"What? Is there something wrong with what I said?"
Seeing Shiro fall silent again, Priscilla raised an eyebrow.
"Not exactly..."
By Shiro's own definition, Priscilla really could claim that the world was her simp.
However—When it came to how deeply the world itself favored someone, there was still one person above Priscilla.
[Sword Saint] Reinhard van Astrea.
If Priscilla's Sun-related Divine Protection made her nearly omnipotent during the day—Then Reinhard, who carried the fate of the world itself, could receive almost anything he desired at any time, so long as it remained within the limits of what the world could provide.
After thinking about it, Shiro simply told Priscilla exactly that.
However—
"Hah?!"
Priscilla exclaimed in disbelief.
"You actually regard Reinhard as a human?"
"Before meeting him personally, I never knew something could exist in such a distorted manner and form."
"If even he qualifies as human, then nothing in this world could possibly be called a machine."
She made absolutely no effort to conceal her disdain for Reinhard.
Yet even Shiro, who had personally fought Reinhard, had to admit that Priscilla's description was not entirely baseless.
Compared to a human—Reinhard resembled a mechanism created to keep the world functioning properly.
It was not that he lacked emotions.
Rather, when matters of right and wrong were involved, Reinhard separated them far too cleanly.
For example—Imagine a man who had occupied an important position for years.
If something happened to him, the entire Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica would fall into turmoil.
Yet the man himself suffered constantly from illness, living every day in unbearable pain.
Unable to bring himself to commit suicide, he encountered Reinhard and begged the Sword Saint to end his life.
In that situation—Reinhard's first thought would absolutely not be how to grant the man a painless death.
It would be—What would happen to Lugunica if this person died?
One of the defining reasons humans could be called human was their unique intelligence and capacity for thought.
Yet when facing chaotic evil, Reinhard would discard all those complexities and become a machine that existed solely to carry out justice.
That was why Reinhard was a hero.
And why he could only ever be a hero.
"Everyone has their own way of living."
Shiro had no interest in discussing Reinhard any further, so he changed the subject.
"More importantly, what's the deal with this Al you mentioned?"
"Al is someone I personally selected from my territory."
Priscilla had little interest in Reinhard either, so she smoothly followed Shiro's change of topic.
"Compared to those ordinary fools, he is considerably more amusing."
"Can you imagine it?"
"Among a crowd of trembling rabble, only that man dared boast openly before me about how he escaped from Vollachia."
"He even claimed that his homeland lies beyond the Great Fall."
"So naturally, I chose him at a glance to become my attendant."
"I'm flattered to hear such an evaluation, Princess."
A grown man's voice suddenly entered the alley from around the corner.
"But next time, could you tell me before disappearing?"
"Having to guess where you wandered off to without warning is seriously troublesome."
Hearing the voice, Priscilla arrogantly stepped forward.
"You're too slow, Al."
"Sorry, sorry."
"To find you, Princess, I practically checked every trash bin in the royal capital."
"This place was ridiculously hard to locate."
As he spoke, the man Priscilla called Al entered the alley.
With sunlight spilling in from outside, Shiro finally saw his appearance clearly.
The man's clothing was extremely strange.
His head was completely covered by a pitch-black full-face helmet.
Yet below the neck, he wore a cheap cloak and simple linen light armor.
His feet were wrapped in tabi beneath sandal-like footwear.
At his waist hung a finely crafted greatsword.
Most noticeable of all—The left sleeve of his clothing hung completely empty.
The arm that should have been there was gone.
"Are you attempting to blame your own incompetence on me?"
"If I answer 'yes,' Princess will obviously get angry."
"So my answer is 'no.'"
Al scratched the black helmet with his remaining right hand while answering Priscilla.
Then, with the ease of someone who had repeated the motion countless times, he naturally took his place beside her.
"Since the person picking you up has arrived, shall we call it here for today?"
Only after seeing the person Priscilla had been talking about appear did Shiro realize he had spent quite a while in this alley.
Emilia was still waiting for him elsewhere in the royal capital.
Knowing her personality—If she went too long without hearing from him, she might genuinely come looking for him herself.
They would meet again once the Royal Selection began anyway.
For now, leaving some impression on Priscilla was enough.
"Hey, bro."
"At a time like this, asking Princess that question probably isn't the smartest idea."
"With her personality—"
Al stopped halfway through.
Priscilla's gaze instantly silenced him.
"Sorry, Princess."
"Never mind."
Only then did Priscilla withdraw the murderous look in her eyes.
Under Al's confused gaze, she addressed Shiro, who was already preparing to leave.
"I am in an excellent mood right now."
"As a reward, you may use that sword whenever you wish."
"Even if you say that, I'm still not joining your camp."
"That is irrelevant."
"My will is the will of the world."
"Anything I desire will eventually be presented to me by the world itself."
"Alright..."
"I'll remember this favor."
Shiro gave her a small nod.
"Anyway... thanks."
After thanking Priscilla, Shiro turned around.
The next instant—He disappeared from the alley.
"Princess."
"You seem to think rather highly of that guy."
After Shiro left, Al looked curiously toward Priscilla.
This was the first time he had ever seen her treat a complete stranger she had only just met with anything resembling friendliness.
"In terms of amusement alone, that man ranks among the most interesting people I have ever encountered."
Brilliant delight shone within Priscilla's scarlet phoenix-like eyes.
"I have a feeling that he will create some very entertaining events in the future."
Her high heels clicked against the alley stones as she ignored the thugs still collapsed on the ground and walked toward the exit.
"That guy?"
Al blinked.
"If you still haven't realized that I never even learned his name, prepare yourself for even worse treatment from now on."
"It's just that I didn't expect Princess to make a decision like that."
Al shrugged helplessly and followed behind her.
"Casually giving someone you didn't even know until today permission to use the Yang Sword..."
"I guess all I can say is—"
"That really is something only Princess would do."
…