"What?　Do you claim to have lost that letter?
'I'm sorry!　Perhaps it was taken by someone in the castle...

　His Majesty the King approaches the Prime Minister with a pale face. The letter that the Prime Minister lost is a love letter written by His Majesty to the diva, who is said to be the best singer in the country.
　The Prime Minister received the letter in order to hand it to the diva secretly, but accidentally left it at the salon. He hurriedly returned to find that the letter had disappeared in all its glory.

''If only that letter had been in the hands of the queen...''
'Oh, that's a horrible thing to say!　I'm not ready to die!　You must find that letter at all costs...!

　The king rushes out of the room with the vizier. On the way, he hurriedly hit his foot against a chair, jumping painfully on one leg. The audience laughed at the sight of him escaping from the room by falling to his death.

'If you're that scared, you shouldn't be cheating on your wife.
Why would I do that?

　I can hear Kuhn and Frey's voice from behind me. I'm sure I have nothing to be ashamed of, so why does this make me nervous? I'm not sure if it's because we're both kings.
　I wondered if it was right to let my child watch such a play.
　The play that started in the afternoon, "A Chronicle of Court Disturbances," is the story of a commoner girl who happens to work as a maid at the royal palace.
　She picks up the letter I mentioned earlier, and it's a slapstick comedy about the people living in the royal palace.
　The king has a crush on the diva, and the queen wants to get involved in people's love affairs. The money-hungry vizier is a money-obsessed vizier, and the knight master is a swordsman who can't read the atmosphere. The clumsy head chef and the vain maidservant, each character has his or her own personality, and the consequences of one person's actions have a great impact on the others.
　I don't know if this country is going to be okay with these people....
　Despite my fears, the king who struggled to switch the letter the protagonist had in his possession on stage was laughing high as if he was an idiot.

''We did it!　We got it back at last!　Now................................What the hell?　That's a bar bill!'
It's like they've been replaced at some point.
Unnu!

　The king snorted in frustration at the prime minister's words. The dodgy chef who had just clashed with the protagonist had mistakenly taken the letter (invoice) for his own.
　In this pattern, the people in the palace would get lost in a haze of confusion as the letter went from one side to the other. The desperation of the people in the audience would always make them laugh.

'Indeed, this is a riotous story.
It's a comedy from the outside, and yet it's all so serious.

　As the actors are desperately chasing after each other with a slapstick, Lou mutters this to himself.
　Life is a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy when seen from afar," said the king of comedy, Charles Chaplin, and it's really true, isn't it?

"Oh, there's the prince!

　When I turned my attention back to the stage at Yoshino's words, I saw a beautiful young man with sparkling blond hair who was reaching out to the main character girl who had fallen down. I see, he is indeed a prince.

''Are you okay?　Can you stand?
"Yes, sir!　I'll get up!

　The way he took the girl's hand and made her stand up was just like a prince, without an inch of room to spare.
　I've seen a lot of princes in my position, but I don't think I've ever seen one that was so accomplished. The audience (mostly women) were also watching him with a passionate gaze. Except for our ladies, of course. We're used to seeing him at parties and such, in a way.
　But that prince, somewhere...?

Ah!
What is it, Father?
'Oh, no, it's nothing. I'm sorry.

　I apologize to Arthia for startling her. I now know what this sense of deja vu is.
　Isn't that Prince Charming, Ciatro-san!　Unbelievable. He's a god of the theater, or at least he's a wonderfully transformed man.
　It's hard to imagine him changing from his sleazy, fake punk rocker-like appearance.
　It's theater, so he must be acting.... He really is a different person......... Is that what they call a chameleon actor?
　Mr. Ciatro's role is that of the ideal prince. He is a prince who is kind to everyone, has great courage and is trusted by people.

He's quite different from our prince.

　Yoshino murmurs something like that to me. Hmm?　My Prince?

It doesn't help that your brother isn't the Kirili type.
She's too laid back. She skips out on her training too much.

　Kuhn and Frey react to Yoshino's mumbling. Wait a minute, that prince is my........I mean my son?

