Interlude: Another Secret Talk
Meanwhile, right after Rio had asked Orphia to widen Ariel’s alert range...
Far above, in the skies and several kilometers away, two people observed Rio and the others. One was Arein, the man who had given the wanted notice to the adventurers, mounted upon a griffin. The other was Reiss, who had received a report from Arein the night before and made his way here. He was floating of his own accord without a griffin.
As for why the two of them were here—Arein had been hiding in the vicinity ever since he gave the adventurers the request and left, sometimes mounting his griffin to watch over who was in town and who was detouring around it. The moment he spotted Rio and the others staying overnight at the post town, he headed to Reiss to give his report.
Now, at Reiss’ direction, he observed Rio’s group from behind the clouds a far distance away.
“...Is there really a need to be this far away?” Arein asked dubiously, wondering if Reiss was taking this far too seriously. From this distance, the party looked like grains of rice even with his physical body enhanced through his enchanted sword. He would lose sight of them easily if he wasn’t careful.
“Yes, there is,” Reiss nodded without hesitation. “The bird circling above them is especially problematic. You should assume that a half kilometer radius around them is within their detection range. You’ll be detected instantly if you try anything suspicious like trailing them, so you should hide yourself in the clouds and retreat as soon as that bird looks like it’s coming close. Understood?”
“...Yes, I understand.” Arein nodded stiffly, his tone short, as though he was bracing himself for something.
“Good—continue to monitor him. I shall call Lucci and Ven over while I’m on my way to Charles. Do you have any questions?” Reiss asked.
“...It isn’t really an important question, but there is something I’ve been curious about. Don’t you think that wanted notice made them more wary of us—or rather, of you, Master Reiss?”
“Naturally. Princess Christina is a given, but that grey-haired boy also thinks quick on his feet. They’d naturally arrive at the conclusion that the notice was fabricated by me and conclude that I’m working separately from Charles. That’s why I went out of my way to appear before them and attack the princess, after all,” Reiss confirmed with a pleasant smile.
“Is that all right?”
“Yes. The more I instil the impression that my scheming is separate from Charles, the more their caution will be directed towards me. That’s what gives my upcoming collusion with Charles meaning... It makes it easier to outsmart them.”
“...I see,” Arein gulped.
“The real fun starts here. Make sure you avoid their detection by all means. I’m counting on you, Arein.” Reiss then departed, leaving those words behind.
“He’s a terrifying ally to have, honestly,” Arein muttered with a stiff face.
That night, in a guest building on the Count Claire estate, Charles was seated in the office being used as the headquarters of the search, a displeased look on his face. Before him were the knights under his command.
“5000 personnel were deployed these last few days, yet not a single clue was obtained.”
“...Please excuse our failure.”
The knights before Charles lowered their heads. They were the commanders of each search party.
“If you’re so sorry, then show me results. The search range widens with every day that passes, after all,” Charles stated with an unhappy snort.
Damn it. Where are they hiding? If they purchased several horses to increase their travel speed, they’d be traced right away. If they’re moving by foot, then we’ve checked every road and town within a walkable range. The aerial unit is on the lookout from the skies. There’s no way a sheltered princess and two untrained boys could last long sneaking through the mountains or woods...
His impatience rose violently within him. But, just then—
Knock, knock.
“...Enter,” Charles ordered with a sullen look of displeasure.
“Sir Charles. Jean Bernard, who visited the other day, has made another visit...” the security guard that entered reported nervously.
“...What?” Charles frowned reluctantly for a moment, but he soon stood up. “Guh, fine. I’ll be right there. Show him to the drawing room.”
“Yes, Sir!” The soldier immediately turned back around.
“The rest of you return to your positions. Report immediately if anything happens,” Charles ordered the remaining knights, leaving to head for the drawing room.
“Sir Charles, Jean Bernard is here.”
Reiss entered the room less than a minute later, led by a security guard. Charles stood up once the door closed, leaving the two of them alone.
“Welcome, Lord Reiss.” Charles stood up, a smile pasted on his face as he offered slightly awkward words of welcome.
“Why, thank you. I’m sorry to be bothering you so frequently, Sir Charles,” Reiss replied with an unreadable smile.
“No, I don’t mind. Has something happened?”
“Well, like I said before, I thought the city seemed rather heavily guarded. There was a loud commotion early in the morning just the other day.”
“...As I stated the other day, there were felons on the run.”
“I see,” Reiss said with a cheerful smile. The awkward one was Charles. After the wedding incident with Celia, it wasn’t easy for him to admit Christina had escaped. Doing so could make his position even worse.
