Final Battle
Satou here. They say the good you do for others is good you do for yourself. I’ve certainly seen some people who seem to misunderstand the meaning of that phrase, but I think I’ve also experienced its true meaning many times. And it applies in a parallel world, too.
“Where’s Princess Meetia…? Ah, there you are.”
When we arrived in the cylindrical cavern, we found ourselves above the ledge where Princess Meetia and the plunderers stood.
On the ledge, which was about three hundred feet away from us, the stern-faced knight was fighting a giant man with a battle-ax.
The other noble kids and their guardians were on a plateau even farther down, fighting desperately against two war mantises.
As I looked on, I saw the woman plunderer lead her band along the wall to join the fight on the plateau.
“No stairs, huh?”
It looked like there had once been a spiral staircase down along the wall from here, but it had long since collapsed, leaving only some remains.
“Uh-oh, Miss Ravna’s sword broke.”
Arisa, who I was carrying under one arm, used the Space Magic spells Clairvoyance and Clairaudience to observe the situation.
Setting her down on the floor, I produced some pebbles in my hand, getting ready to join the battle.
Liza and the others should catch up soon, too.
The army would take a little longer to get here, but I’d destroyed any enemies I saw along the way, so they should be fine.
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up a conversation from the cliff.
“Done already, are we?”
“Even if her sword breaks, a knight’s heart never wavers.”
Ravna really was a gallant knight.
If I wasn’t careful, I might even fall for her chivalry.
“I’m going to go help. Arisa, once the others get here, let them know what’s going on.”
“Okay, got it.”
If it came down to it, I could always fall back on “Skyrunning,” so I went ahead and used the crumbling ruins of the stairs to run down.
“…Please help.”
“Geh-heh-heh, you crying, Princess? Who’s going to save you, huh?”
My “Keen Hearing” skill caught Princess Meetia’s plea and the plunderer thug mocking her.
“Who, you ask? Why, a noble band of heroes, of course!”
Arisa’s shout interrupted the revolting thug’s mockery.
She must have used the voice amplification magic tool that was normally reserved for calling out orders.
The people below us all looked up as I came down toward them.
“Some idiot is running down the wall!”
Come on—don’t be rude.
The plunderers on the ledge pointed their weapons toward me.
If I had a phobia of pointy objects, the bristling swords and short spears would probably tempt me to turn away.
Instead, I unfurled a preprepared scroll from my breast pocket.
Using the Light Magic spell Illusion to make some convincing magic runes appear in the air, I used my magic menu to fire off the Remote Stun spell with as much moderation as I could.
“A magic scroll?!”
“Ready the Ultramarine Turtle Shield!”
The plunderer underlings shouted at one another, but they couldn’t do anything from such a short distance.
Invisible Magic Bullets sent their shields and weapons flying, and the small-fry plunderers started to shriek and collapse to the ground.
“Knight Ravna! I’ll back you up!”
As I approached, I drew my fairy sword and called out to the stern knight.
It was fairly dark in here, so I thought she might not be able to see me.
“I’ll crush you, Princess!”
The giant plunderer grabbed Princess Meetia by her small neck.
You really think I’d let you do that?
Taking advantage of his large size, I used “Warp” to teleport myself right behind him.
Before he could even react to my sudden disappearance, I lashed out with my fairy sword.
Slashing through his wrist tendon, I kicked the plunderer in the stomach, sending him flying into the Plunderer King Ludaman before he could deliver a finishing blow to the knight.
Using an umbrella of Magic Hand to catch the blood, I put it into my Trash folder in Storage and caught the released Princess Meetia.
“M-my hand!”
“Out of the way!”
Ludaman cursed and booted the giant plunderer out of the way.
As the giant stumbled, the remains of Ravna’s sword jabbed through his forehead.
Yikes, no mercy… Can’t you keep the gore to a minimum, please?
Sensing that the Plunderer King was ready for any attack she might make, the knight backstepped over to me instead.
“Thank you for your assistance.”
“Don’t worry about it. Use this to recover, please.”
I handed a small pouch of magic potions to the chivalrous knight.
“Tch, ye must be crazy to come down the wall like that.”
I shrugged at Ludaman. “It was the only option I had to save my friends.”
The plunderers I’d knocked out with a reduced version of Remote Stun started to pull themselves up from the ground.
On top of that, my radar showed several dozen more plunderers on their way to this ledge.
Not that they were any threat to us.
“Hmph. Think yerself a hero, do ye, brat?”
“You don’t have to be a hero to rescue your friends from a bad guy.”
I would leave things like that to Hayato the Hero.
If I could rescue the people I knew, that was good enough for me.
I’d never turn my back on someone dying before my eyes, but I didn’t make a habit of deliberately seeking out people who were in trouble and saving them.
“I’m ready, Sir Pendragon. That man is strong. We’ll have to work together if we hope to defeat him.”
“Ye really plan to fight with that broken sword?”
The Plunderer King sneered.
Oh right, Knight Ravna’s sword was broken.
