I’m an Immigration Officer!

About two hours later.
In front of my house. Or rather, our house—mine and Erzena's.

With a face full of reluctance, I grabbed the doorknob and spoke.
“Are you truly sure about this? I can still arrange a proper lodging for you right now.”
But Elaine and Hannah were adamant.

“It’s fine. Right, Princess?”
“Mhm!”
The two of them stared holes through the door with eyes full of anticipation.
They looked ready to burst through the moment it opened.

I let out a deep sigh, and beside me, Erzena whispered quietly.
“Erzena. I hope your plan works.”
“Don’t worry. With this, those two will give up right away.”
Two hours earlier, she had defied everyone’s expectations and said something absurd to me.

— Let’s bring the Princess home.
— What? You… You do know what condition the house is in right now, don’t you?
— That’s exactly why we’re going. It’s the most surefire way.
The best way to shatter a stubborn person’s resolve is to show them the harsh truth, no embellishments.
If I wanted to crush Elaine’s determination to stay at my place, she had to see it with her own eyes.

See firsthand that my residence was nowhere near suitable for royalty.
Of course, this wasn’t exactly beneficial for me either.
It meant exposing every miserable detail of how I live. My so-called private life laid bare.

But there was no other way to make her change her mind.
Please, let this merciless method work.
Praying for that outcome, I opened the door.

“Very well, then. Please, come inside.”
— Creeeak.
“Excuse us!”
“…Ugh.”
Before I could even stop them, Hannah and Elaine charged in first.

“Wow, not as big as the palace, but still—huh?”
“…Huh?”
And then… the tragic sight of the house revealed itself.
Despite Erzena’s presence, the place remained a total disaster.

Blankets were carelessly tossed across the sofa.
The table—barely wiped clean—looked bleak without even a tablecloth.
The old, peeling wallpaper and dust-caked windowsills hadn’t changed a bit.

Only the space in front of the fireplace, where Erzena and I occasionally sit and talk, was remotely clean.
Everything else was exactly as it had been days ago.
“...”
“...”

Hannah and Elaine slowly turned their heads toward me.
Their eyes practically screamed, This… is your house?
The exact same expression Erzena had worn when she first came here flashed across their faces.

I had prepared myself for this.
Hell, Erzena had already been my test run.
But still, my face flushed with heat.

“If I had more time, I would’ve cleaned.”
A pitiful excuse left my lips, but no response came.
Only Hannah’s half-pitying, half-disgusted expression greeted me.

“I-I’m serious. You have to believe me!”
The harsh truth is a double-edged sword.
It shocks the other party, but it delivers plenty of psychological damage to me too.

Seeing my expression, Erzena smiled triumphantly.
“As you can see, Nathan’s house isn’t exactly fit for habitation. You get it now, right?”
“Lady Erzena…”

But when the two girls turned their gazes to her, Erzena faltered as well.
“W-Why… Why are you looking at me like that?”
Hannah fell silent for a moment.

Elaine couldn’t speak to begin with, but even she clammed up entirely.
Still, their eyes said everything.
You’ve been living in this mess? You—of all people—the former Saintess?

Distrust. Shock. And even… pity.
You should’ve done something, at least.
Their complicated emotions swirled together as they stared holes through Erzena.

“Ahem, cough! Well… I wanted to clean, really… but Nathan kept stopping me…”
Her face flushed just like mine as she made her flimsy excuse.
“I-If we had more time, I swear we would’ve cleaned! Really!”

The harsh truth is a double-edged sword.
The blame didn’t lie with me alone. My housemate bore some responsibility too.
Still… this is a good opportunity.

They’ve seen how horrifying the place is. They can’t possibly insist on staying now.
“As you can see, Your Highness, this environment is unsuitable. I’ll escort you to a better—”
But just as I tried to cut in—

“No, this won’t do. That Elf lady was right.”
Hannah muttered in a low, resolute voice.
— Snap!

She suddenly rolled up both sleeves, pulled a string from her pocket, and tied her hair back tightly.
“Starting now, we’re doing a full-scale cleaning! Everyone out!”
“…Excuse me?”

Now?
At sunset?
I’m the owner of the house, you know.

But Hannah remained unwavering.
“As Hannah Meyer, former palace maid and Her Highness’s personal attendant, I refuse to let this pigsty slide!”
“P-Pigsty?!”

