Chapter 13: Escape
After Finn reported that Asahi had disappeared from her room, Ruri pressed him for answers.
“What do you mean, Finn-san?! I thought that Asa... I mean, the girl was supposed to be under twenty-four hour surveillance?!”
Ruri’s intensity took Finn by surprise, but he promptly replied, “U-Uh, yes, I stationed soldiers outside her room, just as you suggested, Ruri. The room has a window, but it leads right into a cliff, so I figured no ordinary person would be able to escape. But when one of our officers went to ask her about her time in Nadasha, they said that she was gone.”
“How did she disappear in the first place?”
“There was apparently a servant girl in her place.”
“A servant girl?” Ruri repeated, staring back in confusion.
Joshua also seemed surprised by this, his eyes bulging out before he tensed his brow and asked, “What do you mean ‘in her place’?”
“The servant apparently helped her escape. She exchanged places with her by giving her both her servant’s outfit and clearance pass and stayed in the room herself.”
“Did they know each other? But wait, the Priestess Princess just arrived in the Nation of the Dragon King, so that doesn’t add up.”
This was far too harebrained of a scheme. The whole thing would be a bust the second someone entered the room. Allowing someone on house arrest to escape meant punishment was guaranteed, but this person was willing to bear that to help Asahi. Granted, it would perhaps make sense if they were acquainted in some way.
“No, it seems they weren’t acquainted with one another. However...” Finn awkwardly cut himself off as he bitterly scrunched his face, “she ordered that we ‘allow her audience with His Majesty,’ claiming she was the ‘Dragon Queen.’ From what we’ve investigated, she is the same girl you brought back with you not long ago, Joshua,” Finn said, firing an indescribable look at Joshua.
“Grk, wait, for real? It was one of the girls we rescued from those slave traders in search of His Majesty’s bride?”
“That it was.”
Joshua clutched his head.
“But didn’t Jade-sama say that you had the wrong person, if I remember correctly?”
“You remember right. It’s the completely wrong girl. My guess is she overheard part of a certain conversation. The part pertaining to her, conveniently enough.”
“In any case, Joshua, help in the search. I’m going to His Majesty to report this incident,” Finn said before hastily making an exit.
“What do we do now, Joshua?”
Asahi escaping was the last thing Ruri expected, and she rebuked Asahi’s actions profusely in her mind. She had just learned that Asahi would not be punished, so it was frustrating to see her do something that would bring about punishment again.
“I’m working on it. After all, it’s gonna be bad news if we don’t find her quick.”
“What kind of ‘bad news’?”
The look in Joshua’s eyes intensified. “The Nadashian soldiers imprisoned in the war are all being held in sector eleven. And all of them have a chip on their shoulder for the Priestess Princess. If they spot her, it’s not going to be pretty.”
“‘Not going to be pretty’...?” Ruri repeated, picturing the sight in her head. A shiver ran down her spine.
“She won’t be able to go higher than the sixth sector with that servant girl’s clearance pass. In which case, she’d have to go down. This is not good.”
The prisoners of war were mostly composed of peasant farmers and people forced to enlist by their nation. It wouldn’t be surprising if they held strong feelings of anger or resentment toward Asahi since she spearheaded the war.
“Searching for someone sounds like the job for a wind spirit,” Joshua said, looking at Ruri—and then shifting over to Kotaro.
Ruri stood for a second before gasping, “Oh, Kotaro!” She turned to him too. “Kotaro, search for Asahi. I know you can do it, right?”
“Why?” Kotaro asked back.
“Huh? ‘Why’...?” Ruri repeated, not expecting his answer and finding herself at a loss for words.
“I would love to grant you any wish you so desire. But don’t you dislike that girl, Ruri? So why are you trying to help her? I think that whatever happens to her would be reaping what she sowed. That’s why I can’t comprehend why you’re trying to help her.”
“Uh, well, I do dislike Asahi. So much so that I don’t want to see her. But as much as I dislike her, I don’t hate her that much. I can’t just hang back and tell her to eat crow when I know she’s in danger.”
“But it’s her Bewitchment’s fault that you ended up thrown into the forest. She almost got you killed, albeit indirectly. Not only that, but she has inconvenienced you in a host of other ways, hasn’t she?”
“You’re right about all of that, but I’m safe now. And as long as I keep Asahi out of my life, I’ll be just fine. I never thought about getting her back for all the trouble she’s caused me in the past. And especially not using a dangerous situation like this one to do it. So, I’m asking you, search for Asahi. Pretty please?” asked Ruri, folding her hands in prayer.
Having said that, it was true that a part of Ruri wondered why she was so desperate to help Asahi. If this were King Nadasha or the Head Priest, she wouldn’t hesitate to let them fend for themselves. But since Ruri and Asahi had been together since childhood, it left Ruri with a shred of emotion in her heart. That didn’t apply just to Asahi either. She would most likely refuse any offer to get payback on her classmates, who plotted to eliminate her, as well.
