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<Episode 3>
“Ah, shit! You there! Are you trying to kill someone?!”
“If you don’t want to die, run over here. I’ll send another one your way.”
“A mage? Protect me. You can abandon the Mad Dog.”
There was a minor issue with distance control, but anyway.
A noisy battle suddenly broke out.
And I ended up handling almost all of them myself—three griffins, which were high-risk monsters, and the small fry beneath them.
‘Thanks to certain someone who just stood there watching.’
I glared at the two knights who seemed to know nothing of chivalry.
“…?”
Although they looked a bit roughed up, their black uniforms and swords were clearly well-made. There were no crests, but it was enough to figure out their affiliation.
‘Belmeyer. And they must be the Grand Duke’s knights.’
So what if they lacked chivalry? So what if they used informal speech without even a thank you, despite causing trouble for a stranger they just met?
With a benevolent smile, I took out my last remaining emergency food, jerky, from the folds of my dress.
“You said you were hungry. Do you want some?”
As the saying goes, you should even give an extra rice cake to a person you dislike.
—No, that’s not it. It was because I judged that these guys could become my high-pass ticket to Belmeyer.
The Empire of Hilvarcia and the Duchy of Belmeyer.
The history of the truce between the two nations spans a full ninety years.
So, about a hundred years ago.
The Demon Grand Duke of Belmeyer, who was also the Grand Duke of the Hilvarcia Empire and the head of the Mage Tower, was said to have been corrupted by magical energy one day and murdered the Saint of the era.
Because of this, attacked by the Empire, the Grand Duke blew up the Mage Tower and declared the Grand Duchy’s independence, leading to war between the Empire and the Duchy.
But the loser wasn’t easily decided.
It was said that although the Belmeyer forces were overwhelmingly outnumbered, each soldier was monstrously strong.
After a prolonged stalemate, they signed a truce, which has been maintained to this day.
And the Grand Duke from that time is still alive.
‘They say he became a demon for the sin of killing the Saint.’
Whether that expression ‘demon’ is a metaphor or if he truly became such a being is unclear.
However, the fact that he is immortal while harboring magical energy is true, and since the original work’s Li Shie calls him a demon, I just take it as such.
Well, whether he’s a real demon or a fake one doesn’t matter.
What’s important is that Belmeyer’s enemy is the Empire.
“Ahem. I’m Irene. Of Hilvarcia Val—”
“I know.”
…You probably would, wouldn’t you?
I was about to reveal my identity with great magnanimity, having even given a bribe, but unexpectedly, their attitude was very crisp.
The man called Mad Dog added sneeringly.
“Walters, aren’t you?”
Actually, it wasn’t very surprising that they recognized me.
The Walters family is a famous and powerful noble house in the Empire, and black hair and red eyes are a family trait.
Besides, my brother, who looks just like me, often goes to border disputes, so they might have guessed that way.
“Zephyr.”
The pink-haired one, who had instantly swallowed the jerky, suddenly interjected.
A youthful face somewhere between a boy and a youth, an expression unclear whether serious or vacant. He spoke again.
“Zephyr.”
…Now I kind of understand why his nickname is Blockhead.
“Yeah, is that your name? What’s yours?”
The man with whitish, sun-kissed skin and striking platinum-blonde hair braided long, answered readily with a fierce expression.
“Niche.”
“Good. So, why are you here?”
“You first. Why is a princess, who should be in the capital, wandering around the mountains looking like a vagabond?”
A vagabond. Though I couldn’t exactly refute it, seeing my current state, I just twitched an eyebrow for a moment.
“Wrong, ding-dong. I’m not a princess anymore. Right now, I’m on the run after stabbing the Crown Prince.”
“…Huh. Isn’t she a complete lunatic?”
“For your information, I wasn’t wandering. I was diligently finding my way to Bellmire. Now it’s my turn, right? Why are Bellmire knights here?”
Since we haven’t crossed the border, this is still Imperial territory. So their appearance was a bit significant.
While Niche remained silent, Zephyr answered without any hint of caution.
“On our way back after finishing a mission.”
…You’re telling me just like that?
I seriously hope this careless knight hasn’t had his identity discovered by an Imperial while doing some spy work.
Anyway, setting that aside.
“How about taking me with you on your way?”
“Why?”
Zephyr tilted his head with a sleepy, vacant look.
“I can’t stay in the Empire because I caused a huge incident. I might not look it, but I’m a pretty great mage, so I could be helpful.”
Escaping one’s own country’s execution squad and defecting to an enemy nation.
The classic ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ tactic!
“Okay.”
“Listen, my specialty is magical alchemy, turning stones into gold—… What?”
“Okay.”
Zephyr repeated as if it were nothing. The agreement was so excessively cheerful it sounded refreshing.
I was momentarily dumbfounded and asked.
“You mean you’ll take me to Bellmire?”
“You said you wanted to come.”
“What? Have you really lost your mind?”
Niche, who had been quietly silent all along, suddenly got angry.
