WCSVL 08

Chapter – 08

Side Story.

As planned, the prince of Nadasha and his classmates had driven Ruri out and were gloating over their success.

They had kept Asahi completely in the dark, explaining that Ruri had run away because she couldn’t stand life in the castle. They had assumed she would accept that explanation easily—but they had severely underestimated Asahi’s obsession.

“There’s no way Ruri-chan would leave me behind!!
I know Ruri-chan better than anyone!”

If Ruri had been there, she would have vehemently refuted that claim. But Ruri wasn’t there, and Asahi’s resistance far exceeded their expectations, leaving the prince and his classmates flustered.

She looked ready to run off and search for her right then and there. Calming her down, the prince decided to send a search party into the Demon Forest on the very day Ruri was banished.

They had hoped to bring Ruri back before she was abandoned in the forest if they were quick enough. But on the way, they encountered soldiers from Nadasha returning from the forest and learned that Ruri had already been disposed of.

The Demon Forest was a den of magical beasts and wild animals.

Time was of the essence.
They sent reinforcements and searched the forest for several days, but Ruri was nowhere to be found.

At the time, the search party had actually come within a hair’s breadth of finding Ruri. But the spirits skillfully guided her away to avoid a confrontation, and whenever the soldiers tried to head in her direction, Kotaro chased them off in another direction. Thanks to this impeccable support system, she was never discovered.

As Ruri remained unfound and Asahi grew increasingly prone to tantrums day by day, both the people of Nadasha and the classmates grew anxious.

But the king—even if only by title—was still a ruler of a nation. He decided to use this situation to his own advantage.

“It appears that the shrine maiden’s friend has been abducted by someone from the Dragon Kingdom.”

The king—and everyone else—had assumed Ruri was no longer alive. But he showed not a hint of that belief, instead wearing an expression of deep regret.

“The Dragon Kingdom?”

“A nation of barbaric demi-humans. They must have grown jealous of our country for gaining the shrine maiden and taken someone who is her weakness.”

“No way… So Ruri-chan is in danger because of me…”

“Fear not. We cannot allow these savages to do as they please forever. However, regrettably, there are many within our borders who are reluctant to send troops against the Dragon Kingdom. If the shrine maiden—who brings prosperity to our nation—would stand as our banner, surely even the opposition would agree to war. For the sake of saving your friend, will you lend us your cooperation?”

The king maintained a sincere facade, but in his heart, he had no intention of saving Ruri at all. Once they won the war, he planned to pin her death on the Dragon Kingdom, claiming she had been killed during the conflict.

To Asahi, who knew nothing of this, the Dragon Kingdom must have seemed like a barbaric and brutal nation. Believing Ruri was trapped in such a place, she readily agreed to help.

“Of course!
We have to rescue Ruri-chan as soon as possible.

…………Wait for me, Ruri-chan.”

And so, Nadasha began preparing for war against the Dragon Kingdom.

At that moment, there was one person who overheard their conversation and let out an exasperated sigh in secret.