Chapter 3: The Damn Old Man

Ugh, so boring.

Every night, it’s the same thing—Yusuke and I get dragged to these evening gatherings. Or rather, matchmaking parties.

No one outright says it, but it’s painfully obvious. The whole point is to pair us—the so-called heroes who defeated the evil dragon—with someone suitable.

And after a week of this nonsense? Zero progress.

Yusuke, for one, has serious trust issues when it comes to women. The guy won’t even entertain the thought of engagement. Strong-willed women? Yeah, no chance. He’s a total herbivore type. If anything, he’d probably go for a soft-spoken, traditional Yamato Nadeshiko  kind of girl.

…Not that we’re in Japan, so that doesn’t really apply.

The other day, I caught a glimpse of a noblewomen’s tea party. Terrifying. They weren’t hostile toward Yusuke or anything, but they were definitely scheming.

Stuff like slipping him a love potion.

Yeah. Love potions.

Scary stuff.

As for me? Yeah, no. Marrying a guy just isn’t my thing.

And it’s not like these men are subtle about their intentions. I can literally see their eyes darting between my face and my chest.

Sigh.

I let out a long breath—only to feel a sharp jab in my side.

“My lady,” Jane, the maid, warned.

“Ah, sorry… I’ll be more careful.”

After all, you never know who’s watching.

Ugh, so exhausting.

Midday at the royal castle.

Why am I wandering around here, you ask? Well—

“Well then, my lady. I’ll be waiting outside, alright?”

“Mm. Thanks, Jane.”

Keeping up my usual composed exterior, I opened the door.

Inside was a reception room—one that looked like something straight out of my past life. Just… a hundred times more extravagant.

Two sofas faced each other.

And sitting across from the entrance, waiting for me, was a middle-aged man.

“Well, well, you finally made it. Miliaréna.”

There aren’t many people who talk to me so casually.

After all, I’m the king’s daughter.

So, yeah. The only one who can get away with this is him.

The king of this country.

My damn old man.

I met his gaze. “What brings you here today, Father?”

He leaned back, relaxed. “Well, sit down. This isn’t an official meeting. Just a little family chat.”

“...Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

I took a seat across from him.

Despite being well over fifty, the guy was still ridiculously muscular, towering, and had an almost absurd amount of presence.

“So, about today’s topic…” He paused, as if searching for words. “How’ve you been? Doing alright lately?”

…What kind of conversation is this?

It’s like some awkward dad trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Except he’s not awkward, which somehow makes it worse.

I sighed internally. “I’m fine, Father.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear…”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………?”

Just say something already.

This is getting unbearable.

“Ah… right.” My father cleared his throat. “Let’s get to the main topic. So, uh… have you found a good marriage candidate yet?”

Ugh.

“No, I’m ashamed to say… I’m still a bit… intimidated by men.”

Deploying plausible excuse!

“The woman who slayed the evil dragon is scared of men who haven’t even trained their bodies properly?”

Plausible excuse, destroyed.

“W-well… it’s not so much scared as… I’m just not good with them.”

“Hm. I suppose that makes sense. You’ve been avoiding male servants since you were little. Always chasing after the maids’ skirts.”

…Says you, old man.

The words nearly slipped out.

This damn king—my father—has seventeen kids.

Eight boys, nine girls.

A queen, countless mistresses.

And let’s be real—he’s had his way with plenty of maids too.

A stamina monster ruled by his d*ck—that’s the ruler of this country.

“But still,” he continued, completely unaware of my internal monologue, “as a father, I’d like you to marry sooner rather than later. And as a king, I’d prefer it to happen as quickly as possible.”

“…I see.”

“Hmm… you’re making quite the displeased face.”

“Oh? Was I making such a face?”

Deny everything.

“What about the knight commander’s son? He’s a fine young man, isn’t he?”

“…Well…”

Admittedly, he’s… less vulgar than the others.

A fine young man? Maybe. But calling him that doesn’t feel quite right.

More like… a gorilla on steroids.

The guy is huge. Probably twice my weight, all muscle.

A walking slab of manliness.

Not a bad person, but…

“You don’t seem too thrilled.”

“No, no, it’s not that… well, maybe a little.”

It’s not that I hate the idea. He’s just… a lot. And something tells me our personalities would clash hard.

You can tell just from a short conversation.

He’s got that strong “women should be protected!” mentality.

Even though I’m objectively stronger than him—both in magic and combat—there’s this subtle, lingering sense that he looks down on me.

Maybe that sounds harsh. But that’s just the vibe I get.

“Hmm… but still—”

The damn old man grumbled to himself, then—

“Ah. Then, how about you marry the hero?”

What.

A bombshell statement, casually dropped.

I kept my face as neutral as possible, though my eyes instinctively narrowed.

“Huh? Why?”

Crap. That slipped out.

My natural tone leaked through.

But the damn old man didn’t seem to mind. He simply rested his chin on his hand, his expression turning serious for the first time in this entire conversation.

“You understand, don’t you?”

“…………”

I remained silent, but I already knew where this was going.

“The hero is more powerful than any weapon in this country,” he continued. “Even if we mobilized all our soldiers, we might be able to suppress him, but… there would undoubtedly be bloodshed.”

“Yeah, well…”

Idiot. You wouldn’t be able to suppress him.

I’ve seen him fight.

I was there when we took down the evil dragon.

He can leap dozens of meters with a single kick. A swing of his sword can cleave through castle walls like butter.

And when he took a fireball from the dragon head-on without so much as a scratch—yeah, even I was speechless.

So, let’s be real.

