Ending Conditions of the Princess and the Knight

What the hell. What is so exciting.

He had never disagreed with someone’s boast of beauty before, but the beauty he witnessed in that moment stunned him.

“Not all royalty is interested in territory and crowns. I don’t care much for those things, so I can make a deal with you on that, but there are two conditions: you will do your best to help me hunt the dragon, and you will treat the mages with respect and generosity.”

“If I refuse here, will you start hindering my path from now on?”

“I haven’t thought that far, but that’s fine too. If I make a little effort, it should be easy to trip up the viceroy. In fact, that’s an easier and more common story. It’s like a hidden child coming to reclaim the stolen inheritance. So, from then on, a delightful rebellion begins.”

You’re not just going to let that happen, aren’t you?

My head is spinning, my fingertips are tingling, and she’s not going to let this go.

I wonder if it’s strange that I’m not falling for it. I’m not going to take an axe to the waist of a tree, I’m going to lift the whole thing up and pull it out by the roots.

Ah, if it’s a tree, then it should be let go. Right away, with a single strike. I can’t bear this.

Claude bowed his upper body and leaned forward.

“Where should we start?”

With a clear expression of acceptance, the yellow and red pupils curved into perfect arcs like morning stars.

* * *

— Should we stop by that quack fortune teller right away?

— No, we’ll stop by the weapons shop first, because if we’re going to go hunting, we need to prepare our gear.

—”But I don’t know anything about staffs.

— We’re not going to see staffs.

And so, the chosen destination of the contract-bound couple was a weapon shop owned by a dwarf.

As they stepped out of the wine bar together, the onlookers couldn’t help but be intrigued by the hurried appearance of the two. Their minds filled with anticipation.

However, the individuals themselves paid no attention and left without a care. But due to the incident becoming quite the topic of conversation, Bridget, who remained at the scene, couldn’t chase after the two in time as she was busy dispelling the gossip.

And thus, an unexpected companion was acquired by chance.

Thud!

A lively sound resonated as Claude flicked his finger against the chainmail adorning the mannequin. The dwarf, who had intended to draw attention to Taeri’s actions, shrugged his shoulders and stepped back quietly when Claude nodded his head.

“I’m not sure what you’re planning to buy, but the owner here has shown me favor, so he’ll treat you well. Take your time and look around.”

“Thank you.”

Well, of course. I knew that. That’s why I asked you to come along, with that in mind. But Taeri naturally pretended to be oblivious.

This was Mordo’s Weapons Emporium, a dwarf artisan’s shop. According to the rules of the game, in order to buy goods from Mordo, one had to build a certain level of intimacy with him. But does she really need to go through the trouble? She could simply use Claude.

‘Good guy. He feels comforting like a big bowl of soup.’

Leaving behind the comforting sense of a hearty bowl of soup, she began her leisurely shopping.

Various weapons were displayed on the wooden shelves, emitting a faint rustling sound.

Seven crossed daggers that seemed fit for assassins, a large halberd even bigger than her, a gladiator’s shield adorned with laurel patterns… Taeri swiftly scanned through the armors, disregarding them, and focused solely on offensive weapons.

‘I just need one melee weapon for close combat and one ranged weapon as my main armament.’

With two hands, she contemplated each item. Of course, if she filled both hands with offensive weapons, she would naturally have to forego defense. But what use were armor and the like if she could avoid being hit altogether? She just had to evade.

It was more important to swiftly overpower the enemy. In pursuit of utmost attack power, she boldly sacrificed protective measures.

And so, the first thing she chose was an axe. A hatchet with enough force to shatter bones, crush the bridge of the nose, and easily sever joints. She picked a suitable-length axe and inquired of the owner.

“Can I test the strength of this by hitting something?”

“Do as you wish.”

The owner handed her a piece of leftover shell from the carapace of an arthropod he had been working on in the workshop.

Taeri swung the axe several times, adjusting her balance, then brought down a clean, diagonal strike. The intended target shattered into pieces, crumbling away, and soon disappeared without a trace.

“It’s good. It has a solid grip and transfers force well.”

“No, you turned it into shattered pieces…”

After grabbing the axe, she swiftly turned her steps to search for the next weapon. As she did, her eyes sparkled when they landed on the crossbows, bows, and firearms hanging on the wall. Eventually, she settled on firearms as her final choice.

It was astonishing to see such a wide variety of firearms, ranging from a rough but scoped sniper rifle, a portable revolver, to a long-barreled shotgun that boasted an impressive length. She carefully considered which one would be the best.

First and foremost, it had to have high damage. However, she didn’t want something so heavy that she would have to hang it on her shoulder or sling it. It would be perfect if she could hold it in one hand.

She picked up a sawed-off shotgun, roughly the length of a human forearm.

Once again, she stared with an expression that asked if she could test it. The sturdy dwarf, who had witnessed the previous outcome and seemed to sense something, wordlessly pointed outside the window to a target board placed in the garden.

