Celestia remembered that day four years ago clearly.

　She was eleven years old at the time.
　It had only been a year since she had received her blessing.

　Unable to fight the demons, she was hiding in a crypt with a few soldiers and maidservants while the royal capital was attacked by a horde of undead.

''........Father......Brother.......''
And don't worry, Your Highness. Your Majesty and Her Royal Highness will be safe.

　The intelligent woman could hear the trembling in the voice of the maidservant who encouraged her to do so.
　The situation was not good.

　Her mother, the queen, had died when she was very young.
　What if her father and brother hadn't come back?
　Just imagining that future was enough to make my body tremble.

　But the Grim Reaper's Scythe was the first to come hunting for the lives of the young royalty.

　What appeared after destroying the cellar door was a fearless chimera that was a fusion of multiple creatures.
　Moreover, the one who was twitching the chimera was an old man who claimed to be a leader of the Demon King's army.

　The soldiers in his bodyguard were easily killed, and Celestia realized that he was dead.
　No, it would still be better if they just killed him.
　It was an unbearable humiliation to be turned into the undead and become a puppet of the enemy for eternity.

　Then a boy appeared.

''Hey, it's not safe here!　Run..........!

　At first I thought a normal child had wandered in and exclaimed so.
　After all, he was a year smaller than Celestia, who was eleven years old.

　But he didn't falter at all in the face of the chimera, on the contrary.

Don't worry, I'll take him down.

　I showed him with a confident declaration.

　There was no way I could do that.
　It's a common heroic desire for boys of this age, but in front of this reality right now, nothing but tragedy can be produced.

　And what unfolded in front of the impatient Celestia was the exact opposite of what she expected.

　A boy has defeated the chimera and then the necromancer with overwhelming strength.
　As I stood there dumbfounded in front of the unbelievable scene.

'Oh....'

　By the time I noticed, he was already gone in the basement.

'I didn't even get to thank him... or his name...'

　I don't even know his name, that boy.
　I don't even know if he lives in the royal capital or not.

　Celestia has been living with regret about that day ever since.

　Why didn't I thank her?
　Why didn't I ask him his name?

　As the months passed without having the opportunity to meet the boy, these thoughts did not fade, but grew stronger.

(I never expected to see him again in this way...)

　Celestia's heart was racing as she glanced at the profile of the boy sitting right next to her.

　Although he was now twelve years old, he had grown up more than he had four years ago, but he still looked very young from her fifteen year old.
　And yet, he felt as if he had a dependable, mature man by his side.

''........Celes-san?''
Huh!

　I couldn't help but watch.
　With a flushed face, Celestia hurriedly stood up.

''Thank you for coming all the way here today!　Well, I'd better get back to it now.
Oh, yes.

　I'm tempted to talk more, but that's the limit for today.
　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it right, but I'm sure I'll be able to get it right.

　Celestia hurriedly left the place so that her reddened cheeks would not be noticed.






''Your Highness Celestia!''

　I was just coming back to the girls' dormitory when I heard a voice calling my name.
　When I turned around, a faculty member from the academy rushed over to us with a somewhat panicked look on his face.

''What's going on?''
As a matter of fact, a few minutes ago, a messenger from the royal palace arrived.

　Celestia wondered what was going on.

'His Majesty the King wants you to return to the Royal Palace as soon as possible.
Your Majesty?
'Yes, sir. The carriage is already ready for you.
It's very sudden.

　This had never happened before.
　It must be very urgent.

　While feeling uneasy, Celestia got into the carriage that was prepared for her.
　It was a royal carriage with the royal coat of arms inscribed on it.

　It takes several dozen minutes to swing in the carriage.
　Celestia arrived at the royal palace and headed to her father, the king.

'.........Celestial.
No. So, what are you talking about?

　Just when I had a bad feeling about my father's extremely clipped appearance, a voice interrupted me from the side.

'Oh!　My dear Princess Celestia!　It's been a while!
.........

　Turning around, Celestia couldn't help but contort her face.

　The man there was a middle-aged man who looked like an orc, as it were.

　His age was in the mid-thirties, younger than he looked.
　He wasn't very tall, but that gave him a wide, sideways body shape.
　Perhaps due to his inadequate life, the hair on his head was already thinning and he was sweating just by walking.

''Oh, Your Highness the Crown Prince........''
"Ho-ho!　You remembered that!　I'm very happy for you!

　How could I forget?
　After all, he is the crown prince of the Hanbalada Empire, a neighboring kingdom here in Edelheid.

And you look more and more mature and beautiful!　As your fiancée, you have a nose for it!

　--he is Celestia's fiancé.

''What kind of a case is this, at this time...?
Actually, sir!　I have come all the way from Hanbalada to hasten the time of your marriage!
What...?