The Magic Princess Returns to Death and Defeats the Demon Lord Before the Hero - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: The determination to change the future

Suddenly Anastasia began to cry, whereupon Brandt winced, and the confession was lost.

Anastasia can’t give a reason and does her best to tell Brandt that she didn’t misunderstand his feelings.

They return to the inn in an unpleasant mood.

Alone in her room, Anastasia is so distraught that she can’t sleep well, and morning breaks.

They packed up their belongings and left the inn, but Brandt, worried about Anastasia’s pale face, took her and used [Transfer].

In no time, they are back in the hidden room of the academy’s library.

The vacation, which had happened in many ways, came to an easy end.

“Well… if it’s bothering you, you can just forget about it…”

With a sad smile on his face, Brandt left the room.

Unable to tell him otherwise, Anastasia can only watch Brandt’s back.

After a while, Anastasia also slowly returns to her dorm room.

She takes out the notebook in which she’s been writing.

Anastasia runs her fingertip over the words [contact Foster and see if there is a connection].

It seems like they have been in contact for a long time.

But Anastasia’s heart sinks as she realizes how superficial this way of thinking is.

“Brandt-senpai…”

When it turned out that Researcher Foster was Brandt, Anastasia was not in the mood to look into anything.

Until then, I had only seen Foster as a symbol.

Now I know his gentle smile, the warmth of his hand in mine, and his seemingly calm but actually belligerent nature.

Just the thought that he might lose his life makes me shudder.

Tears well up again, and sobs almost escape my mouth.

“Tasha, are you back? …What’s wrong?!”

At that moment, there is a knock on the door, and it is opened.

Regina peeks out, surprised to see Anastasia, and comes in.

“Gina…”

Anastasia casually closes her notebook and wipes away a tear.

“What’s going on? Is it possible that… something happened with Brandt-senpai?”

At the mention of Brandt’s name, Anastasia shudders.

Seeing the situation, Regina nods with a frown.

“I knew it… Did he say something terrible to you? Did he tell you that he hates you?

“N-No… It’s more like the opposite… He told me he liked me.”

Anastasia answers in a low voice, and Regina rolls her eyes, speechless.

She is stunned for a moment, but then, as if figuring something out, Regina opens her mouth.

“Did he do something to you that disillusioned you? Did he suddenly ask you to do something very… dirty?”

“Huh?…No, that’s not it! There’s nothing wrong with Brandt-senpai!”

Anastasia hastily denies this.

Brandt has always acted like a gentleman. Anastasia desperately tries to deny this, for it would be a blow to his honor.

“Then why did you… you actually didn’t like it so much that you cried?”

“Not even that… I was happy… But that’s why I’m sad…”

Anastasia can’t explain well, thinking that she won’t understand even if she says this.

Regina doesn’t pursue it, but instead raises her eyebrows and thinks about it for a moment.

“…I can guess that Tasha must have a lot of conflicting thoughts. But what about Tasha’s own feelings towards Brandt-senpai?”

After a few moments, Regina asked quietly.

The calm but dignified tone of her voice frightens Anastasia for a moment.

But then she turns her head, asks herself a question, and looks up.

“Me too… I like Brandt-senpai…”

Anastasia said clearly, though her voice was small.

As she said it, the chains that bound her heart seemed to melt away.

The fear of betrayal no longer mattered. I don’t know what the future holds, but what I feel now is true.

“Then I think you should keep these feelings for now, no matter what the future brings. I’m sure there will be obstacles… If there’s anything I can do to help you get rid of it, I’d be happy to help you.”

Regina takes Anastasia’s hand in an encouraging gesture.

Involuntarily, tears well up in Anastasia’s eyes.

But they are not tears of sadness, as before, but tears of joy.

“And if it comes to that, you can elope together. Tasha and Brandt-senpai can live anywhere. Tasha’s relatives are all people who’ve said some terrible things to her anyway, so there’s no need to worry about them.”

Regina says so with a somewhat sullen look on her face.

Regina seems to think that it has something to do with Anastasia’s family. She thinks she is being forced into a political marriage.

In fact, that is not what Anastasia is worried about at the moment, but it was nice to be cared for, and it reminded her of something important that she had forgotten.

Why did I assume that Researcher Foster’s future could not be changed?

Anastasia is working to avoid an encounter with the Hero Shin, but there is no reason to think that Researcher Foster’s future cannot be avoided.

“Gina… Thank you… I’m awake now.”

“You’re welcome.”

Anastasia thanks Regina and squeezes her hand back.

——Regina has once again saved my life.

Anastasia is filled with warmth, knowing she has made a wonderful friend.

Obstacles can be removed.

——I don’t know why the magic experiment failed, but it seems likely that Brandt’s parents’ killer was involved.

That demon seemed to be up to something that could be connected to the cause of the monster outbreak.

First, we need to figure out how to get rid of the demon.

The next time we fight it again, it will probably be stronger than the last time.

Anastasia also needs to review and improve her fighting style.

Anastasia is determined to be strong enough to overpower everything.