“Princess (Your Highness), preparations for departure are complete. The schedule is pressing, so we should be going soon.”
The captain of the Fifth Company, who came from the Second Knight Order to provide security during the exercise, called out to Elena.
“Is it that late already? Aria-san, the female student accompanying me, has not yet returned. Could we wait for her to come back?”
This exercise observation is intended for children of Baron families or higher who own territory. Aria-san, who became an adopted daughter of a quasi-Baron family, is not qualified to participate, but upper nobles of Earl families or higher are allowed to bring one companion, so Elena naturally chose Aria-san.
Originally, as royalty, Elena could have insisted on having multiple guards, but she insisted on being a role model for the other students, and with the elite of the Second Knight Order, about forty soldiers in the company, acting as guards, she only had Aria-san as her personal guard.
A company-sized force would include 200 soldiers if you include regular soldiers, but considering the travel by carriage, even with only knights, it would be a sufficient number for a few days of guarding.
Elena, who was sitting on a bench in the open air, replied, and the company commander gave a dry smile, as if admonishing an uncooperative child.
“Princess (Your Highness), if possible, please consider the other students who are already waiting in the carriages. Besides, if it’s Aria-san, we can have her follow in another carriage immediately, so I think you can meet her at the rest stop along the way.”
“Is that so…”
Their company, entrusted with guarding the Princess (Your Highness) within the Second Knight Order, is the elite of the elite.
All of the squad leaders are Rank 3, and in particular, the company commander, Ludger, is one of the few Rank 4 knights in the Knight Order at the young age of his early thirties, and also the head of a Baron family, so his words cannot be easily dismissed.
“Understood. Then, I’ll leave it to you to guide us along the way. Please arrange for Aria-san to join us by the end of the day.”
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
Although it feels somewhat unnatural, constantly being suspicious would call the royalty’s qualities into question. And when the other students were brought up, she couldn’t possibly say “wait.”
And so, Elena left behind Aria-san, the girl who was both her shield and sword, and boarded the noble carriage that had been prepared. Inside the carriage were the daughters of a Baron family without a son and a Viscount family, and a boy who was the grandson of the Temple head, said to be the infamous Robe Baron.
“It’s been a while, Nasanitaru. Is the Temple Head-sama in good health?”
“Y-yes, Your Highness! Grandfather is doing well!”
The boy, who was about the same size and had the same cute face as the other young ladies, answered Elena with a nervous expression when she made small talk.
“By the way… you didn’t bring a companion, did you?”
“Yes, I am a child of the Temple before I am a noble. I can take care of myself!”
What he was saying was admirable, but from his expression and tone, Elena understood that he was dyed in the Temple’s ideology, which seemed to blame the secular nobility. Elena tried not to show her disappointment on her face and gave up on talking to Nasanitaru any further.
Sensing the atmosphere, the young ladies also remained silent, and Elena, bored in the carriage that was moving forward in silence, looked out the window and noticed that the carriage, which should have been heading east on the south side of the Royal Capital, was moving through the forest.
“Where is this carriage headed? Judging from the direction of the sun, it seems to be heading south?”
When she called out to the coachman through the small window in the front, the coachman soldier called out to someone, opened the door of the carriage without stopping, and Ludger got in from the horse that was running alongside.
“Excuse me, Princess (Your Highness). Please be quiet, will you?”
“You…!”
“We will be taking Your Highness to a certain place from now on. As long as you remain quiet, I guarantee the safety of the other students.”
“What!?”
“Captain!”
“You bastard, you killed Joey!”
Joey, who had been stabbed through the heart, collapsed, and the other knights turned their anger towards me, who was holding the bloodstained Black Knife.
“How dare you!”
Probably a friend among his colleagues. A knight of the same age as Joey thrust out his sword as if jumping out, and while dodging the tip of the sword with minimal movement, I thrust the Black Knife into the knight’s throat.
“Damn it!”
“Surround her! Don’t let her escape!”
“Yeah!”
Their combat ability is around 200… around the upper ranks of Rank 2. I think Joey, who was the squad leader, was about Rank 3, but the reason why they don’t retreat even after Joey and one of his companions have been defeated is because they still think they have the advantage.
When multiple people fight in a narrow space like a room, the space for evasion is limited, so it is more advantageous to wear a shield or armor. Even I would first create distance and scatter them before trying to defeat them individually if I were facing a warrior of the same rank in the field.
The reason why they thought they could beat me even with the difference in rank is probably because of the sense of security they get from wearing armor and because of my appearance as a thin child.
But the premise is different. It’s not like I can’t evade even in a narrow space.
“What!?”
I deflected the slightly faster attack with my knife, and placed one hand on the head of the knight who had charged in, and evaded to the “ceiling” as if jumping up.
I put my feet on the ceiling about three meters high as if I was upside down, and while rotating with my whole body, I twisted the neck of the knight I was holding, took out the Black Dagger from my calf from inside my fluttering skirt, pierced the temples of the knights on the left and right with the knife and dagger, and landed on the floor as if fluttering my skirt.
