Category: Isekai Nonbiri Sanpo Tabi

At this point, I decided to ask Arisa-sama the question that had been bothering me from the start.

“Uhm…”

“Wondering why I’m here? There was a meeting of the district guild masters in the royal capital. This time, it was for the southern district of the capital. So while I was here, I happened to stop by the Victory baronial residence to personally apologize about what happened to Sue.”

Arisa-sama, please stop answering my questions before I even ask them. You’re like a mind reader.

Apparently, she hadn’t even known that we were coming to the royal capital from the Western Margrave’s territory. She really had just happened to visit the Victory residence.

“Still, in the end, I’m relieved that you and the others were by Sue’s side. Anyone who carries royal blood possesses some kind of special talent. In Sue’s case, it’s Holy Magic. I don’t think the soldiers under my command would have been able to draw out the full extent of her abilities.”

“Could it be that you’re also descended from the royal family, Arisa-sama?”

“I’m from a collateral branch of the ducal family. I’m not a direct member of the royal family like Emilia.”

No, no… From my perspective, Arisa-sama is already absurdly powerful herself. Still, this explained a lot about just how talented Emilia-sama and Sue were.

Sue had been improving at an astonishing rate, to the point that even she seemed surprised by how quickly her abilities were growing. I’d always thought there was something a little strange about that.

“But putting Shun aside, Sue has even acquired a title of her own. Since she’s going to become royalty, the name ‘Holy Empress’ isn’t entirely inaccurate.”

“Uhm… I’m not really comfortable with that title…”

“Oh, I think it’s wonderful. A powerful-sounding title is every adventurer’s dream.”

Um… My own title is “Lightning Chef,” which is so bizarre that even other adventurers don’t know what to make of it…

Ignoring my plight, Arisa-sama turned her attention to Shiro and Ao.

“Shiro, you’ve become so strong. You’re really starting to look like a proper adventurer. And Ao, you’ve accomplished enough by now that I think it’s time you registered as an adventurer in your own right. I’ll write a letter to the Adventurer’s Guild Master here in the royal capital.”

“Yaaay! Ao’s gonna be an adventurer!”

““Yaaay! Yaaay!””

The unexpected suggestion that Ao should register as an adventurer sent not only Shiro and Ao, but Fran and Horn as well, jumping for joy. But Ao really was incredibly strong, and she did have the title of “Champion Slime,” after all.

“Well then, I’ll be heading home now. I’ll be staying in the royal capital for a few more days, so I’ll invite you all to a tea party.”

“Yes, thank you very much for going out of your way.”

“I’ll definitely attend the tea party.”

“““Bye-bye!”””

Since Arisa-sama was heading back to her residence, Sue and I saw her off. We had a meeting at the royal castle tomorrow, so the tea party would have to wait until the day after tomorrow or later.

“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry for all the noise.”

“It’s quite all right. Everyone looks like they’re having such a wonderful time. I wonder if my own child will be this lively and energetic once they’re born.”

As Sue apologized, Sarah-san cheerfully stroked her belly while she spoke.

She had a point. Having a little child around would probably make the household quite a bit livelier.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Unfortunately, we have some guests visiting at rather inconvenient timing. Father-in-law and my husband are currently in his office attending to them.”

“That certainly is unfortunate timing.”

“Well, they’re someone who has some connection to all of you, so I imagine they’ll come by here as well.”

I wondered who this person connected to us could possibly be, but for now, there was nothing we could do except wait.

“I’m truly glad that Sue was able to fulfill her duty and return home safely. I’m sure that was only possible because of all your help, Shun-san. Thank you so much.”

“Thank you as well. Sue helped us in all sorts of ways during our journey.”

“It was so much fun traveling with Big Sister Sue!”

““It was fun!””

We exchanged our thanks, but it was genuinely true that we had all enjoyed traveling together with Sue.

Then Sarah turned to Sue with a knowing smile.

“Sue, I’m so happy for you. You managed to catch yourself such a wonderful man.”

“S-Sister-in-law, I-I didn’t ‘catch’ him or anything…”

“Hehehe. Look at you, turning bright red. How cute.”

Yep. The romantic teasing had started here, too.

Sarah-san was grinning from ear to ear as she teased Sue, who was turning beet red and flusteredly trying to defend herself.

“Shun-san, you should know that Sue is actually a little afraid of men. Since everyone knew she was a noble girl whose father’s identity was unknown, boys her own age in particular used to tease her quite a bit.”

