Chapter 197

Reeling in a Princess
“This was the only place that was available...”

Takuto immediately sprang into action. He had already prepared cooking utensils and was looking for a shop. In the royal capital—a fierce battleground for sweets—there was no shortage of baking tools, so acquiring those was relatively easy. The real issue was finding a shop.

The royal capital was a hot zone for confectionery. On top of that, the entire city was undergoing redevelopment. All the good locations were already occupied by other sweet shops. As a result, the best Takuto could manage was to acquire a rundown place near the slums.

Incidentally, the other people from another world were being protected by the kingdom and were resting in inns. The combination of life in the Imperial State and their subsequent fugitive existence had left most of them completely exhausted.

“This is awful.”

“Well, we don’t have any connections or anything, so it can’t be helped. Kazuhito, hurry up and clean.”

Mai and Kazuhito began cleaning the shop. It seemed like someone had cleaned it at some point, but the original condition was just too bad.

However, as soon as they opened, customers started showing up.

“A delicious-looking shop just popped up!”

It was a bunch of children. But Mai and the others looked a bit grim. Pudding uses a lot of eggs, so it’s fairly expensive. By royal capital standards, the price was on the high side. It wasn’t something children could buy on a whim.

“Big bro, three of those, please!”

“You sure about that?”

Kazuhito couldn’t help but worry about the child’s wallet.

“Yeah, we work, so we’ve got money. I mean, isn’t this shop here for us anyway?”

The children were former slum kids and currently workers at the Viceroy Workshop under the Viceroy Merchant Union—meaning they made magic tools. They earned more than many adults. Naturally, their wallets were packed with silver coins.

“This country’s nuts.”

“You’re from outside, huh, Big bro? Then no wonder you didn’t know.

We work at the Princess’s workshop. They pay us pretty well! And hey, this is delicious! Let’s buy some to take home!”

The kids polished off the pudding in no time, bought some to go, and left the shop.

The very next day, a line formed. The children told other children about the pudding, and those kids came to the shop too. Then the Viceroy’s security team got interested and came to buy some as well. The volume was overwhelming, and the pudding sold out almost immediately.

By the third day, the place had already gained fame as a hidden gem in the royal capital. The confectionery capital even had its own specialized papers. A reporter had instantly written an article about the shop.

And then, on the fourth day, Alicetia appeared.

Gilbert’s Point of View
“Damn that Hero...”

Gilbert glared at the report from the special service division. It detailed how Takuto and the others had opened a sweet shop, located near the Viceroy’s Workshop, and had already become popular.

Gilbert had worked hard these past few days. He’d been trying to keep Alicetia, who normally never stayed in one place, from going into the capital.

Ideally, he wanted to bring Alicia over to his side, but for the past few days, she’d been trailing after Alicetia like a baby chick (in spirit), so there had been no chance to discuss Takuto.

It couldn't be helped—Alicetia often acted unpredictably.

“Huff, ooooh! My confectionery sensor has picked up a powerful sweet signal! I must go buy some immediately!”

Alicetia, who had been blazing through paperwork moments before, suddenly stood up.

This is bad, Gilbert thought.

Alicetia’s passion for sweets had developed into a kind of sixth sense. It was highly likely she had sensed the sweets from Takuto’s shop, mentioned in the report Gilbert had just read.

However, Gilbert had a trump card.

“I’m heading into the capital real quick.”

Just as Alicetia tried to leave the office, her nemesis blocked her path.

“Out of the way, Madame Smith.”

“You’re still on duty, Princess.”

He had stationed her nemesis, Madame Smith, specifically for this.

“I already finished the paperwork. I’m going to the capital to buy sweets.”

“Then your next duty is dance and etiquette training.”

Alicetia struck a fighting pose.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I am now someone worthy of being called a mage. Even if you are Madame, if you stand in my way, I shall cut you down upon the path of conquest!”

Her recent victory—well, technically her duplicate’s victory—over a mage from the Magic Kingdom had gone to her head. Normally timid, Alicetia was now like a hamster baring its teeth at a tiger, trying to intimidate Madame Smith.

Naturally, she had only hamster-level presence and it didn’t work on Madame at all.

“Let’s start with re-education on your manner of speech, Your Highness.”

Madam pulled out her specially modified disciplinary whip, originally a riding crop. At the sight of it, Alicetia stepped back. But she rallied herself and tried to conquer her fear.

“Even if, hypothetically, your whip is powerful, it is no match for my beloved firearm!”

Alicetia drew her cherished handgun from her holster to assert her dominance, but Madame swatted it out of her hand with the whip.

Alicetia tearfully stared at her reddening hand, but she didn’t give up. This time, she drew her other gun from the opposite holster.

“I was just caught off guard earlier! I’m sorry!”

Once again, the whip knocked the gun away, and Alicetia’s spirit finally broke.

At that moment, a knock came at the office door. Madame glanced away, and Alicetia darted to the wall and grabbed the sleeping Coote to use as a shield.

“““Um, excuse us, we have more documents for you.”””

The trio of maids arrived with a mountain of paperwork. Naturally, it was additional paperwork Alicetia needed to finish.

“Back to work, Princess.”

“Grrr... So being a mage isn’t enough. I’ll become a Great Mage and seize my freedom!”

Alicetia reluctantly returned to her paperwork.

Still, she kept trying to escape every time Madame let her guard down. Repeatedly.

For example, she’d modified the floorboards under her desk so she could pop them off and escape that way. She was caught just before jumping down.

She tried using a hidden revolving wall—already sealed off.

She attempted to climb out using a rope ladder from the ceiling—caught before she could even start climbing.

In the end, she had to sit on Alicia’s lap and do paperwork there. Unthinkable, but it was the only way to keep her restrained while still allowing her to work. When Madame tried to restrain her, she couldn’t do any work at all. In fact, she cried.

