I happened to meet again in the Hydra Kingdom this year’s hero, Mitsunaga Seigi, who is an otherworlder just like me.
Surprised to see that Mitsunaga-kun has clearly changed from the last time I saw him, I slowly spoke.
[……It’s been a really long time. Have you been doing well?]
[Yes! Miyama-san seems to be doing well too…… I’ve heard lots of rumors about you, you know?]
[R- Rumors?]
[Yes. I’ve heard a lot of things from Cathy…… Ah, no, from Princess Cattleya, who’s been accompanying me.]
Mitsunaga-kun said that he had heard rumors about me…… Come to think of it, as I recall, the Second Princess of the Symphonia Kingdom is accompanying the group who have the role of Hero, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s exchanging letters with Ryze-san, Amalie-san, or with Orchid.
However, fumu…… Princess Cattleya…… Is Cathy her nickname? It seems like it was as Alice said, they seem to be good friends.
[I heard that you got to know the Six Kings-sama and won in the Sacred Tree Festival……]
[A- Ahaha…… No, it really was just an accident……]
[No, that’s amazing! I haven’t even met one of the Six Kings-sama yet, so I’m feeling envious. They’re the top of the Demon Realm, so they were definitely quite majestic…… They must feel like those last bosses in RPGs, right!?]
[………………..]
I think only Megiddo-san and Magnawell-san can adapt to that kind of impression of yours.
[S- Speaking of which, is Mitsunaga-kun…… come to this city for the pilgrimage of the person who has the role of Hero?]
[Eh? Ah, yes. I came to this city the other day after I finished my tour around the Archlesia Empire.]
[Hehhh…… Do you make speeches or stuff like that?]
[Yes, but even though I say that, I mostly just read the script they give me, and there are only a few instances where I think and speak for myself.]
With a refreshing smile on his face as he speaks, I think Mitsunaga-kun has really brightened up.
No, I don’t know much about how the old Mitsunaga-kun was, but from his expression and the way he spoke, I could tell that this pilgrimage had been a good experience for him.
It wasn’t a great idea to just stand there and talk about stuff, so we decided to move around a little bit and continue the conversation while sitting in a place that seems to be a plaza.
[……Aoi-chan and Hina-chan were also worried about you.]
[Really? I can understand if it was Kusunoki-senpai, but wouldn’t Hina just say that “it would be great if Idiot Seigi gets hurt somewhere”?]
[……Ah, no, that is……]
[She has always hated me even back then, you know…… Well, it certainly was my fault.]
She did say something like that. She said that he was so full of himself when she met him back at the evening party…… Apparently, Hina-chan seems to be very harsh only when it comes to Mitsunaga-kun.
[……Are you two childhood friends?]
[Yes, well, rather than just childhood friends…… We’re “cousins”.]
[Eh? Eeehhh!? R- Really?]
[Yes. I was born in April while Hina was born in March, so she was born a bit earlier than me.]
What a surprise, it seems that Mitsunaga-kun and Hina-chan are cousins.
I don’t feel like they resemble at all, but since they’re male and female, I guess they wouldn’t resemble each other just like some brothers and sisters do.
[……Well, I’ve always been selfish and acting big around my relatives, a no-good person. They hated me to the bone. Moreover, there’s that trope, right? About how they speak all these sorts of things about how they hate you, but deep inside…… Well, my case isn’t like that, they hate me inside too, so they would speak out their hate to me.]
[T- That is, how should I say this……]
[No, I guess it can’t be helped. I don’t really like the person I used to be either.]
[…………………]
Somehow, I think that Mitsunaga-kun was trying to change himself, and that’s why he became the way he is now.
I feel like he encountered a big turning point in this world, just like I did when I met Kuro. That is what I feel.
As I was thinking about this, Mitsunaga-kun looked at the people walking in the plaza with a distant look in his eyes and calmly spoke.
[……Back when I first arrived in this world. I felt as if I was the protagonist of the story. Being in a story about a Hero summoned to another world…… I liked that kind of story too, and thought what it was like being one.]
[……I actually thought so too, because of all the light novels and all the other stuff.]
[Miyama-san too!? Isn’t it great, being summoned to another world! Well, I never thought that I really would be summoned……]
[Unnn.]
Mitsunaga-kun happily laughed when he heard that I had the same hobby.
[In such instances, the Hero would often have a cheat ability, so I wondered if it was the same for me too.]
[That’s right. However, there’s also that pattern of multiple heroes being summoned, and you aren’t chosen as the hero.]
[Right!? Well, I didn’t have the composure to think about it……]
After speaking up to that point, Mitsunaga-kun’s face slightly drops down and a somewhat regretful expression appears on his face, as if he was regretting his past.
[……I really was an idiot. It’s not like I’m a great person, but I ended up thinking that I can do anything and got carried away with my own selfishness…… If there’s a hole somewhere, I feel like I want to bury myself in it.]
[……I would have done the same if our positions are reversed though. I think I may grow impudent from all the politeness I receive. Besides, the fact that you feel that way means that you’re not the same now, right?]
Yes, if I had been in Mitsunaga-kun’s position, I might have also been carried away.
I would think that I am the protagonist of my story, and end up acting all cocky towards others.