I produced a Magic Sword from Storage by way of my Garage Bag.
It was the Flame Sword I made with the help of Arisa and Mia before.
I’d made some others during this round of labyrinth exploration, but I obviously couldn’t break out a handmade orichalcum Holy Sword in front of all these people.
“Please use this, if you like. I apologize that it’s not a broadsword.”
“Is this a Magic Sword…? What a remarkable blade. Victory will surely be ours with this.”
Ravna produced fire and “Spellblade” around the magic blade.
“Oh-ho? That’d fetch a pretty price, eh?”
Ludaman licked his lips.
“With evenly matched weapons, I shan’t fall to the likes of you.”
“We’ll see about that, now, won’t we?”
The plunderer produced some pills from his bosom and crunched them down.
My AR display showed them as a pill version of demonic potion.
“Aye, the power’s coursin’ through me.”
Plunderer King Ludaman’s status condition changed to Demonic Potion: Overdosed.
Across the surface of his body, red magic runes formed like rope and disappeared.
“Right now, I’m the strongest man aliiiive!”
The dark light of magic still enveloping his body, the Plunderer King roared and charged toward us.
Ravna blocked the battle-ax as it swung down at her.
Red light and flames danced between the two.
The ground below the knight’s feet started to give way, like an effect from an action manga.
Cracks ran through the ledge.
At this rate, wouldn’t this whole cliff break soon?
Then I saw a change on my radar.
“You’re wide open, kid.”
A scantily clad plunderer jumped at me from behind with a curved blade.
Then there was a light pop, and the female plunderer was sent flying as if she’d taken an invisible punch.
“Thank you, Lulu!”
Lulu had sniped down my would-be attacker before I needed to counterattack.
“Tch, got a mage on yer side, do ye?”
As the rest of my group arrived at the top of the cliff, Ludaman looked up at them and cursed.
“We’re coming, master!”
“Here we gooo?”
“Let’s do it, sir!”
The beastfolk girls scrabbled down the sparse footholds on the wall.
Hey, that’s dangerous! What if you fall?!
I quickly prepared my Magic Hand, then anxiously watched until the girls touched down safely.
“Magic Swords and a Magic Spear, too! Those weapons are as good as ours, lassie!”
The plunderers, who’d been playing dead, jumped up to attack the beastfolk girls.
Like Ludaman, they had taken demonic potions and were glowing with red magic circles.
“If you dare stand before my master’s Magic Spear, prepare to give up everything but your life!”
Leaving a trail of red light behind her, Liza charged into the midst of the drug-enhanced plunderers.
“Achilles’ heel?”
With “Spellblade” on both her Magic Swords, Tama stayed low to the ground and darted about, cutting at the plunderers’ Achilles tendons.
“Tch, you think you can beat us?!”
A plunderer with a giant Ultramarine Turtle Shield stood in Pochi’s way.
“Take this, sir!”
Pochi used a foothold in midair to accelerate upward, leaping right over the shield in front of her.
“Double jump, sir!”
She must have acquired a skill that was an earlier form of “Skyrunning.”
From the look of things, it was safe to leave Liza and the others to take care of the small-fry plunderers.
“Sir Satou! Ravna needs help!”
From behind me, Princess Meetia pointed at her valiant knight.
Oops, that was close.
I caught the knight as the Plunderer King sent her flying toward me.
“I’ll slice both of ye in two!”
Aglow with red light, the battle-ax plunged toward us.
“Master!” Arisa’s desperate shriek echoed across the battlefield.
“Die!”
As Plunderer King Ludaman’s shout faded, a spray of red blood flew through the air, and the cliff was bathed in red light.
“Guess that’s a win for the power of teamwork?”
My fairy blade had blocked the battle-ax’s strike, while the knight’s Magic Sword slashed through his flank.
Quickly, Ludaman leaped back.
I wanted to chase him down, but I couldn’t abandon the knight when her legs had been severely injured, so I had to let the chance slide.
Just then, our reinforcements reached the noble children down below.
“It is I, Acting Viscount Sokell Bonam! Surrender, villainous plunderers!”
For some reason, Sokell was leading the troops.
If he was here in charge of these guards, then maybe the note I slipped into the guildmaster’s office about his demonic potion production scheme hadn’t come in handy just yet?
“They’ve got reinforcements already? Let’s get outta here, men.”
““Yes’m!””
After making a loud, monotone declaration like a bad actress, the dagger-wielding plunderer led her men up the wall to flee.
“Lord Sokell, war mantises!”
“Urgh! Kill them, quickly!”
“W-we can’t!”
Far from chasing after the escaping plunderers, Sokell started causing a panic about the war mantises that the nobles’ guardians were fighting.
Ah, if you run that way, you’ll put the noble kids in danger.
I spotted the chubby third son of the viceroy fleeing with a young girl.
Sokell was one thing, but I couldn’t let the noble kids or soldiers who were just doing their jobs get eaten.
A war mantis lunged at the viceroy’s son, so I flicked a pebble from Storage at it.
