Hakari-san raised her hand, cutting her mother off. “No, Mother, I’ll do it.”
“Hakari… Facing off against an armed knight is dangerous. I appreciate your concern, but that’s why, as your mother, I must—”
“No, that’s not it. Your age just doesn’t match the character at all.”
“You have a point. If I were to stand in as her, it might contradict information they might hear about the little tactician general later.”
“Mother, I want you to focus on running your business so we’ll have the funds to lend aid.”
“My daughter has defeated me with pure logic…”
And with that, Hakari-san made her debut in the story.
An Excerpt from Circlet Love Story:
“A Miracle”
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Even amid the sound of the pouring rain, the princess’s apology rang out loud and clear.
“Now that you’ve…made it to this cave…you should be fine…” I gasped. “You merely have to wait…for the other knights to lend you their aid…”
“No! You shouldn’t have taken that assassin’s arrow for me!”
The arrow was lodged deep in my shoulder. It felt hot and throbbed with pain. My consciousness dimmed.
“I…I never wanted anyone to sacrifice themselves for me,” said the princess. “I’m scared! I’m so scared!”
As much as I wanted to put the princess’s mind at ease, I couldn’t. My body was too weak to obey me.
“I’m sorry… I’ll draw some water for you. I pray that it will help you recover.”
The princess’s gloomy voice drifted off as she stepped away. Something soft then pressed against my cheek. I forced my eyes open, wondering what it could be, and found a small pup snuggling against me. Well, fancy that.
“My apologies… Was this cave your…home? Could you…permit us to stay a short while?” I asked, looking into the pup’s eyes. “At least…until aid arrives…”
The pup turned its head away from me and simply sprawled itself out beside me. I would not describe it as terribly endearing behavior, but at that moment, I appreciated the warmth of life in this frigid cave.
“My knight!”
At the sound of the princess’s scream, I sprang up, startled. But alas, I was struck with a most dreadful dizziness. My vision dimmed, and I could not hear a sound.
The princess continued screaming something that I could not make out all the while. I focused with all my might and found that she was running toward me. Three hazy figures followed her. It finally dawned on me. This is the forty-fourth assassin. I cursed my foolishness for assuming that, simply because we had reached our destination, I could leave the princess’s side. What an ass I was!
“Hyaaaaaaaaaa!”
I swung my sword at the assassin leading the fore with the last vestiges of my strength.
“Whoa?! Give a comrade a break, would you?!”
I blinked in surprise at the familiar-sounding voice. Ah, so they had come for me—the beastmaster, the elderly knight, and my squire…
“Good lord! What a grievous wound you bear!”
The elderly knight’s voice put me at ease, and I let myself collapse against him.
“Live! You must live!” he shouted.
“But of course. I have no intention of…dying here. No… This has awoken me to a new joy.” It appeared that I still had enough strength within me to engage in light banter. “But I suppose that I…can leave the princess in…your hands…for you two are true warriors…”
I sensed someone swallow a gasp of surprise. Who was it, I wondered?
“It’s under control, brother!” the beastmaster said jovially.
The elderly knight nodded silently. That, too, I could understand. We were worthy rivals who had fought together beneath the banner of justice. I was comfortable entrusting the princess to them. With that, I finally rested my eyes.
“M-my knight!”
I exhaled, and my hazy vision abruptly cleared. The princess kneeled before me, her face twisted in sorrow as she wept. Ah, that was so terribly…
“Wh-what purehearted tears!” The voice seemed to be coming from, of all things, the pup. It had climbed onto the princess’s lap at some point. When her tears fell on its body, a powerful light gleamed, and it let out a bark. The light enveloped my body.
“My wound…is healing? Who are you?”
“’Tis I, the governor of this land. Or I suppose it would be more accurate to call me its custodian.”
“Well, color me surprised! Though you appear to be a canine pup, you were a guardian beast all along!”
“Ancient literature states that creatures with extraordinarily long life spans become divine spirits known as guardian beasts.”
Egad. This would mean that something with the appearance of a very young child could be an elder who had lived for eons.
“O mortal, through your tears, I have borne witness to your cruel destiny. I fear that the vicissitudes of fate may rob you of your pure heart.”
The entire cavern lit up as the guardian beast spoke, and the shimmering sparkles flowed into the princess like a cascading wave. As the light settled within her, the back of the princess’s right hand glowed with a mysterious pattern.
“O mortal, I shall bequeath you with a portion of my strength. Perhaps the power of healing shall be useful to you.”
“Y-yes! Thank you ever so mu—”
A loud booming noise cut the princess off. The light ceased altogether at the same time, leaving only darkness behind. I lit a fire and observed our present situation.
“The entrance is totally sealed! It won’t budge no matter how much I push or pull!” the beastmaster moaned.
“It appears the heavy rain knocked rocks from the cliff,” said the elderly knight grimly. “Realistically, we will not be able to clear them all away.”
“What a deep burden you carry,” the guardian beast muttered sadly. I wondered if he was referring to the princess’s god-given destiny.
“Sir Knight, what if we venture deeper inside?!” My squire spoke up with terribly forced cheer. “Perhaps it will lead somewhere.”
“Inside is a dead end.” The voice came from precisely the direction the squire was looking. “I took a short nap in here, waiting for the rain to pass. Is it night already?”
I turned the torchlight to this newcomer, revealing a boy—no, a girl—with a large hammer slung over her shoulder. Her face was obscured by a mask. It was difficult to make out her features, but I could still tell that her hammer was large and cumbersome in contrast to her slender frame. I had entered the cave under the assumption that nobody else was inside, but it appeared that someone other than the guardian spirit had arrived here before me.
“I’m so sorry,” said the princess. “I’m afraid that my unfortunate fate has affected you as well.”
“Huh? The hell are you talking about?” The girl was silent for a moment. “Oh, the entrance is blocked, huh?” She seemed to have surmised the situation. “Are you calling a mild inconvenience like that an ‘unfortunate fate’? How ridiculous!”
“Are you saying you have the means of resolving this dilemma?” I asked. “If so, then I leave our fate in your hands.”
“You mean that scrawny-looking guy? Or is she a girl?” asked my squire.
“I’m a girl, you dumbass!” she shouted.
“It’s hard to tell underneath your mask and all that heavy armor!” said my squire.
The girl brought her mighty hammer down on the rocks as if to shut him up. I was convinced her slender arms would not prevail against those colossal rocks, but they crumbled from that single blow. The next moment, a boom rang out as the rocks turned to dust, leaving me in a state of utter confusion.
“My word! I must apologize. Evidently, I belittled your strength!”
Who would have conceived that this girl was a berserker, a warrior blessed with the ability to temporarily enhance their physical might?
“Oh, look, the weather’s already cleared up,” she remarked. The storm appeared to have passed while we were trapped inside the cave. “How long are you gonna stand around all mopey like that? Why don’t you just come outside? Anyway, I’ll be seeing you.”