Several days had passed since I was summoned to another world. I was slowly settling into life at the Ducal House of Albert, and it wasn't just me—I was starting to see smiles on the faces of Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san as well.
Of course, there was still plenty I didn't understand about this world, but thanks to Lilia-san’s hospitality, I’d had enough time over the past few days to properly organize my thoughts. Then there was Kuro. She still appeared every night and remained a total mystery, but she showed absolutely no sign of wanting to harm me. In fact, she was easier to talk to than even Lilia-san.
Since it was common for Humankind to spend the first three days of the New Year at home, we hadn't even stepped outside. Aside from the presence of one very strange little Demon girl, things had been perfectly peaceful... though, as the saying goes back in my beloved hometown, it was merely the calm before the storm.
"...An invitation, you say?"
It was the afternoon of our fourth day. We were relaxing and chatting over tea and cookies when Lunamaria-san appeared, holding a luxurious envelope. She announced that it was an invitation to a party being held the following day.
"Yes. It is for the evening gala at the Royal Palace. Since this is the year of the Hero Festival, it will be a grand affair that also serves as an official introduction for the Hero. Normally, these arrive much earlier, but since we had to arrange invitations for all of you as well, it took a bit more time."
"Wait, us too?" Kusunoki-san asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
I understood the feeling. If someone suddenly told you that you were expected at a Royal Palace gala, "surprised" would be an understatement.
"Yes. Since Mitsunaga-sama will be visiting various countries after this, I thought you and Hina-san would appreciate a chance to speak with him before he leaves."
"Ah, that’s right. Since Seigi is the Hero, he has to go around greeting people in different cities and countries. I wonder if he'll be okay?"
From what I’d gathered, Kusunoki-san was a second-year, while Yuzuki-san and Mitsunaga-kun were first-years and fellow club members. Dammit, I knew it—school clubs really were the shortcut to a fulfilling social life. I should have joined one in high school instead of spending all my time on online games. Then again, I didn't join any circles in university either, so maybe the games weren't the problem.
Anyway, setting aside my history of loneliness... it was true that this would be the best time for them to have a long talk with Mitsunaga-kun. Both girls had been worried about him, so Lilia-san had really come through with her thoughtfulness.
As I was thinking that, Lilia-san pulled an expensive-looking letter from the large envelope and skimmed it. Her smile remained fixed, but a prominent vein throbbed on her forehead.
"...Luna. Is this everything from the Royal Palace?"
"Y-Yes, my lady."
"...Perhaps my eyesight is failing me. Would you mind reading this for a moment?"
Something was wrong. Lilia-san was smiling, but her eyes were completely dead. It was actually terrifying.
"By your leave, then... The opening is just standard formal text, so I’ll skip ahead. Let's see... 'Furthermore, we have enclosed two invitations for Kusunoki Aoi-sama and Yuzuki Hina-sama, who hail from the same hometown as the Hero, Mitsunaga Seigi-sama...' Eh?"
"...Hmm?"
Wait. That was weird. If my ears were working correctly, I was pretty sure Lunamaria-san hadn't mentioned my name.
"...Luna. I am certain I contacted the Palace to request invitations for 'three' guests, did I not?"
"Yes, my lady. Without question."
"...What do you make of this?"
"...I suspect His Majesty the King’s old habits have surfaced again."
"...Is there time to request a correction?"
"...It would be... difficult."
Lilia-san’s voice was flat, as if she had forcibly smothered all emotion. Lunamaria-san, on the other hand, was breaking into a cold sweat.
His Majesty the King... if I recalled, Lunamaria-san had mentioned he was Lilia-san’s older brother and a severe siscon. The King’s "old habits"... Ah. I see.
A heavy silence descended upon the room. After a moment, Lilia-san stood up and left. When she returned a few minutes later, she was clutching a sword in one hand. She bowed deeply to me.
"Kaito-san, please accept my sincerest apologies. It appears that due to a mistake on our part, we were unable to secure an invitation for you..."
