Well, it's been a while, Alpha.

　When the cocky prince called Light or something like that left the mansion, I spoke to Alpha in my normal tone.

　Looking at the expression behind the glasses, Alpha seems to have already noticed. I know that I am the second first test.


'After all, yes, I am, so ......'

　The Alpha muttered a word, fell silent, turned to the maid, and slowly opened his mouth.

'I'm sure the Promenade family will be demolished. You have been a great help to me for a long time. It is a small amount, but I will give you a severance package.
'Miss, I can't take that!　We've been keeping the young lady in her room for a long time, even though it was ordered by our master!
Yes. You and the rest of you have stained your good, if not dirty, hands with evil, because of my father. That's why I hope that next time you'll at least do a straight job.
"Huh. ...... Miss ......!

　A woman, who seemed to be the head maid, with her eyes watering, fearfully received the never-so-little amount of money from Alpha.

　She gathered all of the servants in the mansion and divided the money tightly into equal parts in front of Alpha's eyes.


'Goodbye. Now go.

　Alpha said, and the servants bowed deeply and left the room.


'Are you sure?'

　I ask, and the Alpha nods his head in a stony voice.

'It's my savings. The money from the house will probably be needed for future compensation.

　Hohee. What a human being is made of, or, how should I put it, well, .......


Don't people often call me a softie?

　I said, thinking that I should have given him his father's money.

　Then Alpha laughed and mouthed, "Hmmm," as he turned around and mouthed.


'Yeah, well, ...... but won't you be the one to tell me?'

　Her thin voice, feeble appearance, and unsure face were still the same. However, there was something about her now that I hadn't felt before, something that seemed to have blown over.

　And when she faced me head on, Alpha broke the silence with a serious expression.

'Thank you. Thanks again for helping me out.
Last time I got caught up in the tits, but not this time.
'Hmmm. Yeah, I know. And I'm sure you did last time: ......
Don't make it look pretty.
...... Well, I'll just put it that way.

　It's true that I was caught up in the tits. Nothing more, nothing less.


　Then Alpha squirmed something and then opened his mouth to speak.

''By the way, I'm broke. What should I do ...... master (...)


　Master, you know. Has he decided to call me that from now on?

　The alpha guy, I didn't know he was going to say such a thing with a slightly embarrassed, overturned, troubled look on his face and a superior look on his face.

　Is he doing it for ...... purposes or is it unconscious? Well, either way, it doesn't matter. Either way, I'm vulnerable to that kind of thing.


'Let me just make two corrections so you don't get it wrong.
?
'Sure, a disciple can rely on his master. But don't underestimate me. Think of me as a 'useful idiot' who can only be of use when it's really, really important. I'll save you one out of ten times when you're in trouble. The other nine times, I don't know.
Yes, sir.
And I'm not a softie. I'm just being nice on a whim.
Ha, ha.

　Gloria said, "You say that yourself? You can't blame them for this, because it's an undeniable fact.


Then, you go home first. And by the way, I'll take Gloria to the capital.

　While saying it, he summoned the anko.

　Alpha reacted as if he understood, ''Ah,'' but Gloria had a look on her face that she didn't understand what was going on.

''A picture is worth a thousand words. ''Look at Alpha.''

　I sent Anko to my home for the Dark Transference and immediately had Alpha summoned to the Dark Summoning.

''Eh!''
It's gone. It's gone.

'Anko can instantly transfer to any shadow she remembers, and she can instantly summon anything she remembers. How about that, isn't it great? This is the essence of Anko.

Uh, yeah, sure, it's great, but
Why are you bragging about it?　Why are you so proud?

　...... If you ask me, that's what I mean. I don't know why. But it's not me, and I'm tempted to brag about it.


'Yeah, well, second.'
One question, one question.

Why didn't you use it on her?
We could have taken him out at any time, sir. We could have taken him back at any time.

　Oh, that's why I didn't use it on the Alpha.

'If they see my pussy, they'll know it's me. I would have known the risk and decided to do it in the middle of the night, but I didn't think we'd be in this situation at first.

I see. That makes sense.
All right?

'Yeah. Now it seems to me that the timing could not have been better. Well, it looks like our warlord has made some good adjustments there.

　It was a quirk, I should say, and I think we worked it out for the best.


'Well, it's been a short trip, but I'll say goodbye to you now. It's been fun.

