Part 2: The Miner Has the Princess Do Whatever He Wants

Part 2:
The Miner Has the Princess Do
Whatever He Wants

 

AFTER THE BANDITS had been run off, Alan brought the girl back with him to his mountainside cottage.

“Thank you so very much!” The young lady with the beautiful golden locks—whose name, as it turned out, was Lithisia—bowed her head deeply to Alan. “I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for what you did today!”

“Don’t worry about it. I just did what any miner would do.”

A miner would save his companions when they were in danger. How could he not save a young girl in her time of need?

“Sir, you’re a miner…? Not a knight?”

When Alan nodded his head in response, Lithisia’s eyes glimmered with glee. “I had no idea that miners were so strong or could use magic!”

“Magic?”

“Yes! That incredible spell you unleashed! What kind of training did you have to undergo to use something like that?!” Lithisia asked.

“Hrm? You mean the Wave Motion Shovel Blast? I just focus my energy into my shovel, is all.”

Lithisia was baffled by the miner’s response. Then it dawned on her. “Focus your…? Ohhhh, I get it! It’s a trade secret, isn’t it?”

“And anyway, it’s not magic, it’s… Well, whatever.” Apparently, the young lady had mistaken Alan for a miner who could use magic. He could spend his time correcting her, but it really wasn’t worth the time or effort. It’s not like she was hurting anyone with her incorrect deduction.

The real issue at hand was the girl’s identity. As it so happened, she was the first in line for the throne of the grassland nation, Rostir—in other words, a real-and-true princess. Respected and beloved by citizens all over the country, who affectionately referred to her as “Her Royal Highness.”

“I see…” Alan murmured after Lithisia explained this.

“Huh? You believe me?!”

“I see no reason why I shouldn’t.” She was beautiful, pure, and held herself in a royal manner. It was easy to believe she was a real princess.

“Thank you so much! I’m… I’m so moved!” Princess Lithisia began to tear up.

Alan decided to collect as much information from her as he could. This was his chance. “If possible, I’d like to ask you a few questions, Your Royal Highness.”

“R-Royal Highness? No, no, please, just call me by my name.” Lithisia waved her hands in a panic.

“That won’t do. You’re a princess and I’m just a miner.”

“But you saved my life! Besides, you’re older than me, are you not?”

“Yeah. I’m 1,011 years old this year.”

“Huh?” Lithisia looked like she had been hit with a brick, but she soon recovered, looking a little embarrassed. “C-come now! I know I might be a naive little princess, but that’s going too far!”

Alan blinked. Wait, does she think I’m joking?

“Even someone with demi-human blood could only live a hundred and fifty years at most. I’ve studied up on this!” Lithisia puffed out her chest with pride.

“Well, whatever…” Alan said. It wasn’t his fault if the princess didn’t believe him. He didn’t blame her.

Instead, he began asking her a multitude of questions: Why was she traveling? Why didn’t she have any guards with her? Finally, why had the bandits said she was worth a million gold coins?

Lithisia’s face turned serious. “Rostir—my country—is in great danger.”

She explained that a demon named Zeleburg was attempting to take over her nation. The demon was currently in the position of Prime Minister. When Lithisia’s father, the king, died unexpectedly, Zeleburg stepped in to rule the country until Lithisia came of age. But the princess saw through the demon’s scheme. She knew that it was the prime minister himself who had murdered her father, but she’d failed to convince others of his crimes.

“Zeleburg used a powerful charm to brainwash everyone in the royal palace,” Lithisia went on. “No one would listen to me. They even tried to force me to marry him! If that were to happen, Zeleburg would become the king. I can’t allow that. I refuse!” The princess held herself tightly, shaking her head with rage or fear or both.

“If this guy married you, he’d become the king?”

“That’s right. I’m not just the princess; I’m the Rostir Royal Crown itself. Whoever I marry will inherit the legitimate right to the throne.” She sighed. “That’s why I can’t choose a partner for myself. Whoever becomes my husband needs to be someone who could best serve as the king of Rostir. They must be skilled in battle, capable of seeing the truth, and possess a kindness above all others. They…”

Lithisia stopped abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” Alan asked.

