Chapter 30: Lost in the Woods

Familiar scenery flashed past the carriage window.

The scenery I had passed by while accompanying Iris, sitting across from her.

The faces of the guards, now somewhat familiar, receded into the distance, replaced by the welcoming embrace of the forest.

Passing trees still wearing their white winter hats, signs of human activity gradually began to appear.

After traversing the well-maintained road, passing faces I might have encountered once or twice, we soon arrived at an unknown territory.

Places I had only heard about from the servants.

Despite all my research, it turned out to be useless, as I never got to visit those places.

‘I should’ve gone with her…’ I shook my head, chasing the thought away.

The princess chuckled softly.

Turning at the sound, I saw her, a sullen expression on her face, toying with her green hair.

“Are you disappointed?”

Disappointed… huh.

“…Not at all.”

A look of discontent spread across the princess’s face.

“Why are you looking at it as though you’ll never see it again?”

Because the place I’ll return to isn’t here.

“…”

“If we stop the destruction and come back—”

“Aren’t you doing this to me because you don’t know how to do that, Your Highness?”

The princess’s face darkened.

I felt a little sorry for her, but that was the reality.

Come to think of it, even the princess must know that. So why is she trying so hard?

“…I can’t deny that.”

“Now that we’re here, let me ask, are you… reincarnated?”

“There’s no point hiding it. I blurted it out the day we met, anyway. And seeing as you accepted it immediately… it seems my judgment was correct.”

Her golden eyes, gleaming amidst her gloomy expression, turned towards me.

There was a distant longing in them.

“No one believed me.”

‘Isn’t that to be expected?’

‘I encountered it originally as a game and am familiar with the concept… so it’s relatively easy for me to accept.’

‘It’s a story that’s hard to believe for those who don’t know.’

“Who would believe such a preposterous story?”

“Exactly… but you do believe it, don’t you?”

“I don’t.”

“It’s too late for that.”

I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.

So what did the princess want to do with me?

Could my presence change the ending?

I didn’t misunderstand the princess’s feelings.

If I had been repeating the same life and a new character suddenly appeared, I might have acted just like her.

No, I definitely would have.

‘Does she have something else in mind?’

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Well. First, I need to return to the palace.”

“And then?”

“I’ll think about that from now on.”

“…You’re truly unprepared.”

“As you can probably guess, I’ve already tried everything I can think of. That’s why I was going to give up originally, but.”

“Then you appeared.”

‘Meeting Iris on the snowy mountain and coming down was a mistake after all.’

It was too late to turn back, in more ways than one.

“So, wouldn’t it be possible to approach this from a different angle now?”

“What difference will my presence make?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

‘A truly “protagonist-like” personality.’

Knock, knock

The princess winked at me and lowered the carriage window.

The man who had accompanied her was visible.

“Your Highness. We will arrive at the magic tower shortly. Will you be transferring immediately?”

“Yes, let’s do that. I’m not particularly tired.”

“Will the young lady be alright?”

“…Yes.”

“That was a rude question, wasn’t it? Then, we shall depart.”

The man looked at me with eyes full of respect, then disappeared.

‘It’s a bit much.’

‘A magic tower, huh?’

‘Is she planning to warp?’

‘In the game, this part was a loading screen, but what method is used in reality?’

“Anyway, let’s slowly figure out… what you can do, shall we?”

“Do as you please…”

Feigning indifference, I tightened my grip on the sword.

“You seem attached to that sword. Is there a reason? Well, you were quite skilled with it.”

“…It’s a sword I’m fond of.”

“Did the Duchess prepare it for you? It certainly is an unusual design.”

“…”

The princess, who had been looking at the sword with curiosity, turned her gaze to the window.

“Ah, we’ll be warping soon.”

At her words, I looked out the window and saw a large, oval-shaped object emitting blue sparks.

‘Is that… the gate?’

‘It’s more crude than I imagined.’

“Is this your first time warping?”

“…Yes.”

“Then you should hold onto the handle abo— Oh, you probably can’t reach. Would you like to hold my hand?”

“I don’t need to.”

“Are you upset?”

“No.”

“Is that so? Anyway, it’s best to hold onto something firmly. It’ll be a bit… shaky.”

