Oh, shit. I went to talk to Eva. Somehow the secret society's to blame for everything Citri's done. I don't know what to do anymore.

Eva walked out of the room with the fake princess, moving briskly. There's nothing a simple clan master like me can say to that serious face.

The door slammed shut, and Citry's cheeks, which had previously been in a pout, puffed out.

'I was going to make a ...... big show of it and negotiate with ...... Zebrudia, but ......... ...'

Not at all ...... remorseful at all. What were you planning to negotiate?

I don't know. I've heard that Citri does everything well, but periodically makes a big mistake. I thought he was overthinking it, but maybe he was telling the truth, because he was suspected of aiding and abetting a mass prison break as an example.

What are you going to do about ............ this?

Sitri looked at him as if he were accusing him for a while, but he recovered quickly.

'Well, but if you think about it, this is not a bad move. There's no way a fox can protest with impunity. ............'

It's good to be positive, but you're switching too quickly. In addition, you can't call a situation where I'm breaking out in a cold sweat a good move. ............ What are you going to do?
He's the emperor of a great country. It'll take a little more time to get the message through.

There's time. I'll talk to Lucia and Ansem.
Citri, who was usually the most reliable, made his usual hand-clapping gesture with a twinkle in his eye.

'That's right! I'll give you a few extras while I'm at it! If you can't get them, you're dead!

'Hey! Whose fault is it that I'm in so much trouble!

'What?

I'll say it when I have to! When I grabbed Sitri by the shoulders, his body wobbled a lot, as if he wasn't expecting it.
It was almost a blessing in disguise that I was able to put myself down right away. Just then, a bottle filled with a bright liquid crossed the edge of my vision.

'Oh ......'.

Sitri shouts in disbelief. There's a small sound of breaking glass.

And then--the world is a mess.

I felt the wind like a storm. The sound, impact, and heat behind you are blocked by your activated warding fingers.
My sure footing crumbled away. I quickly hugged Sitri, and my vision flipped.

It was fortunate that the room had a high ceiling. Whether you fall headfirst or body-first, the warding fingers are perfect.
At the same time as I fell, I triggered the next warding finger and was thrown onto the floor.

There was a huge hole in the ceiling. My body felt like an explosion, but even though there were scorch marks on the edges of the hole, there was no sign of burning.
Was it the enemy? Natural disaster? Citri in my arms said in a small voice to me as I lay there in a confused position.

'Ahhh ......'.

'What the hell! What the hell is going on? What the hell? Huh!

'Mr. Cry, please calm down. It's just an Explosion Potion that slipped through the cracks.

What?

What? Potion? .................. Oh ......... ....
Fortunately, the room downstairs was vacant. But the room above--it's half destroyed. ...... Isn't that bad?
It was no ordinary shock. If it hadn't been for my warding fingers, I would have died for sure. But what a horrible potion to be carrying around, Citri.

'Were you alright?'

'Of course I am. Krai-san protected me, so I'm ...... unharmed!

If it weren't for Kry, the room wouldn't have been destroyed. .......
You will find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier. But he doesn't have the energy to push me away.

My heart is about to jump out of my chest now. The warding fingers protect me from attacks, but they don't make me stronger.
I feel like I'm going to vomit as I watch the pieces fall off. I was going to scold Citly with the fake princess, but I can't scold him with this.

Then I heard a bang in the room above me. I heard the door open, and Eva looked down through the hole.

'What's this--what's going on?

'Um, .......'

What an excuse,......, Eva is used to the unprincipledness of our members, but if the room she was staying in was destroyed, she would not be able to get away with it.
So, Citly touched his neck with his lips for a moment, and then stood up and said proudly.


'It's all right, Eva-san. We're fine, it was just a fox attack.


What? I'm not sure if I'm a ...... fox!

Eva gasped, her face pale. Citrie takes her hand and helps her to her feet.
I'm not sure if I'm strong enough yet, I wobble on my feet and have to ask for help, but I get my strength back quickly. For better or worse, I am accustomed to accidents. Mentally, I feel like I'm going to throw up, but physically, I'm fine.


'No problem, this is a remote attack. The underlings are probably already scared of Mr. Kry and fleeing. We need to set up a ...... operation. Contact the Emperor now!


