PMZ 049 – The condition for activation is tripled in secrecy.

PMZ 049 – The condition for activation is triple secrecy.  

AN note: Maybe I’m being vulgar this time.  

Sorry.  

{TL note: I don’t believe you.}  

When I returned to the city, I saw a crowd of people gathered in one area.  

I heard an argument coming from within the crowd.  

What could it be?  

I took a peek at it while passing by and then stopped myself because I saw a familiar figure in the center of the crowd.  

“I’ve told you so many times! I’ve told you many times that I’ll be the one to escort your caravan! What’s the problem?”  

“Even if you say so… we have asked for people of C rank and above to come. I’m sorry to say this, but I’m afraid the journey will be even more dangerous with your hig… Mel tagging along.”   

“Rude. Indeed, I am currently E rank adventurer, but that’s only because circumstances have prevented me from using my full potential.  

If I could only get out of the country, I could easily surpass C rank.  

However, if you’re anxious, you can have another escort beside me. That’s what I’ve been telling you for quite a while!”  

“We can’t afford to hire so many guards. Please understand.”  

“What nonsense.”  

I regret peeping into this… the trouble was centered on His Highness Melchizedek, who I hadn’t seen in a long time.  

I’m not sure what the other four reverse harem members are doing, but they are not in sight.  

From what I understand, it seems that he was trying to get on a caravan that was traveling out of the country.  

When I met him before, he was frequently attacked by assassins. …… I wonder if he’s finally decided to escape from this place.  

If that’s the case, why don’t you do it on your own in secret? It’s pointless if you’ re so stand out.   

I don’t know how you managed to stay around the capital city for months with your …condition. It’s impressive in its own way.  

I’m sure you’re probably right about not being able to use your full potential.  

I think it would have been better if you had fled to a local area instead of going outside the country. But wait… that would be causing a problem for the local lords who were forced to accept you in their territory.  

On the other hand, I’m sure that if you go out of the country, they will catch you up, be it sooner or later.  

What a troublesome bloodline the royal family has, that their very existence can become a spark wherever they go.  

Still, now that I’ve seen it, I can’t pretend that I don’t know about it.  

There was no way I could ignore a dispute between his Highness and a citizen, and besides, he was still bothering me somewhere in my mind.  

I don’t care where he is or what he is doing, but I don’t want him to throw his life.  

In fact, I’m even grateful to him now. Thanks to him that I was able to meet Hayato. It’s all because he broke off our engagement.  

That’s why I felt that I wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy my future happiness if I didn’t put an end to this somehow.  

I had to talk to him.  

Fortunately, currently, THAT girl is not there to complicate the conversation, so it should be possible to communicate with him better than before.  

But first, I have to tell Hayato my intention.  

“Hey, Hayato, I…”.  

My hand was squeezed tightly.  

“It’s all right. You’ re going to talk, right? shall I come with you?”  

“Thank you……”  

I don’t know why he can understand me without any need for the word.   

I feel sorry for myself, and I do want to rely on you.  

But.  

“I’m glad you feel that way, but I’m going alone this time. Hayato, please stay where I can see you.”  

“…You don’t want me to hear your talk?”  

“No, it’s not the case. Hayato is about to be knighted, so I thought it would be best for you to avoid any trouble with the royal family, even if they are currently disowned.”   

After a short pause, Hayato nodded, “I understand.”  

“But if Alice is about to be in danger, I’m thinking of either beating him up or kidnapping Alice and running away. Which one do you prefer?”  

“The kidnap and run one, please.”  

It’ s a disturbing subject, but I don’t think I’ll have to decide between punch or run option.  

I made my way through the crowd to the center of the commotion.  

“Mel-sama.”  

When I called out using the same name that the caravan owner had used earlier, everyone in the place turned their gaze to me for the sudden intrusion.  

His Highness muttered to himself amidst the tense atmosphere.  

“Alice…”  

“It’s been a while, Mel-sama. You’ve been making quite a scene, haven’t you?”  

