Текст книги "Overlord - The Man in the Kingdom - Part 2"

Автор книги: Maruyama Kugane

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“So Brain, just what happened to a man of your calibre?”

As if treating an open wound, Gazef treaded carefully. His gauging of Brain’s reaction was not to determine whether he was telling the truth, but out of genuine concern.

“Thanks.”

Looking at Gazef blinking profusely from receiving a thanks out of nowhere, Brain eased up as well. He took a moment to recollect himself before speaking.

"... I met a monster.”

“A monster? What kind?”

“Probably a vampire… Called Shalltear Bloodfallen. The attack I devised… to defeat you was deflected by her with just a pinky finger.”

He could see Gazef’s eyes widen.

"...Is that so.”

Gazef took a sip of his wine. Brain took a sip as well and recount the battle– No, the massacre that took place.

Of course, he did not mention anything about banditry. Gazef might already have guessed how Brain used to live like. However, he didn’t have the courage to tell Gazef that he was the kind of man who had done anything in the name of getting stronger.

Thankfully, there were no signs of suspicion in Gazef’s eyes.

“Will you believe me?”

"...The world is big and wide. It won’t be strange even if a monster like that existed. Looking back in history, there were beings like Demon Gods and Dragon Lords as well. But a monster like that… it’s above my ability.”

“Yea. I don’t know how strong you are now, so I won’t speak irresponsibly, but I will say it’s impossible for you to win against it. A monster like that is beyond our realm of ability. Even if two of us fight together, we would only last 1 or 2 seconds longer.”

“Hey, please say that’s not so.”

Gazef complained in joking tone, but Brain pleaded with all earnest.

“Gazef, you’re a Warrior Captain who’s in charge of protecting the royals. Please do not fight it if you ever run into it. Your life is valuable.”

“I thank you for your advice, but if that monster called Shalltear tries to attack the King, I need to stall for time even if it costs me my life.”

Even stalling for time would be impossible unless that monster decided to toy around with Gazef. However, if it was Gazef... he felt Gazef might be able to do it. Even if for just a few more seconds.

“Shalltear. Shalltear Bloodfallen is it.”

Gazef nodded heavily after asking about its description once again.

“Alright, after we’re both sober, do you mind telling me about it once again? It seems wise to collect as much information about it as possible.”

“Even if you do collect the information, I’m not sure if anything can be done about it.”

“If a storm is coming, then we need to prepare for it. Plus, who knows if other wiser people have a good idea.”

“That would be the best case.”

“I have several acquaintances who are adamantium ranked adventurers. Perhaps they might have couple ideas. … So, Brain, what will you do now?”

Brain frowned at the question. What should he do from now on. His gaze slowly wandered to his Katana he laid beside a small table.

It was a lingering regret.

It was all a lingering regret. No matter how hard he tried from now on, he could never defeat that monster. The dream of being the strongest was already shattered. His life had been a waste. He couldn’t live with his head in the clouds anymore.

It was a wild dream of a child…

“What should I do… Perhaps I should go back to farming.”

He was originally a farmer. He could barely remember, but he remembered the basics of farming from a corner of his head. Everything else was swordsmanship. To put it nicely, he lived his life with a single goal.

“That… doesn’t sound so bad… but, will you consider serving the Kingdom along with me?”

It was not a bad proposal. He could never win against a monster like Shalltear, but as a human he considered himself to be among the stronger ones. However...

“I’m not really used to working as a team. I’m not very good at grovelling either.”

“Do you think I do a lot of grovelling?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you do. It’s just that I imagine all of the people who work in the palace to be like that... Gazef, your idea isn’t bad at all. Fighting for someone else… Ah! Speaking of which, I met a boy called Climb.”

“Climb? Are you referring to a boy with hoarse voice?”

When Brain affirmed Gazef’s voice rose in pitch out of surprise.

“You met Climb? He’s the Princess’ bodyguard, so I didn’t think he would leave her side that far…”

“I saw him while he was training in the city.”

“Training in the city… He’s not very talented so it would be impossible for him to be stronger than he is now. What remains for him would be to improve his physical strength. Was it that kind of training? If not, then I should give him a little word of advice.”

“Hmmm, with the sword… he is talentless. But in some ways, he was superior to me.”

Gazef made an expression for Brain to stop joking.