Without even arcing in the air, the pebble simply crushed right through the mantis’s compound eyes and drilled into the wall behind it.
KWAWWWMMMAAAA.
Letting out a shriek, the war mantis jumped off the cliff and fled as fast as its legs would carry it.
It wasn’t exactly the effect I was going for, but it did what I needed it to do, so we’d call it a win.
“Tch, guess it’s time— Retreat, boys.”
The Plunderer King Ludaman and his underlings threw down smoke bombs, covering the ledge with smoke.
You really think I’ll let you get away?
I used the onyx ring on my finger to produce an obsidian-like spear.
I’d only tossed it at him, but it broke the Plunderer King’s arm, pinning him to a wall.
“Gaaah! What’s this spear?! I can’t budge it!”
Battle-ax or no, there was no way you could break that thing from such an unnatural angle.
It was a magic object, after all. Since I poured plenty of magic into it, of course it produced a spear harder than steel.
“We’re leaving, Ludaman.”
“Hang in there, Cap’n Ludaman.”
The Plunderer King’s two top brass were quick to abandon their leader and flee under cover of the smoke bombs. Just the kind of heartless behavior you’d expect from a criminal bunch.
“D-damn you, you stubborn scale girl!”
“A hairy fellow like yourself has no right to look down upon the orangescale tribe.”
The scythe-wielding plunderer who was fighting Liza couldn’t seem to escape.
“Zoooom?”
“Don’t swing that, sir!”
As soon as Tama and Pochi joined the fight, the scale quickly tipped in the beastfolk girls’ favor.
According to the AR I could see through the smoke, the other small-fry plunderers had already been taken down by the beastfolk girls.
“Graaaah!”
Through the smoke, I dimly saw Plunderer King Ludaman swing his battle-ax, still pinned against the wall.
Oh, ew.
“Aaaargh!”
Blood flew everywhere as he howled like an animal.
Instead of the stone spear, Ludaman had aimed for his own arm that was pinned to the wall.
“You’d go that far just to get away…?”
While I stared in disbelief, the Plunderer King started to flee through the smoke.
Come on. I told you you’re not getting away.
I pulled out the scroll again to use the crowd-suppressing Short Stun spell.
Princess Meetia and her knight were nearby, but in the smoke, they probably wouldn’t notice anything unusual.
Confirming on the map that the plunderers in the smoke were now in the Fainted condition, I put away the scroll.
I’d rounded them all up in one fell swoop, even the ones who had already fled.
“Liza, when you’re done tying those guys up, get the unconscious ones in the passages there, too, please.”
Leaving the beastfolk girls to take care of the rest, I turned to heal the knight’s legs.
“This is worse than I thought.”
Both of the knight’s kneecaps had been shattered along with her armor.
“What, this? Pour a little alcohol over it and it’ll be good as new.”
No, I don’t think so.
Surely the knight knew that, too.
“Then allow me to do a little first aid for now.”
“Sorry to make more work for you.”
Pouring some distilled liquor over the wounds under the pretense of sterilizing them, I used the Practical Magic spell See Through to look at the broken bones, taking note of all the armor fragments and cloth fibers that had gotten inside and delicately removing them with Magic Hand.
Finally, I had her take an intermediate healing potion, and the job was done.
“Sir Pendragon, I truly appreciate your help and healing.”
“I only did what anyone would do.”
Smiling at the knight, I called Arisa and the others over from the passage with Telephone.
“Sir Satou, I thank thee, truly!”
“You did well, too, Princess Meetia.”
Princess Meetia threw her arms around me in gratitude. I patted her head as I waited for the others to arrive.
The noble kids and their guards down below were still fighting the remaining war mantis, but it looked like they would be able to win just fine without me, so I let them be.
“Master, we’ve finished apprehending the plunderers.”
“Thank you, Liza.”
Behind Liza lay the forms of the plunderers, tied up with sturdy rope.
Tama and Pochi were striking a victory pose in front of them.
Their sparkling eyes were practically begging me to praise them, so I patted their heads and said, “Good work, you two.”
Pochi’s tail wagged happily, and Tama rubbed her head against my hand just like a real cat.
Since I’d already praised them now, I would have to wait to scold them for their dangerous actions until after we got back to the house.
“Guards! Arrest Pendragon!”
Once I’d rejoined my group and was bringing Princess Meetia and company down to the noble kids and their guards, Sokell started shouting some nonsense again.
Even the guards looked flummoxed by his orders.
The noble kids were all exhausted, so most of them didn’t even look our way.
“Sir Sokell! What art thou on about all of a sudden?!”
Surprisingly, the only person to direct their anger right at Sokell was the tough young Princess Meetia.
I signaled to Arisa and the others not to get involved in the argument.
“Princess Meetia, Pendragon is the man behind this plunderer attack.”
“And what is thy proof?!”
“This man told us everything.”
Sokell jerked his chin toward his men, and an explorer appeared from behind the soldiers, tossing a man’s corpse at our feet.
Come on—can’t you treat the dead with a little more respect?
