Chapter 75

### Chronologically, this is a bit before the epilogue.

“D-d-d-d... What d-do we d-do...”

“First, calm down, Mai. You can’t think clearly with a confused mind.”

“My sister is too weak. I can’t understand why she can’t say anything at such a moment.”

In the first princess’s room of the royal castle, three people were having a conversation.

Despite the room being large enough to fit an entire classroom, the three of them were talking as if hiding behind a sofa.

The one who was holding her head, with teary eyes and in a state of panic, was the owner of the room, Princess Mylene Ruskeiro.

The one trying to calm her down and push the conversation forward was Ronti, the daughter of the prime minister and her best friend.

And the one making casual remarks because it wasn’t his problem was Dior Ruskeiro, the first prince of the country. Despite a considerable amount of time having passed, he was still only called “Denzo” by Kena, which made him want to cry.

“It’s already past the queen’s deadline! You don’t understand that, do you?”

“But... because...”

After continuous encouragement, even Ronti, who had gone to great lengths, wanted to complain. At this point, there was no choice but to play the last remaining card.

If things went wrong, it could lead to chaos in the capital, so she didn’t want to do it, but...

“Anyway, you two should leave the castle immediately. Your Highness must be familiar with the escape routes. We’ll handle things here.”

“Are you sure, Ronti? The opponent is my mother.”

“I think this will probably be the last time, so Mylene, be prepared.”

“U-um...”

Hearing her best friend’s unreliable response, Ronti sighed and straightened her collar before quickly leaving the room, not forgetting to lock the door.

Holding her sister’s hand, which was anxiously looking at the door, Dior pulled her to the window.

“Here, sister. You might not know, but I’ll show you the escape route from this room.”

“Dio... Why do you know so much about my room?”

While watching her brother activate a hidden switch in the wall, Mylene felt uneasy for a different reason.

◆

“Hey, Mom. It’s just in time!”

“Ah, Karta. What’s up? Do you have something to talk about?”

As Karta was about to leave the village gate, he saw his mother walking towards him and called out, thinking it was just in time.

Kena was wearing battle gear, but it looked somewhat dirty.

He had heard that she was digging tunnels, but Karta had never seen the site himself. Kena wouldn’t let him get close, saying it was dangerous.

Karta could fight, but he was aware that his combat skills were inferior to those of his older siblings. More importantly, Kena didn’t count him as a combatant, which made him feel both happy and sad.

Because of this, he only heard about the tunnel construction from Kena or his uncle when they occasionally returned.

He had heard that monsters appeared and collapses occurred during the digging.

Knowing his mother’s strength, Karta was confident that the eastern mountains could disappear completely tomorrow without surprising him.

“Did something happen?”

“Oh, this? We were digging a tunnel and ended up in an underground lake. We fought and defeated a dragon-like creature that emerged from there. The ceiling collapsed due to the aftermath, and the dwarf engineers got upset, so the work was interrupted, and I came back.”

“You’re always surrounded by exciting events, aren’t you?”

“Not being bored is a good thing, huh, hehehe.”

While Kena laughed happily, Karta was only amazed.

“Ops said he would seal the entrance before returning. What’s up?”

Karta usually stayed in the workshop, and seeing his face under the blue sky was a rare occurrence for Kena. He only went outside the village to go to the quarry, leading golems made by Kena as guards and cargo carriers.

Otherwise, it was when he came to deliver messages from Mai Mai or Skullgo to Kena.

“I got a message from my sister. It’s a big deal for the princess, and she asked for help.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

The tone of Kena’s voice dropped as she heard the content of the message. She used instant magic to clean the dirt off her body and then activated a teleportation spell to head for the capital.

“Karta! Tell Ops and Luka that I’m leaving!”

“Sure thing. Be careful!”

Karta received the message from his mother just before she disappeared and waved as the magic circle faded away.

◆

Mylene and the others, who were searching the castle, were a step too late in escaping through a hole in the castle wall when they were found by a knight.

“Come now, both the princess and the prince should return to your rooms. Queen Alnasi has issued a house arrest order.”

Mylene, who was about to be caught by the knight’s hand, showed a look of regret.

The prince stood between them, as if protecting his sister.

“What’s wrong with the prince? Come this way.”

“No way!!”

The knight, surprised by the sudden voice from above, looked up to see a red object filling his field of vision and realized his mistake with “Damn!?” The knight fell, and the intruder landed in front of Mylene and the others.