“Yeah, I can kind of understand that. When I first met Sue, she seemed afraid of all sorts of people.”

Well, that was partly because of the way that third son of the count’s family had bullied her. Compared to how she was back then, Sue had really grown into a strong person.

Click.

“That’s right. I think Sue has truly become stronger. Especially in her heart.”

“““Arisa-sama?!”””

““?””

The person who entered the reception room was none other than Arisa-sama, the wife of the Southern Margrave and the Guild Master of the Adventurer’s Guild there.

Sue, Shiro, and I were completely stunned by the unexpected reunion. Fran and Horn, however, had never met Arisa-sama before, so they had no idea what was going on.

“Hey, hey! Who’s this big sister?”

“Oh my, calling me ‘big sister’? What a sweet little girl.”

Fran asked me who Arisa-sama was, but being called a big sister had immediately put Arisa-sama in a good mood.

“Arisa-sama is the wife of the Southern Margrave, as well as the Guild Master of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

““Wow! That’s amazing! So cool!””

Fran and Horn were absolutely thrilled after hearing about Arisa-sama’s impressive background.

Incidentally, Arisa-sama was dressed in an elegant, dignified gown befitting the wife of a territorial lord today.

“Arisa-sama, these two are Fran and Horn. We met them and they became our companions in the Eastern Margrave’s territory.”

“I’m Fran!”

“I’m Horn.”

“Hehehe, aren’t you two energetic little cuties?”

Arisa-sama smiled warmly as she gently patted Fran and Horn on the head. The two of them gazed up at Arisa-sama with sparkling eyes, clearly looking up to her with admiration

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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With that, our conversation with the King and Queen finally came to an end. We left the royal castle and once again set out for Sue’s family home, the Victory baronial residence.

I took a seat beside Sue on the coachman’s bench while she handled the reins. Shiro and the others were curled up inside the kotatsu with Ao, enjoying the warmth.

“Oh, right. Sue, we were talking with the King and Queen while you were still wearing your adventurer clothes. Was that really okay?”

“Shun, you’re only thinking about that now? Neither of them said anything about it, so there was absolutely no problem.”

I had only just remembered to worry about our clothes, but Sue actually gave a small laugh, and some of the tension seemed to leave her.

“I was worried that once you learned my secret, you and the others might be confused… or that you might distance yourselves from me. But that didn’t happen at all. Instead, you even helped move the conversation with His Majesty and Her Majesty forward. I’m truly grateful.”

“Well, I was definitely surprised at first. But when I thought back on the way the various Margraves treated you, everything actually started to make sense. Besides, we’ve been traveling together for a long time. There’s no way I’d start disliking you just because I learned who you really are.”

“That sounds just like you, Shun. But… thank you.”

Sue wore a bright, relieved expression, as though a weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

I was glad, too, that I had learned the truth about Sue.

Not long after leaving the royal castle, we arrived at Sue’s family home—the mansion of the Victory baronial family.

“““Whoa, it’s huge!”””

Shiro and the others poked their heads out of the carriage, and I had to agree—it was pretty big for a baron’s residence.

We all climbed out of the carriage, removed the horses’ gear, and then stored the carriage away in my Item Box.

“Thank you for everything, horsies.”

““Thank you!””

““Hihiin!””

The horses then headed toward the Victory family’s stables.

Hmm… The stable hand looked pretty surprised when the horses casually followed him on their own. Well, those horses were incredibly intelligent, after all.

“This is the Victory baronial residence, where I was born and raised. Let’s head to the reception room first.”

“““Okaaay!”””

Sue seemed genuinely happy to be back at the home where she had grown up, and a bright smile spread across her face.

When we were shown into the reception room, a woman was waiting there to greet us.

“Sue, welcome home. And everyone, welcome to the Victory family residence.”

“Sister-in-law, I’m home.”

“““Hello!”””

She’s an elegant-looking woman with light blue, wavy hair and deep blue eyes. And there was one other notable feature about her.

“Sister-in-law, are you expecting a baby?”

“Yes. I’m due in two months. The baby might even be born around the New Year.”

Sue’s sister-in-law smiled as she gently stroked her large belly. And with that, we took the opportunity to properly introduce ourselves.

“My name is Sarah. I’m married to the heir to the family, who happens to be Sue’s cousin by blood. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“I’m Shun. Sue has been a great help to us throughout our journey.”