“Th-this man is the guide thou sent, is he not?!”
“No, not quite.” Sokell shook his head. “The guide I hired is this man.”
He pointed at the man who’d just tossed the corpse toward us.
“Then who is this dead man?!”
“A subordinate of Pendragon’s.”
All eyes turned to me at Sokell’s words.
“No, I’ve never seen this man in my life.”
According to the posthumous information in the AR display, he was an explorer who’d belonged to a criminal organization.
“Enough feigning ignorance! He confessed to everything before he died.”
Sokell sneered down at me sadistically.
He didn’t kill this man just to frame me, did he?
“Yeah, I dunno about that…”
“What?! Who was that?!”
Sokell whirled around in a rage at the voice that came from behind him.
“If that’s true, then what was Sir Pendragon’s motivation for putting the princess and the other children in danger? And why would he save them himself?”
“It’s obvious! He wanted to make a show of rescuing Master Gerits so that the viceroy and his wife would be indebted to him!” Sokell bellowed.
“I see. So the plunderers were all part of the plan.”
“Of course! There’s no other explanation.”
Sokell nodded in satisfaction.
It was as if he was explaining his own plan.
“Then I can say with confidence that that’s impossible.”
The speaker revealed himself from behind Liza and Nana.
“Sir Pendragon was with us. The fact that he made it there in time was nothing more than a coincidence.”
“You’re just one of his allies!”
“I am Captain Zeorun of the labyrinth army! And I swear on the name of the Ancestral King Yamato and the labyrinth army that we would never work with plunderers!”
“Wh-why would the labyrinth army be with Pendragon…? Is this General Erthal’s doing?!”
Sokell drew back in alarm.
“It is strange, isn’t it…?”
Arisa’s voice rang out through the silence.
“How did you know where this place was anyway, Acting Viceroy Sokell?”
Arisa spoke in the tone of a cat cornering a mouse.
“Hmph, I simply followed the signal from the gold badge, of course!”
Sokell gestured dramatically, as if trying to shake off the doubts being cast on him.
The explorer standing next to him looked at him with evident discomfort.
“Ohhh, is that so?”
Arisa snickered.
“What’s so funny, you little tart?! You dare mock me?!”
“Objection!”
Arisa struck a pose and pointed at Sokell.
“Any explorer worth their salt knows that a signal from a gold badge is only sent out a few times a day. Even if you did pick up that signal, there’s no way you could have gotten here this quickly!” Arisa declared triumphantly.
Now that she mentioned it, the east guild clerk did say something about that when we registered.
I was impressed that Arisa remembered it.
“The only way you could have found this place is if you happened to be passing nearby like we were or if you knew a crime would take place here from the very beginning!”
Sokell growled at Arisa’s words.
“That’s right! The plunderer woman who captured me said as much! ‘Once the viceroy’s guards come, we’ll just curse at them and run,’ she said! Guards rarely enter the labyrinth, yet the plunderers knew they would come here!”
Wow, Sokell was even worse than I thought.
“P-Princess Meetia, did my proposal offend you so that you feel you must now lie to harm my honor?! And yet, my love still lies forever with you!”
There wasn’t a single speck of this so-called love in Sokell’s eyes.
I doubted anybody would fall for an act like this.
“That’s enough.”
The viceroy’s guardian knight, who’d been listening in silence, stepped between Sokell and me.
This man was from a count’s family, just like Sokell.
“Sir Sokell, if you are innocent, swear on the name of the ancestral king and your family. Black-haired noble, I ask the same of you.”
His face was somewhat callous-looking, but he seemed fairly reasonable.
“I swear my innocence on the name of Ancestral King Yamato and the Pendragon family name.”
Sokell was still silent, so I spoke up first.
“And Sir Sokell?”
“I swear that I never intended to harm Master Gerits, on the name of Ancestral King Yamato and the family name of Count Bonam.”
Oh?
So it wasn’t just my imagination—his target wasn’t Princess Meetia.
That seemed strange, since I’d been hearing about his repeated proposals to her.
This made it seem all the more likely that he was the one who’d sent those black-clad thugs after Meetia.
“Very well. Then I declare you both innocent as of now. If anyone has an objection, they may submit it in writing to the viceroy.”
With that, the viceroy’s knight declared the matter settled.
Still, this was the second time Sokell had tried to accuse me of something…
Maybe instead of anonymous letters and such about Sokell’s demonic potion trade, I should take things into my own hands?
I checked the map.
Yep, tomorrow looks like the perfect opportunity.
On our way home, I killed time by writing out a plan to neutralize Sokell in my memo pad.
“Whew, I’m beat…”
“No kidding.”
Returning to our house in Labyrinth City, we drank tea that our head maid, Miss Miteruna, made for us.
Transporting the noble kids and the plunderers took more time than expected, so it was late in the night by the hour we returned.
Our capture of the Plunderer King Ludaman caused more of a fuss than I expected, but since we were all so tired, I arranged to return to the explorers’ guild another day for the investigation and such.
