wasn't an enemy, he still wasn't an ally in my book.
   My father only sent Crowe to take care of me for the time being and he was strictly forbidden to do anything more than that. But even knowing that fact full well, Crowe still helped me.

“It was unexpected for me too.”

   Crowe said with his hands now behind his head.

“Whatever you do or whatever you want is none of my business. My job is only to make sure that you're not in harm's way and help you return home safely. Any more than that is out of my hands.”

“Then why?”

“The current situation looked interesting.”

   Crowe blankly replied like it was nothing.
   What an absurd remark, I thought, but I didn't find it unpleasant. Was it because Crowe was joyfully laughing his heart out right now, I wonder?

   I've never witnessed a mischievous face like that from him, not even in the game.

‘I can't be asked,' ‘What a pain,' and ‘Do it yourself.' That's what the character, Crowe, would repeat time and time again. His default look and behaviour just oozed laziness, and he had a peculiar way of approaching things. Even when he was interested in something, he would only stare at it from afar and never acted out of line. It was to the point where even after he and the heroine grew closer, his behavior never changed, not by a single bit.

   So many questions popped up in my head, but right now, I think I'm grateful.

“I don't know what you meant by interesting, but does that mean you've got some sort of transportation ready for us?”

“Of course… Although, I just contacted the Eigel family's young master about it. The talented boy and his little friends should've prepared carriages and everything else for us by now.”

   Are you saying Georg and the others are also doing their best?
   How reassuring! With the power of the Eigel house and Master Julius's personal connections, as well as Georg's negotiation skills to top it off, they'll surely make it in time!

“Happy?”

“Yes. Thank you, Crowe.”

   When I nodded with a smile, Crowe muttered a small ‘Is that so' reply in return. Though, the fact that he sounded happy was probably my imagination.

TN: More harem members! More!

EN: Gay capture target—Get! We all know Crowe's that not-so-hidden spy reading a newspaper on the bench, but not because he's actually a shitty spy, because he doesn't want to bother coming up with a clever disguise. He's my spirit animal. Also, have a shittily edited Bane!Crowe because Nev requested for it.

Discord: 

Chapter end