Free Labyrinth of the Blue Witch by Gakuto Mikumo Page B

switched to Sayaka’s heavily flustered voice.
    “Now don’t misunderstand me here, this phone has an unfortunate feature requiring saved numbers to be put under ‘Favorites.’ That’s all it is!!”
    “Sounds like an annoying feature, yeah.”
    Kojou grimaced as he mumbled back. This was Sayaka talking, an expert in curses and assassination, so it didn’t sound like a joke.
    “So what are you calling for, anyway? Wasn’t Her Highness going back to her own country?”
    “That was the plan, but the circumstances have changed. She couldn’t get on the plane.”
    “Did you get lost or something?”
    Kojou was beside himself as he asked. Her Highness was La Folia Rihavein, crown princess of the kingdom of Aldegia. Last he could recall, Sayaka had been assigned to protect her during her unofficial visit.
    He’d heard the Japanese government had arranged a special charter for the princess and that she was scheduled to fly home early that morning.
    However, Kojou didn’t think the two remaining together even now was the result of the princess’s whims or some mistake of Sayaka’s.
    Sayaka’s halting reply was in a somber tone of voice.
    “I can’t…say that’s far off the mark, but…I’ll just lay out the facts. When we thought we were boarding the charter plane, we were at the sub-float that’s under construction.”
    Kojou just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Things often went off the rails when he was talking with Sayaka, but it was particularly bad this time around. “…Sorry, I don’t get what you’re saying at all. Wait, you mean the sub-float that the Nalakuvera trashed not long ago? That’s like, the opposite side of the island.”
    Sayaka shouted back, plainly irked.
“Well, we don’t know what happened, either! Anyway, that’s the situation.”
    Kojou felt like he vaguely understood. “…So what can I do?”
    He knew they were wrapped up in some kind of trouble, but he didn’t think he’d be of any help to either of them. Sayaka, an Attack Mage, possessed abnormal combat capability of course, but so did the princess with the Völundr System that came with her spell gun. Your average demon or criminal had no hope against them. Even if Kojou ran over to protect them, he’d only be getting in their way.
    However, a somewhat unexpected name rolled off the princess’s lips.
    “I want to ask you about Kanon.”
    Kanon Kanase was the daughter of the former and retired king of Aldegia. Kojou recalled that, legally speaking, she was La Folia’s aunt, but in reality she was more like her little sister.
    Kojou looked at Kanon, timidly gaping wide-eyed down at the ground, as he spoke.
    “Well, Kanase’s here right now.”
    “Whaaat?”
went Sayaka in an angry, shrill voice.
    “What is she doing with
you
? Don’t tell me this time you’re putting your hands on her…?!”
    “I am not!! Relax, Himeragi’s here, too.”
    “What is that, pride?! Is that pride I’m hearing?! Not that I’m jealous at all here!!”
Sayaka was worked up and ranting rather incoherently when the princess pulled the phone away and resumed.
    “I cannot get in touch with the Aldegian knights I had called in to protect Kanon. I believe this incident has no relation to her, but could you please be careful?”
    That he had no problem with. Kojou gave his answer in a firm voice to reassure the princess. “Got it. I look after Kanase and everything’s fine, right?”
    La Folia giggled in what sounded like a joking tone of voice.
“Please do. If you require a reward, you can drink a little of her you-know-what.”
    “He can do no such thing!”
Sayaka exclaimed.
    Sayaka’s shriek was the last thing he heard before the call disconnected.
    Feeling tired for no good reason, Kojou put his phone away only to notice Yukina had been standing beside him since who-knew-when.
    “That was Sayaka just now?” Yukina asked with a somewhat conflicted expression on her. For some reason, she didn’t seem all that enthused