Chapter 226
The martial arts tournament will begin at noon.
Until then, events will be held throughout the festival, building excitement for the climax: the martial arts tournament.
Normally, the time before the martial arts tournament is free time, so the dignitaries—and the princes and princesses serving as their hosts—can go outside.
However, perhaps because of the outrageous kidnapping of the Saint the previous day, the dignitaries have been rather reluctant to move.
Nobody wanted to become the second or third target.
Even so, there was one dignitary lounging around in my room without a care in the world.
"I'm tiiiired."
"Yes, yes. Good work."
I said that as I offered some words of comfort to Orihime, who was lying on the sofa.
Orihime had repaired the barrier in the throne room overnight. The barrier had been neutralized by the Imperial Banner, and as a result, she had been forced to stay up all night and looked thoroughly exhausted.
Normally, the Empire should have properly thanked her, and it had in fact made such an offer, but Orihime had declined and was lounging around in my room instead.
She said she couldn't relax in unfamiliar places.
I kept the thought that she was marking her territory to myself.
"I feel like nobody's grateful."
"I am grateful. Very much so."
"I can't feel the gratitude in your words."
Normally she'd make a fuss, but Orihime remained sprawled on the sofa without moving.
She really must be exhausted.
The throne room was where the Emperor stayed. Reconstructing the barrier, which played an important role in its security, had been an urgent task.
That was why I'd made Orihime push herself.
Apparently, creating numerous intricate barriers was mentally more exhausting for Orihime than deploying one large barrier.
The Empire really owed Orihime a great debt.
"Then how can I make my gratitude come across?"
"Hmm... Worship and praise me more. In other words, compliment me."
"Even if you tell me to compliment you..."
Orihime was utterly exhausted, and her usual vivacity was nowhere to be seen.
Orihime was difficult by nature, and it was hardly an exaggeration to say her cheerfulness was her only redeeming quality. Without it, Orihime was just a stuck-up pain in the neck.
Thinking there was nothing to compliment, I focused on her tail.
Her tail usually displayed Orihime's emotions to an almost comical degree, but now it hung limply, perhaps from exhaustion.
"I've thought this for a while, but... that's a nice tail."
"Hmm! As expected of Arnold! You know a good thing when you see one! My tail is one of my charms!"
"Ah, yeah. It is."
She'd latched onto that more than I'd expected.
What should I do? I'd only complimented it on a whim, so I'd be in trouble if she asked me to elaborate.
"What do you like about it!? Personally, I like the way it feels, but some people praise its shape too!"
"Uh... the shape. It's plump, and somehow looks nice."
"Indeed! You're quite good at compliments!"
If that made me good at compliments, then everyone in the world would be good at giving them.
Orihime probably had a tendency to interpret things in whatever way suited her. She must have misinterpreted my careless compliment in the best possible way and converted it in her head into something wonderful.
If she was going to misunderstand me, I was fine with a positive interpretation. It was much better than offending her.
"Excuse me. Al-sama, Orihime-sama."
"Oh! Fine!"
When Orihime saw Fine enter the room, she sprang to her feet.
Then she hugged Fine and dragged her over to the sofa.
Fine was carrying a tray of snacks.
"When you're tired, nothing beats sweets!"
Saying that, Orihime sat on the sofa with Fine and started eating snacks.
She was wolfing the snacks down so fast that I worried she'd choke—and sure enough, she did.
"Ghk!?"
"Here, some water."
Fine had prepared water in advance and quickly handed it to Orihime, who eagerly gulped it down.
Once her breathing settled, Orihime went back to eating.
"Slow down a little."
"I can't! If I don't recover as much as I can now, it'll affect me later!"
"Are you planning to participate in the martial arts tournament or something...?"
I could only shake my head, while Fine watched Orihime with an indulgent smile.
And so time passed.
I wished this peaceful time could continue forever, but that wasn't going to happen.
As noon approached, not only the castle but the entire Imperial Capital began to grow hectic.
