This was bad. I went to consult with Eva. Somehow, all of Citry's misdeeds had ended up being blamed on the secret society. I had no idea what to do anymore.
Eva took the fake princess and left the room with brisk, decisive steps. With that serious profile, a petty little Clan Master like me had nothing to say.
The door clicked shut, and Citry, who had been wearing a grim expression until then, puffed out her cheeks.
"I had planned… to make a grand announcement… and negotiate with Zebuldia…"
She wasn't sorry at all. Not at all. What had she been planning to negotiate?
Come to think of it, Liliz had mentioned something before. Citry handles everything smoothly, but… she apparently makes a big blunder from time to time. Liliz had brought up the suspicion that she assisted in a mass jailbreak as an example, and I'd thought she was overthinking it — but maybe it was actually true.
What was I supposed to do about this…?
Citry stared at me with accusatory eyes for a while, but quickly recovered.
"Well, but thinking about it more carefully, this isn't a bad move, you know. The Fox can hardly come out and protest openly…"
Being positive was a good thing, but she was switching gears way too fast. And to call this a good move while I was breaking into a cold sweat… What was I supposed to do!
Eva said she was going to tell the Emperor! But her counterpart was the ruler of a great empire, so it should take a bit more time to get through to him.
I had time. Let me consult with Lucia and Anthem.
Citry, who was usually the most reliable one, lit up and clapped her hands together with her usual gesture.
"That's right! And while we're at it, let's push a few extras on them! If they can't get their hands on them — drop dead!"
"Hey! Who do you think is causing all this trouble for me?!"
"Eek!"
I can speak up when I need to! When I grabbed Citry's shoulders, she must have been caught off guard because her body swayed heavily.
Managing to get myself underneath her in time was almost a stroke of luck. That was when a bottle of vividly colored liquid crossed the edge of my vision.
"Ah…"
Citry let out a dazed voice. The small sound of glass breaking rang out.
And then — the world went haywire.
I felt a storm-like wind. The Barrier Ring I had activated blocked the noise, impact, and heat erupting behind me.
My solid footing crumbled away. I instinctively hugged Citry tight as my vision flipped upside down.
It was fortunate the room had a high ceiling. Whether I fell headfirst or feetfirst, the Barrier Ring was perfect.
I activated the next Barrier Ring the moment we landed and was thrown onto the floor.
In the ceiling — there was a massive hole. It felt like an explosion, but though the edges of the hole were scorched, there was no sign of fire.
An enemy? A natural disaster? As I lay on my back in confusion, Citry whispered from within my arms.
"Ah well…"
"What!? What on earth just happened!? Ehh!?"
"Klye, please calm down. It was just — an Improved Explosion Potion that slipped out."
"!??"
A potion? Oh… right…
Fortunately, the room below seemed to be empty. But the room above — it was half-destroyed… Wasn't that bad?
It was no ordinary impact. Without the Barrier Ring, I would have been dead for sure. But what kind of terrifying potion was Citry carrying around?
"Are you alright?"
"Of course. Klye protected me, so… I'm unharmed!"
If that Klye hadn't been there, the room would never have been destroyed in the first place…
I finally understood the situation and released Citry from my arms, but she wouldn't get off from on top of me. She kept pressing her body close, nuzzling her face against my neck. But I didn't have the energy to push her away.
My heart was about to leap out of my chest. The Barrier Ring protected against attacks, but it didn't make me any stronger.
Watching the debris rain down made me want to throw up. I had intended to scold Citry for her princess impersonation, but like this, I couldn't very well do that.
Then, from the room above, there was a commotion. I heard a door open, and Eva peered down through the hole.
"Wh-what — what happened here!?"
"Um…"
What could I possibly say as an excuse… Eva was used to our members' outrageous behavior, but having the room she was staying in destroyed was surely a different matter.
And so, Citry gave my neck a fleeting brush of her lips, then stood up and declared grandly.
"It's fine, Eva. We're safe. It was just — an attack by the Fox."
Wait! Was I… the Fox!?
Eva paled and gasped. Citry took my hand and helped me up.
My legs were still weak and wobbly, and I ended up leaning on her for support, but strength quickly returned. For better or worse, I was accustomed to accidents. Mentally, I felt like puking, but physically, I was fine.
"No problem. This was — a ranged attack. The culprit has already been terrified by Klye and has likely fled. We need to… make a plan. Contact the Emperor immediately!"
My childhood friend's mental fortitude was insane. She sounded like she'd done this a hundred times.
Hearing the commotion, Sven arrived and poked his face through the hole.
"Ohhh, you sure got messed up good."