“I’m Shiro! And this slime is Ao!”

“I’m Fran!”

“O-oh… I’m Horn.”

Sarah-san was incredibly warm and approachable, treating even us strangers with kindness from the moment we met.

So Sue really did have such a wonderful woman as her sister-in-law.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Well, I thought that would finally be the end of our conversation with the Queen. Apparently not.

Click.

“Hmm, sounds like an interesting conversation. Mind if I join you?”

A man with short, golden hair—the exact same shade as Sue’s—and a powerfully muscular build had just entered the reception room. He’s a handsome man with a clean-cut appearance, and he was dressed in lavish clothing. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was the king of this country.

“You must be Shun and Shiro. My daughter Sue has been in your care. As her father, I thank you.”

“Y-Your Majesty, please, raise your head!”

The King had suddenly bowed to Shiro and me, leaving me completely flustered.

One of his attendants poured the King some tea, and the conversation resumed.

“Actually, I intend to make a grand announcement at the beginning of the new year declaring Sue a member of the royal family. However, that antiquated law will inevitably stand in our way. No one knows better than I do just how troublesome it is to change a law.”

“Even so, shouldn’t you have given Sue a little more protection?”

“I know. But if we assigned her too many guards, the nobles in each territory would become suspicious. To avoid that, I worked out a plan with the Southern Margrave. Though that bald-headed old tanuki interfered with it.”

The King continued explaining things to us while casually helping himself to the snacks and tea.

For the most part, what he told us was the same as what the Queen had already explained.

“When I heard from the Southern Margrave that Sue had teamed up with an adventurer who was practically a monster in terms of strength, I seriously considered beating the man to death.”

“I… was almost beaten to death?”

“Hahaha! Relax. Sue would occasionally send word telling me what a good man you were.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

Sue hurriedly clamped a hand over the King’s mouth, but seriously, what on earth had she been telling His Majesty about me?

Well, at least that explained why Sue had been carrying the communication magic tool that the Margrave family also used.

“Anyway, the accomplishments you and Sue have achieved throughout your travels are quite significant. Under normal circumstances, I would grant you a title and make you a member of the landed nobility. Unfortunately, we just dismissed the very Minister of the Interior responsible for handling such matters.”

“So that means I won’t be becoming a noble just yet?”

“I can still award you medals and other honors at my discretion. But without a noble title, I simply can’t send Sue off to marry you.”

“F-Father!”

The King grinned mischievously as Sue repeatedly smacked him without the slightest restraint, but at this point, I didn’t even know what I could say anymore…

“Sue is going to become Shun-oniichan’s wife!?”

“Yaaay! Yaaay!”

“That makes me happy!”

Shiro and the others had taken the King’s words completely at face value and were absolutely delighted.

“Your Majesty, Sue is only twelve years old, isn’t she? Don’t you think it’s a little early to be talking about an engagement?”

“What?! Are you saying my daughter isn’t good enough for you?!”

Apparently, the King absolutely doted on Sue. He shot to his feet, pointed directly at me, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

This conversation was getting completely out of hand.

“Dear, calm down!”

Crack!

“Gheh!”

“““Ooooh!”””

The Queen’s powerful punch landed squarely in the King’s face, and that finally got him to settle down.

Yeah… Shiro and the others actually started applauding. Emilia-sama’s incredible strength with her fists must have definitely been inherited from her mother.

“For the time being, it would be best for Shun to stay at the baron’s residence together with Sue. And I would like you to exterminate the rats lurking in the royal capital.”

“In other words, you want us to do in the royal capital what we did throughout the various margrave territories?”

“Shun, you certainly are quick to understand. I’ll have Sue relay the details to you. For now, I want you to attend the military council of senior officials tomorrow.”

“Ow…”

And so, I had barely arrived in the royal capital before getting dragged into something huge. Both Sue and I were completely exhausted.

And once again, I was reminded that when it came to who was really at the top of this country……it might not be the King, but the Queen.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Besides His Majesty and Your Highness, are there any others who know Sue’s true identity?”

“Of course. The ministers, the Margraves, and a few other influential figures know about Sue. The two young ladies who are close friends with Sue also know who she truly is.”

Oh…

Come to think of it, it seemed like almost everyone who knew about Sue was someone we had already met. Emilia-sama is her blood sister, after all. And since we were here at the royal castle, I supposed it was only natural that Sue would be friends with Fina, the daughter of one of the Margrave families. On the other hand, Casey-san and Telma-san had apparently kept Sue’s identity a secret all this time.

