In a certain mansion within the Desert Town Cutlass, six men and women were gathered.
On one side were three Cruz, facing off against three figures concealed by cloaks.
“—Then, according to the plan.”
“How far has your main force advanced? If we wait too long…”
“Do not worry. But, it depends on the situation.”
“Hey, we believed your story—”
“The next move is already prepared. You wouldn’t want to waste this golden opportunity, would you?”
“You’ll keep your promise, right?”
“Yes, we will. But you understand as well, don’t you?”
“We understand that, but… who’s that? And the kid with them?”
“No need to pry. The kid is unrelated to us. Do as you please.”
“And—what about that pink-haired woman?”
“She is—”
“You’re back.”
Camille, descending the stairs from the upper floor of the crumbling watchtower, gave a faint smile of relief upon seeing my return.
This watchtower was Camille and Ron’s hideout. We hadn’t become complete allies, but we had decided to join forces to survive this situation.
There were things we didn’t tell each other. Things we couldn’t tell each other. Elena and my positions were such. I didn’t think they would harm us now, but that information could hinder us.
If Elena were known to be a Princess of the Kingdom of Claydale, even Jesha, who was currently a business partner, might try to secure Elena’s safety if the opportunity arose.
It was known that I was the “Ash-covered,” but it should still take time to connect that to the “missing princess,” so there was no need to carelessly leak information.
Similarly, we didn’t mention Ron and Camille’s true identities. Knowing their identities could restrict our actions.
“I bought food. I’ll give it to Chako.”
“Sorry… I appreciate it.”
“Thank you, Aria-san.”
Camille lowered his head, and Chako, the Cat Beastkin girl, appeared from behind him, apologetically accepting the food I took out.
They had rescued Chako from the Munza Society behind the scenes while I was fighting, but Camille and the others, who had repeatedly clashed with the Munza Society, hadn’t reconciled, and they were hiding Chako and the children here.
The Munza Society was probably preoccupied with Kushum’s death, but we decided it was still better for the two of them to refrain from walking around town. I thought Camille could secretly get food, but considering the distance and the increased number of mouths to feed, it was more efficient for me to carry it with 【Shadow Storage】.
Besides, there was something more important they needed to prioritize.
“Camille, have you gathered the materials?”
“Yeah. We’ve gathered quite a bit. But there are fewer adults around here now, so we have to go further…”
“I’ll consider that too. Should I give the Magic Stones to Ron?”
“He’s upstairs, so show your face while you’re at it. And… don’t push yourself too hard. Just having food and Rena here is a great help.”
“I know.”
I lightly punched Camille’s shoulder, who had a subtle expression as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t, and started climbing the stairs, passing by him.
I ascended the spiraling staircase that followed the inner wall of the tower. The watchtower looked like it could collapse at any moment from the outside, but the crumbling stairs and cracked walls on the inside were reinforced with plaster and logs.
They had been fixing “something” here for over a year.
Ron, who came to this land, reached this tower and Camille found it.
Whether by chance or necessity, the two, in similar circumstances, were initially wary of each other, but they felt a sense of empathy and began to act together.
How Ron reached this tower. Ahead, there was a reason why he reached the top of this tower.
“Ron, is the repair going well?”
“Hey, Aria. …About ninety percent, I guess.”
The tower’s rooftop had collapsed, and in that rain-exposed place, it was there.
Hot Air Balloon—the “knowledge” of that woman inside me told me what it was.
It wasn’t big. It was a small thing that could be filled with a few adults, but it should be able to get everyone here out of this desert.
I had never seen anything like a hot air balloon in the Kingdom of Claydale. It wasn’t simply because they didn’t have the technology, but because they had few means to counter the Monsters in the sky, it wasn’t an option for transportation.
But in this region, there didn’t seem to be any large flying Monsters like Griffons or Wyverns, only Rank 2 Great Eagles. Still, the balloon in my knowledge would be a sufficient threat, but it was being dealt with by increasing its strength by using Monster leather for the material.
But if Monster leather was used for the material, it would naturally become heavy. For that reason, it seemed that buoyancy was obtained by creating heat with a Magic Tool that used Fire Magic Stones instead of ordinary fuel.
The Magic Stones I brought were for that purpose.
“I brought Fire Magic Stones.”
“Thanks, that helps. This thing eats up fuel quite a bit.”
“How much more do we need to collect?”
“Hmm…”
Ron, who was repairing the hot air balloon, scratched his head lightly while considering the materials and processes he had on hand.
“If we’re going to the Calfaan Empire’s safe zone, we’ll need a little more. Conversely, if we’re just trying to get there, we can do it as is, but it won’t be easy.”