If he really wanted to, he could level the royal castle in under an hour.

Not that he would, of course.

Yusuke’s not that kind of person.

But there’s no point in stirring up unnecessary fear. So I keep my mouth shut.

“This country has decided to coexist with the hero. That is the duty of those who summoned him to this world.”

“…………”

Summoned him, huh?

You were the ones who summoned him.

You praised him as a hero when he was fighting the evil dragon. But now that there’s peace, you treat him like a threat?

Yusuke isn’t a weapon.

He’s not some dangerous force that needs to be "handled."

He’s a human being.

A living, breathing person.

“You’re close with that hero, aren’t you?” the damn old man continued. “Then, to keep him from rebelling against this country, you should—”

“With all due respect, Father.”

My voice came out sharper than I expected.

Even he looked a little surprised.

“Whether Yusuke marries someone in this country or not… he would never do something as cruel as harming innocent people.”

“...But still.”

This stubborn old man.

I get it. His priority is the safety of the country. I can respect that.

But he’s completely clueless when it comes to people.

He probably thinks he’s being affectionate right now—looking out for his daughter and all that.

But seriously. He needs to stop stepping on landmines without even realizing it.

“...Well, the hero can wait. You’re the priority right now.”

Oh, great.

“The country’s about to get busy,” he continued. “After the defeat of the evil dragon, there’s reconstruction, hunting down the remaining monsters… all that and more.”

“...Understood.”

“We don’t have much time to waste on romance. You’re the king’s daughter, but you’re also the hero who defeated the evil dragon.”

He leaned back on the sofa, his expression serious.

“Decide on a fiancé within a month.”

Oh, for the love of—

“I’m not against free love,” he added, “but noble daughters aren’t supposed to choose their engagements based on personal feelings. I’m being generous by giving you a month.”

“...I understand.”

“If you can’t find someone, we’ll arrange it for you. Of course, we won’t do you wrong… but, you know, love can grow after marriage, right?”

“…………”

“You’re not a child anymore. As a woman of the royal family, you need to be aware of your responsibilities.”

With that, the damn old man left the room.

Leaving me alone.

“Ugh… this is so stupid. What’s with all this royal family nonsense?”

Even as I muttered it, I understood.

This situation… Being allowed to choose my own husband is already a ridiculous privilege.

I’m the king’s daughter.

Normally, my marriage would be decided by politics.

But because the damn old man is such a horndog, he’s letting me have a say in it.

Like a pity gesture.

If he actually cared only about the country’s interests, he’d have married me off to some high-ranking noble ages ago.

I get it.

I get it, but…

“...Marrying a man, huh?”

I hate every single one of them.

Talking is fine.

As long as it’s just conversation, I don’t feel disgusted.

But the moment our hands touch… or when they casually put an arm around my waist… That is unbearable.

A deep, gut-wrenching revulsion.

Most of them don’t even try to see me for who I am.

It’s all about my status. My looks. My power.

They only see the surface.

And being a noble’s wife means producing heirs.

But sharing a bed with them?

…No way.

Just imagining it makes my stomach churn.

“...Ugh.”

Still, I can’t just run from this.

There has to be a way out…

As my thoughts spiraled, Yusuke’s face flickered in my mind.

I clicked my tongue and flopped down onto the sofa.

---

After freshening up, I left the room.

With Jane trailing behind me, I made my way through the royal castle.

I wanted to get away from the political areas as quickly as possible.

Everything there made me uncomfortable… anxious.

As I walked, a distant commotion reached my ears.

Voices, loud and overlapping.

“...Is there some kind of event going on? In the middle of the day?”

Curious, I headed to the end of the hallway and stepped onto the balcony.

From here, I had a clear view of the garden… and beyond that, the knights’ training ground.

It was loud. Even from this distance, the noise was unmistakable.

I cast a vision-enhancing spell on myself.

At once, the distant scene sharpened into clarity.

On the packed dirt of the training ground, a single man stood, facing off against multiple knights.

A wooden sword in each hand.

A practice match? Or a mock battle?

The lone fighter was…

“Pfft. What’s he doing?”

Yusuke.

I don’t know if the knights challenged him or if he got provoked into this, but as long as both sides are fine with it, I guess it’s fair game.

My eyes flicked toward another figure on the ground.

The knight commander’s son.

Flat on his back.

Probably Yusuke’s doing.

As I continued watching with my enhanced vision—

One by one, the knights fell.

Even from the sidelines, it was obvious Yusuke was holding back.

He looked like an adult playing with children.

Yet, despite being knocked down over and over, the knights kept charging at him.

...Their pride wouldn’t let them back down.

But there was no malice in their eyes.

They just didn’t want to lose. They wanted to win.

Honestly, men are so stupid.

...Then again, I used to be one, so I guess I can’t talk.

Ah, there goes the knight commander’s son—knocked flat again.

This is kind of fun.

Serves him right.

“You seem quite happy, my lady.”

“Huh? Well, yeah.”

Jane’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I blinked, then dispelled the vision-enhancing spell.

“Unfortunately, I can’t see that far…”

Oh, right.

She wasn’t using magic, so of course she couldn’t.

She probably had no idea what was happening.

“Ah… well, Yusuke’s over there sparring with the knights or something.”

“Ah, so it is the hero.”

“Huh? What do you mean, it is?”

I tilted my head, and Jane responded with a sly smile.

“My lady, you always seem so happy when the hero is involved.”

“...No, that’s not true.”

“Oh, but it is.”

“...Tch.”

What a cheeky maid.

Feeling vaguely annoyed—but strangely refreshed—I turned away and left the scene behind.