I Became the Hero's Bride! Chapter 1-6

IBHB 1

I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 1 - This Story Is…

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

There was once a hero.

Unique black hair. Excellent eyes. Contrary to his delicate features, he who had abnormal strength was called the Otherworldly Hero.

At the hero's long adventure (up to the point where his wooden sword that had been kindly granted to him by the king was replaced by the holy sword blessed by the holy maiden) he saved the prince that had been kidnapped by the demon king, and so the kingdom was swept by worry.

The hero's strength that could fell the demon king was deemed too dangerous to leave unrestrained.

One advisor spoke up. Why not marry him to royalty?

The king thought that was a viable option. Family, to an alien from another world would be the best of chains. There was one problem. The king was abundantly blessed with sons and had princes galore, but not a single daughter.

Ho, and it wasn't like I could marry off two boys.

At a burst of inspiration the king slapped his knee.

That was it!

You just had to turn a prince into a princess!

And so the hero ended up in a position to be marrying a man.

This story, is a tale of the aforementioned otherworldly hero, and his bride, the former-prince-now-princess and their ridiculously hilarious marriage.

IBHB 2

I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 2 - Have you gone mad?

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

The whateverth year of King whatever's reign. One day, at the famous tourist attraction that was the demon king's castle, the seal on the demon king broke. It seemed that a tourist had accidentally removed the demon king's seal to take home as a souvenir. The unsealed demon king brought her scattered forces, and rose up with the demon king's castle as their base.

The demon king, very much like the thirsty b.i.t.c.h the history books made her out to be, kidnapped the kingdom's young boys and started a feast overflowing with roses.(1) The kingdom, enraged decided to perform the hero summoning ritual to bring a hero from a world where heroes were said to gather.

The ritual was a success, and the young hero wearing odd clothing 'Park Minwoo' was summoned. However, contrary to the kingdom's hopes, Park Minwoo was drunk on chuunibyou and stirred up all sorts of troubles, and meanwhile, the thirsty demon king, having realised that she had no princes in her collection, created the incident where she stole the prince known as the kingdom's treasure, Prince Clarice.

The shunned hero Park Minwoo received a single wooden sword and left on an adventure as if he was being kicked out. All expected the hero Park Minwoo's journey to end in failure, but on the contrary, to save the only person who treated him brightly in the foreign other world, he endured harsh trials and temptations, maturing in the process. And so Park Minwoo defeated the demon king and proudly returned as a genuine hero that had saved the prince.

And now, when everything had been resolved peacefully-

The palace was faced with another problem.

"Hasn't the kingdom already chased out the hero once before? Who knows what resentment he might hold if we ignore him again!"
"But if we give him power now, then there will surely be problems in the future. Even now you can hear people chant his name as soon as you step outside the palace, who knows what they'd do under his bidding?!"

Neither the Prime Minister nor the Commander-in-Chief were giving each other an inch in their argument. Stuck between them, the king groaned with a hand planted onin his forehead.

At the present, the palace was faced with a problem arguably even more troublesome than the demon king.

It was how to deal with the hero. Having returned from defeating the demon king, at the fervent pleas of Prince Clarice, who had said he wanted to treat his benefactor, he was currently living in the palace. Perhaps it was due to the cold way they had treated him in the past, but the palace was at loggerheads with itself on the hot seat.

Although he was spending time peacefully for the time being, there was no way they could comfortably host the hero who had strength even greater than the demon king.

Whether they should leave him in the castle as is, or give him a t.i.tle and send him to the regions, or trust in his sincerity and give him command over the palace, opinions were thrown around the tabletop debate.

As the debate heated up and the king was about to tell his advisors to calm down, the Minister of Internal Affairs, who had been quiet till now, offered a suggestion.

"Your highness, how about marriage between him and royalty?"
"Marriage?"

Both sides of the table turned to face him.

"Yes. If the hero becomes family with the royal family then he will not be able to bare his fangs so easily."

"As well, under the excuse of looking after the hero who has now become part of the family, it will be easier to put him under our surveillance."

"Your servant is thankful for your praise."

The Internal Minister looked to the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief and smirked, shrugging his shoulders. Ho! As the two let out irritated noises, the king rubbed his chin and said.

"But I only have princes so how could this work…"

"Her Highness married into His Majesty's family, so they are not royalty, are they not?"
"I'm afraid the Interior Minister's gotten so old he's forgotten how t.i.tles worked."

The Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief smirked together. A vein bulged out on the Interior Minister's wrinkled forehead.

The king sighed as if he truly regrets it.

"Huuuhh, it's not like I could get the hero in a gay marriage with the prince…"

Flas.h.!.+

As if struck by lightning the king yelled 'That's it!'

"How about we turn the prince into a girl and marry her off to the hero?"

…………eh?

At those brilliantly stupid words the gallery quietened down like they'd been doused with cold water. As they glanced at each other it seemed like they were all thinking the same things. The advisors all looked to each other for them to represent them all.

In the end the Interior Minister who had first suggested the idea reluctantly opened his mouth as if he had been forced to eat mustard.

