TGS - Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Display
The smile on the Princess's face gradually disappeared.
"What's your name?"
The straw-haired youth answered with the full-throated volume of a drill, "My name is Luca."
"You're not from around here, are you."
"Ah, oh... I'm from Pallas City."
Alyuin raised a long eyebrow. "Let me confirm one last time, were those three points all you wanted to say?"
Luca was extremely direct. "Yes!"
Lena couldn't bear it and reminded him in a low voice, "The person you mentioned is different from us. She is Her Highness's teacher."
Luca clapped his hands and praised her sincerely, "That's another point: respecting one's teacher."
"..." Alyuin turned to the Captain of the Royal Guard with a blank expression. "Motis, take him with you for now."
Motis froze. Before he could speak, Luca had already said happily, "Are you willing to accept me as your follower?"
The Princess shot him a cold glance, a look like the cold glint of an arrowhead that could pierce his brain from afar. It made Luca shut his mouth at once, and a hint of a cringe appeared in his otherwise fearless expression.
"You don't really think that story full of holes could fool anyone, do you."
"Er, I..."
"It's fine if you don't tell the truth, and it's fine if your background is a mystery, provided you have sufficient value," Alyuin said indifferently. "At the very least, I have yet to see such value in you."
Luca opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again. He repeated this three or four times like a dazed fish, his eyes suggesting he was engaged in profound thought that exceeded his mental capacity.
Alyuin shifted her gaze and found Lotus watching her with a smile. Her expression immediately changed, and she offered a well-behaved smile. "Teacher, let's go have breakfast."
Lotus: "Mm."
The moment she spoke, the Princess took her arm. The movement was so natural that it didn't feel abrupt at all.
The two walked off together, leaving the Deputy Commander, the Captain of the Guard, and the titleless, dazed new recruit staring at each other.
To be precise, it was Motis and Lena staring at each other. Luca was still frowning in deep thought, as if troubled by one of life's great dilemmas.
Motis waved a hand in front of his face.
Luca snapped out of it, his straw-like hair shaking abruptly. "I understand!"
"? What do you understand?"
Luca declared forcefully, "From this day forward, I will strive to demonstrate my value until Her Highness acknowledges me."
Lena said casually, "That will be very difficult."
"Even so, I must let Her Highness see my persistence."
Motis was deeply moved and clapped Luca firmly on the shoulder. "Good lad, that's the kind of perseverance you need."
Luca: "That's right! One day, I will become Her Highness's most loyal follower!"
"Don't even think about it. Her most loyal follower will undoubtedly be me."
"Alright then, it seems I'll have to challenge you—"
Though a generation apart in age, the two seemed to be on the same strange wavelength. After a brief moment of rivalry, they began to laugh heartily in unison.
Lena: "..."
She walked away silently, recalling a phrase she'd read somewhere: stupidity is contagious. At that thought, she couldn't help but move even farther away.
After a simple breakfast, Lotus watched the Princess's daily training and sparring from the edge of the training grounds.
Before they had parted ways, Alyuin had been limited by her physical condition. When sparring with adults, she had relied mostly on skill to win. Against seasoned veterans who were stronger and more skilled, she had inevitably suffered narrow defeats.
But things were different now. For some unknown reason, the Princess was naturally stronger than others. Her body, nearly eighteen, was approaching full maturity. Four years on the battlefield had honed her martial skills to perfection, and countless life-or-death situations had sharpened her intuition and reflexes to an astonishing degree.
Dexterity and power, the close-range sword and the long-range bow—Alyuin had no weaknesses.
And yet, she still had room to grow.
Compared to when she had been teaching Luca, Lotus could now feel this extraordinary power more directly.
During a break in the Princess's training, Lotus beckoned for her to come closer.
Alyuin quickly approached. Her expression was reserved, but her eyes sparkled. "What is it?"
Lotus squeezed her forearm.
Her honey-colored skin was fine and smooth. When relaxed, it felt soft and very supple. But with Lotus's light squeeze, it suddenly tensed, becoming firm but not rock-hard.
Looking at the Princess's figure, she lacked the fragility of an ordinary girl, but she was still tall and slender overall. Even Lena looked a bit sturdier than her.
For such a body to be able to unleash such immense power was simply contrary to human physiology... But then Lotus reconsidered. Her own existence was the greatest defiance of science. Since gods existed, it wasn't so strange for a slender girl to possess innate divine strength.
Alyuin called her name, "Lotus?"
"It's nothing." Lotus picked up a water bottle and handed it to her. "Have some water and rest for a bit."
Alyuin tilted her head back and drank. After she finished, she carefully took out a handkerchief, mindful of her appearance, and wiped the lingering traces of water from her lips.
Then she sat down beside Lotus, deliberately keeping a small distance out of consideration for the sweat and dust on her body.
The Princess said expectantly, "You've been watching for so long. Is there anything you'd like to say?"
Lotus replied without hesitation, "Alyuin is very impressive."