But what do you know. He was glaring, not at Zephyr or me, but at empty air.
As if talking to a ghost or something. He muttered, rubbing his dry face with his thick hand.
“…Fine. I’ll do as you say, Witch.”
“…”
“Hm. Don’t ever send me on a mission with that blockhead again.”
“…”
Just as I was starting to get a little scared by his crazy muttering, Niche turned his gaze to me.
And then, finally, he spoke to me.
“Hey. You say you want to come to Bellmire?”
“…That’s right?”
He grinned vulgarly, the corners of his mouth twisting up.
“Let’s go. There’s something for you to do. Blockhead!”
Huh? Do what?
Before I could even react, Zephyr grabbed my hand as if snatching it. A strange light flickered in his sharp green eyes.
“I can run now.”
“What does that meant— heck!”
Whoosh!
Before I could mentally prepare, the scenery before my eyes changed as fast as if I were on a roller coaster.
“Ugh, you crazy blockhead! You should take me too!”
“You can come on your own, right?”
Whether Niche, left far behind, was raging or not, neither Zephyr nor I cared.
‘He calls this running? No way.’
My mouth fell open at the unfamiliar ability, comparable to teleportation magic. Zephyr glanced at me and warned.
“You better close your eyes.”
Whoosh!
After that, all my senses just ‘whooshed’ past.
After what felt like an incredibly short time, almost an instant. When I properly stood on the ground, it was no longer the Empire.
“…It’s Bellmire.”
The northern Grand Duke’s land from a picture-perfect romance fantasy novel.
The vista of a snowy land, frozen white under a cloudy sky, was welcoming me.
Can entering an enemy country really be this easy?
I glanced sideways at Zephyr, who suddenly seemed competent.
According to the original work, besides the Grand Duke, there are a few non-human entities in Belmire. They are his hands and feet; their exact identities are unknown, but they are collectively called monsters.
All I know is that they possess powerful, alien abilities, neither magic nor aura.
So, is this guy—or rather, these guys—those very ‘monsters’?
‘But both of them had aura cores.’
Generally, mages have magic circuits in their hearts, and knights have aura cores.
Their aura energy was so tremendous that I had assumed they must be knights of the Grand Duke, given their skill level.
Well, it’s not like you have to have only one… there’s no rule against it.
It was a situation where no one deceived anyone, but only someone ended up deceived.
‘If they’re more than just close aides, this might actually be better.’
Observing the serene (actually, slightly large, abandoned-house-like) exterior of the Grand Duke’s castle covered in white snow, I cautiously brought up the subject.
“Hey, could you possibly arrange for me to meet the Grand Duke?”
To defect, I need permission from the highest authority.
At this rate, maybe I could meet him right away? Maybe the Grand Duke would readily grant permission, saying, “You stabbed that unlucky Crown Prince? I rather like you.”
“The master is sleeping.”
…Not what I expected, but okay. That’s possible.
“Then tomorrow? The day after?”
“The master will be sleeping.”
“…When does he wake up?”
In response to my question, Zephyr rolled his eyes as if counting, then answered with a question mark.
“Next year? No?”
“That’s not right, is it? The unit seems off. It’ll be tomorrow, right?”
“The year after next? The master has only been asleep for 3 months.”
‘Is he Sleeping Beauty or what?’
I’ve never heard any rumor anywhere about the Demon Grand Duke being under a sleeping curse like in a fairy tale.
In the first place, the Grand Duke doesn’t even directly appear in a single line in the original work. Not even until the very end.
‘The main content was Rishi’s reverse harem, after all.’
At this rate, it’s useless even if I remember all the original content.
Anyway, since the Grand Duke’s condition = the world’s survival = my life on the line, I was about to question him step by step when Zephyr suddenly whipped his head around.
“Ah.”
It was an ambiguous sound, could have been an exclamation or a click of the tongue. He left me with just one word and vanished like the wind.
“I don’t want to get bitten by the Mad Dog.”
“What?”
Thump, thump, thump—
It was right after that that I felt vibrations in the ground.
“Zepeter…!”
A figure with a threatening physique was rapidly approaching the unguarded ducal castle from afar.
The Mad Dog, reaching me in an instant, shouted.
“Today, I’ll finally teach you a lesson in manners…!”
“You’re here? Are you also a transporter ability user?”
Niche, seeming to grasp the situation immediately, contorted his handsome features.
“Ha.”
“Sighing right in my face isn’t very nice.”
“Never mind that. You… just follow me. Let’s get ‘that thing’ over with. The witch is nagging me to hurry.”
That thing? Witch? Ah, come to think of it.
I was so thrown off by how I got here that I forgot, but Niche did say there was something for me to ‘do’.
“Wouldn’t it be right to explain what this ‘thing’ is first?”
“You’ll know when you get there.”
What a tone.
Unfortunately, I’m in the weaker position here, so I silently followed his unfriendly guidance.
And as soon as I entered the ducal castle, I realized the uncomfortable truth that the outside was at least passable compared to this.
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