"Your Majesty. May this shameless servant have permission to ask you a question?"
"Hoho, to think you'd call yourself shameless, how rare."

The king's eyebrows twitched as if to urge him on.

"Your Majesty."
"Hmm?"

With a worried face the Interior Minister asked.

"Have you gone mad?"

At those direct words that could indeed be called shameless the king couldn't help but start laughing. The advisors, having finally caught onto the joke, relaxed. They say laughter is infectious. The meeting room where you could have heard someone gulp was awash with laughter.

Hahahaha.

Kukukuku.

The Prime Minister that had been cracking up smacked! the table.

"As expected of Your Majesty. Your humour is on another level entirely! For a moment there I really thought you were serious!"

The Interior Minister who had been clutching his belly b.u.t.ton clapped! his hands.

"While we're at it, how about compiling Your Majesty's jokes into a book? The treasury will be overflowing with cas.h.!.+"

At those words people started putting their hands up left and right.

"Reserve a volume for me!"
"Hey now! What's with only one volume? You should order at least ten for your entire family!"

Hahahaha

Kukukuku

The king's face hardened.

"I'm serious?"

The peanut gallery froze instantly.

***

The Rien Palace where the princes resided. In a room in the deepest part of the palace, there was the one who had been gone through the ordeal of having been kidnapped by the demon king, the fifth Prince Clarice, was being protected.

"Father. Your son Clarice greets you."

When his father the king came to see him, Clarice said according to protocol. The modest personality that remained unchanged even after the suffering at the hands of the demon king was suited to the one called the treasure of the kingdom. In contrast, his appearance that resembled the queen gave him a pitiful aura, which tugged at the heartstrings of all that saw him.

"Is your body alright?"
"Yes. It's all thanks to Father and everyone else, and… the hero that's looked after me."

The slight happy flush that bloomed on Clarice' face when he mentioned the hero didn't go unnoticed by the king.

"Well, he's still in the kingdom due to a certain someone begging and pleading for him to stay, isn't it obvious?"
"Father!"

Clarice blushed brightly as if he truly was embarra.s.sed. Laughing jollily, the king thought to himself,

'He's really my son but sometimes I wonder if he really is a son.'

"……I yearn for him."

That was the truth. Unlike himself who had only grown up being protected like a flower in a greenhouse due to his status as a prince, he couldn't forget the figure that frolicked around(=chuunibyou) despite being in a foreign world while receiving the cold shoulder and being ignored by those around him.

He never could have done that if he had been in his shoes. He wouldn't have been able to go on an adventure with a single sword, nor would he have been able to righteously break into the demon king's castle and shout his name in front of all those demons, while bravely yelling he had come to save him.

As a fellow man, to Clarice, the hero Park Minwoo was his respected idol.

"Hm… yearn, you say. How much?"

"Yes. For example…"

The king asked as if he was being flippant.

"Would you want to marry the hero if you were a woman?"
"Ehhhh?!!"

Clarice jumped with his face blus.h.i.+ng bright red. It was a reaction where you couldn't really tell if he liked that idea or not. The king led him on and threw out some more bait.

"Noooo~ the hero is a brilliant man even to your old man, well then why not. If you were a woman, that is."

"Do you dislike the idea?"
"Nooo… It's not that I dislike the idea. No, that doesn't mean I like it either…"

Clarice wavered with his face flushed like it would burst at any moment. His head was spinning with surprise and embarra.s.sment. Why is Father asking me this all of sudden?

"Pick one or the other. Clarice."

"Mm."

The king nodded with a stern face. It would be nice if he looked after national affairs with that enthusiasm.

As if to swallow his shame, he clenched his eyes tightly shut before quietly mumbling.

"……yes."

"M, marriage… Th, the hero is…. an, amazing person."

He was so embarra.s.sed he was about to die. But as the king smiled sagely and answered in turn, Clarice froze up immediately.

"Then do it."

Clarice raised a bunch of question marks.

"Eh?"
"Then get engaged to the hero. This father will back you."

Clarice raised a bunch of question marks.

"Eh?"
"I know you heard me. Don't pretend that you haven't."

That wasn't the problem.

"I heard you, but I don't understand…. Please scold your dim-witted son."

And so the king explained slowly and clearly so that even a dim-witted son could understand.

"I will contact a sage to create a s.e.x change potion, then you will drink it, become a woman and get engaged to the hero. This father will help you."

As if he had understood, Clarice nodded his head and asked.

"Father. May this shameless son have permission to ask you a question."
"Hoho. There are a lot of people asking for shameless requests today."

The king's eyebrows twitched as if to urge him on.

"Father."
"Mm."

Looking like he was really worried, Clarice asked.

"Have you gone mad?"

Author's Notes:

I think he really has gone mad!

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(1) …I'm not exactly sure, but in context with some of the next chapters, I think this is implying the demon king was a fujos.h.i.+ and did very fujos.h.i.+ things.

IBHB 3

I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 3 - It's Clarice.

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

Having been asked if he was mad and kicked out of his son's room, the king left the Rien Palace and went to look for the hero Minwoo. Minwoo wasn't hard to find. In the middle of the training grounds. Amidst the soldiers and the confusion, the helmetless man stood out with his unusual black hair and delicate features.

