WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈
Chapter 20: Being a Shut-In Makes You Miserable in All Sorts of Ways
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Lucia personally made the bosses talk.
She said she knew a good way to do it.
She did not tell me what that method was, but... in any case, Lowcat confessed.
The fools who had accepted the Death God Cult's request to kidnap the princess were Lowcat, and the plan had already been put into motion.
They even kindly told us where Amelia was being held.
Now I had to stop the forced event in Amelia and Laward's route.
I would insert myself at the start of that romance and take Laward's place.
Steal her away with everything I had.
Damn it.
I had to do my best to steal the heart of a pretty girl who was not even my type.
I couldn't get motivated...
Pressing hard against my brow, I firmed my resolve.
Just endure it a little longer.
If I endured a little longer and raised Laward properly, I could wash my hands of troublesome events like the end of the world and live in leisure.
All right, then.
Shall I go rescue the princess in place of the protagonist?
Not as Karma, but as Daywin.
“I'll be taking my leave.”
“Very well. Go on. And stop killing people already.”
I pretended not to hear that last part.
Amelia.
A second-year at the Academy.
Age: XX.
Not because XX represented some special age. Her age had genuinely been concealed as XX in the game.
The other heroines were the same, with all their ages listed as XX.
The player only knew which year they were in at the Academy.
I didn't know for certain, but there was probably some legal reason for it.
Well, I could find out now if I wanted to, but I would leave it alone for the moment.
Back to Amelia.
A second-year at the Academy.
Double major in the Swordsmanship Department and the Magic Department.
The reason for the double major was that women of the royal family had to be perfect.
She took twice as many classes as everyone else, did twice as much coursework, and participated in twice as many school activities.
Her daily schedule was broken down by the minute, and it was already packed through next year.
Furthermore, she was incredibly methodical. She followed her weekly routine for an entire year without missing a single day or deviating by even an inch.
After all, women of the royal family had to be perfect.
So if someone planned to kidnap Amelia, she would be an easier target than anyone.
She followed the same route at the same times every day, and she dismissed her guards because they disrupted her concentration.
From a kidnapper's perspective, there was no easier target than Amelia.
Which was why she got kidnapped.
Though causing trouble for the royal family still seemed like a stupid idea.
Well, anyway.
In the game's scenario, Laward rescued Amelia.
No choice appeared asking whether he would save her or not.
It was a forced event.
He saved her no matter what.
But Laward would not come to that place today.
It was Sunday morning, after all.
Time for the fanatic to worship.
Even a forced event could not stop his faith.
Nothing was more important to Laward right now than worship.
It was different from the game.
The moment I arrived at the place Lowcat had named, a clear voice rang out.
“You bastard!”
Found her.
Amelia and Lowcat's remaining members were definitely beyond the door.
The area was a dark warehouse.
When I focused on my sense of smell, the scents of blood and dust mixed together.
I let out a long breath, as though scattering the ominous stench around me.
“Do you know who I am to treat me this way?!”
“Obviously, Your Highness. Why else would we kidnap you? You still haven't figured out your situation?”
“Untie me at once! If I remain captured like this, I...”
“Yeah, heh heh... You won't be making it back in one piece.”
“I will not be able to review what I studied yesterday! I need to review it now for it to transfer into long-term memory...!”
Huh...?
“What...?”
The hostage-taker reacted as blankly as I did.
“I will not run away, so give me pen and paper! Time is precious!”
“You have some nerve, bitch. Looks like you still haven't figured out your situation. Hey, cutting off a finger should be fine, right?”
Shing!
The sound of a blade being drawn echoed through the warehouse.
Hmm.
Were these bastards insane?
There was a reason it was a forced event.
If Laward did not appear, Amelia's safety could not be guaranteed.
Was ignoring the forced event supposed to mean accepting the loss of one of the heroine's fingers?
Perhaps even more than that.
An event that would determine the future upheaval.
If I missed this moment, everything would change beyond recovery.
Amelia was a necessary talent for preventing the end.
And she was not just anyone. She was royalty.
Her royal person.
Not even a single finger.
I could not let it be harmed.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the warehouse door.
“I've come to spread the good word.”
That line gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.
Bang!
The door flew open.
It was quite a different atmosphere from when I had rescued Laward.
They did not even have the leisure to ask who I was.
Five hostage-takers in the room.
They had all drawn weapons and aimed them at me.
...There had been no need to pretend to be an evangelist.
They were different from the slave traders back then.
They had more initiative.
They looked completely prepared to fight.
Then I should meet them thoroughly as an enemy.
Whoosh!
The lead hostage-taker's dagger shot toward my throat.
I could not blow them apart with spirits when Amelia might get hurt too.
For now, I would use my bare hands.
Thud!
I caught his wrist and stopped it, then struck his elbow with my left hand.
I bent the joint backward.
Crunch!
“Gaaaaah!”
I snatched the dagger he had dropped before it hit the ground.
Then I stabbed him in the nape twice.
Stab! Spurt!
When I pulled the dagger from his neck, dark red blood spurted out.
“K-Kill him!”
The others rushed at me with their own weapons.
A hand axe, a dagger, a longsword, and a sickle.
Hummm...
I chose a spear.
I gripped a spear of light forged from holy power.
I took aim quickly and threw it.
Whoosh!
“Ghk!”
“Urk!”
The spear of light pierced two hostage-takers at once.
Unlike undead, they did not rise again.
That left two.
Hummm...
I created another spear.