“Uh… you’ re right. By the way, I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”  

“I didn’t really want to talk to you. but I thought we should have a proper talk at least once.”   

“I see… Hey, caravan owner. You can leave now.”  

After seeing the merchant walk away with his head lowered in relief, the onlookers began to disperse as if they were fleeing.  

No one wants to get involved in our troubles.  

…… I don’t really want to get involved either.  

I saw Hayato’s figure in the corner of my eye and managed to muster up the courage to continue.  

“Alice, I missed you.”  

“I missed you not.”  

“That’s cold.”  

“Of course, there’s no reason for me to be nice.”   

I somehow leaned back against the building’s wall and stood side by side with His Highness while keeping some distance between us.  

I could see the people passing by.  

“We’re once fiancée, aren’t we?”  

“Ex-fiancée, sir. The engagement has long since been annulled. Thanks to you, I’ve been blessed with a very good relationship. I got engaged to a wonderful man who is such a waste of his time.”   

“What? You’ve got to be kidding!”  

“It’s the truth.”   

His Highness laughed and sighed, ruffling his hair messily.  

“You’ve always been mine, you know.”  

“But you didn’t want me, remember?”  

“It was a misunderstanding. At that time, I felt like I was on the side of justice, intoxicated with the all-powerful feeling of a storybook hero. I was having so much fun playing the role of a hero that I was getting carried away.”  

“I see. By the way, how are the rest of you doing? Other than Miss Maria.”   

“I don’t know. Once they realized that I was the only one whose life was being targeted, they all ran away.”  

“You poor thing.”  

“Ahaha. It’s ironic, even when I surround myself with all these …opportunistic people, why couldn’t I avoid being disowned?”  

“That’s right. So… what is your plan now? Are you going to leave the country and hide your identity for the rest of your life?”  

“I was about to do that, but I want to take this opportunity to ask you one more time. Alice, will you start over with me?”  

“I can’t. Do you think you can return to the palace if you have me? I’m sure that’s not the reason you were disowned.”  

“No, that’s not it. I don’t care if I can’t go back to the palace. I just want to start over with you. While it’s true that I want to go back, but now I understand, I love you, I really do.”  

“Please stop giving out the feeling that never existed.   

Also, I didn’t call out to you to talk about such things. I just thought it would be a terrible way to wake up knowing that my childhood friend, even though we’ve had our differences, has ruined his life.”  

“Alice ……”  

“I’m going to tell His Majesty through my father about this matter, and I will find a way to make things easier for you, so please hide yourself for a while and stay quiet for the time being.   

That’s all I wanted to say.”  

I had said what I wanted to say, so I ended the conversation by saying, “Well, then,” and tried to walk away, moving away from the wall.  

But he pulled me back, and I had to stop.  

“Alice, please don’t go. I love you.”   

I tried to shake his hand off without looking back, but he had a pretty firm grip on me, and I couldn’t shake it off.   

“Please let me go.”  

“I don’t want to.”  

“I’m engaged now. I’m not going back to His Highness.”  

“What kind of man is your fiancé? The one who was with you in the city before? He’s just a commoner. I don’t think he capable of giving you happiness.”  

That’s absolutely not true.  

I love him so much; I can’t get enough of him.  

When I turned my gaze to Hayato, he had already started walking straight towards me.  

“Alice, let’s go.”  

I grabbed the hand that was offered to me and quickly shook off His Highness’ hand as it loosened for an instant.   

Hayato took me by the hand, and we started walking.  

“Wait! You’re all I’ve got left. Don’t lea…”  

An abandoned puppy…  

I felt guilty and felt like I was being pulled back, but I shouldn’t look back.  

I can’t do anything about it anymore.  

Hayato’s steps are getting faster and faster.   

I know the reason.  

We are being chased.  

“Alice!”  

A loud voice called out, triggering Hayato to start running.  

I also run along.  

We slipped through the crowds and ran through the city.  

We try to turn many corners and go between buildings.  

But we can’t run as fast as we should, and His Highness is a high-spec person, so it’s hard to throw him off.  

