The Emperor I met at the royal castle of Archlesia Empire…… His Majesty Chris was, to my surprise, the driver of the carriage I rode in when I had barbecue with Kuro before.
Towards me, who is dumbfounded by the surprise in learning that fact, His Majesty Chris opens his mouth with a smile on his face.
[It isn’t strange that you’re surprised. I’m sorry for not telling you.]
[Ah, no!]
[I was indebted to Underworld King-sama a long time ago, and when I heard she was interested in an otherworlder, I wanted to meet him, so I asked her to allow me to be her coachman.
[I- Is that so……]
[……At that time, I thought Miyama-sama was a very normal person, but it seems that my eyes were clouded. I take this opportunity to apologize for looking down on you without a second thought.]
Speaking to me in polite language, His Majesty Chris then deeply bows his head.
I think he’s a sincere person, but as I’ve been bowed down by the monarch of a country, I feel like I’m receiving a punishment instead.
[P- Please raise your head. His Majesty Chris.]
[Then, if you’ll excuse me…… Miyama-sama, there’s no need to call me with my honorary title. No, in fact, I feel like I would be scolded by Underworld King-sama if Miyama-sama used my honorary title to call me.]
[T- Then, I’ll call you Chris-san……]
[Yes. Once again, pleased to make your acquaintance.]
[Pleased to make your acquaintance too.]
Chris-san, despite his status as the Emperor of Archlesia Empire, is extremely down to earth and a polite person.
His hair is beautiful like they’re strands of sapphires and her eyes are like emeralds…… He’s definitely the epitome of a prince, and though he’s one of those slender ikemen, he doesn’t feel as irritating as the other ikemen back on Earth.
When Chris-san urged me to sit down on a chair, Alice also sat down next to me quite naturally.
Thereupon, as if Chris-san suddenly remembered of her existence, he looked towards Alice.
Speaking of which, that boisterous Alice had been silent ever since we came to this castle……
[The lady over there must be Miyama-sama’s companion, right? Sorry for the delay in greeting……]
[Ah, you don’t have to greet me or anything like that.]
[ ! ? ]
In response to Chris, who talked to her with a gentle smile, Alice…… She replied in a cold voice that I can’t imagine she would normally have.
I saw the knights waiting behind Chris-san twitch their eyebrows at her cold attitude.
[Alice? What in the world is going on with you……]
[……The only people I want to interact with are “those with whom I think is worth interacting with”. So, I don’t have anything to talk about with the oh, so gracious, His Majesty, the Emperor.]
[Wha!?]
The air in the room becomes tense when they hear those words she nonchalantly said.
I guess that should be obvious. Just now, Alice said that she only interacts with people who are of value to her, and when she said she won’t be talking to Chris…… That means……
[……What you mean is that, for you, I am…… a person of no value?]
[That’s right.]
[What!? You b*tch!!!]
She said it…… She really went and said all of it.
Alice now clearly said to the Emperor of Archlesia Empire that his existence holds no value.
In that tense atmosphere, Chris-san holds back his knights who were furious and put their hands on their swords.
Although Chris-san doesn’t seem to be angry, surprise could still be seen in his eyes.
However, Alice didn’t seem to mind them, as she took out a small knife out of thin air and put it on the table, moving it around as if she was playing with it.
[Well, each person’s sense of value is different, you know~~? I have a habit of putting value on others in my head…… As for His Majesty, the Emperor, you would just be one of the freebies I would give out, so around “one copper coin”, I guess?]
[……Hoohhh… You priced me quite cheaply huh.]
[How rude! What do you even know about His Majesty, the Emperor!?]
[……Chris Dia von Archlesia. Born as the third child of the former Emperor Duran Dia von Archlesia, graduated at the top of his class from the country’s magic school at the age of ten. Pursued a career in finance, initially intending to become a treasurer, but fearing the fate of his country, kicked out his two older brothers to succeed to the throne. Showing skill that was so great that made him known as the Wise Emperor, he has been called the greatest politician of all time. Currently 24 years old, his hobby is horse-riding, and his favorite book is “An Ode for the Banner”…… Anyone would know about this if they spend some time investigating it.]
[ ! ? ]
While fluently talking about Chris-san’s background, Alice takes out another knife and places it on the desk.
That strange atmosphere, which was different from the usual, left me, and obviously, Chris-san and…… even the angry knights were stunned, speechless about what they heard.
[He will do everything for his country. If it’s for the sake of his country and his people, no matter how much dishonor it brings to him, he will bow down to just anyone. Just like a tool for the betterment of his country…… What a noble thought that is~~, but you’re too boring.]
[……Boring?]
[I’m not interested in empty shells like those people who cast their own self for others. No, I’m not saying that you’re a bad Emperor or anything like that. As I said before, I think you’re quite noble, a clever person worthy of being called as the “Wise Emperor”. However, I’m not interested in you…… Looking at you, I can only see a well-made doll.]
[ ! ? ]
[Alice! You said too much!]
Chris-san is stunned by her cold, sharp words, and I can’t help but raise my voice and shout to Alice.
I don’t know why Alice suddenly started saying such things, but she’s obviously too different from the usual.
However, Alice doesn’t seem to be bothered by my shout, as she proceeds to place a third knife on the desk before turning to me.
[Kaito-san is as kind as ever~~ That’s why I like Kaito-san so much, and I want to listen to you as much as I can…… Unfortunately, I can’t do that this time…… Right~~!?]
[ ! ? ]
After saying that, Alice swings her hand along the hilts of the lined up knives, and the impact sends the three knives flying in the air.
