WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈

Chapter 56: Confession Attack (5)

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War had broken out.

Its pretext was love.

"Does that even make sense?"

It was absurd.

Starting a war over love!

Even then, Mirne had thought it would end with a declaration of war.

She believed they would merely go through the motions, then resolve the situation through talks.

Yet things were unfolding in a completely different direction from what Mirne had expected.

"Something that wasn't in the original..."

Mirne stopped herself from mentioning the original story.

Things had become too tangled for her to keep talking about it.

There was only one likely cause.

"...The Imperial Crown Prince."

Just what was he?

He had seemed incredibly suspicious from the beginning.

Starting with the disappearance of the Emperor from the original story, then his cold attitude toward her.

In a world where everyone was supposed to naturally love Mirne, he behaved in a way that was completely out of place.

Still, she had tried not to make too much of it.

If there were a hundred people, it was impossible to win the affection of all one hundred.

'Of course, Mirne... no, I could do it.'

She had thought he was merely one variable that had appeared as the original story progressed.

She could no longer see it that way.

'This rumor must be the Imperial Crown Prince's doing too.'

The Imperial Crown Prince was a mass of variables who should not exist for the original novel's plot to unfold.

'Could he be a transmigrator too? Like me?'

She briefly considered whether he might be in the same situation as her, then shook her head.

Even if he were a transmigrator, nothing would change.

She was the protagonist, after all.

She had no time to concern herself with someone from an Empire that was destined to disappear.

She had too much to do and too much to prepare for.

"There haven't been any losses on our side yet, right?"

"Yes, there haven't."

"They're just exchanging magic without either side gaining anything, correct?"

"That's right. They will likely continue dragging this out while attempting to negotiate."

"What negotiation? They just want to talk to me."

Tsk.

Mirne clicked her tongue and looked down at the table showing the current troop deployment.

A map of the ongoing battle and the positions of the deployed forces were represented by pieces atop the table.

For now, they were only exchanging magic, so there had been no major losses. But no one knew how things might change as time passed.

A development she could not control.

'I don't want that anymore.'

She refused to be dragged along any longer.

The Confession Attack had already given her enough of a headache, and now even a war was tormenting her.

"...I'd like some time to think."

"Understood. Then we will leave you alone..."

"No, I'll go out. I could use some fresh air."

After saying that, Mirne immediately left the command room.

She headed straight for a place where there was not even the slightest sign of anyone.

She had never intended to use it now, because even this was completely different from the original story.

'There's only one Executioner I can summon right away.'

The Dragon Princess Arveda, one of the Empire's five Executioners.

Her Covenant required someone to find her forgotten name.

Unlike the other Executioners, simply knowing her name would immediately earn her gratitude.

That made her the easiest one to build a connection with.

Her original plan had been to approach Arveda after the Empire had fallen, when she was struggling to maintain her sense of self, then tell her True Name and win her favor.

'I'll do that later.'

With the original story already tangled up, putting out the immediate fire came first.

If this dragged on, there would be time limits on obtaining what she needed in the future.

There was so much to handle while she still had time. She did not want to waste it on a war like this.

Besides, any negotiations would obviously be ridiculous.

They were not even close. They had only spoken a few times, yet they were acting like this.

'The Macelin Kingdom will grow and absorb their country eventually anyway, so it's fine.'

What an unbelievable nuisance.

So she had to play the strongest card available and settle this quickly.

Since they were only exchanging magic for now, a Dragon's magic could end the war in an instant.

Hoo.

After taking a short breath...

"...Arveda Liraberi Danium."

To anyone listening, the name might have sounded like an incantation. For the first time, it revealed its presence to the world.

Fwoooosh!

She had only spoken it, yet the concentration of Mana around her suddenly thickened.

Sliiide.

"...!"

It felt as though a ferocious Dragon had opened its eyes and was staring sharply at her from behind.

The sensation of being completely caught within those vertical pupils, reduced to a lowly creature.

By revealing the True Name, she would earn gratitude, and through that gratitude, gain the ability to command the Dragon. It was an equal exchange.

One of the protagonist’s outrageous Special Perks that allowed her to keep a Dragon as a subordinate simply by knowing its name.

"Come to me. I will give you your name."

After saying that, Mirne looked up at the sky.

Since Arveda was a Dragon, she had assumed Arveda would read her coordinates and teleport here the moment she spoke the True Name.

But...

"...?"

There was no response.

"Huh?"

Why?

Confusion appeared on Mirne's face.

+++++

There was a vast difference between handling paperwork and being on the battlefield.

"Grrr..."

"Another one has Mana exhaustion! Bring a stretcher!"

"There's no time for that! Focus on your chant! We're using cooperative magic in three minutes, so instead of worrying about the one who collapsed, close your eyes and get your circle turning properly!"

While the battlefield was a desperate mess, the documents had summarized the situation as a "standoff involving extensive magical exchanges."

The mages actually running across the battlefield felt like they were dying.

"Bleegh..."

The first problem was that Mana potions tasted utterly foul.

Whenever they ran out of Mana, they had to drink a Mana potion, but it tasted like mop water.

Of course, they had heard that higher-quality Mana potions tasted different.

But the only ones issued on the front lines were the lowest-grade Mana potions.

"I can't believe this is supposedly an improvement."

"I heard Mana potions in the Macelin Kingdom taste amazing. Didn't the... Crown Princess improve the flavor so they taste like grapes?"

"...Ha. I seriously want to defect to their side."

The Cireen Kingdom mages continued preparing their next spells even as they complained.

A war had begun over love, and that war was grinding them down.

Their reason for participating was so weak that they could not even find the strength to fight properly.

Even so, they had no choice but to keep trying.

"We're being pushed back! Move!"

Boom!

"Urgh!"

