Oh, God, you did it. What am I gonna do?

　Shelka looks at Bram, who is lying around like a dead frog, and mutters in dismay.

　Shelka, who was driving us away with repeated shame and anger, seems to have cooled down a bit after blowing the completely unrelated Bram with wind magic.

　Bram is also such a disappointing guy, but he's the eldest son of the county family, for one thing.

　Even though he may be a duke's daughter, Shelka, he hit him with wind magic and knocked him out!　It sounds like a bad idea.

　It's not something I can say, though, as I'm the one who blew off the duel. No, it's not as if my reputation was never there in the first place.　It's not a formal commitment, and I'm sure it's fine.

　Eric and I glance at each other and then exaggerate.

'I think Miss Shelka should take care of him.

Yeah, yeah.

　This way, we can get away from the Sheldon brothers naturally. Naturally.

　Now that she's calmed down, I'm sure she'll understand.

d*mn it, you guys are trying to escape.

　I think she immediately saw through our intentions, and Sherka is looking at me with her eyes wide open.

　But even so, since Sherka is responsible for making him faint, he must be frustrated that he is right.

　But still, why am I, who only said "so and so", being stared at so much?

　If it were a face, I think Eric's face would be even more annoying than mine.

You're the one who did it, so why not take responsibility?

　Ha. This is clearly Eric provoking Sherka.

　This makes Sherka miffed as well, and........

Hey, Alfried!　Have you been making fun of me with your spiteful look earlier?

With a straight face!

　I don't know why he was pissed at me. I don't get it!　It was Eric who had provoked him.

'Well, that's the guy. He's a slacker to begin with. He's even loose in the face.

Okay, Eric, let's duel.

　I pick up Bram's dropped wooden sword and instantly prepare it.

　I'll have to settle this guy once and for all.

　I think I understand a little bit how Bram felt about challenging me to a duel.

''Don't do it. Don't point that wooden sword at my eyes. It's not safe. It's only half a joke.

'Is this a joke about your face being loose?'

"Oh, and Miss Shelka. Why don't you take care of him?　They were coming in a carriage. You wouldn't mind that much, would you?

　Eric brushed off my wooden sword softly and easily let my words slide without a care in the world. 'You bastard.

'I know,'

　In the meantime, I'll let Bram lean against the wall with his stretched out bramble and give him back his wooden sword on his thigh.

　The people around me have already regained their usual composure and are walking out. They are quick to switch back and forth.


　Not long after that, Shelka's carriage arrived under us.

　He was using his bang-bang magic in a public place, and he could easily see where we were.

　If you ask anyone in the area, they'll be able to tell you right away. That much was noticeable.

　But since we used a narrow side street, the carriage must have been forced to take a detour.

　Then the maid we saw earlier gets out of the carriage and comes over.

　She glances over to Shelka and she looks uncomfortable.

　She stops right in front of us and bows her head lightly.

''I apologize for the inconvenience that Sherka-sama and Rana-sama have caused you at this time.

　Maybe it was because of the duke's appearance, but I could sense that he was truly sorry, although he didn't bow deeply.

''Hey Rielle!''

'Master Shelka. It is forbidden to use aggressive magic in the city except in an emergency. You understand that much, don't you?

　Shelka makes an impatient sound when she sees the maid's apology, but is shushed by the maid's voice that she won't tolerate any excuses.

　Good. This is a man with common sense.

　He's probably also an educator for Sherka and Ra-chan. Unlike earlier, Shelka also seems to be in over her head.

''But, wow, my underwear........''

''Since this time it was Rana-sama who caused it. Well, even so, since you saw the lady's underwear, I thought I should have done something about it, like a slap.

　Me and Eric backed away, thinking that we would be slapped at any moment.

　Then we would have to slap all the men in the vicinity. The scene of slapping them one by one is quite surreal.

'Would Rielle have done that?'

''No, I would hit you with a goo. Well, my maid's uniform is a long skirt, so that would be impossible.

　This maid could really do it. It gave off such an atmosphere.

　From the looks of it, there's no such opening at all, even if I wanted to wind him up.

　The maid, Rielle-san, placed the unconscious Bram on her shoulder and headed for the carriage.

　It's like carrying a bale of rice, so to speak.

　Rielle-san is a thin woman with a thin line, but her gait doesn't feel heavy at all.

　How much power does she have in that thin body?

　When I was looking at Rielle-san in a daze, Sherka turned around to me.

''Oh, yes. Be careful on the way home, okay?　....Freed.

Are you on your way home?

　I asked a question, but Shelka only returned a mischievous smile and ruffled her hair.

It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're talking about. By the way, who is Freed?

No, I don't have a clue.

　I think I've heard this before, but I'm pretty sure no one I know is named Fried.