"The sweets... the sweets are waiting..."

"You can have them after work and study, dear."

"They'll be sold out by then!"

Alicetia still hadn't given up.

Then the perfect chance arrived. Additional documents for Gilbert were delivered, and the moment Madame turned around to open the office door, Alicetia pressed a hidden button on her desk.

At that, a rail rose from the floor behind her chair. The chair tilted back, the window opened, and Alicetia and Alicia were launched—chair and all.

"Farewell, Madame~~!"

The chair passed straight through the barrier, deployed a parachute, and descended into the royal capital. Gilbert, dumbfounded at first, came to his senses and called for the knights outside.

"Bring Alice back immediately!"

"At once!"

The knights took off running.

Alicetia’s Point of View

I follow my intuition as I walk. Well, technically, after landing I retrieved the chair and summoned Mr. Coote, so it's actually Mr. Coote walking while I ride.

Honestly, I was the one who made the castle's barrier. I can teleport or pass through it as I please. No one would expect a catapult to be installed in the office. I daresay this level of genius strategy deserves self-praise.

"You’ll be scolded when we get back, you know..."

"I’ll regret it later. That woman doesn’t listen to reason—this is good medicine for her."

"I think she will be *very* angry."

Since I left my favorite handgun behind in the office (it was confiscated), I slid my spare guns into the holsters on both hips. This should be enough to handle any perverts causing trouble in the capital. Obviously, guns are stronger than perverts.

Mr. Coote sniffed around curiously. He seemed interested in the unfamiliar scents.

"By the way, do you even know where this place is?"

"Of course. My sixth sense knows."

One hour later...
I’m not lost. Not at all. I only took a wrong turn because of all the redevelopment in progress.

Finally, I arrived at the store. And then I realized it was just a five-minute walk from the Viceroy Workshop. I wasn’t lost, really. Normally it’s a 20-minute walk from the castle. I wasn’t lost. It’s just that the capital is turning into an unfamiliar city thanks to redevelopment.

"Building a shop in a place like this... bold move."

The slums still weren’t particularly safe. Though redevelopment had improved things quite a bit, setting up a shop this close to the slums took guts.

As I approached the store, I saw there was a bit of a line. My honed instincts weren’t wrong—this store must be selling the sweets that were calling to me.

"It’s the Princess."

"She’s already here...?"

The customers were stirred up by my presence. Well, it always happens.

Somehow, I’d gained a reputation as a sweets critic. Though I can’t be a *real* critic since I don’t use much vocabulary. I only ever say whether it’s delicious or not!

I got in line. It looked like there was no one assigned to guide customers. Probably because they couldn’t afford extra staff. Opening a shop in a place like this, they likely didn’t have much capital.

But that’s fine. If it’s good, customers will come.

After about 30 minutes in line, I could finally see the sign listing the shop’s offerings. There were too many people in front to read it earlier, and the shop didn’t even have a big sign up top.

"Shishido Confectionery... wait, isn’t this Uncle Toshiaki’s shop...?"

"You know this place?" Alicia asked curiously.

Of course I do. It had the same name as the sweet shop run by Takuto’s relatives.

They ran it as a family of five. Customers came from outside the prefecture, and the media even featured it now and then—it was something of a local landmark.

Their signature item was pudding. It was often my snack in my previous life. And it was *delicious.*

But... should I go in or not? I had a fair amount of interaction with Uncle Toshiaki in my past life. I visited the shop often, so he would probably recognize me.

I thought about my current face—compared to how I looked in my past life. There wasn’t that much difference. Change my hair and eye color a bit and it’s only a slight variation. In other words, if Uncle Toshiaki had been isekai’d here too, he might recognize me.

But if it’s anyone other than Uncle Toshiaki, they probably wouldn’t know. I’d hardly spoken to the rest of the family.

"Grnnngh..."

I wavered. I wanted the pudding. I *really* wanted it. I’d like to subscribe in batches of 1,000 if possible. And even if it *is* Uncle Toshiaki, I’m curious about what happened to that world after I was gone.

As I agonized for a few seconds, I noticed the area had gone quiet.

"Hm?"

"Are you not going in?"

Someone behind me asked. It seemed it was my turn, and my hesitation had caught their attention.

"Alright! They say fortune favors the bold—let’s do this!"

"Sigh..."

Dragging a clearly puzzled Alicia along, I stepped into the store. For the pudding.

"Shopkeeper, I desire pudding!"

"Welco... huh!?"

"Hm?"

Inside were two young men and a woman who seemed vaguely familiar.

One looked a bit like Takuto. But Uncle Toshiaki’s kid was on the plumper side, so this must be someone else. Besides, Uncle Toshiaki himself didn’t really resemble Takuto.

One of them was a musclebound brute with a yakuza-like face. No idea who that was.

The last one was a beautiful woman. She even had a mole in the same spot as Mai. She looked just like Mai, but since that girl was a proud member of the Flat-Chest Tribe, this had to be someone else.

The Takuto lookalike had to be different too. I remembered him being only chest-height to me (possibly a false memory or exaggerated in hindsight).

"... Could it be... Iris?"

The Mai-lookalike approached me. I instinctively took a step back. No good. I couldn’t stay calm.

Where *was* this place? People who should be on Earth were here looking completely different. Especially Mai. That chest was *proof* it wasn’t her. I refuse to accept it.

But she called me Iris. Only a handful of people ever used that name. No one in this world should know it.

I don’t know who she is, but she *definitely* knows me from my past life!

"Alicia, buy 300 puddings!"

"Wait, Princess!"

I teleported back to the castle.

It was the only thing I could do.

What do you think about this chapter?