I avoided the hand-axe wielder's strike with a backstep and thrust the spear at the same time.
The counter landed perfectly.
It pierced clean through from the bastard's jaw to the back of the head.
Spurt!
When I pulled out the spear, only one remained.
“U-Urgh!”
The last one dropped his weapon and turned around.
I was blocking the door, so he probably intended to use the back door or a window.
There was a spear in my left hand and a dagger in my right.
Which should I use?
Whirl!
Both.
I tossed the dagger lightly into the air in front of me.
The suspended dagger spun round and round.
Then I gripped the spear in my left hand with both hands and swung it like a baseball bat.
Clang!
The dagger, struck squarely by the spear's shaft, flew forward.
Whirr... Thunk!
The dagger lodged cleanly in the last hostage-taker's nape.
Thud!
That took care of the last one.
As I stabbed the men lying on the floor one by one, just in case, my eyes met the princess's.
Amelia was kneeling with her hands and feet bound.
She looked up at me with a dazed expression.
Mysteriously glowing red eyes.
Hair just as red, long enough to touch the floor.
She resembled autumn maple leaves as they faded.
It was definitely Amelia.
I was just as dazed.
She was beautiful enough to cloud my mind.
“Ah...”
She was right on the verge of tears.
She desperately tried to keep a blank expression, but she could not hide the moisture around her eyes.
“Th-thank you... I-I really... didn't know what to do, so I thought I was going to die like th-this...”
She spoke as though she were fine, but she must have been scared.
She had not talked about studying during a kidnapping because she had superhuman mental strength.
She was soft inside, yet she pretended to be strong.
A princess who always pretended to be strong.
A princess who worked tirelessly.
She always said that time, given equally to everyone, was more precious than royal blood.
Snap.
I picked up a dagger from the floor and cut the ropes.
Amelia watched her hands and feet be freed one by one before suddenly turning to me.
“...What is your name?”
It was a rather arrogant attitude toward the person who had saved her life, but considering her background, a gentleman like me should endure this much.
“Daywin Hasgard.”
“Hasgard... As in House Hasgard? I heard there was an incident at this Subjugation Festival.”
Even while sniffling, she spoke with remarkable care.
“It is an honor that you know of us.”
The princess knew about Hasgard, yet I had never met her in my previous life...
Being a shut-in really did make one miserable in all sorts of ways...
In truth, it was mostly my fault that I had learned so late that this world was inside a game.
The family's responsibilities, honor, duty. I threw all of it away and only played around.
Yes.
As I had said over and over.
I regretted it.
“Of course I know. Memorizing the status of notable families is also an assignment for a princess. Hasgard has three children now... I believe. Which Hasgard are you?”
Amelia rolled her wrists, now freed from their bindings.
“The third.”
I held up three fingers.
Thumb, index finger, middle finger.
The middle finger was me.
Was I the longest-lived of the three because I was the middle finger?
“The ropes are all cut. Please stand. I will escort you where you need to go.”
But Amelia did not stand.
She merely extended both arms toward me with a sullen expression.
“Here.”
She spoke briefly and stretched her arms a little farther toward me.
What?
What was I supposed to do?
“Come on, hurry.”
What was I supposed to do with her arms...?
“I cannot stand.”
Was she asking me to carry her?
“My legs gave out because I was scared.”
...Don't lie.
I saw you move your legs while I was cutting the ropes.
You can move!
Have some dignity.
“We do not have time for this, Hasgard. How long do you intend to keep me in this place reeking of blood?”
Her attempt to demand physical contact was incredibly blatant.
She was trying to be held by a strange man she had just met...
This was... a princess?
More importantly, she called me Hasgard.
It was a form of address I had never expected.
Then Amelia clapped twice and opened her arms again.
She took a pose that made it easy to pick her up.
“Ugh.”
Rustle...
Unable to refuse, I lifted Amelia into my arms.
A princess carry.
Amelia was a princess, so this was a genuine princess carry.
There could not possibly be a more princess-like princess carry than this.
It might have been an unnecessary observation, but she was so light that I worried about her eating habits.
“Hasgard, take me to the library.”
“What? After going through something like this, you still intend to study?”
I furrowed my brow in protest, but...
“Take me to the library.”
Amelia remained firm.
“Today is the day I borrow books from the library and study on the terrace of my favorite tea shop. Neither the kidnappers nor you can stop my schedule. That is an order.”
“...I definitely advised against it.”
Whoosh!
I slung Amelia over my shoulder.
“Eek!”
An absurdly high-pitched scream burst out.
“Wh-what are you doing?! Put me down at once! Put me down!”
“You said you could not move.”
“N-no matter what, how can you carry a princess...! How can you carry a princess like this?! Put me down!”
That was her punishment for lying.
She patted at my back, but it did not hurt much.
It seemed the Swordsmanship Department instructor had taught the princess rather casually.
“H-Hasgard! I... I was wrong! I was wrong, so...!”
I ignored her and adjusted my shoulder to make carrying her easier.
Right, I remembered.
There was a reason Amelia acted like this.
She had one hidden setting.
Despite being a noble princess, she was very...
Ending (11) Locked: Impudent!
Ending (12) Locked: Time Will Not Wait
Ending (13) Locked: A Piece of Perfection
Ending (14) Locked: Even If I Must Give Up the Royal Family
Ending (15) Locked: Amelia TRUE: Garden of Palace
Very easy to win over.
Her romance difficulty was the lowest.
The princess... was easy.
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