Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 234
Chapter 234: Setsuna’s Room
After returning from the Futaba household, we logged into Astral Online, where we were met by none other than Queen Kushinada, who was supposed to be busy with her prayers.
The first thing she asked was whether Setsuna was still in the same party as us.
Glancing at the party’s HP gauge displayed in the upper left corner, I saw that all six members’ gauges, except mine, were fully charged.
“It’s a hassle to reassemble the party every time, so we’ve just kept it as is.”
“Ah, that’s good. In that case, I would like you and Shio to accompany me to Setsuna’s room right now.”
“O-okay.”
Though I felt a slight sense of unease at her request, I assumed it was part of some event and nodded.
Without explaining why, the Queen asked Kuro and the others, who were nearby, to wait at the entrance. She then began leading us toward the annex.
Before leaving, I glanced at Rou. He seemed to have returned to his usual cheerful demeanor, which was a bit of a relief.
Queen Kushinada led the way through the castle, not once glancing back as we followed her toward the pavilion.
Shio and I trailed after her in silence.
“I wonder what’s going on with Princess Setsuna?”
“…I don’t know either.”
Being summoned to her room, could it be that Setsuna had overexerted herself and wasn’t feeling well?
Or perhaps the aftermath of the Great Calamity had caused her to end up in a state similar to Rasetsu’s?
However, judging by her gauge in the upper left corner, there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
With those anxious thoughts swirling in my mind, we continued following Queen Kushinada until, after just a few minutes, we arrived at the door to Setsuna’s room.
The Queen turned to us, gestured at the door with a wry smile, and said:
“The reason I’ve called you two here is simple. I’d like you to go into that child’s room and wake her up, as she refuses to get out of bed.”
“Go into her room and…”
“Wake her up…”
The request was so ordinary that Shio and I were left stunned.
We’d been bracing ourselves, worried that something serious had happened, only to end up looking utterly foolish in front of the noble Queen.
“Well, I don’t mind, but wouldn’t it be better for you to go in and wake her up yourself?”
“Embarrassingly enough, she’s forbidden me from entering her room entirely…”
“Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.”
Looking at the door, I noticed there was indeed a restriction preventing entry.
It seemed the settings allowed only herself access, but upon closer inspection, I found that party members were not included in the restriction.
In other words, since we’re in a party with her, we’re exceptions to the restriction and can enter the room without issue.
Queen Kushinada clearly knew this, which is why she asked us for help.
To be honest, if she’s just sleeping, I’d rather let her rest. But knowing Setsuna, if we were to encounter Rasetsu in the next village and she found out we didn’t wake her, she’d probably get angry.
With that in mind, I decided to accept the Queen’s request without hesitation.
“Understood. I’ll go wake up the sleeping princess.”
“Based on the party interface, it doesn’t look like anything has happened to Princess Setsuna, so you can rest easy.”
“I see. I apologize for the trouble and thank you for taking care of her.”
Saying she had prayers to attend to, the Queen entrusted her daughter to us and departed. Her repeated glances at the door made it clear she was quite worried.
Exchanging a glance with Shio, I placed my hand on the sliding door. Normally, it wouldn’t budge, but with barely any effort, the lock disengaged, and the door slid open smoothly.
Once we stepped inside, the door closed automatically behind us with a click, locking itself.
A locking sliding door? It felt odd, but then again, this was a fantasy game. Dwelling on common sense would only detract from the experience. Ignoring the peculiarity, Shio and I proceeded into the brightly lit room.
What unfolded before us was a spacious, Japanese-style room resembling a high-end hotel.
And… plastered all over the walls were massive photographs of a beautiful, long-haired girl who looked just like Setsuna.
“This… is…”
“Could this be Princess Rasetsu? I never would’ve guessed, Princess Setsuna has quite the sister complex.”
“Can we really sum this up as just a sister complex…?”
While marveling at Shio’s calm commentary, I struggled to process the scene in front of me.
Rasetsu was known to be a quiet and gentle girl. The photographs depicted her with various expressions, from soft smiles to cheerful grins, taken from a wide array of angles.
And it wasn’t just the photos. The room was also filled with handmade plush toys scattered everywhere.
It didn’t look like anything but the ultimate otaku’s lair. The kicker? This was Setsuna’s own room.
It made sense now why she wouldn’t let anyone else inside.
If it were me, I’d lock myself in for at least a month, refusing to see anyone, if something like this were discovered.
Though part of me wanted to pretend I hadn’t seen any of this and leave, our goal was clear: to wake up Setsuna.
To track down the missing Rasetsu, I steeled my resolve and stepped further into the room, approaching the large bed with Shio.
Thankfully, Setsuna was peacefully asleep in a yukata, clutching a body pillow featuring her younger sister’s image printed on it.
Would she be angry when she woke up? Or would she suffer immense emotional damage? Perhaps both?
Feeling as though I were opening Pandora’s box, I gently shook her shoulder.
“Princess, it’s time to wake up.”
At the sound of my voice, Setsuna stirred, her eyelids fluttering open slightly. The light must have been too bright because she quickly closed them again, letting out a soft groan. After a moment, she reopened them.
The adorable, groggy face of the waking princess appeared before me, and in a soft, dazed voice, she muttered:
“Wuahh… if Sora-dono is here, then this must be… the carriage?”
“Sorry to disappoint, but you’re not in a carriage.”
“Fweh…”
Hearing this cruel truth, Setsuna froze for a good few minutes.
She seemed like the type to wake up quickly, though. Like a high-performance computer, her brain rebooted in an instant. Fully alert, she looked around to assess the situation.
However, no matter how much she glanced around, the scenery didn’t change. Her half-closed eyes opened wide, her face turned pale, and tears began welling up in her eyes.
Then, slowly rising to her feet, Setsuna summoned a katana in her right hand.
Before Shio and I could even react, she unsheathed the blade, pointed its tip at us, and declared.
“I’ll kill you both… and then myself!!”
“Wait, hold on, calm down!!”
She swung her katana in a terrifyingly fast downward strike, which I barely managed to catch with both hands, a perfect display of the blade-catch technique.
Thankfully, it seemed my strength stat was higher. The blade didn’t move any further, leaving us locked in a stalemate.
Setsuna leaned in close, her face filled with a storm of emotions, humiliation, anger, despair, all blending together from the realization that her secret had been exposed.
She didn’t say anything, but her eyes made it painfully clear: she had no intention of letting us leave unharmed.
“How about this, I promise not to tell anyone. Could you, uh… spare my life?”
“Grrr… nuhhh… nuhhhh…”
Her grip on the katana showed no signs of loosening, and the murderous intent emanating from her was palpable.
I racked my brain for a way to defuse the situation, but no brilliant ideas came to mind.
After all, we’d seen it all: the countless photos of her little sister, the plush toys, and even the body pillow. If it were me, I wouldn’t let anyone who saw that escape either. In fact, I’d probably beat them into oblivion just to regain my mental balance.
In this situation, no words would have any effect. In fact, saying the wrong thing might only make it worse.
I resigned myself to a battle of endurance until she tired herself out.
Just as I was preparing for the worst, Shio suddenly spoke up.
“Princess Setsuna, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about! After all, my own room is covered in pictures of my big brother!”
“…What?”
“…Huh?”
My little sister had just dropped the most outrageous bombshell of her life in an effort to calm Setsuna down.