Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival-Chapter 98

Swirling Thoughts

“Clara, have you finished your preparations?”

“Yes, Elena-sama but Patricia-sama have declined, but don’t worry, Clara-sama and I have already completed our preparations and will meet you at the port town in the Duke of Fudale’s domain.”

Members of the royal family and their fiancées, who would be leading the next generation of the Kingdom of Cleydale, were ordered to conquer the dungeon, and each of them was now preparing to do so.

The fact that not only the royal family but also their fiancées were forced to dive into the dangerous dungeon was meant to test their resolve as members of the next royal family, but more than that, it indicated that the current royal family lacked the number of royalty.

The fact that the dungeon to be conquered was in the Duke of Fudale’s domain, but that the Duchess of Fudale, Patricia, declined to conquer it, meant that the Duke of Fudale’s family declined to compete for the queen’s ranking, since she was unable to participate because of her ability and personality, and being the daughter of the second wife didn’t help her situation.

Patricia was thus unofficially confirmed as the third queen, and the first in line to become the first queen, the regular queen, was narrowed down to Clara, Countess of Dandol Frontier, and Carla, Countess of Lester.

“The crown prince Ervan, and I, the First Princess, will also take on the dungeon challenge at all costs, but our primary goal will not be to receive a Gift from the Spirit of the Dungeon, but to ensure the Ervan’s return in one piece. Do you understand?”

“Yes…”

The royal family had sent royalty to the dungeon each generation to obtain the Gift, thereby building national security and protection against foreign threats.

However, the “Spirit’s Gift” was not always equally obtained.

The Spirit of the dungeon was commonly referred to as [Spirit], but it was essentially a [Divine Spirit] rather than a normal Spirit that controlled attributes.

Divine Spirit was considered to be a high-ranking entity such as Spirit King or Fairy King, its identity was unknown, it had a capricious nature, and it sometimes did not give Gift to the extent that he/she had gone undercover in a dungeon.

In fact, His Majesty the current king and the former king did not receive gifts, and although His Majesty’s younger brother, the second prince, received gifts in recent decades, the second prince, who was originally weak, had already died prematurely.

The acquisition of the Gift did not change the ranking within the royal family. This was because they were educated until they understood that special abilities and the ability to govern the nation were two different things.

Therefore, the current king, who had made a baroness, who had not been educated as a queen, to be specific a regular queen, had been resented by the Noble Faction, and the wrinkles had been passed on to Clara’s generation.

The death of the crown prince would throw the entire country into chaos, and although Elena could rule by becoming queen for a short period of time, the Noble Faction would have a large say in the matter because of this, weakening the power of the royal family.

If Ervan was unable to ascend to the throne, a daughter of the same age would be chosen as the queen of the second prince, who was still a young child, and Clara would not be able to become queen.

Regardless of her intentions, Elena, who wished to restore the power of the royal family and bring peace to the nation, and Clara, who had been given the wish of the Dandol family to have their daughter become queen, were in agreement.

However, even as the two discussed the matter without the involvement of others, the rift between them remained deep.

The rift arose because Clara, a reincarnated person who had regained memories of her previous life, was wary of Elena, who was to be known as Villainess in the future.

The rift deepened after Elena became friendly with a peach-haired maid, the similar one to [Otome Game’s Heroine], whom Clara instinctively rejected.

Then the maid girl suddenly went missing, and Clara’s unintentional “condolences” out of relief caused a definite rift with Elena, who believed she was still alive.

The only reason for their meeting this time was that the Grand Knight Commander, concerned about his daughter’s dungeon diving, asked his sister, the Second Queen, for a chance to reconcile with her.

“The dungeon attack by the royal family is not revealed to the other noble families, so escorts are kept to a minimum. Considering the size of the dungeon corridor and the speed of progress, we will have two squires each, ten senior Royal Guards, five baggage carriers, and a party of five Rank 5 adventurers whom the Prime Minister has made friends with, for a total of over 30 people to attack.”

Elena stated nonchalantly, then took a breath and gave a thin, icy smile.

“Patricia is smart. She knows what she can do. Our first goal is the return of the Ervan. Our second goal is to get the Gift for the four of us. Clara…are you ready to sacrifice your life to protect the Ervan for your country?”

“…Yes.”

Elena quietly took her seat, staring coldly at Clara, who replied in a grave tone with a pale face.

“Whether you will be a queen or you will be made to be a queen… But it’s time for you to make up your mind. Who are you, I’m done talking to you.”

Elena called for the chambermaid waiting in the next room and left the royal reception room without a glance at Clara, who remained motionless with her head down.

(What should I do…)

Clara was just a high school girl who was playing Otome Game, even if she had knowledge of her previous life.

Even though she felt threatened by the threat of Heroine and the absolution of the game ending, she had a longing for the glamorous world with Capture Targets, and was not clearly aware of her own death.

The world in my previous life was peaceful, and I was not even aware of the cause of my death. However, the dungeon attack before the start of the main story, which was not mentioned in the game, allowed me to finally understand that I was living next to death.