More than anything else the unique aura Minwoo emitted basically screamed 'I'm here.'

The sudden appearance of the king threw the training grounds into an uproar. Both the soldiers still bas.h.i.+ng away at each other and the ones spreadeagled on the ground in exhaustion immediately jumped to attention as if their feet were on fire. Meanwhile there was one person who still carried himself casually.

"Your Majesty?"

Listening to Minwoo's matured voice, the king was reminded of the rampant brat that was Minwoo when he was first summoned.

'His voice was still reedy like a boy then, how time's flown.'

"Thank you, hero. It seems like you were teaching the soldiers the sword."

"Had to?"

Minwoo looked towards the training dummy at the corner of the training grounds.

"When I first came here, there were people that taught me the sword when I knew absolutely nothing. I wanted to repay the favour."

Favour. The king dipped his head while stroking his beard. Body and mind he was most certainly a hero. The soldiers that pretty much surrounded them were looking at Minwoo with inspired faces. Likewise, the king too, was moved.

'To think that that rampant brat could grow like this. Just where did that idiot who shouted light novel or isekai high schooler s.h.i.+tstorm or I'm a main character went to.'

The past of when he treated him like an imbecile came up and poked at the king's conscience. When he thought about what he was going to do, he'd have to pray he wouldn't get stabbed.

"And Your Majesty."

The hero stood to attention and said,

"I'm no longer a hero. You don't have to be formal with me."

Since the demon king was no more that meant he was a civilian. The king could only smile and think,

Oi, how the h.e.l.l am I supposed be cozy with a civilian that can beat the demon king.

"Since that's what you say I guess it can't be helped. I have something to talk to you about in private, so let's be elsewhere. Minwoo."

The king looked past Minwoo to the soldiers behind him.

"Since everyone else looks uncomfortable to be here."

***

In a separate meeting room, the king started talking.

"Minwoo, do you have a woman you're seeing right now?"
"A woman I'm seeing?"

Minwoo turned his gaze away and sadly answered.

"N, no I don't…."

Very sadly for him there wasn't.

Although not to the extent of forming a harem in another world, he was kinda hoping for a sweet loving relations.h.i.+p with a girl that loved him. There was no such thing.

Even when he was beating the c.r.a.p out of the demon king, there was no such, thing….

"Hm. Then do you have a woman you fancy?"
"Woman I fancy?"

Minwoo lowered his head and answered depressingly.

"N, not even that…."

Very sadly for him there wasn't.

He had a lot of women in his surroundings. But there was no normal woman that could stir his heart.

The mage? A hopeless woman who would go my prince my prince every other day.

The priestess? Aiya. She was no holy maiden (聖女) but a lewd maiden(性女).(1) She was totally out of his strike zone. To the point he wouldn't touch her even if they were the last humans alive.

Even though he had thought of the possibility of a light novel situation with the demon king, (something like "Be mine! Hero!" while shaking a gigantic pair of b.r.e.a.s.t.s(2)) but when he saw the demon king in person she was a fujos.h.i.+ beyond help.

"That's a relief."
"R, relief?"

The king took a sip of tea and smiled.

"I was actually thinking setting up an engagement for you."

Minwoo was horrified.

"Engagement?"

"N, nothing. It just reminded me of some bad memories…"

A clearly fearful reaction. The king clicked his tongue.

"Do you not want it?"
"O, of course not! Yes I do! But just who is that person…."

Minwoo gulped. An engagement on the recommendation of the king. Unlike his harmless uncle appearance he was more akin to a snake so even if on one hand he had a bad feeling about this, on the other he was happy at the thought that he'd finally have a light novel-like love comedy in this other world.

He was 18 years old. A very pa.s.sionate age. Even though he was a hero he was still a (former) healthy high school student. Although it had been a long time since he had faced reality and overcome his 'I'm the protagonist!' chuunibyou, his otaku nature embedded to his bones hadn't been lost.

And didn't some light novels start after beating the demon king?

"Clarice."
"Really. A beautiful name…"

Minwoo immediately stopped talking.

"Who?"
"It's Clarice."

The king answered brightly. Minwoo's face gradually morphed into a strange expression.

"By Clarice, you mean, Your Majesty's son, him, the Fifth Prince, him, the one that was kidnapped by the demon king, him, the one I rescued, him…."
"It's Clarice."

Seeing as he couldn't finish his sentence the king smiled brightly and finished it for him.

"You're right. My son, the Fifth Prince of the kingdom, kidnapped by the demon king, rescued by you, the treasure of the kingdom who's beautiful down to his name."

The king smiled brightly and hammered the final nail in the coffin.

"It's Clarice."

Minwoo was reminded of something.

That BL was also a thing in light novels.

Author's Note

But at that time Minwoo didn't know of something.
That gender bender was also a thing in light novels.

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(1) Both p.r.o.nounced the same (성녀) but the corresponding hanja character representing them are different, leading two VERY different meanings. A pun.
(2) 99.99% sure this is a Maoyuu reference, but that demon king and this one are 100% different types of demon kings so…

IBHB 4

I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 4 - Not even in your dreams

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

"I'm so sorry! Hero-nim! I'll apologise in place of my father!"