Since plunderers were criminals in the labyrinth, they fell under the authority of the explorers’ guild.
“Sleepyyy?”
“Yaaawn, sir.”
Tama and Pochi stretched out in my lap like cats.
The other kids were so exhausted that they were passing out on the sofa.
“Let’s sleep for now. We can take baths and eat in the morning.”
“Mm-hmm…”
Arisa looked beat, too.
She’d worked especially hard today, so I carried her to the bed princess-style, then did the same for each of the other girls.
Finally, once I’d laid Nana down, I threw myself into the last empty space on our extra-large bed.
“Morniiing?”
“Breakfast, sir!”
Tama and Pochi hopped on me the next morning, waking me from a deep, dreamless sleep.
I’d been up for only one night, but the false accusations from Sokell must have left me mentally drained.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Aye!”
“Pochi’s a good girl who sleeps well and eats well, sir!”
The pair struck a pose, and I patted their heads before we held hands and walked to the dining room.
“I tried to make a Japanese-style breakfast today, so there’s soy-boiled monster pumpkin and hopping potatoes, grilled eyeless fish, and cold tofu.”
We’d only just returned from our labyrinth exploration, yet Lulu had made us a very involved breakfast.
“…Cold tofu?”
“Yes, I heard that there was a shop in Labyrinth City that made tofu, so I asked Miss Miteruna to stock up for us.”
“There’s even minced ginger and green onions.”
“Mm, yummy.”
Dunking the tofu in soy sauce, Arisa opened her mouth wide and took a big, satisfied bite.
Then she followed that with a big helping of piping hot rice and chewed away happily.
“Sausaaage?”
“Mr. Thick-Cut Bacon is delicious, too, sir.”
“They’re both very good.”
Lulu had even prepared a meat option for the beastfolk girls.
After this peaceful breakfast, I was handed a troublesome letter from Miss Miteruna.
“What is it?”
“A summons from the viceroy.”
Removing the seal with a letter knife, I skimmed the contents.
“He wants to invite me to a luncheon as thanks for rescuing his third son, Gerits.”
Not only that, but it was to take place that very day.
In fact, I barely had two hours.
Considering nobles’ usual etiquette, this was a pretty urgent summons.
I was a bit concerned about this speed, but the viceroy and his wife were said to be doting parents, so I doubted they would treat me poorly after I saved their child’s life.
Curious about Sokell’s current whereabouts, I checked the map and found that he was at the viceroy’s office with the noble in green.
Shoot. Did he beat me to the punch while I was sleeping?
Cursing silently, I checked on the status of the demonic potion stash in Sokell’s basement.
That was still there, but I also saw that some explorers’ guild scouts and labyrinth army intelligence operatives were investigating Sokell’s basement.
There were people dispatched at the underground passage and its exit, too.
They must have let him go free so that they could investigate his home and catch him red-handed.
As long as major players like the noble in green, Baronet Dyukeli, and maybe even the viceroy himself weren’t backing him, as I’d heard at Viscount Siemmen’s party, it was only a matter of time before Sokell fell.
However, I was concerned about why Sokell would be with the noble in green and the viceroy and his wife at a time like this.
I would’ve liked to find out what they were discussing by using Clairvoyance and Clairaudience, but it’d be risky to try to spy on the viceroy’s office that was protected by the City Core, and the intelligence expert Poputema would surely notice any Space Magic.
I didn’t want to poke the hornet’s nest, so I decided not to try to get information that way.
Hmm?
As I scrolled back through the map, I happened to spot a carriage traveling toward Labyrinth City that was surrounded by dozens of thieves and criminal guild members.
“I have to take care of something.”
With that, I sped into the study and used Return to teleport to the Ivy Manor.
“D-don’t startle me, whelp! Erm, sir.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
I apologized to Lelillil as she toppled over in surprise, then ran out into the garden.
Manipulating the map, I fired the maximum amount of Remote Stun shots. Three rounds, just in case.
After a moment, all the criminals’ status conditions changed to Fainted, so I teleported to the secret basement of the mansion with Return.
“What in the world was that about?”
“Oh, I was just rescuing a carriage that was being attacked by thieves.”
“Honestly, you’re so overpowered.” Arisa rolled her eyes but didn’t question any further.
Now, I didn’t want to just show up at the viceroy’s luncheon empty-handed.
I didn’t have much time, but I decided to prepare a little parlor trick for them.
After all, what was a party without some surprises?
“Sir Pendragon, the viceroy and his wife await you. Right this way.”
The letter had definitely said “luncheon,” but the receptionist guided me to a parlor with no windows.
There was the viceroy and his wife, along with their guardian knights. In the Shiga Kingdom, important people normally entered the room after you, so this felt a little unusual.
Sokell and the noble in green weren’t here; my map said they were on standby in another room.
At least they weren’t planning on throwing me into jail, no questions asked.
“Welcome, Sir Pendragon.”
The viceroy’s wife was a plump middle-aged woman who bore a strong resemblance to their third son, Gerits.