"Excuse me. Prince Arnold, Orihime-sama, Fine-sama. What are your plans from here?"
The Imperial Guard knight assigned to escort us asked us about our plans.
Fine would of course remain in the castle. Officially, it was because she was worried about Krista.
Krista had been endangered by the dark elves' attack. No one would object if Fine said she wanted to stay by Krista's side.
The problem was Orihime and me.
Given Orihime's condition, I had expected her to remain quietly in her room, but she had perked up a little and was raring to head to the arena.
I would have preferred to stay in the castle, but if Orihime went, I had to accompany her. I was her host, after all.
Well, as long as we remained within the Imperial Capital, we could still teleport even if the Celestial Sphere was activated, so there were ways to handle things.
Still, it would be impossible to avoid being slightly delayed in assessing the situation at the castle.
It was easier to take action if I was there in person, and even if I had to slip away, I needed to do so naturally.
Without Sebas, it would be difficult to cover for me.
I wished Orihime would say she didn't want to go.
"Of course I'm going."
"I will remain by Princess Krista's side."
"Understood. We have a carriage ready, so let us know when you're ready."
The Imperial Guard knight withdrew after saying that.
Well, it couldn't be helped.
"Then let's go."
When I rose from my chair, Orihime tilted her head.
"Hmm? I'm the only one going, you know?"
"What? That won't do, will it? I'm your host, after all."
"If you must spout nonsense, do it in your sleep. Before you're my host, aren't you an Imperial Prince?"
That was the last thing I'd expected to hear.
Orihime looked straight at me and smiled quietly.
"An ominous scent has lingered over this capital for some time. And it's not a pleasant one. Even after your younger brother went to rescue the Saint, it hasn't faded; if anything, it's grown stronger. You're going to deal with it, aren't you?"
"Orihime..."
"It's written all over your face that you want to stay at the castle. If you need to be at the castle to deal with whatever happens, then I'll go alone, even if it makes me lonely. I wouldn't be much help if something happened at the castle in my current state, anyway. To be honest, I can barely stand. The most I can do is maintain barriers without moving. I'd only be a burden, wouldn't I?"
She was exactly right.
If Orihime had been in perfect condition, it would have been another matter, but she was exhausted now.
Orihime was known as the Fairy Princess. She could probably erect as many barriers as she wanted, but there was nothing she could do about her physical exhaustion. If she ran out of stamina and became unable even to cast barriers, we'd have more hostages on our hands.
There was no guarantee this whole incident would end quickly.
In the first place, the Fairy Princess was not a warrior like the Hero.
I couldn't force her to overdo it.
"You don't need to worry about me. Stay here if it's too much for you."
"I'm not doing this out of consideration for you. If you have something to do here, then I merely have something to do at the arena."
"You're tired, aren't you? You repaired the throne room's barrier in a single day. You can rest. This is the Empire's problem."
"Oh? Was I mistaken? I thought the Fairy Kingdom and the Empire were already friendly nations. The problems of a friendly nation are our problems too. Don't worry. Helping you once or twice makes little difference."
"..."
"This is merely my own selfishness. I want to help you. I don't want to see you looking sad. If I can't be of use here, I'll go where I can be useful. Unfortunately, the Hero is away. Until the Hero returns, I'll stand in for the Hero and protect what you cannot. I won't let anyone lay a finger on your father or your people."
It was bravado.
There was no way she could erect barriers on that scale.
Even so, I had no choice but to take Orihime up on her offer.
"Someday... I'll repay this debt."
"Indeed! You'd better repay it someday!"
With that, Orihime waved and left the room with a smile.
If nothing happens, I'll be a despicable man for sending a dignitary off alone, but Orihime sensed something ominous too.
Something was bound to happen.
"...She's a kind person, isn't she? Orihime-sama."
"Yeah, she is."
After making someone from another country go this far for us, "Sorry, we failed" wouldn't be enough.
"I'll stop it. I absolutely will."
"Yes!"