　It's almost a minute. Anko's cool time is over, and it's about time for Gloria to be 《dark summoned》 to the Firth Test Mansion.

''Yeah. It was fun for me too.''
I'd like to travel again, and I hope you'll invite me back.

Yes. If you get a chance. You can ask me out if you want.

I'll definitely ask you out.
I have so much to ask, so much to tell you.

Yeah, yeah. You should stop by our library before you go home. I've got all the grimoires, even the four-types of all the attributes, and there are plenty of skill books as well. The maids wrote down all the things I talked about and compiled them into a book, the old books I picked up from the great underground library in Aisoloyce, and all sorts of other books that you won't find for sale anywhere else, so I'm sure it will be fun.

　I said that on a whim as we parted.

　Gloria zuzuccessfully approaches me and snorts with a muffled snort.


'Wow, me!　I'll be back until I've read the whole thing--


　And here Gloria disappeared. She must have been summoned after a minute.

　She must have said that she wouldn't leave until she finished reading the whole thing. As for me, who wants Gloria to grow up, I'm rather welcoming, so I send a message to Yukari to prepare a room for her.



........................

　So, you've done your job.

　What do we do now?

　At present, I'm all alone in the Promenade house with no landlord.

　I only heard from Winfiled that if I visited here with Gloria, things would start to move.

　Indeed, I think it's starting to move. The more we hit the Laska Promenade, the more dust will come out of it, so the Prince of Light who secured it has taken the credit (...) It's a case of killing two birds with one stone, as he is recognized for eliminating one of the empire's pus, and can also be a check on his sister Melson Marvel and the Knight-in-Chief of the Kingsguard, a man called Nato Shaman.

　But will that be enough to bring down the empire?

　I doubt it. And since I, as a piece, am not dynamic at all, I don't feel refreshed at all. I'm sure that if he was a military strategist who loved to jam it up, he would go out and gather the empire in a more fun and flamboyant way.


Having said that, though: ......

　I'm sure that Winfiled would, but I'm troubled by the fact that nothing is currently happening.

　Well, there's no point in staying here forever. For now, let's leave this mansion: .......



''-- Finally, you're out, you rude bastard.


　...... I see, so this is how it's coming.

　But I didn't think the prince himself, who just gave me a lecture, would be waiting for me.

"What the hell do you want?

　When I looked into his eyes and replied with that, the Prince of Light jerked his shoulders and then blushed. This guy is very angry. It looks like he doesn't have enough calcium.

Hm, well, that's fine. I know you don't have the brains to be able to use respectful language. I'll make a special pardon for you.
Who the f*ck are you?
'I am the Prince. And I am the master you will serve from now on (・・・・). Here, say hello.


　.................. Yes?


"Your Highness, is that ...... insane?

　Look at this. I was told by a knight in shining armor.

"Shut up, kinsman style, don't talk to me. I told you you're fired. From now on, this man Seven is going to take your place.
!

　Hey, wait a minute.

　So what, you want me to be a knight, not just a servant, but a knight of the Kingsguard?

Seven, you need to get ready. I have an official duty in Akar tomorrow. Be ready by the day after tomorrow morning and come with me to the Imperial City.
Oh, wait, Your Highness!　You say that you will make such a stinking rude person a knight of the Kingsguard!
Yeah. It's settled. You're on a roll. You don't just want to get fired, you want to get your head chopped off too.
...... ......!

　The man in the Kingsguard was silenced with a single shot.

　Apparently, Prince Light is convinced that there is no way I would refuse him. It is a selfishness that is typical of an arrogant prince.


　...... Well, I'm not going to say no, though.

　It's a unique opportunity to get inside the Empire.

"Okay. Okay, I'll help you. But on one condition.
What?　Conditions?　I'm the prince, you have a condition?

　I'm not sure I'm going to be the only one who's going to be able to do that, but I'm not going to be the only one who's going to be able to do that.


The first thing to do is to get your hands dirty. I'll give you a hand.

-Oh!


　So I'm warning you.

　Get your face a lot closer, look into his eyes, and use a low voice.

　The moist eyes of this guy when I was preaching to him. Those were absolutely effective (・・・・・) eyes.

　This prince has ears. It's an ear that can hear the words of people like me. In that sense, he's a lot like Mein.


'Ho, really, you're a rude man!　By the day after tomorrow, you'll have to learn a little respect!

