The moment I closed the door, the princess suddenly showed up out of nowhere and grabbed my arm, yanking me down the hall before I could even react.
Refusing this so-called "invitation" wasn't really an option. She was a royal princess, and I'd literally just become her butler. Saying no would probably end very badly for me.
Naoki was saying something as we took off, but whatever it was got lost behind us. Between the rushing air and our footsteps, I couldn't hear a single word.
We kept running until we reached the end of the hallway. There was only one door in the middle of the hallway, which was already weird enough on its own.
Long hallway, a single door. Yeah, I wouldn't trust it.
The princess slammed it shut the second we stepped inside.
The room was completely dark. No lamps, no windows, nothing. Still, my eyes were unusually sharp since then. And I could somewhat make things out.
The place was empty, except for a lone lever on the wall and two swords sitting nearby.
I broke the silence first. "Isn't this kind of fast, Princess? We just met after all."
She shot back immediately. "If that's what you're thinking, forget it. I'm not that kind of girl."
I shrugged. "You never know, Princess. You really don't."
"Whatever."
Suddenly, the ceiling lights flicked on, bathing the room in bright light.
There wasn't even a switch, So how did she...
Before I could finish that thought, the princess walked over, grabbed one of the swords, and tossed the other straight at me. I caught it without thinking.
"My father talks about you a lot," she said.
"So I figured I'd see what you can actually do."
I looked down at the sword, then back at her. Is she asking to fight? But the timing is...
Well, it wouldn't hurt to see what the princess is capable of. Protecting her is probably part of my new job anyway, so this is actually a pretty good chance to test her.
"...sure, let's fight."
She suddenly leapt at me, her sword angled towards the ground. In a single motion, she swung upward, fast and precise, aimed straight at me.
Before the blade could even graze me, I pulled out my gun and aimed it straight at her head.
The princess froze instantly, shock and disbelief written all over her face as she stared down the barrel pointed right between her eyes.
"Never bring a sword to a gunfight, Miss Princess."
"It's Sophia," she snapped. "And I tossed you that sword for a reason."
"A gun's still better than a sword."
She scoffed at my response, then calmly stepped back towards her original position.
"I'm testing your physical ability right now," she said. "So pick up the sword."
"Why, of course, Lady Sophia."
Her eyes twitched when I called her that. Still, I ignored it, tossed my gun aside, picked up the sword from the floor, and took a fighting stance.
I held the sword in a high guard, the tip angled towards the ground, and waited for her move.
This time, she took a different stance. She raised her sword high above her head, the tip aimed straight towards me. Her shoulders steady and calm.
Then she struck. A quick flash of an overhead slash, even faster than her last attack.
I blocked the attack and immediately countered, shifting my stance and swinging in a sideways slash.
Sophia jumped back, the blade missing her by a hair's breadth. Without hesitation, she bent her legs and dashed towards me again.
We exchanged strikes for several more minutes, metal crashing against metal as the sound echoed throughout the room.
Eventually, the princess made a mistake, she raised her sword a little too high while I was still within range.
There was no time to hesitate.
I drove my foot into her abdomen, sending her sliding several meters back.
And apparently, the princess hated losing. So much so in fact that she spotted the gun I'd dropped earlier, rushed towards it, and grabbed it.
Pointing it towards me, not a hint of shame in her emerald eyes.
"Sophia, enough."
The king's shout rang out behind me.
Ignoring the gun aimed towards my head, I turned around and saw the king standing a few steps away from the entrance with Mr. Watanabe and Naoki just outside the room..
"Please accept my apologies for my daughter's behaviour."
"No, Your Majesty. It's completely fine. I'm not hurt at all."
As I spoke, I heard the princess clicking her tongue behind my back. Before whispering. "This isn't over."
Well, I decided to ignore that for now. Apparently, Naoki had been searching for us everywhere, and when he couldn't find us, he tattled to the king what had happened.
"Sophia, you apologise to Saitou as well."
The princess walked over calmly, holding my gun as if she hadn't done anything wrong.
"I'm sorry. Maybe I went a little too far."
"Yes, maybe pointing my own gun at me was a little too far. And also, I won our little fight, right? So where's my reward?" My voice was dipped in sarcasm.
" …That doesn't count."
"Oh, it absolutely does."
"Well, I never said anything about a prize."
"Really? After everything you put me through? You won't even take responsibility."
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you your reward later."
I grabbed my gun from her hands and started preparing to leave, but it seemed Mr. Watanabe had more to say.
"Looks like my apprentice and your daughter have… gotten to know each other."
"Hahaha. Well, that's only right. Your apprentice will be working with us starting tomorrow, after all."
"What?"
The princess looked quite shocked. So she hadn't actually known about the butler arrangement.
