Chapter 67

As the mandrake root ran through the school grounds with a form as beautiful as that of an Olympic athlete I had seen on TV, I, known for my speed, couldn't catch up. The reason was that as I approached the school building, the number of students increased, and they became obstacles. I couldn't just plow into them, so I had to stop abruptly, and often ended up facing them. However, I didn't notice the gaze of the male students who stared at me intently, as my attention was entirely focused on the running mandrake root.

While this was happening, the mandrake root skillfully weaved through the students' legs, widening the gap between us.

(No way! I can't lose to a root vegetable! It's a matter of pride as a duke's daughter!)

Burning with a strange sense of rivalry, I chased after the running mandrake root. Then, at that moment, male students in front of me rolled a barrel across the path, perfectly blocking the mandrake root's path.

(Perfect! Now he has no choice but to stop.)

I imagined myself catching the stopped mandrake root and smiled to myself.

Bang!

"Huh?"

Seeing what happened in front of me, I let out a surprised voice. Indeed, the mandrake root performed a beautiful backflip and easily cleared the barrel. The form was so perfect that it almost looked like slow motion to me. Then, I realized it was my turn to jump, and I panicked.

"Ah! Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

The male students, who were shocked by the mandrake root's jump, stopped and placed the barrel right in front of me. In a panic, I tried to jump...

Crash!

A loud noise echoed as the barrel was crushed by my full-body armor tackle. Well, I couldn't jump over it, so I just charged through.

"Sorry! It's the armor's fault, the armor's fault!"

While making excuses that made no sense, I continued to charge. Without slowing down, I charged straight ahead, and thanks to this, I managed to quickly close the gap with the mandrake root.

Thus, I successfully cornered the mandrake root at the corner of the L-shaped wall outside the school building.

"Huff, huff... I've cornered you. Give up. I'll crush you completely."

Catching my breath, I inched closer to the mandrake root, which I had cornered against the wall, and ended up saying something like a villain.

"Miss Mary!"

Just then, Zaha, who was the next fastest, finally caught up and called out to me from behind. I didn't look at him, keeping my eyes on the mandrake root in front of me.

"Zaha, I've cornered it. Help me catch the mandrake root."

I extended both hands toward the mandrake root, wiggling my fingers suspiciously. Then, Zaha, who had come up beside me, gripped one of my arms tightly. Due to the armor, I couldn't feel the touch or the pain, but the unexpected action made me look at him.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"I can't let you do that, princess. Please leave it to me. For the princess, I'll do anything."

"Blargh!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his serious face and strange words. They were just too out of character for Zaha.

"Come on, don't be ridiculous."

I tried to hold back my laughter and shake off his hand, but it was surprisingly strong, and I ended up being pulled closer.

"I'm serious, princess."

(Oh no! He's too close, too close!)

He looked down at me, and his face drew closer.

(Oh, this feels familiar... Ah! I remember, this happened with the prince before.)

I finally realized that my face was exposed in his eyes.

(The helmet! No wonder my vision was so clear! What have I done, just a few minutes ago!)

I tried to blame my past self for the situation, but Zaha was still pressing closer.

"It's okay, just leave it to me. You just need to give the orders, princess."

Usually, he's so laid-back, but when he gets serious, he's incredibly handsome. Any noble lady would be knocked out by his intensity. I was caught off guard and stammered.

"No, the mandrake root is trying to escape..."

I tried to avoid his gaze, but my eyes kept darting back to the mandrake root. The mandrake root seemed to realize the situation and started to inch along the wall.

"It's okay, right?"

"It's not okay!"

I punched him in the gut with my free hand, without hesitation. (I couldn't do that to the prince, but I can do it to this guy.)

"O...o...o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o,