HSML 11

After being able to interact with Prince Siphon at the coming-of-age ceremony, I’d been in a somewhat overexcited state, drifting off into memories—but I’ve started to calm down.

After exchanging words with the prince like that, I can’t help but become a little curious about the situation around me.

I return the book I was holding to the bookshelf, then move from the living area inside the “Box” to the main room.

There stands a large, perfectly upright cube created inside the “Box” by my box magic.

I call it the “Knowledge Box,” and this cube is its main body.

The Knowledge Box produces many semi-transparent cubes floating around it—which I call “Image Boxes”—and can project the Knowledge Box’s information, as well as things like the image of the prince I was just looking at, onto them.

The Knowledge Box is operated using the “Knowledge Mini-Boxes,” commonly known as Hakoko, which drift about cheerfully inside this “Box.”

As an aside, watching the Hakoko floating around inside the “Box” is somehow soothing.

So when I’m not using them, I let them roam freely.

Well, they hardly move under their own power anyway, so they just drift about softly—but that’s part of what makes them nice.

That aside—

The Knowledge Box is a magical box system made up of a series of interconnected boxes.

By using it, one can venture into the “Sea of Information” and draw out all kinds of wisdom.

And as wisdom expands, so too do the functions of the “Box.”

Not a familiar, but a “servant box.” One of those is what I’m planning to use now: the “Observation Box.”

Like Hakoko, the Observation Box has a face drawn with two vertical lines and one horizontal line.

Despite being palm-sized, this Observation Box has quite impressive abilities.

Basically, whatever the Observation Box sees or hears can be projected by the Knowledge Box onto the Image Boxes.

However, once it goes outside the “Box,” the Observation Box can’t move on its own, so I secretly place it here and there in advance.

And when I give the Observation Box extra magical power, an image of wings appears on its back.

Once that happens, by controlling it with Hakoko, it can freely fly through the air!

I can give it instructions beforehand about how it should move, but this time I’d like to control it directly using Hakoko.

Operating it through Hakoko was extremely difficult at first, but now I’ve grown used to it, and can move it quite well—even while looking away.

Now then, the first piece of information I want to collect with the Observation Box in flight is Prince Siphon’s situation—most likely.

Timing-wise, he should be returning to his room around now, so let’s send the Observation Box over and take a little peek.

I sit down in front of the desk with the Knowledge Box on it and reach out to one of the Hakoko drifting inside the “Box,” pulling it toward me.

Then I call out to Kachina, who is standing by outside the “Box,” and ask her to hold the curtains near the window so they won’t interfere with the Observation Box. And off it goes.

The Observation Box I’m controlling glides smoothly through the air, slips out through the opened window, and heads toward the royal castle.

I can see the sun, half of its body hidden beyond the horizon, dyeing the land red.

Flying the Observation Box like this makes me feel a little sentimental—wondering if the birds that fly through the sky always see scenery like this.

Flying higher than the top of the royal castle, I approach it, then move along the rooftops and walls, drawing closer to Prince Siphon’s room.

The window to the prince’s room is open, and I can see the curtains inside fluttering outward.

That’s perfect.

Let’s take a little look from there.

And so, I move the Observation Box close to the window and peer into the room with its eye—

“…!?”

I reflexively made the Observation Box shoot upward.

“……”

Th-that just now—

As I try to calm myself, I slowly lower the Observation Box again.

The open window. The fluttering curtains. And through the gap, what I can see is…

“……”

My heart pounding, mixed with the sense of guilt from peeping without permission.

With all sorts of feelings mingling into a strange sensation, I found myself staring intently at the scene.

…Prince Siphon in the middle of changing clothes.

The formal outfit he’d taken off had been tossed onto a nearby chair, and his upper body was now completely bare.

Perhaps because it’s customary for princes to study martial arts as part of their upbringing.

Not as developed as a knight’s, but still well-trained arms and abdominal muscles.

My purpose is information gathering, and peeking at the prince while he’s changing is a bad thing. It really is a bad thing, but…

“……”

It’s like—I can’t look away, or rather, my heart just won’t stop racing…

W-what am I even doing…?

Knock, knock. The door to the prince’s room is tapped.

At the sound, I snap back to my senses and move the Observation Box to a spot where it can more easily pick up the voices inside.

From here, the Observation Box can’t see into the room—but that’s fine. This is fine. It should be fine.

…Thinking that I want to see more would be improper. Yes.

I release Hakoko and cover my face with both hands.

It feels hot—so I’m probably blushing bright red.

“…Haa… I feel like I’ve seen something incredible…”

Letting out a large breath as if to expel the heat along with those murmured words, I pull myself together and turn my attention toward the Image Boxes.