Heroine Hunter

Eve quickly masked her panic.  

She made a playful “>” shape with her fingers near her eyes and said, “Aha-ha! Tada~☆ What do you think, Ian? Does it suit me?”  

Right. This was the moment.  

Before Eve gave up on everything and decided to stay in her current life, it was time to begin transferring her to her rightful place as a princess.  

I stood silently, pretending to gather my thoughts.  

“Ian?”  

Then, I knelt down on one knee respectfully.  

“Your Highness.”  

Eve tried desperately to keep up her facade.  

“Haha. Do I look like her? I know it might seem a bit blasphemous, but I dyed my hair like the princess for fun. Ahahaha. Besides, she’s a traitor to the Empire…”  

“You look exactly like the real princess.”  

“Ian, you’re such a joker.”  

“The time you arrived at our shop. Your inability to use mana. Your dazzling beauty. The noble blue eyes and hair that no magic dye can replicate. And even your formerly small chest.”  

“…”  

“I am honored to be in the presence of the Blue Jewel of the Lorelein Empire.”  

Hearing my words, Eve silently gazed at her reflection in the mirror.  

[Maybe this is my last chance to tell Ian the truth.]

“Ian, wait for a moment outside.”  

Eve closed the bathroom door.  

The sound of running water came from inside.  

A short while later, Evangeline stepped out, having finished her shower. 

The scent of sweet peaches wafted from her freshly dried body.  

I stood by the door, holding a neatly folded dress and undergarments like a butler.  

“Your Highness.”  

Eve let out a sigh.  

“Ian, are you teasing me?”  

“Never, Your Highness.”  

She took the undergarments and dress I offered, putting them on one by one.  

“Could you speak normally at least? It feels strange when you talk like that.”  

“If that is your command.”  

“Please just call me Eve. And speak casually.”  

“…”  

I hesitated for a moment.  

Eve looked at me sternly.  

“That’s an order.”  

“… Alright.”  

We sat across from each other at the round table.  

I poured tea into her cup.  

After a moment of silence, Eve finally spoke.  

“It’s so unfair.”  

“I know.”  

“You know?”  

“Eve, you can’t use dark magic. I’m guessing it was a trap set for political reasons from within?”  

She began to recount her ordeal to me without hiding anything.  

It was exactly as the story went in the novel.  

I told her,  

“If you want, I can go to the palace right now and rip off their heads.”  

Eve gave a small, amused smile.  

“Thanks. Even if it’s just words.”  

I meant it.  

That first prince and the empress—they were infuriating in the novel too.  

Why not just go there, take them down, and then prove that Eve can use mana? 

Wouldn’t that solve everything?

However, Eve seemed to have a different idea.  

“To return to who I once was… It’ll require quite a lot of preparation.”  

The First Prince and the Empress had meticulously planned her downfall.  

Waking up in a strange place after eating that cookie and the fact that the royal high mage, who happened to be present, refused to believe her innocence were all clear signs that those around her had been bought off by them.  

This was evidence that they had bribed everyone around her.  

Therefore, they weren’t adversaries to be underestimated.  

It wasn’t just the First Prince she had to confront, but a faction centered around him.  

Yeah. Those weren’t foes to be taken lightly.  

I placed my hand over hers.  

“Eve, I’ll help you.”  

She gave a weak smile.  

“Ian, just being with you like this makes me happy.”  

“…”  

“They’re not people to be trifled with. You think the knight tournament could change things?”  

“It’s a good opportunity, isn’t it?”  

“I’m more afraid you’ll get hurt. Ian, even though you’re strong, there are many in the Empire who are just as strong. It won’t be easy.”  

I nodded.  

“Maybe not. But standing by and watching you suffer is harder for me, Eve.”  

Eve smiled.  

She took my hand and led me to the bed.  

We lay down facing each other.  

She kissed me.  

“Sorry for deceiving you, Ian.”  

I brushed a strand of her blue hair away.  

“Thank you for finding me, Eve.”  

“You’re not mad? I almost put you in danger.”  

I thought for a moment and then pretended to be angry.  

“Now that you mention it, I’m suddenly really mad. About three times as mad as when I have to pull out.”  

“What?!”  

Eve lightly slapped my chest.  

I wrapped my arms around her waist.  

The princess in my arms playfully touched my lips with her finger.  

“Ian.”  

“Yeah?”  

She hesitated a bit before speaking.  

“Do you have any secrets from me? If you tell me now, I’ll forgive you too.”  

There it was—the opening!  

An unconditional promise of forgiveness. I had to seize it.  

“Well…”  

“You do have one.”  

“It’s nothing serious, really.”  

“Okay.”  

“I have someone I’d like to introduce to you…”  

The Red Jewel of the Empire.  

The Saintess, Emilia Rosebloom.  

“Ian.”  

“Yeah?”

Eve gave a bright-eyed smile.  

“If you have another girlfriend besides me, you’re dead.”  

I glanced out the window beside the bed.  

“Ah! It’s a perfect weather to die, isn’t it?”  

Eve suddenly sat up and started hitting me with a pillow.  

“Die. Die. Die. Die.”  

I curled up tightly.  

“Ack! Eve, wait a minute. You said you’d forgive me!”  

Luckily, this world wasn’t as strictly monogamous as the one I lived in during my past life, which made this situation a bit easier.  

