When Yuuya had the ball game, Owen and the others had arrived safely at the royal capital and were on their way to report to the king.
"We have returned, father."
"Oh, Lexia! Are you okay?"
The king is relieved to see Lexia safe and sound… Arnold is pleased with a broad smile on his face and immediately gives instructions to the nearby maids.
"Lexia must be tired after having just returned, isn't she? Get some rest now. I will hear from you later."
"I understand."
Lexia nodded obediently to Arnold's words and left the room with the maid. Then, to Owen, who was left in the room, Arnold asked him with a serious face, unlike earlier.
"Owen. I can't see the young man who was said to be in the Great Devil's Nest… what happened?"
"Ha! It was… a lot of things, and we weren't able to have him come this time."
"Fumu… does that whole thing have something to do with the woman in there?"
The one who was ahead of Arnold's sharp gaze was Luna, who had been turned into Lexia's guard from an assassin. Although Luna received Arnold's intimidation, the king of the Arcelia Kingdom, head-on, Luna herself replied frankly without seeming particularly overwhelmed.
"Ah. It's because I tried to assassinate Lexia. So various dates were delayed, and Yuuya couldn't come."
"H-hey!"
"──Hou?"
Owen looked impatient at Luna, who informed the king too frankly, and that made Arnold's gaze even sharper.
"You, you mentioned the assassination of my daughter, Lexia?"
"Yes. But as you can see now that Lexia is alive, my assassination attempt failed, however."
"Then, why are you alive? If you're an assassin, would a failed commission be equivalent to death?"
In an atmosphere where lying wasn't allowed, Luna still wasn't pressured… On the contrary, she remembered that Lexia had approached her about the escort, and she gave a little smile.
"Of course, I was ready to die, too. But that was stopped by Lexia herself of all people. That's why I'm here now."
"Hmm… I see."
The moment Arnold snorted in displeasure──.
"Huh!"
He drew out the national treasure [Slash Sword Greacle] and then slashed at Luna. However, Luna was in neither hurry for Arnold's action, but instead, she put strings around him and stopped his movement.
"Hou? You have discovered the characteristics of my sword in an instant."
"Yeah. If I tried to stop the sword itself with my thread, it would cut through my thread so easily. So I had to stop your arm."
Luna was right, the strings that she had stretched out in an instant did not inhibit the movement of the sword, but made Arnold's arm immobile. As a result, Arnold was unable to move his arm and unable to slash Luna with it.
Arnold, who laughed in amusement, changed his appearance from earlier and gave a bitter smile.
"I know what you're capable of. So could you untie this thread?"
"If you promise you won't attack me again, then fine."
As the king and Luna continued to stare at each other, Owen pondered what to do, when the door was suddenly opened with great force.
"Ah! Father, what are you doing to my Luna!"
"Le-Lexia? I thought you were just going to your room."
The one who vigorously opened the door was Lexia, who had left earlier.
That's why, in front of his beloved daughter, who suddenly appeared, Arnold was extremely impatient. Because, even though he is unable to move due to Luna's strings, from the side, it looks like Arnold is slashing at Luna.
"Of course, I tried to go to my room. But then I realized that Luna wasn't following me, so I came back. And then…!"
Lexia, rekindling her anger, glared at her father, Arnold.
"If you do something horrible to Luna… I would hate you, father!"
"H-hate!?"
Arnold turned as white as ashes and almost collapsed on the spot, but Luna's strings interfered and forced him to maintain his slashing stance. Luna, who was watching such an exchange between father and daughter, snorted.
"Hmph… well, I'll forgive you this time."
Showing arrogance against the king, Luna quickly retrieved the thread that was blocking Arnold's movements. When Arnold was finally able to move, he sat down in his chair, staggering as he was, but desperately tried to reason and evaluate Luna's abilities.
"…It was only blocking my movements just now, but I guess you could essentially kill me with that thing, right?"
"Yeah. If I put it around your neck, it would fly off easily."
"A girl who speaks terrible things… even though in my case, I'm already dying from Lexia's hating on me…"
"I don't care about that."
Owen himself, for once, inwardly agreed with Luna's statement. Then Lexia, with her arms crossed, asked Arnold.
"So, father. You already know enough about Luna's abilities, don't you?"
"Yes, well, you seem to be good enough as an escort. What do you think, Owen?"
"Ha! I don't think it's a problem for me either. "
"All right."
Nodding at Owen's words, Arnold looked at Luna again with an air of dignity that made it hard to believe that he was the one who had been overcome earlier.
"What's your name?"
"It's Luna."
"Now, Luna. I now acknowledge you as Lexia's bodyguard. You shall protect my daughter."
"Ha!"
For the first time on the spot, Luna bowed her head and left the room with Lexia, prompted directly by Arnold.
"Hmph… I can't stand the hate from my daughter…"
"Your Majesty is too soft on Lexia-sama."
"Because my daughter is so cute! Well, let's not talk about that for now. So, Owen. That Luna is not just an ordinary assassin. You said that she's skilled, but she's actually a competent person."