The three of them really were bound by a deep friendship.

“And there was also an important reason why Sue traveled around the territories of each of the Margraves.”

“You mean those destinations Sue mentioned before?”

“Mmm. Exactly.”

When Sue had told me about it back in the Southern Margrave’s territory, I had wondered why she needed to visit each of the Margrave territories in the first place.

“The reason Sue had to travel from one Margrave territory to another was because of an antiquated law.”

“A law?”

“Mmm. It is required for someone of royal blood who was born an illegitimate child to be formally recognized as a member of the royal family.”

Hmm?

I didn’t quite understand. Why would someone of royal blood who was born an illegitimate child have to travel around all the margrave territories just to be recognized as royalty?

“Long ago, there was a king who was rather fond of making babies. As a result, he ended up with too many illegitimate children.”

“You had another truly outrageous king back then, didn’t you…”

“Mmm. He was nothing short of a disgrace to the kingdom. But if we simply recognized all those illegitimate children as royalty, it would create problems with the line of succession and such. So a law was established stating that they could only be recognized as members of the royal family after receiving approval from the margraves of each region. Naturally, the margraves weren’t about to approve them so easily, and simply traveling from one margrave territory to another was a tremendous undertaking.”

So, in other words, Sue had traveled to each of the Margrave territories so that she could be properly recognized within noble society. No wonder it had been such an arduous journey.

“It is an antiquated law, so I suggested that we abolish it. But that bald-headed old tanuki, the Minister of the Interior, stubbornly opposed me. In the end, I had no choice but to send Sue off to the Southern Margrave’s territory.”

“Could it be that the reason Sue’s companion was replaced by the third son of a count’s family in the Southern Margrave’s territory was…”

“Yes. That was all because of that bald-headed old tanuki. He was afraid of losing influence, so he went out of his way to interfere with both Sue and us at every opportunity!”

Originally, Sue’s baron family had been under the influence of the aristocratic faction. But if Sue were officially recognized as a member of the royal family, then the faction close to her would naturally become a faction with close ties to the royal family.

From the aristocratic faction’s perspective, I could certainly understand why they would want to prevent that at all costs.

“By the way, what happened to that Minister of the Interior? Sue has now safely completed her journey through all the margrave territories, hasn’t she?”

“That man was found to have connections with the Human Supremacy Church and that criminal organization, so he has been dismissed from his position as minister and placed under house arrest. We already have all the evidence we need, so tomorrow we’ll be conducting a forced search of his residence. Fufufu… We’ll search every last corner of that place without leaving even a speck of dust behind.”

Yeah… the Queen’s smile had turned downright terrifying.

Shiro and the others were looking at her and trembling violently.

I suppose the Minister of the Interior had brought this upon himself, but he really did need to receive the punishment he deserved.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Let us start by discussing Sue. There is no doubt that Sue is a descendant of the Victory family and the daughter of Baron Victory.”

“Yes. But I was told that Sue’s mother has already passed away, and that her father’s identity is unknown.”

“Mmm. That understanding is correct. And that is precisely why Sue’s existence is a rather delicate matter within noble society.”

If Sue had been born to an unmarried mother who didn’t even know who her father was, then it was inevitable that she would be regarded as something of a problem within aristocratic circles. That explained why, when I first met Sue in the Southern Margrave’s territory, the third son of that count’s family had treated her more like a maid than a noble lady.

But if the Queen had called herself Sue’s adoptive mother, then…

“Your Majesty, could it be that Sue’s father was actually known, but that his identity had to be kept secret?”

“Hehe, as expected of you, Shun. Emilia was praising you as someone quite capable, you know.”

Apparently, my guess had been correct. Although, now I was more interested in exactly what Emilia-sama had told the Queen about me. After all, the Queen was looking at me with an exceptionally pleased smile.

“It is nothing so complicated. Sue’s mother, Marsha, and His Majesty simply made a mistake one night.”

“Wait, wait. I’m pretty sure that’s actually a very big deal…”

The Queen spoke as though there were nothing particularly unusual about it, but somehow, it felt like an absolutely enormous problem to me.

Sue, meanwhile, was growing increasingly flustered as she listened to the Queen casually reveal more and more about her past.