“Thank you. Let me shoot one quickly.”

She checked if the sights were aligned and swiftly pulled the trigger to feel the sensation on her fingertips. Then, she quickly loaded a bullet, aligning her shoulder and arm in a straight line, and fired.

Bang! A sound rang out as a hole larger than the bullet appeared on the target board. As she leaned against the window frame and examined the hole, she asked a question.

“It seems like the power is weaker than I expected. Do you think I can overcome it by infusing it with mana?”

The initially nonchalant owner showed interest, asking, ‘Are you a mage?’

“I haven’t experimented with that, but you could try strengthening the bullets instead of the gun, but if you put too much mana into it, the gun won’t hold up, so you’ll have to control that. Well, it seems like your strength alone will be incredibly formidable.”

“Making the bullets magical…… That’s a good idea.”

Just as swordsmen who reached the pinnacle would enchant their swords with auras, you can also infuse mana into bullets using the same principle.

Alternatively, if she followed her abilities, she might be able to use mana condensed into bullet-sized projectiles as a substitute for bullets. In that case, shotgun shells and the like might become unnecessary, and she could have an infinite barrage gun.

“I’ll buy this too.”

Even after that, she continued to browse and add gauntlets with traps or rope launchers attached, and carefully selected different-sized caltrops to be placed in the front of her boots, preparing for hand-to-hand combat. Finally, she shook off her hands, satisfied with her choices.

Claude stared at the mercilessly piled-up tools on the counter with a perplexed expression. He couldn’t understand why a mage would need such things.

“Do you use all of these weapons?”

“For now, I’ll just try them out. If I find them useful, I’ll continue using them.”

“Axe and guns? These seem like weapons for assassins. Shouldn’t mages use things like elderwood staffs or magic staves?”

“You have a tremendous bias against tools, huh?”

“It’s not bias, it’s common sense.”

I just couldn’t understand no matter how I looked at it. Wasn’t she the daughter of an archmage, a princess who would grow into a formidable figure herself?

The power of the Sonetti lineage is said to be inherited by their descendants, becoming even stronger with each generation. It must have been unbelievably powerful for it to incur the wrath of the gods.

However, Taeri, who had been a professional gamer for seven years and shone as an esports Olympic gold medalist, was considered an authority in this field.

She had an absolute conviction in her choice not to wield a staff.

The wizard class, commonly referred to as mages, is categorized as a powerful class in the game, but that’s because of their spellcasting abilities, not their physical combat prowess.

In fact, their base health is so low that if they get hit before they can cast their spells, they can go straight to the goal with just a single hit.

Because of this, she would have to rely on the protection of warriors or knights who could withstand attacks from the front and pour out her attacks from the back. However, she didn’t think her role was limited to the backline in future hunts.
‘Because I have to protect you.’

In order to protect the protagonist in front of her, she had to take the initiative and be at the forefront. Therefore, she had to overcome the limitation of ‘mage = low stamina.’

“It’s a matter of preference, so please respect it. And I need these weapons to be able to protect the viceroy. Although my body has changed, I was originally a martial artist, so I know some martial arts. It will definitely be helpful.”

“No, wait. What did you just say?……Protection?”

Who’s protecting whom? You’re protecting me? Are you buying all these things to protect me?

Lost in absurdity, Claude even forgot how to manage his facial expressions.

“Didn’t you drink something wrong at the wine bar earlier? It seems like alcohol is the problem, so please abstain from now on.”

“I’m not drunk. I only had half a glass.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You may think that now, but do you know how many unknown dangers lie ahead of you?”

“Life hasn’t been a smooth ride for more than just a day or two.”

“That’s why I’m saying I’ll protect you.”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s completely unnecessary. In fact, it’s my position to protect you, so from today on, I won’t neglect my training.”

“I’m fine. I won’t die easily.”

“I’m the one who’s fine. I have a feeling that even if I die, I’ll come back alive.”

Oh, look at her stubbornness.

No, look at her way of thinking.

Within the gaze they exchanged, similar emotions arose simultaneously.

One side shook their head, thinking that the protagonist was an innocent fool who couldn’t see an inch ahead, while the other side was determined to undergo rigorous training from today onwards, ready to eliminate any trace of her protective instincts.

“Excuse me, I’ll buy everything I’ve chosen for now. Is a credit card acceptable?”

The owner, who had been quietly observing their argument, slowly approached as Taeri called out and visually estimated the price. Then, after looking at her once, their mouth twitched, and they nodded.

“Do as you wish. The price will be put under the name of the governor over there, so keep that in mind. If you brought a young lady to a place like this, I suppose you had that much intention.”

Taeri quickly clapped her hands, but the chubby Claude, who was still standing there, said he didn’t need a credit and simply paid the money on the spot. After all, he didn’t have much use for money himself.