Chapter 786: Princess and Polka 1
The miraculous spring water is said to cure all ailments when drunk and heal wounds when bathed in, but in truth, even long-time residents can’t really tell the difference in its effects. As long as you’re in Polka, you’ll bathe in and drink the miraculous spring water unless you’re exceptionally filthy. Getting other water is actually more of a hassle. Of course, the potency fades if you store it, but the only time you’d deliberately want to neutralize it is for brewing alcohol (Johnny’s old man says it just doesn’t turn out right otherwise). Ultimately, it’s impossible to tell whether it’s actually working, or not working. As for Princess Ran’s symptoms, they fall under what you’d call an illness, so drinking the water should have a strong effect……or so it should be. Still, you can’t exactly say bathing in the hot springs is meaningless either.
“Hot springs that even dragons and elves give their seal of approval to……of course I want to try them!”
Having gone to the Bath Maze incognito, Princess Ran, who seemed quite fond of hot springs themselves, spoke with enthusiasm. However.
“But you’ll be bathing with regular citizens and people seeking treatment. Is that okay?”
“Ah……”
Princess Ran made a slightly awkward face at Hilda-san’s question.
“Is that something you can’t handle?”
“Ah, emm…….no, it’s just in our customs, we can’t enter wearing robes……right?”
“……Well, yes. Well……you’ll probably get told off”
“……Plus, I kinda……worry Fiona might get mad again, saying it’s careless”
Seems she can’t completely ignore what Fiona says after all. I thought she dismissed everything because Fiona said all sorts of irrelevant things, but it seems that was only because she had to be firm for diplomatic matters, and it’s not usually like that. Hilda-san gave a slight look of thought.
“I see……so, as long as it’s not a public bath, right?”
“……W, Well……but is there anywhere?”
“There are ways to bathe, you know? I hear the Baron’s mansion has private baths too”
As a lord’s privilege, he does have exclusive rights to one hot spring source. Well, apparently it’s so the Baron’s mansion can hold out in a siege if necessary. However, cleaning the baths is a hassle, and both the Baron and his wife prefer socializing at the public baths, so they’re rarely used. If we asked nicely, a VIP like Princess Ran might be allowed to use one.
“There’s also the option of using the spring in the Northern Forest. A spring with nearly identical properties exists within the forest’s barrier. It’s usually a restricted area, so it’s perfectly secluded”
Irina must be referring to the barrier prison. Well, things would change if there were criminals locked up there……but judging by her tone, it seems you can’t enter the barrier prison normally unless it’s an exceptional circumstance.
“There’s also the simple option of reboiling the miracoulous spring water and bathing in it♪ If a tub bath is acceptable, that is”
Cosmos-san’s suggestion……umm. Well, it’s practical I suppose, but it’s not something the residents would think of. With a free hot spring available, they wouldn’t waste fuel like that just because they dislike exposing themselves naked, even to someone of the same sex.
“Well……the simplest thing is that, right?”
Gloria crossed her arms. The female slaves around her and Dianne all nodded in unison, as if they instantly understood what she meant.
“That……what is it?”
“It’s nearby. The perfect spot. No locals or tourists you’ve never seen before would ever go there. It’s spacious, quiet, safe, and no one would complain even if you entered a bit differently”
“……Umm, so then……that’s okay, right?”
Princess Ran looked puzzled. 「If there’s such a good place, why didn’t you just say so sooner?」.
—————————-
“Who?”
“Ah……Princess Ran Bluelight from the southern country of Saint Gardo. She has a chronic condition, so I want to let her recuperate there for a while”
“If you say so, I won’t interfere. ……Is she okay? Didn’t she just pass out standing up?”
“S, She’s fine……she’s perfectly fine!”
Corti, who greeted us completely naked, looked puzzled, though I certainly wasn’t surprised by her unabashed state. Near the secret hot spring, Leyla and Shario were uprooting trees and digging out rocks to level the ground. In their dragon forms. The sight of two fully grown dragons, each over fifty meters long, working together to turn over the soil was undoubtedly shocking. The path here had been blocked by trees, and the moment the view opened up, the dragons appeared with a thud. It was heart-stopping for anyone unaccustomed to it. I did mention beforehand that 「The dragon girls are guarding the place」, though.