When Minwoo headed over to Rien Palace and told Clarice that the king had tried to set up an engagement, Clarice's face turned blue and he bowed deeply.

Father is mad but he is well and truly off his rockers. He wouldn't even have dreamed that he would have said something so ridiculous to not only him, but the hero as well.

"I'm so sorry. I definitely refused Father, but I didn't think that he'd say that to you as well!"

"Of course not! The hero of the kingdom, saviour to the kidnapped boys, and my own benefactor… to think he'd try to marry you to someone like me of all people…"

Feeling deeply ashamed, Clarice couldn't speak any more and hung his head. Minwoo scratched the back of his head and comforted Clarice.

"It's alright. And don't call yourself 'someone like me.' What's wrong with you?"
"But I'm a man. An engagement with a man. It's so disrespectful to you that I can't look at you in the eyes."

Clarice looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Clarice."
"……"

Minwoo said with a hard voice.

"Look at me."

As Clarice lifted his head, his eyes snapped open, surprised by the hero's face so close to his. Minwoo smirked and kindly said,

"I'm alright. I was more worried that you'd be more troubled by this?"

"Nn."

Minwoo cheerfully replied.

In the past. When the light novel-like 'otherworldly transmigration' actually occurred to him, there was a period where he was drunk on chuunibyou and created all sorts of dark history in the palace.

Just remembering it caused him to shudder and at the time he was immature and pathetic to the point of kicking his blankets high into the sky,(1) even the people who looked positively on him as the hero turned away.

And to him who became alone in another world, there was only one boy who offered his hand and smiled.

That was the boy in front of him now.

"In my case, I was wondering whether you were hurt getting paired up with someone like me, so I came looking for you to see if you were alright."
"Someone like me. Aren't you the strong and brilliant person who defeated the demon king and saved me?"

Minwoo sighed internally, and faced Clarice's clear blue eyes that were clearer than the blue sky and as pure as this boy's inherent nature.

"The one who made this hero as strong and brilliant as he is, was you. Clarice."

If you hadn't offered your hand to me back then, then the hero of now wouldn't exist. He was too shy to say those words, but instead Minwoo ruffled Clarice's fine brown hair as if he was stroking it.

"You flatter me."

Clarice's cheeks flushed as he carefully set his hair right.

'Whew. That was dangerous.'

Minwoo wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed in relief. Somehow the uncomfortable rose bush had come right in front of his nose without him realizing it. Just a step further and he would have stepped on the BL route then and there.

When he saw Clarice up close, Minwoo's heart was shaken for a inestimably small period of time. Fine eyelashes. Eyes like gemstones. An elegant nose. Living up to his name as the treasure of the kingdom, Minwoo very briefly entertained the ludicrous thought 'this engagement would be alright?'

No matter how much you could mistake Clarice for a girl (when he first saw him 'it's a princess heroine!!' and had jumped for joy.) and although he was beautiful, as a man….. Not yet.

And the 'prerequisites' to allow the engagement were way too outlandish to begin with.

"And just how on earth did that old snake come up with the idea of turning you to a woman and marrying you off to me."
"I know, right. If Mother were to find out who knows what would happen."

Clarice had a kind personality but thinking about what catastrophes could unfold if his mother, who had nothing except flowers in her head when it came to her husband, came to know of this, he shuddered.

A thought came to Clarice's mind, and he propped his chin with his hands and said,

"The reason why he's trying to get hero-nim and I engaged, might it have something to do with you, Hero-nim?"

"Ah! I'm not blaming you Hero-nim, what I was trying to say is-"

Aren't you strong enough to defeat the demon king? Perhaps being wary of your strength Father might be trying to set up an engagement between us. In that case, having tied you to the royal family it would be easier to put you on a leash, and if a c-ch, child was born then well… wouldn't that be an easy hostage? Considering Hero-nim's n.o.ble personality there'd be no way you'd abandon your child.

"Th, that's possible. To think he'd use his own child as chains, that's a bit too much. That old snake…"

"……."
"……."

A silence fell. The two people couldn't look each other in the eye. Although there was no way that would happen, the thought of marrying and having a child that was as majestic as the hero/beautiful like Clarice couldn't help but arouse odd feelings in both of them.

Minwoo couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere and changed the subject.

"Th, that reminds me. Clarice. You kept on going Hero-nim Hero-nim from a while ago, don't call me that. I'm no longer a hero."

It was what he had said to the king as well. Having understood what he meant, Clarice hesitated before answering.

"But, Hero-nim is my benefactor. To casually call my benefactor by name, it's…"

"No, it's not that…. It's…."

Clarice fidgeted with his fingers and murmured.

"It's embarra.s.sing…"

"…….."
"…….."

And silence fell once again. Minwoo rubbed his cheeks and frantically calmed his heated face. d.a.m.n it. Why is this kid so cute even though he's a man. On the other hand, Clarice felt like he was an idiot for turning shy as soon as he stood in front of his idol. It was because he was so weak-kneed and timid that Father had started spouting nonsense to begin with.

