Lonely

"Now! Entertain me!"

With that, Orihime sat on the sofa, bouncing her legs in excitement and repeatedly twitching her ears.

At present, Orihime and I were in an annex on the outskirts of the Inner Palace. The Second Imperial Guard Knights were stationed there to protect it, and it had become Orihime's temporary home.

Apparently, that had only been arranged today; until yesterday, she had been staying somewhere else.

She had slipped past the Second Knights and gone out for a walk with Enta, so she'd been moved here. It was an obvious decision.

Orihime was a state guest, but not an official one. If her identity became known, it would cause considerable confusion. I was fine because I'd known the Celestial Princess was here in advance, but anyone else would have been thrown into an uproar.

"It hasn't been decided that I'll be your host yet, you know."

"I desire it. Is that not sufficient?"

"Unfortunately, this is the Empire."

That might be enough in your country, but here, the Emperor's will takes precedence.

Things had led me all the way here, but the captain of the Second Knights had already gone to see the chancellor. I'd told him to.

I couldn't exactly summon Father. Once the chancellor heard the situation, I'm sure he would come as well.

Until then, I wasn't her host.

"I see... How boring."

Saying that, Orihime drooped her shoulders in disappointment. Her ears flattened as well.

She was easy to read.

"It seems Arnold has no intention of entertaining us, Enta."

"Chupii..."

Enta gave a small cry from Orihime's lap and slowly closed its eyes.

It seemed to be getting sleepy. Perhaps noticing that, Orihime slowly stroked Enta as if soothing it.

After a while, Enta curled up on Orihime's lap and began breathing quietly in its sleep.

"What a carefree penguin."

"It's a swallow. How many times must I tell you..."

As she replied, Orihime gave a small yawn. Enta falling asleep seemed to be making her sleepy as well.

She tried to keep her eyes open several times, but they soon began to grow bleary.

And then.

"Hmm... Arnold. Come over here."

"What? Do you want someone to talk to?"

"Something like that."

Orihime lightly patted the spot beside her and beckoned me over.

I didn't mind if she wanted to sleep, but I couldn't exactly brush her off.

I sat down beside Orihime, figuring I could at least keep her company.

Now, what should we talk about?

As I wondered that, something landed on my leg.

"...Hey."

"Hmm, this isn't a bad place to sleep. As my pillow, you're just about acceptable."

Before I knew it, Orihime had lain down on the sofa and was using my leg as a pillow.

She really did whatever she wanted. I was an imperial prince, for crying out loud.

"You know... have you ever heard of diplomatic etiquette?"

"Etiquette should be observed where it is expected. But I am here unofficially, so surely how I behave is of no consequence. Hmm, it is a little unfortunate that your feckless face is all I can see, but this isn't half bad."

Orihime had been searching for a comfortable position, but apparently found a good one on her back, because she smiled in satisfaction.

She really was as carefree as a dog or cat. And it irritated me that what she said made perfect sense.

Indeed, it didn't matter if Orihime, an unofficial figure, behaved however she pleased. That was the point of being unofficial.

Of course, being rude to the Emperor would be another matter, but she could indulge her whims with someone of my standing without causing trouble. After all, the Empire was the one that had asked her to come.

The chancellor would probably tell me to accept the role of host as well. We couldn't afford to put the Celestial Princess in a bad mood.

The plan was moving forward jointly with the Adventurer's Guild, but monster activity was difficult to predict.

If something went wrong, Orihime could erect the strongest barrier possible. There could hardly be anyone more reliable.

"Sigh... Do you act like this even in your own country?"

"Of course not. There is no one in Mizuho who can treat me so casually. I have people I am close to, but I cannot be informal with them. I am the Celestial Princess, after all."

Saying that, Orihime made a lonely expression.

Then she shifted her gaze to Enta, curled up on top of her.

"Enta is the only one I can call a friend. In Mizuho, the Celestial Princess stands apart from everyone else... It is different from the relationship between the Empire and the House of the Heroic Marquis. Even though the House of the Heroic Marquis is the Empire's trump card, the Empire does not depend entirely on it. But Mizuho is different. Mizuho is small compared to the mighty Empire. To stand against it, the Celestial Princess's barriers are indispensable. Mizuho cannot survive without relying on its Celestial Princess."

"Why did such an important Celestial Princess come to the Empire? It seems rather risky."

"If anything happened to me, another member of the Celestial Foxes would succeed me as Celestial Princess. We Celestial Foxes are all powerful barrier users without exception. I was sent because we have that safeguard. Even so, I was the one who wanted to come this time."

"You wanted to come yourself?"

"I wanted to see the outside world. I wanted to interact with people from another country. This was a perfect opportunity for that. I wanted to see the Imperial Capital I'd heard so much about. Well... I didn't get to see much of it."

So that's why she snuck out.

But then she got separated from Enta and had to spend time searching for it.

It was foolish of her, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

She might not be lonely, but she must have been living in isolation.

"...Are you lonely?"

The words slipped out before I realized it.

Orihime looked slightly surprised when she heard that, then answered with a bashful smile.

"Yes. I am lonely."

"I see..."

"That is why spending time with you is not unpleasant. You treat me casually, after all. Why have you not changed your attitude even after realizing I am the Celestial Princess?"

"I don't do things to others that I wouldn't want done to me."

