The conversation with the energetic grandpa I met by chance was over,
and as I strolled around the city for a while, 2:00 pm, the time I had
promised Mitsunaga-kun is close.
In the square where I met with Mitsunaga-kun yesterday, I'm supposed
to meet the second princess of the Symphonia Kingdom… Princess
Cattleya. Hmmm, I wonder what kind of person she is?
From what I heard, it sounds like she's a strong-minded person but…
[Hey, Alice.]
[What is it?]
[What's Princess Cattleya like?]
[Fumu… Like this.]
[You're drawing her!?]
In response to my murmur, Alice appeared, and taking out a paper and
pen, she drew what seemed to be Princess Cattleya's face in a smooth,
freehand manner.
The image looked more like Lilia-san than Amalie-san, with Lilia-san
hair in a loose vertical roll and the corners of her eyes were slightly
slanted upwards.
In short, she's quite the beauty… Lilia-san's family's facial deviation
value really is incredibly high…
(T/N: Facial deviation value is apparently a criterion for the goodness
and beauty of a human face.)
[…I see, what about her personality?]
[Please think of Duchess Lilia.]
[Eh? U- Unnn.]
[And add a bit more tsundere in it.]
[Hmmm?]
I didn't really understand it that clearly, but in short, it seems that she
has a personality that is similar to Lilia-san's.
At the same time I nodded my head in response to her description, the
plaza came into view and Alice disappeared again.
When I entered the plaza, I knew right away where Mitsunaga-kun
was… After all, in one corner of the plaza, there was a group of knights
in armor that clearly had a different atmosphere compared from the
rest…
They were probably, or rather, definitely Princess Cattleya and
Mitsunaga-kun's guards… That's an awesome number they have.
When I met with Mitsunaga-kun yesterday, I felt a few emotions similar
to alertness with my Sympathy Magic at a slight distance, so those
emotions I felt probably were from the knights who were guarding him
out of his sight.
As for today though, Princess Cattleya is also meeting up with me, so
the number of guards stationed here is probably even greater.
I mean, the trouble is, there are so many knights that are guarding
them, so I can't see Mitsunaga-kun and Princess Cattleya, who should
be in the middle of their encirclement… I guess I'll just approach and
talk to the knights huh.
As I was thinking that, I approached the group of knights… but when
they sensed my approach, I saw a few of the knights turned vigilant.
[…Stop right there, who are you?]
[Ah, errr, my name is Miyama Kaito. I had promised to meet Mitsunagakun… the child who plays the role of Hero…]
[ !? P- Please accept my apologies! We've heard about your meeting,
please go ahead…]
[Thank you.]
I was anxious that it would turn into that kind of development where
they would point their swords at me while shouting something like
"You suspicious b*stard!", but it seems that the conversation properly
got through, and the knights immediately led me to the place.
Thereupon, I saw Mitsunaga-kun, and when he saw me, he approached
me with a refreshing smile on his face.
[Miyama-san!]
[Mitsunaga-kun, my bad, am I late?]
[No, no, our side just finished a little ahead of our schedule… I heard
that a Supreme God had come to this city right now… And I don't know
if the senators were tired or not, but they didn't ask any testing
questions in our meeting…]
[...]
You really had influence in all sorts of places, Fate-san… I can't really
imagine it because of how she usually acts, but I guess she's acting like
a proper Supreme God huh?
W- Well, it seems that thanks to that, Mitsunaga-kun ended the meeting
early and was waiting for me here.
[…You must be Miyama-sama, right?]
[Eh? Ah, yes.]
When I turned my head towards the voice that called out my name, I
saw an imposing woman standing there.
Loosely curled bright blonde hair, blue eyes slanting upwards, looking
really sharp… The woman wearing a red dress that looks easy to move
around in, yet elegant at the same time, looked like an epitome of a
noble, and I immediately knew that she was Princess Cattleya.
Princess Cattleya walks up to me and gracefully curtsy.
[It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance, I'm the second princess of the
Symphonia Kingdom, bearing the name of Cattleya Lia Symphonia. I
have heard about Miyama-sama from my sisters. It's an honor to meet
you like this.]
[I- I'm Miyama Kaito. Please treat me well.]
[Please treat me well too. I have often heard rumors about you… That
you were close with Underworld King-sama and World King-sama, I'm
feeling envious of you.]
[N- No, that is…]
I'd like to say a few things to Alice here… Where the heck is her
resemblance with Lilia-san!? The way they talk is definitely similar, but
compared to Lilia-san, who doesn't look like a noble at all, Princess
Cattleya absurdly feels like a noble, and I feel like the atmosphere was
really tense, you know!?
[Miyama-san, you don't have to be that nervous. Despite her
appearance, Cathy is really kind.]
[Mitsunaga-sama! Haven't I told you to stop calling me that in public!?]
[I- I'm sorry.]
[Good grief… Please excuse me. Miyama-sama, we've reserved a seat for
us, so we can talk over there.]
[Ah, yes.]
Ahh~~ However, I think the feeling I got when she was scolding
Mitsunaga-kun earlier was exactly like when Lilia-san was angry.
That look of impatience, rather than rage, on her face is a characteristic
of Lilia-san when she's angry… Unnn, I felt that way because Lilia-san
got angry enough times that I remembered her face while she was
mad…
After lightly scolding Mitsunaga-kun, Princess Cattleya pointed at a
table at a cafe adjacent to the plaza and suggested that we talk there.
I had no reason to refuse, so I nodded and followed Mitsunaga-kun and
Princess Cattleya as they started walking to the cafe.
[Mitsunaga-sama, you need to be a little more aware of your role as the
Hero! You are fuly responsible for each of your words and actions. You
need to be very careful with the tone of your voice.]
[C- Cath… Princess Cattleya. We're in front of Miyama-san now, so can
you excuse me for now?]
[I know that. That's why I'm letting you get away with just this.]
I have some hunch about it, but it seems that Princess Cattleya has a
slightly severe personality.
She seems to be scolding Mitsunaga-kun for calling her by her
nickname, and with her sharp, slanted eyes focused on him… It looks
kind of scary, but it felt like she was complaining out of goodwill
towards Mitsunaga-kun.
Somehow smiling at seeing such a scene, I tried following behind them
—- but at that moment, I felt an unspeakable, unpleasant sensation run
down my spine.
It was a reflexive action.
Just like how I quickly pulled my hand back when I touched a hot pot, I
looked back faster than my mind was even aware of.
The moment I turned around, my gaze caught sight of the tall clock
tower at a considerable distance… I felt a part of that clock tower
"glitter" for a moment…
[ ! ? ]
Immediately after, a shimmering sphere passed right by me.
There was no time to say a word in that moment, as only my gaze
followed that sphere… As if time was compressed, I felt like I was
looking at it in a slow motion.
The sphere headed in a straight line towards Princess Cattleya, with
none of the knights around her being able to react… Mitsunaga-kun
alone moved to lay his body to protect Princess Cattleya—— And a
burst of light exploded.
Dear Mom, Dad——- Even if this world was at peace, even if a lot of
people in this world were kind… Malice still exists everywhere. Along
with such thoughts—— we were swallowed in an explosion.