Clarice couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere and changed the subject.

"Th, that reminds me. Hero-nim. Didn't you tell me earlier that you were training the soldiers in swordsmans.h.i.+p earlier at the training grounds?"
"Yep. I was? Why ask?"

Clarice scratched his cheek to try and hide his embarra.s.sment.

"Um, c, could you teach me swordsmans.h.i.+p as well?"
"Swordsmans.h.i.+p?"

Clarice quickly added on,

"Ah! It's not like you have to teach me! It's just…"
"Just?"

Minwoo playfully bit at the tail of his words.

"…I want to be as strong as Hero-nim."

Clarice's eyes were filled with the determination to be as strong as the hero he admired. Minwoo, embarra.s.sed turned his gaze outside the window. Clouds were drifting in the blue skies, and servants were moving to and fro in the elegant garden. It was a peaceful sight.

Minwoo remembered the scenes at the demon king's castle. Red skies. Black clouds. And the BDSM plays that were occurring everywhere. Oww. Just remembering that caused his b.u.t.tcheeks to clench. Minwoo had beaten down the boys in bondage suits that had been conquered by the demon king, charged into the demon king's room, where a horrifying spectacle awaited him.

Clarice had been wearing a frilly see-through wedding dress that left nothing to the imagination, and an orc had been threatening his chrysanthemum. It was a shocking sight that nearly made him drop the holy sword. Thankfully he saved Clarice before disaster could strike and thoroughly reeducated the demon king…

Hm, definitely. Having gone through an ordeal like that it was only natural that he'd want to get stronger to protect himself.

"Oi, I'm pretty strict, you know? I'm not going to take it easy. Will you be alright?"

Minwoo playfully smiled.

"Of course. On the contrary that was exactly what I wanted."

"What are you saying!"

At Clarice's shocked outburst Minwoo couldn't help but laugh. Cajoling Clarice's faux-angry eyes back to his cheerful self was a matter of course. Having completely forgotten the matter of the engagement the two spent their time going over schedules for sword lessons.

At that time. Neither of them could even have dreamed that the king had gone to the royal mage to ask them to make a gender-changing potion…

Author's Note

Next time, the long-antic.i.p.ated new character and heroine(?) the royal mage appears!

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Translator's Note

Holy s.h.i.+t the borderline danmei is real. Thank G.o.d for tags.

(1) As in, lying in bed. Recalling dark history. Cringe. Cringe so hard you flail around and kick your blankets and squirm in bed as you relive your days of cringe.

IBHB 5

I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 5 - So desirable

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

The residence of the royal mages, the magician's tower. There, the office of the youngest royal mage in history-slash-the hero party's mage was once again experiencing an abnormal day.

"Hehe. Hehehehe. Finally, I finally got it!"

Her age was around seventeen or so. The girl with round gla.s.ses and neatly cut purple hair was jumping around excitedly while holding a tightly wound roll of paper in her arms. The girl hurriedly unrolled the paper.

"Ahh… Prince Clarice. Just how on earth do you look so elegant in a wedding dress…"

Shockingly, that was a portrait of the Fifth Prince Clarice. And a very perverted one at that. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if a picture of a boy in a wedding dress in the arms of an orc making a double peace sign with an ahegao isn't perverted then what the h.e.l.l is.(1)

The girl, Senyun heard the rumours from the Citizens that Love Clarice Club, CLC, (Clarice nearly married an orc in the demon king's castle) and lost sleep for several nights over the rage of missing this limited edition bromide. Having been unable to stand it she trawled through the black market and finally got this bromide on her hands.

If she hadn't taken the role of buying time for the hero to get to the demon king then she would have been able to see Prince Clarice in a wedding dress with her own eyes. d.a.m.n it, what was I thinking back then. Ahh, the real thing would have been more beautiful than this? Huhihihihii….

Knock knock.

The sound of the knocking door brought Senyun out of her happy daydreams. Senyun ignored it and hung the bromide on the wall of her office. Surprisingly, that bromide wasn't the only copy of its ilk. There were many others, all equally perverted. Not only the bromide, her entire office was filled with Prince Clarice's figurines, mugs, dolls, signature, all sorts of goods.(2)

Knock knock knock knock.

"I get it! Get in!"

Senyun yelled, annoyed. The door swung open as if it had been waiting for that moment.

"Ho…."

The man that entered could only groan as he came in. The mage captain could never get used to this room no matter how often he saw it. Because just as he was about to get used to it the number of weird things only increased.

"Sorry boss. I'm busy."

"Senyun. The king is here to see you. Offer your respects."

The captain moved aside and behind him the king entered, royally stroking his beard, saw the inside of the room and immediately froze.

"Ho…."

The king too, let out a groan. Senyun ignored it and asked the captain.

"Don't you know that this is around the time that I recharge my Princeium? Get lost."

"Ehem. It's been a while, Senyun. Is it the first time we've seen each other since the victory ceremony?"

The king royally coughed and tried to act friendly with her. Senyun ignored it, lit up a fireball in her hand and said to the captain.

"Oi thaid get focked?(3) Do you need me to set your a.s.s on fire to understand?"