“This is Corti. A silver dragon, and, emm……that dragon over there is her sister”
“No. That’s Shario”
Corti corrected me.
“……Right. So that dragon over there is Leyla, this one’s older sister. She’s a silver dragon, and I think she’s the easiest to talk to”
I thought Leyla was a bit bigger, but apparently not. ……Come to think of it, I hadn’t really paid attention to comparing their sizes.
“And that one is Shario. She’s a bit gruff, but she’s just a bit airheaded, so you don’t need to be too scared of her”
“What do you mean airheaded?”
Shario, still in her dragon form, turned her face toward us, looking displeased. Her body was huge, so her voice was loud too. And inside her half-open mouth, enormous fangs gleamed silver, looking extremely vicious. If this one wasn’t a female slave who enjoyed being violated, I’d be bracing myself too, I thought, trying not to laugh. Princess Ran let out a 「Hyaaah!」 and collapsed. ……Considering the courage she’d shown until now, I thought she might be able to hold it together, but maybe without Fiona watching, she couldn’t push herself that far.
“It’s fine. Those two dragons and Corti are all female slaves who absolutely obey me”
“Ah, Aaah……e, emm……the dragon too……?”
“What, isn’t that kid used to dragons?”
“……She seems pretty terrified”
Corti chuckled softly and tried to transform into a dragon herself (well, I just sensed that intention), so I hurriedly grabbed her shoulder and stopped her with a rough kiss.
“……Wh, mou……don’t be so aggressive……♪”
“……Don’t scare Princess Ran with your pranks”
“……Did you catch me?”
“If you keep pulling boring stunts like that, I won’t do anything sexy with you. I’ll just use Leyla instead”
“N, No, don’t get mad like that!”
While Corti and I were being affectionate, Leyla and Shario, who had somehow reverted to their human forms, were staring intently.
“……Cough”
“Umm, am I being left out? You’re doing it with Leyla”
“……Emm, well. Let’s handle business first, shall we?”
I released Corti and stood beside Princess Ran. Corti was naked, but Leyla and Shario were at least wearing clothes. The Crystal Palace’s fashion culture follows the Eastern Mountain style, so I thought their layered, long-robed fashion had some similarities to the ankle-length robes of the Saint Gardo style. Well, relatively speaking, anyway.
“She seems to have asthma. According to Hilda’s diagnosis, the sacred spring’s efficacy should cure her quickly, but since she’s a princess, it’s apparently not appropriate for her to bathe naked in the women’s baths crowded with commoners”
“A princess’s body in a feudal nation is fundamentally the property of all the people, right? She should be prepared to offer it to whoever is necessary when the time comes. It’s not something to be kept secret even in a situation like this”
“……Could you stop suddenly sounding so wise, Corti?”
Plus, the content is unsavory.
“You’re common, so you wouldn’t know, but that’s how noblewomen actually are. It’s precisely because they’re bound to marry anyone according to their house or country’s policy that they get to live unconditionally well. That’s why the idea of offering oneself even arises, right?”
“That might be the logic……hey, you!”
Sacrifice herself……I hadn’t even explained why the princess blurted that out yet. She pretended not to know but understood everything. With those hellish dragon ears of hers.
“If you’re planning to offer your body to this guy anyway, wearing a robe inside is forbidden. If you hesitate even to take it off, there’s no way you’ll make it in time when we pull his cock out”
“……”
Princess Ran blushed bright red. Oh, for heaven’s sake.
“Leaving this to you was a mistake. ……Emma!”
“Haa”
Emma landed from the sky the instant she was called. She must have been within about 30 meters. The fact she waited nearby until specifically summoned felt like a peculiar reserve, different from Maia or Laila. Still, she was the most reliable when it came to common sense.
“Can you handle guiding and guarding Princess Ran? Do your best to accommodate her wishes”
“Yes. ……Umm, something?”