"Oh, no, it’s really fine. I’ve barely met Mitsunaga-kun, so it’s not like we have much to discuss anyway."
"I am truly sorry. I’m afraid you will have to stay and watch the house, but in exchange—I shall bring back that idiot King’s head as a souvenir."
"—Wait, what?"
"My lady! My lady, your eyes are terrifying!"
"...That moronic brother of mine, honestly... My patience has finally reached its limit..."
"My lady, please calm down! He may be an idiot when it comes to you, but he’s still the King! He’s actually quite competent in any other matter!"
"Let go of me, Luna! As his sister, it is my duty to see that his misconduct is met with appropriate discipline!"
"Just put the sword down first!"
So that was the gist of it. Lilia-san had tried to arrange for all three of us to attend, but the siscon King—who hated the idea of any man being near her—had only sent invitations for Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san, intentionally leaving me out. He probably didn't even like the fact that I was living in her mansion to begin with, though Lilia-san likely kept him from interfering directly.
And now Lilia-san, who had clearly been dealing with this behavior for years, had finally snapped. It was the first time I'd seen her truly angry, and it was horrifying. Just what kind of stuff had the King pulled in the past?
Lunamaria-san spent the next thirty minutes desperately trying to soothe her mistress and prevent a regicide. It took that long before Lilia-san finally calmed down.
After a bath, I headed back to my room. I felt more exhausted than usual. Personally, I didn't care about the gala; if anything, I was glad to avoid such a stuffy, formal event. But for Lilia-san, who was determined to treat the three of us as equals, it wasn't something she could just let go. She apologized to me over and over again, and I had to work quite hard to convince her I wasn't upset.
She was just fundamentally a very earnest person. That quality made her seem less like a typical noble, but it also made me happy to know she cared about us that much. Meeting her first after arriving in this world really was a stroke of incredible luck. I hoped I could repay her someday.
"Ah, welcome back!"
"..."
When I opened my door, I found Kuro sprawled on my sofa, munching on baby castella. She had stopped trying to surprise me with her arrivals and had moved on to simply waiting for me. I’ll say it again because it’s important: this was someone else’s house. But I decided to keep my mouth shut.
Humans are adaptable creatures. I had apparently grown used to her god-like ability to appear anywhere at any time. I let out a long sigh, accepted the cup of tea she offered, and popped a piece of baby castella into my mouth.
"Hmm? You look a bit worn out today."
"Yeah, well, it’s nothing major..."
Kuro was as sharp as ever. I gave her a brief summary of what had happened. She nodded along, listening quietly until I finished.
"I see. So, because of that King, you can't go to the party, Kaito-kun."
"Roughly speaking, yeah."
"Alright! Then I’ll head to the Palace right now, beat the King half to death, and bring him back here so you can make him write an invitation!"
"No! Wait! There is nothing 'alright' about that!"
I hurriedly stopped her. She had announced her plan with the same casual tone Lilia-san had used earlier, but with Kuro, the sense of reality was on a different level. She could probably actually do it. She broke into a Duke’s mansion every single day without being detected, and despite her looks, she was apparently a very high-ranking Demon.
Please, spare me from a kidnapping and a royal assault. I didn't want to become an enemy of the state.
"Hmm? Don't you want to go to the party, Kaito-kun?"
"Not really. I’d actually prefer to skip something that stiff and bothersome. I mean, I'm a little curious about the fancy food, but that’s about it."
"Hmm. I was thinking of going if you were... but if not, I guess I'll pass too. Oh, I just had a great idea!"
"...What is it now?"
She had been muttering something to herself—was she invited too? Well, whatever. The more pressing concern was whatever ridiculous scheme she had just concocted.
"Let’s have a BBQ tomorrow, just the two of us!"
"...Huh?"
"Since you don't like stiff parties, we'll just do it with me and my family! There’s a spot in the south of the Kingdom with a great view. We'll do it there!"