“I-impossible…”
“Why is the scout so strong!”
“Such a little girl!”
Three left. If you want to overcome the rank difference, risk your lives. And unfortunately, I’m a scout-type Adventurer, but my real job isn’t “scout.”
Even if the knights are wearing armor, if it’s not full plate armor worn on the battlefield, but light armor with a breastplate or gauntlets over chainmail, if there is even a little bit of bare skin showing, an “Assassin” can kill them.
Before they could recover from their confusion, I slipped into their gaps and stabbed a dagger into the side of one knight over the chainmail, while slashing the neck of another knight with a knife.
I kicked off the ceiling as if jumping over that knight, and with that momentum, I kicked the face of the knight in the back with the hard heel of my loafer until it caved in.
“You’re the last one. Where did you take Elena-sama?”
“Damn…”
When I pointed the bloodstained knife at him, the knight, who had been stabbed deeply in the side with a dagger, glared at me with a face covered in greasy sweat while kneeling on one knee on the floor.
“Don’t… underestimate us. Our belief as aristocratic faction knights who grieve for the nation will never be revealed, even if we are tortured–”
“Then die.”
I slashed the knight’s neck horizontally with a knife in the middle of his words, and stopped his breath.
If he won’t say it even if he’s tortured, then it’s a waste of time to talk. I don’t know what kind of beliefs the aristocratic faction had, but since they laid their hands on royalty, the lowest-ranking knights must have been prepared for the death penalty.
Even if I managed to get something out of such a determined person, there would be no time to confirm whether it was correct information.
“Elena…”
Just to be sure, I confirmed that Joey had nothing on him before chasing after Elena.
When I returned to the meeting place, there was no sign of the carriage, and after confirming the faint traces of the wheels left on the ground, I ran in the direction that the carriage seemed to have disappeared.
I confirmed that Elena’s carriage had passed through the south gate of the school. After showing the royal family’s mark and asking the mansion’s butler to deliver a message, I continued to follow the wheel tracks, but on the way, around the entrance to the forest, they were mixed in with multiple wheel tracks and I could no longer follow them.
Which way did they go? Is there any overlooked trace?
While thinking about this and sharpening my [Detection] to the limit to search the surroundings, I suddenly noticed a non-human “gaze” watching me from afar.
I turned around and strained my eyes into the darkness of the forest–
“…Nero?”
『…………』
The Mystic Beast Kuaal appeared again. Whether by chance or necessity, Nero, whom I had named, was staring at me silently as if trying to see through me.
In the dim forest in the early morning, we stared at each other as if confirming each other, and I quietly pointed the Black Dagger at Nero.
“If you’re going to get in my way, I’ll fight you. If not–“
『Gaaaaaaaah!』
At that moment, Nero’s tentacles, which had jumped out of the darkness, and my Black Knife intersected and collided, and as I changed my posture, I thrust the dagger into Nero’s forehead.
“Lend me your strength, Nero.”
–Yes–
Nero, responding to my question, approached me with an agility that belied his massive size, sniffing at the ground where the tracks had become indistinguishable.
“…Can you tell?”
『Gaa…』
It felt like he was saying, “Why wouldn’t I?”
Why was Nero siding with me? Had he acknowledged me in that battle?
When we parted ways, Nero called me “Moon.” The Spirit also called me the child of the “Moon Rose,” and Carla said she reached out to me because I was like the moon.
How does “I” appear in the “world” they see…?
“Let’s go, Nero.”
—Yes, Moon—
I ran alongside Nero as he moved to follow the tracks. After running for a while, I spotted two knights in the distance trying to force female students in uniforms into a carriage.
“Nero.”
『Gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!』
The knights flinched and turned around at Nero’s roar, and I, charging in, instructed the female students.
“Get down!”
The knights hesitated for a moment at the voice of “the enemy,” while the two female students reflexively ducked.
With Body Enhancement at full throttle, I wrapped the Pendulum’s thread around a branch and leaped upwards. Nero, who had been charging at full speed, sent the knights flying with his massive body as they involuntarily followed my movement with their eyes.
“Vanish.”
While still in mid-air, I wrapped the two Pendulum threads around the necks of the airborne knights, kicking off the empty air to spin and use centrifugal force to snap their necks. Then, I released the threads and tossed them into the surrounding Forest.
“Are you two alright?”
“Y-yes.”
The female students were the young ladies who were supposed to depart together. Why were they here? The Viscount’s daughter, while frightened by the giant beast Nero, replied, and the Baron’s daughter started speaking with a startled expression.
“Princess (Your Highness) and a male student, Baron (he) in priestly robes, are still being held captive! We were told we would be a hindrance because there were too many of us…”
“And where is Elena (she)?”
“In that direction! About a quarter of an hour’s walk!”
I glanced in the direction the Baron’s daughter pointed, then turned back to the young ladies.
“Stay in that carriage. Reinforcements should be coming later.”
“Yes!”
“Please save the Princess (Your Highness)!”