Of course, the difference between Brain and Climb was absolute, and aptitude could not be compared. However, in front of the truly strong, Brain realized it was like comparing how fast snails could race each other. Above all, having the heart to stand against the killing intent of people like Sebas must be praised highly.

The broken me would have ran away. But if it was Climb, he would never run away with the person he’s supposed to protect behind him. Someone like him… might be good enough to cut the tip of that monster’s pinkie.

Gazef had curious expression on his face, but Brain remained silent. Instead, he told the story of the assault on one of the brothels run by the Eight Fingers.

“Is that so… with Climb.”

“If you think inconvenient things will happen to you, it’s okay to just kick me out. Now that I think about it, it would be a problem for you if somebody who dealt with the underground world goes in and out of your household.”

“No, it’s no problem at all. As a matter of fact, I welcome it wholeheartedly. They’re scum who dirty the Kingdom. I would have liked to stand at the front as you smashed into that place, if it was possible.”

“Are the Eight Fingers that harmful to the Kingdom?”

“It’s quite disgusting. They control most of the Kingdom’s underworld. With the money they earn, they buy out the nobles and exploit the commoners as well. Even if we try to crush them, the nobles they’ve bought out always interfere. If we want to strike, we’ll need to hit the hidden facilities spontaneously like you did, Brain. Even then, they hold more power than average nobles, so if we fail, the repercussions will be huge.”

“Between the hammer and the anvil.”

“Yea. It would be good to deal them some blows like you did. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.”

“What about invoking the Royalty’s authority?”

“It’d be impossible due to the opposing Noble factions. The real problem though, is that they have bought out people in both factions.”

Heavy atmosphere surrounded the two as they drank and ate silently.

 

Part 2

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th, 17:01

The members of Blue Rose visited the castle early in the morning. All of them carried a large sack and every time they touched the floor, metallic sounds echoed from within. It was their equipment. Because they were entering the Royal Castle, it would be problematic to walk around fully armed to say the least.

Released from the burden of having to lug everything around, everybody stretched their shoulders and arms. The leader, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra watched Renner with envious stares.

“So your duty as princess starts now?”

Renner did not have much political power, but still had jobs to do as a princess.

“Don’t worry, I can put them off a little bit.”

“My, my.”

Lakyus made a mischievous face. Renner followed suit, but went back to her serious expression once more.

“Lakyus, as soon as you’re prepared, I want you to carry out what we talked about.”

“Why? From what I heard yesterday, weren’t we going to attack one at a time in absolute secrecy?”

Evileye, the mask wearing mage style magic caster asked.

She did not take off her mask even though she was in the royal palace. The only reason such suspicious attire was permitted was due to the fact of her being an adamantium ranked adventurer, the peak of humanity's finest. Also, the fact that the leader of the group, Lakyus, was nobility helped out as well.

“Actually, an unforeseen problem came up last night, so we need to adjust our plans accordingly. Evileye-san, yesterday….”

Renner told them about the attack on the brothel last night. The congratulatory gazes from the Blue Rose made Climb stand even more rigid in embarrassment.

Truthfully, it was not Climb, but the two people who were with him who had truly saved those girls who were suffering in the brothel. Climb didn’t feel as if he had done anything praiseworthy. In fact, Climb was glad he was not reprimanded and felt somewhat relieved that the plan wasn’t completely ruined by his actions.

“You’ve done well, cherry boy.”

“Gagaran is correct. Capturing one of the Eight Fingers... is a great achievement.”

“...‘Undying King’ Deibaanku, ‘Void Executioner’ Peysilian, ‘Dancing Scimitar’ Edstrom, ‘Thousand Kills’ Malmvist, ‘Devil of Illusions’ Succulent and the leader, ‘Battle Demon’ Zero.”

Tia started listing the names.

“Deibaanku is undead. It’s said Peysilian can attack enemies that are quite a distance away. Edstrom uses weapons with special magic and Malmvist is a lone wolf that specializes in lunging. We already have Succulent, so let's ignore him. Lastly, a brawler who specializes in unarmed combat, Zero. They are all at least adamantium ranked.”

“Yeah. Having even a single one of them captured is a huge advantage for us.”

“You did well, Climb. But meeting and acting together with Brain Unglaus, you’re really lucky.”

Climb agreed on that point.

“Ha, taking down Succulent with a single strike. They say he fought neck and neck with the strongest warrior in the Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. It seems he’s as good as they say. But personally, I’m more interested in the old man Brain claimed he couldn’t win against.”