“...Have you been in Cleia this entire time, Lord Reiss? May I ask what your business is here? I believe you previously said you were pursuing someone,” Charles asked, watching Reiss’ expression to probe into his true intentions.
He considered Reiss to be a dear friend, their friendship crossing kingdom borders thanks to his distinguished efforts in the revival of the Duke Arbor house. That’s why he trusted him, but he was still curious when it came to matters involving his own kingdom. It was difficult to inquire into, but he decided to ask anyway in order to brush off the awkwardness.
“Oh, no. I’m here today because I had something to discuss—or rather, suggest,” Reiss started.
“...A suggestion?” Charles questioned dubiously.
“I am aware of the fact that Princess Christina has disappeared,” Reiss stated calmly.
“Guh... W-Where did you hear such a thing?” Charles was startled. He was nearly at a loss for words, asking his question in a high-pitched voice.
“I understand your anxiety, but did you think I wouldn’t notice after all this commotion?”
“F-Forgive me. But I will definitely catch her and bring her back,” Charles stammered with a panicked face.
“Indeed, it would be an inconvenience for us too if you didn’t. The Arbor family is an important business partner for the future, after all.”
“R-Right, I shall exert every effort. They shouldn’t have gotten too far away.”
“On the contrary, Princess Christina is already fairly close to Rodania now.”
“...Huh?” Charles was stunned. Reiss’ words just now made it sound like he was aware of Christina’s current location.
“The truth is, I’ve managed to pin down her location. My subordinate is currently observing their movements,” Reiss said smoothly.
“O-Ooh! My goodness! As expected of you... what tremendous efficiency!” Charles raved in praise of the man before him.
You’re simply too incompetent, that’s all. But that was what made him easy to manipulate, Reiss thought, concealing his contempt.
“However, a slight problem has arisen. Several powerful guards have joined up with Princess Christina, making it difficult to make a move carelessly,” he said sadly.
“Powerful guards, you say?”
“Think four enchanted sword wielders.”
“Wha...” Charles was rendered speechless. Having four with you was considered the minimum requirement for escort personnel, but for all of them to wield enchanted swords... It was an excessive amount of combat strength to protect a single person.
“I’ve prepared at least three enchanted sword wielders on my side just in case, but there are differences in abilities even between fellow wielders. One of the four on their side is particularly troublesome—enough so that I wish to avoid a head-on battle at all costs.”
“W-Wait! Hold on a moment!” Charles objected in a fluster from the torrent of information coming from Reiss.
“What is it?”
“Four enchanted sword wielders is impossible! That’s enough power to take on an army. Where would Princess Christina gather such personnel from?!” Charles asked in a flurry.
“You should recognise the name of one of them. The other three are his companions.”
“It’s someone I know?”
“Haruto Amakawa. The boy who was appointed honorary knight of Galarc just the other day.”
When Haruto’s name came up, Charles’ expression changed. “Wha... I-Indeed, I did receive reports of him interacting with Princess Christina several times during the banquet... D-Don’t tell me she made the request then?!”
Not quite. He’s also the person who snatched Celia Claire away from you, and she was probably the figure that tied them together. Although I’ll keep that part quiet to prevent things from getting unnecessarily complicated, Reiss thought, sneering on the inside.
“I’m not aware of the details myself, but there was the rumor he drove back a demi-dragon’s breath in a single blow of his enchanted sword, no? That rumor was by no means an exaggeration. On top of that, he has three other enchanted sword wielders as companions. Because of this, the Proxia Empire has been secretly observing his movements. The person I was chasing was actually him—and my, what a surprise it was once I caught up to him. There he was, acting as Princess Christina’s guard.” He presented a plausible outline of events with the truth mixed in.
“I-Is that so? Hmm...” Charles hummed with a solemn look.
“He’s been using the physical enhancement of his enchanted sword to travel, and will cross the border into the Galarc Kingdom in a matter of days at this rate. Once he does, your people won’t be able to engage and Princess Christina will safely flee to Rodania.”
“That means they’ve already left the search range we had predicted, huh? Tch, no wonder we couldn’t find them.” Charles ground his teeth.
“The situation is already more harrowing than I thought. Thus, I came to make this suggestion: shall we unite our forces? The enchanted sword wielders on my side are no match for Sir Alfred Emarle’s skill, but they are powerful enough to hold their own. If we work together, we should be able to prevent Princess Christina’s escape. I’ve prepared a plan already, too.”
Reiss presented his proposal with a pleasant smile.
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