“Understood. I’ll hunt or buy them if I find them.”
We decided to head to the Calfaan Empire in this hot air balloon. Fortunately, Ron and the others also wanted to leave this town, which was becoming increasingly suspicious.
So we decided to cooperate, with Camille gathering materials for repairing the balloon and materials necessary for my alchemy in the ruins, and me selling potions in town to buy Fire Magic Stones and food.
Ron would concentrate on repairs with the materials we gathered, and Elena would take care of the children with Chako, and establish a foundation for living with Light Magic and Water Magic.
There were advantages for them as well, and for me and Elena, it was helpful to have such a hideout since we couldn’t use the town’s inn after antagonizing the Killri Company.
The plan was set. But repairing the balloon itself was a problem.
Maintaining the hot air balloon cost money. The balloon itself required the leather of a heat-resistant Armor Lizard called “Fire Lizard,” but only the soft belly part could be used, and if it wasn’t of a certain size, the number of seams would increase and the strength would decrease.
Moreover, even though it was called a Fire Lizard, the Magic Stone was Earth attribute. So, in order to obtain Fire Magic Stones, we had to hunt other Monsters or buy them in town.
In order to counter the Monsters in the sky, we needed at least two Rank 3 or higher Magicians, so only nobles could operate such a thing.
Ron, who owned it and came to this town, was probably a noble of the Calfaan Empire.
But we didn’t intend to pry into that. We were trusted enough to be told that they owned such an important thing.
We weren’t fools enough to break that trust by prying into why the noble Ron came to this town to investigate.
They and we were acting for our own purposes. But—
They were naive.
“Aria, are you going out again?”
“Yeah. There’s a little more I can do.”
When I returned from the rooftop and was preparing to go out again, Elena called out to me with a worried expression.
Time was never enough. Two months since we went missing—Elena and I estimated that we had about half a year until the country gave up on the princess’s survival, but as time passed, there would be those who would think of bad things. That’s why we had to send Elena to the Calfaan Empire as soon as possible.
“Wait—【Cure】—”
When Elena’s hand, which had stopped me, touched my cheek, a gentle light erased the heat of my cheek scorched by the desert heat.
“Thank you.”
“No… Aria, please be careful.”
I put on my cloak and hood again, and walked alone in the desert.
Leaving the watchtower where Elena and the others were—
“—【Illusion】—”
The illusory flames I created, the fire line of 【Dragon Breath】 that Carla was good at, licked the rocky area, and two shadows jumped out of the rocky area in an illusion that even expressed heat.
The two figures wearing desert-colored cloaks, one rolling on the ground while firing arrows from a crossbow-like weapon, and the other pulling out a dagger smeared with a slimy, oily poison, came straight towards me.
I entangled the arrow, which was probably also poisoned, in my cloak, dodged the dagger of the man who jumped in, and stabbed the entangled arrow into his face.
“――――ッ”
The man collapsed without screaming, and the ball-shaped Pendulum, released as if hiding in his shadow, hit the head of the guy who shot the arrow from the side, and he was blown away with a shrill scream.
A woman, huh? I immediately dove in, kicking her down before she could draw a weapon, and pressed the Black Dagger to her throat. She groaned.
“Y-you!”
“I’m the one asking questions. Who are you targeting?”
“…!”
The woman gasped as I released my Intimidation.
At that moment, the hood of the cloak the woman was wearing fell off, revealing the face of a Dark Elf girl, about my age, glaring at me.
A Dark Elf girl suddenly appeared. What is her purpose?
As I wrote in the comment section, I have summarized the “Otome Game”-like events in this world.
● Aria’s Grandparent’s Generation
・At that time, the Pink-Haired Girl, who was a princess of Melrose (reincarnated: the current Prime Minister’s sister), disguised herself as a man and entered the academy in order to escape the fate of the Heroine. She rejected the Crown Prince, gave him to the Villainess, and married the third prince of the Calfaan Empire, whom she got along with while studying abroad, and went to the Calfaan Empire.
● Aria’s Parent’s Generation
・The Heroine (fluffy blonde hair), who was of marquis family lineage but was adopted into a viscount family as the daughter of a concubine, grew up too innocently and became a lady who went out into the town. She brilliantly defeated Dandole, the Villainess who is now the Second Queen, and won the position of the Queen. She was able to become the Queen because of the support from the Marquis family from the shadows.
・At the same time, the Heroine (mixed race with Cruz, Countess daughter, bullied) born between the princess of Melrose who married into the Calfaan Empire and her husband, became tired of the Calfaan Empire, fell in love with the Evil Race target who attacked her, and married him as she was. The Villainess won the Queen’s seat.
The Heroines are aggressive (laughs).