Chapter 25
Transfer Gate.
It’s a type of magic engineering device that uses magic to realize teleportation.
Not only is it expensive to create, but it also costs a lot to maintain, so there aren’t many installed even within the Imperial Palace.
In other words, the Transfer Gate was a special technology enjoyed only by the top 0.01 percent of humanity.
Isabel was so excited that she didn’t wonder why they were using the Transfer Gate to go sledding.
‘Ugh, it’s cold.’
It suddenly got cold.
Whew- Whew━━━
A cold wind blew.
Isabel screamed involuntarily.
“Ah, ahhh!”
It couldn’t be helped.
This was because the place where Isabel stood was the top of an unknown mountain.
Right in front of her was an endless c*iff and a majestic snowy landscape.
She instinctively clung to Viaton.
Viaton didn’t miss the opportunity and picked Isabel up.
‘Why, why, why is there a Transfer Gate in such a dangerous place!’
It was because it was cheap to install here and easy to maintain in terms of mana flow.
Since the Transfer Gate is a magic engineering device that uses mana flow, it couldn’t be installed just anywhere.
But this was a dangerous place where one wrong step could lead to a fatal fall.
The wind was blowing so hard that it was difficult to keep her balance.
“I, I’m scared.”
“That means you want me to keep holding you!”
“Don’t, don’t ever let me go.”
She realized for the first time that she had acrophobia.
Before her return, she had spent most of her life in bed, so she didn’t even know she had a fear of heights.
She was gripped by extreme fear.
Viaton patted Isabel’s back.
“Six years old is the perfect age to be held. Hehe.”
Isabel asked, burying her face in Viaton’s arms.
“O, Oppa, you, you ride sleds in places like this?”
“It has to be like this to be thrilling.”
Isabel had forgotten.
That Michael was a monster who could fall from the 8th floor and be fine.
“If you ride a sled here, you’ll d*e!”
“Why would you d*e?”
“I’ll d*e!”
Michael stroked his chin, humming.
He asked Lancer, his swordsmanship instructor, seriously.
“Sir Lancer. Will she really d*e?”
“Thinking about it, I think she might.”
“Whoa! No way. How can there be such a weakling in the world?”
Isabel, feeling a little wronged, wanted to shout.
Normal people would d*e!
But she was too scared to speak.
She peeked and turned her head to look around, and saw a terrifying gorge.
Her body trembled.
Lancer said regretfully.
“I never thought Her Highness would be so scared.”
“That’s right. This is a shame. Haha!”
Lancer felt something was strange.
‘Somehow…… it seems like Sir Viaton knew?’
Viaton is an aide who deals with the Emperor.
He’s a man known for being very perceptive, so Lancer wondered if he really didn’t know.
“Oh dear. This is awkward. But I can’t let you down either. It will take some time to restart the Transfer Gate we just used…… Oh dear. It seems I have no choice but to keep holding you. It’s a very unavoidable and difficult situation. Isn’t it, Your Highness?”
“Don’t, don’t ever let me go!”
“Of course. I won’t ever let you go. Hahaha!”
Lancer tilted his head.
‘Somehow, he seems happy.’
Nah. I must have misjudged him.
There’s no way there’s a crazy guy who enjoys it when Her Highness is terrified.
Meanwhile, Michael threw himself down the gorge.
“Hey, Honey Badger, it’s a competition.”
They competed to see who could get down the gorge first.
The duel between the two was fierce.
“Kyaa! Kyaa!”
Honey was serious……
“I won’t, lose!”
Michael was even more serious.
In the end, Isabel never got to ride the sled and only stayed in Viaton’s arms.
Michael, who arrived at the bottom of the c*iff first, chuckled.
“You have a very provocative expression for a loser.”
Michael started climbing the c*iff again.
A blizzard with strong winds raged, but that wasn’t a problem for Michael.
When he reached the top again, Michael suddenly spotted his sister in Viaton’s arms.
‘Hmm……’
He suddenly felt a little sorry.
He briefly thought about how he could make it fun for Isabel too.
“Should I carry you on my back? I can try not to let you d*e. Want to ride the sled?”
“No!”
Michael was a little downcast.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
In conclusion, Isabel didn’t get to ride the sled.
By Isabel’s standards, riding a sled there was suicidal.
Isabel, who returned to the Arena Palace, let out a deep sigh.
“Thanks to you, Teacher, I’m alive. Did your arms hurt a lot?”