“I didn’t ask for Sebas-sama’s residence.”

"...Hmm, Climb, maybe he was wary of you and didn’t teach you. Or maybe you weren’t quick enough and couldn’t ask him… Which is it?”

“It was both, Evileye-sama. Perhaps if I asked, he might have told me, but it’s true I didn’t want him to get involved further.”

"...You’re more diligent than I thought.”

“Yeah.”

The twin sisters praised Climb.

“But to never have heard of someone like that before, it’s incomprehensible…”

Starting with Evileye, everyone’s suspicion of Sebas only rose. Climb tried to divert the situation by making a rebuttal, but Lakyus gathered everybody’s attention by clapping.

“Now, now, let’s leave that subject for later date. If not for him, we wouldn’t have known the location of the brothel nor got a hold of Cocco Doll. Plus, Climb is indebted to him as well.”

“You are correct, Lakyus. So, Princess. Does changing the plan mean we are changing the place of attack as well?”

“Yes, Evileye-san. We will take all of them down tonight, in one fell swoop. If we take our time, it would only give the initiative to our enemy.”

Silence filled the atmosphere.

The only one participating in the plan was Blue Rose. Lacking the manpower, the plan was to attack one place at a time.

“Hey, Princess-san, didn’t you say we didn’t have enough people? Or did you find someone overnight? We couldn’t even hire any other adventurers.”

Ever since the creation of the Adventurer’s Guild, its motto was to defend humanity from other threats. So there was an unofficial rule that the Guilds would never take part in inter-human conflicts. If not, the Guilds couldn’t co-operate with each other in different countries.

There could be someone who was willing to do this kind of work if they asked around in the guild, but the guild had their own ways of applying pressure to enforce the unofficial rule. Punishments ranged from issuing a simple warning to being blacklisted from all requests and in the worst case scenario, expulsion from the Adventurer’s Guild. The adventurers who were kicked out of the guild and went on to take illegal requests were called ‘workers’. According to rumours, the Adventurer’s Guild even hired assassins to eliminate the worst of them.

Although Blue Rose was breaking the unofficial rule to fight against a human organization, Eight Fingers, it was being tolerated due to the fact that they were adamantium ranked adventurers.

“Even if we do bring in other people, utilizing the guards would be foolhardy. They already have their people inside the guards. Maybe for the final clean-up stages, but otherwise it would be risky.”

“Same with any of the nobles’ household guards. Who knows which one of them is one of their cronies.”

“The only ones we can trust are Gazef Stronoff and his warriors, no… I’m not sure if we can trust even his warriors.”

“It’s so hard to come up with a contingency plan because we do not know their true strength. But if this goes on, the entire Kingdom will rot away. We’ll just have to do our best under the circumstances.”

Renner nodded at Lakyus’ complaints.

Invasions from the Empire, an internal power struggle and now corruption as well. Climb could almost see golden sunlight radiating from the Princess in her efforts to tackle these issues no matter how bleak everything seemed. He truly thought that she would unite the Kingdom and bring happiness to its people, and he once again strengthened his loyalty to her.

All those who thought that she was just a pretty decoration, especially the nobles, angered Climb. But the angelic voice of Renner dispelled all his anger and he concentrated on the conversation once again.

“It’s just as you said. We will borrow the strength from a trustworthy noble.”

“You know one, Princess?”

“Yes, Evileye-san. I do not know many, but there is one trustworthy noble.”

“Eeeh? Who’s that Renner? I think you already know it, but if they’re not trustworthy, then it’s meaningless. There’s also no guarantee that they’ll send enough of their soldiers over either.”

“I have that covered. It will be alright. We’ll also enlist the help of the Warrior Captain.”

“Ah, the Warrior Captain.”

“If it’s the Warrior Captain, we can trust him. If the Eight Fingers already got to him, then there’s no saving this Kingdom.”

“Then Climb, call over Marquis Raeven immediately. We had a discussion earlier, so he should still be in the capitol.”

“The Marquis? I also saw him with the Prince earlier…”

Marquis Raevan indeed met every criteria they had set out, with the exception of trustworthiness.

