Chapter 88

It's the third day of the school festival.

The climax is finally here.

Today's attendance is the highest ever, and it's not an exaggeration to say that the school festival is a success.

I thought our security would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of people, but thanks to the knights sent by Lord Claus and the graduates dispatched by Kuris-senpai, the festival is proceeding safely.

After all, Her Royal Highness is visiting today, and any mishap would be disastrous.

I've heard that it's very rare for a member of the royal family to visit the school. While they may visit for political reasons, this is the first time a royal has come as a parent.

And it's very dangerous for Her Royal Highness to visit a school that's currently so open and accessible to anyone.

(As long as there are countries in the world, conflicts will never cease. If the Kingdom of Aldia were an island nation like Japan, such worries might be less. But, there's someone else who's giving me a headache right now.)

As you might guess, it's Emilia.

If that mischievous princess causes a commotion during Her Royal Highness's visit, it will be a huge problem.

(Damn, if only I had apprehended her yesterday...)

I was slumped in my chair at the security headquarters, the command post. I had instructed the guards to stop anyone entering the school grounds with their face hidden. So far, there have been no hits. If that's the case, she probably came down from the sky unnoticed.

I've told everyone to be on guard for the sky, but I know I'm asking too much. They're not fools; they won't show up so boldly.

The time of Her Royal Highness's visit is drawing near. I want to resolve this issue as soon as possible, as long as Emilia doesn't make a mistake...

"Area C-2, it's the Witch Princess. She's come down boldly from the sky."

(No way...)

I lifted my head, which had been hanging, in response to the unexpected report from the communication officer.

"Security personnel, do not touch her. Just keep an eye on her. I'll handle this before Her Royal Highness arrives!"

I made my decision and stood up from my chair.

"Yes, ma'am."

The communication officer responded to my words and relayed the instructions to the on-site personnel. I turned to Tütte.

"I'm going out, Tütte. Prepare for combat."

"Yes, ma'am."

Tütte bowed and ran ahead to one of the old school building's rooms. I followed her, walking gracefully. No matter who it is, I won't show any mercy to Emilia. I'll apprehend her before Her Royal Highness arrives and give her a good spanking. After all, even if she's a demon, she's still a demon, and they are more skilled in magic than humans. I'll wear full armor as an excuse in case she resists and something happens.

"Target is moving to Area E-4."

As Safina's communication magic reached me, I finished putting on my armor.

"Understood."

I responded via communication magic and stepped outside, the sound of my armor clanking. I looked up at the sky, thinking it would be faster to fly than to run.

(Everyone is so engrossed in the school festival that they won't notice me flying.)

"Be careful, Miss."

"I'm going, Tütte."

I said to Tütte and turned my body toward the target area.

"Armored Lady, launching!"

It's a shame there's no catapult, but I jumped with all my might. As expected, my body soared high into the air.

(Thank goodness I wore armor. I got carried away and flew higher than I expected. If I were in my usual state, what would people say?)

"Levitation."

I activated the floating magic, hovered in the air, and looked around. As expected, no one else was in the air except me. I looked at the target area and confirmed a person in a cloak pushing through the crowd with a skip.

Her ease reminded me of the humiliation I suffered yesterday, and my body heated up.

"I've got you now, you mischievous princess!"

I shouted and rapidly descended toward the target. With my arms crossed in front of my chest and my legs together, it looked like I was about to deliver a dropkick.

"Huh? What? Above!"

Reacting to the word "princess," the cloaked person stopped, looked around, and then looked up at me. Thanks to that, I could see her face. It was Emilia, no doubt.

"What, no way!"

Emilia must have seen me, fully armored and crossing my arms, falling toward her. My shoe soles were about to hit her face. Or rather, they did hit her face.

"Ugh!"

With a cute sound, I landed on something soft, clearly not the ground. I ended up sweating profusely in my bold stance.

(No way. I thought she would dodge, but why is she frozen?)

I had reactivated the floating magic just before landing, thinking she would dodge. Now, I'm floating on the face of the cloaked person. It wasn't very heavy, but the impact must have been significant. Moreover, standing on someone's face with my arms crossed is a bad image.

Everyone around us was staring at us with their mouths open, dumbfounded.

(Ah, this is really bad, isn't it? I forgot myself in the humiliation of yesterday, but I ended up giving a face kick to a princess of a country. Ah, right, this is an accident. I accidentally bumped into the princess when I was trying to land. Sorry, hehehe♪ Yes, that's the way to go.)

Using the floating magic, I slid horizontally and landed on the ground. At the same time, Emilia quickly regained her composure. The momentum caused her hood to flip up, revealing her face.

Her hair was a gradient from orange to pink, with two horns, bright red eyes, and fangs visible in her mouth. Her nose was red, and... oh, a little bit of nosebleed, Princess.

(If people see those horns and realize she's a demon, it could be very bad. I need to get her to hide her face.)

I looked around worriedly, and the guests, who were initially surprised, started to interpret the situation in a way that was convenient for me. "Ah, this is a performance," "They're acting as a knight and a demon," and so on. Indeed, during the school festival, students often dress up for various reasons. We seemed to be included in that category.

With the problem resolved, I sighed in relief and looked at Emilia, who was still frozen. Her face was pale.

"A..."

"Huh?"

Finally, Emilia started to move, trembling fingers pointing at me. I repeated the words she muttered.

"The White Demon of Aldiaaaa!"

It was a scream.

"Um, well..."

