Chapter 4

As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

The sleeve peeking out from the coat—something only those of noble birth would wear. Seeing it, one would immediately know her true identity, but she must not have been able to procure commoner's clothes along with the coat. She must have endured great hardship to get here.

I pretended to hand the paper with the order to the Demon King and relayed the questions to the self-proclaimed maid. The Demon King pretended to read it, then served me a snack before starting the questions.

"First question. What are the specific reasons why Princess Manarina wishes to break the engagement?"

"... Without her knowledge, the king decided on the engagement, and she has only spoken to the man once. Even knowing it is her duty, it is not desirable to marry a man she hardly knows."

"Indeed... I, too, have tried to converse as much as possible with the person chosen for me and have worked to deepen mutual understanding."

I wanted to ask what kind of conversation this was, but I held back. The Demon King winked at me, but that only made things worse.

"... Is it not because she wants to talk to someone she can talk to for hours? Duke Vinsbruck praises women's appearances but shows no interest in their inner qualities. Moreover, he cares only about what the king, her father, thinks, not about Princess Manarina. That is why, even when talking to him, her heart is not drawn. He also compares her to other women he has acquired, without any ill intent..."

From the perspective of the royal family and the nobility, this might be seen as the princess being selfish. The king, as the supreme ruler, always keeps his position in mind and does not see his daughter as an individual—this pain the princess feels is considered disrespectful to the king. Those who hold such views and are favored by the king may even be granted a higher title.

When I spoke to the king, he was a fair and just person, but even such a person cannot always determine whether someone is flattering him or showing true loyalty. It is natural to want a strong connection with Duke Vinsbruck for the sake of the country—however.

His promiscuous relationships make me think that they will cause confusion later on. If Princess Manarina wishes to break the engagement, I think it would be best to do it in a way that leaves no lingering issues. The guild has no objections to accepting the request.

"I understand the princess's feelings. Then, disregarding whether it is possible at this moment, is there a way to break the engagement using Princess Manarina and her collaborator's strength?"

"... There is a way."

The answer lacked strength—she knows that even if there is a way, it is impossible to do it.

"Royals can reject demands from others through a duel. In other words, if she can defeat Duke Vinsbruck in a duel before the king, the princess can break the engagement."

An ancient custom in the Kingdom of Albein. The freedom to reject unwanted demands through a duel is granted to all citizens.

Depriving someone of the freedom to decide through a duel is considered equivalent to defying the main god of Albein, who governs battles and glory. It is especially forbidden for the royal family, who stand at the top of the nation, to go against the Albein religion, which has half the population as its followers.

The duke, too, must follow this law. If he interprets the princess's pre-marriage demands as whims and tries to force her, the structure of the duel becomes less unreasonable.

However, even in a normal duel, she cannot win. This is evident from the self-proclaimed maid's determined face.

"I have heard that Duke Vinsbruck's combat strength, converted to adventurer levels, is around 1200 points in combat alone. His sword skills are rated at 800 points, and his magic at 400 points. Princess Manarina's... "

"... Princess Manarina's combat strength is around 700 points. Purely in terms of sword skills..."

Nobles do not need adventurer levels, but they often use them as a benchmark to understand their own strength and invite guild assessors to measure them. Duke Vinsbruck was measured just two weeks ago and showed a value of 1231. Considering his position as a duke, his overall adventurer strength is 6764.

In other words, the strength of nobles, by adventurer standards, does not even reach the A-class adventurer level of 10,000. This is because adventurers' combat skills are primarily evaluated in the context of their missions.

The duke's power as a duke is also significant in terms of using it to complete tasks, which is rated at 6000 points. The total value is lower than the sum of his combat and duke ratings because he has many enemies due to his promiscuous relationships, but the assessor did not want to incur his displeasure and did not provide detailed information. It is not difficult for me to grasp this information.

Returning to the topic of combat ratings, a difference of 100 points is significant and cannot be overcome. With a difference of 500 points, the only way for the lower-rated side to win is to form a party.

A combat rating of 700 in sword skills indicates that Princess Manarina is more skilled with a sword than a layperson and has some talent, but she has almost no chance of winning against Duke Vinsbruck, who has a rating of 800 in sword skills alone.

However, that is only if Princess Manarina receives no backup.

I silently began to prepare my incantation.

I have already grasped what is necessary to complete this request. Now, it's just a matter of executing it.

I must not let the self-proclaimed maid—Princess Manarina herself—realize what I have done.

"Owner, give me milk."

"Understood. Please wait a moment."

"... Milk? Does this mean you are finally considering my words and caring for my health...?"

The self-proclaimed maid looked puzzled.

I received the glass of milk I ordered and, after 'casually waving my hand'—

I slid it across the counter and stopped it perfectly in front of the self-proclaimed maid without spilling a drop.

"Miss, this is for you. It's on me, so please drink it."

"... M, milk is... I didn't mean it that way... I didn't..."

"It seems you're not old enough to drink alcohol yet. We share the bond of sitting at the same counter."

"Such a thing... Don't treat me like a child! It's unpleasant!"

She was angry, thinking she was being treated like a child—this was the reaction I expected, but for various reasons, milk was the best choice in this situation. I had to get her to drink at least a sip.

"Customer, there is still more to discuss about the request. I apologize for forgetting to serve you a drink. If you could kindly accept the offer from this customer, it would be greatly appreciated."

