Mean Prince

I'm sorry. I lost her.

"I see..."

After hearing Sebas's report, I was inwardly astonished.

Honestly, I couldn't imagine anyone evading Sebas's pursuit.

There must have been something that left him no choice but to abandon the chase.

"Were you unable to approach because of a barrier?"

"No. I was able to approach until a certain point, but then I lost all sense of direction, and everything around me began to look like a maze. I judged that pursuing her any further would be unwise and withdrew."

"That was the right call. It was basically like wandering into a labyrinth. The farther you go, the more you play into her hands."

"It was a failure on my part. However... she is even more impressive than the rumors suggest. This Celestial Princess, I mean. It has been a long time since I've been completely helpless."

Sebas said that after bowing deeply.

It was truly rare for Sebas to admit complete defeat and praise his opponent. No matter how strong or skilled someone was, Sebas could always deal with them somehow, using every trick in the book.

"As expected of the Hardest Shield. It seems she can't simply erect a sturdy barrier. When it comes to defense, she can adapt it into anything. I can see why she's considered comparable to the House of the Heroic Marquis."

"Yes. She is troublesome, but... this confirms it."

"Yes. There's no doubt she's the Celestial Princess."

We knew who she was now.

If that penguin was her pet, then she must have been the one the Second Imperial Guard Knights had been protecting at the hot springs.

"But it seems Father was working on all sorts of things behind the scenes too. Involving the Adventurer's Guild and somehow summoning the Celestial Princess of the Far East... That's an outrageous feat."

"That is only to be expected of His Majesty the Emperor."

"Still, it would have been easier if he'd left it to Silver."

If he'd just left everything to Silver without meddling, things wouldn't have become so complicated.

Well, the Adventurer's Guild was probably the one directing things this time, so I imagine they'd agreed not to use Silver when establishing a cooperative relationship.

No matter how powerful the Empire was, the Adventurer's Guild was the authority on monsters. If monsters were becoming more active under Hameln's influence, the guild was the only reason we'd noticed so quickly.

"The guild headquarters must have had its reasons as well."

"The notion that Silver would grow arrogant if he accomplished too much is absurd. Someone must have been pulling strings behind the scenes."

"Is it necessary to think that deeply? Whoever may be behind it, this incident will work in our favor. If Lady Erna and the S-rank adventurers settle everything according to the guild's and Empire's plan, we can conserve our strength. And even if they fail, it will still be Silver who is called in to clean up."

That's right.

The Empire's goal was to secure a safe route before the ceremony. The guild wanted to exterminate the monsters that had entered an active period and discover a new SS-rank adventurer. If the assembled S-ranks failed, the request would fall into Silver's lap.

If casualties increased, the ones who would be blamed were the higher-ups at guild headquarters for failing to use the capable people available to them.

Clyde might be aiming for precisely that.

But things don't always go smoothly.

"Very few people would resent Silver earning achievements. The S-ranks might feel that their chance at promotion was being stolen from them, but there is no fixed number of SS-rank slots. They have no reason to resent him that much. If anything, the opposition would come from above or the side rather than below."

"Lord Clyde said he was worried about making the guild's higher-ups harder to deal with, but if it came from the side, that would mean people on an equal footing with us."

"Perhaps those problem children tried to influence the higher-ups. If they've been defeating S-rank-class monsters one after another in such a short time, being promoted straight to SSS rank is starting to seem realistic. The SS-ranks wouldn't be pleased about that."

Ridiculous.

But the ones who fixated on such ridiculous things were the problem children among the SS-ranks.

"Things get troublesome whenever those guys get involved... Every last one of them is a schemer."

"You make it sound as if you are completely different from them."

"What are you talking about? I'm the only normal one."

"Unfortunately, the other four probably think the same thing."

"That's a spectacular misunderstanding."

They were the epitome of people incapable of functioning in society, so it was beyond absurd for them to think they were normal.

When I gave a derisive snort, Sebas let out a small sigh for some reason.

■■■

The next day.

My mother suddenly summoned me.

For some reason, on the condition that I come alone.

Wondering what was going on, I went to my mother as instructed, by myself.

"Excuse meee."

Saying that, I opened the door to my mother's room and entered in my usual manner.

But something was different from usual.

"Gah?!"

For some reason, a rope had been strung directly in front of the door.

Lacking the athletic ability to avoid it, I caught my foot on it spectacularly and fell.

And, just like yesterday, I ended up slamming my nose into the floor again.

A familiar voice and cry reached my ears.

"All right! Good job, Enta!"

"Chupii!!"

When I looked over, Enta and yesterday's girl were holding the rope on the right side. The girl was still wearing her hood, just as she had yesterday.

I glared at them while clutching my nose, and the girl announced haughtily:

"Hmph! How about that? Did you see that?!"

"Chupii!"

I suppose it takes after its owner.

The penguin was looking at me smugly too.

Thoroughly irritated, I silently got to my feet, picked up the penguin, and carried it to the window.

"Waaaaah!!?? What are you planning to do?!"

"Relax. If it's a swallow, it should remember how to fly when its life is in danger."

"Ch-chupii!?"

"D-don't! Don't treat it so cruelly! Enta is a swallow that can't fly!"

