"......S-So, does that mean... you're going to attach 'super adorable' to mine too?"
"Of course I am. I do it every time."
"I-I-I could never do that!! What do you think of me?! What do you think of the spare?!"
Nora's face turned bright red, her lips trembling as she screamed. I pointed it out with a hardboiled grin.
"It's not 'the spare' — it's 'the super adorable Arisha.' No wait, let's make it 'the super adorable little sister Arisha.'"
"!? What exactly do you intend by humiliating me like that?!"
Well, I didn't really intend anything by it... A nickname's not that big a deal, is it?
What on earth was she upset about?
"You're the princess's big sister, Nora. You need to hold yourself up to the position of an older sister. It's simple, right? You become Sister Nora."
"Wh— What did you say!?"
"Nora! Please, pull yourself together—"
The guards rushed over to Nora, whose face was so red it was practically steaming.
......All I'd wanted was a normal nickname, and the "super adorable Arisha" thing was only half-serious, but the atmosphere had reached a point where I couldn't really say it was a joke.
Nora was shaking with what might have been anger or embarrassment as the guards swarmed around her. They were all tall, handsome, lean-muscled men. Maybe Nora's type, actually.
The blue-haired handsome knight spoke to Nora.
"Nora! That man's words are absolutely inexcusable!"
"I don't need to be told that! Completely inexcusable!"
"However... the power of the 'Thunder Emperor' is a necessity. Please, contain your anger for now—"
"Wh-What!?"
Something was starting. In front of my wide eyes, the knights and Nora launched into a debate.
"All you have to do is change the form of address, Nora! I, Bemel, humbly have a younger sister myself. As a brother, I believe I can help you become Sister Nora!"
"What are you saying, Lord Bemel! A brother and a sister are entirely different matters. Nora, I have both an older and a younger sister. If you'll permit my presumption, I'm certain I can guide you into becoming a truly splendid big sister."
"I have neither sister nor brother, but I do have an ideal. Nora, I believe that the ideal older sister is the key to the great path that the magnificent Nora strives for."
"Leave it to me!"
"This is a moment of endurance! For the sake of the throne!"
"Go along with that man's plan!"
"Show Princess Arisha what a true big sister looks like!"
"「Nora!!」"
Nora's eyes were open as wide as they could go, trembling from head to toe as she stared at me.
No... this isn't my fault, is it?
Nora herself had chosen them for the knight order. I hadn't instigated anything. What had I touched a nerve on...?
Zaza and the others, who had admired the knight order, and the two children, were all dumbfounded by the knights' sudden about-face to agree with me.
Then, as if unable to tolerate the clamoring mob of knights each shouting their own thing, Nora let out a high-pitched scream.
"Uuugh, SHUT UUUUUP!"
"!?"
The knights took a step back from the fury, which — while lacking much of the dignity she'd had before — was still terrifying enough. Nora glared at me like she was staring at her parents' killer and shouted.
"V-Very well, Klye Andrich! I shall become a splendid big sister, or whatever it takes!"
She was about halfway to giving up, wasn't she, Nora? In my experience, nothing good ever comes from giving up.
"But if you're going to demand that much, the Thunder Emperor alone won't be enough! You will go in my stead to the prison's lowest level and subdue a sealed-class prisoner!"
"A sealed... class...?"
I blinked at the unfamiliar term. Nora crossed her arms and grinned with smug satisfaction.
"A criminal so dangerous that outside organizations brought him here! Too valuable to dispose of, so he was locked away in the prison — a monster who surpasses even the Thunder Emperor, a special ability user who can neutralize even the city's systems! Angus couldn't even manage it! Terrifying, isn't it?!"
"A-Yes."
Given that she dealt with nothing but criminals, it figures that this city's personnel were all terrible people.
"That man is impervious to everything. Right before being captured, he apparently cast some kind of magic on himself. Hmph... The organization that lost control of him brought him to the Code, but they still haven't found a way to deal with him. If you can break through that sealed-class ability and succeed in subduing him, I'll accept your proposal to become a splendid big sister!"
"Surely not, Nora! That condition is impossible to achieve!"
"Please reconsider, Nora! That man is a four-point threat!"
"Shtooouuup! You're the ones who need to come to your senses! Are you even my knight order?! And you — how about it, Klye?! Are you up for it?!"
Well, if it's just testing the waters, I don't mind... But no matter how safely he's locked in a prison, I don't want to try something that dangerous alone. I'd need to bring Kurahi.
"Does it have to be right now? I'd like to bring Kurahi along."
"Obviously! Go right now! I'll arrange a spider for you! Right now, do you hear?!"
Nora was shouting so loud her voice was cracking. Her character seemed to have changed somehow.
It was almost nighttime... Wouldn't the prison be closed after hours? I wanted to go home already, but it didn't seem like I could.
I was about halfway to resignation when Nora's body went rigid. All the expression drained from her face and her eyes opened as wide as they could go. It was as though she'd seen a monster.