If they fell behind in this magical standoff, they would suffer the damage directly.

The moment the flow of their magic was disrupted, the enemy's spells would come flying in one after another.

Even with defensive measures prepared in advance, they could not avoid taking damage.

Normally, soldiers or knights would buy them time or serve as shields in moments like this.

But they too were holding the very front line and had no room to spare.

'This is such a stupid war. We're just exchanging magic over love to maintain a showy battlefront?'

'What if someone dies? Who's going to take responsibility for that? Love?'

They complained, and their resentment only continued building.

The real problem was that no one could guess how this war would end.

Cireen demanded a clear answer about love, while Macelin remained completely silent.

Those being ground down in the meantime were the people below them, so they could only feel wronged.

"How long are we going to keep doing this..."

Just as one mage began the next chant...

"Huh?"

In the center of the battlefield.

"What is that?"

"Fire?"

A flame large enough to easily swallow an entire castle appeared.

No, rather than a flame, there was a more fitting word for it.

"...The sun."

The power of the sun.

There was only one force on the continent capable of wielding it.

"The Empire...?"

Only the Empire.

They all understood.

Someone had arrived here.

"...A member of the imperial family?"

The Empire had appeared.

+++++

I don't like frustrating plotlines.

Especially the kind where a companion is controlled by some strange power and has no choice but to betray their allies.

Then a battle breaks out, people get hurt, and they become enemies. I truly hate that kind of development.

Betrayal would be one thing.

But being controlled through something like hypnosis is deeply unpleasant.

It feels too mindlessly forced.

Why should you have to fight your companion? Because they were controlled?

Some plotlines even make you subdue that companion.

They said they didn't want to fight. They said they didn't want this.

Yet I would still have to forcibly knock out someone whose eyes were filling with tears. I hated the situation itself.

'And because they might go wild again, their entire body has to be wrapped in restraints while others keep watch over them... I don't want that kind of development.'

Fwoooooosh.

Sol Velos.

The power of the sun seized everyone's attention on the battlefield.

Flames that swallowed every spell displayed their overwhelming presence and brought the war to a halt.

Haa.

My breath created flames.

I had never felt such rage before.

It was not simply because Mirne had tried to summon Arveda and use her as a weapon of war.

I was angry because I could see the future, one where Mirne would use the Empire as a tool.

Why had the Imperial Crown Prince kept returning to the past?

Naturally, it must have been for the Empire.

Why had he failed to produce a positive outcome even once across countless regressions?

That could not be blamed on the Imperial Crown Prince's incompetence.

"You were the problem, from beginning to end... You, who intended to see the Empire as a tool."

"...Y-Your Highness? H-How did you get here?"

Mirne stood below me, looking flustered.

How had I gotten here? She had kept summoning someone else's precious Executioner. How could I not know?

"Where is there that I cannot go?"

The Empire's strength had no talent for hiding itself.

From Mana to Aura, everything belonging to the Empire possessed immense power and revealed a presence proportional to it.

The reason was simple.

"Because no one can object."

They could do so.

The only country that could intervene by using the noise of a neighboring war as its justification.

That was the Empire.

"Come to think of it, you mentioned some rumor about a Dragon before."

"...."

I could practically hear Mirne's eyes moving.

She could not give any answer and kept trying to figure out why I was here.

"Do you think you can scheme with the Empire before you?"

How disrespectful.

With those words, the rough blade slowly revealed itself.

The sword said to have been created to kill gods displayed its presence.

- It is power for what comes next... for what comes next.

- When do you need it by? This is my first time making one too, so there may be significant errors...

- It's fine, it's fine. I can reduce the errors, so you needn't worry about it.

A conversation the Imperial Crown Prince had once shared with the Dwarf Gilbat surfaced in my mind.

How far into the future had the Imperial Crown Prince looked when he regressed?

How many possibilities had he considered?

As those thoughts passed through my mind, the blade slowly turned white.

"...Surely you don't intend to use that power here? Inside the Macelin Kingdom...?"

I could see Mirne's horrified expression, as well as the Spirits preparing to use their power nearby.

Her gaze held one question.

Surely you would not really use that power here?

It was laughable.

Slice!

Rather than answer, I swung my sword.

"Protect me! Please!"

Mirne called out to the Spirits, asking them to defend her.

Scarlet Aura burst from the pure white blade and shot straight toward Mirne.

A crescent-shaped Aura.

"Aaaargh!"

"Urgh!"

It erased the Spirits protecting Mirne with absurd ease.

"Uh, huh?"

Shhk!

It reached Mirne.

Unlike last time, she had no protection from the novel and not a single male protagonist to protect her.

The flame that cut through Mirne's body carved a deep sword wound diagonally across her, from her left shoulder to her right waist.

"A-A-Aaah...!"

Mirne cried out in pain and stared at me with eyes filled with shock.

Her eyes asked how I could hurt her.

I looked at her and laughed.

'Thank you.'

Normally, my attack could never have reached her.

[ Arveda is attempting to leave the Empire while her Covenant remains unbroken. ]

[ This conflicts with the Covenant forged by the Great Prophet. ]

[ A Covenant usurper has been designated an enemy. ]

But now, I could.

Messages concerning the Covenant.

They contained information that made me reconsider the Covenant itself.

I had believed the Covenant was an excuse for the Executioners to destroy the Empire.

Now I understood that was not the case.

'Was the Covenant a safeguard that kept Mirne from taking them during a certain period?'

It was a safety measure that protected the Executioners from Mirne.

Unfortunately, it was not permanent. It had a limited duration.

Still, there would be no problem if I resolved the Covenants before that time expired.

'You don't know this, do you?'

I clearly held the information advantage.

"Go ahead and struggle."

I would make sure she never did something this stupid again.

Footnotes:

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