Origin of the Ojou-sama (First Half)

"come to think of it, ojou, why are you aiming to be an Ojou-sama in the first place?"

That question comment caught Karona's eye.

"Ara, come to think of it, have I never told this story before?"

"I don't know either"

"I'm a long-timer and even I hadn't heard it before"

"I'm curious!"

"Hmm. Lots of requests, then. Well, it's not much of a tale, but shall I share?"

"yessss!"

"is it Mikado-jou's influence after all?"

"wktk"

"… It was an incident at a shopping mall, in winter."

And so, fielding the request, Karona began to speak of the incident that became her reason for aspiring to be an Ojou-sama.

 

*

 

Saya, the person behind Karona, had gone out shopping at the mall that day.

And there, she got lost. Separated from her parents, walking around on the verge of tears, and caught in a vicious cycle where she no longer even knew where she herself was.

"In hindsight, all I had to do was stay put, or head to the lost-child center."

But young Saya back then was a child through and through. Without understanding any of that, she simply wandered about.

And then, the incident struck.

"A dungeon emerged inside the shopping mall."

"huh?"

"for real?"

"whoa, ojou was a dungeon-disaster survivor?"

"shopping malls… yeah, more than a few got hit by dungeons"

BCD didn't yet exist back then; it was the earliest days of Dungeon Disasters first appearing.

Humanity still hadn't quite grasped the true nature of dungeons, and was fumbling about for countermeasures.

"Well, I won't give my exact age or location, since I'd rather not dox myself. But the building warped with a guchari, countless monsters attacked the people, and just as I, too, was about to become prey to those fangs…"

"—Dokkoishoooaaaahhh!!!"

Together with a great roar rising from the pit of the stomach, someone hoisted up a slab of rubble and hooked the legs of the boar-type monster lunging at Saya, sending it tumbling.

"Little missy, are you alright!?"

"E-eh, ah…"

Yes. Standing there was an Ojou-sama clad in a Gothic dress, with twin drill curls.

"hnnngh!?"

"why an Ojou-sama in this moment of all moments!?"

"I mean yeah, that's the story, so I figured as much, but still!"

"so that Ojou-sama was at the shopping mall too, got caught up in the dungeon disaster, huh"

"who on earth was she, this Ojou-sama?"

"We did exchange self-introductions, I'm sure, but, well, it was when I was small, so…"

At any rate, the Ojou-sama scooped up Saya, who had merely been standing frozen in place, and whisked her behind cover.

The boar-type monster she'd tripped was once again setting its sights on them.

"Now then, come at me, little piglet? My dress is red, you see～?"

So saying, the Ojou-sama swished her skirt, keeping Saya concealed behind it, and taunted the boar-type monster. Naturally, the provoked boar came charging in with full force.

An imminent head-on collision—and in that very instant, like a matador, the Ojou-sama deftly dodged and revealed, hidden within her skirt, a length of rebar jutting up from the floor.

Unable to stop, the boar slammed into the rebar and skewered itself with a sickening gusari.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho! Mr. Piggy, you're such a foool～～!! At the end of the day, you're nothing but a beast; being turned into meat and eaten suits you the very bestttt～～～!"

"And just like that, the Ojou-sama splendidly vanquished the boar!"

"amazing. if I were in the same situation, I don't think I could save ojou"

"what an intense Ojou-sama lol lol lol amazing tho lol lol lol"

"being able to say 'such a fool' in the middle of a dungeon disaster is seriously impressive"

"If that passing Ojou-sama hadn't come sweeping in to rescue me, I'd be carrying pork-meat trauma to this very day and unable to eat it."

"never mind that, your life was on the line"

"that's not the point lol"

"also, was she really an Ojou-sama!? are Ojou-samas really that combat-ready!?"

"My, my! An Ojou-sama is a formidable thing, you know? Obviously!"

"ah, right"

"so that was the root of ojou's Ojou-sama image"

"so-da-ne-"