The Demon King said this with respect, and the self-proclaimed maid, who was about to leave, blushed and looked at me before picking up the glass of milk.

"... It's cold. To be honest, I was just thirsty. I apologize for trying to leave. Let's continue the discussion about the request."

She sat back down, held the glass, and took a sip—she was really thirsty, but as a princess, she only took two sips.

However, that was enough. At this point, the request could be considered almost complete—if my assumption that she is Princess Manarina is correct.

"Customer, I have fully understood the content of your request. Our proposal is to break the engagement through a duel with Duke Vinsbruck."

"That... Can she really defeat that man...?"

"We will ensure that she wins. Please tell the princess not to worry and to go to the duel."

"... Really, can such a thing... Are you going to poison him?"

"The 'Silver Water Jug' will never leave any lingering issues after completing a request. Just as we ask you to keep the secret, we will not leak any information. There will be no hindrance to the princess's future activities, so please rest assured."

Although I have only been working as a receptionist for a month, the Demon King's explanation perfectly reflected my intentions and was flawless. There is another receptionist, but she has become an excellent adventurer through my training and is currently on a mission.

"... I understand. I trust you and this 'Silver Water Jug.' The reward is..."

I had already told the Demon King about the reward. I had been thinking about it since I realized her true identity as the princess and her refusal of the marriage to the duke—partly because I thought of Cordy's slightly worn-out face.

Nobles use the authority of the king to treat the knights like servants—this is causing Cordy trouble. The reason for this is that nobles have to pay for requests to the guild personally. Things like cleaning monsters in their own territories should be done by themselves, but they use the knights. It is unfortunate for Cordy to use light swords to clear out minor enemies, and it is not good for the guild as a whole if requests from nobles decrease. This was a good opportunity to change the situation.

"Advise His Majesty the King to prevent nobles from making high-handed interventions in the knights. This is the condition we propose. Using the knights as substitutes for adventurers exhausts them and reduces the number of jobs for adventurers in the capital."

"... The knights... Yes, nobles sometimes try to use the knights, who are supposed to protect the country, for personal use. The princess was also concerned about this, so I think she will agree. However, that alone is not enough, so I will pay an advance. Please accept it as a token of my appreciation."

She placed a silver pendant on the counter—this was the 'Mark of the Royal Family' passed down in the Albein royal family.

I almost stared at the pendant. I did not expect to receive a national treasure-level item, especially since I was not expecting a reward for this job, which would give me connections to the royal family.

There are about five ancient ruins from the old era in the Albein Kingdom. The 'Mark of the Royal Family' is a rare item needed to enter these ruins, which adventurers seeking rare items would drool over—there are only three in total, and I did not expect to get one so soon.

The interiors of these ancient ruins are filled with traps and monsters that even experienced adventurers struggle with, and the kingdom has abandoned their management. If my guild investigates, it is unlikely that we will be noticed or questioned.

"Is it alright? To entrust this to us..."

"Yes, it's fine. You are going to change my life as you wish. If so, I should offer something as precious as my life. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair."

An item I desperately wanted—however.

I thought it would be better to wait until after the engagement was broken to hear her story again.

Even as a drunkard, offering her milk was enough for this time.

I ordered the Demon King. What she needed now was not milk.

It was a pick-me-up for the battle that would decide her life.

"... Is this... alright, customer?"

"Yes, it's fine. I apologize for treating you like a child earlier by ordering milk."

"No, I was also being childish."

While the princess was apologizing to me, the Demon King went to the kitchen to get ingredients he had not brought out. After blending them, he returned and placed a glass in front of the princess.

"This is...?"

"It's from the customer over there. The alcohol content is weak enough for young people to drink, so please enjoy it without hesitation."

The glass was filled with a drink divided into white and pink layers, and on top was a small red petal symbolizing passion and victory. The flower's meaning was unnecessary for the self-proclaimed maid, but it was different for the princess.

"This is... special... Can I really drink it...?"

The Demon King nodded, and Princess Manarina took a sip of the drink, then gazed at the glass in amazement.

"Delicious... I thought you were a crude person, but you know such delicate-tasting drinks..."

I did not react and drank a coarse-tasting ale.

She still had not realized what I had done to complete the request—there was no reason for her to thank me so much.

However, the "Kirin Milk with a Thousand Peach Blend" moved her heart more than I expected.

She came to me, holding out her glass. I could not pretend not to notice—smiling wryly, I clinked my large mug against her small glass.

"The milk earlier was delicious, but if this drink had come first, my heart would have been more moved."

"... No, miss. I'm not trying to flirt. It's just the bond of sitting at the same counter..."

"Yes, I understand. I just wanted to say it unilaterally... drunkard."

Until then, I had only seen her profile, but her smile when seen from the front was so charming that it made any words seem crude.

---

The princess, who had stood up, came to me and held out her glass. I could not pretend not to notice—smiling wryly, I clinked my large mug against her small glass.

"The milk earlier was delicious, but if this drink had come first, my heart would have been more moved."

"... No, miss. I'm not trying to flirt. It's just the bond of sitting at the same counter..."

"Yes, I understand. I just wanted to say it unilaterally... drunkard."

Until then, I had only seen her profile, but her smile when seen from the front was so charming that it made any words seem crude.