"Hmm..."
Her sudden proposals were a daily occurrence, but this one didn't sound half bad. In fact, it was way more appealing than a palace gala. All the food at Lilia-san’s was high-end stuff; I was actually craving something like grilled skewers. Plus, hanging out with Kuro was always tiring but fun. However, there was a glaring issue.
"It sounds like fun, but... I can't just tell Lilia-san I'm going out for dinner without explaining who you are. She wouldn't be okay with that."
That was the problem. Kuro didn't seem to want people to know about her—she only ever showed up when I was alone, and she was technically breaking in by bypassing a Detection Barrier. Because of that, I’d kept her a secret from Lilia-san. But if I wanted to go out alone for a BBQ, I’d have to explain myself.
Lilia-san truly cared about us, and I felt guilty enough about the secret already. I didn't want to go behind her back.
"Oh, don't worry about that! I’ll ask an acquaintance of mine to send over a formal invitation for a dinner party."
"Will Lilia-san accept that?"
"It should be fine. She's a girl who's very well-trusted by Humankind."
"Well... if Lilia-san is okay with it, then I'd like to go."
"Really?! Yay! Okay, I’m going to go tell everyone!"
"Wait! Hey—!"
Kuro vanished with a brilliant smile before I could finish. Well, seeing her that happy made it hard to say no, and I didn't exactly feel bad about it. But... what was it? The mention of her "family" and "everyone" left me with a lingering sense of dread. For now, I decided to just let things happen.
The next morning, just as we finished breakfast, Lunamaria-san burst into the dining room, her face as white as a sheet.
"M-M-My lady?!"
"What is it? Why are you in such a panic?"
"A-A-An invitation from the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company! For Miyama-sama! Signed by the Chairman herself!"
"...What?"
Lilia-san’s eyes went wide, and she froze in place. The Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company? What was that?
"Is it... not a prank?"
"The envelope is made of Black Magic Sheep Paper and sealed with a Platinum Dragon's Whisker!"
"..."
Lilia-san had completely turned into a statue.
"Um, excuse me. I'm a bit lost. What exactly is the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company?" I asked.
"...It is the single largest trading company dealing in magic tools. Their capital is said to easily exceed that of most major nations. They are a global powerhouse; people say that half of the magic tools in existence were manufactured by them."
Lunamaria-san’s voice was trembling as she answered. So, basically, it was a world-class mega-corporation with the largest market share on the planet? Wait, what? Why were they contacting me?
Lilia-san glanced toward me, so I gestured for her to check it. With shaking hands, she took the envelope from Lunamaria-san. After a few moments, she put her head in her hands.
"...It’s genuine. It’s Chairman Sei Libelstar’s own handwriting, and it even has her gold seal..."
"...The materials used for this invitation alone could buy a house in the best district of the Royal Capital..."
"Uh... what does it say?"
I understood that something insane had been sent by someone even more insane, but I had no idea how it had happened. Panicking slightly, I prompted Lilia-san to read it.
"...'Dear Miyama Kaito-sama. Please accept my apologies for the sudden nature of this invitation. At the same time, I hope you will forgive my bluntness in omitting formal greetings to get straight to the point. We have decided to hold a small dinner party at our company this evening. If it is convenient, I would be honored if you would attend. I will send a messenger to the Ducal House of Albert this evening to receive your answer. Furthermore, I have a message for you from a friend, which I shall include here: "Kaito-kun, I’ll be waiting!" Once again, I apologize for the short notice, but I hope you will consider our request. Sincerely, Sei Libelstar'..."
"..."
It was her! That little Demon girl! What on earth was she thinking?! She said she'd ask an "acquaintance" for an invitation, and then this shows up? Lilia-san and Lunamaria-san were staring at me like I’d grown a second head. How was I supposed to explain this?
Dear Mother, Father—I was snubbed from the Royal Palace gala. But in its place... an invitation arrived from a truly ridiculous place.