“Marsha was an exceptionally beautiful and intelligent woman—the very embodiment of a noble lady. Even I found her quite charming. She was also the tutor of my son, the Crown Prince.”

Yeah… I could pretty much see where this was going.

As the Queen continued talking about Sue without the slightest hesitation, Sue began to panic.

“Well, as luck would have it, I happened to catch them in the act myself. Naturally, even I was furious. I beat His Majesty black and blue while he was stark naked, made him sit seiza, and gave him a thorough scolding.”

“Whoa… You actually caught them cheating in the act.”

“His Majesty was entirely at fault in this matter. He was unable to control his feelings after becoming attracted to Marsha. Naturally, I had Marsha resign from her position as tutor, but I made sure she received suitable compensation in return.”

If the most powerful man in the entire kingdom came after you, refusing him would probably be pretty difficult. And considering the circumstances, I could certainly understand the Queen’s anger.

“So, after Sue was born, her mother eventually passed away from an illness?”

“That is correct. His Majesty deeply regretted what had happened, and he would often visit Sue under the pretext of meeting with the baron. Sue had done absolutely nothing wrong, after all. So I treated her just as I would my own daughter.”

The Queen sipped her tea—now slightly cooled—as if to regain her composure.

To think that Sue harbored such a secret…

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The carriage carrying all of us eventually arrived at the carriage stop in the royal castle’s gardens.

“Hmm, hmm… At first glance, this appears to be nothing more than an ordinary covered wagon, but it has the latest equipment installed. How very intriguing. And those horses are a specialty of the Western Margrave’s territory, too.”

For some reason, the Queen began examining our carriage and horses from all sorts of different angles.

What in the world was going on?

“Mmm, it’s an excellent carriage. Sue, simply acquiring a carriage like this is proof enough that you’ve become quite an accomplished adventurer.”

“Ah, t-thank you very much.”

“I’d like you to show me that warm-looking table inside the carriage later.”

The Queen smiled happily as she praised Sue, but her powers of observation really were incredible.

She must have assumed that Sue had the financial means to acquire a carriage valuable enough to be worth this much.

As for the fact that “I” was actually the one who bought the carriage and horses… I decided not to mention that for now. I should introduce myself to the Queen while I had the chance.

“Your Highness, my name is Shun. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.”

“Shiro is Shiro! And this slime is Ao!”

“I’m Fran!”

“I-I’m Horn.”

“Excellent. It is good to see such well-mannered children. I am Victoria, the Queen of this kingdom.”

After we exchanged introductions, the Queen dropped an absolute bombshell.

“And I am Sue’s adoptive mother.”

“Huh?”

“W-Wait a moment, Your Highness! You can’t just say that here…”

What exactly is going on…?

The Queen is Sue’s adoptive mother?

But isn’t Sue the daughter of a baron?

Sue herself didn’t deny what the Queen had said.

Shiro seemed to vaguely understand what it meant, but Fran and Horn were still too young to grasp the significance at all. As for Ao and me, we could only stand there frozen in shock.

“Mmm, I imagine you’re having trouble processing all this. I’ll explain everything, so come along.”

With that, the Queen briskly entered the royal castle, her attendants following close behind.

We followed Sue, who had already gone ahead.

I would probably learn the truth about Sue’s hidden identity. Even so, I felt that I needed to know.

And so, we entered a reception room inside the royal castle.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

“Shun-oniichan, these snacks are delicious!”

“They’re really tasty.”

“I-I see. Well, that’s good to hear.”

Even Shiro was unusually quiet for once, but Fran and Horn, who had no idea what was going on, had no qualms about helping themselves to the tea and snacks that had been served.

“You mustn’t remain tense the entire time. Shun, Sue, and Shiro, have some tea and relax.”

“Yes…”

The three of us obediently drank the tea as the Queen encouraged us to.

It was by far the most delicious tea I had ever tasted, and little by little, I could feel myself beginning to calm down.

“This black tea has a relaxing effect. I drink it quite often myself.”

The Queen took a sip of her own tea.It seemed that she, too, had made up her mind about something.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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With the meeting finally over, we left the military facility and set off for the royal capital. At our current pace, we should arrive in about an hour.

“I’ll take over as the coachman from here.”

“I’m riding up front too!”

“Fran wants to sit there as well.”

“Horn too.”

From here on, Sue, who normally lived in the royal capital, took the reins. Shiro and the others seemed to be having a wonderful time sitting beside her in the coachman’s seat. There were considerably more people and carriages on the highway now, so we proceeded carefully.