"Well, yes. Both Saitou and Naoki will be employed as our butlers, so it's the best choice to get to know them."
***
Naoki and I sat at a round table, a different one from before, probably because rich people have lots of tables.
Mr. Watanabe, the king, the princess, and nine generals were seated with us, in what seemed to be an important meeting.
Once everyone was in their respective seats, the king wasted no time and immediately began speaking.
"Before we start, I would like to introduce you all to these two young men. Saitou Yamaguchi and Naoki Toriyama. Our next generation contract killers."
The governors were clearly taken aback by King Thomas's words. Some even spat out their drinks, while others had their jaws practically hanging open.
"Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?" one of the governors calmly said.
"This is outrageous, Your Majesty! These are children! We nobles shouldn't make children kill for us," another exclaimed.
Mr Watanabe had no choice but to intervene. After all, he was the one who brought us here.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the ones you are calling children are no longer such. I have trained these young men to the best of my abilities, and I am confident they will not falter in the face of an enemy."
"Not children? What exactly have you done to them that makes you say that?" The angry one argued back.
Before things could've escalated further, I heard a fist slam against the wooden table. King Thomas clearly had enough of this exchange.
"We will get nowhere arguing pointlessly like this. How about we give the young men some tasks?"
"Your Majesty, this isn't what the meeti-" The governor stopped mid sentence as the king glared directly at him.
"Anyone else have any brilliant suggestions?"
Suddenly, the princess raised her hand, like a student in the middle of class.
"Yes, Sophia?"
"I have a mission for Saitou. There's a bakery I'm curious about. Coincidentally, it's also been on our watchlist for a while. I'll send you more details later, but I want you to investigate that bakery."
I paused for a few seconds, mentally summarising the details of my new mission. The way she had said it was far too specific. Were the father and daughter duo actually planning for this to happen?
At first glance, it seemed straightforward. Just a random bakery in the middle of the city. What could possibly go wrong?
But that's exactly what made it suspicious. It's in the middle of the city, so it should be a priority target, but it's only on the watchlist.
After a moment of thought, I realised I truly had no choice in the matter. So I said what I had to.
"Alright, I accept, Your Highness."
"Oh, what about me? What about me?"
Naoki chimed in, perhaps feeling left out that he hadn't received a mission yet.
"Hahaha," the king let out a hearty laugh.
"Naoki, alright. Originally, I was going to give this mission to Saitou, but as you've heard, my daughter already assigned him one. It's yours now, congratulations."
So the king had it all planned, and Sophia just added her own twist.
"Alright, alright. What is it?" Naoki's voice was energetic. I sure hope he won't regret this.
"A church suddenly appeared in the middle of the outskirts. You know how it is these days, religion isn't as popular as it used to be, so a church materialising out of thin air is bound to be suspicious."
The king paused for a moment, as if choosing his next words carefully.
"Kids from the outskirts have also been going missing more rapidly since it appeared. We usually don't keep records of them, but the guards have noticed fewer beggars while patrolling."
The king looked almost disappointed in himself after saying that. Well, he is the king, talking about your own country's outskirts must be straining.
"So I get a creepy church, and Saitou gets a bakery. You know what? Fine, I accept, Your Highness."
"Good, then. I hope you do well, Naoki."
The king then stood, and we all rose from our seats.
"Well then, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our meeting for today. You are dismissed."
""Yes, Your Majesty,"" We all said in unison.
***
As we were heading out of the palace, the princess followed behind. It seemed like she wanted to talk to me.
"Hey, about what happened yesterday."
"You mean about the fight? I already told you I'm fine. Didn't even get hurt, you know?"
The princess chuckled softly. "No not that, about your reward… how about we get dinner sometime? When you're free, of course."
"I'm free this Sunday. 8 PM sound good?"
She smiled, clearly pleased that she wouldn't owe me anything after this dinner.
"I would love to. Be ready, okay?"
"I'm more worried about whether you're going to be ready."
The princess let out a light laugh. "All right, see you. Bye... and make sure not to disappoint me."
I tried to respond, but it was too late, she had already run back to the palace.
"Bye."
"..."
Naoki was starstruck. His face basically adorned with disbelief, with only a strange hint of pride in his eyes.
"Am I dreaming, or did you actually just get a date with royalty? A beautiful princess at that. And you're her butler now?"
"You really doubt me, huh?"
Naoki rolled his eyes, making an obvious excuse to stop the conversation. "Let's just go. But I am proud of you."
Back in the car, Kuromaku looked at us with a confused expression.
"Why's he like that?"
"Like what?"
"Sulking."
"Jealousy, man. Jealousy."
"I-I'm not jealous, you idiots!"
And just like that, with Naoki still denying his jealousy, we headed back home.