We shoved the Prince back into the palanquin and made our way out of the dungeon.
A Halo now hovered above his head. It even poked through the roof of the palanquin, but that wasn't much of a concern. I no longer felt that overwhelming gaze emanating from inside the carriage; it seemed his Good Looks skill was being suppressed effectively. That was a relief.
Still, it was strange. Before we equipped it, the device had been a solid, mechanical ring I could actually touch. Yet now that it was floating above his head, it clipped right through the walls. It was as if it had become intangible. Well, it was a game; there was no point overthinking the physics. It worked, and that was all that mattered.
"Looks like we can make it through here just like a normal walk, o," Alto remarked.
"Yeah, any monsters spawning around here won't be an issue at all, o. If anything, we’ll be coming back to farm boss Elementalion materials later, dao."
"Oh, I want to come next time too, Penpen-chan-ssu! You have to carry me in the palanquin as well, ssu!"
Reusing the palanquin after returning the Prince? That wasn’t a bad idea.
With that, we successfully escaped the dungeon. I announced our arrival to the Prince.
"Prince—we're outside, so it’s safe to come out now!"
"Hm, I see."
We had taken our time on the return trip, so his voice sounded quite refreshed. Perhaps his Status had even been buffed; the manual had mentioned that the equipment provided certain enhancements.
...Wait. Was it just me, or did his voice sound a bit higher than before?
"Oh, sunlight! The wind of the surface! I have returned!"
"Wait, a girl!?" I blurted out.
"Who the hell are you, o!?" Alto shouted.
"Eh, Prince? Is that you, Prince-ssu?" Penpen asked.
Prince Leonhart had somehow become Princess Leonhart.
"Ah, my apologies," he said. "Regarding my Good Looks skill—it seems I can now utilize its power rather than simply suppressing it, so I decided to test it out."
"But you're a girl!?"
"Only in appearance. I can manifest a feminine chest, but biologically, I remain male."
With those words, the Prince reverted to his original form. He changed back as he spoke, but the image of the princess was already burned into my brain. Now, even in his normal state, he just looked like a beautiful woman dressed in men's clothing.
"I see. So you’re an Otokonoko, o. I am totally down for that, dao!" Alto cheered.
"The Thin Books are going to be amazing-ssu! Prince Uke all the way, ssu!" Penpen squealed.
"Are you two part of The Rot-minded?" I asked. "Well, I suppose diversity is the spice of life."
"Hmph. I am aware that is some sort of slang, but please do not say it so boldly to my face," the Prince huffed. "I would rather not be forced to charge you with lèse-majesté."
Yikes. I shouldn’t have said that directly to him, even if he was an NPC. In the real world, fantasizing about real people counted as Namamono, and that usually led to all sorts of messy drama.
"Anyway, I want a screenshot, so could you turn back into a girl for a second, ssu?" Penpen asked.
"My apologies, but changing my appearance is quite taxing. I must decline."
The Prince shot down Penpen’s request immediately. Don't push him too hard, Penpen.
"It’s okay, Penpen-shi. I already snapped a few, o. I’ll upload them to the Wiki later, dao!" Alto said.
"I knew I could count on you, Alto-shi! The Derivative Works Community is going to have a field day, ssu!"
Wait, did this game even have a Derivative Works Community? Since most major characters were unique to each player's experience, there shouldn't be many common characters for people to obsess over... Ah, I see. That’s exactly why the Prince was such a prime target.
"Setting that aside, this means you can change your appearance whenever you want," I noted. "That should make your Incognito Outings a breeze, right, Prince?"
"To be honest, I have always yearned for that. To travel incognito. My skill always made it impossible to truly hide before..."
"Uh, even with that ring floating over your head, ssu?" Penpen interjected.
"...That is true. Now I have this Halo to contend with."
The Prince reached up, trying to touch the Halo, but his hand simply passed through empty air.
"I cannot see it myself, so I was unsure... Is it that conspicuous? ...Ah. Yes, I see."
Oh? Had he just looked at our heads when he said that?
"O-ho-ho-o! But that Halo is just a Plain Halo compared to ours, o! Loser, loser! Yours is so boring, dao!"
"...I see," the Prince mused. "Then if I take on a feminine form and mingle with all of you, would I actually become less conspicuous?"
"Huh?"
"In the future, I may issue requests for you to escort me on Incognito Outings...!"
So that was his angle! Though, looking at the design of his Halo, he'd probably blend in even better with Mahariku-san's Number Girls.
"I wouldn't mind helping out, ssu," Penpen added. "Provided the pay is right, of course, ssu!"
"If we set up a Home in the Royal Capital, we can be there in an instant," I said.
"Ooh, maybe I should move my Home there too, dao!" Alto added.
It wouldn't be fair if Mahariku-san was the only one who hadn't taken a Royal Family Request yet, so I'd have to introduce her later.
In any case, we had successfully completed the mission. Man, the rewards were fantastic. I’ll be looking forward to your next request, Prince!