The knights snapped into alert at the unusual state of their mistress.
And then Nora looked at me and spoke in a trembling voice.
"You should... just go home... for today, Klye."
"Huh? But you just told me to go right now—"
"That's off! Go right now, at top speed, and disappear from my sight! This is... an order!"
Good grief, Nora really was fickle. First she tells me to subdue someone, then she tells me to scram.
Well, I wasn't exactly opposed to leaving... But I was genuinely tired today. Five days of sleeping and somehow I was still exhausted. All I wanted was to go home and pass out.
"Alright, I'm heading out. I'll come by again soon. With Kurahi."
"......Don't come for a while. Take it easy and rest."
What was with her now? The emotional swings were so violent they were scary.
I glanced back repeatedly as I hurried out of Nora's audience hall.
--- I climbed into the spider I'd left parked in front of the building and gave it instructions to head toward the princess's tower.
The spider leaped between buildings through Code's brightly-lit streets, even at night. Large spiders really were better than small ones after all... They moved on their own, so I could even sleep inside.
But what had gotten into Nora? She'd done a complete about-face midway through... Maybe I should bring her a get-well-soon gift next time.
The interior of the large spider was too spacious for one person, but that meant I could stretch out and lie down comfortably.
With almost no vibration, I closed my eyes inside the spider — and that's when I realized I'd forgotten something important.
"I forgot to bring a souvenir for the princess!"
Going off on personal business — tourism and Treasure Weapon hunting — for days on end and coming back without a single souvenir was unforgivable.
Incidentally, I was also the princess's guard, and this time I'd even been assigned mechanical-armed guards for the trip.
I thought the princess and I had a pretty good relationship, but even between close acquaintances, basic courtesy mattered.
I slapped the spider, stopping it mid-leap. Outside was pitch dark.
"A souvenir... I can't go back without picking up a souvenir somewhere."
There hadn't been any shops, and I hadn't managed to get any Treasure Weapons either.
Well, it wasn't like I'd gotten nothing at all. At Tony's place I'd received a small spider (which had since broken), and from Nora's place, I'd arranged for supplements and reinforced gear for Zaza and the others to be shipped to the base. But practical items like that didn't really cut it as souvenirs.
"......Alright, I'll skip going home tonight and stay somewhere."
Tomorrow, I'd go to Nora's or Tony's place and see if there was anything I could get.
The moment I made that decision, a jolt shook my brain.
'Quit fooling around! Go home immediately!' "...Huh?"
When I came to, I was standing alone in a white void. A familiar voice descended from above.
'Do you understand that I went out of my way to make arrangements specifically so you could go home?!' "Ah... um... that is... Your Majesty! (Self-proclaimed)!"
This was my second time in this space. Forgetful as I was, even I didn't forget something that had happened twice in such a short span.
Lusha had mentioned it, but this was actual teleportation, huh...
'Hey! Don't tell me you've forgotten my name!' "C-Come on, calm down. First, tell me what's going on. What do you mean, you made arrangements?"
I'm not great with names, you know...
The Code King was silent for a while, then clicked his tongue audibly and continued.
'I held back from pursuing you even when you invaded my domain! I ordered that Nora woman to release you immediately instead of having you run off to the prison like an idiot! And yet you talk about staying somewhere overnight?! Don't be ridiculous!' This self-proclaimed king was emotionally unstable too, huh. Now that I'd been working as a Hunter, I was really getting a feel for how volatile people's emotions could be.
"...Your Majesty, were you perhaps monitoring me?"
'I-I'm not doing it because I want to!!' Somehow I felt I was being scolded more harshly than last time we talked. What on earth had I done? All I'd said was I wanted to find a souvenir before heading home.
And for that matter, why was this king in such a rush to send me home?
I had no idea why I'd been summoned so suddenly. The king spoke in a voice like he was forcing something down.
'...Just go home. Now.' "...Excuse me?"
'Go home! You're Arisha's guard, aren't you?!' The unexpected words made my eyes widen.
The king fired another reprimand at me as I blinked.
'Do you have no pride as a guard?! Five entire days off! Honestly!' Well... that was a fair point, and I didn't really have a rebuttal about the pride thing.
Then again, disappearing for days hadn't exactly been part of my plan either.
The king continued as though explaining something to a child.
'Listen. No detours — head straight back. Once you return, everything will be clear. Understood? All you need to do is obey without asking questions.' "Ah, yes..."
I folded immediately under the pressure. Well, a souvenir wasn't strictly necessary... If anyone complained, I'd blame the king.
'I'm busy! I can't just be watching over Arisha all the time! Don't cause me trouble! Go home! Got it?!' As if to drive the point home one final time, he said it again — and then a violent wave of dizziness struck me. When I came to, I was back inside the spider.
Honestly, calling me out of nowhere without even giving a reason — what a pain.
He'd said everything would become clear, but if something had happened, he could just handle it himself.
I sighed and gave the spider instructions to head back to the base.