“Not at all. It was my pleasure.”
“Was I, by any chance, heavy?”
“You were heavy?”
“I’ve been eating a lot of King Candies lately.”
She felt a little sorry.
‘I think he was holding me for a really long time.’
She thought his arms, neck, or back must have hurt a lot.
Viaton smiled brightly as always.
“I’m still stronger than His Highness Michael.”
Ah. Right. This was a world of superhumans.
She felt embarrassed for asking a silly question.
“A hundred, a thousand King Candies wouldn’t be heavy at all. Here, let me escort you to your room.”
Viaton naturally held out his hand.
Isabel also raised her arm and took his hand.
‘Sir Viaton’s hands are always warm.’
They were warmer than normal body temperature.
It was because Viaton was deliberately using mana to warm his hands.
Viaton walked very slowly, matching Isabel’s pace.
“But you know, Teacher.”
“Yes.”
“Transfer Gates are really, really hard to maintain and cost a lot of money, right?”
“You know that too? You’re amazing!”
A shower of compliments poured out at every word.
‘Ah, this is going to be a problem.’
These obvious compliments made Isabel happy.
‘I knew it before, but this body’s default setting is definitely attention-seeking.’
She barely managed to pull herself together and continued with the next question.
“But why is there a Transfer Gate in such a barren mountainous area?”
“You noticed that?”
What? Am I getting complimented again?
She almost burst out laughing.
The fear from earlier had all disappeared.
Her steps became a little lighter.
“Yes. It was so strange. It doesn’t seem very useful.”
“That’s right, Your Highness. It’s because that place is Mount Elbe.”
“Ah! I know that place!”
The Elbe Mountains are a huge mountain range located at the northern end of the continent.
To the north lies land not occupied by humans.
Beyond the north of the Elbe Mountains was Mutantheon, the empire of heterogeneous races.
“You know the Elbe Mountains?”
“The border region bordering Mutantheon! Right?”
“How did you know?”
“Seventeen……”
She almost said she had read the book seventeen times because she was so excited.
She quickly changed the subject.
“I saw it in a book!”
“Our Princess has read a lot of books, so you’ll become a truly wonderful a*ult when you grow up. Promise me you’ll become a wonderful a*ult.”
Viaton bent down and held out his pinky finger to Isabel.
Isabel hesitated, just looking at his finger.
“Hmm.”
“Why won’t you promise?”
Isabel thought for a moment.
‘Ah, it’s a little embarrassing to say this myself.’
She tapped the ground with her toes.
Still, she decided to be honest since it was Viaton.
“Because I really like you, Teacher.”
“……Yes?”
“So, I only want to make promises with you that I can keep.”
She dies when she becomes an a*ult.
So she couldn’t promise to be a wonderful a*ult.
Because she’s going to d*e when she becomes an a*ult anyway.
She said it calmly, as it was already decided.
Isabel smiled apologetically.
“That’s why I don’t think I can pinky promise.”
When Viaton heard those words, he felt as if his heart had stopped.
He was the Viaton who playfully teased the Emperor and Dailtha, but he couldn’t say anything now.
Isabel’s calmness felt like nails turning into spikes and slamming into his heart. Bang! Bang!
“Ah, right! That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“……Is there something else?”
“Yes. There’s an important issue that needs to be addressed.”
Viaton quickly pulled himself together.
He couldn’t show a dejected appearance in front of the Princess.
So he deliberately used mana.
He created a magical effect, making sparkles appear in front of him, and spoke brightly.
“Please tell me quickly. I’m listening very carefully.”
Yellow lights flickered.
Isabel was so distracted by the lights that she almost forgot what she was going to say, but she carefully continued.
“I’m upset with you, Teacher Viaton. I think I should be honest if I’m upset about something.”
Suddenly, the flickering yellow lights turned black.
Then they disappeared with popping sounds, turning into dust and scattering.
“Wha, what are you upset about?”
“It might not have been a big deal to you, Teacher, but I was really, really scared. But Teacher Viaton was just happy, right?”
“Tha, that’s……!”
Isabel was right.
He laughed a lot and found her very cute.
He enjoyed Isabel clinging to him.
“I felt sad because it seemed like my thoughts and feelings weren’t being considered at all.”
Viaton closed his mouth for a moment.
After a little while, Viaton opened his mouth.
“Your Highness. I……”
Words that Isabel could never have imagined began to follow.