And then, Alice grabbed them in the air…… is what I thought, but the knives suddenly disappeared from Alice’s hand and was stuck in two places on the wall and one of them on the ceiling.
I have no idea when she threw those knives or how she did that, but she was really quick.
In front of the speechless me, Alice told me in a cold voice.
[When you’re being invited by someone to be friends with you…… You don’t have to trust even these people who “would use Recognition Inhibition Magic to hide their soldiers”.]
[……Eh?]
[They were following us after we passed through the “gate”, weren’t they? Hey, you three….. Get the heck out of here. If you don’t…… Those knives would hit you next time, okay?]
[……………….]
With the words Alice quietly said…… As if to follow his words, the scenery on the walls and the ceiling shook like static, and people dressed in all black appeared.
They were following us all the way from the castle gates? I see, so that’s why Alice was silent ever since we entered the castle……
However, why didn’t I sense them? I should have been able to detect their approach with my Sympathy Magic but……
[It’s not really Kaito-san’s fault. The clothes they are wearing are made of a material that prevents magic power from leaking outside, so it’s no wonder you don’t notice it.]
[……How did you notice them?]
The three black-clad men, whose presence has been discovered, quickly move behind Chris-san, lining up in a row.
Chris-san asks Alice with a look of disbelief on his face, but Alice does answer and pulls on a thin thread.
It was apparently tied to the knives she threw, as the knives on the ceiling and one of the knives on the walls quickly returned to Alice’s hand…… but the other one stuck in the wall didn’t come back, as if it was stuck deep.
[Arehh? I think I may have used a little bit more force~~ What a failure, this is.]
Seeing that she couldn’t pull it off, Alice scratched her head with a wry smile on her face, before she walked over to the knife stuck in the wall and tried to pull it out.
[Arehh? It’s stuck!? I- I can’t pull it out…… Fugyaaahhh!?]
[………………..]
It seems to have been stuck in the wall deeper than she imagined, as Alice pulled it with all her might…… and fell on her ass.
How should I say this…… She isn’t as tense being in the middle of a crucial situation like this.
The moment I let out a sigh when I looked at Alice, who was acting as she usually does compared to that chill I felt earlier, I heard a quiet mutter.
[……You just let your guard down, didn’t you?]
[ [ [ ! ? ] ] ]
Alice, who should have been down on her buttocks, disappeared, and when I looked back at the direction of the voice…… Before I knew it, Alice was holding a slender sword in her hand, which she held around the necks of the three men clad in black.
[That’s no good, you should always be careful…… You three would have died by now, you know?]
[ [ [ …………………. ] ] ]
With a voice lower than usual…… Alice, who said those words that even gave me chills, glanced at me.
[……I normally rarely do this~~ Only when the remuneration is good and I’m in a good mood. The job of guarding a person, I mean……]
With a cold voice and her grip still on the sword, Alice slowly moved her gaze to Chris-san and the surrounding knights.
[Well, I’ve earned lots of money from Kaito-san this time, and as a service….. I’ll be guarding Kaito-san while he’s in the Archlesia empire. So, I just want to say a few words before your discussion.]
After muttering that, Alice turned towards the men clad in black.
She usually had a somewhat carefree impression, but now, coupled with her minimalistic opera mask…… She looked like an assassin.
[……If I see you lurking around Kaito-san again…… I’ll kill you, okay?]
[ [ [ ………………… ] ] ]
It was frightening how she naturally said that uncomfortable line.
Those cold words tell me the obvious, as if she has taken a number of lives until now…… The sound disappears from the surroundings and silence dominates the room.
[Or something like that~~!]
In the cold silence, Alice sounds like she lost interest and lowers the sword she was holding up.
Then, after putting away that sword somewhere…… probably in her magic box, she sits down in the seat beside me and slowly crosses her arms.
[And that’s why….. I hope you would give us a fancy dinner—– Ouch!?]
[…………….]
[Why did you hit me, Kaito-san!?]
[No, it should be me who’s doing the tsukkomi instead…… What’s with the different attitude you had earlier!?]
I reflexively slammed Alice on her Alice’s head as she instantly returned to her usual tone, wondering what it was all about earlier.
[It can’t be helped! I get goosebumps when I’m in serious mode for long periods of time, so I need to switch it up when needed!]
[……For a long time, you only did that for a few minutes……]
[No, no, I’d easily get tired after doing it for more than a minute. The muscles in my face are going to be a mess. My whole body would break down. So, Kaito-san, please give me a gentle massag—– Gyyaaaahhh!?]
[……………….]
[Eh? Play? We’re having that kind of direction and you wanted that kind of play!? No, well, I can handle a variety of situations, but I don’t like it painf—— You did it again!?]
It’s not really because of what happened earlier, no rather, I slammed my fist on Alice’s head again because she began messing around again after that momentum she had earlier.
However, on second thought, I may not know Alice very well.
She’s an idiot, a miscellaneous store owner with no business acumen, but she knows lots of things, and occasionally, it’s as if she’s a different person, saying sharp words to me.
I don’t know if I’m feeling weirded about it since I’ve lived a life away from carnage…… but in some ways, I feel like she’s different from the people I’ve met before.
Dear Mom, Dad—— I got a glimpse of Alice’s side that’s different than usual. It’s like her presence is as sharp as a cold blade, seriously—— Who the heck is she?
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<Author’s Notes>
A partial glimpse of Alice’s abilities as a worker in the underworld.
However, even though she has such an ability…… Her head is usually on the receiving end of Kaito’s knuckles…… I see, she must be an M huh……
T/N: 4/11