'I know he's a prince to Alice, but...'
'Yes, it's a prince!　You're so sweet and cool!

　Alice refutes Erna's words. As I recall, Alice likes our son.
　Behind that Alice, Ende is staring at me. I don't know.

''I wish Kuon would come over here sooner.
He's going to be surrounded by adults he's genuinely getting to know, and they're going to be chirping away at him.
'Oh, God!'

　Linne and Arthia's words startled me out of my shell.
　Lynne turned around and said, Oh!　And she held her mouth. But the name she inadvertently mentioned was familiar to me. A familiar, very familiar name.
　Linse, who was sitting next to Lynne, calls out to me in surprise.

''W-what's wrong, Fuyao-san?''
The name 'KUON' is my grandfather's name..... It's my grandfather's name.
What?

　Everyone is surprised at my confession, but I'm surprised too. ...I see. So I named my son after my grandfather?
　Mochizuki》Kuon》.
　It certainly fits. It's only natural that it's the name of an actual grandfather.
　It's just a matter of time before he or she becomes maverick like that old man. They say that a name is an expression of a body.
　I wonder if they call themselves Quon Brunhild over here. It's probably easier to understand from a diplomatic standpoint.

You have to see the play to understand the story.　Stop talking about things that don't belong.
Yes, sir.

　I was about to ask the kids about Kuon, when sister Hanakoi stopped me. Ore.
　Lower than Linne, the seventh daughter, that means she's the eighth or ninth child.......or five or six.
　Even though he's a boy, I wonder if he's okay....... They say he has the strength of the Adventurer Gold and Silver rank, but I'm worried.
　I was worried about the whereabouts of my son, whose name had been discovered, and I was having a hard time concentrating on the play on stage.


　　　　　　　　　　◇ ◇ ◇


　Slanien, the royal capital in the east of the Kingdom of Elfrau. The town of Tseretny is located a long way from there.
　It's not that big, and it's not that small either. It was like a transit point that prospered between the big city and the big city.
　There was a lot of snow outside the walls that surrounded the town, but there was surprisingly little snow in the town. This was due to the fact that the entire town was protected by a ward that kept the warm air in.
　Most of the town of Elfrau is warded with these wards, and if you're in the town, it's not that cold. But that didn't change the fact that it was still cold, so while all the inhabitants were dressed in winter clothes, the boy, who was about five or six years old, was dressed as if he was going out into the fields in the spring.
　The tailoring of the clothes itself was good. For all intents and purposes, he was this little boy. However, he was not dressed to wander around the town in the snow.
　The residents around him don't talk to him, but I know they are looking at him strangely.

'Hey, kid. You're not cold?
I'm cold.

　The boy answered in no time to the owner of the stall who, perhaps because he couldn't stand the sight of him, spoke to him.

'Then why are you dressed like that?
It's a very tough situation. Yes, is there anywhere around here that sells clothes?
Clothes?　There's a place down the street a little ways down the street that sells clothes.
'Okay. Thank you very much.

　Bowing his head in a bow, the boy started walking again. His polite appearance made him think to himself that the owner of the stall was still an aristocratic bon vivant.
　He walked straight down the street, and eventually he saw a sign with armor painted on it. This was probably the shop the owner had mentioned. It seems to be more of an armor shop than a clothing store, though.
　Ringing the doorbell with a caran-colon and entering, it seems to be an armor shop as well, with various armor, helmets, and baskets crammed in.
　Among them were thick coats, cloaks, and warm-looking boots.
　There were several customers inside, but the counter was empty, so I called out to someone who seemed to be the owner of the place.

''Um, excuse me,''
Oh, come in. You look very cool looking, boy.

　After all, the boy is said to be the same as the owner of the stall. So much so that what he was wearing was out of place in this place.

'Actually, I'd like some winter clothes, but unfortunately I don't have the money.
If you don't have money, you won't be able to sell it. We're in the business too, you know.
Yes, I know. So I was wondering if you could sell it to me.

　The boy removes the cufflinks from the sleeve of his clothes and holds them out to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper, who picked it up quizzically, suddenly opened his eyes.

