When I returned safely from Princess Nora's place to Ohime-sama's building, the first thing that met my eyes was Ohime-sama stuffing her cheeks with the chocolate bars she'd claimed were all gone—outside of snack time, no less.
For a moment, I couldn't process what I was seeing. To think that I, the one who was always on the receiving end of exasperation, would now be exasperated at Ohime-sama—she really was something else, as expected of royalty. She'd already been caught red-handed, so there was no point in trying to hide it now...
I sighed and spoke to Ohime-sama, who was trying to conceal the chocolate bar behind the chocolate smeared around her mouth.
"Ohime-sama, you... Actually, never mind."
"Th-this is... mine!"
Ohime-sama stepped away from the door and declared in a small but forceful voice.
I hadn't intended to scold her for hiding the chocolate bar. In fact, I didn't particularly care whether I could get any more chocolate bars or not.
They sold them all over the place once we were back in the Imperial Capital, and while I loved chocolate, I wasn't a chocolate addict—going a month without it wouldn't kill me. The reason I'd gone out of my way to ask Princess Nora about chocolate was for Ohime-sama's sake—and by extension, to make it easier to protect her. Being bored was part of it too, but that was beside the point.
Besides, even if I confiscated the chocolate bars from Ohime-sama now, there was little point in bringing them to Princess Nora. I'd already gotten the information I wanted.
Seriously, what had gotten into me this time? Finding the thing I was looking for all on my own... I was so capable it scared me.
"Ohime-sama, I found out how to make chocolate bars. Nora told me, but... apparently the King might be able to make them."
"Hweh!?"
Ohime-sama's eyes went wide as she stared intently at my face, blinking rapidly.
Even Ohime-sama hadn't thought of that solution, apparently. As I nodded with satisfaction, Ohime-sama timidly asked, "S-so... what am I supposed to do?"
"Huh? Ask the King, of course. You can contact him, right?"
In hindsight, we should've asked the King from the start. In this city, the King held the most power. The only issue was the information our client had brought—that the King was being held prisoner by the nobles. But with Princess Nora's example, it was worth a try.
Ohime-sama took a sharp breath and said in a strained voice, "I... I can't ask something like that of the great Code King, who bears such a heavy mission and responsibility..."
That was rich, considering she'd already contacted the King once to get chocolate bars delivered.
"Well, I can hold out without chocolate, so it's fine."
"Kuh... So Kurai would trouble the King for his own selfish desires?"
I mean, I understood what she was saying. Even I couldn't ask the King for a personal favor. Even someone like Gaark would be a tough ask, let alone the King.
But this particular case was a bit different. I crossed my arms and sighed.
"I get what you're saying, but when you call him the King, he's still your father, right? When it's your father, you ask for things when you need to."
Not that I ever had anything to ask my own father for... but then again, I had a very capable little sister in front of me!
When in trouble, help each other out. That's what family and friends were for, right?
Ohime-sama had been frowning with worry, but after a moment of silence, she let out a relieved breath and said, "I... I asked him, but he said no. As expected, that's not the King's job."
I see, I see...
"That's because you asked the wrong way."
"Huh...?"
"When you want something, you have to do a proper dogeza. Otherwise, even things that should be easy to get won't be granted."
Not to brag, but I'd performed countless dogeza before furious clients over the years. I was confident my skills were top-tier. There was even a chance that Mana Material was being absorbed through my dogeza (nonsensical).
My two-name had been selling too well lately, so I'd been doing fewer dogeza, but my skills hadn't rusted. Ohime-sama had seen the samples I'd shown Olivia, so she understood that.
I'd even done a dogeza for Princess Nora—today really was a day fated to be connected to dogeza.
Ohime-sama's body trembled as she asked, "!? I-I have to do that weird pose?"
"Dogeza is the pinnacle of apology. By deliberately showing a humiliating posture, you demonstrate your sincerity. There is nothing in this world that can't be resolved with a dogeza. Here, give it a try!"
"............"
Ohime-sama took a deep breath as if steeled with resolve, then slowly knelt on the floor. She extended both hands forward with deliberate care. As expected of someone who did gymnastics daily—her core stability was solid.
But there was still embarrassment in her movements. The key to dogeza was throwing yourself into it without hesitation. If you didn't commit all at once, you might lose your balance.
I clapped my hands and raised my voice, encouraging Ohime-sama as she performed a dogeza worth about fifty-five points.
"Come on, straighten your back and fix your posture! Your arm angle is off! I used to practice a lot too—try doing ten in a row!"
§ § § She knelt, lowering her head until it touched the floor. After a beat, Ohime-sama squeezed out a desperate voice.
"Please. Make chocolate for me. I'm begging you."
"Mm, not bad—you've got good instincts. Way more talent than Olivia. All right, let's try the real thing."
Ohime-sama was surprisingly teachable for a princess. And she had a good memory. The dogeza technique she'd shown was something most ordinary people couldn't achieve, and I nodded with deep satisfaction.
There was something inexplicably noble about Ohime-sama prostrating herself on the floor, the back of her head exposed. That was a strength unique to her—one I could never replicate.
With a dogeza like this, even the Code King—who must have seen countless prostrations throughout his reign—would surely be convinced.
At my words, Ohime-sama swayed as she rose to her feet. Her eyes gleamed like jewels. Beads of sweat glistened on her fair skin. She looked at me and quietly asked, "Will this... really work?"
"It'll work, it'll work. Not to brag, but I basically climbed to Level 8 on dogeza alone."
"Level... 8...?"