"Khmm! Khmm!! Ehem!!!"

The king very quickly coughed. Haa. With a sorrowful face, Senyun put out the fireball, threw herself into a chair and glared at the king.

"Your Majesty. Why are you here?"

"Very funny. The people all know that you cause incidents every other day. You just have to walk along any random street to hear the calls to drag you off your throne and enthrone the hero."
"Senyun!!"

Please shut that mouth of yours. The captain could only rub his haggard face. Having heard the news of the prince's kidnapping and immediately chasing after the hero, whatever had happened during her journey, Senyun had hardened. Her original sa.s.siness had only gotten worse as well.

"You try adventuring with a useless hero and an exhibitionist female knight and a perverted priestess to beat up m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic demon king army soldiers. See if you don't lose more than a few screws in the process."

"Ha…. I get it. Sit down."

Senyun sighed and flicked her eyes over the sofa. Anyone would think that Senyun was the king here.

"Why are you here?"
"Before that I have something to tell you, Senyun."

From the pockets of the king with a careworn face he brought out a tiny magic tool.

"Isn't this a recording device? What's this for? Does it have Prince Clarice's voice on it or something?"

Senyun smirked and complained. The king nodded.

"It does."
"Whhaaaaaaat!!?!"

Bang! Senyun slammed the table and bolted up. M, m, my G.o.d. The prince's voice that not even I'd managed to record…

"As a bonus my voice is recorded as well."
"I don't need that."

An immediate answer. For the however manyth time now the king coughed to restore his calm.

"Take a listen."

The captain, having received the magic device from the king input magic power into it. The device lit up, and voices could be heard from its depths."

-Clarice. Do you like the hero that much?

-……..yes.

-M, marriage…., th, the hero is…. An amazing person.
-……I yearn for him.

"………..Your Majesty."

"Th, this, the fu, no, ha, ……is this real?"

The captain had never seen this pleading side of Senyun before. For the first time since coming here the king smiled brightly and said.

"It's nothing if not real. Senyun."

Senyun fainted.

In truth, that was the oft-called 'devil's edit.' The captain had gone over the magic tool that had secretly recorded Clarice and adjusted the circ.u.mstances accordingly. However having no way to know of this, just before Senyun fainted, she could only think.

'Prince Clarice has already had his heart and body tamed by the hero.'

***

"Ha!"

Senyun's eyes flew open. Haa. Haa. Her breaths heaved as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, and spoke to the captain who was making sure she was alright

"Captain. I. Had a scary dream."

"You know, what that dream was…"

"What?"

She finally noticed the king that was leisurely observing the Clarice goods, was horrified, and screamed.

"You crazy little!"

The king laughed 'ho ho,' stroked his beard and looked back at Senyun.

"So Senyun's love for our Clarice is incredible after all."

It was incredible to the point where Clarice would faint if he ever saw it. Senyun stuck her nose up and puffed out her meagre chest.

"Of, of course! Although my short period of activity means I'm not in the inner circle of the CLC! You can't discuss appreciation for the prince in the capital without me present!"

"……for some reason that doesn't exactly feel all that great."

Senyun sighed, picked up the limited edition Clarice shota figurine and looked at it with longing eyes.

"But that's all over now as well. To think Prince Clarice would… the hero… to love that b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"

"Why is it over? That's…"

The king had a rarely seen serious, solemn expression and said,

"An impossible love? Was your love for Clarice 'only' to that extent?"
"What?! 'Only?!!' Your Majesty, what do you know!"

The king looked around the surroundings and replied to the enraged Senyun.

"I know very well. Just by looking at this office. Which is why I'm asking whether it only comes to that extent."

"As you say I'm an old fool who only causes incidents, but I haven't lived this old without a reason."

The captain thought. I think you have lived that old without a reason.

"This is what I think. True love! No matter how your own love can't be requited, to support and be at the back of the one."
"Your Majesty…"

Senyun's eyes that looked on at the king's pa.s.sionate speech changed. Looking at the eyes that started firing up with excitement-

The king thought. Ah, this girl. Is really easy to fool.

"Clarice is encountering a difficult love right now. Surely Senyun, you know it as well? The love between two men."
"That's right. Prince Clarice is a man, and that b.a.s.t.a.r.d hero was a male."

The captain thought. Somewhere down the line the hero was downgraded to an animal.

"As the father, I want to help my son's love bear fruit. Help me. I need your strength. I wish for you to make a Potion of Changing Gender."(4)
"P, Potion of Changing Gender?!"

Senyun gasped, thinking she hadn't heard right. The king nodded sagely.

"Yes. Using that, I want to turn Clarice to a woman and join the two together. If it's you Senyun, the granddaughter of the great sage and the one who has been pa.s.sed down his knowledge, wouldn't you be able to do it?"
"Of course! Aside from grandfather there's no mage that can surpa.s.s me in this kingdom!"

Senyun confidently puffed out her meagre chest. That was true. By pure magic skill alone, there was no active mage that could beat Senyun. Even the captain.

"But are you sure? Once changed, it can't be reversed?"
"……I only wish for Clarice's happiness."