She had probably been more cute than beautiful when she was younger.
The viceroy himself was a portly man, too, but his face bore a resemblance to his second son, Rayleigh.
“I’m told you rescued our little Gerits from danger yesterday. We can’t thank you enough.”
Without much in the way of introductions, the viceroy’s wife cut to the chase.
Most nobles tended to beat around the bush, but the viceroy’s wife seemed much more proactive, since she had been quick to invite me and to break the ice.
“And my butler tells me that you sent us plenty of expensive presents, too.”
Huh?
I had sent them presents, but I’d also rescued another son of theirs, Rayleigh, in addition to Gerits.
Were they planning on thanking me separately for that?
“I hope my humble gifts were to your liking, then—”
“So first you present us with all those gifts, and then you save Gerits? What do you intend to butter us up for, I wonder?”
The viceroy’s wife interrupted me in an almost accusatory tone.
Butter up?
Did she think I was trying to bribe them in exchange for a governmental position or something?
I thought I was just keeping up the same practices as the noble tea parties in the old capital, but maybe I should’ve researched local traditions more before I chose my gifts.
But I hadn’t had time to go ask the nobles Viscount Siemmen introduced me to for advice.
Oh, I know!
“Well, if I could make one request…”
“A request?”
The viceroy’s wife smiled at me patiently.
What was scary, though, was that her eyes weren’t smiling.
I had to choose my words carefully here.
“…Might I be able to ask you to reinstate the public orphanage?”
“Orphanage?”
“Yes, if possible. If a public orphanage is too much to ask, I would be more than grateful if you could offer me permission to build a private orphanage and provide food for the homeless and needy.”
At that, the viceroy’s wife’s smile widened.
What’s going on here? For some reason, she looked like a predator licking its chops.
“My, my, my. For such a young fellow, you certainly are compassionate toward the less fortunate.”
The viceroy’s wife rang a bell on the table.
Promptly, a maid led the noble in green and Sokell in from the other room.
Now what?
I had no idea what she intended to accomplish by bringing these two into the room now.
“Listen to this, Sir Poputema. Sir Pendragon wishes to provide an orphanage and food for homeless young children. Brings to mind the stories of the Cannibal Snakes, does it not?”
“Yes, quite wonderful, indeed.”
The Cannibal Snakes seemed like a terribly ill-suited name for a philanthropic organization.
I also felt like I’d heard that name somewhere before.
Where was it again?
“Will you permit it, indeed?”
“Yes, of course. Rayleigh told us all about him in his letter, after all.”
Ah, they finally mentioned Rayleigh’s name.
I’d been a little worried that the noble in green had forgotten to give it to them, but I guess I worried for nothing.
I didn’t know what exactly Rayleigh had written, but judging by the viceroy’s wife’s tone, he had at least mentioned that I saved his life.
“He said that Sir Pendragon’s wishes are his wishes, so we should fulfill them at any cost.”
Wow, Rayleigh. That’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?
“And that if he wishes to wed our third daughter, Gohna, or our fourth daughter, Shina, we should welcome him into our family.”
Hmm? Would he have written something like that?
When we had a party in a Lalagi bar to celebrate the founding of the Dragonpen Trading Company, I distinctly remembered telling him about all my difficulties turning down marriage proposals in the old capital…
“He also wrote that if he wants power, we should make him the acting viceroy, and if he wants fame, we should recommend him as a son-in-law to a prestigious noble family.”
“Damn you, Pendragon!”
Sokell turned pale and seethed at me, but the viceroy’s wife silenced him with a glare.
He was probably angry because if I was made acting viceroy, Sokell would be demoted.
Still, I thought I remembered telling Rayleigh that I had no such ambitions.
“Did Mr. Rayleigh really write that?”
It didn’t sound like him at all.
Even the viceroy looked surprised as he sat next to his wife, as if he was hearing this for the first time.
“Yes, he certainly did. It’s his handwriting, without a doubt. Such neat, precise, beautiful letters, which truly reflect his personality.”
The viceroy’s wife stroked the letter lovingly.
Seriously, what?
She was acting as if she was talking about someone deceased.
“Listen to this, Sir Pendragon. This is the last thing he wrote.”
The viceroy’s wife read aloud, her eyes trailing across the paper.
“As I write this, I am looking up at the crescent moon in the night sky. Dearest Mother and Father, I hope that you receive the moon’s divine protection…”
When she looked up from the letter, tears were rolling down the viceroy’s wife’s cheeks.
I’m sorry?
“I see. Still playing dumb.”
The smile faded from her face, and she glared at me seriously.
Huh? Why do I get the feeling things aren’t looking good for me?
“Surely any noble of the Shiga Kingdom would notice the strangeness of citing an ominous crescent moon and the deathly symbol of moonlight in one’s closing words.”
Um, no, I have no idea.
Thinking back, I did remember reading lines like “evil’s power is strongest under a crescent moon” and “the moon in the far end of the sky chases away evil” in some mythological picture books.
“But in the Ashinen family, they have a different meaning.”
