Natsuki Minamiya had once told Kaiser that the Kingdom of Aldegyr had sent an important guest to visit Itogami Island—only for this person to be attacked, apparently by an unregistered demon. The armored airship carrying them had gone missing before reaching the island.
That guest, without question, was the king's eldest daughter and First Princess—La Folia Rihavein.
Internationally, her popularity was enormous—so much so that her renown nearly eclipsed that of Aldegyr's king, making her a symbolic figure of the nation.
The reason was simple: she possessed beauty worthy of a goddess, yet by the age of seventeen was already helping shoulder affairs of state. She was famed for her wisdom, her martial prowess, and her brilliance.
The Silver Princess—that was the title the world had given her.
In Aldegyr, she was the beloved and admired princess, the pride and treasure of the nation.
Abroad, she was a formidable figure even for the old guard of politics to contend with—someone not even the Duke of Ardeal would underestimate.
And now, here she was on this uninhabited island, face-to-face with Kaiser.
"An honor to meet you, O great King of Beasts."
The illustrious Silver Princess gathered her skirts and curtseyed.
"Please, don't use that title," Kaiser said with a hint of discomfort. "And there's no need to be so formal—you've no reason to bow to me."
He was, after all, a special attack mage of the Lion King Organization—a government operative. By rights, it was his duty to protect and support someone like her, not to be honored by a royal princess.
La Folia clearly didn't see it that way.
"Oh my, what's wrong with paying respects to an ancient king before whom even a true ancestor must yield?" she said with a playful glint in her eyes. "With your strength, you could found a fourth Night Empire even in this age. I'm simply offering the courtesy due a future monarch."
"Yeah, no thanks. I'm not the Fourth Primogenitor, and I've no interest in building a Night Empire." Kaiser shook his head. "That 'King of Beasts' business was just a one-off to warn that snake."
"I imagine the Duke of Ardeal was delighted," La Folia said with a hand to her lips, smiling. "He does love to test himself against the strong. I'm sure you pleased him immensely."
She knew Vatler well.
Aldegyr's territory bordered the Warlord's Domain, and the two had been in conflict for generations. The kingdom's capital, Verterace, had suffered severe damage multiple times at the hands of demons from the Domain, leaving Aldegyr with no fondness for its inhabitants.
As a duke of the Domain, Vatler had clashed with Aldegyr often.
In other words, La Folia and Vatler were political enemies—arguably personal ones.
Given that, she could easily picture what had happened and offered her praise without reservation.
"To defeat the Duke of Ardeal so easily—splendid work. Don't be fooled by his reckless behavior; he's still called the one closest to a true ancestor. Only the likes of a true ancestor could normally put him down so easily."
"If he's smart enough to take the hint, then I suppose all that noise I made wasn't wasted." Kaiser's mouth twisted. "But enough about him, Princess—what brings you here?"
"Just call me La Folia," she said warmly—almost familiarly—with no trace of aristocratic aloofness. "As for why I'm here… that would be the result of saving myself."
According to her, she'd been forced to flee en route to Itogami.
The armored flying ship carrying her had been attacked by an unknown demon before arrival and sent crashing toward the sea.
The assault had been sudden: the enemy appeared aboard at an altitude of a thousand meters, struck with overwhelming force, broke through the ship's defenses in short order, and brought it down.
Under the protection of the Holy Ring Knights, La Folia had escaped aboard a lifeboat, plunging into the ocean.
She'd drifted for a long time before eventually washing up on this island.
"I thought I might starve before rescue arrived… but before that could happen, I found you—and those automatons."
Clearly, she'd already encountered the machines before, or she couldn't have identified them so quickly earlier.
"Magus Craft's automatons, right?" Kaiser said. "Then the ones who attacked your ship, forcing you to escape, can only have been that struggling robotics company."
"I suspect the same," she said lightly, as if it were someone else's problem. "Likely they coveted my body—seeking Aldegyr's royal bloodline to reverse their decline."
Aldegyr wasn't only advanced in magic engineering; every royal-born woman was an exceptionally gifted spirit medium by nature—a living divine envoy. Many magical secrets and techniques required the abilities of such royal mediums to even be attempted.
Those arts were so intertwined with the royal bloodline that outsiders could rarely replicate them. And a spirit medium's talents had countless uses, making the royal family a prime target for those with designs—perfect experimental subjects, invaluable magical resources.
Nagisa Akatsuki, as a hybrid with a strong medium's constitution, had once helped her family locate buried ruins, decipher ancient inscriptions no one else could read, and even open the underground tomb that housed the Fourth Primogenitor's base body. Avrora had survived within her after death, and the Root had once possessed her, nearly reviving as the Fourth and triggering the Blazing Banquet—all thanks to her medium's qualities.
In other worlds, shrine maidens like Yuri Mariya could even see the future and foretell disasters. The value of such powers was beyond question.
It was only natural that some would target women like these—especially a company like Magus Craft, desperate to survive. If they could use Aldegyr's royal blood to develop new magical technologies or unlock sealed secrets, they could revive their fortunes overnight.
Of course, there was likely more behind the attack on La Folia.
"In any case, since you're here, that makes things simpler," Kaiser said, letting the matter drop. "I'm here on assignment from the Lion King Organization—to find you."
"I told you, call me La Folia." She looked mildly displeased. "I'm tired of being called 'Princess' or 'Your Highness'—especially by friends. I'd rather you used my name."
"…You're really not big on formalities, are you?" Kaiser sighed. "We've just met, and we're already friends?"
"What choice do I have?" Her displeasure faded into a teasing smile. "After all, I was standing naked before you for quite some time. If we can't even call that friendship, then my modesty was far too cheaply spent."
Kaiser's mouth twitched. That's… one way to put it.
"Isn't it?" She seemed to read his thoughts, her gaze steady, her tone deliberately suggestive. "It's the first time I've been so compromised in front of a man. Even my father's never seen my grown body. Yet here I am, in a foreign land, letting a boy my age see everything."
"Fortunately, the one who saw me is a Beast King before whom even true ancestors bow—a man worthy of Aldegyr's First Princess. I suppose that doesn't count as dishonoring me."
"Perhaps it's fate's guidance?"
She seemed genuinely pleased, with none of the shame or anger most girls would feel in such a situation.
"Maybe I should have word of this sent home—let my father and mother know."
"My father might be unhappy, but from a national standpoint, it could be a good thing."
"If I could secure the great Beast King as a husband, I'd never have to worry about being forced into a political marriage with someone I despise."
She carried the conversation along by herself, ignoring Kaiser's stunned expression, her smile blooming.
"What a splendid idea. Let's do that."
That finally snapped Kaiser out of it.
"Sorry, but if you'll just allow me—"
He never finished. His head snapped toward a certain direction, sharp and alert.
La Folia's smile vanished. She raised her gun.
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