CHAPTER 53…..
. Love and Duel!
In my previous life, I was an avid reader of Light Shadow Tale and really liked Maria, the original story’s heroine.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to have that kind of relationship with Maria!
Contrary to my true feelings, in the [Scenario Preview] scene, I was holding hands tightly with Maria, laughing gleefully as we ran through a flower field.
After that, colorful heart patterns shimmered beautifully.
And inside the hearts, Maria and I gazed deeply into each other’s eyes…
At the next scene, I panicked and quickly closed the scenario preview window.
“Th-that’s wrong! Right, Piya?”
I hurriedly grabbed Piya and shook her.
Pyu-eeet?
—Wrong, you say?
Piya tilted her head.
“No, I’m a woman, and Maria is a woman, so why would I share true love with Maria?”
Pyu-reet? Pee-eet!
—Yes, that’s right. Saint Maria is a character who experiences true love with the player!
Pyu-ru-ru-ru! Pyu-reet!
—Finally, true fate has appeared to you, Lulu! Not that crazy Anselot, but true love has come!
Listening to Piya chatter excitedly, I felt despair.
Well, I am the player, but still…!
Why does the system get to decide what true love is on its own!
From the start, regardless of gender, I had no intention of dealing with love or anything like that!
“Is this an error caused by me taking Hezen’s place?”
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
“No, there must be some other way to handle this. As long as I meet the quest clear conditions, I can complete it somehow.”
I tried to calm myself by thinking that way.
[SYSTEM] Quest Arrival!
[Main Quest: Love and Duel! (1/3)]
The kingdom of love and passion, Luenhart! Your fate awaits here.
They say even brushing sleeves is fate—rescue the saint of Luenhart, Maria, from danger and build her favorability.
▷ Clear conditions: Rescue from danger (3 times)
▶ Success rewards: +25,000 EXP, +10 Skill Points, ’s Favorability MAX
The reward includes maxing out Maria’s favorability…
The entire universe is rooting for love with Maria…
I coldly scanned the quest notification window.
In the original Light Shadow Tale, the chapter where Maria, Hezen’s third companion and lover, appeared was also called Love and Duel.
In the original, Hezen happened to save Maria when she was in danger. This happened three times, and love gradually blossomed.
“Do I have to follow these details exactly?”
Even if this game was a mess, they seemed to have tried to stay somewhat faithful to the original.
“And the moment when the original Hezen and Maria’s hearts connected was exactly when…”
A prince from a small kingdom who coveted Maria tried to seize her by force, and Hezen fought a duel with the prince.
“Right, that was the story.”
Having read the original thoroughly, I even remembered the prince’s name.
Prince Arno, the first prince of Luenhart.
So he was a nephew to Anselot, the king’s youngest brother.
Since I might run into him too, I thought I should take the chance to ask Anselot about it.
The group, having finished their various errands separately, gradually started returning one by one.
The thrifty Klaus handed me some gold coins he earned by selling parts of monsters he had defeated on the way here.
“I sold the byproducts, Your Highness.”
“Thanks, Sir.”
Klaus divided the coins he got from selling the byproducts with exact precision, so my inventory’s gold steadily increased.
“Not bad at all.”
Though it was much less than the maintenance allowance I used to get as a princess, it felt good to have earned this money by my own effort.
“Lulu, a gift!”
Irey, who had wandered off alone for once, came back holding a ring set with large gemstones.
“Oh my, how pretty. Did you go out alone just to buy me a gift, Irey?”
“Yep! It’s for you, Lulu!”
Irey nodded eagerly as she answered.
Until we left the forest, Irey barely spoke, but now she was gradually talking and showing more emotion.
And now she even brought me a present herself.
“Thank you so much.”
I smiled brightly and patted Irey’s head, proud of her change.
“There you are, you ring thief!”
A large, rough-looking man ran toward us.
“What’s the matter?”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Klaus stepped forward to block the man.
“Are you with that group?”
The man pointed at Irey.
“Yes, but—”
“That kid stole a ring from our shop and ran off.”
I was shocked and turned to Irey.
“Irey, did you take it without paying?”
“?”
I asked cautiously, and Irey tilted her head in confusion.