He was one of six Great Nobles and his wealth could not be matched by any of the other nobles. However there was no evidence that the Eight Fingers had not already gotten to him yet. As a matter of fact, his wealth could have been attributed to working with the Eight Fingers. However, Climb quickly abandoned such thoughts. If Renner, his most respected master and the wisest woman, said so, then he would trust Marquis Raeven.

But unlike Climb, the rest of Blue Rose frowned at the name.

“Oi, oi, Princess. Are you sure we can trust him?”

“Rumors say Marquis Raeven is a turncoat.”

“A spineless man who’s constantly switching sides from the King’s faction to the Noble’s faction, who would do anything for a profit, even if it was for the Eight Fingers.”

“I don’t want the information to be leaked from there, Princess.”

Amidst the negative opinions, Lakyus clapped loudly.

"...Everyone stop. Hey Renner, Marquis Raeven doesn’t have a good reputation. Can we trust him?”

“It’s not an absolute guarantee. I also think he has been receiving a certain amount of bribes from the Eight Fingers.”

“Huh?”

Everybody had confused expression, but those who had their own suspicion asked.

“Diverting their attention with false information?”

“Used for assassinations. Give false information to focus the security elsewhere.”

Renner shook her head at the former assassins’ words.

“Tina-san, Tia-san, that’s not it. Even if he accepts money from the Eight Fingers, it doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to co-operate with them. Marquis Raevan was a better man than I thought… Climb, go get Marquis Raevan. He’ll meet with you immediately if you tell him that you destroyed one of the brothels and have captured the head of Eight Finger’s slave traders.”

Climb looked outside to check where the sun was. As it was still bright with morning light, it was still too early to request an audience. However, since great nobles were not the easiest people to have an audience with, it would be better to start early.

“Should we even talk about the head of the slave traders? I think it might be best to keep it a secret…”

Since even a great noble wouldn’t refuse a personal invitation from the Princess, Climb thought it would be best to reserve that fact as a card Renner could use.

“If we want to make him our ally, we must show our hand as well. It’s the best way to prove to the Marquis that we trust him.”

Climb nodded and bowed respectfully.

“I shall bring over Marquis Raeven as soon as possible per your orders.”

“Thank you, Climb. Now, since that will take time, would anyone like some red tea?”

♦ ♦ ♦

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th, 9:37

The Blue Roses already knew. Even if Marquis Raeven came, it would be after midday. Great Nobles held meetings with other nobles in the morning. It would be a different story if the King summoned him, but Renner was still powerless.

Obviously, this would be a lower priority for the Marquis. So when Climb returned early, they wondered if he had been turned back at the gate. However, when they saw the two men standing behind Climb, they could not hide their surprise.

One was Marquis Raeven. His appearance could be described nothing less than immaculate. He wore a doublet made from a beast’s, or probably a monster’s, high-quality fur, woven with golden threads. Around the buttons and the sleeves, intricate patterns were sewn in, and from the way it reflected light, there were many pea-sized jewels embedded in there. Clothing of the highest class worn only during important occasions, it truly suited him as one of the six Great Nobles.

The next person was a rather chubby man.

Renner looked at him with surprised expression.

“Older brother.”

“Oi, my younger sister from another mother. You look as healthy as ever… Oh, if this is the daughter of the Alvein family, then is she the famous Blue Rose? To see Adamantium ranked adventurers here.”

The man who entered without knocking was the second Prince, Zanack Barleon Igana Ryle Vaiself. As Lakyus showed signs of respect to the royalty, he spoke in a relaxed manner.

“I came because it sounded like an interesting discussion.”

“At your service, Princess Renner.”

“Thank you for coming, Marquis Raeven. Please raise your head.”

Renner stood up to greet her older brother who was higher in the line of succession before speaking. As Marquis Raeven raised his head, he had a thin smile on his face. It was a truly creepy smile and made others feel uncomfortable, but other kinds of smiles would not fit him well.

“Would there be a problem in sending the others to another room?”

“As you say, older brother. Lakyus, Climb, would you mind waiting for me in the other room?”

“Alright.”

Lakyus accepted without a complaint and motioned her comrades to the other room. They would prepare without delay in the other room. The Blue Rose and Climb bowed their heads and disappeared into another room. After watching them leave, Renner guided the two to the table.

“Please, sit.”

“Of course, Princess Renner.”

“Alright, my dear sister.”

One person sat down with class and the other simply plopped himself down. Renner poured a cup of red tea and pushed it towards Marquis Raeven.