Although the trap is that he doesn't necessarily care for Clarice being a woman.

"Will you make it for me?"

The king's quiet question caused Senyun to clutch her head with a serious expression on her face. She needed time to think. True love. That even managed to move Senyun who thought of the king as nothing but walking trouble. That had little to do with accepting the king's request.

When she had first left her grandfather's side and come up to the capital with dreams of being a royal mage, she had fallen to the prey of a fraudster. The one who had saved her then was Prince Clarice. Having secretly snuck out to observe his citizen's daily lives, even with his shabby disguise there was no hiding his eye-catching beauty.

Having fallen for her prince on a white horse at first sight, the first day on her job as a royal mage she immediately found out that was the Fifth Prince Clarice and felt the 'pink lit fate.' That very same fate that was described in the romance novels that she secretly read at night away from her grandfather's eyes!

It was a love that started with such fate….

'To think I'd lose to that ridiculous r.e.t.a.r.d of a sea cuc.u.mber squirt anemone. Not even to a woman, to a ma, the hero…."

She was so enraged she felt like she would collapse at any moment. Furiously scratching away at her head, she looked at the secretly-taken photo of Prince Clarice from afar.

Yes. She knew it! That she'd acquiesce to the king's request anyway. Because she loved Prince Clarice! To help fulfil Prince Clarice's love. But her heart still wasn't ready…

"Ah that reminds me. I have some comfort gifts for you Senyun."
"Comfort gifts?"

The king pulled out and unwrapped a gift box, and inside was a fragment of cloth. They were-

"Panties?"

Men's panties. Senyun scoffed. Are you playing games with me now. Disgusting. Why on earth would… Senyun's face hardened. From the panties, came a familiar scent.

"These are Clarice's panties."

Thud!

"Whhhaaaaaat?!?"

With her reddened face Senyun looked at the panties, looked at the king, looked at the panties and with steam coming out of her nose she carefully took the panties with both hands. It was exactly like the movements of a priestess receiving a holy item.

"If you help me by making the Potion of Gender Change, I'll give you that. Whether you wear it or smell it is up to you."

"Ah, by the way, I've prepared seven pairs so you can change them every day."
"Deal."

They were panties that were just oh-so-desirable.

Author's Note

King: Think of it as an honourable defeat.

King: You couldn't go out with the prince anyway, but now you can't date him because of the hero, right? You can take it as an honourable defeat.
Senyun: Sob! Thank you, hero-sensei…!

[][][]

Translator's Note: I did think about calling it the Potion of Gender Bender as well, but ¯_(ツ)_/¯

(1) o.r.g.a.s.m-face. Eyes rolled back, tongue out, drooling, the works. NOT to be confused with ahoge or idiot hair/cowlick. Use the tag function on your nearest friendly H-website for more details. And yes, author actually said 'ahegao.'

(3) (faux) Cutesy s.h.i.+t ways of saying c.r.a.p, the bane of my existence as a translator…
(4) I tried to name it like Elder Scrolls potion names but… ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 6 - When three coincidences overlap it's no different to fate

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

"Are you sure that you aren't going to be carted off for lese majesty at this rate?"

That was what Minwoo, concerned, had said to Senyun when he saw her office. Her reply was,

"Hmph."

Whatever was on her nerves she just hmphed and continued to focus on Prince Clarice's magazine article. An icy treatment despite being the one who had called him over. Minwoo grumbled something about her personality having become even worse since the last time he saw her and threw himself down on the sofa.

"Oi. So why'd you call me."

"No, don't 'hmph' me! Why did you call me over!"
"Hmph."

Senyun only twitched her legs that she'd been resting on the table, and continued to turn the pages. Minwoo was flabbergasted.

"…….."
"Hmph."

I haven't even said anything yet? Just as Minwoo was about the make a scathing remark, he turned his gaze downwards and smirked.

"Oi."

"I can see your panties."
"You little!"

Senyun hurriedly pulled down her skirt and took her legs down. Having made the observation that her panties were surprisingly masculine, he shrugged his shoulders at the flushed, angry Senyun.

"So. Why'd you call me."
"You….."

Senyun glared at Minwoo before sighing, opened a drawer and took out a medicine bottle. When she slammed it down on the table it was filled with a suspicious green liquid.

"What's that."

"What medicine?"

Senyun gnawed on the corners of her lips. She glared at Minwoo as if her gaze alone would shred through skin and bone. Senyun finally opened her mouth.

"Hmph."

Twitch. A vein bulged out on Minwoo's forehead.

"Oi! Are you seriously doing this?!!"
"Shut the h.e.l.l up!! I have nothing to say to you so why the h.e.l.l are you still yapping at me?!!

Kwwarrr. A t.i.tanic clash of wills. Senyun, enraged was this close to slugging the medicine bottle away, but looking at the photo of Prince Clarice, grit her teeth and shoved it to Minwoo.

"Take it."
"Don't want to."

A firestorm ignited behind Senyun.

"You wanna die?"
"Sorry."

When he calmly took the medicine Senyun propped her chin up with her hands as if she was regretting something.

"It's a supplement. Take it to His Majesty."

