Chapter 32
Even if I look weak on the outside, I’m still a boy. Being princess carried by girls all the time is really embarrassing, okay? I can’t help but want to try carrying someone else, too.
Qifeng would probably be very willing to let me try, right? That silly girl was already willing to be my guinea pig on the bed last time, which made me feel so awkward.
And the second candidate is---Lian Qi.
Would she agree to be princess carried by me? Probably not, right? That hopeless tsundere would definitely refuse. Even being forcefully pushed down by me once was a blow to her pride; she lay on the bed pulling at the sheets with a look of utter despair. Let alone being princess carried by me.
But the more awkward she gets, the more I want to make her taste how shy it feels to be princess carried. Hmph! Then I’ll just have to create a surprise, right? For example, spreading some Holy Light on the floor to make her slip, and I could “coincidentally” catch her. That would be perfectly logical!
But I have to wait until my twisted ankle heals. Just then, the carriage stopped.
“Let’s go. We’re home.”
Without giving me any time to prepare, she scooped me up by my legs and carried me off the car…
The coachman and the accompanying knights are watching! You can’t imagine how embarrassing it is! Uu… fine, I admit it. The above monologue was just me struggling against my fate of being carried around.
Once inside, Lian Qi “gently” tossed me onto the sofa. The force was well-controlled, making me feel her dominance without actually hurting me.
“Where did that White Moss Essence I helped you apply go?” Lian Qi asked me.
“Last time I used it on Qifeng, I left it under the coffee table. Eh? Wait, are you---?”
“Of course I’m helping you apply the medicine,” Lian Qi said with a “that’s obvious” expression. She unscrewed the lid and scooped out a dab of the milky-white ointment.
“Ankle… I can do it myself,” I said weakly.
“Qifeng, take off Fei’er’s high heels.”
“Eh??? Are you two even listening to me?”
“O-okay… I’m sorry, Fei’er. This is for your own good.”
I really want to ask Qifeng whose side she’s on---!
“Wait---! I’ll take them off myse---…”
In a flash, Qifeng had pulled off my high heels, revealing my bare feet.
Lian Qi stared at my feet—“Looking at them this way, Fei’er’s feet are really small.”
“They are. Fei’er’s legs and feet are both really thin, like he hasn’t finished growing up yet.”
“Don’t… don’t look! What’s so good to look at about feet!” I said, embarrassed, my eyes darting around looking for a pillow to hide myself.
Lian Qi gave a sly smile. “No wonder you like wearing all kinds of stockings.”
“That has nothing to do with my legs being thin, right?
Immediately after—
..This fiend Lian Qi… what is she doing, lifting my foot?
“Is this where you twisted it?”
“Don’t… don’t touch the sole of my foot! I’m ticklish!”
She’s doing it on purpose! Definitely on purpose—!
“Is it here?”
I whimpered in pain.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Be… be gentle…”
Lian Qi’s touch indeed became much gentler.
I watched her through half-lidded eyes, blushing, as she meticulously rubbed my ankle. The ointment was cool, but her hand was a little warm.
She’s actually being so nice to me? Why haven’t I ever noticed Lian Qi being this considerate before?
This isn’t some kind of sugar-coated bullet, is it? After all, the number of times she’s bullied me is greater than the number of times she’s cared for me.
“The ointment from your world is much more effective than ours. You’ll probably be able to move around freely tomorrow, right?”
“Mm… thank you.” I shyly pulled my foot back from her hand.
“Are you going to wear high heels again in the future?”
I answered with my lips.
Even though I know I’ll twist my ankle, and it’s shameful, I just can’t stop.
“Fei’er~ You put medicine on your left foot, so you have to put it on your right foot to match. I’ll help you~”
“Get lost---!” I used my uninjured foot to kick Qifeng onto the sofa.
“Lian Qi, are you hurt?” I asked haltingly.
“I… am…” Qifeng lay on her back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, looking like all life had left her.
I glanced at her—“I know~ From me kicking you just now, right?”
Qifeng instantly bounced back to full status, sitting up on the sofa and grinning foolishly at me, “It’s okay no matter how Fei’er kicks me~”
There it is again. That submissive streak… it makes me unable to watch.
“I’m not hurt. I used ninety percent of my magic on defense.”
“Eh? Ninety percent, that much…?” I was slightly stunned.
Qifeng also raised her hand to indicate—
“I also used ninety percent of my magic setting up traps.”
I knew about Qifeng. She doesn’t just touch a wall; she imbues it with magic power to be able to materialize her chains. But Lian Qi?
I asked, “But I noticed a contradiction. You can make your explosion magic that powerful using only ten percent of your magic?”
“Because I wasn’t detonating my own magic.”
Lian Qi’s tone was a little smug.
“That armor was materialized with his magic, right? I destroyed his magic. The power of the explosion was determined by the amount of his magic.”
Qifeng and I exclaimed in unison—
“There’s a move like that!?”
“Well, there’s a bit of a delay. It’s not that easy to pull off in a real fight.”
“I thought the explosion magic you used in the ranking tournament finals was super cool! The part where you waved your hand and punched the air! It was like the air itself cracked like a mirror,” I said with a smile.
“Cool, huh.”
I saw Lian Qi purse her lips nervously. I was also a bit puzzled… could it be… she really cares about me praising her?
“Actually… that’s my new innate magic. You know I like explosion magic. Unfortunately, I’m from the Enchantment school, but it’s gradually starting to look a bit like explosion magic.”
“Keep it up. I’ll be waiting for the day you blast that Demon Lord away.” I gave a small smile, thinking it was a rather warm one.
Lian Qi maintained her tense expression, staring at me silently.
“Since you’re like this… cough cough, forget it. Speaking of the Demon King, has no one thought of luring the Demon King into the Anti-Magic Prison?”
Qifeng and I looked at each other.
“The Demon King has been to the Anti-Magic Prison. The Anti-Magic Prison has a record of a successful escape. It was the Demon King, who broke in single-handedly and rescued a notorious criminal. I remember that criminal’s codename was---Rain Caller,” Qifeng said.
“Hearing you say that, I remember. When that Demon Lord was working with Sister Phylicia, she sent many criminals to the Anti-Magic Prison. She even captured the Rain Caller herself. Now that I think about it, did she rescue the Rain Caller… could she be trying to form some ‘Holy Twelve’?”
“…Huh? Fine, forget I said anything.” Lian Qi seemed pretty speechless, probably not expecting that even the Anti-Magic Prison couldn’t hold the Demon King.
Truthfully, we had already tried every method we could think of to defeat that Demon Lord. Only in the end did we place our hopes on her.
“Lian Qi, also, the Anti-Magic Prison was originally a Summoning Gate. It only became what it is today after it lost control.”
“Summoning… could it be…”
“That’s right. It’s the same type of portal that summoned you to our world,” I replied with a smile.