"Kyaaaaaaa! I'm going to be eaten!"

As I took a step closer, Emilia, in a way that was far from princess-like, screamed and ran away.

"Hey, wait!"

If I let her escape after coming to capture her, it would be all for nothing. Fortunately, no one pointed out my footwork, so I decided to let it slide.

(Come to think of it, she called the Silver Knight the White Demon. But what does 'eaten' mean?)

While mentally pointing out the inconsistency, I chased after the fleeing Emilia.

"Is it true that naughty children will be eaten by the White Demon? No, I don't want to be eaten!"

(Hahaha... The Silver Knight is apparently used as a scary figure to discipline naughty children in the demon kingdom.)

While running and fleeing, Emilia shouted this, and I followed her with a dry laugh.

Occasionally looking back, Emilia was teary-eyed, and the arrogant attitude she had earlier was nowhere to be seen. A bit of mischief crept into my heart, and I closed the distance with her in one go, whispering in a low voice.

"I'm going to bite you."

"Kyaaaaaaa! Accelerate Boost!"

In a panic, Emilia used an acceleration spell to escape from me.

"Don't come near me! Flame Rain!"

With Emilia's words, several small fireballs appeared in front of her and rained down on me. I realized something as I tried to dodge them.

(If I dodge, I might hit the people around me or set fire to the stalls. I'll take them all. White mineral power, full throttle!)

I sent magic power to my armor, which began to glow faintly white. I continued to run without dodging, and the fireballs hit me and disappeared. Thanks to the armor's durability and my nullification skill.

"Ha ha ha! Useless, useless, useless, useless!"

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

As I laughed and charged through the magic, Emilia abandoned all her princess-like demeanor and fled.

(You're so afraid of the White Demon...)

I chased after Emilia, who was jumping, running, and using magic to deter me, without flinching. Yes, it's scary.

However, time was running out. I needed to capture her soon, as Her Royal Highness would arrive, and I needed to go and welcome her. I couldn't keep chasing her for long.

Finally, Emilia spread her wings and ascended.

"Here, I'll turn everything to ashes!"

Ascending, Emilia, in a panic, glared down and raised her hands high.

"Fifth-class magic!"

A large magic circle appeared at the tips of Emilia's raised arms. I jumped up to her height and stopped using floating magic.

(Huh? She mentioned a class, but I didn't hear it clearly?)

"Burn everything! Vermilion Nova!"

With a downward swing of her hand, a giant, crimson fireball was launched at me. Unaware of the true terror of Emilia's magic, I continued to play along.

"God's Blow!"

With a light heart, I punched the fireball.

And the fireball, touched by my weak punch, exploded beautifully. Thanks to my nullification skill...

"Why, whyyyyyy!"

Perhaps because it was too unreasonable, Emilia protested to me.

"Hehehe, God's Blow is a divine technique that absolutely crushes anything."

Such a skill or magic doesn't exist in this world, but I ended up saying something on a child's level. There's no way she would accept it...

"God's Blow... such a terrifying technique..."

(Ah, she believed it.)

"But this time, I'll turn everything to ashes."

"What will you turn to ashes?"

Just as Emilia was about to do something more, someone stood behind her without a sound, even in the air.

"Wha, kyaaaaaaa!"

Startled, Emilia turned around and let out a strange sound.

"Really, this child is too mischievous."

The one holding Emilia in an iron grip with a cool expression was none other than Her Royal Highness, Iliasha.

"Your Highness!"

I hurriedly knelt in the air.

"I've heard from Magilka. Thank you for your hard work, Mary."

"N-no, I'm sorry I couldn't welcome you. The train was delayed..."

Suddenly seeing Her Royal Highness, I panicked and blurted out an excuse I had heard somewhere, even though I had never experienced it.

"Hehe, let's not talk too much here. Let's go down."

"Let go, Iliasha. My head, my head..."

"Be still."

While still in an iron grip, Emilia struggled to get away from Her Royal Highness. Then, Her Royal Highness, still smiling, tightened her grip.

"Kyaaaaaaa! My brain, my head, it's being crushed!"

Her Royal Highness descended, and I followed.

By the time we reached the ground, Emilia was limp, still floating in an iron grip.

"Put a hat and a maid's uniform on this child. I'll bring her as my maid for now."

"Yes, ma'am."

Her Royal Highness handed the limp Emilia to the maids as if she were a stuffed animal.

(Wow... This is someone you absolutely can't defy...)

I sympathized with Emilia a little and stood there in a daze. Magilka stood beside me.

"Your Highness, welcome to the Artoria School Festival. As a representative of the students, we will guide you."

Magilka bowed beautifully, and I hurriedly followed suit, still in my armor.

"Hehe, my, what a brave guide you are."

Seeing me in my armor, Her Royal Highness chuckled. Realizing I was in armor, I struggled to take off my helmet.

"S-s-sorry. I'll change into something more appropriate right away."

Finally, I managed to take off my helmet, blushing and looking around.

"That's fine. The Silver Knight... it's reassuring to have such a reliable guide. Isn't that right, Claus?"

Squinting, Her Royal Highness smiled and called out to the stern-looking man standing nearby.

"Exactly as you say, Your Highness."

Lord Claus smiled and bowed.

(Huh? Is the fake Silver Knight somehow recognized by the royal family? N-no, I'm overthinking it. Yes, it's just my imagination.)

Unable to keep up with the rapid developments, I ended up moving as instructed.

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