“Wow, those walls are huge.”

“They were built tall and strong to protect the city.”

As we gradually drew closer to the walls, we joined the line at the checkpoint.

Apparently, there was a separate checkpoint for nobles, but Sue chose to line up with the regular travelers.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

“Whoa! That’s an incredibly fancy carriage coming this way!”

“That carriage bears the royal family’s crest.”

A carriage even more lavish than the one belonging to a Margrave’s family came toward the checkpoint—not the line reserved for nobles, but an even more exclusive checkpoint beside it.

Just as Sue had said, there were probably only a handful of people in the entire kingdom wealthy enough to own a carriage that extravagant.

Screech.

““““Huh?””””

Wait, wait, wait. Why on earth is that ridiculously luxurious carriage stopping right beside ours?

The unexpected turn of events left everyone sitting in the coachman’s seat frozen in place, staring toward the magnificent carriage.

“Oh? That figure… Could it be you, Sue-chan? So you’ve returned to the Royal Capital.”

“H-Her Majesty!”

To our astonishment, the person who poked her head out from the luxurious carriage was none other than the Queen of this kingdom.

Even Sue was utterly taken aback by the appearance of someone so important.

“Perfect timing. You and the others should come to the royal castle with me. I’ll send a messenger to Baron Victory’s residence and let them know that you will be going there after visiting the royal castle. Just follow behind my carriage.”

“Yes, Your Highness…”

With a gentle smile, the Queen proceeded to decide all of our plans for the rest of the day. Our carriage followed directly behind hers, and we passed through the city walls with hardly any inspection at the checkpoint.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

“Sue, you’ll probably be meeting with the Queen at the royal castle. Wouldn’t it be better to change clothes while we still have the chance?”

“No, I believe it will be fine. There are rooms inside the royal castle where I can change.”

Just to be safe, I checked with Sue about our clothes, but apparently there was nothing to worry about. Our carriage continued down the main street, steadily drawing closer and closer to the royal castle.

“It looks like the royal palace was built right onto the royal castle.”

“That is exactly the case. The royal castle is primarily the residence of the royal family and those closely associated with them, while most of the kingdom’s governmental affairs are handled in the royal palace.”

So they clearly separated the places where they lived from the places where they worked.

That made sense. The kingdom was enormous, after all. There was no way they could manage all the kingdom’s affairs from the royal castle alone.

Hmm? Wait a minute.

“Then, Sue… We’re heading to the royal castle, not the royal palace, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct. The royal castle.”

“Which means we’re going into the royal family’s private quarters?”

“Yes, that would be the case. However, His Majesty’s office is located inside the royal castle, so quite a few nobles visit it.”

Judging from the Queen’s words, there was a good chance we were actually going into the private section of the royal castle.

Oi oi… We literally just arrived in the royal capital, and now I’m already going to meet one of the most important people in the entire kingdom?

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Drag, drag, drag.

“Shun-oniichan! We caught the bad guys!”

““Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!””

It wasn’t long before Shiro and the others came back with the culprits who had thrown the explosive magic devices. They were tied up from head to toe with rope. I’m guessing Ao was the one who did that.

There were two of them?

For some reason, Fran and Horn were carrying them in their arms like princesses, but I decided not to think too hard about it.

Thud. They casually dropped the culprits on the ground.

“Oh, Ao used Appraisal and confirmed that they’re members of the dark organization.”

“They said they’re executive-level.”

“Mm. They’re executive-level, but they were weak.”

And to think they were actually executive-level members…

Maybe there weren’t many people in the dark organization capable of handling those explosive magic devices.

“All right. Ao, and you three, you did a great job. I’ll add a bonus to your reward later, and you’ll get some snacks, too.”

“““Snacks!”””

Tory-san patted Shiro and the others on the head, but apparently food made them much happier than money. In that respect, they were still very much like children.

“Now that things have settled down a little, let’s talk. What we discuss will affect what happens from here on out.”

Tory-san led us to a conference room inside the military facility.

When we arrived, there were all sorts of important-looking people gathered there.

“Don’t be nervous. They’re senior officers in the army, but they’re all lower-ranked than I am.”

“Um… what rank are you, Tory-san?”

“I’m the division commander in charge of this garrison. I’m not the Commander of the Knights or the Minister of War, so you can relax.”

