The Shut-In Prince’s Splendid Social Debut — Me, a Villainous Imperial, Have Spent the Last Fifteen Years Fighting the “Wicked Thoughts” Eating Away at My Mind. When I Finally Returned to High Society, There Were Way Too Many People I Didn’t Recognize

Around ten days before the deadline.

Lala headed into the dungeon alone again that day.

Ever since she had received Yoan’s full instruction, the opportunities to see him had dropped sharply.

There were times when she felt lonely without Yoan beside her.

Even so—

“Uyu… I’ll do my best today too!”

Saying that, she clenched her fist tightly and steeled herself.

Lala had decided to keep moving forward.

There was only one reason.

To clear the “Exam” together with Yoan.

She recalled the words Yoan had said to her some time ago.

“—Actually, there are circumstances, and I can’t raise my level beyond Lv. 1. …Ah, this is a secret, okay?”

She had never once heard of a case where someone’s level would not rise.

If that was true, then it was a grave problem.

“Lala doesn’t need to worry. I’ll clear this ‘Exam’ in my own way.”

Yoan had said that with a smile.

(Yoan-sama is… too kind.)

That was the conclusion Lala had reached after spending more than a month and a half with him.

Yoan always looked after her.

And he fed her plenty of food as well.

That was exactly why Lala wanted to repay him.

“Uyu… Then—Lala will reach Lv. 49. If I do that, Yoan-sama won’t be expelled either.”

When Lala said that, Yoan had laughed a little awkwardly.

“Fufu… I’m happy you feel that way, but you mustn’t push yourself too hard. Lala has become fairly strong, but it’s still nowhere near enough. If you let your guard down, you’ll die in an instant, you know?”

Yoan had patted her on the head even as he said something so ominous.

“Uyuuu… That’s my line…”

From that day on, Lala had a goal.

She would raise her level for Yoan’s sake.

However—

“—I’ve been waiting, Lala.”

On her way to the dungeon, a flashy noble girl appeared before her.

“U… Honora-sama.”

Honora Nei Freylack—.

She was the daughter of the Freylack Marquis family, the parent house of the Lorietta Count family.

“Well, Lala? Do you think you’ll be able to clear the ‘Exam’?”

Honora asked with a cheerful smile.

“Yes, I do.”

“Pu, ahahaha! You certainly sound confident, Lala. …And just how is a ‘Role-less’ girl like you planning to raise her level?”

“…Lala is no longer ‘Role-less.'”

“Hah? What are you talking about?”

Honora’s expression froze.

“Lala had—a ‘Role Archetype.’ So from now on, I can raise my level.”

“L-Liar. You’re a dropout from the Lorietta Count family! A worthless ‘Role-less’ girl! There’s no way something so convenient would happen to someone like you, who couldn’t even get past the wall of Lv. 10…!”

Honora broke off in the middle of her outburst.

Then, as though she had realized something, she smiled.

“Fufu…, fufufu… …Ah, I see.”

“…?”

An eerie laugh began to spill from Honora’s lips.

“…Because no matter how I think about it, it’s strange. …Yes, that must be it.”

As though she had convinced herself of something, she began muttering to herself—butsu butsu.

Lala felt a little frightened and decided to leave.

“…I’m sorry. Lala has to go raise her level in the dungeon, so… excuse me.”

Lala moved to pass by Honora and continue toward the dungeon.

But then Honora spoke to her back.

“—Yoan did something, didn’t he?”

She said it with an expression like a Noh mask pasted onto her face.

“…?!”

Lala froze in confusion.

Why? How?

There should have been nothing for her to infer that from.

“I’ve changed my mind—I’ll make sure Yoan drops out here.”

Honora declared something even more outrageous.

“Eh…?! W-Why…?”

“…Isn’t it obvious? Because we can’t leave alone someone who may become an enemy of the First Prince in the future.”

Honora gave that plausible-sounding reason.

“Lala, you’ll cooperate too, won’t you…?”

“…I…………………… can’t.”

To Lala, that was harder to accept than anything else.

“I see… So you’ve already been brainwashed by Yoan.”

“U… N-No! Yoan-sama is not that kind of person…!”

“Then—we’ll have no choice but to make Yoan disappear physically.”

“…?!?!”

That threat from Honora was more than enough to crush Lala’s spirit.

“…It’s your fault, Lala. Because you made me take this seriously.”

Honora said that and smiled darkly.

“…Please… stop…”

“I can’t hear you, Lala.”

“Please… don’t do cruel things… to Yoan-sama…”

Lala sank to her knees.

“Then make Yoan drop out. Of course, you know what you need to do, don’t you?”

“Uuu………… Uuuu………”

From that day on, Lala shut herself away in her room.

◇◇◇◇

Eight days remained until the deadline.

It had been two days since Lala shut herself in.

Honestly, I was surprised.

Because Lala, who had been diving into the dungeon energetically every day until then, had suddenly locked herself away in her room.

“Is Lala all right?”

It was Fryure who let out that anxious question.

By the way, Fryure and Lala had known each other from the start.

“If it’s Lala, she’ll be fine.”

“Is that so…”

Since I had attached [Universal Glue] to Lala, I knew it was not because she was in poor physical condition.

Something had probably happened.

I did not know the cause.

Life was long, and there was always the possibility that she had suddenly felt like shutting herself in.

“Do you think I’m being cold?”

“N-No, not at all…”

Of course, after acting as her master for over a month, I had a lot on my mind.