Lithisia’s words then became unsteady as she looked Alan over. “Only someone...like that...could be the king…”

“Uh, Lithisia? Are you okay?”

“O-oh, no! I’m fine! It’s nothing! Nothing at all!” For some reason, Princess Lithisia’s cheeks went bright red as she shook her head briskly, as if trying to shake something off of her hair. “A-anyway, that’s why I ran from the capital.”

“Hrm. Do you have proof that this Zeleburg is a demon?”

“I do. He confessed when he killed my father.”

“What an honest demon,” Alan said wryly.

“I think...he knew that I was watching. He wanted me to hear that.”

“Why?”

“He wanted me to feel true despair.” Lithisia dropped her gaze. “He knows that, despite having seen the depths of his evil, I am powerless to stop him. Right now, I have a body double who remains in the capital, while I am treated as a fake who is sullying the good name of the princess, hence the bounty on my head. There is not a single soul in my country who believes me…”

“That’s not true. I believe you.”

Lithisia blinked rapidly. “Oh…Sir Miner…” She clasped her hands together and knelt down, almost as though she was offering him a prayer. “Thank you… Thank you so much…” Clearly moved by Alan’s words, she offered her gratitude over and over.

Alan helped her to her feet, a little embarrassed by her display. “So, you ran away from the prime minister?”

“Yes, but I didn’t just flee.” Lithisia pulled a yellow jewel from the hem of her dress. Alan recognized it the moment he saw the intense magical light radiating from it.

“That’s the Yellow Orb!” he exclaimed.

“It’s one of my nation’s treasures, passed down over the course of two thousand years. I’m surprised you know of it.”

“Of course I do. I’m the one who dug that thing out of the ground. It was on the 4,328th layer, actually.”

Lithisia tilted her head in confusion. “S-stop teasing me, Sir Miner!”

“No, seriously….”

“I know you’re lying. After all, this was made hundreds of years ago!”

She was right—quite a bit of time had passed since Alan had dug it up. The orb was perhaps the most valuable thing he’d ever unearthed, and he still remembered it well.

On the 4,328th layer beneath the earth, Alan had discovered a glistening, rainbow-colored vein of gemstone. It had been guarded by a dragon with shining scales known as a Prismatic Wyrm. After a fierce battle to the death, Alan had dug the shining amber sphere out of the vein. His contact at the Mages’ Guild had been ecstatic.

That gemstone had eventually been split by the Mages’ Guild into the Orbs of Seven Colors, of which the Yellow Orb was one. It was said that all seven orbs, combined together, would create the ultimate magical tool.

And the Yellow Orb rested now in the hands of the Princess of Rostir. Alan couldn’t help a small surge of pride to know that the jewel he’d dug up had become a national treasure. “Aren’t there supposed to be six more of these?” he asked Lithisia.

“Wow! That’s supposed to be top secret! You’re something else, Sir Miner!”

Well, of course he’d know about that, being the one who’d mined it in the first place. But Alan wasn’t about to waste time convincing her of that. “Well?” he pressed.

“Um, well…the rest of them were stolen,” Lithisia said. She went on to explain that she’d directed the greatest mage in the country to use location magic to discover the whereabouts of the other six Orbs. However, none of them were in Rostir. They were scattered all over the continent. Beneath the sea, under the desert, above the clouds—all in places that were difficult, if not impossible, for humans to reach. Several recovery squads had been sent out, but none returned.

“It’s said that if one gathers all seven Orbs together, they’ll be granted a single wish. I have to get my hands on them, no matter what. When I do, I’ll have Zeleburg and his minions exiled from the surface for all time,” Lithisia explained as she hugged the Orb to her chest tightly.

“Hrm, so you’re going to use your wish to save your kingdom…” It felt good to know that the jewels he’d discovered would be used for a noble cause.

