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“M–M–M–Mast—errr!!”
“Don’t come near me, don’t touch me, and don’t hug me—it’s stifling. Just how many days did it take you to cross the desert? Thanks to you, I’ve had to deal with all sorts of unnecessary trouble.”
“Waaah! You’re so cute but not cute—yep, you’re definitely my master!!”

I reached out to hug her, but an invisible wall of air conjured by magecraft blocked my arms.

Still, even this cold response felt nostalgic. Even if we couldn’t physically touch, I could tell—this was undeniably my real master.

“Oho! So you finally show yourself, White One! Tell me—have you prepared yourself?”
“Silence, you foolish king. I wouldn’t hand even a single strand of hair to you. Shouldn’t you be focusing on more pressing matters than chasing after little girls?”
“Haha! Harsh as always! But I must object—I do not chase girls. You, and you alone, are the object of my devotion.”
“Teach… should I silence him?”
“Calm down, Stell. Actually, why are you even here, Stell? Momo, why did you bring such a big crowd with you?”
“That’s kind of a long story… Wait—what about you, Master? Why are you here?”
“I heard some enormous golem had appeared, and figured it was probably another one of your disasters. So I came to check. Turns out I was right. It made for a good landmark, but barging into this eyesore of a royal castle is taking things too far.”
“My taste is not bad, I’ll have you know!”

The king got angry. But the reason he was angry felt kind of off.

His ceiling had just been smashed in—chandelier and all—but instead of being mad about the damage, he was upset that someone insulted his taste.

…Now that I thought about it, despite how huge and glittery that chandelier was, none of us had gotten so much as a scratch from the falling debris.

“Bad taste is putting it mildly. Coating your whole residence in magic power like that—might as well be inviting guests into your stomach.”
“How rude. It was simply an act of courtesy toward those who visit my castle. I would rather they not suffer this kind of unforeseen accident, after all.”

With a flick of his finger, the king caused the shattered ceiling and broken glass to float up into the air.

Like a video playing in reverse, all the pieces quickly flew back into place, and in no time at all, the ceiling was back to its original, pristine state—no cracks, no holes, nothing.

“Woooow… Master, was that also magecraft?”
“As unbelievable as it sounds, he built this entire castle with his own magecraft. That’s why, no matter how much it breaks or crumbles, all he has to do is infuse it with magic power and it’ll repair itself instantly.”
“S-Such a thing is… Well, theoretically possible, but… b-but still impossible…!”

Mr. Mintark stared up at the freshly restored ceiling, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Seeing his reaction—and the sour look on Master’s face—it became pretty clear just how insane this feat really was.

“Well then! No need to worry about our dramatic entrance anymore, White One! I’ll ask again—how about becoming my twelfth wife?”
“Drop dead.”

A soccer-ball-sized fireball shot from Master’s hand and slammed directly into the king’s face.

No hesitation. No restraint. No warning. The sheer suddenness of it had the headline “King Assassinated in Broad Daylight!” flash through my mind.

“M-Master!?”
“――――Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! A fine attack! Even I was a little shaken by that one!”
“Y-You’re alive!?”
“He blocked it with a film of water at the last moment. If something like that could kill him, I’d have taken care of it ages ago. You should train yourself to at least react at that level.”
“Mmm, mmm! Your skill with magecraft is breathtaking, as always. That’s why I must have you!”

“I am who I am. I don’t intend to belong to anyone. And while I appreciate the effort you put into those ridiculous wanted posters, do me a favor and burn them all.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. Those portraits were painted by the most talented artist in all of Regulus!”
“Then should I burn this entire castle down right here and now?”
“Ha-ha-ha, that would be most unfortunate! No, really, if you say it, it’s not a joke—I do believe you’d actually go through with it!”

Even as they casually exchanged banter, the magical showdown between them didn’t stop for a moment.

Faster than the spells Master had used while training Mr. Nova or me, she launched magecraft at a level far beyond anything I’d ever seen—and the king parried every single one by a razor-thin margin.

From my perspective, it looked like the air itself was randomly exploding. I had no idea how he could even perceive those attacks, let alone defend against them.

On top of that, the king occasionally found openings to counterattack—stretching parts of the floor or wall like spears aimed at Master.

But Master didn’t so much as take a step and brushed them all aside without issue. She wasn’t losing—this was a perfectly even match.

And because it was even, a single failed defense from either side could tip the scales in an instant.

“Wait, wait! Master, time out! King, too—stop! No more of this!”
“Don’t stop me, Momo. Burning this man isn’t going to kill him anyway. But if I don’t show him the gap in our power now, he’ll never take me seriously.”
“I bear no arrogance—your strength is undeniable. That’s precisely why I wish to welcome you to Regulus!”
“See?! That right there—talking like he’s doing me a favor. This is exactly why I can’t stand kings!”
“Okay, okay—let’s not get all fired up! Master, just take a deep breath. Why are you so dead set on picking a fight with him, anyway?”
“Because, Momo—this man is the one who sicced those raptors on Rigel’s workshop.”
“…………What?”
“W–What!?”

That bombshell dropped by Master finally spurred Mr. Arnitta, who had been quietly observing from a distance, to raise his voice.

“Hmph. That matter may have… some complications in how it’s being portrayed. Hmm? White One, my apologies, but something urgent has come up.”
“W–Wait! King! What did you do to my workshop!? Depending on your answer, I may stake my life to settle the score!!”
“So you are the master of that workshop… I see. I truly regret what happened. But this is urgent—I’ll speak with you again another time.”

With a snap of his fingers, the king vanished in an instant.

All that remained was the clink of a single gold coin hitting the ground. No matter where we looked, the king was gone.

“…Unique magecraft without even a chant? Or had it already been activated beforehand? Either way, that’s beyond the bounds of reason.”
“M–Master? Are you saying that king is the one who attacked the workshop!?”
“At the very least, that’s what I believe. If you want to know the truth, don’t just stand here—we’ll have to chase him down. He’s probably still somewhere in the city.”
“P–Please wait, Lady Laika! We’re all terribly confused—there’s a lot we need explained…”
“If it’s explanations you want, seeing it firsthand will be faster. Momo, carry that pervert and come with me.”
“Pervert…? Oh.”

Now that I thought about it, the one person who should’ve been the most ecstatic to see Master hadn’t made a peep this whole time.

I glanced to my side—and sure enough, lying on the floor was Ms. Hoshikawa, completely unconscious from joy overload.