"That's right. In the Dark Guild, it seems they called her [Head Hunter]."
"What! That famous [Head Hunter]? So that's why she's so experienced… and the reason why the assassination attempt failed is because of the young man living in the Great Devil's Nest?"
"Yes. That young man who prevented the assassination─his name is Yuuya, and he was the one who captured Luna just now. I haven't heard the details, but at that time, Yuuya-dono, who was accompanied by Lexia-sama's recklessness, went along with Luna and Lexia-sama to his house in the Great Devil's Nest──."
"What? Lexia has gone to a man's house alone?"
"Um… Your Majesty?"
Arnold lifted his eyes at Owen's report, not sure where his earlier dignity had gone.
"Don't tell me that you didn't stay in that man's house, by any chance?"
"….."
Owen racked his brain, trying desperately to figure out what the right answer would be. But the silence was the correct answer, and Arnold smiled darkly.
"He may indeed be Lexia's benefactor… but I don't remember allowing him to go that far. I will make that guy be the victim of my [Slash Sword Greacle]."
"As expected, that's not good! It's not like anything in particular happened!"
"You wouldn't know that! You weren't even there!"
"Kuh! I don't know anymore if he's calm or agitated…!"
Owen held his head as Arnold showed his calm side while remaining angry at this point.
"And anyway! Due to Luna's attempted assassination, our schedule was shifted by a day, and Yuuya-dono was unable to come."
"Hmm…. Then when will I get to meet him? Isn't that disrespectful? Hmm?"
"As I mentioned before, Yuuya-dono is probably a noble or royal from another country, and if we do something wrong, it could lead to a diplomatic problem. Besides, do you think we can win against an opponent who lives in the Great Devil's Nest."
"Gunununu…"
Arnold looked seriously frustrated. To such an Arnold, Owen let out a sigh.
"Sigh… For now, I've told him to come when he can come to the royal castle, so I'm sure he'll be coming before too long."
"It can't be helped. I guess I'll have to wait a while longer."
──In this way, Yuuya is being looked upon by the king as an enemy without even knowing it.
＊＊＊
──After the time Arnold and the others were discussing Yuuya, speculation had begun to move elsewhere as well.
"…Your Highness. There is one thing I would like to hear from you…"
"What is it?"
In a room in the royal castle, a man had received a report from a man wearing a hood. The man was Rhaegar, the First Prince of the Alceria Kingdom. Rhaegar sipped on the liquor he held in his hand without interest but stopped moving at the content of the man in the hood's report.
"──About the existence in the Great Devil's Nest…"
"…What?"
With a slight opening in his eyes, Rhaegar urges the man in the hood to continue.
"What do you know?"
"Ha… it seems that there is someone who lives in the Great Devil's Nest."
"What?!"
At the words of the man in the hood, Rhaegar's eyes widened.
"You're saying there is someone who lives in that Great Devil's Nest? Isn't that a mistake?"
"No. At the time of the attack on Lexia-sama before, only Lexia-sama survived from the Great Devil's Nest. We didn't know it at the time, but it seems that that person saved Lexia-sama."
"…If there really is someone living in the Great Devil's Nest, where did you get that information from? It's hard to imagine that father wouldn't regulate the information around there."
"It seems that they were planning to invite him to the royal castle, and to receive him, Lexia-sama herself went to the Great Devil's Nest with Owen and other guards. I have inferred this from the conversations of the soldiers who were participating as that escort."
"I see… Owen would have noticed your presence as well, but at the general soldier level, there's no way to be noticed. "
Rhaegar was surprised at the content of the report, but he agreed. Then the man in the hood continued, seemingly with more difficulty speaking.
"And there's one more thing I have to tell you…"
"What, you have more?"
"Yes… Actually, it seems that one of the nobles who support Your Highness had asked the Dark Guild to assassinate Lexia-sama…"
"Hou? That's a good sentiment. So what happened?"
"…It seems that the person hired by the Dark Guild was a terrific assassin, the [Head Hunter], but…that…"
"What a terrible attitude. With a skill like that, the assassination must have been a success, right?"
The person in the hood sensed that Rhaegar was in a bad mood and had no choice but to continue.
"…It seems that the assassination by [Head Hunter] was prevented by the person who lives in the Great Devil's Nest that I told you about earlier, and [Head Hunter] became Lexia-sama's bodyguard just like that…"
"What?!"
Rhaegar involuntarily stood up from his seat.
"It's the [Head Hunter], right!? Leaving aside that terrific assassination being prevented, why would someone like that become an escort for Lexia!"
"I'm sorry. I have only…."
"You are useless!"
Rhaegar shouted in frustration and wandered around the room.
"Damn… not only is there a troublesome existence called Owen near Lexia, but the [Head Hunter] also became her bodyguard? Wouldn't it be even more difficult to touch her…?"
Rhaegar, who had been moving back and forth throughout the room for some time, stopped unexpectedly a little later.
"It can't be helped. I was still going to save this measure for later, but…"
Rhaegar turns to the figure in the hood and gives him a cold stare.