Maybe it was an “affinity” developed from all of them being castaways from the other world, but she felt something in her heart, something hard to explain—something that kept her from being completely uncaring toward their plights.
Sensing Ruri’s unwavering determination, Kotaro consented, saying somewhat reluctantly, “If that is what you wish, Ruri...”
The wind started to gently waft, centering around Kotaro. “It seems that she’s in sector eleven of the castle.”
“Cripes, of all the places she could be,” Joshua spat out, face tense. He clicked his tongue in frustration.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Asahi aimlessly wandered around the castle. She wanted to see Ruri, but she didn’t know where she was. Instead, she decided to follow the instructions of the girl who’d helped her escape. She left the sixth sector and walked further down and down toward the base of the mountain. She was occasionally stopped at the gates leading to the long hallways between buildings, but once she showed them the finger-sized silver tag she’d received from the girl, they easily granted her passage.
As she continued to trek onward, she passed by a room filled with chatter. Since there was no door, she could easily see inside. It seemed to be a cafeteria of some sort; several people were partaking in meals. Remembering that she’d left before eating her own meal, Asahi’s stomach suddenly started to rumble at the aromas wafting her way.
That was when a question popped into her mind that made her uneasy. How was she supposed to get food once she got out of here? She had been treated lavishly in Nadasha’s royal castle this entire time, and despite being under arrest, the people here would bring her food. What would she do from here on?
Neither her mother nor father was here—nor the person she could depend on the most, Ruri. Also, her classmates, who had come to this world with her, were taken to different rooms. She had no idea where they were. Asahi was all on her own.
She quickly decided that she’d simply have to work to stay fed, but Asahi didn’t know how to look for work in this world either. The uncertainty of her future paralyzed her with fear.
As she stood stock still in the hallway, she met eyes with a man in the middle of eating. Something triggered in that man, and he took a closer look at her. After a second, his eyes opened wide. Rage swept his expression, and he suddenly shouted out, “Hey, you’re the Priestess Princess, ain’t you?!” His cry alerted all the other feasting men to turn their heads toward her as well.
Asahi was thrilled someone recognized her. She could possibly alleviate her situation by asking them for Ruri’s location. However, contrary to Asahi’s carefree and optimistic views, the mood of the room grew hostile.
“Hey, is she the real deal?”
“Yeah, no doubt in my mind. I saw her face up close durin’ the war, so no way I’d forget it.”
“Ain’t that the servants’ outfit she’s wearing? She just lands herself a job in the castle after tryin’ to lead our guys off to their deaths?!”
“Some ‘bringer of prosperity’ you are!”
The men slowly started to close in on her. So much anger and bloodlust flowed from their expressions that even Asahi, typically slow to pick up on people’s emotions, sensed the danger she was in. With that in mind, she quickly turned around and started to sprint.
“She’s getting away!”
“After her!”
The many men dropped their meals and went after Asahi.
“We’re gonna get payback for us and our buddies!”
Asahi dashed down the halls, panting, her face tense in fear. That didn’t last long, however, as she staggered and collapsed to the floor. Gasping and turning around, she saw the men drawing near.
“It’s all your fault!”
“N-No, it wasn’t my fault! It was the King’s.”
“‘N-No, it wasn’t my fault!’” one of them mocked. “The moderates were exiled and the war started all because you wanted it!”
“It was necessary to save Ruri-chan!” Asahi said with a trembling voice, desperately trying to justify her reasons. But her words had the opposite effect.
“Why do we have to risk our lives to save some friend of yours?! We’ve got families waiting at home for us, dammit!”
“Huh? But...”
Up until now, Asahi had gotten anything she desired. She naturally assumed they would help her, and she struggled for an answer when asked why they should.
“‘But,’ nothing! I lost my little brother in this damn war!”
“Eeek!”
Just as the men went to grab her, a wind blew around Asahi, forming an invisible barricade.
“Gah! What the hell is this?”
“Never mind what it is! Just break through it!”
However, they couldn’t reach Asahi no matter how hard they outstretched their arms. Something halted them.
Despite this reprieve, Asahi didn’t feel relieved. These men were surrounding her, staring at her with enraged eyes—some of them tackling the wall only to be deflected and some of them repeatedly punching the wall until their hands bled. Seeing this, she couldn’t possibly feel any sense of relief. On the contrary, watching it up close only added to her fear.
“Eek, someone, please...”
Obviously no one heard Asahi’s whimper for help, but soldiers of the Nation of the Dragon King came running up from behind the mass of men and began to pull them off one by one. Seeing them appear through the gaps in the crowd, Asahi finally found relief and passed out on the spot.
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