Chapter 111
Chapter 111: Human Princess And Dragon Princess [5K]
The king continued to defend himself after hearing the holy knight’s words.
“Holy knight, such a claim is unfounded. From what I understand, the Blood Moon ritual was orchestrated by the fox clan and the dream demons. It has no connection to the dragons. The dragon’s presence in that city was purely coincidental. Our kingdom has not colluded with dragons in such matters.”
Due to recent events in Gerris, many residents in that city have started viewing dragons differently.
They believe the dragon saved them.
If not for the sudden appearance of that red dragon, which captured the nine-tailed fox, the Blood Moon ritual would have succeeded, potentially resulting in the birth of a beast that could surpass dragons.
Since the appearance of the dragon and the Blood Moon ritual coincided too well, and given the fact that there were no casualties in Gerris after the incident, the holy knight has reason to suspect that the king might be colluding with the dragons to slowly gain his people’s trust.
The holy knight stared at the elderly king for a long moment, deciding not to lay any baseless accusations upon him.
After all, her defeat by the dragon near Rex City had already been embarrassing enough, and she hesitated to use the reputation of the Goss Empire to further intimidate the king of Dia Kingdom.
“Nevertheless, the fact that Dia Kingdom is virtually defenseless against dragon infiltration remains undeniable. I hope your kingdom will strengthen its guard against dragons and avoid letting it fall into turmoil. Betraying humanity will not lead to a good end. The leyline will remember the shame of the Aide Kingdom.”
“You’re right, holy knight.”
After a brief exchange, the king instructed the attendants to lead the holy knight’s party to their accommodations.
Left alone in the guest hall, the king pressed his hand against his forehead, sighing.
Surviving as a small kingdom caught between powers is truly difficult.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t taken measures to counter dragon infiltration.
For example, he’d dispatched heroes to Minglong Island to challenge the Dragon King, hoping to inspire others.
But people aren’t so easily fooled.
Even Leo, who frequently returned defeated from battles, has gone missing, most likely dead by now.
With morale among the kingdom’s heroes dwindling, if the dragons were to perform a few good deeds within Dia Kingdom now, many neutral citizens might switch to supporting them.
But what the people think doesn’t matter much.
The king wasn’t concerned about any “memory of the leyline” or “glory of humanity.”
He simply wanted to secure his position.
He didn’t want to become a vassal to the dragons or be swallowed by the Goss Empire—nothing more.
………
After dinner.
Semira was strolling around the courtyard outside their rooms.
There was still some time before the leyline flower bore fruit, so she and her mother would be staying in the palace and putting pressure on the king of Dia Kingdom.
[System, I’m certain I’ve reached saint-level, right?]
[Yes, you have.]
[Am I the first, or has someone else already achieved this level?]
[No, although no human has reached saint-level yet, someone did in the distant past. The knight of light you saw in the leyline’s memory surpassed the saint-level.]
[The knight of light… a legendary figure. They say he could face armies alone and slew dragons without breaking a sweat, instilling fear in dragons.]
[With your exceptional talent, host, continue striving to become as powerful as the knight of light. One day, you’ll achieve your goal of slaying the Dragon King.]
[Alright!]
Semira paused in an open area, glanced around to confirm no one was nearby, then clasped her hands together.
“Domain, expand!”
She attempted to use her own magic to unfold her domain.
However, it didn’t succeed.
“[Deploying a domain requires earth vein energy. You can’t construct a domain space with just magic alone.]”
“Damn it! If only that holy sword hadn’t been snatched by the dragons—I would have mastered this skill for real by now.”
If Semira had succeeded in claiming the holy sword and binding it to her soul through the system, she could fully unleash the sword’s power.
After all, the holy sword was a crystallization of earth vein energy. She could absorb its energy, enabling her to deploy a domain anytime, anywhere.
However, a capital-level earth vein artifact wouldn’t withstand even a single domain deployment by Semira before shattering.
She couldn’t casually drain the energy from such a high-level artifact.
Semira walked over to a tree and picked up a twig. She still hadn’t found a weapon she could wield well. Against dragons, ordinary weapons couldn’t penetrate their scale defenses. So to Semira, a twig was no different from an ordinary iron sword.
Raising the twig, a golden glow shimmered along its length. She tilted her head back, gazing at the brilliant light like the sun. Through it, she suddenly glimpsed a hint of pure white.
“Who’s there?!”
“Eek!”
At Semira’s shout, someone hiding in the tree lost their balance and slipped. Semira quickly reached out and caught the small figure. Looking closely, she saw it was a silver-haired girl around her age, with a black eyepatch and a flushed face.
“Who are you?”
The silver-haired girl broke free of Semira’s embrace, wobbled as she tried to steady herself, then pointed at Semira.
“I… I am the Princess of Heaven’s Punishment and Judgment from the Pure Lands of Netherworld—Hipper Dolamis Christina Timothy Octaviel!”
This series of titles left Semira stunned.
Her mouth twitched. Were all royal names in the Kingdom of Dia this long? But she caught the key detail—this girl was a princess.
