“Werner? Why are you here?
“Of course it’s because I was ahead of you.”
I was about to say “Are you an idiot?” but decided against it. I was about to say something else when I saw him trying to escape and being knocked over by his comrades who were surrounding him with a sword still in its scabbard. No! He couldn’t have escaped!
“Is it enough to get one person to testify?”
You…
“But I’d like to thank you for coming. I almost beat you up myself.”
We’ve got people deployed elsewhere, so we could have gone either way. I didn’t expect our neighbors from Reslatga to get involved here, though.
In the game, it’s a country that you can just pass by as soon as you finish the event, but it’s not like in the game, they seem to have a lot of tricks up their sleeves.
How did you find this place?
I don’t owe you an explanation.
Perhaps by accident. I might have been in danger if you hadn’t told me about the comings and goings during the “night hours” between Count Bitgeft, Count Bachem, and the Embassy of Reslatga.
Well, that was only alerted when Bitgeft started messing around with Zehrfeldt. I wonder what would have happened if they’d been in the wrong order.
The Bachems had a habit of playing with their servants as well. I wonder if the Earls of Bachem were ever in need of money. They’re not so talkative when it comes to women and booze, but I’m afraid of the whore’s network. I’ll have to pay old Bert back in some way.
What about our soldiers?
“At least he’s not here.”
It’s been my experience that flying shoe skywalks get you off the beaten path. We’re expecting an ambush.
I consulted with His Highness the Dauphin about how to deal with such a situation, and I was thankful that he immediately prepared a large number of flying boots, including spares, and on the same day he called a noble diplomat who had been to Reslatoga and had me transported to Reslatoga in his flying boots.
That’s how I got here in my flying boots.
The same day we discussed this, I’d already checked the locations where they would appear if we flew to Reslatoga and where we could lay down troops in the area. The reason I asked Lily to wait until the evening was so that I could take care of the ambush soldiers first.
But I had to be a little nervous because I didn’t expect it to happen.
But they’ve flown all over the place in such a short time. I wonder how much it’s going to cost to move that many people… I’m sure they’ll confiscate Count Batchem’s fortune anyway… so I doubt it’ll add up to much to the government’s finances.
But still, “my country”… He’s been a Reslatoga operative from the start. And you’ve been deceived too, but you don’t seem to know it. I don’t owe you an explanation.
I don’t know if that’s his real name or not, but he says his name’s Rafed and he stares at me. I’m not afraid of a fat middle-aged man staring at me. Rafed takes two steps back and turns to look at the carriage. Then he looks at me with a sudden impetuousness.
Wait! There’s a brave man’s family in the carriage. And a knight is with them. There’s a hostage!
Oh, my God.
If he doesn’t think that’s what we’re looking for, he’s either a low-level guy or he’s not used to roughing us up. Maybe we can talk to him later. Criminals don’t have rights in this world.
Lily, are you hurt?
‘Yes, I’m fine.’
His voice is muffled through the carriage walls but he sounds all right. Rafed looks surprised.
“What? Why?”
“You’ve seen Lily before, but have you seen her parents?”
Apprentice cooks are usually backstage, so unless you’re a tradesman, you don’t usually see them. He thought he was fooling Lily, the ex-village girl, so he didn’t suspect the adult who brought her here. You underestimate them. I suppose you could say they looked down on the commoners, too.
I’ve sent Norbert to check inside the house to make sure no strange men have seen Mr. and Mrs. Ally’s faces recently, and I’ve checked with the Commerce Guild via Mr. Bierstedt outside the trading houses and such that are connected to Zehrfeldt.
But the knight who played Lily’s mother complained to me in a resentful voice that I’m her mother and not her sister. Should I follow up on this? Anna is supposed to be Lily’s mother, but she’s still Lily’s older sister.
I don’t care about that now. He’s about to say something more, but it’s getting too much trouble, so I slam the hilt of my spear into Rafed’s side of the head and smash him. I went easy on him so he won’t die. I hope he’s broken at least a bone.