Erzena exclaimed, as if some deep trauma had resurfaced.
“What’s wrong with pigs!? They’re cute and clean and lovable!”
“...”
“...”
“...”

A brief silence.
I, the only one who knows the cruel, actual truth of the "Pig Saintess," finally spoke.
“Miss Hannah. The house has two floors and a basement. Cleaning it alone will be a nightmare. Don’t overdo it, let me just—”

“Three hours.”
“…What?”
“It took me three hours to clean all twenty-four rooms and three floors of Her Highness’s quarters back at the palace.”

In those blue eyes, a fiery determination burned bright.
The girl, armed with professional pride, declared:
“Give me just three hours. You two go eat or something. I’ll have this place spotless by the time you return.”

Ah.
That’s when I realized.
There’s no reasoning with them.

Even if the sky falls, they’re determined to stay in my house.
Erzena seemed to come to the same conclusion, rubbing her forehead and sighing.
“Haa… There’s no helping it.”

“…Indeed.”
Refusing their request any further would come off as rude.
It wasn’t just anyone—we were dealing with royalty—and after escorting them all the way here, there was no turning them away now.

“…Miss Hannah. It’s already late, so please just clean the Princess’s room for tonight.”
“Fifteen minutes tops! Where’s the broom?”
In the end, Erzena and I were the ones who surrendered.

 
****
— Bang! Crash!

Suddenly, loud noises erupted through the house, ruining the peaceful evening.
— Swish, swish, swish.
From behind a closed door upstairs came the relentless sound of broom bristles—something I hadn’t heard in ages.

“…How did it come to this?”
“Good question.”
Erzena and I sat crouched in front of the fireplace, staring blankly at the flames.
“This isn’t how I wanted things to turn out.”
“Right?”

“I just wanted them to stay somewhere more comfortable.”
“Exactly.”
Elaine cautiously approached from my right, sat down beside us in the same posture, hugging her knees, and muttered:
“Uuuuugh.”

[Right?]
With Hannah barricaded upstairs carrying cleaning supplies like a one-woman army, we were all Elaine had left.
“Haaah…”
“Haaah…”

Erzena and I sighed in unison, scooting slightly to the side.
Three young adults, huddled on an undersized rug, staring at the fire in exhaustion.
Too tired to say anything else, we just sat there, vacant.

Until Erzena spoke up.
“Well, now that Her Highness’s accommodations are settled, I suppose you’ll be coming to the Immigration Bureau with me tomorrow.”
“…What?”

I looked at her, stunned.
“What are you talking about?”
“You said it yourself earlier. This is her first time outside the Capital, right? Well, there’s no better place than the border to challenge her worldview.”

I took a moment to think.
She might be right.
Originally, my plan was to let Elaine adjust slowly.

Take her around the neighborhood after work, wander the market, stroll quiet streets—ease her into it.
But maybe Erzena’s idea would be more effective.
The border’s practically a parade of people and species from all over.

Even just being inside the Immigration Bureau would expose Elaine to countless new experiences.
No reason to refuse.
As long as the Princess agreed.

“Your Hig—”
I paused mid-sentence.
I need to be careful with titles from now on.

If I kept addressing her formally, it would only draw attention at the Bureau.
Right now, it was just the three of us, but eventually, we’d be outside, and the moment I habitually called her “Princess”—
The whole world would be watching.

Case in point: Erzena.
If people heard “Saintess,” they recognized her.
But if I just used her name, most didn’t notice.

In this region, where the Church’s influence was weak, as long as she concealed her divine aura, people just saw a beautiful woman.
I had to do the same with Elaine.
Green eyes could be hidden, but titles—those had to change immediately.

“Elaine.”
— Flinch.
Erzena shot me a surprised look, but quickly relaxed as she realized my intent.

Elaine, who had been staring blankly at the fire, lifted her head.
“If you wish… why not come to the Immigration Bureau with me and Erzena tomorrow?”
[…]

“The best way to understand the world is to confront it head-on.”
Our eyes met.
Hesitation lingered in hers.

Elaine teetered on the brink—one last step away from the world, wrestling with final doubts.
That’s when Erzena added softly:
“You’ve come this far. Taking one more step wouldn’t hurt… Elaine.”

Only then did Elaine realize.
Ever since she had slapped Erzena’s hand away at the Bureau, the woman before her hadn’t released a single trace of divine power.
[…]

It was an unmistakable gesture of goodwill.
“Otherwise, Nathan’s stuck with only me.”
“…Uuuuugh.”