“Hello, I’m Semira, of the Casimir family from the Empire of Goss.”
“Hmph… The fame of the Casimir knights… I… I have long heard of it. Indeed, seeing is better than hearing.”
“Princess! Princess! Where did you go?”
“Eek! Casimir knight, I… I order you to help me get rid of Rona!”
“Who is Rona?”
“My maid!”
The silver-haired princess tried to scramble back up the tree but, in her clumsiness and nervousness, failed miserably.
Hearing footsteps in the courtyard, Semira wrapped an arm around the princess’s waist and jumped up, placing her on a hidden branch.
She landed back on the ground just as a dark-haired woman in a maid’s outfit entered the courtyard. Smiling gently, the maid approached Semira.
“Honored knight, may I ask if you’ve seen a silver-haired girl? She’s our princess.”
Semira shook her head.
“No, I haven’t.”
“I see. I thought she might have come to find you. Earlier, when Her Highness heard a Casimir knight had arrived, she insisted on coming to see you.”
“Oh.”
“Since she isn’t here, I apologize for disturbing you. I’ll take my leave.”
“Mmm.”
Once the maid left, Semira glanced up at the tree. From this angle, the princess was hidden from view. She leaped up and stood on a branch near the princess, who looked at her in awe.
So this was the power of a fighting master?
Fearsome indeed.
She had jumped a full ten meters with ease.
“She’s gone,” Semira said softly, extending a hand toward Hipper. The princess, trembling as she clutched the branch, hesitated for a moment, then reached out to hold onto Semira’s arm.
The next second, she lost her balance, pulling them both down.
But just as they were about to hit the ground, Semira smoothly caught the princess, landing gently with both feet.
Flirting was certainly one of Semira’s strong suits.
Looking at the blushing, silver-haired girl in her arms, Semira felt a surge of pride.
“Your Highness, the enemy has been driven off. You’re safe to come out now.”
She slowly set Hipper down, a small smile at her lips.
“Well done, Sir Semira!”
Hipper brushed off her skirt, took a deep breath, and composed herself.
“May I ask, Princess, why you were hiding?”
“This… This is my way of receiving guests! As a royal princess, how could I neglect my guests? But Father has forbidden me from interacting too much with people from the Goss Empire.”
“Oh? Why is that? Does your father disapprove of us?”
“Not at all!”
Hipper placed her hands on her hips.
“He disapproves of everyone!”
“Huh?”
“No matter who visits, Father forbids me from seeing them. So I had to come to see you in my own way, Casimir knight!”
“Why, though? Why were you so eager to meet a Casimir knight?”
“Because I heard news of the Casimir knight’s defeat to the dragons near Rex City while trying to claim the earth vein artifact. I came to personally interview the person involved.”
Although she rarely left the palace, Hipper gathered news from her maid about the outside world. She yearned to see it herself, though her father wanted her to remain a secluded princess, living a quiet life.
However, when she said this, Semira’s face darkened instantly.
An interview with the person involved?
Had she come to mock her?
“Sir Semira, could you tell me in detail what happened there? I’m so curious!”
“Not much to say. The dragons took the earth vein artifact. That’s it.”
Oblivious to her misstep, Hipper clung to Semira’s arm, pleading.
“Sir Semira, please, the details! How did it all end? What sort of battles did you have with the dragons? What did they look like? Are they as fierce as they’re drawn in manga, with sharp fangs, massive wings, and ferocious expressions?”
Because she was so adorable, Semira couldn’t truly get angry, though she didn’t want to discuss her humiliation in front of such an endearing girl.
But with Hipper’s persistent begging, Semira felt a little overwhelmed.
She thought of that one pink figure, her hand drifting to the sun-shaped hairpin in her hair, and suddenly chuckled.
“No, dragons are actually adorable. Pink, soft… Ah, well, some dragons do look like in the manga—fierce and crafty, especially that red one!”
“”And what else? Could you tell me more?”
Seeing that Semira was finally willing to talk about the events near Rex City, Hipper’s remaining eye sparkled with interest.
“Uh…”
Semira racked her brain, trying to frame the story in a way that would make her side look better, and to beautify the details of her loss to Illya.
But before she could gather her thoughts, her mother, the paladin Semiya, stepped out of the house and spotted her daughter practically glued to a silver-haired girl.
“Semira, who might this be?”
“Mother! She is the princess from here.”
Semira hastily pushed Hipper away. If her mother discovered she was flirting, that would be a problem. As a Casimir knight, she was supposed to be without thoughts of romance—draw her sword and let nature guide her path.
“You two seem pretty close. Have you known each other before?” Semira’s mother asked with a slight smile, pleased to see her daughter getting along well with a peer.
“No, no, not at all. The princess wanted me to tell her about our battle with the dragons near Rex City, so I started telling her, and she kept begging me for more.”
“Well, it’s better to continue this chat inside. If the maids overhear, they might drag the princess back.”
“Yes, Mother!”
Semira was thrilled. She hadn’t expected her mother to approve of her behavior.
