Once the chaos of the attack had subsided, the scheduled tea party with Princess Cattleya and the others was, unfortunately, canceled.
It was probably for the best. I heard this was the first time anyone had made such a bold attempt on the Hero-role Party’s lives, so they needed to reorganize their security and reassess the situation.
Well, that was the official reason. In reality, Princess Cattleya simply refused to listen to reason and insisted on taking Mitsunaga-kun to a doctor. Even though Mitsunaga-kun kept insisting he was fine, it turned out that Cattleya was just as much of a worrywart as Lilia-san. She ended up forcibly dragging him away, claiming he needed to be examined just in case.
Between her usual strict demeanor and her current panic, it was clear that Cattleya truly cared for Mitsunaga-kun. Seeing her so flustered was actually quite heartwarming.
At any rate, that should have been the end of the incident... but unfortunately, I soon found myself facing an even more troublesome situation.
"N-No, like I said... I don't have a scratch on me, so p-please calm down!?"
"...The fool... who bullied Kaito... I’ll kill them."
"No, no, the attacker has already been taken into custody! Isis-san!? For now, just please, calm down..."
"...I’ll freeze them... shatter them... until not a single scrap of their flesh... remains in this world."
"..."
Yes, standing right in front of me was a completely livid Isis-san, a vein throbbing on her forehead.
The mana she was radiating was terrifying, and her death mana was surging with such ferocity that everyone in the vicinity had fled. The area looked like a ghost town.
If it had just been Isis-san at her worst, maybe things wouldn't have been quite this disastrous, but...
"You can't do that, Isis. Killing them so easily is too kind. We should make it so they can't even faint from the pain and then slowly 'annihilate' them, starting from their fingertips."
"You need to calm down too, Kuro! I'm fine, really!!"
"...As expected... of Kuromueina."
"Isis-san!? There is absolutely nothing 'as expected' about that!"
To make matters worse, Kuro was there too.
She was also clearly furious. Black mist was pouring from her body, and the sheer pressure of her mana was causing cracks to spiderweb across the ground.
The two of them had appeared with overwhelming bloodlust the moment Cattleya and Mitsunaga-kun left, demanding to know where the attacker was. It seemed they had completely abandoned their duties for the Six Kings Festival to rush here. I could only imagine that Lilliwood-san was clutching her head in frustration right about now.
A-Anyway, putting that aside... why was I the one desperately trying to protect the assassin? I knew the answer, of course. Alice’s involvement was already overkill, but if these two joined the fray, I couldn't help but feel a shred of pity for the culprit, no matter what he'd done.
More importantly, if they stayed this angry, they might accidentally erase the entire city along with the attacker. I had to stop them at all costs.
"...A-Alice! Help me out here!"
"Not a chance... If I try to stop them now, I’ll just become their next target."
"If that’s what it takes to settle them down, then go ahead and take one for the team."
"Is that really how you treat me!?"
I mean, Alice would probably find a way to escape regardless...
In the end, it took a long time to soothe Kuro and Isis-san. It was truly, truly exhausting, but I finally managed to convince them both to head home.
"Sigh... I’m exhausted."
"Ahaha, good work. That was vintage Kaito-san."
"You... You didn't help one bit, did you?"
"No way, I couldn't. Nobody but you could possibly calm down Kuro-san and Isis-san when they’re that worked up."
"...Sigh."
I let out another heavy sigh as Alice gave me a wry grin. Good grief, I was wiped out.
Still, I knew they were only that angry because they were worried about me. I was genuinely happy about that, but...
"By the way, Kaito-san."
"Yeah?"
"I think I played a pretty major role today, don't you?"
"A-Ah, yeah... I mean, you weren't much help at the end there, but I'm really grateful you protected Princess Cattleya and Mitsunaga-kun."
Alice had abruptly changed the subject, and I gave her a nod of affirmation despite my confusion.
There was no doubt that Alice was the MVP of this incident. She had protected the Princess, the Hero, and even the surrounding escort knights from the explosion. She’d captured the sniper instantly, uncovered the people pulling the strings, and dealt with them as well.
If Alice hadn't been there, Cattleya and Mitsunaga-kun might have been injured—or worse. The attacker might have used the confusion to vanish into the shadows.
I couldn't thank her enough. I was truly glad she was my guard. But why was she bringing this up so suddenly?
"Right? I really worked my tail off. So, on a related note..."
"Yes?"
"It’s getting pretty close to dinner time, isn't it? And I’m starting to get hungry."
"..."
"I was just thinking that a girl who worked as hard as I did deserves a little reward... well, I’m just talking to myself, of course."
"..."
This brat... She was being incredibly roundabout, but she was basically demanding a free meal as payment for her hard work.
Then again, it was true that she’d done a great job. I felt that treating her to dinner as a way of showing my gratitude wasn't such a bad idea.
"...What do you want to eat?"
"Huh!? No way, Kaito-san! Are you offering to treat me!?"
"Stop acting so innocent!"
"Gosh, I feel so bad. I was only doing my job... but since you insist, I know this high-end restaurant that serves incredible fish!"
This fake modesty, followed by immediate shamelessness... that was Alice for you. She even had the nerve to specifically ask for an expensive "high-end" place.
"...Sigh, whatever. Let’s just go."
"Yes! As expected of Kaito-san! You truly are the ideal boss who knows how to reward his subordinates! I think I’m falling for you. I’m even down for an all-nighter tonight."
"I flatly refuse."
"Such a powerful, unwavering 'no'!?"
I let out one last sigh at the hopeless girl, who immediately started teasing the moment I showed her a bit of kindness. As the sun began to set, we started walking toward the restaurant she had mentioned.
"Munch, crunch, gulp... Hey, another serving over here!"
"...Alice. Do you even know the concept of table manners?"
The restaurant Alice led me to was indeed high-end, serving elegant fish dishes that looked like something out of a French course.
And yet, there sat an idiot at my table, stuffing her cheeks like a squirrel and devouring everything as if "manners" were a foreign language. Being seen with her was starting to get embarrassing.
It wasn't like I was an expert on formal dining either, but I could tell at a glance that her behavior was atrocious.
"...Kaito-san, manners are just a crutch for people who can't handle the truth."
"...Huh?"
In true idiot fashion, she started spouting nonsense with a look of supreme confidence.
"Enjoying the food is the greatest respect you can show a chef! Refined eating is just something for people who enjoy being stuffy."
"Don't blame me if the staff kicks you out."
"Oh, it's fine. The owner here is one of my subordinates."
"..."
My head was starting to ache. I’d thought this a thousand times already, but was it really okay for someone like this to be one of the Six Kings?
"Excuse me! I'll have everything on the menu from here to here as an extra order!"
"..."
The idiot didn't have a care in the world, ordering dish after dish as if she were at a cheap tavern.
"...Alice. Do you even know the word 'restraint'?"
"I’m afraid that’s not in my dictionary. Food tastes best when someone else is paying for it—oof!?"
"I’m confiscating this for now."
"Aaaah!? My meuniere!?"
Honestly... she was so reliable when it counted, but her daily behavior was so exhausting that it was hard to keep up. Then again, I suppose that was just typical Alice.
Dear Mother, Father—Alice is as much of a handful as ever. But even while dealing with such an idiot, I find myself feeling relaxed and actually having a good time. I suppose that means I’m quite the eccentric too.