Holding a red Piko Piko Hammer in her right hand and a frog plushie as big as a baby in her left, it was Kena.

“You are...”

“Kena-san?!”

“Hey, hey, My, and Denzo. It’s been a while. We have a lot to talk about, but not here.”

Kena spun the Piko Piko Hammer, and a magic circle appeared at the feet of the three. The moment a blinding light was released, the surroundings changed.

The ceiling was slanted with a single skylight, bringing light into the dim room. It looked like an attic, but it was dusty with boxes piled up everywhere.

“Where are we?”

As if answering their whispers, a part of the floorboard opened upwards.

“Welcome, both of you. Welcome back, Mother.”

“Hmm.”

“Teacher?!”

The one who appeared was the head of the academy located on the island in the capital, Kena’s daughter, Mai Mai.

“Everyone, please come down from there. Let’s have some tea.”

After coming down from the attic, they were led to a living room with only a table and sofa.

Mai Mai spread out the tea set she had brought and prepared to serve tea.

Kena placed the frog plushie on the table and started petting its head.

“I heard from Ronti about the princess’s big deal and came here.”

“That’s because Ronti caused trouble...”

“No, no, what’s friendship if you can’t rush to a friend’s aid?”

While sipping the tea Mai Mai had made, Kena explained how she got there.

This was a house in a corner of the academy, which used to be a guard station. Now it was just a storage room, and the only key was managed by Mai Mai, the head of the academy.

When they heard this, the two who had attended the academy said, “Ah, that place...” in understanding.

“Now, about the grand plan to confess to Skullgo...”

“Geko?!”

“K-K-Kena-san?!”

Mylene blushed and shrank, and at the same time, the frog plushie made a strange sound. The siblings’ gazes involuntarily turned to it.

Only Mai Mai frowned, looking troubled.

“What is that thing?”

“It’s hard! It’s so hard, Denzo! Where did the rough and loud you from a few years ago go?”

“I have to grow up, you know...”

Kena’s hand stretched out and pulled the prince’s cheek.

“Huh? What?”

“Don’t pretend to be a cat, you brat. Here, here.”

The prince grabbed the hand that was stretching his cheek and tried to shake it off with a “Ugh.”

“Being with you always throws me off. Ah, it hurts.”

Kena smiled at the prince, who was rubbing his red cheek and complaining in a casual tone.

“Yeah, yeah. You need to be tough outside.”

“It’s the same as when we first met. Adventurers are carefree... So?”

Kena patted the frog plushie on the table and explained, “It’s a magic ( ) creature.”

“Did you just say something?”

“Eh, what’s that? I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll lose if you care. Well, I get it...”

Mylene felt increasingly influenced by Kena, thinking about the same thing as her brother.

“Come on, My! Pour your feelings into this frog!”

Mylene, caught off guard by Kena’s firm grip on her shoulders and serious gaze, took a step back. Kena stepped away from Mylene, raised her fist, and spoke passionately.

“This magic ( ) creature is connected to Skullgo! Don’t hold back; pour your love into his heart! Like a toxic radio wave.”

“Um, toxic radio wave? I don’t know what that means, but I understand. I trust you, Kena-san.”

“Geko...”

The prince somehow felt the plushie’s shoulders droop.

Seeing Mai Mai’s increasingly troubled expression, he tilted his head.

Kena looked up at the ceiling and then asked her daughter.

“So, Mai Mai, what’s the defense of this building?”

“Oh, yes. Unfortunately, the strength remains the same. We have set up interference spells to prevent exploration magic, though.”

“Good, good.”

Kena drained her cup of tea, stood up, and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

While the two royals, excluding Mai Mai, were puzzled, she spread her legs slightly, extended both arms to the right, and then rotated them 180 degrees like a clock, ending with a victory pose on the left.

“Transform!!”

For a moment, a rainbow light burst from Kena’s entire body, and when it subsided, another Mylene was standing there.

“Huh?! What?!”

The prince and princess were shocked, while Mai Mai started clearing the tea set.

“Kena-san?”

“Yeah. I’ll borrow this form as a decoy.”

Kena, transformed into Mylene, twisted her waist and rotated her shoulders to check her movements. She was even wearing the same casual outfit for going out, but in reality, it was a very intricate illusion.

【Mirror Change】 is a spell that copies the appearance of the target in front of you. However, it has the drawback of reversing text and images.

“So... What do we do?”

Mai Mai answered the prince, who had reverted to