Looking into Irey’s pocket, I saw the gold coins Klaus had given her were still there.
Because she had lived only in the forest for a long time, she didn’t understand paying and just took what she liked.
“Sorry. The child didn’t know and caused trouble. We’ll pay for it.”
“Five times.”
The man spread all five fingers of his hand.
“What?”
“You have to compensate for my mental damages. If you don’t pay five times the amount, I’ll report you to the city guard.”
He glanced at my clothes.
He seemed to be checking if I could pay that much.
“Five times is too much, isn’t it?”
Klaus raised his voice indignantly.
“Take it or leave it.”
The man sneered.
“You look like a well-off adventurer. Wouldn’t it be a pain if you got reported to the guards?”
Klaus shut his mouth tightly.
For adventurers traveling between countries, reputation was everything.
If reported to the guards, entry and exit could be restricted regardless of fault.
I thought it best to just pay the five times and send him off before things got troublesome.
“What’s this?”
Anselot appeared, tilting his head.
“Oh, Anselot. Well…”
I started explaining the situation roughly.
“Anselot…?”
The man’s eyes went wide as he stared at Anselot.
“Silver-white hair and red eyes… Ugh!”
A strange groan came from the man’s mouth.
“P-Prince… Heh! No, Your Highness Prince Anselot!”
He bowed sharply.
Anselot frowned with an unpleasant expression.
“Ugh!”
At that small change, the man went pale as if about to collapse.
“I’m sorry! I truly apologize! I didn’t know you were with the prince!”
“Please forget what just happened!”
“Wait, the ring payment—”
“Just go!”
The man fled at once, as if afraid I would stop him.
It all happened so fast, I thought I was dreaming with my eyes open.
“Wow…”
A short sigh slipped from my lips.
I looked at Anselot, genuinely amazed.
“Anselot, you’re a huge celebrity.”
“Yes, a little.”
Anselot smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.
It was a completely different harmless expression from when he frowned fiercely at that man.
“That wasn’t a compliment, though…”
“Well, it depends on how you take it.”
I muttered reluctantly, and Anselot’s smile deepened.
Klaus, silently watching, added a word.
“He has a positively admirable attitude.”
I silently agreed with Klaus and crouched down to Irey.
“Are you okay, Irey? You were pretty scared, huh?”
“…”
Irey glanced at me instead of answering.
I worried she might be feeling awkward.
“Sorry, I should have explained earlier.”
I had forgotten that Irey was ignorant about relationships with others. It was my fault.
I explained to Irey that when she wanted something, she needed to pay with gold coins.
“Gold coins?”
“The ones Klaus gave you.”
Irey showed the coins from her pocket.
“Yes, you buy what you want with these. Smart girl.”
I praised her by patting her head, and her expression softened a bit.
“If everyone’s done, let’s move. I’ll bring the horses.”
After finishing errands, we planned to go to the palace.
While waiting for Klaus to bring the horses tied at the city entrance, I tried to start a conversation with Anselot.
“Hey, Anselot. About Prince Arno.”
“Arno?”
Anselot tilted his head as if hearing the name for the first time.
“Isn’t he your nephew?”
“…Ah.”
Anselot let out a delayed sigh.
“Well, yes. Why?”
He acted like he had forgotten someone by that name and just recalled.
“Are they not on good terms?”
I wondered for a moment, but then realized it would be strange if Anselot got along well with anyone.
Given his personality, the fact that he respectfully called me ‘Princess’ was surprising enough.
“No, just curious about the guy.”
At my answer, Anselot narrowed his eyes at me.
“Wow. Thinking about another man instead of me? I’m hurt.”
“What are you talking about? If anyone heard that, they’d think you and I…”
Thunk.
Avoiding his gaze, I backed up slowly but bumped into a woman passing by.
Thud, thud.
The books she was carrying spilled onto the floor.
“Oh.”
“Oh my.”
We looked at each other simultaneously.
She was an incredible beauty with mysterious dark blue hair and fresh green eyes.
Gasp!
I inhaled sharply.
It wasn’t just because she was incredibly beautiful.
It’s Maria!
And the moment I realized that—
[SYSTEM] Automatically switching to strategy mode to proceed with the quest.
The system switched to strategy mode on its own.
