The World After Leaving the Hero’s Party

(Continued)

Perhaps losing a game she was on the verge of winning left her feeling even more dejected than before.

“Whew… Do you see now, Princess? There truly isn’t anyone who can defeat me.”

“….Yes…”

Lucille gripped her cards tightly, while the head maid gave her a warm smile.

“Still, you did wonderfully, Princess. I never imagined you’d be able to push the Sage this far.”

“…I only got good cards by chance.”

“Luck is a skill, too, wouldn’t you say? But in the end, I was the one who won.”

“…Ugh. If only I could have blocked that last attack…”

“Anyway, Princess, this was just your first time. Let’s play more often from now on.”

I stood up, tidying my cards and offering a polite bow. Quite some time had passed without my noticing.

“Then, I’ll see you again next time. And then… let’s play for real.”

“…Yes…”

When we first met, Lucille’s eyes were filled with nothing but fear of me. Now, though, there was something different.

A faint spark of determination and the sting of a near victory lingered in her gaze, as she mourned letting her opponent slip through her grasp.

“Sage.”

“Yes?”

As I left my meeting with the Princess, the head maid followed and called out to me. She led me to a quiet corner, then asked in a low voice.

“About the Princess’s hand… it seemed far too good. Don’t tell me…”

She’d caught on. I suppose it’s only natural, given the head maid’s perceptiveness. My skills, while effective, aren’t perfect enough to deceive true experts.

Of course, the Princess and the other maids hadn’t noticed.

“Naturally.”

Anyone who’s played this mini-game would know it’s nearly impossible to chain combos like that after just an hour or two of learning.

There was only one reason the Princess had been able to skillfully string combos together and nearly push me to defeat.

While shuffling and during the game, I used a few tricks from the Thief and Jester skills to manipulate her draws.

“T-That’s cheating!”

“Unpleasant, isn’t it? Think of it as… ‘controlling the game.’”

If it’s undetected, it’s not cheating.

“…Fine… but why didn’t you let her win?”

“Winning on the first try can be worse. It could make her doubt herself or question whether her victory was earned—especially someone with low self-esteem.”

“Is that so…?”

“I think that’s likely why I was chosen to be the Princess’s mentor.”

To build up her confidence from the ground up.

Although I manipulated things a bit, Lucille’s ability to grasp the rules and execute combos after only a couple of hours showed she wasn’t lacking in intelligence.

In any case, I didn’t have much other knowledge to teach her, so if I could at least help her gain some self-worth this way, it was enough.

“Everyone desires a taste of victory. Even those with low self-esteem will always remember a victory that slipped right from their grasp.”

Especially if it’s against someone as formidable as me.

Of course, continually winning against her would be a problem, but throwing the game too easily could be just as damaging.

I’d need to maintain a delicate balance, keeping victory just within reach while occasionally letting her grasp it.

Naturally, I was confident I could do this.

“I’m only worried she might get so hooked on the thrill that she’ll insist on playing cards all the time.”

“No need for that concern. There are other ways to boost her confidence.”

“I… understand. But, Sage, Her Majesty has arranged for you to stay in the best room in the palace. Shall I guide you there?”

The best room, hmm.

I remembered what the Hero’s party had once said when they returned from the palace.

If I recall correctly, they’d stayed in the palace’s finest room.

Knowing this, I wondered if perhaps I might encounter traces of them—or even meet them directly.

Pausing for a moment, I smiled.

“Yes. Please do.”

Not that it would be an issue either way.

—

Lucille’s heart was still racing. Sitting on her bed, she replayed the game in her mind.

If only she had played a different card at that point, or if she had cut off the Sage’s combo sooner.

She might have won.

The Sage’s Life Points were low enough that a single attack could have decided the game.

She could blame her loss on drawing poor cards at the end.

She hadn’t been playing long enough to be truly familiar with the game.

The cards weren’t even hers.

There were plenty of reasons for her defeat, but she could also think of many ways she might have won.

If she’d used the Whip of Darkness instead of the Staff of Light?

If she’d summoned the Water Sprite instead of the Fire Giant?

She spread the cards she’d borrowed from the head maid across her table, running a hand over her face.

“Haa…”

It was her first time.

This feeling of exhilaration.

It was her first time.

This sense of excitement.

She had always thought she was simply inferior to others.

A fool, unable to meet the expectations of her great mother, resigned to giving up on everything.

Yet she had managed to push back someone who claimed to be the strongest, a man skilled enough to be called a Sage.

Recalling his expression from earlier, her heart, once hidden and stifled, began to beat once more.

Each time she played a card.

Each time she connected a combo.

Each time she interrupted his combo.

She saw his expression harden, bit by bit.

The bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

The faint tremble in his hand holding his cards.

That remarkable person had focused and exerted his full effort against her, someone who believed herself inadequate in every way.

The fact that she, with all her limitations, could draw out his full power filled her with joy.

So much that she could hardly contain her excitement.

Lucille moistened her dry lips, again and again.

“…I want to play again.”

But happiness didn’t last forever. Just as she was relishing the memory, doubt struck her heart.

What if it was just luck this time?

What if it was just beginner’s luck that had carried her?

What if, in the next game, she lost even more badly than the head maid, revealing just how inadequate she was?

She was afraid.

“…Still.”

She couldn’t deny that she was looking forward to the next lesson.

“Your Highness.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Her Majesty has commanded that you attend an audience with General Leoden and the Hero, who will both be returning to the palace today.”

At these words, the Princess nodded, a subdued look clouding her face.

The Hero, a person who could accomplish so much, unlike herself.

A woman who shone like the sun, unlike her own shadowy existence.

Every encounter only reminded her of her own inadequacies, so meeting her was hardly something she looked forward to.

“…Y-Yes… I understand…”

She couldn’t refuse.

And so, carrying the hint of confidence, excitement, and desire for victory that the Sage had secretly planted, she rose from her seat.

To meet one of the people who constantly made her feel a sense of defeat and helplessness.