“What should we do? we can’t escape to my house like this, can we?”  

“We don’t want him to follow us home anyway. I wonder if I can hide somewhere and get away from him. …… Oh, Alice! There!”   

There was a store selling vegetables just around the corner, and a cart was placed on the street for transportation.  

On top of it, there was a large empty wooden box.  

Nonono, I thought.  

“Let’s hide in there.”  

“I knew it! Are you serious?”   

“There’s no other way. Come on! He’ s gonna catch up to us! Oi sir, let me borrow the box!”  

Seeing that the shopkeeper nodded his head, Hayato snuck into the crate.  

Before I could even think about it, I was dragged into the crate as well. Hayato put his index finger to his mouth and said, “Shhh,” to the people passing by. Everyone nodded their heads in acknowledgment.  

He lifted the lid of the crate that was leaning against his side and closed it quickly.  

Keeping my breath down, I searched for any sign of life outside the crate.  

“…Hey Alice, what did you talk about with that guy?”  

A voice whispered in my ear, and my awareness finally came to me inside the box.  

When I became fully aware of it again, I was hiding in a rather ridiculous position, sitting between Hayato’s legs, facing him, and leaned against him.  

… I can’t move.  

It’s too small to reposition myself, so I reply in a whisper, feigning calmness to avoid showing my agitation.  

“I just told him that I would ask his Majesty if he could at least save his life.”  

“Hmm? Is that really all?  

“That is all.”  

“Really?”  

I want you to stop talking in my ear, my heart rate is going up, and I’m having trouble breathing. It’s really, really painful …….  

“Hah, hah, ha……….”  

“Alice…? What’s the matter …………? Are you okay?”  

It’s funny.  

I’m not claustrophobic (I rather like small spaces), but I can’t breathe.  

The ends of my arms and legs were getting a little numb, and it felt like I was hyperventilating.  

Unconsciously, I started to take off my corset belt and stripped my upper body down to just a blouse.  

“Wait, seriously, what’s wrong?”   

I felt Hayato’s panicked voice in the background.  

I wonder why.  

I want to kiss him so badly.  

I clung to his neck and kissed him on the cheek.  

Not enough.  

My body temperature is rising, and I’m slightly sweating.  

“Hey, kiss me.”   

Then there was a clatter at my feet.  

“No, Alice, let’s just calm down, okay? There’s definitely something wrong with you.”  

“No? I just want a kiss, please.”  

“It’s not like I don’t want it….! but I don’t know if I should do it in a box like this. Well, I don’t mind, but Alice…”  

“That’ s fine then. Please face me.”  

I kissed Hayato’s cheek several times as he turned his face away as much as he could.   

I’m not sure if I’m crazy now. I can’t think about anything else because my head is foggy.  

“St-stop this? …… No! You’re not normal right now! You’ll regret this later!”  

Hayato got nowhere to go anymore, and I started closing on him inside this tight crate.  

Eventually, Hayato lost his nerve and closed his eyes, but the next time he opened them, his expression had changed entirely.  

“… Are you sure you want to do this?”   

I nodded my head slightly and rested my forehead against his.  

His passionate gaze filled my heart.  

“I love you, Hayato.”  

“I also love you very much. I really love you.”  

Our lips touched each other – not.  

Just before that kiss happened.   

“Do you guys think you can hide here?”  

The lid of the crate was opened.  

The light from outside hit my back and half of Hayato’s face, and I came to my senses.  

My breathing became easier, and my mind became clearer.  

…what the hell was that urge I just had?  

No, more importantly, what is this situation ……?  

When I turned around fearfully, my eyes met with His Highness, who wore a stunned expression.  

“………….”  

The lid immediately slammed back down.  

“… Hey, owner.”  

“Yes, sir?!”  

“I’m sorry for the trouble. I’ m afraid you’re going to have to ship this box.”  

“Ship it, sir? Where to?”

“Hell.”  

I gently fixed my clothes, wondering how His Highness can say that, and seriously wondered what I should do after this.