Chapter 108 - Who the Heck is She?

The Emperor I met at the royal castle of Archlesia Empire His Majesty Chris was, to my surprise, the driver of the carriage I rode in when I had barbecue with Kuro before.

Towards me, who is dumbfounded by the surprise in learning that fact, His Majesty Chris opens his mouth with a smile on his face.

[It isnt strange that youre surprised. Im sorry for not telling you.]

[Ah, no!]

[I was indebted to Underworld King-sama a long time ago, and when I heard she was interested in an otherworlder, I wanted to meet him, so I asked her to allow me to be her coachman.

[I- Is that so]

[At that time, I thought Miyama-sama was a very normal person, but it seems that my eyes were clouded. I take this opportunity to apologize for looking down on you without a second thought.]

Speaking to me in polite language, His Majesty Chris then deeply bows his head.

I think hes a sincere person, but as Ive been bowed down by the monarch of a country, I feel like Im receiving a punishment instead.

[P- Please raise your head. His Majesty Chris.]

[Then, if youll excuse me Miyama-sama, theres no need to call me with my honorary t.i.tle. No, in fact, I feel like I would be scolded by Underworld King-sama if Miyama-sama used my honorary t.i.tle to call me.]

[T- Then, Ill call you Chris-san]

[Yes. Once again, pleased to make your acquaintance.]

[Pleased to make your acquaintance too.]

Chris-san, despite his status as the Emperor of Archlesia Empire, is extremely down to earth and a polite person.

His hair is beautiful like theyre strands of sapphires and her eyes are like emeralds Hes definitely the epitome of a prince, and though hes one of those slender ikemen, he doesnt feel as irritating as the other ikemen back on Earth.

When Chris-san urged me to sit down on a chair, Alice also sat down next to me quite naturally.

Thereupon, as if Chris-san suddenly remembered of her existence, he looked towards Alice.

Speaking of which, that boisterous Alice had been silent ever since we came to this castle

[The lady over there must be Miyama-samas companion, right? Sorry for the delay in greeting]

[Ah, you dont have to greet me or anything like that.]

[ ! ? ]

In response to Chris, who talked to her with a gentle smile, Alice She replied in a cold voice that I cant imagine she would normally have.

I saw the knights waiting behind Chris-san twitch their eyebrows at her cold att.i.tude.

[Alice? What in the world is going on with you]

[The only people I want to interact with are those with whom I think is worth interacting with. So, I dont have anything to talk about with the oh, so gracious, His Majesty, the Emperor.]

[Wha!?]

The air in the room becomes tense when they hear those words she nonchalantly said.

I guess that should be obvious. Just now, Alice said that she only interacts with people who are of value to her, and when she said she wont be talking to Chris That means

[What you mean is that, for you, I am a person of no value?]

[Thats right.]

[What!? You b*tch!!!]

She said it She really went and said all of it.

Alice now clearly said to the Emperor of Archlesia Empire that his existence holds no value.

In that tense atmosphere, Chris-san holds back his knights who were furious and put their hands on their swords.

Although Chris-san doesnt seem to be angry, surprise could still be seen in his eyes.

However, Alice didnt seem to mind them, as she took out a small knife out of thin air and put it on the table, moving it around as if she was playing with it.

[Well, each persons sense of value is different, you know~~? I have a habit of putting value on others in my head As for His Majesty, the Emperor, you would just be one of the freebies I would give out, so around one copper coin, I guess?]

[Hoohhh You priced me quite cheaply huh.]

[How rude! What do you even know about His Majesty, the Emperor!?]

[Chris Dia von Archlesia. Born as the third child of the former Emperor Duran Dia von Archlesia, graduated at the top of his cla.s.s from the countrys magic school at the age of ten. Pursued a career in finance, initially intending to become a treasurer, but fearing the fate of his country, kicked out his two older brothers to succeed to the throne. Showing skill that was so great that made him known as the Wise Emperor, he has been called the greatest politician of all time. Currently 24 years old, his hobby is horse-riding, and his favorite book is An Ode for the Banner Anyone would know about this if they spend some time investigating it.]

[ ! ? ]

While fluently talking about Chris-sans background, Alice takes out another knife and places it on the desk.

That strange atmosphere, which was different from the usual, left me, and obviously, Chris-san and even the angry knights were stunned, speechless about what they heard.

[He will do everything for his country. If its for the sake of his country and his people, no matter how much dishonor it brings to him, he will bow down to just anyone. Just like a tool for the betterment of his country What a n.o.ble thought that is~~, but youre too boring.]

[Boring?]

[Im not interested in empty sh.e.l.ls like those people who cast their own self for others. No, Im not saying that youre a bad Emperor or anything like that. As I said before, I think youre quite n.o.ble, a clever person worthy of being called as the Wise Emperor. However, Im not interested in you Looking at you, I can only see a well-made doll.]

[ ! ? ]

[Alice! You said too much!]

Chris-san is stunned by her cold, sharp words, and I cant help but raise my voice and shout to Alice.

I dont know why Alice suddenly started saying such things, but shes obviously too different from the usual.

However, Alice doesnt seem to be bothered by my shout, as she proceeds to place a third knife on the desk before turning to me.

[Kaito-san is as kind as ever~~ Thats why I like Kaito-san so much, and I want to listen to you as much as I can Unfortunately, I cant do that this time Right~~!?]