It was a simple compliment, yet Alyuin reacted as if she had received the highest honor, her eyes curving with delight.
And so, in the spars that followed, the warriors training with Alyuin discovered that Her Highness's fighting style had suddenly changed.
She shifted from a purely practical, one-hit-kill approach to combinations of techniques that seemed to showcase her martial prowess. Every move was brilliant and precise, as pleasing to the eye as a dance that blended strength and grace.
"Her Highness never does anything without reason. This change in style must have a deeper meaning."
"Could it be to make her opponents accept their defeat more wholeheartedly?"
"But there's no one here who isn't convinced."
"Oh, I know! Her Highness must be demonstrating techniques for us. This is a live lesson."
"I see! As expected of Her Highness the Princess!"
Luca, who had just returned to the training grounds after having his wounds bandaged, added, "Another point: silently demonstrating martial arts for her subordinates. Such thoughtfulness is truly a level we cannot hope to reach..."
Lotus listened to the crowd's hushed discussion, a look of approval in her eyes.
Military achievements could establish her authority, but showing consideration in small, unnoticed details could win the hearts of the people. Alyuin's progress was clearly not limited to her combat strength.
In both mind and ability, she had become an adult who could stand on her own.
After half a day of training, Alyuin faced the admiring and approving gazes from all sides. "..."
Had she overdone it?
In the first few days after returning to Digebia, Lotus passed the time by observing the training, but she wasn't bored in the slightest.
Perhaps sensing the positive effect, the Princess always retained the demonstrative part of her techniques in subsequent spars—even though the beautiful martial arts were far less effective in actual combat than the simple, unadorned killing blows.
Only in a truly evenly matched battle would she need to go all out, and in the Digebia military camp, there was no longer anyone who could be Alyuin's equal.
During this time, the Sanur tribe did not attack again, and Digebia City entered a long-awaited period of relative peace.
The Princess's daily schedule consisted mainly of training, with occasional visits to the main tent for routine meetings. In her spare time, she would find a scroll from somewhere and read while sticking close to Lotus.
Lotus mentioned casually, "I feel like you're getting more and more clingy."
Alyuin said languidly, "Is that a bad thing?"
As she spoke, she was leaning against Lotus, flipping through the travelogue of a wandering poet. This posture was a world away from her usual upright and proper stance when standing alone; she seemed like a completely different person.
Lotus thought for a moment, then gave an indulgent smile. "It's not bad."
"...You're too good to me." Alyuin's gaze remained fixed on the page, unblinking and unwavering. "I worry that one day I'll get carried away and cross a line with you. I'm not joking."
Lotus tried to imagine how the Princess might cross a line, but no matter what she pictured, all that came to mind was a kitten baring its fangs and claws—not even a full-grown cat.
The goddess stroked the Princess's hair and said, "Don't worry. No matter how out of line you get, you won't offend me."
Alyuin let out an ambiguous chuckle and didn't reply.
After tormenting herself for so long, she could occasionally find some joy in her suffering.
For instance, right now, the Princess had the leisure to think: when she truly stopped caring about boundaries, the goddess would probably descend in anger with divine punishment—
Of course, it was more likely she would simply return to the Kingdom of the Gods and never appear again. After all, Lotus was always very soft-hearted.
A warm late-spring breeze swept through the camp, causing the tent flap to flutter gently.
The two sat close together, leaning against each other in silence. One appeared to be quietly lost in thought but was actually free of all distractions; the other seemed to be reading but was in fact rehearsing a drama in her mind, complete with all its joys and sorrows.
After a long while, Alyuin spoke again.
"Lotus, my coming-of-age ceremony is approaching."
Lotus: "Isn't it in the second half of the year?"
She checked the schedule and confirmed that the Princess's birthday was still several months away.
"Yes, but I want a gift in advance," Alyuin said in a willful tone. "You just said that even if I crossed a line, I wouldn't offend you."
Lotus: "Alright. It's good you're telling me in advance so I can prepare."
After a brief silence, Alyuin said softly, "Until my coming-of-age ceremony is over, could I ask you not to leave? I want you to preside over the ceremony, just like you did when I was thirteen."
Lotus was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "I promise you. But that doesn't count as a gift."
—Because she had intended to do so all along.
Seeming to understand the unspoken meaning, the Princess's smile widened, and she affectionately rubbed against the goddess's arm.
Just then, a strange commotion arose outside the tent. It was different from the cheers of the crowd watching the spars on the training grounds; it was more like a cautious stir in the presence of something out of place.
Alyuin paused and stood up alertly. Before she could make another move, Lena's voice came from outside, laced with forced composure.
"Your Highness, an envoy from Akhet is outside. He has brought... brought King Horst's decree."
The Princess's hand, which was subconsciously gripping the body of her bow, tightened.
After several years, an envoy from the royal city of Akhet had appeared in Digebia, openly and without restraint, for the first time. And the first person he wanted to see was the very princess who had been exiled by the new king all those years ago.
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