As if to prove her words, as we entered the blue sparks, the carriage began to shake violently.

Thanks to my enhanced physical abilities, I didn’t roll around on the floor.

The princess, however, turned slightly pale, perhaps feeling motion sick.

Looking outside, I saw white dots flashing like stars embedded in the blue space.

It resembled the Milky Way.

The flickering dots began to emit a stronger light.

Soon, a white light filled my vision, and then.

A scenery completely different from the North unfolded before my eyes.

A landscape filled with green, like the princess’s hair.

Strangely, we were surrounded by forest.

‘…This is the capital?’

“Welcome to Haven, the capital. More accurately, a magic tower near it.”

‘As expected, it’s near a magic tower, right?’

“W-wait, what?”

The princess’s expression hardened as she followed my gaze outside.

“Where… is this?”

‘Why are you asking me?’

“The Imperial Palace must be in an uproar by now.”

“They must be furious, threatening to execute the mages.”

“…You speak as though you’re familiar with the situation.”

“A nation’s princess has disappeared. Isn’t that a natural reaction?”

“…I suppose so.”

“So, where exactly are we?”

To be honest, I didn’t know.

Even among the locations featured in the game, only a few were described in detail.

Looking around, it seemed only I, the princess, and the carriage had been transported here.

Even the horses pulling the carriage were gone, so if we wanted to move, we’d have to abandon the carriage.

There was no way I could pull it myself.

“Well. There’s too little information.”

“Has this happened before?”

“…This is the first time.”

‘Quite the predicament for a coincidence.’

“Still, judging by the surrounding vegetation, it does seem to be near the capital.”

“Impressive.”

“This much is nothing.”

“Then where should we go now?”

“I don’t know that either. First, we should probably get out of this forest, shouldn’t we?”

Indeed, being suddenly dropped in a forest without any equipment, it would be stranger if we knew where we were.

“Is there a possibility that others could find us using warp?”

“I’m not a mage, but I do have some connections. It’s probably… unlikely. At this point in time, that person wouldn’t cooperate either.”

She must be talking about the Magic Tower Master.

Indeed, at this point, there wouldn’t be any connection yet.

‘She really did come all this way just for me, putting everything aside.’

“It’s best we start moving. No one will be able to find us if we just wait here, as no one knows our location.”

At the princess’s suggestion, I gathered what seemed necessary from the carriage.

There wasn’t much that was actually needed.

Perhaps anticipating travel via warp, there wasn’t much besides clothes.

“There’s not much worth taking…”

“You’re right.”

In the end, I wrapped some clothes and a few jewels in cloth and handed them to the princess.

‘We’ll see how they can be used later.’

‘If it were Iris…’

I shook my head.

“Why are you shaking your head?”

“It’s nothing.”

“By the way, am I the only one carrying this?”

“It’s not even that heavy.”

“You’re probably the only person who would treat a princess like this. Well, there’s one more, I suppose.”

“There’s someone else like that?”

“Currently, besides you, there would be the Duchess Winterhoff.”

“…”

“You always go quiet when the Duchess Winterhoff is mentioned.”

“Stop with the pointless talk and let’s go.”

“Hmm… well, alright.”

“Before we go.”

I drew the sword from the scabbard on my back and approached the carriage.

“What are you planning to do?”

“A minimal marker. You said that way, right?”

“Yes.”

I broke the carriage into pieces and arranged them like an arrow pointing in the direction we were headed.

“…This carriage was quite expensive.”

“We can’t take it with us, can we? And aren’t you rich, being a princess?”

‘Don’t be so stingy.’

“That’s not what I meant. I was saying this carriage had all sorts of protective magic cast on it.”

“So that’s why it felt a bit difficult. I see.”

“…”

The princess looked at me strangely, then started walking ahead.

“At least we don’t have to worry about being ambushed.”

“…Who knows.”

“Shouldn’t you be saying, ‘Leave it to me,’ in times like these?”

“That’s cliche.”

Bickering with the princess, I stepped into the forest.

‘…I’m sure this game was a romance fantasy, so why am I doing a survival challenge in a jungle with the protagonist?’