“Phian… se…”
“Really… truly… guh… I, I’m so… sorry…”
He had known Phianse for more than a decade, but for the first time, she apologized.
“S, stop…why… are you like that…”
“I’m so, sorry… Earth…… uh…”
“Eh, me too!”
That’s why that single “I’m sorry” resonated so heavily with me.
“…… Me too…”
My mouth was naturally moving too.
I was sorry, too.
But what was I sorry for?
What am I trying to apologize for?
For not noticing Phianse’s feelings?
For not living up to her expectations?
For making her cry?
I can’t figure out what I need to apologize for. But when I look at Phianse now, was it all my fault, and she’s just a poor victim?
I don’t think so.
And the answer came naturally.
“I… maybe I was only thinking about myself…”
That’s what I thought.
If Phianse was acting with everything in mind for her own convenience, then I was only thinking about myself, and I was covering my ears thinking that all the voices around me were irritating noise.
“That’s why… I was also… wrong… I’m sorry.”
“…… Earth…”
I’ve apologized to Phianse several times before.
But that apology…
―― As you are now, won’t you be a disappointment to your father, the hero, Earth?
―― I, I lack, the dignity, princess…
It was a frivolous thing, nothing heartfelt about it.
So, in that sense, it might have been my first time too.
“No, I’m the one…”
“No, no, I… certainly responded to you with condescending sarcasm…”
“That’s because I was nagging you without knowing how you feel…”
“Well, if it was just how you felt about me… I’m sorry I didn’t notice anything about it… that I couldn’t live up to your expectations…”
“D, don’t say that! Me and everyone just forced it on you!”
I apologize to Phianse because I felt I was at fault.
That said, my apology made Phianse flustered.
“Besides, I didn’t just do things that were convenient for me… um…… I also said various things to keep the girls in class from falling in love with you… I really did something awful! I’m sorry!”
“No, no, that’s …… not a big …… deal, huh?”
In response to my apology, Phianse was like, “No, I’m the one who’s at fault,” and I was like, “No, I am too,” and we apologized again, only this time I couldn’t help but respond.
“No…. no, no…”
“Earth?”
“It’s… certainly…… that’s right…”
“…… Huh?”
I remembered. Speaking of which, it was like that every single time.
“No, look… that’s what people around me were always like, ‘Are you still the son of a hero?’. But sometimes you would be there? The girls in class would…”
So, for example…
――But… the princess is really impressive, but…… Earth is pretty strong, too.
――Yes, he’s a little withdrawn, but looks a bit wild and cool….
――His household is wealthy, too…
The girls in class reacted with a pulse. They were blushing and praising me.
Even though I was only interested in Sadiz, I was honestly happy and embarrassed.
I couldn’t beat the princess, but I was second in my grade, which means I’m an honor student in my class.
On top of that, I have a good family background, so normally girls wouldn’t leave them alone.
But…
――There seems to be a little misunderstanding. Certainly, he is talented, his face may not be bad, and he comes from a wealthy family. But, he also has a twisted side too. His character is considerably demonic, and tends to be disobedient at times. Also, more than anything, when I was a child, he rudely peeked at my underwear, and he still hides smutty books in his room. The other day, I heard from his maid that he had hidden a double-bottomed drawer and even set up a magic trap to hide them. No, that isn’t good for the boys of his age, but he’s hiding something obscene. His appearance itself isn’t bad, but the eyes are pretty bad, no, I don’t think it’s wild and masculine, it’s just bad. His family is also wealthy, and his parents are two respectable heroes. However, his upbringing is too lenient, and he was spoiled growing up. You don’t want that, do you? No, but it’s not that he’s not working hard. He studies and trains very hard just so he can beat me. While he seems to not care about losing, I have witnessed his figure working hard in shadows without anyone noticing, still, th-that is, yes. He has no delicacy towards girls. Yes, that’s why you should definitely stop aiming for him.
She talked so fast and blurted out a lot of bad things about me to the girls.
And when the girls heard that, they were smiling…
――Ufufufu, oh we understand, princess.
――Among us… No, I don’t think any girl in the Imperial city is aiming to be Earth’s girlfriend.