"Hey. You said they're inviting that person who is in the Great Devil's Nest to the royal castle?"
"Ha!"
"When was that? Is he already here?"
"No. Apparently, he's not here this time, but I'm sure he'll be here eventually."
"I see. Then we have some time to react."
The hooded figure asked Rhaegar as he began to think about it.
"Um… what exactly do you have in mind?"
Then Rhaegar smiles wickedly at the hooded figure.
"What, I thought it was time for the father to step aside…"
"Wha-!?"
That meant the murder of Arnold, the king, and his father. To the hooded figure who was exclaiming at such a profane statement, Rhaegar continued with a laugh.
"What surprises you? Eventually, this me will be the king. That's only going to speed things up a bit, isn't it?"
"B-but assassinating His Majesty is dangerous. His Majesty is protected by several skilled guards, though not as skilled as Owen's. Besides, His Majesty himself is powerful, and most importantly, if this becomes public knowledge, His Highness's own position will be in jeopardy!"
"Did I say anything about doing anything myself?"
"Huh?"
The hooded figure rolled his eyes at the unexpected words.
"Certainly, father and his guards must be strong. But you would have no problem with that, would you?"
"That's…yes, but…"
"And I'll even lend you one of my "trump cards". I don't know if it will be effective against Owen or the [Head Hunter], but if it's my father's bodyguard, there will be no problem."
"T-that… "trump card" is…?"
To the fearful hooded man who asked with trepidation, Rhaegar smiled fearlessly.
"There is an item called [Sealed Magic Barrier] that, if activated, prevents any magic from being used inside it and blocks interference from the outside. And I have it."
"What!"
"You know what? With this, my father's guards will be powerless, because father, who is confident in his sword skills, has only wizards at his side. Therefore, if you use the [Sealed Magic Barrier], the only targets you have to worry about are Owen, the [Head Hunter], and my father. If this is the case, you guys can handle it, right?"
"If there is no interference from wizards or Owen or anyone else, we can try, but if we fail, however, your highness will be in a bad position…"
"You could just rub it in."
"Huh!"
"You know that, right? You said that this person who lives in the Great Devil's Nest would be coming. It would be quick to blame him for all the crimes and have him killed. On the other hand, if we name Lexia as the mastermind, then we can also bring Lexia herself to justice. The stranger and Lexia, who had brought the stranger with her, would be the most likely to be suspected if father died, right?"
"….."
"Moreover, if someone who lives in the Great Devil's Nest comes, he'll definitely have an audience with my father. That will probably be with a minimum number of people. No one would believe there's a person who lives in the Great Devil's Nest, and if it were true, they would hide it at first to prevent it from being extracted by other countries. Then, when the time is right, they will make it public. Hence, I can ask the father to leave. We will use the [Sealing Magic Barrier] on a small number of guards, and if you guys attack, everything will be over. As long as you kill them all, all of the testimonies about me will come to pass on Lexia and that stranger, and then blaming them for the crime. What, let's just say to the outside world that the savage living in the Great Devil's Nest has gone on a rampage."
The hooded figure couldn't say anything to Rhaegar, who wore a dark smile and told him so.
"Now, prepare yourself. Although he is not here at this time, that doesn't mean you should take it easy. You must make arrangements to ensure that you will kill my father. There is no room for error on this one."
"…Ha!"
"Fufufu… I don't know who he is, but at best, he can serve as a stepping stone for me."
──In the royal capital, apart from the hand that welcomed Yuuya, the side of malice was also reaching out at the same time.
＊＊＊
While the topic of Yuuya was being discussed in the other world, a magazine featuring the "Ousei Gakuen" was also published on earth. At first, since it was a famous school, not many people were curious to read the feature article, but the photo that appeared in the magazine caused a sensation in the world.
It was a photo of Yuuya jumping up and hitting the ball vigorously while playing tennis, and it didn't take long for people to identify him as the person who had previously been in the news for his photo with the model Miu. As a result, Yuuya still didn't know that the information that he was a student of "Ousei Gakuen" would spread, and a waiting list would appear.
And the other entertainment agencies and others noticed the entertainment agency that was partnering with this magazine had already signed a contract with him. So, they thought and lamented the fact that they were a step too late in pulling him out, but the more powerful agencies were beginning to think about whether they could pull him out of that contracted agency and into their own on better terms.
Yuuya, who had gone from a single feature article on the school to a quick buzz, was once again featured heavily on television and online relations, unknowingly creating a large fan base. The female president, who had been watching such a movement in the world, smiled a sinister smile.
"Fufufu… Indeed, Yuuya-kun didn't sign a contract on the spot, but once he fills in the outer ground like this, he won't be able to sign a contract with anyone but us anymore, right? Besides, it's only a matter of time before he gets into show business after making such a big deal out of it."
The female president muttered this to herself as she held up a magazine with a feature article in her hand, and then her next scenario came to mind.
"Now that we've come this far, all we have to do now is make our major-label debut."
In this way, Yuuya's outer expanse is steadily being filled in without his knowledge.