Chapter 49: Return from the Castle Gate
“Wait! What have you done?!”
“Who knows?”
The knights lay sprawled on the ground, incapacitated by the non-activated mages. The scene was littered with bodies, though none were truly dead. There was no need to explain how this phenomenon occurred, but it was impressive that someone managed to activate Ice Bind. Perhaps I should strengthen the Magic Disruption Field a bit more.
After that, the mages attempted to cast spells one after another, but each one fizzled out spectacularly. Good, it seems that enhancing the Magic Disruption Field did the trick.
“Magic… won’t activate!?”
“Guh… damn it, I can’t move…!”
The Magic Disruption Field is quite handy. It consumes a lot of Magic Power, but I can see room for improvement. It likely drains so much because it disrupts constantly. If I could switch it to a Magic Detection Field that only activates disruption upon sensing fluctuations in Magic Power, I could significantly reduce the consumption.
“Hey, Shuu. Weren’t we supposed to be heading back?”
“Oh right, let’s save the experiments for later.”
As we passed by the immobile knights, I turned back, remembering something.
“Tobil, I’ll be back in two days, so please take care of things until then.”
“Ah, uh… sure…”
When I called out, I received a strained smile in return. If they weren’t going to take me seriously, I might as well specify a date. Still, I wonder if the Third Princess is actually in this castle.
“By the way, is the Third Princess not here?”
“I haven’t heard anything about her going out, but if she left incognito, it wouldn’t reach my ears.”
“I see… Thank you.”
I’m not sure how often she goes out incognito, but it can’t be that frequent. He seems to be in charge of castle gate security, so he should have a decent grasp of the royal family’s comings and goings. For now, I might as well trust him.
“Stop!”
Two knights who hadn’t been caught in the Magnetic Field stepped forward to try and stop us, but one of them accidentally let his sword slip into the field, causing it to stick to the ground. He hurriedly released his grip and stepped back, managing to avoid getting caught in the field.
“Damn it, what’s going on!?”
Leaving behind the knights who couldn’t approach and the mages who couldn’t use magic, we made our way to the exit. I noticed that the onlookers had vanished. Seeing the knights crawling on the ground, it was no wonder they couldn’t afford to be leisurely spectators.
Finally, with no one to hinder us, Rio and I stepped outside the castle.
“Ah, I’m so tired.”
The gatekeeper didn’t stop us, so we passed through without issue. If we had been stopped here, it could have turned into a troublesome situation.
“Seriously, we just went to check things out, and so much happened.”
In any case, our intention to visit the castle—specifically, Lily Arclight, the Third Princess—would have been communicated by now.
“Hm?”
As we crossed the bridge leading away from the castle gate, I heard a familiar voice amplified by my enhanced hearing. Looking over, I spotted a group of seven crossing the bridge on the entrance side. With my enhanced eyesight, I could clearly see their faces.
“Isn’t that my classmates?”
“Eh?”
Rio reacted to my murmured words, glancing at the group, and then instinctively hid behind me. However, since I was smaller, she wasn’t entirely concealed. Damn it.
“Honestly… a return order, and we were making such good progress in the dungeon.”
“Isn’t it better? I’d rather eat something delicious in a sunny place than be stuck in a dark dungeon.”
I caught snippets of conversation from Shimizu Masayoshi and Nagai Mei, who were wearing matching chokers, indicating their close friendship. Wait, all seven of them are wearing chokers. I remember those were sold as accessories; if they’re considered Magic Tools, they might have some effects when worn.
“It seems they haven’t noticed us.”
“Looks like it…”
As I continued to observe, they disappeared into the aristocratic entrance, which was devoid of any line.
“Hm, either way, it’s only a matter of time before our classmates find out we were at the castle…”
“True… I guess we’ll just have to brace ourselves…”
Rio wore a serious expression, but I felt there was no need to worry too much.
“I think we’ll be fine. I sensed their Magic Power, and it didn’t seem that impressive. Didn’t they mention having a Great Sage or a Grand Sorcerer among them?”
“They did say that… But with that level of Magic Power, maybe they’re not that formidable after all.”
“Still, we shouldn’t let our guard down.”
“Yeah.”
Even if they hold titles like Great Sage or Grand Sorcerer, they might possess some incredible Skills.
“Speaking of which… I’m getting hungry…”
As Rio rubbed her stomach, a soft growl echoed from her belly. It was already past noon. I hadn’t expected to be surrounded at the castle gate, and it felt like we wasted a lot of time.
“Ahaha, that’s a cute sound. Let’s grab something delicious to eat on our way back.”
“Stop it!”
Rio’s cheeks flushed as she playfully hit my back, and I felt a warmth spread through me as we left the castle gate. I was hungry too, craving a hearty meal as we made our way home.
After that, we enjoyed a peaceful lunch without any interruptions, and the day passed by in blissful tranquility.