　Including the nickname. And the only person I can think of who might attack me is Bram.

　As we were both pondering Shelka's meaningful words, Ra-chan was peeking out of the carriage window.

　Her eyes were teary-eyed and a little red, as if she had been pissed off at Riel-san.

　But still, when Ra-chan made eye contact with us, she smiled and waved at us with a smile on her face.

　She's really cute. If possible, I hope she won't be as violent as her sister.

　We waved him off, and the carriage left slowly.

Well, the play should start in the evening. The sun is high and there is still some time left, but it wouldn't hurt to arrive early. We can take a shortcut by the side road we just took.

　Pulling out what a thing to do, Eric tries to get back to the rotten area.

　Ignorance really is frightening.

'Wait!　I don't care if we take the long way, we'll take the normal way!　It's not safe here!

　We don't know what they will do to us if we stay here.

　We should act like we're young girls our age here.
'Hey, don't pull that!　Your clothes will stretch!　You're just using it as a shortcut. What's your beef with that?　Are you afraid of the dark?

　Eric shakes my arm off and laughs Nimanima, wondering what he's misunderstood.

　You fool. There's a world out there that's even more terrifying than the darkness.

'No!　There's something more terrifying than that--

　I thought the only way to avoid the road over there was to explain it to him, and I said it aloud, but it was interrupted by a certain woman's voice.

'There he is!　It's that boy!

'That's a lot of resemblance!　I didn't know you were real...

'Languid eyes that lure a man in. Not many boys have eyes like that!

"That's him. It's Master Freed!

'Is there no Master Theon?　I would have loved to see the coupling.

　As Eric tried to advance, he saw the women in the rotten area.

'What?'　An invitation?　Coupling?　What are those women talking about?

　Ignorant, but sensing some danger, Eric was alarmed.

'Ah!　God!　That's why I wanted to get the hell away from you!　Hey, Eric, come here!　Let's get out of here!

Oh, oh?


　I take Eric's bewildered hand and start running.


　The rotten people behind me are screaming yellow, but it can't be helped. My priority right now is to run away as fast as I can.

　Really, all I do today is run away.....

　I just want to take a normal stroll through the royal capital.


　◆


Hey, hey. What's going on here. The people are so small...

　Eric says, his voice trembling.

　Knowing the horror of your rotten people, I immediately take my distance and use my shield behind the building.

　I escaped to the upper sky.

　We got up to a pretty good height because if we were halfway up, we would be spotted just by raising our gaze. Even if people could see us from below, we would only look like a dot now.

'Hey, we're not really going to fall, are we?　If you fall, you'll die, this one.

It's okay. It's real magic. It's an application of that shield you just used.

　Crawling on all fours, Eric taps the shield deployed at his feet fearfully.

　His complexion doesn't get any better, despite my assurances to him.

　If it was strong, you would have checked it out a lot when you were escaping from Shelka.

"Are you sure about this?　If you fall from here, you'll never make it!

'You're totally worried. See, you're doing such a great job with the scenery, what's the harm if you don't enjoy it?

Can't you at least make the scaffolding bigger?　At this rate, a little slip and you'll be in the afterlife!

　Since Eric is making a lot of noise right beside me, I'm going to increase the range of the shield. It should be about six tatami mats' worth of space, so even a scared Erik would have no problem with this.

　I check out Eric's plumping up like a newborn foal, and I return my gaze to the front.

　The streets of the royal capital spread out in a circle. A river runs through it. From above, I can see that it is surprisingly large.

　The roofs of the buildings where people live are neatly lined up along the streets. The biggest streets are the main streets, and at the center of each street is the square we used for our meeting place.

　Is my hotel a little further up from there?

　You can't really see the village of Koliat from here...can you? It's completely out of sight because it's blocked by the castle walls and mountains.

　It's a bit windy and chilly, but the view from above is fantastic.

　When we return to the village of Koliat, we can go for a picnic in the sky.

　I'm sure the lunch we'll eat in the sky will be delicious.

　At that time, Thor and Asmo...no, let's not go with Asmo. I won't crack just because that guy rode in, but when I remember the winter, I feel uneasy.

　There are many people and carriages coming in from each gate today, and in some places guards and knight-like people can be seen running around.

　And the most eye-catching structure is the huge and majestic Misfirito Castle.

　I think we are quite high, but it seems that we can't reach the height of the castle.

　You may want to look at Misfirito Castle from above, but if you go any higher, Eric might faint, so I don't.

　Besides, I can't believe I'm looking down on royalty. It's going to be disrespectful.

　I wonder what's going on inside the castle and strengthen my vision with my magic.

　Then I see an old man dressed in pompous clothes walking down the corridor in what looks like a third floor crossing hallway, with a number of people following behind him.

　Could that old man be the king?

