The emperor I encountered at the royal castle of the Archlesia Empire, His Majesty Chris, was, to my surprise, the carriage driver who carried me when I had a barbecue with Kuro before.
　I was stunned by the fact that I was surprised, but His Majesty Chris opened his mouth with a smile on his face.

''It's only natural that you would be surprised. I'm sorry for not telling you.''
Oh, no!
I was indebted to the Dark Lord long ago, and when I heard that he was interested in otherworldly people, I wanted to meet him, so I asked him to allow me to be his guardian.
Oh, really...
''........At that time, I thought Miyama-sama was a very normal person, but it seems my eyes were clouded. I take this opportunity to apologize for looking down on you without a second thought.

　His Majesty Chris speaks to me in polite language and then bows his head deeply.
　I think he's a sincere person, but as I've been bowed down by the king of a country, it's a bit of a bummer.

''Ah, please raise your head. His Majesty Chris.''
''Now, if you'll excuse me my Lady Miyama, there is no need for a title of respect for me. No, in fact, I would be scolded by the Dark Lord if you used a title of respect for Miyama-sama.
So, Chris and...
'Yes. Thank you again.
It's nice to meet you too.

　Chris is an extremely low profile and polite person, despite his status as His Majesty the Emperor.
　

　When Chris-san urged me to sit down on a chair, Alice also sat down next to me quite naturally.
　Then Chris-san suddenly remembered and looked at Alice.
　I remembered that noisy Alice had been silent ever since she came to the castle.

That woman must be with Miss Miyama. Sorry for the delay in greeting you...
Oh, no, you don't have to say hello or anything.
Huh?

　
　The knights who were waiting behind Chris-san twitched their eyebrows at that too cold attitude.

''Alice?　What the hell is going on...
"........the only people I want to interact with are 'those with whom I think it's worth interacting'. So, I don't have anything to talk about with Your Majesty, Your Majesty.
What?

　The air in the room becomes tense when I hear those words told in a light tone.
　That's as it should be.

You mean that I'm not worth a d*mn to you, is that it?
Yes,
'What?　You!

　I said........I said it completely.
　Alice now clearly said to the Emperor of the Arklesia Empire that she didn't feel worthy of his existence.
　In the tense atmosphere, Chris-san controlled the knights who were furious and put their hands on their swords with his hands.

　Although Chris-san doesn't seem to be angry, a surprised emotion still appears in his eyes.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do with it.

It's a good thing that you have a good idea of what you're worth.
Well that's a lot of money for a very low price.
'Rude!　What do you know about the Emperor!
Born the third child of the former Emperor Duran Dia von Alklesia, he graduated at the top of his class from the country's magic school at the age of ten. He pursued a career in finance, initially intending to become a treasurer, but fearing the fate of his country, he kicked out his two older brothers to succeed to the throne. He has shown such skill that he has been called the "Emperor of Wisdom" and has been called the greatest politician of all time. His hobby is horse riding, and his favorite book is "Sing to the Flag.
Huh?

　While slurring and talking about Chris-san's background, Alice takes out another knife and places it on the desk.
　

It's a good thing that you've got a good idea of what you're looking for, because it's all for the sake of your country and your people.
...Boring?
I'm not interested in abandoning myself or being empty-handed. No, I'm not saying that the Emperor is bad or anything. As I said before, I think you're a noble man, and I think you're a genius worthy of the name "Sage Emperor". But I'm not interested in you I just see you as a well-made doll.
Huh?
Alice!　How much is too much!

　Chris-san is stunned by the cold, sharp words, and I can't help but shout at Alice, raising my voice.
　I don't know why Alice suddenly started saying these things, but she's clearly too different from the usual.

　However, Alice doesn't seem to be bothered by it and puts the third knife on the desk before turning to me.

Hey!
Huh?

　After telling her that, Alice swings her hand blade down on the hilt of the lined up knives, and the impact sends three knives flying through the air.
　

