Chapter 4: Roka-hime
The New Section
On the carriage ride over, I ask the king for the Encryption blessing. He agrees.
We arrive.
I see massive trenches everywhere. Some already have huge concrete pipes inside them; others are still empty. I notice faint blue lights glowing inside certain trenches a bit behind the digging progress as we observe from above.
Dirt suddenly flies to the side on its own. I stare. The king asks the head assistant:
"Where?"
He points. I follow his finger. One trench is moving way faster than the others. I also notice a bunch of big musclehead guys running up and down scaffolding that's moving slightly slower than the trench itself.
We move closer.
When I look down, I see a young woman—yellow hardhat, black dirty coat, pants, and… are those combat boots? Her pickaxe is moving at super speed as she digs like a demon… like the dirt killed her parents or something.
Behind her, several not-so-muscular men lie collapsed on the ground. One weakly reaches toward her, pleading like he's about to cry. The others look like their souls are escaping their bodies.
"Please, Princess, no more, I beg of you!"
Huh!? Princess? Her?
I look at the king and point down at her. He just sighs, raises his hands, shrugs, and shakes his head.
I turn back. She's stopped and turned toward the men. That's when I notice she has a white bandage wrapped around her chest. I focus on her and use my Appraise skill.
It looks like she was just about to yell at the men—she even lifts her arm to point at them.
The second I activate the skill, she turns sharply and looks straight at me. She seems cross. I try to concentrate on her status—
A pickaxe comes flying past my head at mach speed.
She clicks her tongue as I fall on my ass.
The head assistant helps me up. That was seriously terrifying. Ah! The status screen disappeared. Looks like I have to keep the person in view in order to read it.
I look over the edge again. She's staring at me, fists clenched, baring her teeth like she's growling. Her hardhat has fallen off, revealing black hair tied in a ponytail.
The king steps next to me. She looks up at him, puts a hand over her forehead like blocking the sun, squints—
"Ah!"
She suddenly takes off at full speed toward the scaffolding. She runs up it, leaving a dust cloud behind. I track her with my eyes, still stunned.
At the top, she skids to a stop, straightens her posture, then begins running toward us again—much slower, hands outstretched and palms down, smiling innocently. I can almost see flowers blooming behind her.
She stops in front of the king.
"Honorable Father, who might this gentleman be?"
She gestures toward me.
"Sir Kaijuu Ryu."
"The Hero? … Which one was he again?"
She taps her chin, thinking. "Ah, from the Shadow Forest incident."
She claps her hands together.
"And who did he choose? I'll start preparing my bridesmaid dress immediately and—"
The king stops her with a raised hand. She looks up.
"You."
"What about me?"
She points innocently at her own face.
"He chose you."
She looks at me. Then at her father. Then at me again.
"WHAT!? SERIOUSLY!?"
She hops back, crossing her arms in front of her as if to defend herself.
"Roka! You're being rude."
The king glances at me.
"Please excuse my daughter, Sir Kaijuu."
He waves a hand tiredly.
Roka takes another step back and gestures Shannon over. She holds up her hand to whisper.
gotcha gotcha gotcha
"He asked for a doorway."
"A what!?"
She looks at me while whispering again.
gotcha gotcha
"Yes. A door freak."
DON'T CALL ME THAT!
I clench my fists.
"First of all, forget about that!"
I point at her.
"Second—why the hell did you throw that thing at my face!?"
She gives me a completely blank look, like the answer is obvious.
"Because you used Appraise on me."
…What the hell?
The head assistant leans in and whispers in my ear.
"It is considered extremely rude to appraise a lady without her permission."
Ah. I see.
I straighten and bow.
"Please excuse my rudeness, Princess Roka."
She looks at her father. He crosses his arms and gives her a stern look.
"It's fine. Just don't do it again without permission, okay?"
She winks. She actually looks kind of cute saying it like that. My face heats up again.
She bows, then waves.
"Well then, so long!"
She jogs toward the scaffold.
…Did she seriously forget what we were talking about just now?
She gets halfway, then freezes like a statue.
She whirls around and sprints at full speed—head down—until she's inches from my face. She jerks her head up.
"What do you mean, you chose ME!??"
She leans forward. I lean back with my palms out and an awkward smile.
"Uh…"
I look left and right for help. The head assistant grabs her by the shoulders and drags her away. She looks up at him with an innocent expression.
"I'll explain everything a bit later. For now, let's get you cleaned up for your marriage interview."
Everyone else looks away, exasperated. The king looks up at me.
"Well, Sir Kaijuu, what do you think?"
"What do I think… Mmm… I mean, I'd like to get to know her a bit more before deciding."
"You mean you'll consider it?"
The king brightens and claps his hands.
He looks up.
"Please come to the marriage interview later tonight, then."
I nod.
We return to the carriage.
There are only two horses left from the four we came with. They must have taken the other two and left earlier. Shannon is driving the carriage now.