Clara in the game did not have Gift; Heroine only got Gift in the war event against the demon tribe, but even then, it was after the game had started.

(I… I have to get the Gift to survive among these scary people.)

When Clara was quietly preparing herself, a Cruzian chambermaid, a rarity in the royal court, greeted Elena when she returned to her room accompanied by her squire.

“Sera, what’s wrong?”

This senior lady-in-waiting was a knight of the Dark Side and in charge of security at the Queen’s Palace. Ervan was not a fan of the Dark Side, but Elena’s squire and lady-in-waiting was also from the Dark Side, and because she knew her well, she trusted her and had asked her to be one of her escorts in the dungeon this time.

The glamorous, wheat-skinned lady-in-waiting bowed with a graceful smile, and handed a letter to Elena’s lady-in-waiting.

“I have written this letter to inform you of an important matter. After you have read it, I think it would be best if you dispose of it.”

“…I understand.”

If she said so, it must be important.

Sera went down and had the maid open the letter, and after making sure it was safe, she had the maid wait outside the room, then opened the letter and read it by herself.

“….”

In the letter, a certain person was mentioned.

Elena’s time with this person was not long. In fact, it was only for a few weeks, but for Elena, who was fighting alone in a situation where she could not even rely on her own parents, her presence taught her that she was not alone, even though both of them were in a different position.

When Elena told her father, who had brought their current predicament to the royal family, that she was seriously concerned about the current situation, he just laughed it off and said it was nothing for a child to worry about, and her brother, who seemed to adore her, was in the most dangerous position but felt no sense of danger.

Only she understood Elena’s struggle against the current situation. She risked her life to save Elena from being attacked by the enemy in a lonely battle.

I knew the feeling that only she, my equal, understood me, even if no one else did.

I believed that the words that she swore that night came out because she was serious about Elena’s choices.

That was why Elena also made the vow to return the favor to her.

So, when she heard that she was missing, she believed that there was no way she would die.

Alone in her room, Elena hugged the letter tightly to her chest.

“Thank God… Aria… she’s alive.”

***

It was autumn, and I was already eleven years old.

I was in Royal Capital, working on equipment, coordinating tactics and schedules with Feld, and was surprised to find sweets in my pocket from Mira before I knew it. Dalton, the leader of the Rainbow Sword who had been coordinating with Viro and the nobles, had finally returned.

Samantha had retired, but it had been several years since the Rainbow Sword party had reunited.

There was a mansion in the Royal Capital that housed a collection of Dalton’s items, which the Rainbow Sword members were free to use.

“I am Dalton. Are you Aria, the apprentice of that bastard Viro?”

“Viro taught me the art of scouting.”

Dalton was a dwarf, but he was not a rock dwarf like Galbas or Gelf, who lived in the mines, but a mountain dwarf who lived in the forests.

The difference was not as obvious as the difference between a Forest Elf and a Dark Elf, but was determined by birth, size, and personality.

Rock dwarves, who lived in mines and had worked as blacksmiths, were often exclusive and stubborn, and had muscular builds. Conversely, mountain dwarves, who lived in the forests and worked with wood and silversmiths, had a relatively human-like physique, and many were good at detailed work and were sociable.

But Dalton, who had been a front-line adventurer for more than a hundred years, was almost Human in stature and had a width and muscle mass that exceeded those of rock dwarves, so much so that Feld, whom I had thought was a muscle man, looked like a gentleman compared to him.

The full plate mithril armor and huge war hammers laid out in this living room would be impossible for an ordinary warrior to wear and move around in. But I didn’t think the average warrior could afford such a full set of equipment that would buy this mansion.

“…Hmm.”

Dalton looked at me with a sly grin as he played with his beard, which was unusually short and trimmed for a dwarf.

“I wondered how good an apprentice you are, since Viro is so proud of you, but I see, you’re only passable in combat. But if you’re going to act as one of the Rainbow Sword, you’ll have to show me your gall.”

At that moment, I even had an illusion of the air exploding with a bang! I felt a gush of killing intent from Dalton, and in a blink of an eye, he raised a hammer as tall as he was with one hand and swung it down at me.

I also used my body enhancement the moment I felt the killing intent and leaped out of the way like an arrow.

BOOM!!!

As the air in the room swirled with wind from the momentary attack, Dalton’s war hammer was attached to touch my shoulder, and my black dagger stopped a few millimeters in front of Dalton’s left eye at the tip of the cut.

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“If you try any harder, we’ll kill each other for real.”

“…Kukuku, Viro, where the hell did you find this guy? I bet he’s not your only disciple.”

“Damn. Well, he also has a master of magic and has studied under Sera of the Dark Side, so even you can be eaten if you’re not careful with a kid just because of his age.”

“Haha, got it!”

Dalton lowered his hammer easily and, with my dagger still drawn, he walked up to me and tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

“I like it. Welcome to Rainbow Sword!”

Thus, I officially became one of the Rainbow Sword‘s members, and a few days later we set off for the Duchy of Fudale to visit a remote island with a dungeon.