Chapter 9.1 - Black and White Princess and Soul Dress [3] – part 1 (1/2)

9. Black and White Princess and Soul Dress [3] – part 1

At present time,

「……」

「……」

I was alone with Ria-san in her room.

「……」

「……」

Sitting on a wine red carpet, we sank into silence.

The silence felt almost suffocating.

To the point where the sound of the second hand of the clock ticking second by second could be heard clearly.

(……How did this happen)

As a result of that duel that gambled each other’s human rights, she became my slave. No, she was forced to become.

(A princess from one country became a slave of a stranger while studying abroad. If this was leaked to her home country… Not just at the level of troublesome but – a terrible uproar will occur…)

To be honest… I really want to be done with this.

Why do I have to suffer through this…

(Haa…)

I sighed in my heart for the umpteenth time.

After that duel, Leia-sensei brought us here halfway forcibly, saying, 「Slaves have to dedicate everything to their master!」

And then she said, 「I’ll arrange to move all of Allen’s baggage here tomorrow, so that’s the plan!」and she went off somewhere.

She really is like a tempest.

(…But in light of the academy rules and the common sense of society, Leia-sensei’s behavior is not wrong.)

That’s right.

At first glance, she seems to be doing whatever she wants, but in fact, she has only done the obvious thing as the duel witness.

In the first place,『duel』 is a serious sword fight that stakes ones’ pride, and the conditions and promises decided by both parties beforehand must be kept. A weak person who breaks this is not a swordsman, but a brute who has strayed from the moral road.

This is the first thing we learn at the Academy of Swordsmanship in Elementary School, and probably the swordsmen of this country – no, every single swordsman throughout the world have inscribed it in their hearts.

In fact, even Dodriel kept his promise.

That high-pride man bowed his head and firmly apologized and withdrew his rash remarks towards my mother and I.

A promise in a duel holds that much weight.

(That’s exactly why this situation is bothersome…)

Because of Ria-san’s personality, if I said「We can forget about slave contract」, she wouldn’t obediently back down and say「Thank you!」.

If she was such a character, then at the moment Leia-sensei said,「You lost the duel」, she would have ran away from that fact.

In other words, the only way to cancel this slave contract is for her to win over me in a duel.

(But, it’s already too late now…)

Ria-san’s attack pattern.

Attack and evasion tendency.

Thought process during battle.

Such important aspects of an opponent in a battle, was exposed to me in the previous battle.

Even if she had one or two hidden trump cards – it might be a hard fight, but in the current state, I don’t think I’ll lose. I have one or two hidden trump cards of my own too.

(Haa…… Should I just lose on purpose…?)

For a moment, such a stupid idea crossed my mind, but I immediately shook my head.

That is absolutely no good.

I’m also a swordsman.

I can’t deviate from the path of a swordsman, such as losing purposely in a duel.

If I did that, I won’t be able to face my mother or Paula-san anymore.

(…What do I do from now on)

Although I say「What to do」, at the current state there is nothing I can do. Thus, racking my brain would just be a waste of time.

I finally arrived at the conclusion that「it’s useless no matter what I do right now」, and looked around the room without being noticed by Ria-san.

(… it’s a surprisingly cute room)

Her room has a sense of unity with white as the base color and pink as the accent – a very girlish room.

Since she is royalty, I thought she would bring in more chandeliers and extravagant furnishings, but I don’t see anything of the sort.

It’s a very normal – lovely girlish room.

(And it kinda… smells nice…)

It smells different from a perfume or a detergent.

Of course, it is not strong enough to choke, but a gentle and natural scent that smells sweet when you concentrate your consciousness.

Then, as I looked around the room, I found something interesting.

(Hee… so she likes stuffed animals?)

There was a cute bear and hippo stuffed animal at the bedside.

(Fufu, so she does have a cute side)

And while I was observing her room,

「I-It’s embarrassing, so don’t stare too much… please.」

She muttered those few words while blushing.

The honorific attached at the end was probably because she is supposed to be my slave.

「So-Sorry…」

I apologized for the time being.

I shouldn’t have looked so intently at the room of a teen girl.

Even I understand that much.

However, this is a big achievement.

Only after coming to this room, was it possible for us to communicate – successfully.

I decided to start the next conversation, before this speaking atmosphere died down.

「Say, err…」

「W-What could it be…?」

「How do I put this, umm… why don’t you quit with the honorifics?」

Honestly, honorifics don’t suit Ria-san at all.

I think this is probably because I just saw her『elementary』side awhile ago.

「… I think it would be strange if I, as a slave, don’t use honorifics to address Master. Moreover… I have my own will and pride as a swordsman. I can’t differ from my promise.」

And she turned her face away.

She was a much more stubborn person than I expected.

(Even if you say that… After this, we are going to live together to a certain degree, I would feel suffocated if you keep using honorifics while talking…)

To be honest, I don’t particularly hate her.

Rather, I just hope to get along as a good friend.