――Right~♪
And that being said, I didn’t have many sweet and sour memories of the Academy.
“That’s right, no matter how you think about it, that’s terrible! No one would accept me… and in the midst of all that twisting and turning, you ragged on me in a rage to all the girls who might have maybe liked me!”
“Ah, uh, uh, that’s…”
“Yeah! I’m getting pissed off all over again just remembering that! If I could have even one good memory at the Academy, maybe something would have changed!”
“Th, that’s because I’m glad when Earth is praised, but… when Earth becomes popular, or when a girl other than me was wooing Earth… I, I didn’t like it…”
“Nuwha, h, how selfish! Even with such a despondent expression, that is terrible!”
“Uh, uh, uh, I, I’m really sorry. It, it’s not something that can be forgiven by apologizing, but… really the worst thing you can do as a person… huh? But didn’t you just say that you only had eyes for Sadiz at the time?!”
“That’s that! This is this!”
“Nuwha?! What is that nonsense way of thinking! In other words, you want to get along with other girls even though you have someone you love, or something like that!”
“I won’t go that far, but no, but who knows what would happen…”
“Yoooouuu, you didn’t notice my feelings in the slightest! No, it’s my fault for not telling you, but… But! I’m awful, but is that even an option?!”
“No, I’m only human! Even if they’re not my type, when a girl seeks your attention… it feels good! Even though they were making so much noise about Rebal and Fu, I’m the only one left out!”
“Wha, what is that! It’s a bit pathetic!”
Somehow, after emotionally cursing at each other a while ago, she apologized for her shenanigans… then again, we argued.
But I wonder why…
“Ge, generally speaking, it seems you’re a perv to begin with, even if you’re not! And the genre of books you had was dangerous! [The Magic School Panties Collection], [I Made a Warrior Candidate Say ‘Kuh, Kill Me’], or [Seduced at the Graduation Ceremony, The Magical Mirror Carriage], and so on, that depicted students in uniforms like ours in an obscene manner!”
“Ouna gave those to me as a token of friendship after transferring schools… until then we never interacted?! I’m telling you, I didn’t choose to collect any of them!”
“But you must have read them! Because the books had creases!”
“I receive it, I’ll look at it! Of course I read them!”
“Why are you saying that so arrogantly?!”
“That’s what men do! I mean, who are you to talk when you stole erotica from someone’s room without permission! What’s the matter with you?!”
“What~!?”
“What?!”
The heavy atmosphere of before is gone…
“”Fu~, fu~, fu~……………… puh…””
Even though we bared our teeth, glared at each other and yelled at each other…
“Pupu, really… already…… hehe… really, Earth…”
“Kuhaha… jeez, give me a break, Phianse is…”
That? I wonder why.
We……
“Fu… aha.”
“Kuhahahaha.”
We’re laughing.
“Fufu…why… I… sooner…”
“Huh?”
“Why couldn’t I have exposed …… everything more like this… even my unseemly jealousy… I need you to see that ugly part as well… if you don’t accept my true self, it wouldn’t mean anything…”
Phianse smiled and fell on her back on the clouds.
I sat down next to her and laughed as I watched Phianse smile like a girl of her age.
“That’s right… we’ve been together for over a decade… there are things that you can’t understand just by being together… after all, I didn’t know what to put into words, I misunderstood things… whether it’s a childhood friend…… or a parent-child relationship.”
“…… Hmm…”
“In that sense, Coman is the same.”
“…… Oh.”
Nodding at Phianse’s words, a slightly somber air flowed through us.
And Phianse…
“Earth… won’t you go back to the Imperial City? No excuses, no explanation, no matter what…”
“No excuses, no explanation, no matter what, because I have no regrets about my actions and the power I used, the power I acquired.”
“Come to think of it… that’s right. About that… would you tell me?”
“Hmm… Hmm~…”
Phianse’s question turned to ‘that moment’.
That was when I used the Great Magic Spiral in the Imperial match.
But, was this a good time to say it? Phianse laughed bitterly at my hesitation…
“I see. Then, not now.”
“…… Huh?”
“I’m not going to ignore your feelings and ask you to talk about something difficult. Just let me know when you can talk.”
Phianse saw my hesitation and pulled away.