''Hey, this is....!　Don't tell me you're an orichalcon!
'Yes. Even if it's that big, it shouldn't be less than thirty gold coins each.

　It seems that they don't run an armor shop for Italy, and the owner immediately understood the value of those cufflinks.
　Legendary metal orichalcons. They are rarely seen on the market, and most of them are handled in the country. For a moment the owner thought they were fakes, but then he realized they were exactly the same characteristics of the orichalcon he had seen once when he was young. Regardless of the source, it was definitely the real thing.
　The boy said it was thirty gold coins, but the shopkeeper stared at it as something worth more than twice that. If armor coated with this orichalcone could be made, it would be of tremendous value.

Our winter clothes don't even match our winter clothes. But I'd like you to sell this one. I'll get the money out of the store's safe.
'Yes. And I'll be buying a few other things as well.
All right, then. Then look for some clothes to buy. The ones in the back are the ones with magic grants on them.

　With that, the owner withdrew to the back room.
　The boy turned to the winter clothes section as he was told.
　Most of them were intended for adults, but there were a few child-sized items as well. There are many adventurers who travel with children. I guess they are for such children.
　There weren't so many of them, the boy thought, so the problem was that there wasn't one to suit his tastes.

Well, if I had to pick one, it would be this one........ It seems to come with a cold and heat resistant grant. But, it's the same as your father's coat.

　Hmmm, the boy was a little troubled. After thinking about it, he decided to take the same coat, but a black one in color, in his hands.

'I'm sure your sisters will compliment me on it, per Alice, but they'll say I have no taste or something.

　The boy laughed a little as he remembered his childhood friend, a girl and her sisters.
　Would these girls have already come to this era? If they didn't drop their phones like he did, they would be able to contact their families in this era in no time.

'But how do we get to Brunhild from here...'

　There should still be no magic train between Elfrau and Brunhild in this era. It's usually a carriage or on foot.
　Snorlauf, who carried us here, parted ways because of the commotion. Fortunately, Elfrau is connected to the land across the Regulus from Elfrau, and we might be able to get there in a month.

''Well, let's go slowly.

　The boy decided gingerly. There was no point in hurrying. He doesn't have transition magic like the eldest sister and the fourth sister.

''Let's say this is enough for my jacket, but I guess I'll need gloves and boots until I leave Elfrau.

　It wasn't very good, but there were enough things on sale for both of them to survive the cold. It was unnecessary if you could use the [Warming] magic to warm up, but unfortunately the boy did not have the aptitude for the fire attribute.
　Although all of his siblings [siblings] have non-attribute magic, only four of them have an aptitude for the six-attribute magic.
　I dropped my phone, so I can't use [Storage]. There would also be a backpack to put the luggage in. It would have been good if [Storage Card] was sold, but it should have been before the spread of the Eastern Continent in this era.
　The phone that I dropped is locked, so no one but me can activate it, but there are important things in the [Storage]. The boy thought that as soon as he got back to Brunhild, he would have his father find them.
　After selecting gloves, boots, and a backpack and a few other small items, the owner eventually returned from the back of the store.

'Have you decided?'
Yes, I'll have these.

　The money from the sale of the cufflinks, minus the cost of winter clothes and other items, gave the boy a large amount of roadside silver. He put it in the wallet he had bought as an added bonus. The wallet is a simple horsehide bag with a cord attached.
　I tied it around my waist, changed into the things I bought, and went outside.

It's not cold. I think I can manage the trip in this. So all that's left to do is.....

　Ughhhh......... The boy's stomach rumbled as if to assert itself.

'I'm hungry....'

　Come to think of it, I haven't had a mouthful of anything since I came to this side of the world. If only I had my phone, I would have had a few treats in [Storage].
　But there is money in the boy's hands. As he was heading towards the center of the town to eat something tasty with this, three men stood in the direction of his progress.

Yo, kid," they said. Can you give us a handful of money?

　The men grinned and approached the boy with a smirk. All three were young, but had a rattling appearance and were dressed as adventurers crumbling. Upon closer inspection, one of them was one of the customers from the armor shop earlier. Apparently, he had overheard a conversation with the shop owner.
　He must have called his friends to come ahead and ambush them.