"…I'm unharmed. But the floor and furniture aren't as tough as I am…"
I steeled my wavering heart and put on the best hard-boiled act I could manage.
§ "This is… oh, how could this have happened…"
It seemed Eva's skills far exceeded my expectations.
Franz, stripped of the cloth covering and wearing the same Treasure Weapon armor I remembered, groaned with a pale face.
Before I could consult with Lucia and the others, I was promptly brought before Franz.
The location was a grand Zebuldia mansion that Krito apparently owned.
The only silver lining was that the Emperor wasn't there, but a reception room brimming with tense atmosphere was the type of place I hated most. I wanted to go to the bathroom.
But when on earth had she gotten a connection with Franz? I had no clue.
All I could do was murmur in agreement while enduring a dizziness that felt like I might faint.
"Truly, what can we even say…"
"Indeed… the Fox… what a terrifying organization."
Folding her arms in front of me, Citry bluffed away shamelessly. She must have toughened up during her time rubbing elbows with wily alchemists and merchants in the Imperial Capital's alchemy labs. Normally I'd have been glad she was so dependable, but right now I really wished she'd remember her childhood.
The fake princess didn't bat an eye even before the imposing Franz. She stared intently at his well-featured face from close range, making Franz tremble.
"When she first told me, I thought it was some kind of joke — but this must be brought to His Majesty's ears—"
"Furthermore, they were even conducting experiments to extract Mana Material by putting Phantoms through a mixer! I saw it! The anguished screams of Phantoms being ground away, and the liquid Mana Material being extracted!"
"Wh…at!?"
Eva looked at me with a drained face. Franz also looked at me instead of Citry. Somehow, Citry was looking at me too. The one who wanted to say "what!?" was me.
Citry was supposed to have been right nearby, but when on earth had she seen something like that?
As I clenched my fists, Citry stepped forward with tears in her eyes.
"And on top of that, they were trying to create magical creatures by grafting together the good parts of criminals—"
Wait a minute! Stop saying scary things I don't understand!
I placed my hand on Citry's head and stopped her words.
"—Well, that's all beside the point."
"Beside the point?! You yourself were attacked! I checked the site briefly, and the power of that explosion… was far from ordinary."
I had checked the aftermath too, and even to an untrained eye, it was a strange sight. There had been absolutely no excess destruction.
The damage was scorched but strangely smooth, as if something had simply carved it away— "It was likely a high-level anti-Phantom attack that compressed its area to maximize power. If Klye hadn't shielded me, who knows what would have happened to me — damn you, Fox."
If I had just gone along with it knowing nothing, how much easier would that have been.
"…Yeah. But well, being attacked — I'm used to it."
And of course, I was used to making blunders too. For some reason, right now I felt an inexplicable urge to drop to my knees and grovel.
Franz paced back and forth in front of the fake princess with his arms crossed for a while, but eventually stopped in front of me and looked down.
A stern face. His forehead was creased with wrinkles. Franz was apparently there to serve as bodyguard for the Zebuldian Emperor who inspected the Martial Emperor Festival every year, but he was probably in no mood for that.
I'M SO SORRY FOR ALL THE TROUBLE MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND HAS CAUSED!!!
Do whatever you want with me — boil me, burn me, I don't care.
"But… what is the Fox's goal? What exactly is their intention with an imposter of Her Highness the Princess—"
"Eh!? I have to figure that out too? Uh—"
I quickly covered my mouth. Crap — I'd let it slip out loud.
Eva stared, stunned. Franz looked at me for a moment with a dumbfounded expression, which quickly twisted into a scowl.
No no no, I didn't mean it like that. It's just… I'm not great at lying or anything — I was forced into being the leader, and Citry ended up as the negotiator for a reason.
And so, our lying negotiator Citry clapped her hands together a bit harder than usual, drawing attention before I could get chewed out.
"I hear the Zebuldia branch of the Explorer's Guild is also desperately searching for clues about the Fox. Isn't Zebuldia on to something as well? ……is what Klye says."
That last part about "Klye says" — was that really necessary?
Citry looked up at me with sparkling eyes. Was it too much to ask that her eyes look even a little shifty when she was lying?
Franz was silent for a long time at the words so thoroughly coated in lies, but eventually spoke in a low voice.
"…Ugh… Fine. What I'm about to say must not leave this room. Follow me."
"What!? You actually had something!?"
I was surprised. So Citry's words hadn't been entirely off base after all?
Looking at me with eyes wide at the unexpected turn, Franz gazed at me as if staring at the murderer of his own father and spoke.
"…Damn — if I had more authority, I would have had your head… Come. I'll let you help me crush the Fox's conspiracy."