Princess Leonhardt

And so we stuffed the prince back into the basket and made our way out of the dungeon.

A Halo had been added above the prince's head, and at one point it was poking out through the basket, but, well, no big deal.

I couldn't feel any sightlines leaking out of the basket either, so his [Beauty] skill seemed to be safely kept in check. Good for us.

…

Hold on, though. Before it had been put on, it had been a proper mechanical-looking ring you could actually touch, but now that it was floating above his head, it phased clean through walls. What was up with that. Apparently you couldn't even touch it anymore…

Well, it was a game, so probably not worth thinking too hard about. It is what it is, it is what it is.

"At this rate, we can pretty much just walk out same as usual."

"Pretty much, yo. The monsters that show up around here aren't really a problem to run into, yo. From here on it's just farming runs for the Boss Elementarion's materials, yo."

"Aaah, next time Penpen-chan wants to come too-ssu. Carry me in the basket-ssu, would you?"

Reusing the basket after we returned the prince, huh. Not a bad call.

Anyway, we made it safely out of the dungeon. I called out to the prince to let him know we'd arrived.

"Yo, Prince, we're outside now, you can come out."

"Mm, very well."

We'd carried him at a more leisurely pace on the way back than on the way in, so his voice had a fresh, well-rested ring to it.

Or maybe it was that his stats had been boosted, too. The manual had mentioned that kind of enhancement came with it as well.

… Hm? Wait, even allowing for that, didn't his voice sound a little high…?

"Aaah, sunlight! Wind of the surface! I have returned!"

"Hngh!? A girl!?"

"Who're you supposed to be, yo!?"

"Eh, Prince? Is that you, Prince-ssu?"

Prince Leonhardt had turned into Princess Leonhardt.

"Ah, sorry. Turns out the [Beauty] skill can be actively used and not just suppressed, so I was experimenting."

"You're a girl, dude!?"

"Only in appearance. I can fabricate a chest, but my gender stays male."

So saying, the prince reverted to his original form.

… He'd changed back, all right, but the prior appearance was still seared into my brain, and now I was starting to see him as a beauty in male drag instead.

"I see. So an otokonoko, yo. Works for me, yo!"

"My thin books are gonna be on a roll-ssu! Prince-uke, definitely-ssu!"

"You two, don't tell me you're fujoshi? Well, diversity, I suppose."

"Hm, I understand it is meant as a kind of code, but do not say it so brazenly with the subject standing right in front of you. I would rather not have to apply the charge of lèse-majesté to you, you know?"

Oops. Sure, he was a game character, but that wasn't exactly the kind of thing you said in front of the actual person.

If this had been real life, this would've gotten messy fast under the namamono rule.

"For now, can I get you to turn into a girl one more time-ssu? I wanna take a screenshot-ssu."

"My apologies, but changing my appearance is rather exhausting, so I shall have to decline."

So saying, the prince refused Penpen's request.

No, Penpen, you can't push him on that one.

"It's fine, Penpen-shi, yo. I got one from my end, yo. I'll upload it to the wiki, yo."

"As expected of Alto-shi! The fanwork scene is gonna thrive-ssu!"

Wait, does this game even have a fanwork scene???

Each player's main character is their own "my kid," so there might not even be any shared characters… ah, no, that's exactly why this prince exists, isn't it.

"All that aside, this is basically a free pass to disguise yourself however you like. Incognito outings are gonna be a breeze, eh, Prince?"

"Mm, in truth, I have long yearned for it. Going incognito. Until now my skill made any kind of skulking out of the question, you see…"

"Eh, even with that ring floating over your head-ssu?"

"…True. There's still this Halo to contend with."

The prince reached toward his head as if to touch the Halo, and his palm passed clean through empty air.

"I cannot see it for myself, so I do not really know. Is it that conspicuous? … It is, isn't it. Mm."

Oh? Did he just check our heads to make that assessment?

"Bo, bo, bo! But out of all of ours, that Halo of yours is the plain, no-design kind, yo! Boring-Haaaalo, boring-Haaaalo!"

"… I see. So if I take a female form and blend in with you lot, I would actually stand out less?"

"Hm?"

"In future, I may yet end up putting in requests to have you accompany me on incognito outings…!"

S-so that's the angle!

Ah. But the way that Halo of his is designed, the Number-girls over at Mahariku-san's place would probably blend in even better.

"I'm fine going on the rounds with you-ssu. With proper compensation, of course-ssu!"

"And if we set up a base in the Royal Capital, we can be there in no time."

"Yoo, then I guess I'll plant my Home there, yo!"

Mahariku-san being the only one of us without royal-quest experience felt off, too, so I'd introduce her to him as well. Yeah.

At any rate, we'd successfully wrapped up our royal request.

Yeah-hah, we made bank, we made bank! Looking forward to working with you again, Prince!