When I was young, the commoner friends I'd played with without worrying about our difference in status gradually drifted away from me.

It had been painful. It had been heartbreaking.

Even so, Guy's refusal to change his attitude had been a blessing.

Because of that experience, I generally don't change how I treat people based on their status unless there is a very good reason. Of course, I do when necessary.

"I see... Then do not change the way you treat me, either. If I cannot go outside, I would at least like to talk with someone who treats me casually."

"Is that why you appointed me as your host?"

"I appointed you as my host on a whim."

"On a whim?"

"Yes, on a whim. Yaaawn... I am getting sleepy. Arnold, stroke me."

Saying that, Orihime closed her eyes and raised her head slightly.

Stroke her...? She wasn't a child. Orihime acted childish, but she looked about fifteen or sixteen. Stroking a girl that age felt a little...

When I hesitated, Orihime opened one eye and looked dissatisfied, then flattened her ears and slumped dejectedly.

The sight pricked my conscience, so I moved my hand. Seeing that, Orihime began fidgeting expectantly.

Her tail was wagging, and her ears had perked up.

I wasn't sure what to do with all that expectation...

"Sigh..."

With a sigh, I gently stroked Orihime's head.

Her ears twitched, and Orihime smiled contentedly.

"Yes! Not bad! Keep going!"

"Keep going...? Are you seriously planning to sleep here?"

"Of course. Now, stroke me!"

Saying that, Orihime swished her tail.

I had no choice but to keep stroking her. Orihime smiled contentedly, then gradually closed her eyes and began breathing quietly in her sleep.

"She really fell asleep..."

After confirming that she was completely asleep, I stopped stroking her.

Orihime furrowed her brows in displeasure even as she slept.

Was she actually awake...?

Giving up, I continued stroking Orihime's head.

As I did so, Chancellor Franz quietly entered the room.

Perhaps taking in the situation, Franz approached me and spoke in a low voice.

"Your Highness, I apologize."

"No need to apologize. It's just her whim."

"I'm relieved to hear you say so. Her Eminence seems to have taken a liking to you as well. Could you accommodate her request?"

"Be her host..."

It would obviously be exhausting, and it was far too intimate. I thought it would be convenient to establish a connection with her, but becoming her host would put me closer to her than anyone else.

Depending on how things unfolded, it could become troublesome...

The face of Orihime, who had honestly admitted that she was lonely, came to mind.

If I refused to be her host, she would surely make the same expression she'd made a moment ago. I didn't care for that.

"Well, the Celestial Princess wants it. I suppose I should grant her wish."

"Thank you. However, how did you come to have a connection with Her Eminence?"

"Yesterday, through this penguin. You should be glad I was the one who made contact with her."

"About that... Why did you already know that the Celestial Princess was here?"

I had already explained what happened yesterday to the captain of the Second Knights.

Naturally, I had also told him that I knew beforehand that the Celestial Princess was here.

From Franz's perspective, that was probably the part he was curious about. Of course, I'd told him deliberately.

"I heard it from Silver."

"Silver...? Why would he tell you, Your Highness?"

"Don't put on an act. You know Silver is siding with Leo and me. That said, there is no question he's a strange man. Sometimes he lends us a hand, and sometimes he doesn't. I suppose being an SS-rank adventurer is what lets him maneuver so skillfully."

Franz had his own intelligence network.

Through it, he would have learned that Silver was on our side.

Even so, Silver wasn't openly supporting us. At most, he sometimes cooperated.

It would be dangerous for an SS-rank adventurer to stick his nose into the succession struggle, but cooperation on that level could be overlooked.

"You are correct; I had noticed. However, that man does not seem like the type to actively cooperate, does he?"

"This time seems to be different. He passed along the information quickly. Perhaps he was furious at being left out."

"...It's because of the agreement with the guild."

"I imagine so. But Silver can't possibly be happy about this. Silver is the one who has protected the Empire from monsters. The Empire has been indebted to him time and again. Don't you think it would be best to avoid doing anything that might damage that relationship?"

"...The Empire is vast. We must move away from a situation where we rely on Silver alone as soon as possible."

I understood Franz's point.

The guild rarely exercises its authority to compel adventurers. It mostly makes requests.

That was why adventurers did not gather in places no one wanted to go. Recently, that place had been the Empire.

It was stable and peaceful, with few monsters appearing.

But that situation had begun to change recently. As far as the Empire was concerned, they probably hoped that one of the S-rank adventurers would establish a base here after this problem was resolved.

No matter how powerful Silver was, he couldn't cover the entire Empire by himself.

"I understand. Father thinks the same way, then?"

"Yes. So it would help if you could establish a line of communication for us."

"Unfortunately, the connection only goes one way. But... I get the feeling Silver likes Leo. If you want to keep him in a good mood, use Leo."

"I hope it does not come to that... but if we ever need to rely on Silver, we will ask Prince Leonart."

With that, Franz discussed a few other matters and then left.

That established a way to get Silver moving if something went wrong. It would be a feather in Leo's cap, and we'd prepared for the worst, but...

The problem was that I had become Orihime's host.

Meanwhile, she slept as peacefully as could be.

"You sleep like you don't have a care in the world."

I flicked her forehead in irritation, and her brows knitted in displeasure.

Seeing that, I felt a little less irritated.

After that, I continued stroking Orihime's head until she woke up.