At those words, Elaine’s face contorted in protest—but at last, she nodded.
[I’ll go. Let’s go together tomorrow morning.]
At long last, she found her courage.

Not sure exactly when she got annoyed, but—
“Well, we’ve got her consent now. You can’t refuse this one, Nathan.”
Erzena shrugged her shoulders, looking pleased with herself.

I smirked slightly at the sight and spoke to her.
“Unexpected.”
“What is?”

“I thought you’d be the one objecting. I didn’t expect you to help like this.”
A short, dry chuckle slipped from her lips.
“Maybe… embracing even the rolling stones is the job of the stones already stuck in place.”

She smiled bitterly and turned her gaze back to the fireplace.
“How could I push away someone who’s always been rejected…”
I stared at her in silence for a moment.

A stone stuck in place.
There was a layer of self-deprecating thorns hidden in that expression.
She’s not exactly thrilled about new people coming here, either.

And it made sense from her perspective.
New people showing up increased the risk of her hiding spot being exposed—the fact that she was living under the Southern Border's protection, evading the Holy Order.
And if word got out that the Princess herself was here, spectators would swarm in. Her identity, inevitably, would come under scrutiny.

And yet, despite all that, Erzena still reached her hand out to Elaine.
Why?
It couldn’t be pure altruism.

Even at the Bureau, Erzena had kept her guard up around Elaine.
Maybe… it was a sense of kinship.
Or maybe it was just Erzena’s true nature surfacing.

Whatever it was, it stirred an emotion in me I couldn’t quite name.
So, I said it plainly.
“Thank you, Erzena.”

“…What?”
She blinked in surprise.
“F-For what, exactly?”

Her face flushed red, the firelight reflecting off her cheeks like she’d been caught off guard.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“For everything.”

Come to think of it, my meeting with her had started as one hell of a miserable fate.
And yet, thanks to her, I’d managed to steel my resolve.
It hadn’t even been a full week since she arrived here.

But in that short time, at the Immigration Bureau, Erzena had become an invaluable healer and counselor.
— “If you’re feeling sore, come over here. One prayer and the muscle aches will vanish.”
— “Oh no, don’t worry. Just tell your wife this: ‘I’m sorry, honey. I love you.’ That’ll solve everything.”
Her regained divine power and years of experience hearing confessions as a Saintess were doing wonders for the team.

It got to the point where even the Gustatory Officer went to her when they messed up and got depressed, and the Olfactory Officer considered early retirement but found themselves in Erzena’s office first.
“Ahem… cough!”
Finally regaining her composure, Erzena fanned herself frantically and muttered:

“W-Well, if you’re that grateful… Let’s have another meal together sometime. Just the two of us.”
“Without Elaine?”
“Just for one day, that’s all. Let Miss Hannah eat with her.”

She pouted, clearly sulking, which only made me chuckle more.
“Of course.”
There was no reason to refuse.

That’s when Hannah’s voice rang out °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° from upstairs.
“All done! You can come in now, Princess!”
Took exactly fifteen minutes.

 
****
Meanwhile, somewhere in a shadowy alley in the southern regions of the continent—

A dark, secluded corner, untouched even by moonlight.
Two men’s voices exchanged in the gloom.
“Hey, you got everything loaded?”

The nervous tone in one man’s voice was met with confident assurance from the other.
“No problem.”
“You remember what that guy said, right? This thing can’t even have a scratch on it. He said it’s unstable.”

“I know, I know. Relax. No one’s gonna catch onto this.”
— Step, step.
A large man emerged from the darkness, hefting a heavy crate.

“We just gotta get it to the Western Volcanic Zone. That’s all. Once we’re there, job’s done.”
“But the Southern Border of the Cross-Line Kingdom has Sensory Officers…”
“Don’t sweat it. I’ve prepared for everything.”

He tossed something into the darkness.
— Thud.
A thin hand snatched it midair.

The other man slowly inspected the fist-sized metallic capsule now in his grasp.
“If we pull this off, we’ll be swimming in riches.”
His greedy eyes flickered in the torchlight.

“We only gotta succeed once.”
Written on the capsule were the words:
— Specially Modified Defensive Artifact.

An unlicensed, illegally modified magical device.
“Not our first smuggling run, is it?”