It was a bit surprising. In the first place, she must have chased me to find out about it.
But apart from that…
“By the way, Kron and Shinobu… do they know?”
“No. They don’t.”
“I see, um… then…”
She didn’t ask about the truth. Instead, she was checking to see if there were others who knew the truth.
And Kron and Shinobu didn’t know. At that moment, it seemed that Phianse clenched his fists slightly, but immediately peeked into my face…
“So, does Sadiz know?”
“Yeah. I told Sadiz.”
“Nu, mu… uh, I see.”
I nodded sharply at the question.
Phianse pouted a little, but quickly exhaled and laughed again.
“Earth, I’m weaker than Sadiz right now.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. Rebal and Fu are still no match for Sadiz.”
“Yeah, and… I… I’ve never lost to you, but now I don’t feel like I can beat you. And now I feel like you’re stronger than Sadiz…”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve never fought Sadiz in a fight, and I’m sure we have some chemistry…”
“Well, that’s good… that’s how it is.”
“?”
“That’s just how much difference there is between you and me.”
I mean, I don’t have to fight Sadiz like I did with Paripi and Jamdi’el.
But that’s not what the princess was trying to say…
“I am still inexperienced. I still have to improve myself. There are things I need to do before declaring that I will bring you back or marry you, or anything like that. I, too, know only a small world, and I didn’t realize that I was a frog in a well.”
“Phianse…”
In a strong, determined tone, Phianse told me. Then she stood up and stared at the end of the endless sky…
“It’s time to start from scratch. I won’t lose to you, who wants to go out into the world and live freely…as a princess, as a warrior, as a woman… I… I will aim higher. Right now, from this moment.”
“I see.”
“Oh, so… you can do as you please. I can’t catch you as I am now.”
Without any hesitation, I nodded back at her straight eyes and smiled, which was refreshing.
And…..
“Earth, I don’t need a farewell hug right now. No kissing, no intercourse.”
“Hey, who would do that?!”
“Fufufufu, but… instead…”
The princess held out her right hand to me…
“Would you mind shaking hands with me?”
Farewell? Reunion? Friendship? Or an oath? It could mean a lot of things, but…
“Yeah, I’ll do my best. You do your best too.”
“Hmm.”
At least today, we can go back to being childhood friends, and while feeling like we’ve become true friends again, I shook the hand that was offered to me.
Author’s Note
I really appreciate your kindness. I didn’t update yesterday because it was Friday the 13th and it was bad luck.
With the feedback I’ve received over the past few days, I’m glad that we’ve finally gotten the opinion of the Princess Flame Flash faction. Until now, I had not been able to bring Princess Ferguson to the forefront, but in fact, with the default setting that I can say now, Princess Phan Feihong was really going to be the first heroine.
As I mentioned at some point before, the story itself was originally planned to end with the first arc. As an initial setting flow that can be said now, in the middle of the Imperial Match, invaders from outer space appeared and the father defended his son and the people, saying, “I will protect my family even if I die” and was taken away as it is. Then, the awakened son and his friends said, “Dad, I’ll save you!” and Dad was like “You’ve become so strong”, and with the spiral powered up by the father’s magic power… no, he defeated the enemy with a Super Magic Spiral and somehow won. What happened to Earth, who realized the princess’s feelings in the middle of the battle? That was the initial setting for this story.
However, the story received an unexpectedly strong response and was published in book form, so we were forced to change the schedule because we could no longer finish the story.
So I was frustrated that I had changed my plans and was only able to treat Princess Fingerflare Bombs unfavorably when she was actually a candidate for the first heroine. However, for better or worse, I was finally able to spotlight her, and now I am filled with the feeling that “I am finally ready to start again”.
Please don’t hate me, from now on… please keep an eye on Princess Phianse from now on!!
And today, the second volume of the book is finally on sale. At the timing of the release of the second volume, I feel “Oh” that the main story has arrived at the current situation in this way.
By the way, the book includes… Shinobu’s belly button… Bro with his hat off… ohohoho.
If we make it to Volume 3, we will be able to introduce the critically acclaimed “Goddess”, but to be honest, at the moment it is undecided. This is a world of merit competition, so I hope it will continue.