Vol 2 Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – A fleeing princess Who is chasing her?

It was a forest in autuht cri the path that linked two countries and turning it a deep shade of red

A single girl alking along the path which looked like it had been covered by a red carpet

A black robe, as well as a black tricorne A brooch shaped like a star on her chest As it was a cold season, her thin legs were covered by black tights

This girl ore quintessential witch’s attire was a witch, as well as a traveler

“…Fu”

The girl stopped, and looked upwards What she saw there was a clear blue sky

The girl who stood there with melancholy hidden in her eyes was definitely a beauty by any standards So beautiful, in fact, that anyone who happened to pass by would be knocked out by her beauty Whether it was a man or a woman, they would probably become enamoured with her Is this as meant by indiscriminate terrorism?

Who was this girl who held such a murderous level of beauty?

Yes, it’s me

“……”

Ah, it’s a joke, okay?

I would usually travel fro on a broom like a proper witch, but I didn’t do that this time I felt that it would be a waste to just pass over this path which was surrounded by such wonderful scenery

Another reason was that I simply didn’t want to fly since it was cold

“……”

Moreover, the last country I visited… was it called the Waterh to reach by taking a short walk along this path

That country should be co into view any time now

If I remember the correctly, the next country is…

“Oh, my”

My thinking ca

I saw a person co a horse The horse was a down the middle of the road in a relaxed manner

He noticed aze and flashed a smile atthat looked very expensive, and looked like a gentle-hearted young man

If he was just an ordinaryand thinking, and stared at him At the most, I would have nodded as we passed each other by

“hello there Nice weather we’re having isn’t it… As greetings go, this one probably lacks originality”

However, the person who stopped his horse in front of me was clearly special

Should I say special, or rather he is is definitely,

“A Prince?”

That’s what he looked like

He put on a gentle smile and nodded

“Oh, do you knoho I am?”

“That coat of arms on your chest, I saw it in the Watermill Capital”

“I see As you guessed, I am the Prince of the Watermill Capital My name is Robert It’s nice to meet you, Witch-sama”

He let go of the reins with one hand, and extended that hand towards me

So he’s looking for a handshake? I see

I held his hand, said “hello,” and released it

“Considering that we’ve met here, are you perhaps on your way from the Watermill Capital to the Windmill Capital?”

“Yes, that’s right”

I answered in the affirmative

This road was a single path that connected the two countries The country I stayed at earlier was the Water towards

is the Wind route between the two

“What did you think of my country?”

“There were a lot of watermills”

“……”

“……”

“…Eh? Is that all?”

“Well, yes”

There was nothing else special to talk about, in any case

“I-I see… So that’s all…”

Half-ignoring the state of the Prince who looked depressed, I asked him a question

“By the way, Prince Robert Considering that we met here, are you perhaps on your way back to the Watermill Capital from the Windmill Capital?”

“Eh? Yes… Wait, that’s not entirely correct”

“What do you mean?”

“I a for my fiancee”

Hoho

“I’e”

“What are you talking about…”

Prince Robert was clearly taken aback

“My fiancee has vanished”

“Vanished… you say?”

She didn’t just run away?

Prince Robert nodded

“In truth, I was due to be wed soon, but my partner is the princess of the Wind her to the Watermill Capital so that we could conduct the ceremony”

“Hoho”

So his partner is a princess fro

“Some people in their country apparently didn’t like the idea of her, they were on the verge ofher off to some other fellow”

“……”

The an to crumble

“She was crying She probably hated the thought ofthat, I threay ht her away”

“Haa…”

My, what a romantic turn of events

“When we left the Windmill Capital, I put her on a sled and pulled her behind alloped out on my horse”

“A sled?”

What is she, luggage?

“And that’s when it happened When I looked back after co some way, she was nowhere to be seen I’ a croissant e left the Windether”

“Maybe she fell off?”

“Yeah… That’s why I’ for her”

“I see”

Was she kidnapped, was it an accident, or did she run away? Which one was it? Judging by his story, it seems likely that the sled and the princess were accidentally dropped so the path

It’s hard to ement at this moment

“The princess of the Wind lady avy blonde hair and fiery red eyes Have you seen anyonethat description?”

“I’ve been walking on this path starting from the Waterhness”

I told him truthfully

He sadly lowered his eyebrows a little, and said,

“…I see”

It feels like the situation is so country, it’s obvious that there’s soround

For exae for the purpose of uniting the two countries

“Where did you first meet the Princess?”

I asked him in a roundabout manner

“H ten years of peace after the war ended, and fell in love with her at first sight”

“Hoho, did you say end of a war? Hoho The Watermill Capital and the Windmill Capital were once at war? I see”

So it was a political e after all?

“Well, that was o Both Water a similar existence nearby, so war broke out”

“Even though they were both similar?”

“It was because they were too similar Wouldn’t you feel disturbed if someone similar to you was beside you all the tiet into a fight over trivial issues, and in the end they went to war… This path that we are standing on was the place where fighting was the fiercest during the war At one point, the ground was drenched with the blood of the soldiers, and it was even called the ‘Trading Route of Blood’ for some time”

“…That’s a pretty distasteful name”

I unintentionally glanced doards and saw the trading route that was deep red in color However, it wasn’t blood that gave it that color, but the fallen leaves

It was a vivid and elegant red color

“It took a lot of time before the two countries were able to respect each other, but peace finally arrived If the two of us were to get et even better”

“Did the Princess see it that way as well?”