Emma gave Princess Ran a puzzled look. Princess Ran was clinging to me, frozen stiff.
“……Th, This person too……a d, dragon……?”
“……Yeah”
“…………I, I was just……surrounded by……four dragons……”
“No, no, pull yourself together. Dragons aren’t scary. They’re just sexy beauties who can fly a bit and summon blizzards. Dragons don’t just attack for no reason. Elves are actually more violent”
The princess listened blankly, while Emma looked slightly confused.
“Have you ever been attacked, my lord……?”
“……Once, around here, long ago”
Truth be told, even now, there’s still a tiny chance some extremists might attack, so the elves are actually scarier. Phaser probably won’t come anymore, but among the elves, there’s likely still a faction that hasn’t accepted it……. Dragons, on the other hand, are much better since you can actually have a conversation with them. Thanks to Laila giving me the title of Dragon Rider first, as long as I assert that, they won’t resort to force without warning. But I guess dragons are still scary just because they’re dragons. Maybe the Masturbation Brothers, who use them as masturbation material even though they know better, or the Polka men who let their guard down just because they’re bathing together in the men’s bath, are too much of a special case.
“……Since the princess is scared, the three of you with the black collars should stay a bit away while she bathes. Go to my house or something”
Corti looked displeased, Leyla gave a wry smile, and Shario nodded flatly before walking toward town. And the princess……she’s still scared of Emma, isn’t she? It’s kind of funny since they’re almost the same height.
“Emma’s a reliable girl, so you can relax. She won’t lose even against dozens of monsters. She’s the best escort”
“…………U, Uh”
Even when gently coaxed, the princess wouldn’t let go of my sleeve.
“……Being feared this much is a bit troublesome for me too”
Emma looked confused too. ……I really want to leave this to Emma and go check on Fiona’s side.
“Emma. I’d like to say go take a bath with her……but”
“……Since I can’t leave my charge, that’s fine”
Even when I gestured for the princess to let go, she just shook her head rapidly. Either the sight of those enormous dragons and the real feeling of being surrounded by monsters embodied by the four human forms had sunk in too deeply, or she was practically acting like a spoiled child. I thought she was more composed, but perhaps she had her limits after all. Still, we came all this way to the hot springs—I can’t very well not let her bathe………….
And so.
“This, you know. I think this is probably the scenario that’ll make Fiona the angriest”
“I, I can’t help it……I really can’t help it……this is impossible!”
The princess bathing in a thin robe. Emma bathing demurely about two meters away. And me, forced to sit right next to the princess.
“I think Laila originally said there were seven dragons……”
“……It’s not that I didn’t believe her……but seeing them……really……I can’t handle this!”
Honestly, I really felt how terrifying the sheer presence of a giant beast like a dragon is to the average person. No matter how many times I saw those fangs, I couldn’t imagine being torn apart. Maybe I really am too abnormal, thinking of the human form as the standard and seeing them as 「Someone I can talk to」 or 「A woman I can have sex with」.
————————–
After leaving the hot springs and heading toward the Smithson residence, I found Fiona collapsed.
“H, Hey!”
“What happened, Fiona!?”
Ignoring my hesitation, Princess Ran swiftly rushed over. Fiona was covered in bruises.
“……Who did this?”
“I did”
Peeking out from the house entrance was Laurier.
“Why did you……”
“……First Princess Sharon. Then Anzeros-san. After that, me”
“……What?”
“We took turns sparring with this person. ……I’d barely ever used a sword before, but I didn’t lose at all”
“……I, I failed……”
Fiona slumped, exhausted, her face grim.
“Fiona!?”
“H, Hurry, let’s get her to the miraculous spring”
“I’ll carry her”
Emma scooped her up princess-style and leapt toward the secret hot spring.
“……Well, I figured since there’s a miraculous spring……but was that a bad idea?”
“You should’ve gone easier on her. Even by normal human standards, you’re pretty strong”
……Actually, with the miraculous spring, simple bruises like that would heal by tomorrow. ……But I guess I can give her credit for the guts to keep fighting until she collapsed without running away. Knight Fiona, well done.