It’s Rather Typical for the OP of a Short Game
“Princess-sama, have you forgotten me?”
“Princess…-sama? Who are you talking about?”
Even as Mialanze desperately called out, René only showed a fearful and bewildered expression.
If a child were suddenly approached like this by a stranger, it would be a normal reaction.
“What… What is this, exactly?”
Mialanze was just as confused.
After all, René was not supposed to be normal.
“May I ask for your name?”
“Me?… My name is René.”
Mialanze asked, thinking that perhaps they were twins or something, but it seemed different.
“Excuse me.”
“Eek!”
Mialanze bent down, gently brushing René’s silver hair away and placing her hand on René’s forehead.
The warmth of a living being could be felt.
―― She looks like Princess-sama, but she has body temperature. So, she’s not undead… Did she lose not only her power as an undead but also her memories…?
Rather than entertaining the idea of someone who looked identical and had the same name, it made more sense.
Especially since Mialanze herself lost the power of a vampire. It was plausible that René might have lost her power in a similar way.
However, even if that was the case, the question remained: why and how was her power taken away? And what was different between René, who lost both power and memories, and Mialanze, who remembered the events just before losing her vampire abilities?
“Um, is something the matter?”
“It’s nothing… I’m sorry.”
René, who had her forehead suddenly touched, was bewildered by Mialanze’s peculiar behavior.
When Mialanze withdrew her hand, René tilted her head, patting her own forehead.
―― What should I do… and where exactly is this place…?
Anxiety, as if dropped into a dim hole, plagued Mialanze.
An incomprehensible situation.
She lost her fighting power, and Princess René, whom she relied on, was also unreliable.
In this uneasy state, Mialanze glanced around the room. It was similar to the adjacent room where Mialanze had awakened. Antique-like furniture lined the room, an inexplicable fire burned in a fireplace of unknown origin, creating an unsettling dimness.
――… What is this?
There was one thing in this room that wasn’t in the adjacent one.
A wooden bookshelf adorned with delicate carvings.
It was filled with books, but oddly, most of them were integrated into the bookshelf, impossible to take out or open.
Among them, there was one real book.
Curious, Mialanze took it out.
The thick book, like a dictionary, had most pages stuck together, allowing her to read only a few pages in the middle.
“’Sorry, my mistake’…?”
The book had handwritten characters that seemed familiar somewhere.
They were elegant and sensuous without any apparent meaning.
◇
Sorry, my mistake.
The Gaisenfall Great Forest somehow formed a “hidden village”.
A hidden village is a term for a kind of fairy miniature garden woven by mystery. It refers to an area where the phase is shifted from the physical world.
It seems Princess-sama had been trapped there with Mialanze. In other words, you could call it being spirited away.
This is my mistake as I failed to discern the nature of the forest in the preliminary investigation. I allowed the princess to venture into such a dangerous place.
I’m trying to analyze as much as possible and intrude into the hidden village, but I don’t know what’s happening on your end.
Breaking open the isolated world from the outside to rescue the Princess is probably impossible.
But please don’t despair.
Even if I don’t know how this message is reaching you, if it’s reaching you at all, it’s a great success.
The intrusion was successful.
No matter how narrow the path may seem, even if it looks like an impossible game, there must be a way out.
Please find it somehow.
I, too, will search for anything I can do from the outside.
Everis
◇
When she finished reading that book… no, when she finished reading that message, a mixture of hope and despair swirled within Mialanze.
―― This message is addressed to the Princess, not me… Does the Chief of Staff not know about Princess-sama being in this state? Probably impossible to convey the current situation and seek advice…
Mialanze had heard about being spirited away before, even from her father.
People suddenly disappearing in mountains or forests.
Most were likely victims of kidnappings or monsters, but occasionally, those who vanished returned after many years.
The returnees would tell tales of experiences in a world that seemed unreal…
And this. This was a strange situation. Spirited away by Goesenfall Forest.
Mialanze and René were trapped in another world, stripped of their powers, and René had even lost her memories.
“Could it be that I… was abducted here?”
René looked around anxiously, not understanding why she was in this place.
“…I don’t know. But I’m on your side, Princess-sama.”
“Um… please stop calling me ‘Princess-sama’. …It’s embarrassing…”
Whether René thought she was being teased or not, she blushed a little and averted her gaze.
René was supposed to be a princess without any doubts, but she seemed to have forgotten even that now.
Regardless, if René objected, then Mialanze would respect that.
“Understood. In that case, ‘Your Highness’?”
“That’s a bit…”
“What about ‘René-sama’?”
“If possible, ‘sama’ too…”
The girl hesitated but still offered a defense.
In the common language of the human race, there were various honorific expressions that could be used depending on intimacy and relationships. And according to Mialanze’s sense of propriety, becoming more familiar in addressing each other was not permissible.
“So, what should I…”
“Just call me by my name, preferably.”
Mialanze thought it was too respectful. Firstly, as a subordinate, Mialanze couldn’t afford such an attitude. But it was just the two of them here, so maybe it was fine…
Perhaps, and René directly requested it. How could she refuse?
“…René.”
“Yes.”
Mialanze called her by name, and René responded.
A mix of taboo and pleasure trickled down Mialanze’s back. For some reason, her heartbeat quickened, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
It felt like Mialanze had done something irreparable, yet René seemed happy.
With a wide grin, René, holding her cheeks loosely, playfully twisted them around.
“W-What’s wrong?”
“Hehehe… It’s been a while since someone other than my mom called me by my name. It feels kind of nice.”
(TLN: My heart hurts.)
Mialanze suppressed the urge to let her smile crumble.
Normally, René wore an icy and stern expression, but when this innocent-looking girl displayed a childlike, innocent smile, it had a terrifyingly powerful effect.
Moreover, thinking that her words had brought a smile to René’s face, Mialanze felt an overflowing sense of affection.
“I wonder if Mom is worried…”
“…Mom?”
René mumbled while looking out of the window, which seemed completely blackened.
It seemed like René said it casually, but Mialanze felt her body’s core freeze for an instant.
The words she was about to say got stuck in her throat.
“Um… It’s my 10th birthday today. So, Mom said, ‘Tonight, we’ll have a feast.’ But it’s already pitch dark outside…”
Seeing René stumble over her words, Mialanze couldn’t say anything.
“Ah! I’m sorry. I’ve been talking only about myself. Who are you?”
“…I am Mialanze. I am here to serve you.”
Mialanze lowered her head, to hide what was in her mind.
“Miss Mialanze…? What does ‘serve’ mean?”
“For now… I cannot talk about that.”
Mialanze said nothing and could say nothing.
Revealing everything to René would be too cruel.
Cruelty aside, it would only disturb her without any benefit.
If telling René what had happened so far led to her regaining her memories and power, that would be good. But it seemed like an unfavorable gamble.
――Let’s reserve that as the last resort for when all else fails. It’s more crucial not to unsettle Princess-sama and hinder her actions.
Suppose, for a moment, Mialanze decided to narrate the tragedies that befell René so far.
From René’s perspective, who had lost her memories, she would hear about a dark future where she and her supposed subjects, including her mother, were gruesomely murdered, and she would become a follower of the Evil God.
If Mialanze did such a thing, it would be impossible to expect René not to be wary of her. It’s better to refrain.
“Anyway, let’s first find a way to escape from this strange place. There must be a means to escape somewhere.”
“Y-Yes.”
As Mialanze stepped forward and started walking, René followed behind.
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