　Just then, a middle-aged man with a crown on his head is skulking down the upstairs corridor.

　What is it?　Is that weird old man the king?　He's got a crown on top of his head, he's wearing very good quality looking clothes, and he's got blonde hair like Princess Coudera.

　No, but the king talks about having many wives, so I guess I can't rely on that.

　And as I let my gaze drift away, I saw a girl in a room at the end.

　I suddenly become curious and fix my gaze on her.

　It wasn't that I was staring at a woman, but it wasn't because there was a woman.

　If it's a woman, I've often seen maids and guard female knights who have been cleaning the garden and wiping the windows from earlier, etc.

　Among them, I feel that that girl looking out of the window is clearly looking at us.

　The deep ocean-blue eyes peeking out of the silky blonde hair are so beautiful that they are momentarily breathless.

　She's dressed in a blue dress, though it's only visible up to her shoulders.

　Thanks to the almost complementary coloration, they were even more vividly attractive to each other.

　You'll be able to find out more about the best way to get the most out of your new job.

　It's quite difficult to enhance your eyesight with magic power, but I wonder if she's also good at manipulating magic power.

　When I waved my hand to try it out, the girl waved it back fearfully.

　It seems that she can still see clearly.

　It's a good distance, so it's only vaguely visible in ordinary magic control technology, but the girl seems to be no ordinary person.

　It's not comfortable to be watched too closely, and it's troublesome if someone is called, so it's time to leave.

The best thing to do is to get out of there.

Oh, oh. Finally. So how do you get down?

　Eric, still blue in the face, asked with an awkward smile on his face.

'Of course I'm going to run down,'



　You're not going to be able to do that.


　A room in Misfirito Castle.

　There, the third princess, Leila, was sitting in her wheelchair, looking at the sky in a daze.

　No, to be precise, the person in the sky above.

''Were people supposed to be able to walk in the sky?''

No, that's not possible, is it?

　The pink-haired female maid smiled amusingly at Leila's abrupt comment, who was quietly looking at the sky through the window.

　Coupled with her gentle eyes, her smile seemed to embody motherhood.

''It's so rare for Leila-sama to make a joke.

No, Sarya, that's not what I'm saying.

'Yes, yes, I'll make you a cup of tea now. You must be thirsty by now.

　Leila dexterously turns her wheelchair around and tries to clear up the misunderstanding, but Sarya smiles and goes under the wagon in the room.

　For a mere maid and a third princess, they have a close relationship.

　It's like a parent and child.

''That's right, though. Um, Sarya?

　Layla calls out to her, but Sarya is humming and preparing her tea. Thinking it would be useless to speak to her now, Leila sends her gaze out the window again.

　As she gathers her magic power into her eyes, the dots in the sky above her gradually become clearer and clearer to match the pins.

　The boy who had just waved to me was being held on to by the other boy.

　Leila had no idea what they were doing in that place or how they were walking in the sky, but she just thought the two boys looked like they were having fun.

　What a sight to see from that place.

　Her own third princess status. She was very jealous of them, as she couldn't walk or move around freely due to her disability.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　--I wish I could be like them.

　With that in mind, Leila looked down at her feet, which she couldn't move at all with her own will.

　Even though she tried to move them like her own hands, the legs wouldn't listen to her at all.

　It wouldn't accept my commands as if that was the only part of my body that wasn't my own.

　I thought I had given up on that because of the usual, but I still hadn't been able to separate them.

　Was it because he saw them frolicking in energy?

　Leila looked up at the sky again, as if to shake off her dark feelings.

　Did the boy use his magical powers to get up there?

　The boy who saw Leila at that distance was definitely a wizard. I don't know about the other one.

　It's impossible to see the people in this one room firmly unless their eyes are strengthened with magical power just like Leila's.

　Leila guesses that that square object that serves as a foothold is probably a magic called the non-magical 'shield'. That much is obvious to most people who handle magic, even if it's not her.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get a foothold on it and climb up there.

　I've heard of research into using shields as footholds to move around, but I've heard that it ended in failure.

　While running, he continuously activated it by specifying the strength, size, duration, and precise space. The amount of magic it consumes is enormous.

　I've seen court mages and knight captains use it as a foothold on rare occasions in battle, but it's only for a moment at best.

　Leila didn't know if it was someone who surpassed even the court mages, or if it was a completely different method.

　If he was there in an insane way, as she had guessed, he was a hell of a gem, surpassing even a court mage.

''Tea is in!

Oh, yeah. Thank you. Just leave it there.

　Leila turns to Sarya and replies.

　And then she turns her gaze back to.

'............................Eh?　........gone.....?

　There was no one there.

　The sun shining on the royal capital and the endless blue sky.

　It was as if there were no two boys in such a place.