Chapter 175

Lured by Sweets
The incident where the treasure vault overflowed with treasure remains unsolved. No culprit was identified. Though the cause is unknown, it was concluded that some hidden treasure, concealed by some kind of trick, appeared in the treasure vault due to some trigger.

Of course, the Noble Council denounced me, but that only resulted in another rare event where citizens once again surrounded the Council chambers.

They really don’t learn. The kingdom’s financial troubles were solved, so they should’ve just counted themselves lucky and let it go. If they work hard, they might even get out of that detention facility they call the Noble Council.

“Humph. You can’t condemn me without evidence.”

“If you keep misbehaving, you’ll be married off to His Highness, you know? All in the name of calming you down.”

“That’s dangerous. Big brother might be plotting that too.”

I don’t know what he sees in me, but my brother is obsessively attached to me.

Well, he’s in the brother category, so that’s out of the question.

Anyway, I’ve got free time now. Research? Oh, I’m having my clones handle that, so it’s fine. I’m not feeling inspired to work on improving the magic comb right now either. It’s still far from perfect, and I’m currently pondering how to reach that peak.

It’s not finished yet. That’s my grand invention, one that surpasses even the new type of magic furnace. That’s why improving it right away is a little difficult.

Which is why, for the first time in a while, I’m lazing around in bed hugging Mr. Coote. He’s warm and fluffy. Maybe I’ve been overworking myself and I’m a bit tired.

Just then, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

(Ah, Alice, are you free right now?)

“I’m ridiculously free.”

I’m bored. Even Helios has been oddly quiet lately, like a borrowed cat.

As for administrative duties, I’ve mostly pushed those onto others. My only real role is setting direction and securing budgets. I’m not even that busy. Administrative work? That’s obviously a no-go. Assigning capable people is more efficient.

Expanding the organization is General Pash’s job. I’m a total amateur when it comes to military matters. I’ve been studying a bit, though.

(So, the thing is, His Majesty had new sweets developed for you, Alice. He asked if you could try it out if possible.)

“I’ll be right there! Right now!”

(Wait, today? Right now? I only just heard about it, so I need to get confirmation first. Plus, there’s that trial going on… We were thinking of sending it via the embassy.)

Fool. Going through the embassy would mean poison testing and a bunch of other procedures—it’d take at least a week. Waiting a whole week for a new sweet? Impossible. Poisoning? Ostland wouldn’t gain anything from that.

Besides, if that King ever tried to assassinate me, he’d have to deal with the terrifying aftermath. Arland doesn’t tolerate traitors, you know. On the flip side, they never abandon allies either.

“So there’s no problem with today.”

(Uh… but that prince is in the castle too… and you hate him, right? Ostland really doesn’t want you two to interact. It could lead to scandals or diplomatic issues. He’s this close to being stripped of his royal title and imprisoned.)

Well, if you go around gathering adventurers and forming factions, it’s only natural the kingdom would start viewing you as a threat. And the adventurers he gathered acted all arrogant and did whatever they wanted—same with the nobles. When the leadership’s an idiot, it’s no wonder only idiots gather around him.

“Well, I’m sure the King will handle it somehow. I’m fine with going today. If I can eat it today, I’m confident I can ignore anything that the Fifth Prince says. Of course, that depends on how good the new sweet is.”

(It was really good.)

No way… Anon…

“Don’t tell me… you ate it before me?”

(Well, Keena went off to visit Sharon’s domain, and I was bored! Even though I’m stuck in the capital dealing with this trial stuff! And when my dad found out I was messing around with adventurers, the whole house went into an uproar!)

Well, it’s not normal for noble daughters to become adventurers. Me? My father was also an adventurer, so what’s the problem? If the father was an adventurer, it’s not weird for the daughter to be one too, right? It’s fine. Just a few worrywarts begging me in tears to quit. But that won’t stop my path to domination. Someday I’ll become a Great Mage and end this life of cowering before Mother and Madame.

“I want to eat it soon too!”

(Alright, I’ll go ask right now.)

The call ended. The time until the confirmation came felt unbearably long.

I just kept snuggling Mr. Coote nonstop. By the time he was rolling his eyes back and twitching, the phone rang again.

(He was surprised, but he said it’s fine. They’ll keep that prince locked in his room with boards nailed over the door, just in case.)

That’s some treatment for his own son. Still, if you can be locked in that easily, you’re second-rate as royalty. If it were me, I’d have already built escape routes into the floor and walls of the room. I’m confident I could escape with no problem. Of course, if I got caught, I’d be dragged off to either Mother or Madame.

“Got it. I’ll head out right away!”

I quickly prepared to head to Ostland. I pulled out a cloth inscribed with a teleportation magic circle from my closet and laid it on the floor. All I need to do is pour in mana, and I’ll be transported to my room in the school dormitory. There’s a matching one over there too.

“Princess, the inspection preparations—! What are you doing!?”

Just as I was about to teleport, there was a knock and General Pash entered the room. Unusually, he’s in full military dress, wearing his decorated medals marked with the General’s insignia.

