Headed by a Snake

The princess had been acting suspiciously...

The girl acted as if she were unaware of common knowledge. Tycon highly doubted that the woman had been living in an underground cave for the past epoch-- her fineries and royal blood would easily attest to that.

He recalled that he acted in a similar fashion only a few moons prior-- asking roundabout questions to gain basic information and making excuses to ward off suspicion. (The complications that arose were insubstantial, as it wasn't so difficult to make Mister Dragan lose interest.)

Back then, Tycon had awoken in a tavern with only a scant few memories. He knew of the world, its creatures, its magic, and its politics. He knew of his System and how to utilize it. What little memories he had of himself had only to do with his personality, what he liked and didn't like; and his learned skills, like cooking and knowing which end of a blade to direct towards an enemy.

He'd another set of memories that he hadn't considered important until meeting Aurala: Tycon knew of other worlds. Traveling between worlds was highly frowned upon-- an entire organization called the Gatekeepers hunted down anyone fool enough to forcibly open a rift with extreme prejudice.

If Tycon's hypothesis was correct, Aurala was an unintentional world traveler, like he was. And if so, a few choice words would win her to his side. Perhaps he might learn something. Perhaps he could sway the girl to his cause. Low risk, high reward.

"Why should I trust you when even my retainer doesn't?" Aurala mumbled, refusing to meet Tycon's gaze. She hugged her knees, an obvious sign that she needed to be comforted.

Tycon said the magic words.

"Because I'm from another world. Just like you."

Aurala froze as stiff as a statue. Tycon could almost hear the cogs in the not-blonde woman's head creak and groan as she came to understand what he'd said.

"Prince... Tycondrius," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Tycon smirked and gave her a reassuring wink, "Just call me 'Tycon.' You're not alone anymore, Aurala."

In a crash of movement, Aurala had tackled Tycon, knocking over the small table between them. She buried her face into his chest and immediately began bawling her eyes out.

"Oh, my god! I've been so lost! Why did this have to happen to me?!" The girl was sobbing, complaining about useless things.

Hesitating only briefly, Tycon returned the embrace, gently stroking the girl's hair. "It's okay. I'm here."

As she looked up with a watery-eyed, sniffling face, Tycon wiped a tear with his thumb and whispered, "Don't cry."

"I'm... I'm a princess." The girl snorted inelegantly, "You have to respect me!"

Tycon smiled silently in return. He continued stroking Aurala's head and enjoyed the silence, only interrupted by the princess' occasional snorts and sobs.

...

Tycon wondered about the cost of renting the room. It seemed pricey, but he was sure someone of Aurala's station could afford its extended use.

It took a long time to coax the snorting princess to stop crying. She had curled up in his lap as Tycon gently stroked her head.

"Everything is so different than it should be..." Aurala muttered. "The eastern states shouldn't even exist after the Mourning... And the Triumvirate should be in power, not the Council! And Aurala should be queen!"

Like Tycon, the girl had some understanding of the world... but unfortunately, her knowledge and expectations were... flawed, at best.

Tycon popped a grape he'd peeled into the girl's mouth, "A princess wanting to be queen? Did you reincarnate into a villainess, Aurala?"

Aurala spat out a seed at Tycon's face, which he tilted his head to dodge, "I reincarnated into Aurala's brother's daughter! And my stats and level are trash! --not that anyone in this stupid world uses levels. How am I supposed to be a villainess if I'm stuck at First-Circle?!"

Tycon raised his eyebrows. She didn't refute him calling her a villainess.

"Gaining your First Circle at your age is an anomaly reserved for the top percentile of the Kingdom's magicians." Tycon rolled his eyes, "I doubt even a dozen others can claim the accomplishment."

"Ughhh," the snort princess groaned, "I know. It's just, I never thought that I'd be this weak..."

"There is a way to expedite the process, Aurala," Tycon hid a smile as he reclined back against the bed.

Aurala turned and looked up, mashing her breasts against Tycon's leg, "Really, Prince?"

Tycon chuckled softly, "Have you considered a mana transfer?"

"A mana transfer? But what kind of ritual--" The woman's pupils dilated in realization. Her gaze drifted over to the silk-ridden bed and then back to her and Tycon's intimidate position. She scrambled backward, away from him, "S-s-s-stay away!!"

Tycon couldn't help but laugh at the girl's innocence. It was a welcome change, teasing a Circle Mage who was most certainly a Bronze-Rank. Most of the other females Tycon had dealt with were extraordinarily capable of dealing catastrophic physical harm to him.

And besides that, he found Aurala's over-the-top reactions amusing.

"As an educated Circle Mage, I'm sure you're aware that the exchange of mana fluids through copulation is exponentially more efficient than--"

"I know that!!" Aurala interrupted.

"You've arranged for a private room. You've chased out your retainers." Tycon pointed to the talisman he placed on the door, "And I've gone ahead and sealed the room against physical eavesdropping and magical scrying."

The snorting princess rushed to the door and examined the talisman, "Oh my god, you've used a Third-Circle consumable... Aren't those ridiculously expensive in this world?"

"Your protection is of utmost import, Princess," Tycon lied. He placed the talisman for his own safety.

Aurala placed her back against the door and looked away. Her face had flushed to a deep, almost-purple against her form-fitting blue dress.

"Prince Tycon... It'll be my first time."

Eh?

Tycon burst into full-on, unabashed laughter.

"Wh-wh-what?! What's wrong with being a virgin!!" Aurala screeched.

Tycon wiped his tears, "Oh, shut up. I doubt you can handle me."

"Bull crap! I have 150 HP!" Aurala yelled indignantly.

What in the seven hells did that mean?

Tycon raised a palm, trying to calm himself, "I'd like to discuss having raw, unprotected, life-altering sex *after* we discuss business."

"I... Ah... You..." The red-faced woman stuttered horribly.

Tycon furrowed his brows. Had he gone too far?

"Aurala, I've received news that the situation with Duke Tavor may be more troublesome than I and... the previous you had thought."

Taking a moment to calm herself a bit, Aurala finally sat in front of Tycon, "Have you found a way to harm Duke Tavor's political power?"

Tycon nodded, "A majority of the Duke's power comes from his weapons' trade. He controls an underground forge beneath one of his holdings here in Merylsward."

"What? That's impossible. Tavor doesn't hold any smitheries in the city. And the smoke from the forges? How can you hide that?"

"According to a letter I received this morning, the Duke has a way to access Fernia, the Plane of Fire."