“Let’s go, Nero.”
『Gaa』
Waved off by the young ladies who were clasping their hands in prayer, we started running again to hurry onward. If it was a 30-minute walk for them, it shouldn’t take me and Nero even 10 minutes.
Thinking that, I climbed a tree to avoid overlooking anything, and as I moved while scanning the surroundings, leaping from tree to tree, I saw a large tent like those used on battlefields in an open space in the Forest, and headed in that direction.
“…!”
Nero deflected an arrow that came flying with his antennae.
They had archers as lookouts. The enemy was different from mere Bandits after all. I pinpointed the location from the direction the arrow came from and retaliated with a poisoned Crossbow from my Shadow Storage.
Whether the arrow hit by luck or not, the archer fell from the tree. However, because I had counterattacked the surprise attack, I could no longer launch a surprise attack myself, and we, losing our balance, leaped out of the trees and ended up revealing ourselves to the knights near the tent.
“Aria (she)!”
“Elena (she)… are you safe?”
Before I could feel relieved at the voice I heard, the knights, wary of me and Nero, drew their weapons and formed ranks.
Rank 3 knights, probably about the same level as Joey, surrounded Elena (she) and a boy named Nasanitaru (he/him), while a man in his thirties who seemed to be a company commander and a middle-aged man who looked like a noble quietly stepped forward, protected by the knights.
“As expected of the ‘Rainbow Sword.’ To have defeated my men and already caught up at your age…”
“Ludger (he/him), what is that beast? Does the academy keep such monsters?”
“No, Viscount Savoia (he). I believe it is a Monster tamed by that Adventurer girl… Miss Aria (she), would you please have that beast withdraw from this place? If you resist, the boy there will be left with permanent scars on his face.”
“Hii…”
Nasanitaru (he/him), who had a dagger pointed at his face by a captured knight, let out a small scream with a frightened expression, and the Knight Order Captain called Ludger (he/him) spoke again.
“As a guard of the Princess (Your Highness), you should understand the situation. Throw down your weapons and surrender. To be honest, we want to avoid antagonizing a famous Adventurer party. If you continue to guard the Princess (Your Highness) on our side, I promise you a reward of equal or greater value.”
“…Nero, fall back.”
『…………』
When I called out, Nero, understanding the situation, returned into the Forest and hid himself.
I also remembered hearing that name, Viscount Savoia (he). He was supposed to be a noble of the Aristocratic Faction, famous for being a radical, that Sera (she) had told me about.
Had the Aristocratic Faction, which had been quiet for a while, started moving again…? Viscount Savoia (he), smiling in relief as Nero disappeared, spoke to the captured Elena (she).
“It’s a bit unexpected, but Princess (Your Highness), could you also call on your guard to surrender? If you are obedient, we don’t intend to do anything, but if you continue to be so rebellious, we will have to resort to this.”
“…………”
Elena (she)’s face twisted in disgust as Viscount Savoia (he) shook a small black bottle with his finger.
That bottle… I had seen it once at my master’s place. It was a protective bottle for storing special chemicals used by the Evil Race, although it was empty.
I didn’t know what kind of drug it was, but judging from Elena (she)’s expression, it was probably something close to a narcotic that would rob her of her free will and leave her one step away from being a vegetable.
Elena (she) looked around, glanced at the frightened Nasanitaru (he/him), then let out a small sigh and turned a wry face towards me.
“Aria (she)… thank you for coming. I’m glad.”
Elena (she) took a breath there, then turned her straight eyes to me.
“From here on, you can do as you please. Following me will lead to terrible things. I want even just you to live ‘freely.'”
“…Elena (she).”
“Princess (Your Highness)… that won’t do…”
“Kuh.”
As Viscount Savoia (he) waved his arm, the knight holding Elena (she) twisted her arm.
I see… Elena (she). You’ve made your “resolve.”
Then I will… do as “I please.”
“—Iron Rose (アイアンローズ)—”
At that moment, my figure vanished from their sight, scattering the remnants of light like wings, and with super-speed movement, I slashed the necks of the knights holding Elena (she) and Nasanitaru (he/him), grabbed Elena (she) in my right arm, grabbed Nasanitaru (he/him) by the collar with my left hand, and descended to a place away from the knights.
“Aria (she)…”
“Elena (she), I will be allowed to do as ‘I please.'”
My pinkish-blonde hair changed to ash-iron color like burnt ash, and I muttered in a cold voice, looking down at Viscount Savoia (he) and the others, who were still wide-eyed and unable to grasp the situation.
You all—
“Die here.”
Satsubatsu!
Elena (she) is prepared to oppose the Aristocratic Faction. Aria (she) won’t stop either.
Next time, Aristocratic Faction Conspiracy ③: Protecting Elena (she) while fighting 30 members of the Knight Order in a serious battle.
Supplement:
Nasanitaru (he/him) is also a capture target, but he, including the other capture targets, is mentally ill to varying degrees.
Originally, the Heroine (she) would purify them there…