Like whether she was eating properly, or whether she was feeling lonely on her own.

But in the end, I was not Lala’s parent.

I was just a complete stranger.

I could not take responsibility for everything.

“—I believe I’ve already conveyed the important things. I trust that Lala will overcome this.”

“…If Yoan-sama says so, then I have nothing more to say.”

It would not hurt to at least go see her face for a moment.

I could go to Lala at any time by teleporting.

Yeah, let’s do that later.

Now then.

I switched gears.

Since Fryure had made time for me that day, I first needed to take care of what I had brought her for.

“Then let’s go, Fryure.”

“Y-Yes.”

Fryure gripped my hand, looking a little nervous.

Then I activated [Spatial Transfer].

Long-distance movement.

The place we arrived at was “an ordinary house.”

It had tables and furniture inside as well.

However, the real issue was where that house stood.

“…No matter how many times I come here, it still feels strange. To think this lies beyond Daylago’s Great Northern Ridge… in the land of the ‘Northern Underworld.'”

Fryure said that with deep emotion.

Where we were now was [The First and Last Paradise].

Commonly called “Paradise.”

Over the past two weeks, I had been bringing Fryure here often for experiments with her “Spirit Armament.”

“True enough.”

“And to think a house was built in a danger zone like this, untouched by humankind… as expected of Yoan-sama!”

Fryure praised me.

The context of that praise felt strange in several ways, but I let it pass.

Probably because I had brought her to “Paradise” so many times already, Fryure’s sense of normality had finally started to warp too.

At first, she had been terribly shaken.

“I wasn’t the one who built this house. That guy is a companion… no. A servant doesn’t feel right either. Well, maybe just someone with far too much free time.”

“Someone with too much free time?”

Fryure tilted her head—kokun.

It struck me again that, for someone known as the “Ice Lady,” her expressions could be surprisingly cute.

“…Now then, let’s begin at once, Fryure.”

“Yes, Yoan-sama. …Then here I go. —’Spirit Armament,’ Manifest.”

Fryure chanted those words.

Then, with a dazzling light shining from the left side of her chest, a single magnificently adorned staff appeared.

At its tip was a scale.

—[Scale of Equivalent Retribution].

A “Spirit Armament” that could grant a wish equivalent to the price offered.

That was the “Spirit Armament” Fryure had awakened.

“Then let’s test them one by one.”

“Yes!”

Inside this house were stored monster materials I had collected from “Paradise.”

First, we used those as payment to see whether my “Level Seal” could be undone.

In theory, since Fryure’s “Spirit Armament” had been the one to place my “Level Seal” in the first place, using Fryure’s “Spirit Armament” again ought to let her release it as well.

Though of course, I had no idea what price that would demand.

◇◇◇◇

“…I’m terribly sorry. It seems monster materials alone are still not enough of a ‘price.'”

“I expected as much.”

Well, it was the natural outcome, I thought.

My “Level Seal” had been established in exchange for my life.

There was no way it could be reversed that easily.

“…My… fault… Because of me… Yoan-sama is… ha… ha…”

Since her usual fit had come on, I rubbed Fryure’s back.

“Fryure, breathe slowly. Suu, haa. That’s it.”

“Suu, haa…”

Through these tests, I had come to understand what Fryure’s Spirit Armament, the “Scale,” could and could not do.

First, it could not produce complex things or things with unique characteristics.

For example, it could not create “monster materials,” or specially processed items like “Alf Gold Coins” or “Treasure Swords.”

On the other hand, it could produce standardized things.

For example, “swords,” “medicine,” “leather armor”—things without distinguishing traits like that.

If monster materials were used as the price, then it could create items derived from those monster materials.

Although the quality was lower than what a professional such as a blacksmith would make, since they were derived from materials from “Paradise,” their performance was still more than adequate.

As an aside, while trying various things, we ended up mass-producing piles of “Mysterious Strengthening Potions” and “Mysterious Weapons,” which left us wondering where on earth to store them.

Next, it could not produce living things either.

For example, “plant seeds,” “meat,” “pepper,” and so on were impossible.

It could produce “salt” and “sugar.”

It could also produce “alcohol,” but not the kind you could actually drink.

It was closer to pure alcohol itself.

And surprisingly, the “Scale” could be used offensively as well.

By offering a price, Fryure could apparently fire a ray from the tip of the staff.

Honestly, it was absurdly cool.

When she used monster materials from “Paradise,” it gouged out part of a mountain.

It also seemed to scale with Fryure’s own stats, so if Fryure raised her level, its power was likely to become ridiculous.

To summarize, Fryure’s “Spirit Armament” had an outrageous performance level.

It did have the restriction that it always required a price, but conversely, if the price could be gathered, it gave the impression that you could do quite interesting things with it.

…After all, I could not let Fryure go.

“Fryure. It seems I can’t let you go. I don’t want to let you go anywhere.”

I gently took her hand.

“…N-No, you mustn’t… Because Yoan-sama has Naphna… Besides, I can’t betray my best friend…”

“…”

Somehow, it still felt like there was quite a distance between us psychologically.

For some reason, Naphna’s shadow kept flickering at the edge of Fryure’s mind.

(As expected… fiancée, huh.)

The position of best friend was strong after all.

“Eh… U-Um, Yoan… sama?”

Before I realized it, I was hugging Fryure.

The soft scent of fragrant olive brushed past my nose.