“That’s why I took the Yellow Orb and fled the palace. But those bandits showed up and…and then you saved me.” Lithisia looked up at Alan. “Sir Miner, I…I have a request. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but it’s because of who you are that I have to ask.”

Alan knew where this was going and had no problem with it. “Understood. I’m on it.”

“Could you help me search for the missing Orbs across the conti— Huh?” Lithisia stopped in her tracks and blinked multiple times. “S-Sir Miner, surely you jest! Please take this seriously!”

“I am,” he replied. Locating the Orbs scattered across the land? How could there be anyone more perfect for the job than Alan himself? Besides, there was no way he’d be able to focus on his work knowing that the awesome jewels he’d unearthed had gone missing.

“Do you really understand? This will be a perilous journey.”

“I’m a miner. Danger is my middle name.”

“B-but I won’t be able to pay you much…” Lithisia sadly lowered her shoulders. “Other than the Yellow Orb, all I currently have to my name is this dress.”

“I figured.”

“I’d be willing to do anything you ask of me after we reclaim my country.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything. Is there something you desire, Sir Miner?”

Lithisia was the first in line for the throne of a massive nation. What could he ask of someone with so much power? After thinking it over for a bit, Alan realized there was only one thing he needed. “A successor.”

Lithisia’s expression froze upon hearing Alan’s words. “...Huh?”

“For whatever reason, I’m perfectly healthy right now, but who knows when I might drop dead? After all, I’m an old man. I need a successor to take up my work after I’m gone.” Alan felt this was a solid enough request. He would have Lithisia gather up prospective apprentices in her nation, and he’d interview them until he found someone worthy enough to succeed him as a jewel miner.

“Um, er, you mean…?” Oddly enough, Lithisia’s cheeks were bright red. “B-by ‘successor,’ do you mean you want...a child?!”

“A child? Hrm…I suppose that’s one direction we could go in.” It wasn’t an ideal solution, but it wasn’t out of the question. Mining was a job that required one to hole themselves up in a mountain, and Alan didn’t know how a child would adapt to that environment. He supposed he’d have to adopt a child, raise them in the mountain, and teach them everything he knew over time.

“I…I see… So I would have to… Sir Miner’s child… Oh, dear…” Silence enveloped the room. Their eyes met, and Lithisia quickly averted her gaze. “Um, I’m sorry. I’m just awfully surprised…” The princess placed her hand over her ample breasts in an attempt to calm her racing heart.

“Hrm, I see…” Alan said. “Well, if you can’t make it happen, I understand.”

“No!” Lithisia shook her head fiercely. “Um, I-I told you I’d do anything, and I will! I-It’s just…I had to prepare myself, is all!”

“Prepare yourself?”

“I-I’ll do whatever it takes! I will! I’m no liar!” Lithisia took a deep breath, and her eyes hardened with determination. “I understand! I will make your child!”

Make my child? That certainly was an odd way of putting it, but Alan figured that royalty probably had their own way of doing things.

“I-I don’t know much about making children, but I’ll study up!”

“Take your time. You don’t have to worry about this until we get back to your country.”

Lithisia looked down at her own stomach and the space below the hem of her dress, then blushed beet-red. “G-good point. That would get in the way of our journey!”

“Yeah. You’re right,” Alan agreed. After all, scouring the land for potential apprentices would distract from their search for the Orbs of Seven Colors. “For now, I’ll just think of other ways to get it done and practice.”

“Practice?! Um, er, I…” Lithisia’s ears reddened. “A-all right, I understand… I’ll do my best,” the princess responded as she fidgeted. “Practice…practice? Ohhhhhh…”

“Lithisia, your cheeks are flushed. Are you all right?”

“I-I’m totally fine! I have no problem with doing lewd things!”

“Wait, what?”

Alan and Lithisia had come to a mutual understanding…or, at least, they both thought they had.

“Ohhhhh…a child…a child…? What am I going to do…?” Lithisia brought both hands to her red-hot cheeks.

It would be quite some time before the princess discovered the error in her interpretation.