Chapter 72 : Saving The Princess Is My Duty! (part 1)
We never thought it would happen.
The giant magic stone that has been protecting this kingdom for hundreds of years…
The royal treasure that the Gran royal family has been using to maintain the barrier…
And the only reason why people can live peacefully in the Human Land…
Was now broken in half.
「W, Well… why don’t we try to stick them together for now…?」(Slad)
Slad-san looked a little bit panicked.
We pushed one half of the giant magic stone against the other half until there were no more gaps between them.
However, there was no reaction.
The giant magic stone kept blinking repeatedly as it gradually lost its brilliance.
Well, even though we’re sticking them together like this, the two chunks are still two chunks, they won’t become one.
We know this is stupid, but we’re desperate.
And of course, the amount of magical power that came out from the giant magic stone was still half of the original amount.
The destruction of this kingdom is only a matter of time.
「Gaaaahhhー! This is bad! This will definitely be my responsibility!」(Slad)
Even a special A-rank adventurer like Slad-san was panicked.
He was holding his head with both hands.
Even though the royal capital and Tiaret will still be covered by the barrier, the kingdom will lose half of its territory because we failed our mission.
In order to avoid attacks from monsters, people will definitely abandon their fields and run into the area that is still covered by the barrier.
As a result, this country will be short of food… and that’s a nightmare for me…
I don’t wanna live a life where I can’t eat as much as I want!
….A, Ahem! I’m sorry.
Of course people’s lives are more important than my stomach.
「Oi, Slad! Any idea!?」(Marian)
「Princess, I-I’ll do something!…. O’ God of Rocks, please restore this giant magic stone! Healー!」(Claire)
「Are you an idiot!? There’s no way Heal works with a stone!」(Sniff)
「Everyone, calm down. Let’s forget about this and sleep for now.」(Slad)
「Y, You’re right! This may be a dream!」(Sniff)
Claire-san, Sniff-san, and Slad-san have completely lost their minds.
So people will go crazy like this when they lose their composure, huh…?
「Tsk! What useless people!」(Marian)
Princess Marian pushed away Slad-san and the others and stood in front of the giant magic stone.
She then put her hands on each of the chunks and began chanting a long spell.
「ーーーー【Evil Crushing Barrier】!」(Marian)
And then, the giant magic stone stopped blinking and began to shine more brightly.
「Eh…? Princess, did you manage to recreate the barrier?」(Hanna)
「Yeah…」(Marian)
「Is the size of the barrier the same as the original size?」(Hanna)
「Of course. Who do you think I am?」(Marian)
「But… How…」(Hanna)
If she can do that why did she look so panicked a while ago?
Does this mean this kingdom is safe now?
But, the giant magic stone is still split in two.
How did she manage to recreate the barrier with full radius?
「Princess, you’re awesome!」(Galle)
Galle-chan jumped and hugged Princess Marian from the back with her tail wagging.
Umumu…. I’m a little jealous…
It’s been a long time since they met, so I’ll overlook it, but Galle-chan, please don’t flirt with her too much while I’m watching…!
「… Princess?」(Galle)
Even though she was being hugged by Galle-chan, Princess Marian didn’t even look back.
「…What’s wrong…? Why won’t you turn around and look at me?」(Galle)
Looking at Princess Marian’s back, I realized something.
「Don’t tell me….. Princess, you’re connecting the two halves of the magic stones with your body, aren’t you!?」(Hanna)
「…..Hmph. You’re quite sharp for an insensitive person.」(Marian)
I knew it!
Princess Marian is using her body to connect the giant magic stone’s tremendous amount of magical power.
That way she can maintain the barrier at its original size, butー
「Eh…? Hold on! Does that mean Princess can’t leave this place!?」(Galle)
As Galle-chan said, Princess Marian is now part of the giant magic stone.
Perhaps, the barrier would collapse if she let go of her hands.
No, maybe it would be okay for a couple of minutes.
But then she has to immediately put her hands back on the giant magic stone.
In other words, Princess Marian has to stay in this place until her successor appears.
「It’s not as bad as you think, you know? Now that a lot of magical power flows through my body, I can live without eating or drinking. Besides, if I don’t go home, the people in the royal capital will stop fighting over who will be the heir to the throne.」(Marian)
Princess Marian said that but obviously she was just pretending to be strong.
This is the tenth layer of the underground labyrinth that is full of monsters.
It may be a perfect place to go on an adventure, but it’s just a terrible, terrible place to live in…
「No way…. Princess, if you stay in this lonely place for a long time, your heart will definitely break!」(Galle)
「Perhaps… but protecting the people in this country is my duty as the princess. I can’t give up my duty just because I feel lonely, right?」(Marian)
Her tone still didn’t sound like a princess at all, but she has a strong will and a wonderful purpose.
「Hanna…」(Marian)
While still facing the giant magic stone, Princess Marian called my name.
「I’m sorry for doubting you… and thank you for saving Galle-chan…」(Marian)
「Princess…」(Hanna)
「And… Please do me a favor… Make Galle-chan happy.」(Marian)
Princess Marian said something like a bride’s father will say to the groom.
I should have said, “You can leave her to me!”, but if I said that, that means I agree to leave the Princess alone in this place.
I don’t want that to happen.
「No… Princess…… Master, can you do something with your blunt weapon skills? Please!」(Galle)
Galle-chan looked at me with teary eyes.
「You can fix this broken magic stone with your blunt weapon skills, right? If you can fix it, Princess won’t have to stay here!」(Galle)
「Galle-chan…」(Hanna)
I don’t think I can fix a giant magic stone, but…
I have to save Princess Marian! I can’t let Galle-chan down!
Think, Hanna! Think!
There must be a skill I can use among hundreds of blunt weapon skills I have!
Giant magic stone… Magic stone….
Wait a minute… I do have a perfect skill for this!