"That's why I'm going to restore its sense of the open sky! Let go!"

I drew back my arm to throw Enta, while the girl grabbed my arm and desperately tried to stop me.

I somehow shook the girl off and tried to throw Enta out the window, but each time, she clung to me.

"Stop! Let Enta go!"

"Shut up! I'm going to show you that this thing is a penguin, so watch closely!"

"Chupii!!??"

"Enta is a swallow! It's just a swallow that can't fly!"

"A swallow that can't fly isn't a swallow!"

"Stoooop!!!! Don't you have any love for animals!?"

"How can I love such a nasty animal!?"

After this struggle, we were exhausted, panting heavily as we glared at each other.

We were at a complete stalemate.

It was then that a third party finally spoke.

"The tea is ready."

"Oh! Good work, Mitsuba. But I must reclaim my friend from your mean son. I'll have the tea later. Oh, and bring some sweet treats too!"

"Understood. Al, don't bully Her Highness too much."

"I'm not bullying her. I'm punishing her."

"That's even worse! You scoundrel! Unforgivable!"

With that, the girl clung to my arm and forcibly reclaimed Enta.

Then, before I could retaliate, she hid behind my mother.

"Heh heh! How about that! Have you admitted defeat?!"

"What exactly am I supposed to have admitted defeat to?"

"You still don't seem to understand, do you? Then allow me to explain! I am the peerless beauty celebrated throughout the Far Eastern nation of Mizuho, the one and only! I am the Celestial Princess, Orihime Kuon!"

Saying that, the girl removed her hood, revealing her face.

There was a beautiful, doll-like face framed by long black hair and golden eyes. Yet surely no dollmaker could ever create a doll like her.

Her face was simply that full of vitality.

A beaming smile, brimming with confidence. She was the very picture of innocent exuberance.

Small black fox ears adorned her head. And when I looked, I saw a black tail behind her as well.

The Celestial Princess's clan was a beastkin race called the Celestial Foxes. Unlike most beastkin, who excelled in physical ability but had little magical power, they possessed exceptional magical power, which they had used to protect their Celestial Kingdom for generations. They were a venerable and highly prestigious clan.

In terms of status, they were equal to the House of the Heroic Marquis. In other countries, they were treated as royalty.

Now that she'd revealed herself as the Celestial Princess, I suppose she'd expected me to be surprised.

Orihime anxiously watched my reaction. But I responded rather flatly.

"Yeah, I know."

"Hmm? Wait...? That's strange... I'm the Celestial Princess!"

"That's why I know."

"...W-when did you realize?"

"When you used that barrier yesterday."

"W-what?! I see... So you already knew..."

With a dejected look, Orihime slumped her shoulders, let her ears droop, and trudged over to sit in a chair.

My mother served tea to Orihime with practiced ease.

"I wanted to see you be surprised and flustered... Mitsuba! This isn't fun at all! I'm the Celestial Princess!"

"She's been like this since she was little."

"Even so... Since he's an Imperial prince, he could have at least put on a little show of surprise... He should read the room a little. Isn't that what you call manners?"

"I've never heard of manners like that."

Saying that, I sat down too and accepted a cup of tea from my mother.

Playing with this girl had left me unbearably thirsty.

Honestly, couldn't a Celestial Princess be a little more refined?

As I thought that, I remembered that the young lady of the House of the Heroic Marquis, the obvious point of comparison, wasn't refined either, and concluded that I was asking the impossible.

"Al, let me introduce her properly. This is the Celestial Princess of the Mizuho Celestial Kingdom, my homeland—Her Highness Orihime Kuon."

"Indeed! I am very important in your mother's homeland! Do you understand what that means?"

"Not at all."

"It means I'm more important than you! Because I'm the Celestial Princess!"

"..."

Unsure how to respond, I looked at my mother, but she seemed unbothered. There was probably no point in taking her seriously or trying to give a sensible reply.

I was certain now. She was practically an arrogant tyrant who acted as if no one else mattered. Put more simply, she was selfish.

"Your Highness, this is my eldest son, Arnold. Am I correct that Al is the person you were looking for?"

"Indeed! Without a doubt!"

"I should ask, just to be sure: How were you told to identify me?"

"They told me you were the black-haired man who lives in the castle, the mean one. So I figured you must be the mean one with black hair and summoned you."

"I take offense at that..."

"Aren't you mean?! You bullied Enta and me so terribly! You mean prince! Didn't you say you were going to get revenge on me?! Waaah?! My sleeve!!"

Orihime slammed the tea she had been drinking onto the table and pointed at me.

But the impact caused the tea to spill, wetting her sleeve.

She let out an exaggerated shriek, had my mother wipe it off, then started over and pointed at me again.

"—I will get revenge on you!"

"Oh? What will you do?"

"Prepare to be amazed—and then sob tears of joy! Arnold! I hereby appoint you as my personal host!"

It was certainly a bombshell, but I wasn't surprised.

I had somehow expected her to say something like that.

Still, being her host...

Since she was being treated like royalty, the imperial family should technically rank higher.

"I'm a state guest! It is only natural for the imperial family to entertain me! You will amuse me to your heart's content!"

Orihime declared, swishing her tail.