[ ! ? ]

After saying that, Alice swings her hand along the hilts of the lined up knives, and the impact sends the three knives flying in the air.

And then, Alice grabbed them in the air is what I thought, but the knives suddenly disappeared from Alices hand and was stuck in two places on the wall and one of them on the ceiling.

I have no idea when she threw those knives or how she did that, but she was really quick.

In front of the speechless me, Alice told me in a cold voice.

[When youre being invited by someone to be friends with you You dont have to trust even these people who would use Recognition Inhibition Magic to hide their soldiers.]

[Eh?]

[They were following us after we pa.s.sed through the gate, werent they? Hey, you three.. Get the heck out of here. If you dont Those knives would hit you next time, okay?]

[.]

With the words Alice quietly said As if to follow his words, the scenery on the walls and the ceiling shook like static, and people dressed in all black appeared.

They were following us all the way from the castle gates? I see, so thats why Alice was silent ever since we entered the castle

However, why didnt I sense them? I should have been able to detect their approach with my Sympathy Magic but

[Its not really Kaito-sans fault. The clothes they are wearing are made of a material that prevents magic power from leaking outside, so its no wonder you dont notice it.]

[How did you notice them?]

The three black-clad men, whose presence has been discovered, quickly move behind Chris-san, lining up in a row.

Chris-san asks Alice with a look of disbelief on his face, but Alice does answer and pulls on a thin thread.

It was apparently tied to the knives she threw, as the knives on the ceiling and one of the knives on the walls quickly returned to Alices hand but the other one stuck in the wall didnt come back, as if it was stuck deep.

[Arehh? I think I may have used a little bit more force~~ What a failure, this is.]

Seeing that she couldnt pull it off, Alice scratched her head with a wry smile on her face, before she walked over to the knife stuck in the wall and tried to pull it out.

[Arehh? Its stuck!? I- I cant pull it out Fugyaaahhh!?]

[..]

It seems to have been stuck in the wall deeper than she imagined, as Alice pulled it with all her might and fell on her a.s.s.

How should I say this She isnt as tense being in the middle of a crucial situation like this.

The moment I let out a sigh when I looked at Alice, who was acting as she usually does compared to that chill I felt earlier, I heard a quiet mutter.

[You just let your guard down, didnt you?]

[ [ [ ! ? ] ] ]

Alice, who should have been down on her b.u.t.tocks, disappeared, and when I looked back at the direction of the voice Before I knew it, Alice was holding a slender sword in her hand, which she held around the necks of the three men clad in black.

[Thats no good, you should always be careful You three would have died by now, you know?]

[ [ [ . ] ] ]

With a voice lower than usual Alice, who said those words that even gave me chills, glanced at me.

[I normally rarely do this~~ Only when the remuneration is good and Im in a good mood. The job of guarding a person, I mean]

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

[Well, Ive earned lots of money from Kaito-san this time, and as a service.. Ill be guarding Kaito-san while hes in the Archlesia empire. So, I just want to say a few words before your discussion.]

After muttering that, Alice turned towards the men clad in black.

She usually had a somewhat carefree impression, but now, coupled with her minimalistic opera mask She looked like an a.s.sa.s.sin.

[If I see you lurking around Kaito-san again Ill kill you, okay?]

[ [ [ ] ] ]

It was frightening how she naturally said that uncomfortable line.

Those cold words tell me the obvious, as if she has taken a number of lives until now The sound disappears from the surroundings and silence dominates the room.

[Or something like that~~!]

In the cold silence, Alice sounds like she lost interest and lowers the sword she was holding up.

Then, after putting away that sword somewhere probably in her magic box, she sits down in the seat beside me and slowly crosses her arms.

[And thats why.. I hope you would give us a fancy dinner Ouch!?]

[.]

[Why did you hit me, Kaito-san!?]

[No, it should be me whos doing the tsukkomi instead Whats with the different att.i.tude you had earlier!?]

I reflexively slammed Alice on her Alices head as she instantly returned to her usual tone, wondering what it was all about earlier.

[It cant be helped! I get gooseb.u.mps when Im in serious mode for long periods of time, so I need to switch it up when needed!]

[For a long time, you only did that for a few minutes]

[No, no, Id easily get tired after doing it for more than a minute. The muscles in my face are going to be a mess. My whole body would break down. So, Kaito-san, please give me a gentle ma.s.sag Gyyaaaahhh!?]

[.]

[Eh? Play? Were having that kind of direction and you wanted that kind of play!? No, well, I can handle a variety of situations, but I dont like it painf You did it again!?]

Its not really because of what happened earlier, no rather, I slammed my fist on Alices head again because she began messing around again after that momentum she had earlier.

However, on second thought, I may not know Alice very well.

Shes an idiot, a miscellaneous store owner with no business ac.u.men, but she knows lots of things, and occasionally, its as if shes a different person, saying sharp words to me.

I dont know if Im feeling weirded about it since Ive lived a life away from carnage but in some ways, I feel like shes different from the people Ive met before.

Dear Mom, Dad I got a glimpse of Alices side thats different than usual. Its like her presence is as sharp as a cold blade, seriously Who the heck is she?

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A partial glimpse of Alices abilities as a worker in the underworld.

However, even though she has such an ability Her head is usually on the receiving end of Kaitos knuckles I see, she must be an M huh

T/N: 4/11