“A new sweet is calling to me. I must go at once.”

“You’re scheduled to inspect the experimental unit today.”

Now that it was mentioned, I might have had such a plan. Or not. But something urgent has come up. So I’m canceling.

“General Pash, I’ll leave that to you today. The King of Ostland has developed a new sweet just for me. As a princess of an allied nation, I must taste it.”

“You intend to go without even a single escort? Where is Lady Alicia?”

“Alicia’s tied up in a security meeting for my protection. She won’t be back for two hours.”

Alicia isn’t the kind of person who’d turn a blind eye to visits that skip all the formal procedures. When she judges she can’t stop me, she doesn’t try to. Instead, she’ll give me the world’s longest scolding and attack my mental defenses. And during such times, Mr. Coote, whom I try to use to play around and distract her, ends up twitching and rolling his eyes back. Completely useless.

Well then, I just need to be back within two hours. When I said that, General Pash looked up at the ceiling and quietly shed a tear.

“I’ll go get Lady Alicia, so please, do not go to another country alone under any circumstances. Hey, hurry and get Lady Alicia!”

“I’ll summon her faster than the wind!”

One of the knights guarding the room outside dashed away like a gust of wind.

Before long, Alicia returned at a sprint. And of course, I got scolded. I poked Mr. Coote with my foot, but he only twitched in response. Helios was huddled in a corner of the room, muttering the same thing he had been since this morning: “I don’t want to die. I haven’t said anything. I haven’t done anything.” He’s been like this for days now. What even happened?

Well, Helios being weird is nothing new. If this keeps up, maybe I’ll just build a memory-erasing device and delete the trauma. That should fix him.

“Listen carefully—never, *ever* go to another country without an escort!”

“But I have Mr. Coote, Helios and the Shadow Wolves, don’t I?”

The scolding finally ended, but the escort situation was already well beyond overkill.

Shadow Wolves don’t stand out much, but they’re the worst enemies in close combat. You can only hurt them with fighting spirit or mana. If they get into the shadows, there’s no stopping them. Once they’re in, it’s game over. That’s why they’re immediately hunted down on sight—a tragic species of magic beast. And I have around ten of them permanently stationed in my shadow, you know?

As for Helios, he’s actually a really effective meat shield. Normal swords can’t scratch him. Even a weak fighting spirit won’t cut it. Only top-tier warriors who can coat their weapons with high-level fighting spirit can even leave a scratch. That’s the kind of natural defense he has. And knights of Arland are generally strong enough to do just that.

Then there’s my beloved dog, Mr. Coote.

“I am… I am a wolf…”

Mr. Coote muttered something.

Honestly, I think Mr. Coote could probably overwhelm Helios in a ground battle. I’m not sure, though, because Mr. Coote keeps hiding his true strength. He might have undergone some mysterious evolution. I thought he was just a Silver Wolf, but his mana has already surpassed Helios. And I didn’t notice because he was so good at concealing it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been channeling my excess mana into Mr. Coote . I’ve been cutting back lately since I’m running low on mana.

“You’re right… No! At the very least, please take me with you! I can’t trust just that mutt and that gluttonous dragon! They’re not even operational anymore! What did you do to them? Well, okay, I can guess what happened to the mutt…”

“Helios has been acting strange these past few days. I’m sure Big brother did something to him.

There’s a rumor going around the castle that my brother tied Helios up and tortured him in the courtyard.”

I overheard some maids chatting about it.

They said my brother surrounded Helios in the courtyard with knights.

Then all of a sudden, Helios freaked out like he’d seen Death itself and rolled away screaming.

Something terrifying must’ve happened. He’s been scared ever since.

That idiot Helios being *this* scared… What on earth did he do? Well, I’m sure it was Helios’ fault to begin with.

“If it’s His Highness, I wouldn’t put it past him… Understood. Once you’ve made up your mind, there’s no changing it anyway, Princess. I’ll go with you.

General Pash, please proceed with the inspection of the experimental unit as planned.”

“… You mean, by myself? I don’t think they’ll be happy to see just me…”

No, they should be absolutely thrilled. A big shot’s coming, after all. So go on your own this time, please.

And so, General Pash departed for the experimental unit’s base through a newly installed teleportation device in the castle.

The teleportation device is a magic tool that lets you travel between multiple set locations. There’s a mana furnace on the other side too, so they’re testing its operation. It’s actually one of my prouder inventions, though compared to the magical comb, it’s much simpler to make. Oh divine inspiration, bless me with a vision to improve the magical comb! I’m still not satisfied!

Later, General Pash told me that when he arrived alone for the inspection, everyone was visibly disappointed.

“All right, the sweets are waiting for me. Mr. Coote, Helios—stop loafing around and get in the magic circle!”

Helios, with vacant eyes, staggered into the magic circle. Mr. Coote wouldn’t move, so Alicia carried him in.

The magic circle began to glow, our vision darkened for a moment, and then brightened again.

We were already back in my room at the Ostland student dorm.

What do you think about this chapter?