"I came here because I heard that Her Highness Princess Lilac has a guest. ......

　There were more than a dozen people at the door.

　The young man at the head of the line walked up to him, leaving Futa to blink his eyes.

　Behind him, a group of men followed.

　They did not seem to be bodyguards or soldiers.
　They were not as richly dressed as the man at the front, but at least they were dressed in fine cloth.

　A subordinate or comrade. That would be a reasonable assumption.

　The young man who opened his mouth was tall and thin, with green hair and blue eyes.
　He looked at Futa from top to bottom, and then asked with a disturbing look in his eyes.

You, what is your occupation?

　The way he held the pointy end of the stick in his hand and pointed it at Futa showed a hint of caution or curiosity.

　I have no idea why he would be wary.
　So, does he want to find out who Futa is?

"I'm unemployed."

　Instantly, the room erupted.

　The source, of course, was the people the young man had brought with him.

　Some were holding their stomachs in a funny way, some were pointing at Futa, and some were making mockery of him. The common denominator was that they all laughed at the "unemployed".

"Mr. Richter! "Herr Richter, I didn't expect you to have a jobless person.
"You're worrying too much!　I just picked up a commoner from the outside because no one would take me at court!
"Well, I'm surprised that Her Highness would choose to be unemployed. I've always thought you were a peculiar person, though!

　Futa's eyes narrowed.

　It was a strange feeling.
　"I was supposed to be falsely accused of being unemployed, but I was surprisingly unhurt.

　I was used to being ridiculed.
　I don't know how many times I've been ridiculed in the Colosseum.

　No Colosseum fighter should ever raise his hand to a guest.

　So I was used to enduring it.

　But...
　I was more angry at the fact that he had laughed at the first person who had acknowledged me than at the fact that he had made a false pretense of me.

　He clenched his fists and tried to smash them into the faces of the men in front of him.





"Whoosh!





　The air froze.

　Futa forgot his anger, and the nobles were speechless and blinding.

　The young man who was facing Futa, probably the leader of the group.

　A frothy mop was rubbed against his face.



"Master Richter!
What are you doing, little girl?


　There was a pause, then a shout.

　Even Futa was speechless.

"Corona!

　There's only one underling who could pull something like this off.

　When I stopped the girl who was still moving the handle of the mop up and down, she gave me a thumbs up without losing her normal smile.

"Washing for talking dirty to the princess's guest. And a greeting. Like, 'Oh, hey. Good gag.
"No, no, no, no!

　"No, no, no!
　The young man called "Mr. Richter" grabbed the handle of the mop and threw it to the side forcefully.

　The mop disappeared from his hand, and a frothing Richter approached the handless Corona.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"...... I wasn't laughing at him.
Did I?
Yes, ！！！！.

　Richter wiped his face in anger.

A mere maid wiping her face in anger, "How dare you disrespect Lord Richter!
You know the laws of this land, don't you? You know the laws of this country.

　"You know the laws of this country, don't you?

　But it was Richter who interrupted them.

"Stop!
"Master Richter!
"...... That maid can record. Everything you say is recorded.
What, the maid?　"A maid? A maid who can do magic?

　Corona lit up her fingertips.
　And slowly traced it through the air.

"Master Richter. I'm not sure I'd have expected you to keep an unemployed man.
'You care too much!　I just picked up a commoner from the outside because no one would take me at court!
I'm just a commoner from the outside. I've always thought you were a peculiar person, though!

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.

The maid is listening!　This is the smoking gun!　What?



　Blowing out the light from her fingers, Corona tilts her head.

I mean... I think you're an idiot for knowingly bringing that idiot in front of the maid.
"...... You're the maid Her Highness trusts the most. You are the most trusted maid of the princess. ...... And you're supposed to be in the princess's office at this time.
You're right!　If you answer correctly, you will receive the Stalker Certification Level 2!
I don't want it.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.

It was worth the effort to climb up the wall so that no one could find you.

　I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.

"Well... What do you want from me?
There's nothing much to do. It's just that I heard that Her Highness had brought a commoner man with her and I came to see him.
With all these men?
Yeah. A commoner can be intimidated. If they're lowly, we can tame them. ...... Both were unsuccessful.

　If we intimidate them with numbers, we can control their movements.
　If they flatter us, we can use them as our pawns.

　And then Richter turned away.
　The men hurriedly moved aside to give way for the return trip.

　Futa frowned.

　It wasn't because he was about to be taken advantage of.

　It was as if...

"Are you an enemy of the princess?
"...... No, of course not. Your Highness is our beloved royalty. He is second in importance only to the King.

　After saying that, Richter and the others left the room while wiping their faces.

















"Hmm.

　Corona's distressed murmur broke the silence after the door had closed.
　The pause was sluggish, and Futa felt weak.

What's the matter?
It's not like the princess has been caught out by accident. You're probably safe to go out now, Futa-sama.
What do you mean?
If they know you're here, that's a sign that you're okay!
...... In other words...

　It's not that they were aware of Futa's existence, it's that Lilac smelled Futa's existence.
　I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

Are you saying that the princess took the initiative in doing this?
Maybe. I think that nobleman is at least being guided.
That's a lot of trust.
Well, she's the princess, after all. Go to .......
"Hmm?

　I'm not sure what to do.

You're doing everything in your power, princess. How much did he like you?
Is that so?
The fact that he's moving them means that he's trying to get Futa-sama recognized by the royal court.
I don't know, but... I don't know, but if they like him, I'm not too happy about it.
"Heh.

　Corona seemed to be completely uninterested.

I mean... Mr. Futa.
"Hmm?
He made fun of me for being unemployed, but you seem to be okay with it.
Yeah, I guess so.

　I didn't realize it until you said it.
　If anything, he was more angry at being laughed at than at himself.

"...... Well.
"Hmm?　What's that on the maid's face?　Like eyes?
I'd be scared if she didn't. No, I mean... The princess and Corona approved of me, so I guess I'm happy enough.
"Haha.

　Corona nodded her head in admiration.

"You greedy bastard.
Is that so?　I think I'm pretty greedy. If Corona hadn't been mopping the floor, I'd have punched them all.
I see. Then I owe you my life, maid.


"What? Why?
"Why? ...... You'll be beaten to a pulp by that many people!
...... Oh, yeah. That's right.

　I was careless.
　I'm not sure if I'll be beaten to a pulp or not.

　I'm sure you're right.
　In that sense, Corona was certainly a benefactor to Futa this time as well.