"That's right.."

Minwoo looked down at the sparkling green fluid. It looked like poison no matter how you looked at it.

"Did you really need me to do this?"
"Need?"

The corner of Senyun's mouth twitched upwards.

"Says the person who kept on d.i.c.king around on our travels calling them quests."

"Yeah, yeah. This is a quest or whatever so b.u.g.g.e.r off. His Majesty will give you your reward."

And calling up wind magic, she bundled Minwoo out of her office.

***

On the route to the king's palace, Minwoo saw a familiar face.

"Clarice?"
"Hero-nim!"

Clarice, who had been on a walk accompanied by his servants, recognised Minwoo and approached him.

"What brings you here?"

Minwoo brought out the medicine bottle and shook it.

"I have something I need to give to the king. And you?"

"Really? What a coincidence."

That's right. A coincidence

— According to later reports when Minwoo interrogated the mastermind(=king), all of the following events were. all. a. com. plete. co. in. ci. dence.

"Kyaaa! Thief!"

That the thief that had been running away b.u.mped into Minwoo was a coincidence,

"Eh? Where's the medicine?"

That the thief had stolen the medicine from Minwoo's hands was also a coincidence,

"Wind! Blow away our enemies!"

That the mage corps that had been chasing the thief had used wind magic at that particular moment to send the thief flying was a coincidence,

"Th, the medicine!"

That the thief lost his grip on medicine bottle, sending it spinning through air and dropping it was a coincidence,

"d.a.m.n it!"

That the fired wind magic just brushed the bottle out of Minwoo's reach was a coincidence,

"Clarice!"

That Clarice just happened to be standing where the bottle fell was also a coincidence.

—Later, the words that Minwoo said as he gave the mastermind(=king) a hiding were "in the world I come from, we have a saying that 'when three coincidences overlap that means it's fate.'

"Wha, whaa?!"

The medicine bottle that broke at Clarice's feet erupted in green smoke, and covered Clarice without a trace. Everyone, Minwoo included, could only stare at the catastrophe that occurred with their jaws dropped.

Without even the chance to do something, the green smoke started to fade away. And Clarice's coughing shadow would be seen through the smoke…

…….Minwoo had an inexplicable bad feeling.

"C, Clarice?"

Minwoo's worried voice was shaking. His hero's instincts, honed over countless battles and tribulations, were shaking his soul and screaming.

That you're f.u.c.ked.

"He, hero-nim?"

The oddly high-pitched voice sought Minwoo out. What was with this difference. Even if the Clarice he knew had a very fair voice it 'wasn't like this.'

"Cough! Hero-nim!"

A small slender hand emerged from the smoke. Minwoo took hold of that hand and Clarice, Clarice….

"………Cla, rice?"

Minwoo murmured, fl.u.s.tered.

"Oh my! How on earth…"

The servants covered their mouths, shocked.

"Hero-nim? What's wrong?"

Blink blink. Clarice looked at Minwoo with docile eyes. Following along with his tilted head, the brown hair that almost came to the waist flowed with the movement.

Even though Clarice definitely had short hair.

A perplexed Minwoo's gaze went slightly lower. Clarice in Minwoo's embrace. Between them, were things that should never have been there.

b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

b.r.e.a.s.t.s bigger than your average women, milk jugs, t.i.tties, bust, were squished up against Minwoo's hard chest. A peculiar sensation that made one's head spin.

Maybe, just maybe.

"Clarice."

It couldn't be.

"Excuse me for a sec."
"Hiiik?!"

But when the forewarned hand made its way to Clarice's crotch and found nothing there. The face of the king laughing his a.s.s off came to Minwoo's mind.

s.h.i.+t. I fell for it.

***

"What's this?"

Clarice said after looking at his own face this way and that in the mirror that a servant had brought him.

Minwoo couldn't say anything. Because he knew he wasn't asking what the mirror was.

"Hero-nim. Was my hair always this long?"

Clarice fingered his now-wavy hair before looking at Minwoo with innocent eyes.

Minwoo couldn't say anything. Because he knew he wasn't really asking out of ignorance.

"These are some amazing b.r.e.a.s.t.s. They're really heavy."

Groping the b.r.e.a.s.t.s that stretched and jigged, Clarice said, amazed.

Minwoo couldn't say anything. Because he knew that what Clarice wanted to let out weren't words of appreciation but screams.

"Hero-nim. Have I become a woman?"

Clarice reached his hand down to his empty crotch and smiled at Minwoo. It was a lewd act completely unbecoming of a prince, but there was no one here that would blame him for it.

And once again Minwoo couldn't say anything. Because he knew full well that Clarice was the one who knew the answer to that question the best.

"Hero-nim."
"Mm."

Clarice's smile split and cracked.

"I'm going to faint for a bit."
"What?!"

And Clarice blacked out.

[][][]

TLN: Just remember this is a hobby project that I'm translating irregularly while I wait for TLE's fate in early-mid September. Even if I'm still allowed to translate TLE, I will be uploading chapters for this. However if not, then this will become my new main project while I look for something else as well. (This seems to be pretty short, seems like it'll end around the 30s-40s chapter range)