"Our name is Espion. We are agents reporting directly to His Majesty the King of Belfast.
"His Majesty's?
Yes. I'm in charge of the princess's personal protection now.

　Lapidus-san's explanation makes sense to me. I thought it was quite a laissez-faire policy to entrust the princess of a country with her, but this is what I was thinking. I've been protecting Yumina from the shadows.
　By the way, I heard some noise in the ceiling of the Silver Moon. I thought it was a rat, but it might have been Mr. Lapidus and the others. I wonder if "Espion" is a combination of the word "guardian" and "spy".

Are you the only two guards in Lapidus-san's group?
'No~ There are a few more people here~. They're all girls, though~

　Another of our maids who answered with a pause in her voice. Cecil-san, who had taken off her mask, smiled with a smiling, tension-free face. Are they all girls? Well, if you're lurking in the ceiling or something to guard them, maybe that's more desirable, considering the change of clothes and personal life.

'I mean, have you been following me all this time? From Belfast?
That's the mission, sir.
'Well, I remember once, when I 'gated' back home, neither of you were there. And then the butler, Mr. Lime, was in on it too?
That's right~

　You've been fooled. When I asked for more information, I heard that it's true that they belong to the Maids Guild. It's a skill needed for undercover work, and it seems that most of the female members of 'Espion' belong to the guild.

''Ah, by any chance, the one who threw a knife at me when I was fighting the black dragon...''
That's Cecil. She's a master of the throwing knife.
Ehehe~. Not so much~

　Cecil-san's cheeks are stained with embarrassment. This breezy person, you know.... It's true that appearances do not always tell the truth.

So what are you going to do now?
"I will continue to protect Lady Yumina from the shadows as I have in the past, but I would like to ask one thing of you, sir...

　Lapidus-san looks at me with a superior look, as if it's hard to say. I wish the master would stop........

''Please don't tell Princess-sama who we are........''

　Oh, it's a duty to protect them in the shadows, but it's not good if their identities are exposed.

''If the princess-sama finds out that she had a bodyguard~, the king-sama will be angry with her!

　That's not the reason.... Well, it's like saying that I didn't believe in my daughter and sent her off, when in fact I didn't believe in her at all.
　Well, as far as keeping it a secret goes, I'm not afraid to do so. For now, I'll just say it's the same as before, say goodbye to the two of them and return to Yumina and the others.
　I told Ember about the situation via telekinesis, but I lied to Yumina and Linse, telling them that they had gotten away. In fact, though, I was able to escape once with that flash potion. They gave me a curious look, but I managed to fool them and went back to the castle that day.



　The next day, the king met with the king to discuss the details of the alliance between Belfast and Mismid.
　It was called a summit meeting, and there was a bit of a tussle over which one would come to which one. In the end, it was decided that the King of Belfast would come to Mismid and set up a sighting in the conference room for the (supposedly) transition.
　Inside the conference room are Rion-san and the other Belfast knights who came with us, and on the Mismid side, His Majesty the Beast King, Prime Minister Graz-san, and several warrior groups captained by Garun-san, the wolf beastman, are waiting for us.
　A "gate" is opened on the mirror and His Majesty the King and his brother, Duke Ortlinde, appear from within it.
　Everyone seemed to be surprised at the fact that a person appeared from the mirror, but it was only for a moment, and, naturally, they greeted the king of a country reverently.

'Welcome to Mismid, King Belfast,'
"Thank you for the invitation, King Mismid.

　They shake each other's hands. We're going to talk to each other now. As an outsider, I'll excuse myself.
　I will excuse myself from the conference room and step out into the hallway. All I have to do now is hope that the meeting goes well.
　Then Leanne comes in from across the hallway, accompanied by Paula, a stuffed bear that waddles down the hall. She was still dressed as usual in a gothic loli costume in black.

'It looks like the King of Belfast has arrived.
Yeah, just now. I'm in the middle of a meeting.

　He answers Leanne, pointing to the door where security soldiers stand on either side.

'So, are you ready to be an apprentice?'
I mean, it's not like I'm doing it.

　Since then, Leanne has been trying to get me to become her apprentice. Eventually, she said something like, "I don't mind being your temporary apprentice. What's with that temporary membership thing? In general, isn't that lower than apprentice?
　Paula, beside me, said, "Come here! I make an invitation with a gesture like.

'But Paula's so lifelike for a stuffed animal... It's like she's alive.
'That's how I've been 'programmed'. For nearly 200 years, we've been able to take our actions from various reactions and situations. People cry when they are hit and hurt and get angry when they are made fun of, right?

　For 200 years? I wonder if the accumulated countless "programs" have created this naturalness.
　If we make a human-like doll by "modeling" and "programming" it, we can make a pseudo-android, can't we? But it's going to take 200 years.... Can't we copy and paste Paula's "program"?
　Paula steps back a little, as if she is suspicious of me staring at her. This kind of reaction is also "programmed".

By the way, Paula is 200 years old, but she doesn't look at all old. Did they rebuild it?
No. No. My non-attribute spell, Protection, is on. It's a form of protection magic, and it provides a certain amount of protection against all sorts of things. I'm protecting Paula from the effects of dirt, degradation, insect infestation, etc.

　Protective magic. However, it's amazing that it's still in this state after 200 years. If you pour it on clothes and so on, you don't have to wash it. No, if you pour it over your body, you don't have to take a bath.......I think that's kind of a done deal. Even if it doesn't get dirty, the grime will come out of your metabolism.

'I mean, how many non-attribute magic can Lean use? Protection and Program, and I believe Charlotte-san told me that she can also use 'Transfer'?
The fairy race has a high aptitude for non-attribute magic. On the other hand, there aren't many fairy folk who can't use a single attributeless magic. But even I have four.

　Four non-attribute magic that is said to be good if you can use at least one. I'm not going to be able to get away with it. I'm not in a position to say that. I'm sure you can understand why the fairy race specializes in magic. I'm sure you'll be able to find a good deal more information on this.

''Fuyu-dono. His Majesty the King of Belfast wants to see you. ''This way.''

　The door to the conference room was opened, and Miss Myrmid's Prime Minister, Mr. Graz, emerged from inside. As I entered the conference room as I was called, the two kings turned to me.

''Hello, Fuyu-dono. The conversation went off without a hitch, thank you.''
That's good to hear.

　I'm relieved to hear the King of Belfast's words. My work is almost done now.

Then we're going back to Belfast. We will return to Belfast and take care of the rest. King Mismid, if you'll excuse me.

　After a quick goodbye, they disappeared into the mirror again, using the 'gate' I had secretly opened. After they were gone, I took action as we had discussed. Using the hammer I took out in front of everyone's eyes, I shattered the mirror into pieces.

''And, Fuyoru-dono! What the hell...!
'Oh, it's okay. We'll see.

　With my back to Graz-san, who is flustered, I focus my magic in front of the mirror shards and the wooden frame.

'Modeling.'

　The broken mirror and the wooden frame transformed into several small horizontal mirrors. The mirror is about two centimeters long and fifteen centimeters wide, with a wooden frame fitted into the mirror. And I secretly enchanted a 'gate' into one of them.

'These mirrors are connected to Belfast. If you have any important correspondence to do in the future, you can drop a letter in here and get in touch with them. Oh, of course, you'll have to use an official document that both they and we know is authentic.
I see. So a round trip of 20 days can be done in an instant? It's certainly convenient. I'll make good use of it for our bilateral friendship.

　His Majesty the Beast King smiled as he accepted the small mirror I gave him. My work is now completely done.
　Now, let's go back to my home. I don't even live here anymore, even though I've got a house. Let's just relax for a while.