“It’s an honour to have the princess pour it personally for me.”

“I’m sorry that it’s only lukewarm.”

“Hmmm, is there none for me?”

Zanack looked towards both of them with disappointed face.

“My, my... I thought older brother disliked teas.”

“Yea, I don’t like weird water dyed with tea leaves, but having nothing to drink feels lacking.”

“Should I tell the maids to bring something over? Would you prefer liqueur?”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s red tea. No need to tip off the maids.”

“If we act today, maids won’t have the chance to send information back to their family.”

“Should we not be careful? Women’s tongues are very loose. Especially the maids that work in the palace. They’re faster than they look.”

With a smile, Renner poured a cup of red tea and placed it in front of Zanack.

“Hmmm… You’ve already tested the maids’ information network, haven’t you.”

“What might you be talking about?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Zanack replied curtly and sipped the red tea before sticking out his tongue at the bitter taste.

“But, Princess Renner, what is the matter this early on? Of course, I am always prepared to answer your call.”

“Thank you, Marquis Raeven. We don’t have much time so I will be frank. I wish to borrow your wisdom.”

With a light cough, she spoke earnestly. Marquis Raeven’s eyes widened and had light of surprise in them. However, those eyes returned to normal once he calmed down again.

“My wisdom. If it’s a problem that you cannot solve… I’m not sure if I can be of any help.”

“I don’t believe so, Marquis Raeven. After all, concerning matters within the palace, there is no one more talented than you.”

Marquis Raeven and the Prince shared a glance.

Renner almost never participated in the power struggles. However, what did she mean by “matters within the palace”? Marquis Raeven chuckled. When you are lacking in information, it is better to gather more rather than guess and come to a wrong conclusion.

“So how may I help you?”

“I wish for you, the hidden leader of the Royalty Faction, no, the one who controls the Royalty Faction from the shadows, to lend me your household troops.”

"...What?”

Marquis Raeven made an expression as if there had been a magical explosion right in front of him. Anybody would have been surprised if they were here. After all, Marquis Raeven was not a man who easily changed his expression. However, he could only react like this. If it was any other noble, he would have laughed it over. But this was a long concealed truth.

Marquis Raeven had for a long time been considered a rat who would go between the two factions as it suited him, but in reality he commanded the Royalty Faction and prevented civil war from breaking out. If the man called Marquis Raeven had not existed, the Kingdom would probably have already collapsed. On the side, Zanack held his breath.

He already knew Renner was incredibly smart, a monster with the shape of human. But without anyone to act as her hands and feet, she was in a way imprisoned in the palace. How did she come to that conclusion? In the entire Kingdom, Zanack had been the only one to deduce that. Both people immediately thought that she might be bluffing, but abandoned the thought immediately. From Renner’s tone, nobody could imagine that she is lying. Both were constantly dealing with people who were full of lies, and they were still unable to determine if she was lying or not. Renner ignored the flabbergasted Marquis and continued her story leisurely.

"...Perhaps I need to confirm it with the other great nobles in the Royalty Faction, but Marquis Volumlashu is leaking information to the Empire. If so…”

“Wha, what?”

“Wait a second!”

Even louder than Zanack’s cracked voice, Marquis Raeven raised his voice.

“Marquis Volumlashu…”

“You know, don’t you? That’s why you were making sure that the Marquise didn’t get access to too much information.”

Both men looked at Renner with their mouth gaping open.

Renner had murmured this with the same unchanging expression, daring them to prove her wrong.

“You, what…”

Forgetting even her title as princess, Marquis Raeven was in state of panic.

Marquis Volumlashu was one of the six Great Nobles and only Raeven and Zanack knew that he was an informant. The only reason Marquis Raeven had tolerated that traitor was to maintain the power balance between the factions.

Thus, he concealed this fact to the Noble Faction and made sure that not too much information flowed towards the Empire. He had accomplished this in complete secrecy thus far. Zanack only knew of this because the Marquis had told him. Then how did this little bird in a cage manage to deduce this answer. Just the mere thought of how she had achieved that gave Zanack goosebumps.

“How did you learn all that…”

“It gets mentioned here and there. Maids also speak of it sometimes.”

How trustworthy would the maids’ stories be, Marquis Raeven still could not believe it. Especially if his past memories served him right, he could understand what she meant by deducing it from what maids were talking about. In a way, this woman in front of him had sifted through piles of garbage to piece together a jewel.

