The highly mobile fortress city Code. It is said that this city originally began as nothing more than a single tower.
Activated by the hands of the first Code King, the city system used that tower as its center to birth countless buildings, roads, and land—constructing a city that mimicked an advanced physical civilization.
Now Code had spread out in complex, bewildering patterns, with countless people living within it, but the core still resided in that very tower—the King's Tower.
Class 9. The tower directly managed only by the king who ruled Code was far taller than any other building in the city, and even the king's own children were forbidden from entering its grounds without authorization.
Inside this city, there was nothing the king of Code could not do. The city system was part of the king's own body. Every soldier the city produced was the king's servant; every weapon was the king's sword. The residents merely borrowed that power.
For Code's citizens, that place was, in a sense, the domain where God resided.
The temple where the god who commanded Code quietly yet with undeniable power held court.
There had been those who once worked in that tower, but with each passing year, one after another dropped away, and now no one visited.
The King's Tower, where no one entered anymore. On its uppermost floor, in the throne room, the current Code King—Cross Code—narrowed his eyes and murmured.
"...You're honing yourselves well. Kill each other to your hearts' content, my children."
The space was almost entirely empty—vast and bare.
The only thing installed was a simple, unadorned armchair—the throne. High above, countless iridescent panels stretched across the ceiling, casting a mysterious glow.
There was nothing around him. Yet, seated on the throne, every detail of the city burned vividly in the king's mind.
The five children who each controlled their own territories. What they were thinking, what they were plotting, and what they intended to do once they became king.
Angus Code—the firstborn, who had set a trap for the Explorer's Guild, lured in powerful soldiers, and now aimed to conquer the world, a feat even the first king who became Code King had never achieved.
Nora Code—the second-born, a princess brimming with talent who, despite lacking Angus's ambitions for world conquest, was amassing soldiers for her own selfish desires and to keep the throne from falling into Angus's hands.
Tony Code—the third-born, a smooth-talker favored above all by the nobles, who rode the coattails of their factions in his bid for the throne.
Morris Code—the fourth-born, meek and already defeated, thinking only of how to survive, yet harboring secret hopes at the bottom of his heart that he might still seize the throne if fortune smiled upon him.
Zachary Code—the fifth-born, cursed by the disadvantage of being born into the position of the fifth child, tormented by inferiority and frustration, aiming for the throne purely as an outlet for his emotions.
Whether advantageous or disadvantageous, whether their ambitions burned hot or cold, every last one of Cross's children was gunning for his successor's seat.
No—Cross had deliberately manipulated everything to make it so.
In order to place the strongest possible king at Code's summit.
The first king, Cross's father, had been lucky enough to find the King's Scepter in the Treasure Hall and successfully activate the city system of an advanced physical civilization. With his companions, he built the city, leveled the surrounding nations, and became the king of a city feared by all—and there, he had done nothing more and stopped.
The first king's achievements were truly great. The people of the nations who had submitted to Code, which at that point had only a king and a handful of companions, were incorporated as citizens, and Code was given the outward form of a city.
Though opposed by the world, he solved the incessant problems that arose with the king's power. That must have been an enormous burden for a man who had merely been a Red Hunter.
After his father's passing, Cross Code had ascended to the throne by nothing more than chance.
Cross had many siblings who were more talented than he was. It was simply that circumstances favored Cross.
The first royal succession. Until the very moment their father died, no one knew how the next king would be chosen. A traitor emerged, and the Explorer's Guild launched an assault.
Amid the chaos, the one who stood at the top of the King's Tower first was himself—the lowest-ranked among the Class 8s at the time. That was all there was to it.
The Hunters who infiltrated had come to take Cross's life. Among the citizens, voices rose in opposition to Cross's succession. Some shouted for a more capable king, and among his siblings, some believed the throne should be handed over to another.
Cross purged all those foolish rebels who drew the bow against the king without ever stepping a single foot from the throne room.
What the first king and Cross had in common was that they had ascended to the throne not through ability, but through luck.
The father who snuck into the Treasure Hall and used the King's Scepter had not been the most capable member of his Red Hunter party. Cross went without saying.
The royal authority of Code was powerful, but ultimately, it was humans who wielded it. To lead Code and become king of the world, one needed to be a king truly worthy of the title.
And so, a hundred years had finally passed, and the preparations were at last complete to welcome a true king into Code.
Cross Code's body had reached its limits. Even with the medical technology that Code boasted, he would not last much longer. No—perhaps he could extend his life if he chose his methods—but enough was enough.