　I have no idea when she threw the knife, or even how she threw it, a quick move.
　In front of me, speechless, Alice tells me in a cold voice.

The actuality of this is that you can't trust people who hide their troops under cognitive blocking magic while inviting them to be friendly.
...What?
"You were following me at the 'gate,' weren't you?　Hey, you three get the hell out of here. Otherwise I'll really have to guess next time, okay?
....

　
　Were they following me all the way from the castle gates?　Okay, so that's why Alice was silent ever since she entered the castle...
　But why didn't I see this coming?　I should have been able to detect their approach with my sensory magic, but...

It's not really Kite's fault. The clothes they are wearing are made of a material that prevents magic power from leaking out, so it's no wonder you don't notice it.
...How did you find out?

　The three black-clad men, whose presence has been discovered, quickly move behind Chris-san and line up in a row.
　Chris-san asks Alice with a look of disbelief on her face, but Alice doesn't answer and pulls on a thin thread.
　It was apparently tied to the knife he threw, and one of the ceiling and one of the walls quickly returned to Alice's hand... but the other one stuck in the wall didn't come back, as if it was stuck deep.

'Huh?　I think I may have gotten a little carried away - failure, failure.

　Seeing that she couldn't pull it off, Alice scratched her head and chuckled, then walked over to the knife stuck in the wall and tried to pull it out.

'Huh?　Hard!　
....

　It seems to have been stuck in deeper than I imagined, and Alice pulled it with all her might and fell on her ass.
　What can I say........he's not tight at the crucial point.
　The moment I let out a sigh when I looked at Alice, who was still out of it, in contrast to the way I even felt a chill earlier, I heard a quiet voice.

''........You just let your guard down, didn't you?''
" " "?

　

''Isn't that wrong, don't you think you should be careful.......you guys just died?''
".........

　

A job like escorting is........

　With a cold voice and a grip on her sword, Alice slowly moved her gaze to Chris-san and the surrounding knights.

''Well, I've earned a lot of money from Kite-san this time, and as a service.......I'll be escorting Kite-san while she's in the Arklesia Empire. So, I just want to say a few words before the discussion.

　After muttering that, Alice turned towards the black-clad woman.
　She usually had a somewhat carefree impression, but now, coupled with her inorganic opera mask.......she looked like an assassin.


".........

　It was a terribly natural and uncomfortable line of dialogue.
　It's a cold word that tells you the obvious, as if you've taken a number of lives until now... The sound disappears from the surroundings and silence dominates the space.

''Nah!''

　In the cold silence, Alice makes a distracted sound and lowers the sword she was holding up.
　Then, after erasing the sword somewhere ... probably in the magic box, she takes a seat beside me and slowly crosses her arms.

''Therefore ... a sumptuous dinner is desired - ouch!
....
Why are you hitting me, Kite?
'No, I'd rather tweak it... what's the difference?

　I reflexively slammed the genkotsu into Alice's head, which instantly returned to its usual tone, to the point where I wondered what was going on earlier.

''It can't be helped!　I get goosebumps when I'm in serious mode for long periods of time, and I need to switch it up just right!
...for a long time, just a few minutes...
'No, no, it's seriously hard, like more than a minute already. The muscles in my face are going to be a mess. My whole body is toned down. So, kite, please massage me gently.
....
'What?　Play?　Is that the direction you're playing in?　No, well, I can handle a variety of situations, but the one that hurts so much is - one more shot!

　I pound my fist into Alice, who has begun to joke around to the extent that I wonder what was really going on earlier, or rather, to the extent that I'm making up for what I did earlier, and then I continue to pound my fist into her.

　But on second thought, I may not know Alice very well.
　She's an idiot, a grocery store owner with no business acumen, but she knows a lot of things and occasionally throws out sharp words as if she's a changed person.
　I'm not sure if you can call it the awesomeness of having gone through the tragedy, but it's somehow very different from the people I've met in my life.

　I'm sure you'll be able to see a different side of Alice than you usually do. It's as sharp as a cold blade, what in the world is this thing--who is this thing?