I open the bolt, seeing the old man sprawled out on the ground being held captive by the side. I see Lily’s relieved face illuminated by the magic lamp, and I’m relieved too. At first I bow to the man across from Lily.
Thank you for your help, Deputy Commander Goretzka.
“Of course. I’ll be counting on you, Viscount.
I didn’t think Konoe would take on the role of Allie-san himself. I asked him if he’d be okay with someone else, but he said he’d go to the front once in a while. This world really is full of brains…
Mr. Goretzka kicked the man lying on the floor out of the carriage. You’re relentless. What’s his temper?
“But poison can be useful in times like these.”
“Oh, he even has poison?”
If you look closely at the man twitching on the ground, you can see a concealed knife lodged in his thigh. You’re telling me this thing was poisoned.
Some demon poisons are paralyzing poisons. They can be diluted and used as anesthetics for surgical treatment, so you can buy them at adventurers’ guilds. In the game, even a hero can kill a demon if he leaves it unattended, but I don’t think they’d use that kind of poison. Probably not.
I mean, it’s stuck really firmly. The tip almost went through your thigh. He went easy on her.
The lady knight threw something out of the carriage. They’re supposed to be playing with commoners who don’t know anything about fighting. Goretzka will be furious.
“Three criminal slave restraints hidden behind the backrests. This man has been waiting for an opportunity from the beginning.
“I’m not so weakly trained as to be bullied by a mere knight.”
The lady knight throws up and Mr. Goretzka responds. Well, you’ve picked the wrong opponent. A vice-commander of the Kingsguard versus a mere knight you wouldn’t lose in a fight by yourself. Lily was here… so I had the lady knight with me to play it safe.
This twitching knight, Rafed, and the Master, that’s just three. I’m glad we can put them to good use. He gives a signal to the men surrounding you to hold them and calls to Lily when they’re all out of the wagon.
I’m sorry. Were you scared?
“I said I would do it. Besides, it’s all according to Werner-sama.”
I guess she was a little nervous, but she still smiled at me. I felt relieved. I couldn’t help but pat her head.
To tell the truth, I’ve been having a hard time dealing with Lily who’s already been recognized by several maids as their faces and voices, but to tell the truth I was upset when she volunteered to be a decoy after I explained this plan.
But I’ve never heard of disguise skills or magic, and since we don’t know how well they know us, it’s hard to make a replacement.
If it’s the first time they’ve been here, but if they’ve been here before and they’re calling for Lily, there’s no way to cover it up. We can’t have someone else pretending to be Lily all the time.
I had to do it because it’s a move I can’t use again. I didn’t like it.
I had no choice but to consider all possibilities and deal with all of them. In fact, I’ve asked the Dauphin to spare a knight for both in case they move to Count Bitheft or Count Bachem.
I’ve decided not to use the knights of Zehrfeld because they’re nobles of the same country, but in fact the people of Reslatga might have been watching us too, so I’ll take that as a blessing in disguise. But I’m feeling a bit sick to my stomach from the wide range of things I have to thank them for.
Lily may be quiet on the surface… but she’s pretty stubborn.
“In fact, Miss Lily was quite calm. She trusts you, Viscount.
Uh…
What are you talking about, Mr. Goretzka? How am I supposed to react to this? I’m glad there are no other Zehrfeldts around, I thought for a moment, but then I felt a prickle on my neck.
Lily, I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to get in the coach. There’s gonna be one more act.
“Yes, yes.”
Lily’s back in the wagon and everyone else in the group’s deployed around the wagon before I can say a word. Wow, you’re really good at this. Goretzka and the female knights also took out their weapons from their hidden magic bags. They look different just by looking at their stances. I’m not sure I can beat Goretzka without armor.
I’m gonna switch gears for now. I knew they’d come again, actually.
Now, if there are too many of them, you can escape with your flying boots, but I’d rather take them out here if possible.