My childhood friend's mental strength is too strong. It's as if she's used to it.
Sven peeked out from the hole, as if he heard the sound.

'Ooooh, you got hit pretty hard, didn't you?

'...... I'm unharmed. But the floors and furniture aren't as sturdy as mine. ......'





I scolded my faltering heart and pretended to be hard-boiled as much as I could.








'This is ...... ah, what a thing ......'.

Apparently, Eva's skills were far beyond my expectations.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
Before I could talk to Lucia and the others, I was promptly brought in by Franz.

The location was a large mansion in Zebrudia that was owned by Cleet.
It's fortunate that the Emperor is not here, but the tense atmosphere of the reception room is one of my least favorite places. I have to go to the bathroom.

But I have no idea when she got the connection with Mr. Frantz.
All I can do is tune in to her words, feeling dizzy, almost dizzy.

'Really, what a mess. ......'

'What a ...... fox ...... horrible organization.'

Crossing his arms in front of him, Sitri said brashly. I'm sure he's gotten tougher while being tossed around by crafty alchemists and merchants in the alchemy labs of the Imperial City. Normally, I would have been happy to be able to rely on her, but I would really like the current Citly to remember her childhood.

The fake princess did not move a single eyebrow even in front of the large Franz-san. She stared at his neat face from close range, and Franz shivered.

'I thought it was a joke when I heard about it, but I have to tell His Majesty about it...'

'In addition, they were even experimenting with extracting mana materials by putting the illusion into a blender! I've seen it! I saw the vindictive screams of the phantoms being chipped away, and the liquid mana material being extracted!

''What ......?

Franz-san also looks at me, not at Sitri. I don't know why, but he's looking at me too. I'm the one who wants to say 'what the hell'.

Sitri must have been close to me all along, but when did she see that?
I clench my fists, and Sitri steps forward, tears in her eyes.

'And while they're at it, they're going to splice together the good parts of the criminals to make a magical creature...'

Wait a minute! Don't do anything more scary that I don't understand!
I put my hand on Sitri's head and stopped talking.



'Well, it doesn't matter, you know.


'What do you mean, it doesn't? You've been attacked yourself! I checked the marks lightly, but the power of that explosion was ...... unbelievable.'

I also checked the marks of the explosion, but even to the untrained eye, they were strange. There was no unnecessary destruction at all.
The destruction was charred but strangely smooth, as if it had been cut out by something.

'It's probably an attack against high-level phantoms that has increased its power by compressing its range. I don't know what would have happened to me if Kry hadn't protected me.




'........................ Yeah. But then again, I'm used to being attacked.

And of course, I'm used to screwing up. I feel like I want to get down on my knees right now.

Mr. Franz was pacing around in front of the fake princess with his arms crossed for a while, but eventually he stopped in front of me and looked down at me.
A stern look. Her forehead was wrinkled. It seems that Franz had come to escort Emperor Zebuldia, who inspects the Emperor's Festival every year, but he must be in a mood for more than that.


I'm sorry for the trouble my childhood friend has caused you.

You can boil it or roast it or whatever you want.


'But ............ what is the purpose of the fox ......? What in the world is the purpose of the fox to fake His Imperial Highness's--'?

'? What? Do I have to think about that too? Oh...'

I panicked and held my mouth. Oh no, I couldn't help saying that.
Eva's a little freaked out. Franz-san looks at me as if he's taken aback for a moment, and then his expression twists.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's just that ...... I'm not very good at lying - I'm a leader, but I'm a negotiator, and I'm a sitter.

So Citrie, the liar and negotiator, clapped her hands a little harder than usual to get my attention before I got angry.

'I've heard that the Zebrudia branch of the Explorers Society is also investigating the fox with all their might. Isn't it possible that the Zebrudia side has something in their grasp?

I'm not sure if you need that last part, "I'm telling you".
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life.

I'm not sure if it's selfish of me to want my eyes to be a little cloudy since I'm lying.

'..................gghh...... can't be helped. From here on out, no talking. Follow me.'

'What? Did you really grab something?

Surprise. Wasn't Citry's words justified?
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

'............ d*mn it, if I had more power, I would have you beheaded. --Come, let me help you foil the fox's plot.