“What might that be?”
I think I can make an educated guess, but…
“‘The moon’s divine protection’ is a code phrase that means someone is being forced to write a letter.”
Wow. I guess nobles have a lot of enemies.
Should she really be talking about this in front of Sokell and me at all, though?
“And the ‘crescent moon’…”
The viceroy’s wife’s voice was choked with tears.
“‘The crescent moon in the night sky’ means that the writer is about to be murdered. We only use that phrase for such an occasion. You understand now, don’t you?”
The viceroy’s wife glared at me, tears still flowing down her cheeks.
If looks could kill, that sheer hatred would have me dead on the floor.
…Uh-oh.
Clearly, someone had falsified this letter and was framing me for Rayleigh’s murder.
“Madam—”
“Sir Sokell, you should make your claim now, too, indeed.”
As I opened my mouth to explain the misunderstanding, the noble in green interrupted me with a smirk.
“R-right!”
What’s he going to accuse me of this time?
“Sir Pendragon has a secret relationship with Princess Meetia.”
It’s not polite to accuse someone of being a lolicon, especially when you’re obviously one yourself.
“He’s been manipulating Princess Meetia from the shadows, holding Lady Shina as a hostage, since she requires Breath of Purification, all in order to make himself necessary to you, Madam.”
No, that was what Sokell was doing with the ogredrink potion.
“And he’s been spreading demonic potions throughout the city, even using them as payment to manipulate plunderers to put young Master Gerits in danger. He must have then rescued him in the hopes of gaining your trust and favor, Madam.”
Wasn’t that also Sokell’s own plan?
Oh, I see.
He was hoping to pile all his own crimes on my name, in addition to the murder of Rayleigh.
I didn’t know whether it was Sokell or the noble in green who had come up with this plan, but if I didn’t speak up, I’d likely be imprisoned and found guilty without a trial.
Not a single person in this room would support me.
Even putting aside the inappropriate smirk from the noble in green, the viceroy and his wife were glaring at me under the misapprehension that I was an enemy of their sons, and the guards had their hands on their swords as if they were ready to murder me at any minute.
And then there was Sokell, assured of his own victory, sneering down at me with a twisted smile.
Truly, I was over a barrel.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Yet, I had only one thought.
Checkmate, Sokell.
I was about to turn the tables on him completely.
“Do you have anything to say in your defense, Sir Pendragon?”
The viceroy’s wife trembled with rage.
Another thirty seconds or so should do it, right?
“Yes, I believe so. Is it all right if I make two points?”
Timing was very important here.
“If you must, indeed.”
“Firstly, Sir Sokell, your accusations are all actually your own misdeeds, correct?”
“What was that?! You dare mock me?!”
Sokell practically foamed at the mouth, but I ignored him and gazed at the viceroy and his wife.
Five more seconds.
“And secondly…”
The door flew open without even a knock.
I held my hand out toward the door as I finished my statement.
“…Sir Rayleigh is alive, as you can see.”
All eyes in the room turned toward the person coming in through the door.
Sokell, especially, was so shocked, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
Still, I thought it took a special sort of stupidity for him to actually mutter things like “impossible!” and “but he should be dead!” out loud.
“Mother, Father, good to see you! Your prodigal son, Rayleigh, has retur— Hmm? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
The cheerful smile on Rayleigh’s face gradually faded into a look of bewilderment.
“Oh, if it isn’t Sir Pendragon! I’ll have to show you the ledgers from the Dragonpen Trading Company later. You won’t believe your eyes!”
Noticing me, Rayleigh started chatting like an old friend.
“R-Rayleigh!”
“Huh? Father? Mother? Wow, I’m touched that you’re so happy to see me again.”
The viceroy and his wife joyously threw their arms around Rayleigh, who seemed bemused but happy.
I picked up the letter the viceroy’s wife had dropped and took a look.
I knew it.
My maxed-out “Counterfeit” skill told me right away that this letter was a fake.
“Sir Rayleigh, did you write this letter?”
“Hmm? That does look like my handwriting, but… Goodness, what is this? If this is someone’s idea of a joke, it’s not funny at all. Why, this conclusion makes it sound like I died. It’s as if someone was trying to set Sir Pendragon up in a trap.”
The viceroy’s wife looked at her indignant son.
“What did you actually write?”
“Well, to sum it up, that Sir Pendragon saved me when I was adrift at sea, that he invested capital for me to start a trading company, and that he brought great fortune to the Ashinen family, so you should be sure to treat him kindly. I think that was about it?”
Yes, that sounded a lot more accurate.
As the viceroy’s wife listened to her son, she sank deep into thought.
“Ah yes, I believe Sokell has a vassal in his house who excels at forgery, indeed,” the noble in green observed quietly.
“L-Lord Poputema, I told you that in confidence!” Sokell hissed, which didn’t exactly help his case.
A polite knock at the door interrupted, and a maid poked her head in to address the noble in green.
“Lord Poputema, your retainer is here.”