　Prince Light yelled at that and turned away, and walked to the carriage with a stalwart as if to escape.

''Hey!　What am I supposed to do!
"Learn a few things from your kinsmen, you rude bastard!

　So this Konoe, this guy who's already been fired?

　Well, at least he's got a job to do.

Good luck!
"...... Would you talk to me like that, not just to your highness?

　I'm stunned.

　Good grief, I'm not sure what's ahead of me. ......



　　* * * *



　That evening.

　The men of the Prince of Light's Kingsguard gathered in a tavern in the center of the city of Aker, off-duty only, to drink and complain to each other.

''That man Seven or something like that, he's really a rude bastard.
Doesn't it cost you your life to talk to His Highness like that?
'Well, I have to admit, I felt better about that sermon. It's the big attitude afterwards that's the problem.
I'm afraid we're going to have to call you names, too!
It's just disgusting.

You'll be out of a job in a second. At best you'll go to jail, at worst you'll die.
'His Highness has tired of me, but I'm doomed to run out at the end. You'll be erased sooner or later.
No, he might just disappear. He looks too shrewd for his own good.

I'll be gone for good.
I'll be done for.
So I'll have two for the road.

But it's not the first time His Highness has been selfish. ...... I wish he'd stop being so selfish.
............

　While everyone was complaining in unison and betting on Seven's going to buy him a drink, there was one man who remained silent with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

　He was a knight of the Kingsguard who had been sentenced to be fired.

　He was frustrated.

　He was fired even though he had clearly advised the Prince of Light for his own sake. Seven, on the other hand, lectured him with scattered words and became a Knight of the Kingsguard.

　It was too unfair - and I thought it was.

　Very rude, his sword skills were unknown, his origins were unknown, how could such a man suddenly become the Prince's Kingsguard Knight?　And how did you get yourself fired?

　Of course, I'm not going to be convinced.

　However, being able to get away from that selfish Prince of Light was a plus for him. At this time, it seemed rather gratifying to be sacked.

　Hence, the man's hatred was focused on Seven.


'Hey, what's the matter with you? You have a drink.

　He opened his mouth to his colleague, who offered him a drink.

Hey. Hey, can we set that guy up?
What?
Tomorrow, His Highness is on official business, right?　I'll use that time to impose an unreasonable demand on him, saying it's a task from His Highness or something. Then he won't show up at the meeting time the day after tomorrow.
...... But won't His Highness find out?
No problem. Just give them a plausible assignment, and if they find out, they can cover it up by saying it's to teach them how to behave.
So, yeah, well, you can go to ......
Yeah. And I'm going to get fired anyway. If push comes to shove, I'll pretend I did the assignment and you guys will shut up.

　With this one word, the knights of the Kingsguard got very excited.

　Then, they began to plan a plan to frame Seven.


　Then, an unexpected group of people visit the tavern.

''--Oh?　Why are they here?

　One of the Kingsguard knights noticed the ten or so Imperial soldiers who had slithered in through the entrance of the tavern.

　The soldiers were still unaware of the presence of the Konoe Knight.

''Hey!　Greetings!

　When the drunken kinsman knight raised his voice in that manner, the soldiers who noticed rushed over to him in a hurry.

''We apologize for the delay in greeting you.
'Well, you're late to notice. Essentially, it's only polite for lowlifes like you to notice us and come over to say hello before we notice you.
Yes, sir. As you say, sir.

　The Marvel Empire is a thoroughly meritocratic society. In other words, it is also a very strict vertical society.

　Competent and capable men quickly rose through the ranks, while incompetent and incompetent men remained a one-armed soldier for as long as they could.

　From the point of view of a mere imperial soldier, a knight of the Kingsguard is a true celestial being. He was an opponent that could not be opposed.

''This has to be punished.
'No!　Please don't do this. I have a mission to attend to tomorrow.
What?　The mission. What mission?
Investigation, sir. We have been instructed to check out the boss of the Grade B grease dungeon.

　The words that came out of the soldier's mouth caused the kinsmen knights to grin.

''Heh!　That's a tough assignment.
Yes, sir. I have no idea how many weeks it will take. ......

　It was a tailor-made mission.

Okay. I got a direction for you guys.

　Now he won't be back the day after tomorrow. The knight in shining armor grinned and said to his men.


"From tomorrow, my boy will lead you.