I’d figured Tory-sama must have held a fairly high rank because of his connection to Lady Emilia, but I never imagined he was actually a division commander…

We’d been traveling with someone far more important than I’d realized.

“Now, considering everything that’s happened, we need to report this to His Majesty. I’ve already sent him an outline of the situation, but the nuances can be quite different when you hear someone speak about it directly.”

“That’s true. You can convey the facts in a summary, but there’s also value in hearing the firsthand account.”

“Just as I’d expect from Shun. You understand well. Which brings me to the point: Shun, I want you to attend the army’s council of senior officials at the Royal Palace tomorrow.”

Uhm, Tory-san? Did you just casually say something absolutely outrageous?

Shiro and the others didn’t seem to understand what was going on, but Sue and Ao were looking at me with sympathetic expressions. Unfortunately, they valued their own safety too much to come to my rescue.

“Uh… why exactly am I being asked to attend the army’s council of senior officials?”

“Because you’re one of the people most responsible for resolving the incidents involving the dark organization in each of the Margraves’ territories. The Margraves themselves have recommended you, and His Majesty has also expressed a desire to meet you.”

Ugh… It was true that we’d dealt with all sorts of trouble in the various Margraves’ territories, but I never imagined things would escalate into something this big…

There was no way I could back out now.

“Tomorrow morning, a carriage from the Royal Palace will come to Lady Sue’s estate to pick you up. If possible, His Majesty would like not only Shun and Sue, but the children as well, to come along.”

“““Yaaay!”””

Oi, Shiro and the others… we’re not going to the Royal Palace for fun, you know.

Even though it wasn’t happening until tomorrow, I could already feel my stomach starting to ache.And so, I quietly wept inside.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Clip-clop, clip-clop.

“Oh! I can see a huge castle!”

“Wow! It’s so big!”

“The walls are huge, too!”

The next day, we finally caught sight of the walls surrounding the Royal Capital in the distance. Shiro and the others leaned out from the back of the carriage, staring excitedly at the cityscape far ahead.

“Now that we’re this close, we should reach the Royal Capital in about half a day.”

“““I can’t wait!”””

Sue was leaning out from the carriage as well as she gave us a rough estimate of when we’d arrive.

I imagine it must have been quite an emotional moment for Sue to finally be returning to the Royal Capital, where she had been born and raised. Incidentally, we’d reach the military facility in about an hour, which meant our mission would be completed for the time being.

“I remember being told that a field trip isn’t over until you’ve made it home. We haven’t actually entered the military facility yet, so we still need to stay on our toes.”

“Since it’s a clearly defined destination, there’s a chance the dark organization might try something.”

It wasn’t just Sue and me. Ao also remained vigilant. There’s still a possibility that the dark organization would make one final attempt to resist. And unfortunately, that concern was about to become a reality.

“All right. First, let’s get the prisoner transport carriage inside.”

While Tory-san gave orders to the troops, we stayed on guard around the area alongside the soldiers.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, something came flying from the highway and was thrown into the military facility.

Wait… isn’t that thing shaped like a grenade?

“Ao, magic barrier! Everyone, keep watch on our surroundings!”

““““Yes!””””

As I shouted the order, I also wrapped the object that had been thrown inside a magic barrier.

BOOOOM!

“So it really is some kind of explosive magic device.”

Whoosh.

“They’re throwing another one!”

“Gah! Magic barrier, again!”

They actually threw another explosive magic device right after the first one. This time, Sue and I worked together to enclose the explosive magic device inside a magic barrier.

BOOOOM!

“Phew. We stopped it, but I guess they really were going to make a move.”

“““Wait!”””

Shiro and the others, and Ao took off after the suspicious person who had thrown the explosive magic device. Even if the culprit managed to flee the scene, I seriously doubted they could escape Shiro and the others’ incredible sense of smell.

“Shun, Sue, you saved us. Thanks to you, we were able to get the prisoner safely inside the cell. The cells are sturdy enough that even a fairly powerful explosion or magical attack won’t break them.”

“But just as we suspected, the dark organization really did attack us.”

“If all they have to do is throw in an explosive magic device, then anyone who knows how to use magic devices could do it. They may be a little different from the expendable pawns we’ve encountered before.”

Tory-san came over to Sue and me and thanked us for stopping the attack.

Perhaps the dark organization had different people for different jobs: those who were only good for attacking, those who knew how to handle magic devices, and those who were capable of even more.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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