Once again, I found myself waiting in the throne room of Nora's familiar headquarters building.
Before long, Nora returned, grumbling away alongside Her Highness.
"Seriously... to think I'd get interrupted at that exact moment..."
"Krai, welcome back! I won!"
Her Highness came running over without a trace of the fatigue she'd shown earlier.
Had she taken a shower? The exhaustion from before was nowhere to be seen on her face. Her skin was faintly flushed.
"I saw — congratulations! But wow, Your Highness, you've got great athleticism."
At my words, Nora's knights all chimed in with praise.
"As expected of Lady Nora's sister! Not many people can move like that in their very first race!"
"It was a wonderful race. The excitement was incredible! Lady Alicia's name will surely be passed down among the citizens of this area!"
"Hmph... If it hadn't been for that accident, my victory was a certainty."
Nora said with genuine bitterness, and an advisor hesitantly spoke up.
"But Lady Nora, if I may be so bold — accidents are part of racing. One could even say they add to the thrill."
"Oh, oh — I know that without you telling me! Alicia!"
Nora called out to Her Highness.
Looking carefully at her expression, she spoke while still pulling a sour face.
"For a first time, that was a magnificent run. As expected of my, Nora Code's, sister. The spirit of a ruler resides in a ruler's body. Continue to refine your skills going forward."
"Y-yes! Big Sister Nora! Thank you so much for your guidance!"
Her Highness beamed with a blossoming smile as she expressed her gratitude, and Nora looked uncomfortable.
"Hmph... Fine. It's not as though I went easy enough to say I threw the race. Be proud that you defeated me. Besides, if I'm not running ahead, you wouldn't know which way to go."
It seemed that in my absence, Her Highness had grown quite close to Nora. I didn't know the circumstances that led to them racing each other, but they looked like they were having fun, and that was good enough.
If we could successfully extract them from the Code and get them outside safely, there'd be more opportunities to meet. The closer the sisters were, the better.
Then, Her Highness flashed a radiant smile and spoke up.
"So... Big Sister Nora. About that promise we made —"
"!! Krai, you — you succeeded in winning over Void, right!? If you failed, there'll be hell to pay!"
Nora suddenly whipped her face away from Her Highness and barked at me at full volume.
"Ah — yeah, the release application went through. You saw me racing with Krahi just now, right? His name is Kuubi. Kind of a weird name, huh?"
"So it really didn't work out! It was a difficult request, I'll admit, but since you failed, the penalty is — wait, what?"
Nora froze with a strained expression, staring me down. With her looking at me like that, I felt like she might bore a hole through me.
Wait — there was a penalty? That was close. I had no idea what it was, but I owed Kuubi my thanks. He'd raced Krahi and then wandered off somewhere.
"...You agreed? To cooperate? More importantly, how did you even have a conversation with him!?"
Well, you see... somehow when I called out to him, he answered, and he agreed to cooperate without me even having to negotiate much. In the end, it passed the city system's review, so there shouldn't be any problem.
"That's why I told you — I said Krai could do it! Because Krai is a magician!"
"I can't use magic. I just did what I could."
Her Highness's trust in me was way too thick!
I'd struck a hardboiled pose, puffing out my chest proudly, but I had absolutely no idea why things kept working out in my favor.
"So, Big Sister Nora! About that promise from earlier —"
"Promise...?"
Seeing that I was clueless about the situation, one of Nora's knights explained.
"Before the race, Lady Nora declared to Lady Alicia that if she lost, she would grant any one wish."
...What on earth possessed her to make that promise?
So that's what Nora had been trying to gloss over. She'd clearly never intended to lose. Her own subordinates had exposed her, and as they say — the mouth is the source of disaster.
"Now that you mention it, she made a promise with me too. If I freed Kuubi, what was it again..."
"!! That's right... Lady Nora, going back on your word would damage your reputation."
"Guh... grr... What is so fun about being particular about what you call me!?"
Well, it wasn't like I really cared anymore... She didn't seem to be calling me by any other name. Despite appearances, I did have a sister of my own, and I just had certain feelings about how that sort of thing should work.
But even though I said it was fine, those around me apparently didn't see it that way.
Nora was getting overwhelmed by the intensity of the knights around her pushing for the cute nickname "Little Alicia" — and just then, Krahi and Kuubi, who'd been missing, finally returned.
"I give up, this guy's a sore loser..."
"Get off me. It's because you kept running nonstop!"
Two supreme-class magicians walked in bickering with each other. When Nora caught sight of Kuubi, her drained expression turned sharp and serious.
"Krai, so the negotiation really did succeed. Kuubi... I've seen your face in the prison records, you know?"
"Mm... So you're the 'current master' of Thousand Transformations, huh?"
Kuubi crossed his arms and looked Nora up and down with rude, appraising eyes.
"Well, it doesn't matter who it is. As long as they can kill that Swordtail, I'll cooperate however much you need."
"Swordtail — that woman who brought you here, is she... Very well. That woman has attached herself to Angus. Our goals appear to be aligned. I doubt that Angus ever imagined his sealed designation would land in my camp."
Kuubi and Nora locked eyes and glared at each other. They could stand to live a little more轻松— And then, Her Highness — who'd been squeezing her eyes shut — shoved herself right between them. Looking at the startled Nora and Kuubi, she puffed out her cheeks.
"Wait — just wait! Krai's master isn't Big Sister Nora! Krai's master is me! If anyone has business with Krai, talk to me first!"
"!? What are you saying, Alicia!? True, Krai is your bodyguard, but that doesn't mean — right now this isn't about—"
I'm a stray Krai who belongs to no one. If I had to pick one person as my master... it'd probably be Eva.
If anyone wants to be my master, they can start by putting in as much effort as Eva has, then come talk to me.
Kuubi furrowed his brows and looked at Her Highness.
"In that case, do you have the power to make it worth my while to cooperate with you?"
"Big... Big Sister Nora said that if it were me, I could have become queen!"
"...I said you'd be better than Angus. But unfortunately, you have no power. Rest assured, Alicia. Once I claim the throne, I'll set you free. No — I'll grant you the rank of a great noble as my sister. Class 7. How's that?"
...No, my mission here is to protect you Code-wielding people and get you out of here?
As I stood there confused by the strange conversation Nora and the others had launched into, Her Highness grabbed my arm and shouted.
"Krai is my bodyguard! The Thunder Emperor, Kuubi — Krai found them both! So he's mine!"
When Alicia suddenly started making this incomprehensible demand, Nora spoke with an exasperated look.
"Fine, fine, Alicia. You're right about that. So, once I ascend to the throne, I'll hand Krai over to you. How about that? Stop being so selfish."
"Mm... mm..."
Still not satisfied, Her Highness let out a whimper and looked at me and Nora with tearful eyes. I had no idea what was going on, but it was a real headache.
Then, Her Highness's eyes flew open, and she cried out as though struck by a brilliant idea.
"That's it, Big Sister Nora! The wish I won from the race just now — give me the throne!