“—a monster.”

A comparison truly worthy of women such as Renner flowed out his lips. Despite hearing a rude comment, Renner simply smiled. Marquis Raeven abandoned all thoughts he previously harbored.

She was worthy of being treated as an equal. His memory had indeed been true.

"...Very well, everything I know, I shall be sharing with you. Is this fine with you, my Prince?”

After confirming that Zanack had approved, Marquis Raeven sat straight up, facing Renner head on. His attitude was similar to Gazef facing an opponent.

“However, I would like to speak to the “real” Princess Renner.”

“What do you mean by “real”?”

Renner asked as if question was strange.

“In the past, I saw a girl. A girl with powers of observation that I could not even hope to match, a girl who spoke of things so complex, I could not comprehend. Of course when I had finally figured out the meaning and the value of those words, a long time had already passed.”

Marquis Raeven’s soliloquy continued in silence.

"...A girl who spoke something incomprehensible, that’s how I evaluated her. Even though I only thought of her like that, it felt as if I was facing a dangerous person.”

“A dangerous person?”

Renner asked quietly.

“Yes. Because it had been so brief, I simply thought it had been just my imagination. But I had truly felt that. Empty eyes that were thinking nothing of the world and holding only contempt for other humans.”

Marquis Raeven’s shoulders shuddered in response to the chilly atmosphere that filled the room.

“By the time I saw that girl again, her aura matched that of any other girl of her age. So I thought I was mistaken back then… I truly wish to ask you, Princess. I wish to know if my suspicion that you have deceived us so far is true or not.”

Two pairs of eyes collided with each other. It was as if two snakes were tangled in a fight to the death. Then suddenly, light from Renner’s eyes disappeared. Marquis Raeven made a nostalgic smile as if he had just witnessed a scenery from his distant memory.

“Ah… to think it had been that long…”

Zanack shed cold sweat at the scene of his sister turning into an ugly and dangerous monster that still had a smile on her face. He had already had a clue what kind of hideous true self was lying beneath that beautiful face. His assumption that she wanted to grasp power and destroy the Kingdom had been incorrect, but she was still a cancerous being of a completely different level.

“Of course, Princess Renner. Those are the same eyes I had seen in the past. You’ve been putting on quite an act ever since then.”

“Not quite, Marquis Raeven. There was no acting, I was simply satisfied.”

"...Your personal guard, Climb… Is he who you’re talking about?”

“Yes, it’s all thanks to Climb.”

“For that boy to have something in him to change you… I thought him a mere child… Just what is he to you, Princess?”

“You mean Climb…?”

Renner’s gaze wandered through the air. How much was he worth. What kind of words would truly express his value.

Renner Thiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself

If her existence could be summed up in one word, it would be ‘golden’. The word referred to her beauty. However, few knew that she possessed an ability which would make her beauty pale in comparison. Her intelligence, observational skills, comprehension, creativity, leadership, and every other aspect concerning rulership was overdeveloped.

—If described in one word, it would be ‘genius’.

It could only be said to be a gift from god. Her thoughts, which could only be described as divine inspiration, were all created from combing through and observing countless information. Even if one searched all across the continent, no one could come close to her abilities. Even amongst the beings that transcended humanity, there were few who could compare to her.

Even in Nazarick, only Albedo, who oversees all servants and guardians, and Demiurge, who possesses fiendish wisdom and expertise in all things concerning rulership, could truly match her. Humans always make decision from their own point of view. In that sense, she could be described as strange or weird. However she had one fault. She could never understand why others did not know what she knew. If there was a someone who was on equal terms with her, they might have recognized her for the genius she was. If it had been so, results might have been different.

But this was not the case.

The evaluation she received was that of a young girl who annoyed others because she only spoke of incomprehensible things. Because she was a cute girl, there was not too much hatred for her and she received a fair amount of love as well, but the fact that nobody really understood what she said had a huge effect on her mental development, and slowly twisted the girl over time.

It could be said that she was lonely because she was a genius. Without anyone by her side who could understand her, her stress only increased to the point where she was unable to eat anything without regurgitating it. Nobody thought the Princess, who was only getting weaker and weaker, would survive. She might, indeed, not have without her puppy, and even if she did survive, a demon lord would have been born instead. A demon lord who could only look at things in terms of numbers, and forced sacrifice upon the few for the good of the many.