He had worked long enough. The few peculiar friends who had supported Cross's plan right after his coronation had all already departed on their final journey of old age.
With the king's death, Cross's plan would be realized. He would never see who the next king would be, but whoever it was, a great change was sure to come to Code.
The moment Cross perished, everything he had bound by his own authority would be released. The restrictions he had placed on the princes and princesses—limiting the sibling battle to the death—would also vanish.
Most of his children would probably die. As long as Code's royal authority remained absolute and singular, there was no helping it.
Despite being on the brink of death, Cross's body still functioned well enough. The city supported the king so that he could move freely right up to the moment of death.
Was there anything else he had left undone? Just as that thought crossed his mind, a communication reached Cross without warning.
It had truly been ages since anyone had contacted him directly.
Cross was the king. Only a limited number of people could contact the king directly. The basic operations of the city were handled by the city system, and Class 8s held sufficient authority to manage the city's functions.
He had strictly ordered those around him not to send unnecessary messages. There was no need for royal interference in the succession battle Cross had orchestrated.
What could the message be? Only the royal family and a very select few high-ranking nobles could reach the king. If the content was trivial, he would need to reaffirm his authority once more.
Frowning, Cross checked the communication—and at the name of the sender listed there, his eyes went wide.
Alisha Code. The sixth in the line of succession.
"...The spare... I'd forgotten about her."
Alisha was a princess in a special position.
A daughter created as a backup—in case, heaven forbid, the heir to the throne perished—at the behest of the high-ranking nobles' entreaties.
Normally, he would have rejected such a troublesome petition, but he had created her as a test of the city system's power.
She was undoubtedly Cross's daughter, carrying his genes. But Alisha had no mother.
If one had to say, Alisha's mother could be called Code itself.
Alisha was a daughter the city had produced using Cross's genetic information as a template.
The technology to create new human beings from another person's genes was certainly impressive, and she had indeed inherited the right of succession—but that was all.
The city's regulations restricted that technology. Even using it once required multiple orders directly from Cross. It was not something to be used repeatedly, nor was there any reason to.
The Alisha he had created was given only minimal authority and locked away in some random building until she became necessary. After that, Cross had paid her no particular attention.
Alisha had never once contacted him before.
He checked the content she had sent and was perplexed.
"...You want to eat a pitch-black snack? What is this?"
He didn't understand the meaning. Was it some kind of code? A pitch-black snack—what on earth could that be?
Alisha's role was simply to exist and live there.
If the content was trivial, he would ignore it or impose some kind of sanction, but Alisha's very first request was so utterly incomprehensible that he couldn't dismiss it out of hand.
Resigned, he accessed the city system and used the king's authority to pull up visual records. All information within Code's city—past and present—was stored without omission.
And so, the footage of Alisha's room, which he had glimpsed only a handful of times before, began to flow through the king's mind.
§ § § With Class 3 permissions, even a plain corridor could be used like a room.
Code's beds were the best. The surface was smooth to the touch, yet when you lay down, it was inexplicably comfortable, and deep sleep came swiftly.
Waking up was also more pleasant than anything the Imperial Capital could offer. Just as Cool and the others had their health maintained in the prison, the advanced physical civilization's technology ensured comfortable sleep.
The variable furniture had felt strange at first, but it turned out to be quite convenient. Stretching out on the bed, I headed over to Your Highness's door and switched the door's window to transparent.
Your Highness was standing before the door. A warm smile like the sun. I wasn't sure from which day it started, but she had begun standing by the door every morning, and today, Your Highness looked even more cheerful than usual.
I didn't know what had her so happy, but it was far better than that sorrowful look she used to wear. I let out a big yawn and greeted her.
"Good morning, Your Highness. You're in a good mood again today, aren't you?"
"...!!"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Your Highness's eyes went wide. She was usually just smiling sweetly, so this was a strange reaction.
Staring at her, I noticed Your Highness was trembling, little by little. Her cheeks had flushed a faint red, and tears were welling up in her eyes. What was going on?
I haven't done anything... When I blinked in confusion, Your Highness shook her head vigorously from side to side and stepped away from the door. It was time for exercises.
Your Highness's exercises involved large, full-body movements and were surprisingly strenuous. They weren't as intense as Riz and the others' warm-ups, but her athleticism was probably superior to mine—a person who could walk around outside on a regular basis.
Her limbs stretched and bounced with supple grace. But her gaze was fixed on me.
I'm not doing it today... I'm a little sore from muscle strain. Can't keep up.
Come to think of it, hadn't Kaiser and the others been due to contact me by now?