“Of course She wouldn’t have agreed to the engagement otherwise”

“…Fumu”

I see

I had thought that Prince Robert had forced her into ainst it, but… it looks like that isn’t the case

I nodded

“If I see her anywhere, I will tell her about you”

I said that while looking up at him

“Ah, thanks If you do see her, please ask her to co ceremony, after all”

And then Prince Robert continued to speak

“Ah, that’s right If you find her, I will give you ten gold coins as a reward”

Oh, my

“I understand I will spare no effort in searching for her”

“I’ll leave it to you, then”

“Yes, you can count on me”

I wasn’t swayed by the promise of money I just wanted to help the prince out No, honest

……

Still, rich people use such dirty est weapon called ‘wealth’, so they can handle prettythat comes their way

That’s what I thought while watching Prince Robert froantly moved away from me

A short while after parting with Prince Robert, I saw another person on the path that I alking on I felt that staring at them would be rude, so I discreetly peeked at the person from the corner of my eyes

“……”

It was a beautiful lady However, I’m certain that this isn’t the Princess of the Windmill Capital… her appearance is entirely too different

Her long, straight hair was fiery red in color She wasn’t wearing a dress like what you would expect fro set of red arerous vibe, she had a sword at her waist

A red-haired wo red armour This was the lady alked past me

Yep, she looks dangerous

“You there”

…is what she said

I heard a sharp voice that felt as if it was stabbing intoand turned around

“Can I help you?”

“You looked atfrom me?”

“No, not really I was just a little curious”

“Curious? About what?”

I lowered aze and looked at her armour

“If yousuch dangerous looking attire, isn’t it only normal to feel curious?”

“You can just ignore them”

“That’s not what I’ about”

“……”

“…Is so?”

I asked her shah I already knew the answer

She ca by the fact that she is wearing ar traveler Also, judging by the fact that she is wearing aruard of some sort

In short,

“Actually, the Princess of our country has vanished”

That was the situation

“Vanished? Oh my, that sounds serious”

“Do you know anything? She is a beauty and her wavy golden hair is her characteristic feature”

“No, I have no idea”

I haven’t seen any young wo that description… But it really looks like there is a fairly large rebellion going on At this rate, I won’t be able to rest peacefully even after reaching the Windmill Capital There’s a possibility that the whole country has fallen into panic

The lady furrowed her eyebrows and opened her ,

“…I see If you happen to find the Princess, please bring her to the Windmill Capital”

Oh, that’s in the direction opposite of where Prince Robert is waiting

……

I gave her a big nod

“Of course, I’ll make sure to do that By the hat’s your name?”

“It’s Rosamia”

“In that case, I’ll bring her to you if I happen to find her, Rosamia-san”

“Thanks”

“No problem”

I’h

I’ry

Is it time for lunch already?

“……”

For some reason, ry Even in this stinging cold weather, if the air carries the scent of food, I’ll notice it right away

I will notice it and think “Ah, soood”

“……”

Anyways, I was standing still after having caught the scent of food coood

What is this smell… Ah, it’s bread It’s the scent of bread The distinctive sh the air

“There are no people in front or behind me… which means…”

Searching for the source of the smell, I stepped off the path and walked into the brush The bread is certainly somewhere in this direction Each ti noise and the scent gets stronger

And then…

“Hmm… !”

Within the thicket, at the base of a tree

I found a young lady sitting there and looking ina croissant in her mouth

On her lap, she had a basket that held a large number of croissants Her body was enveloped in an expensive looking wedding dress, and she had wavy blonde hair Her deep red eyes were fixed upon me

…Wow

I caood smell, and happened to run into an extraordinary person

“You’re the Princess, aren’t you? From Windmill Capital”

“……!”

The girl’s shoulders shuddered sharply, and she munched on the remnants of the croissant in her hand

Is thatto my question? I see how it is

The girl sed the croissant after lared at me

“Who are you? You should introduce yourself before asking for someone else’s name How rude”

I don’t reh I just asked for confirmation

“…I’m the Witch of Ashes, Elaina I’m a traveler”

“I see Elaina… that’s a nice nauessed, I am the Princess of Windmill Capital”

“You’re the princess of a country, what are you doing in a place like this?”

“Can’t you see? I’ lunch”

“By the way, may I have one of those croissants?”

“Ah, go ahead”

“Thank you”

Sitting in the shade of the tree next to Princess Chocola, I asked about the circu the croissant

I’ll keep the fact that I met her fiancé, Prince Robert, a secret for now I haven’t yet discarded the possibility that this is a political , but I felt that this would be the best ht about the matter

I started by asking a simple question

“Aren’t you going to go back to your country?”

“I’o back even if I wanted to”

“…A scary person?”

“Yes A scary person ants to destroy my happiness”

Fumu

This matches hat I’ve heard from Prince Robert as well In other words…

“Could it be that this is the person who tried to forcefully marry you?”

“Yes, that’s the person… You know about it?”

“Well, yes I’ve heard some rumors about the incident”

“…Who told you, may I ask?”

I saw that Princess Chocola’s posture changed slightly

She wanted tocountry, but someone from her own country—to use her oords, a scary person anted to destroy her happiness—had appeared, so of course she would be on her guard Seeing as the person was froht be more than one enemy

Oh ht be bad

Let

“Please don’t worry I heard this from your lover”

“Oh, I see That’s a relief”

The girl patted her chest in relief and took another bite of croissant Induced by her, I took a bite as well

Well then, let’s ask more questions

“Aren’t you going to go where your lover is waiting?”

“The scary personaround this place, correct? That’s why I’ here”

“While eating croissants?”

“Yes”

“The sh”

“As far as I know, you’re the only monster who can track down the smell of croissants”

“That’s not true”

How rude

“Iscent to you?”

Saying that, Princess Chocola brought the croissant piece in her hand near my nose

So I ate it