[……I’ve never actually been scolded that much. No, on the contrary, I think I’ve rarely had “conversations with my own parents”.]
[……Really?]
[Yes. For my workaholic parents, “I was just a child born out of accident” and isn’t someone they wished for.]
[……………….]
He indifferently said those words, but I could tell that Mitsunaga-kun didn’t think well of his parents.
[It isn’t like they abandoned me though, but they were indifferent to me most of the time. They would give me money for my birthdays or other occasions like that, so that I could buy whatever I wanted…… But they would almost never praise or scold me for my actions.]
[I see……]
[Well, that’s not the only reason, since I think I was also pretty twisted back then.]
[If you say it like that, that means that it’s different now, right?]
This may not be a good memory for Mitsunaga-kun, but at least, he has grown up enough to talk about it as a story of the past.
I think that’s a really admirable thing to do, because that isn’t something easy to do…… And the person who changed such a Mitsunaga-kun must be……
[Yes. When I arrived in this world, as I was getting full of myself…… Princess Cattleya thoroughly scolded me. She punched my nose that was growing long back into my face…… My authority is just something I borrowed, who the heck do I think I am, she said……]
[…………………]
[……I know this may sound weird, but when she scolded me, I felt happy. No one has ever looked at me so straight and straightforwardly scolded me before……]
Mitsunaga-kun described his former self as someone selfish. And now, he felt happy to be scolded…… Perhaps, Mitsunaga-kun was acting selfishly because he wanted someone to look at him and scold him.
Just like me who wishes for someone to save me, he was also stuck in his own shell……
[After that, I tried to change…… Even if I may be acting in self-interest, I want her to recognize me and not want to let her down…… I still have a long way to go, but I still think I can change thanks to Princess Cattleya.]
[……I see.]
Mitsunaga-kun’s expression as he talked about Princess Cattleya was bright and I could tell that he really cared for her.
At the same time though, I remembered that I had heard something before, and although it may be useless, I turned to Mitsunaga-kun and slightly bowed my head.
[Speaking of which, I have to apologize to Mitsunaga-kun……]
[Eh? Apologize?]
[Unnn, I was actually curious about how Mitsunaga-kun was doing before, so I asked one of my acquaintances to look into it…… At that time, ummm, I heard that Mitsunaga–kun had confessed to Princess Cattleya…… I’m really sorry!]
[Eh? Eehhh!? You know about that!? Uwaahhh, I’m feeling embarrassed…… N- No, well, it’s not like it’s wrong for you to know about it.]
When I apologize, Mitsunaga-kun looks surprised before hiding his face in embarrassment.
[……By the way, do you also know the result of my confession?]
[Errr…… Just that you were slapped after you confessed to her.]
[Pfff, ahaha…… That’s kind of pathetic hearing what happened from someone else’s mouth. Well, it’s certainly true but……]
Yes, I know that Mitsunaga-kun confessed his feelings to Princess Cattleya and that he was slapped, but I didn’t know the results in detail.
When I only heard that story, I thought that the fact that he was slapped means he was dumped, but looking at it now, it doesn’t feel like he was dumped.
[……Ahh, by the way, the reply to my confession was still pending.]
[Pending?]
Thereupon, perhaps sensing my doubts, Mitsunaga-kun gave me a gentle smile and told me the result of his confession.
[Yes, I was certainly slapped when I confessed to her. And then, she told me “Stop trying to depend on me! You still don’t have any confidence in yourself! I will never accept the confession from someone…… whose only desire is to rely on others!”]
[……E- Errr……]
[But afterwards, she said “However, I am very happy for your thoughts. But for this reason, I must make sure that I won’t hinder your growth. That’s why, first of all, show me that you’ve decided to do your best, and that you’ve done your part as the one who holds the role of Hero.”.]
[I guess that could be considered as a favorable response, right?]
[Yes…… Also, she told me “If you’ve made it to the end, if you’re confident in yourself, and if you still feel the same way to me…… Let me hear you say that again. When you do, I promise to stand beside you, even if it means giving up my position as royalty.”…… She looked really shy when she said those words to me.]
Mitsunaga-kun seemed very happy as he said this, and I could tell that he and Princess Cattleya still had a good relationship with each other.
[After that, Princess Cattleya immediately sent a letter of inquiry to the King of Symphonia…… and the King of Symphonia agreed to it.]
[Is that so…… Congratulations.]
[Thank you…… Though it’s still too early for that. And thus, my immediate goal is to become a man worthy of standing next to Princess Cattleya!]
Clasping his hands tightly, Mitsunaga-kun’s face is filled with motivation.
I could see a definite strength and determination in his eyes, and I understood that these were the factors that changed him more than anything else.
Dear Mom, Dad———- When we met again, Mitsunaga-kun became a good young man, filled with cheerfulness and motivation. To bring a really great change to Mitsunaga-kun, Princess Cattleya——- What kind of person is she?
<Afterword>
Senior-senpai: [ It isn’t…… Sweet? ]
This is one of those precious sugarless chapters.
T/N: Uhh… As stated by a reader, there’s an error in translation in Chapter 143. It wasn’t Lilia who slapped Seigi-kun, but the second princess, who had been taught by Lilia-san her way of slapping. I’m sorry about that. Might happen again, but I’ll keep on trying so that it won’t happen again.
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