The original plan was to share information at least once a week, even when operating independently. It was rich coming from someone who couldn't even remember the meeting point, but what exactly were Kaiser and the others up to?
I didn't want to interfere, but I'd at least like to know where they were. I'd also asked them to look for Cool and the others while they were at it, but there was no good report.
Kaiser and Saya both seemed like they'd stand out to me.
I absentmindedly opened my terminal. And then my eyes went wide at the reception history displayed there.
...Olivia and the others had been sending me a flood of messages urging me to increase the royal guard detail... I hadn't even looked at any of them. W-well, I had made Cool and the others into guards, and the fact that she hadn't come in person probably meant there was no real problem. Yeah.
Taking a deep breath, I closed the terminal and shifted to what should have been the royal guard's actual job—watching over Your Highness's daily life.
Your Highness was truly in a good mood today. No, she was always in a good mood, but today she seemed to have energy to spare.
Today, I decided to try eating the same thing as Your Highness. For breakfast, I used the system to order a block of food and gave it a try.
Hunters sometimes ate this kind of portable block food, but it was always a last resort. It had nutrition, it preserved well, and it was portable, but it didn't taste good and it sat uncomfortably heavy in your stomach. The only time you used food like this was when you absolutely could not get your hands on anything else.
The block food provided by Code's system seemed to follow the same principle. I didn't know what it was made of, but it was decidedly not delicious.
Your Highness ate these block meals three times a day. That was incredible. I didn't know if she ate them by choice or if she had no freedom to select her food, but— Your Highness watched me start eating the block food and stared blankly. It wasn't bad if you only ate it occasionally. Occasionally. It wasn't so terrible that you literally couldn't eat it...
Maybe it was time I tried to find a way to communicate more thoroughly with Your Highness. We were separated by the door, but we could at least write notes to each other. She might block it, but still...
Even if it worked, I didn't think it would solve the situation of being confined, but it would at least pass the time. I had no Treasure Weapons to polish, and I couldn't go outside—there was far too little to do.
Class 3 let you live comfortably, but not much beyond that. According to Cool and the others, Class 3 was the rank of the extremely average citizens who had originally lived in this city.
Classes 1 and 2 were for newcomers from outside; if you lived in the city long enough or became needed, you could easily rise to Class 3. But going higher than that was apparently quite difficult.
Class 4 was basically reserved for high-ranking positions essential to the city's operation—prison staff, immigration officers, and the like. Class 5 was the ceiling for ordinary citizens; you needed to be a high-ranking noble to change from there. At that level, you could apparently summon a virtual terminal, use flying vehicles instead of spiders, and access more specialized functions of the city system beyond what was needed for basic survival. But I had no intention of staying in this city long-term, and raising my class that high was probably impossible anyway. Still, it was curious.
While I lounged about lost in thought, time crawled by bit by bit. As time passed, Your Highness's tension only climbed higher.
I had the strange feeling that I was being watched. Was there something off about me?
After lunch came the nap, and then snack time. The moment the time arrived, Your Highness planted herself against the door.
"...Today, I think I'll eat the same snack as Your Highness."
I'd done something bad yesterday. Seeing her look at me with such envy did sting a little, even for me.
I didn't mean any harm—I just wanted to spread the gospel of chocolate... Well, it was a little amusing, too.
Starting today, I would be good and eat the same snack as Your Highness.
Using the system, I ordered a block-shaped snack. Compared to the food blocks, this was a strangely soft snack.
Your Highness's expression, which had been beaming, changed to one of utter shock. I didn't know what was wrong, but the contrast was staggering.
I put the clay-like snack in my mouth. A faint sweetness spread across my tongue. Hmm—it wasn't as bad as I'd expected, but I still wouldn't eat it by choice.
As I savored this treat from an advanced physical civilization, I suddenly heard what sounded like a phantom voice.
*"Wh...y?"* "Well... I figured it'd be mean to give you false hope when I can't send it anyway. You don't want a snack?"
Your Highness's expression changed again. For some reason, she looked a little bashful, smiling shyly.
With her cheeks flushed, a black screen floated into the air before my eyes.
It was the virtual terminal that Olivia had used, hovering in midair. The menu moved on its own, opening an email screen. At the very top, a message from Alisha Code gleamed.
And the sender's name was still glowing. What on earth...?
I couldn't help but look toward Your Highness, who was expressing her joy with her whole body. She was nodding vigorously.
Come to think of it, Your Highness shouldn't have been able to send emails in the first place— "You... weren't actually cut off, were you?"
The words escaped me before I could stop them. Your Highness blushed and moved her lips deliberately, clearly enunciating.