Eve huffed in annoyance.  

“Who is she? Is it that slutty elf?”  

I pulled her arm, forcing her to lie down in my embrace.  

No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t overpower my strength.  

“Eve, just listen. You need to know what happened to me before you came to our store.”  

I told her about my journey with Emilia on the ship, how we were shipwrecked, and ended up stranded on a deserted island.  

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you talking about the Saintess? Emilia Rosebloom?”  

“Yeah.”  

“Go on.”  

Eve looked intrigued.  

I explained how, to protect Emilia from a ‘vile’ tentacle monster, I ‘had no choice’ but to engage in certain activities, and how I gained strength through that process.  

‘Sorry, Bevic.’  

Since she had witnessed the power I’d gained firsthand, Eve initially seemed skeptical but gradually started to believe my story.  

“So that’s what happened.”  

After hearing everything, her eyes were glistening with tears.  

She seemed particularly moved by the part where I had said, “Nothing happened.”  

Sniffling, she said.

“Well, since I did say I’d forgive you… Alright.”  

Eve snuggled into my arms.  

She seemed to be coming to terms with it.  

‘Huh? That was easier than I thought. Why?’

I saw Eve’s inner thoughts and understood the reason behind her reaction.  

[If it’s Emilia Rosebloom… Just getting close to her could give me political leverage when I return as the princess. Ian, you’re my lucky charm♥]  

Evangeline was a very pragmatic person.  

———

A few days later.  

At the tournament qualifiers.  

Eve returned to wear her disguise with black hair and reddish-brown eyes, and gave me some final instructions.  

“Ian, just do as I taught you, okay?”  

Over the past few days, Eve had taught me the basic swordsmanship and spear techniques she had learned at the palace.  

She handed me a spear. The tip was covered with something like a cloth wrap.  

“Eve, are you still mad at me?”  

“Huh? Not at all. I told you I forgave you.”  

She grabbed my cheeks and stretched them playfully.  

“But you want me to fight with this weapon?”  

I nodded toward the strange spear Eve had created while experimenting with magic.  

She tilted her head as if nothing was odd.  

“You have to fight with a blunted weapon, right? This is perfect. Trust me, it’ll be effective. And we got permission to use it.”  

“Anyway, you promised, right? If I win every round today, you’ll grant my wish.”  

“I looked at your opponents. They’re no pushovers. It’s okay if you lose, just don’t get hurt please.”  

With that, Eve returned to the stands.  

My first opponent was the leader of the Ashen Mercenaries, one of the top three mercenary groups in the capital.  

[Martin]  

[Occupation: Leader of the Ashen Mercenaries]  

Holding a wooden sword, he looked at me and burst into mocking laughter.  

“Ha! A lowly man who sells onaholes doesn’t belong here!”  

There were jeers from the audience in the stands.  

“Boo— Get lost!”  

But there were also people cheering for me.  

Those who had witnessed me take down an orc with holy magic in the back alleys.  

I even spotted the boss of the red-light district, Digo, and his subordinates.  

“Don’t underestimate Saint Onahole!”  

“Dildo King! Dildo King!”  

The referee stepped between us and shouted.  

“Ready. Begin!”  

With the signal, the referee stepped back.  

In the wide arena, we circled each other, eyes locked.  

I untied the cloth wrapped around the spear’s tip.  

Instead of a spearhead, a hideous dildo was revealed.  

The mercenary leader furrowed his brow.  

[What the hell is this?]

He blinked as if he couldn’t believe what he had just seen.  

When he confirmed that it was indeed a dildo, the mercenary leader scowled.  

[This bastard. How little does he think of me?]  

In an instant, he charged forward and closed the gap between us.  

The mercenary leader sneered.  

“Did you come here to sell dildos? This isn’t the place for that!”  

He seemed certain of his victory.  

The wooden sword slashed horizontally at high speed.  

‘Too bad. I wanted to test this against a real sword.’  

[Indestructible Body]  

I offered my neck to the blade.  

Snap.  

The sword broke in half.  

I didn’t feel a thing.  

“Huh?”  

In the split second he stared at his broken sword, I tripped his back leg and sent him sprawling.  

Even as he twisted to avoid falling, he ended up face-first in the dirt.  

“Damn it!”  

He cursed and tried to get up, but I stomped on his back.  

“Ugh!”  

His chest thudded back onto the ground.  

I infused mana into the spear.  

Vvvvvvv—  

‘Eve, what on earth did you make?’  

The dildo at the spear’s tip began vibrating grotesquely.  

“If you don’t surrender, I’ll shove this dildo up your ass.”  

I brought the vibrating dildo near his face.  

Seeing the monstrous dildo, he frantically slapped the ground.  

“Argh! I surrender! I surrender!”  

The referee approached and shouted,  

“Ian Castoloni wins!”  

I raised my arms triumphantly towards the audience.  

“Yaaaaah—!”  

“Dildo King! Dildo King!”  

I could see Eve clapping with a wide smile.  

At this point, I was halfway into enjoying the spectacle myself.  

Word must have spread after that. 

Since in the following matches, opponents forfeited at the mere sight of the vibrating dildo.  

Out of 10 matches, I only fought in 3.  

The rest forfeited.  

In the 3 matches I did fight, each opponent surrendered before the dildo even touched them.  

That day, I won every match in the qualifiers and advanced to the top 16.