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C126: A PRINCESS HARD AT WORK
And so, Letasreit, the princess of the now-destroyed Human Kingdom, began her life on our farm.
Of course, just because she’s a princess doesn’t mean we’ll let her eat and sleep here for free.
We already have Veil doing that.
Anyway, we asked the princess to do some work, but as expected, she had no experience in labor as she had never carried anything heavier than a spoon in her entire life.
Hence, we let her do something more straightforward, such as weeding the fields or checking the crops’ health.
When we introduced her to Gobukichi and the other goblins, she was spooked out by their appearance and complained about wanting to be reassigned someplace else because of her disgust which earned her another hit from Platy.
“…You sure are especially strict with her, Platy.”
Platy and I talked for a while as we watched over the princess working.
The princess changed from the elegant dress she first wore into thick workwear and is currently immersed in farm work.
She actually has a surprisingly good work attitude. She keenly listened to the goblin’s instructions and scrutinized every leaf for any pests.
It is not a quick job by any standard, but she’s making steady progress while taking her time.
“I can’t stand it when people think that all princesses are pompous like her. That’s why I have to be thorough.”
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that Platy is the Mermaid Kingdom’s princess.
She’ll most likely be pampered when she returns to her motherland, but it’s still hard to imagine that when Platy is this independent and outgoing.
“Someone like her should have her pride shattered; otherwise, she won’t grow. She’s just like my sister, whom I thoroughly beat some sense into so that she straightens up.”
“Huh?”
Did I just hear an unsettling statement?
Oh, well.
“True. Had you not used brute force on her, she probably wouldn’t have opened her heart to us like this right away.”
Her status as a princess or her pride may have even gotten in the way, and we would’ve had to put up with her for a longer time.
But the princess in front of us… Er, Letasreit, is far from that now.
She even looks up to the goblins with respect for their knowledge of agriculture and their skillful work.
“It’s better to open up right away if you’re going to live with others, isn’t it? Though I can’t really say for sure about what will happen from here on out. But at the very least, we should give her some peace of mind while she’s here.”
In the end, Letasreit continued to work until sunset without ever giving up despite her first day on the job.
But ultimately, she ran out of energy and collapsed on the ground.
“Good work today.”
I, as the owner of this farm, applaud her hard work.
“A job well done on your first day. Here, drink this to revitalize yourself,” I say as I give her a glass of milk.
The satyr milk has become an indispensable item to us after a hard day at work.
Letasreit was either parched or something, because she snatched the glass from me and chugged the milk in one go.
“…It’s delicious. What kind of milk is this? This is tastier than what I’ve had at the royal palace by a long shot.”
Apparently, the satyr’s goat milk is one of this world’s leading items, and that the milk being produced at dairy farms is no match for it.
I once heard that the quality of the food served at the Human Kingdom’s royal palace is not so different from the general public.
“I guess the rumor about food tasting better when you’re tired really was true! Looks like there are also lessons to be learned from the lower classes’ lifestyles.”
“…”
I look around to make sure that Platy is well out of earshot.
She would’ve gotten another blow from her if she had been around.
I hope she’ll take the initiative to fix that loose tongue of hers.
“It’s a relief seeing that you’ve basically adjusted to life here. It’s also a responsibility that the Demon King asked me to take on.”
“About that… Just what in the world is this place?”
She really had to ask that fundamental question now, of all times.
“All I heard from the Demon King was that he’ll transfer me to a much safer place, that’s it. I understand that I wouldn’t be getting much information being held captive by them, though. There are no demons within their own territory, but there are a lot of monsters. I don’t get it at all.”
I suppose you’d think of it that way based on your observations alone.
“It’s better if you don’t know. It’s for your own safety.”
“I knew you’d say that. Don’t worry, I won’t ask anything absurd, nor will I think of escaping from here. If you want me to work, I will. That’s the position I’m in right now.”
“You’re surprisingly obedient…”
It’s totally contrary to my first impression of her, seeing her behave so differently before.
“Surprisingly? I suppose so. Both my country and my freedom were taken away from me. It wouldn’t be unusual if I chose death after falling into despair. But I choose to live! I will live by all means! Do you know why?”
“…N-No, why?”
“Because there’s hope! If I was able to get through today, then there may be hope in tomorrow! I’ll recover all that I’ve once lost! That’s what gives me the drive to go on!”
“I-I see!”
That’s actually quite reasonable.
But what exactly does she mean by recovering all that she has once lost?
“…You seem nice, so I’ll let you in on my secret. The hope I have…lies in my savior!”
“Your savior?”
“His name is Saint Kidan!”
…
Ah.
I just remembered.
That’s me.
She’s talking about me.
I thought having a different name in a new world was a great idea, but there aren’t many opportunities when I’m called by that name, so I tend to forget.
I mean, people on the farm usually call me “Dear,” “Master,” or “My Lord.”
…So? What about me makes me her savior?
“Then again, a country bumpkin like you would have no idea who Saint Kidan is, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Let me tell you how it all started. It was when a dragon came flying in the battlefield between the human and demon race…”
That… That actually sounds very familiar.
It’s Veil, isn’t it?
She just causes trouble here and there!
“That dragon claims to be a servant of Saint Kidan. A saint who can even get a dragon to obey him! If someone like him serves the Human Kingdom, we’ll be able to purge all of demonkind. That’s why Father sent out a search party to look for him!”
“…”
“But the demon race was unexpectedly relentless with their offense, and my country was utterly destroyed. We weren’t able to find Saint Kidan in time… But the search party is somewhere out there, continuing their search for him!”
“…”
“I’m sure Saint Kidan will destroy demonkind the moment he knows about our plight! And then, he’ll rescue me from this place, and we’ll return to the royal palace together!!!”
…
Y-Yeah!!!
“…But you know-”
I thought I had to tell her now, so I intervened.
“But will this Saint Kidan easily side with you if he really does exist? You have no idea of his view on all of this, right?”
“What do you mean? The Saint is definitely an ally of the human race!”
“What makes you so sure?!”
“Because he’s a saint! A sacred person! It’s only natural for someone like him to lend the human race a helping hand!”
…
I’ve made up my mind.
From now on, it is forbidden to call me “Saint Kidan” in front of her.
I’ll let everyone know about this while she’s asleep.
“I will endure in this exile until the Saint comes to my rescue! I’ll accomplish anything you have to throw at me, be it weeding or squashing pests! I must survive!!!”