"Block... removal... granted... me."
I rubbed my ear. That was strange... This door was supposed to block sound, yet I could hear Your Highness's voice. It was faint, but I could definitely hear it. Probably an auditory hallucination.
Still, something had clearly changed with Your Highness.
Yesterday, she probably hadn't had the authority to send emails. If she had, she would have sent one long ago.
I opened the email. The message was a single line. Just one sentence: *"The pitch-black snack."* ...You were that interested in a chocolate bar?
Wait, it was just a regular store-bought item. Being expected to deliver something like that was almost embarrassing. I should have ordered a chocolate parfait instead.
If the blockade had been lifted, did that mean I could now send her chocolate bars?
The very instant I pulled a chocolate bar from the Space-Time Bag, a sound suddenly came from behind me.
I turned around, and Olivia was just stepping out of the transit room. Her expression was severe.
Olivia marched toward me with loud footsteps, glared at me, and spoke.
"Klye, you're fired. I ordered you to gather royal guards, didn't I!?"
"!? ...I gathered five."
"I said to gather twenty-seven! And I know perfectly well—you didn't take a single action to recruit guards starting from your second day, despite all my reminders!"
Olivia's words dripped with irritation. I had my reasons for not acting, but what she was saying was so reasonable that I couldn't muster a single word in protest.
Olivia sighed and continued.
"Perhaps it was difficult for you, but this is rebellion. This is open rebellion. Being incompetent is one thing, but can't even a prohibition function properly?—No, I'll grant you a hundred steps and say incompetence is one thing, but laziness is a real problem."
Her tirade left me speechless.
That was harsh. Or perhaps it was a fair evaluation now that the veneer of Level 8 had been stripped away.
"And... it appears you've been gathering information about the criminal that Princess Nora has her eye on. Snatching intelligence right out of Princess Nora's hands—while I wouldn't say it's impossible—"
There, Olivia took a deep breath and said.
"Fortunately, I was able to find someone at the last moment who had just barely earned entry into Code. They and a few others will handle the remaining guard replacements. Authority change: Klye Andrich—Class 1."
The card in my pocket grew hot, and the table and chair it had projected retracted into the floor. When I pulled out the card, the three stars on it had been reduced to one. The authority had been revoked, so the furniture disappeared.
Olivia averted her gaze from me—I was too stunned to speak—and turned to Your Highness, who was watching with wide eyes.
"Your Highness, please cancel this man's royal guard registration. He was unfit for the role. In a proper world, he'd be thrown into the prison. Be grateful for the mercy. The prison isn't infinite, you know."
To think I'd been dismissed for incompetence after originally being hired for incompetence... Well, it wasn't really a problem, but what now?
Could I still stay here even without being a guard? Or was that off the table too?
As I furrowed my brow, Your Highness, who had been wearing a thoughtful expression behind the door, looked at Olivia and spoke in her usual bright voice.
"No."
Olivia's eyes went round for an instant—then, as if grasping the situation, her expression shifted. She took a step back and shouted at Your Highness, who wore a pure smile.
"!? !??? N-no? Wait, how is—Your Highness's voice—"
Before the bewildered Olivia, Your Highness kept her smile and looked at me.
"R-re...classification. Klye Andrich. Class 6."
"Oh."
"!?"
The card grew hot again, its color shifting. From black to silver—the number of stars didn't change, but they merged into a single large golden star. So this was the mark of Class 6.
All the color had drained from Olivia's face. She looked back and forth between me, now Class 6, and Your Highness, whose blockade had been lifted.
"This is... what did you...—Your Highness. This is a problem. I will report this to the Code King immediately."
No, I didn't do anything... Probably.
Despite Olivia's sharp tone, Your Highness showed no trace of fear.
She simply tilted her head with a look of pure puzzlement.
"??"
"!?"
Olivia's expression twisted violently. As if struck, she tore the card from her chest.
The five stars that had been marked there moments ago had been reduced to one. Olivia raised her face, trembling from head to toe.
"This—this is—what is the meaning of—"
"?? You still don't understand?"
"...Tch."
Olivia fled, her footsteps quick and hurried. Your Highness watched her go with a bewildered expression, but quickly turned to me with a gaze full of expectation.
Ah, right. The chocolate bar...
I activated the matter-transfer function. Previously, even when I'd tried to target Your Highness, nothing had happened, but this time the intake port opened without a hitch.
Did she really go through all of that just to get a chocolate bar delivered to her...? Bemused, I tossed the chocolate bar inside.
Merry Christmas! ( ´ー｀)