“Princess, come along. Let’s head to my room where we can talk at ease. I’ll tell you everything that happened near Rex City.”
“Yay!” Hipper clenched her fists in excitement.
“Go ahead and chat, I’ll take a stroll outside,” Semira’s mother said.
“Thank you, Mother!”
Semira took Hipper by the hand and led her to her room. The two girls sat on her bed, and Semira, embellishing the details, recounted her adventures to the princess. Hipper’s emerald eyes shone with fascination.
“Semira, would you… take me out on an adventure someday?”
“Huh?”
“Please, I really want to see the world beyond the palace. I want to see what dragons really look like.”
“Princess, the outside world is quite dangerous.”
Realizing she had revealed her true desire, Hipper quickly shifted her expression, raising a hand to cover her left eye, hidden under the eyepatch. Her mouth twisted into a sly grin.
“Danger? I wield the True Eye of the Dark Sovereign—no danger could faze me. If I unseal my powers, even the most fearsome dragons would flee without a chance!”
“Speaking of that, Princess, did something happen to your left eye?”
“Stop changing the subject, Sir Semira! This isn’t a request—it’s an order! I command you, as the princess of the Netherworld, to take me out of this cage!”
Oh boy, here she goes again.
She’d been perfectly normal while listening to the story, but now she’d slipped back into this roleplay.
Semira felt a bead of sweat on her forehead.
“Are you afraid, Sir Semira? Or is it that everything you’ve told me was just a lie, and you were actually knocked down in one blow by a dragon? Are you stopping me from going to uncover your secret?”
“Princess, no matter how much you try to provoke me, it won’t work.”
“Sir Semira! I’ll say it one last time—next time, take me along on an adventure! If you refuse, I’ll summon the Dark Lightning Tribulation to punish you!”
Semira couldn’t help but feel pity for the princess. Poor thing—it seems restricting a child’s personal freedom may lead to mental problems.
Seeing that Semira didn’t move at all, Hipper started to panic, her sly smile crumbling into a sad, pleading expression.
“Semira, please, please, take me out for an adventure, okay? I really want to see what the outside world is like.”
“But…”
Looking into Hipper’s only visible eye, glistening with tears, Semira’s heart softened.
“All right, Princess, I’ll take you out of the palace.”
She really couldn’t say no to this caged princess.
But Semira didn’t actually plan on taking Hipper on a real adventure. She’d find a safe opportunity to let Hipper see a bit of the world—just enough to satisfy her curiosity.
After all, if the princess of Dia Kingdom was to get hurt because of her, it could strain the friendship between the Empire of Goss and the Kingdom of Dia.
“Yay! Sir Semira, once a knight has spoken, they can’t go back on their word, so don’t let me down.”
“Yes, I, Semira, swear on the name of Casimir’s knights to keep my promise.”
“Hehehe! It’s about time I head back. If I’m gone too long, it’ll be harder to sneak out to see you again. Until next time, Sir Semira.”
Semira followed Hipper down from the bed, escorting her all the way to the courtyard gate.
“Okay, Sir Semira, you can stop here. If the servants see us together and report it to my father, it’ll be even harder for me to see you.”
“Mmm, goodbye, Princess.”
Hipper turned to face the setting sun, leaving Semira with a fading silhouette of silver hair.
Semira couldn’t help but smile.
She sighed inwardly.
The princess is truly adorable.
Though she struggled to remember her full name—what was it again? Hipper something?
At least she remembered those three words.
But the lovely face of the princess was deeply imprinted in Semira’s mind.
————————
On the third day in Boros City.
After getting a good grasp of the local attractions, Naya began preparing to take Illya out for some fun.
First on the agenda, visiting the royal palace where Illya had been dreaming of meeting the princess!
In the morning, Naia woke Illya up.
As Naia helped Illya get dressed, she said, “Illya, today we’re going to see the royal palace of the Dia Kingdom and check out where the fairy tale princess lives.”
“Yay!”
Illya clenched her fists and couldn’t help but jump a few times in excitement.
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t move! Let’s get your clothes on first.”
Illya looked down at Naya, who was tightening the strings of her dress beside her.
“Will we meet the human princess?”
“I already told you, we won’t meet her. The princess usually only appears when the king or diplomats are present. Normally, she isn’t allowed to leave the royal palace.”
“That’s such a pity! We’ve come all the way to the capital of the Dia Kingdom, and we can’t even meet the princess.”
“Aren’t you a princess too?”
“But I still want to see what the human princess looks like. The princesses in stories always seem to have blonde hair. Would she look like Semira? Is she prettier than Semira?”
“Well, none of them are as pretty as Illya.”
Naya gently patted Illya’s bottom.
Then, she slipped her arm under Illya’s backside and scooped her up in a warm embrace, her expression full of affectionate smiles.
“Let’s go have breakfast first, and then we’ll go play. Come on, Iris.”
Following closely behind Naya as they exited the room, Iris let out a silent sigh.
Why did it feel like Naya was still the same old self?
She had promised to educate Illya well, yet she continued to pamper her as always.
Someguy Random
Nothing beats a mother love.