'Give me all the contents of your wallet if you don't want to get hurt.
No, sir. I don't have any moral obligation to listen to bandits.

　The boy was not frightened and uttered the words of rejection once and for all. Meanwhile, the three men who were treated as bandits by the child started shouting at him with a blue streak.

''Who's a bandit!　You're a little boy, talking nonsense!
'Shows of power, threatens, takes money and goods. What's the difference between that and a thief?　We're doing the same thing, aren't we?　
You little shit!

　One of them ran up to the boy and swung one leg wide to deliver a side kick.

''[Slip]
'Whoa!　Gah!

　The man who was about to kick him slipped off his axial foot and hit the back of his head hard on the ground. He seemed to have hit the man pretty hard, and he held his head and writhed in agony. The boy didn't pay any attention to the fallen man.

"What the hell are you doing?

　One of the remaining two reached out to grab the boy's chest. However, that hand is panned by the boy's small hand.

''[Paralyze]
Guggenheim?

　How, the man whose hand was played back fell head first to the ground in front of him. His body is twitching in small spasms. At a glance, one could tell that he was out of condition. The men had no idea what was going on.

I'm not good at roughing things up, unlike my sisters. I can't take it easy on you, so don't be sorry.
What the hell is this kid?　What the hell did you do?


　As he said this, the boy also touched the man who was holding his head and writhing in agony.
　Likewise, the man also gave a small twitch and stopped moving.
　The last one looks at his fallen and motionless companion and turns a frightened eye. What the hell is this?　Threaten the rich kid and get the wallet. It should have been a simple matter. So why are two people down and I'm trapped!

Oh, is there a bounty for killing bandits? Are your brothers bounty hunters?
d*mn!
Oh.

　The remaining man turned his back on the boy and started to run. The man had a gut feeling. This kid is bad. No, this isn't a kid. It's something fuzzy.

You won't get away from me!
What?

　The boy's right eye turns gold. Even though it's gold, it's a color called yellow gold, which is almost yellow.
　The moment his gaze catches the escaping man, the man's body stands still as if he were a stone.
　He can breathe. His eyes can barely move. But the body doesn't move at all. No, it's not that the body doesn't move. If it just wouldn't move, it wouldn't be able to maintain this forward leaning posture that it was running in.
　The man was frozen in place, as if time had stopped.

''If you blink, it will unravel, so I'm going to [paralyze] this one too!
What?

　In the same way, the third man also fell to the ground. In a matter of minutes, the three men were completely neutralized by a boy of about five or six years old.

Well, now. What should we do about this bandit?

　Normally, in such a case, one would contact the Order Checkpoint and have them arrest him.
　But in the end, if you go to the Order Checkpoint, you're bound to get into trouble for asking a lot of questions. You can't expect them to believe you if you tell them your real identity.
　Besides, the boy is very hungry. And the boy is very hungry, and he doesn't want to be wasting his time with such nonsense. No, I'm sorry.
　In his mind, the thieves have decided to just leave it at that.

''Before that,''

　The boy dragged the three of them into the shade of a tree in the road and snatched the purse from their bodies. It's not like he's trying to make it his own. It's just a bit of harassment.

"You've got quite a bit. ...So why do you try to steal someone's wallet?

　As he said it, the boy smashed the contents of the three wallets into the street in front of them in a grand manner. Most of the coins were coppers, but there were a few silver coins mixed in as well.
　The three men in the shade of the fallen tree let out an inarticulate scream.

'I'm sure a kind person would deliver the money properly to the Order. I hope the money is still there when we can move, right?''

　A boy with a devil's smile like an angel──Mochizuki Kuon smiles at the boy──Mochizuki Kuon smiles at him.
　Thieves have no human rights. That's what my father and mothers taught me. If my sisters were here, I would say that they are 'lukewarm'.
　 It's almost time to reach the limit.

''Even if it's not as good as Mother Lou's, I hope there's something good to eat.

　Putting his slipped back on, the boy began to walk through the flickering snow.