Shaking off Sokell as he tried to cling to him, Poputema walked over to the door, where a man in slightly dirty clothes whispered in his ear.
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up the whole conversation, of course.
It seemed a roundup of all of Sokell’s men and the criminal guilds had begun.
This little insurance run was the surprise I’d set up before I left.
“Madam, a word?”
The viceroy’s wife looked a bit irritated to have her reunion interrupted, but she silently listened as the noble in green whispered to her, telling her about the roundup in question.
“Sokell. Thank you for your service until now.”
“Wha—? Lady Reythel, please wait! It was not I who forged that letter! Someone is trying to frame me!”
Sokell desperately pressed closer to the cold viceroy’s wife.
“Did I give you permission to call me by my name?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Madam…”
Sokell bobbed his head apologetically.
“Oh, that’s right, Mother. The area around Labyrinth City’s gotten rather unsafe these days, hasn’t it?”
For some reason, Rayleigh chose this moment to tell his mother about the attack that had happened earlier.
“Your carriage was attacked by a band of thieves?”
“Mm-hmm. We were rescued by some unseen mage, but still.”
The viceroy’s wife turned her gaze toward the noble in green.
“My subordinate relayed information about this to me earlier, indeed. One of the thieves who attacked Sir Rayleigh’s carriage was a former steward of Sokell, indeed.”
No, he definitely didn’t say anything like that.
“Unfortunately, the man in question was killed, so we were unable to question him, indeed.”
Nobody died in the attack on Rayleigh, though.
None of what the noble in green was saying made sense, but considering how Sokell had muttered “he should be dead” when he saw Rayleigh, it wasn’t necessarily hard to believe.
As far as I knew, Sokell was the only person in Labyrinth City who would stand to gain anything from attacking Rayleigh.
“Then it seems that what Princess Meetia said about the incident in the labyrinth was true, too.”
The viceroy’s wife’s expression was emotionless as she spoke.
Princess Meetia must have gone to her right after she got back to tell her that I was innocent.
For a young girl, she had a strong sense of duty.
“N-no, I really did follow the gold badge’s signal to rescue them!”
Sokell’s desperate plea fell on deaf ears.
“Sokell, you may reflect on your actions in the northern spire.”
“B-but, Madam…!”
“You had best put your affairs in order before the analyst from the royal capital’s judicial police arrive. I will send a letter to your parents as well. Let us pray that self-serving Count Bonam chooses you over his house’s best interests.”
“I—I—I…”
Looking as if he’d received a death sentence, Sokell fell to his hands and knees in the “orz” pose, as seen in ASCII art online.
“It’s all because of him, damn him…”
His brow against the floor, Sokell chewed his fingertips and muttered darkly.
In his case, I felt he was getting his just deserts.
A clear ringing echoed through the room.
Summoned by the viceroy’s wife’s bell, two servants grabbed Sokell by the arms and lifted him to his feet.
As they did, I made eye contact with him and saw his deep resentment.
“It’s all your fault!”
Shaking off the servants, Sokell strangely managed to move quickly enough to grab his short sword and lunge forward.
The tip of the blade was coated in a dark liquid, undoubtedly some kind of poison.
“Rayleigh!”
The viceroy’s wife screamed.
For some reason, Sokell had pointed his blade at Rayleigh, not me.
The guardian knights tried to move, but they wouldn’t make it around the viceroy in time.
Not a chance.
I produced a nut from storage and flicked it with my finger, sending Sokell’s short sword flying into the air.
Sokell still tried to claw at Rayleigh, but I stopped him with a restrained kick that still sent him crashing into the wall.
According to my AR display, his unusual burst of strength and speed was from a demonic potion.
He must have taken it while he was pretending to chew his fingers.
“Thank you, Sir Pendragon.”
“Not at all. I’m glad you’re all right.”
Rayleigh rubbed his arm sheepishly.
Now bound in ropes, Sokell was dragged out of the room.
“Y-you’ve got it all wrong! I was just trying to murder that blasted Pendragon— I must bring about more chaos, more evil— N-no, I’m innocent!”
Sokell shouted incoherently.
Hmm. Maybe demonic potions had a side effect of derangement?
As he was dragged a bit roughly down the hallway, Sokell continued to scream nonsense until he was out of earshot.
He probably deserved it, but it was still a pitiable end.
“Perhaps someone was controlling Sir Sokell with Psychic Magic, indeed.”
“Psychic Magic? That accursed black art?”
The viceroy’s wife furrowed her brow.
So Psychic Magic really was a hated art.
I tried searching on the map, but I didn’t see any Psychic Magic users in Labyrinth City.
“We shall investigate this and the corpse potions Sir Sokell’s friends were using, indeed.”
“Yes, please do.”
With an exaggerated bow to the viceroy and his wife, the noble in green left the room.
I was a little curious about Sokell’s strange behavior in the end and the apparent attempts by the noble in green to entrap him, but if I looked into the matter too deeply, I’d probably only get caught up in even more trouble.
A wise man lets sleeping dogs lie, as they say.
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