It really wasn't something to brag about. But if I may say so, the dogeza I'd used to smooth things over weren't just for my own mistakes.
Back in the day, I'd secretly dogeza'd my way out of problems that Luke and Liz had caused too. Those were the days.
Ohime-sama asked in a hoarse voice, "...What if it doesn't work?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, just dogeza. Just dogeza."
"...This is for the chocolate, for the chocolate..."
She murmured to herself like a mantra, then took a deep breath.
Ohime-sama was clearly nervous. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hands and feet trembled slightly. She'd been confined in this room the whole time—she probably rarely had the chance to challenge anything.
Before my warm, watchful gaze, Ohime-sama's trembling suddenly stopped.
Her eyes locked on a single point—staring into empty air.
It seemed she was the type who performed better under pressure. The nervousness was gone.
Ohime-sama's clear, resolute voice reached even me.
"I'm begging you, great Code King—please make chocolate for me. I'm pleading with you."
Her knees buckled, and with a supple motion, Ohime-sama knelt. Her spine was perfectly straight. Calmly, maintaining a beautiful posture, she lowered her head deeply.
I was rendered speechless by the sheer artistry of the dogeza. That quiet, measured movement contained both respect and remorse toward the King.
The practice dogeza had been beautiful too, but this one was on another level. It was a dogeza with everything on the line, a do-or-die prostration—a score of one hundred twenty out of a hundred!
The ultimate dogeza, a transcendent dogeza. Ohime-sama was a genius of dogeza. The Dogeza Princess. Before I knew it, tears were welling up in my eyes at that magnificent sight.
Ohime-sama had completely surpassed me. So this was how a master felt watching their student spread their wings.
For some reason, gratitude flooded my entire chest.
And then, with her head still lowered deeply, Ohime-sama spoke without lifting it.
"...I-it... didn't work..."
"...Huh?"
Have you no heart, Code King?! To refuse a request after being shown such a magnificent dogeza—!
I couldn't believe what I'd heard and asked again.
"...Were you not watching properly or something?"
Ohime-sama raised her head and staggered to her feet.
Her face was bright red, and tears glistened in her eyes. She threw herself against the door and screamed as if in protest.
"I—was—watching! I'm absolutely certain! I can tell! What now!? You said it'd be totally fine, Kurai! Take responsibility!!"
This was the first time Ohime-sama had shown this much emotion. Her intensity made me instinctively step back.
"D-don't panic like that... Maybe there was some mistake..."
"The one who messed up was you, Kurai!! Not the chocolate!!"
"Y-yeah, you're right. But that's strange... Dogeza is supposed to be invincible."
Could it be that the Code King was bad with dogeza? This was a first.
Ohime-sama hugged her knees and glared up at me resentfully. I really did feel responsible. I needed to come up with an alternative.
In fact, I already knew a strategy to replace the dogeza. The problem was that I didn't know much about it in detail.
But since the dogeza hadn't worked, there was no other option. I would've preferred not to do this, but— I furrowed my brow and spoke to Ohime-sama, who was still looking up at me, waiting for words.
"There's actually—another way to get the Code King to listen to your request."
"!? Y-you haven't given up yet? I'm not looking for another way to ask the King—I want to know how to get chocolate some other way..."
That wouldn't do. If we changed course now, Ohime-sama's dogeza would've been for nothing.
Besides, chocolate existed in abundance in the world outside the Code—couldn't she just wait a little longer? ...Never mind, that ship had sailed.
I looked Ohime-sama straight in the eyes and said with genuine apology, "You throw a tantrum."
"A... tantrum?"
"A really ugly, won't-take-no-for-an-answer kind of tantrum. Sorry it's not befitting of a princess."
A tantrum.
It was a tactic little Liz had used frequently back when she was still a child, whenever she wanted to get her way.
When Liz threw a real tantrum, even I, even Anthem, even Luke had no choice but to raise the white flag. She'd carry on under Citry and Rusia's dumbfounded stares without a shred of shame—her tantrums had been truly invincible back then, and even Liz's parents had been at their wits' end. Granted, the period during which Liz acted like that wasn't all that long, but nowadays, including Liz herself, nobody ever brought it up—it was a bit of a taboo.
In that sense, the current Liz, who at worst would just get genuinely angry, had matured into a fine older sister. Good girl, Liz.
The problem was that I knew absolutely nothing about the fundamentals of tantrums. Unlike dogeza, I couldn't explain to Ohime-sama through words alone what gestures to make or what lines to deliver.
That required more raw emotion and energy than technique.
Ohime-sama wore a puzzled expression, as if she didn't understand what I was saying.
Could someone who'd executed such an elegant dogeza really pull off a tantrum convincing enough to move the Code King...? If only Liz were here, she could've taught her—but even then, she probably couldn't— Ohime-sama blinked and tilted her head.
"Who am I... supposed to throw a tantrum at?"
This was tough... I wanted to show her an example in person, but I couldn't very well put on a half-baked tantrum imitation when I didn't even know what a real one looked like... Was there no good solution?
I glanced around but found nothing useful. Rather than doing a half-hearted tantrum, should I just keep pushing with the dogeza? Or should I bet on Ohime-sama's potential?
As I wavered, the door opened and Rusha, who'd gone chasing after Kurahi in a panic earlier, returned. She ran over to us, calling out in a sugary voice.
"The real deal, found him! Big brother, I found him! Cool was saying—is it true that this is all going according to plan?"
"...I've been waiting for you, Teacher."
"Hweh?? Huh? T-teacher?"
Rusha's eyes went round and she tilted her head with an adorable little gesture.