Chapter Sixteen: Appointment Arrangements
“Hm…”
I was hiding in the shrubs, observing the situation.
It had been a few hours since we picked up the young princess. We went to nearby village, and now we were hiding out to see what would happen. The village wasn’t far from the village where we had fought with the Zombie Dragon.
Turns out, those knights were telling the truth.
“The Shield Demon, Naofumi Iwatani, has savagely murdered a group of royal guards, abducted the princess, and is running lose. He is wanted dead or alive. A reward…”
There were already bulletins pasted around town detailing my crimes and the promised rewards for my capture. There were soldiers walking through town and shouting about it.
It had only been a few hours, so it was impressive that they had managed to pull all this off.
They had said that everything had been set up from the beginning. People that came after us were volunteer soldiers, and they did so thinking they would be captured or killed. Back in my own world, I’d heard there were people who would wrap themselves around bombs and attack people— thinking they would go to heaven for it. So this world didn’t have a monopoly on crazy fanatics.
“What became of those knights is recorded in a crystal ball, taken at the end of their lives. The soldiers that brought this recording to the castle died from their wounds shortly after delivery.”
And that wasn’t all. The recording they spoke of worked something like a hologram.
They’d manipulated my face into an aggressive frown, made it look like I was covered in blood, and paused the scene at one particular moment so that it looked like I had my arm hooked around the princess’s neck.
They were capable of some impressive forgeries.
Even though they had scampered off like rabbits with that crystal ball, here they were making it sound like I’d butchered them.
They looked pretty healthy last I saw.
Still, it wasn’t like they could completely fabricate the data. If you looked close, the princess’s face didn’t look like I was chocking her—more just that she was surprised by something. But still—if they could make up a forgery like this, why did they go through all the trouble of trying to kill her in front of me? I didn’t get it.
“He is moving with a large carriage, which he has pulled by an evil, strange bird-demon. If you see him, immediately contact the nearest official guards.”
Filo was in the hologram too. They’d manipulated her face so she looked like an angry hawk, and they’d made it look like she was spitting poison. Well good for her. In this forgery, she could spit poison—just like she’d always wanted.
But if people were looking out for Filo, that would make it harder to get around. On second thought though, maybe I could use Filo to draw the attention away from the rest of us.
“Understand what I mean, Filo? We’re traveling separately from here on out.”
“No!!
I finished checking out the village, and went back to see everyone. I told Filo that she stood out too much, so we were going to have to split up. Filo would pull the carriage and draw everyone’s attention while the rest of us snuck away. Then Filo could ditch the carriage and catch up with us at her natural speed. She wouldn’t have a carriage or any luggage, so she’d be able to run pretty fast.
I explained my plan to her, but all she did was complain.
“There’s no other way, you stand out too much.”
All I meant was that she was a pretty rare kind of monster. She was known around the country as the bird-god, so she was practically a target.
“I just have to look different when people are around, right? I can do that!”
“How are you…”
But before I could finish speaking Filo started to glow, and she began to transform.
Why did she bother? She was just going to have some stupid idea, like pulling the carriage in her human form. That’s what I was thinking anyway, but her neck and legs started stretching.
“Gweh!”
She looked something like a large ostrich—or actually, she just looked like an ordinary Filolial.
Though she was still larger than a normal Filolial.
“So you can turn into one of them?”
“Gweh!”
She gave a heavy nod.
“Why are you clucking like a bird?”
“Gweh!”
“I guess she can’t talk when she’s in that form.”
Hm… I guess that meant she didn’t like being stuck in a normal Filolial body.
“Wow, Filo! That’s amazing!”
The princess was very excited, and her and Filo were practically jumping up and down.
“Gweh.”
You know, if she was spitting poison, maybe it meant that I wouldn’t have to listen to her shrill cries anymore.
“Stay like that from now on. Then we can enjoy the quiet.”
“Gweh!”
Slam! She raised a foot and wrapped her claws around my head. Filo and Raphtalia basically never broke any of my rules, so I’d forgotten all about them, but attacking me was definitely breaking a rule. Before I could even move or think, the monster control spell on her began to activate.
“Gweh?!”
“Filo?!”
“Oh come on, what is it now?”
“Don’t be mean to Filo!”
“I’m not. She attacked me, so the monster spell activated. That’s it.”
In a way it was much cuter than having to listen to her whine as a human. I don’t know what Filo wanted, but I would have to say I preferred her new form. The reason pets help people relax is because they don’t talk. If that pet turned into a person and never shut up, well—I don’t think many people would keep pets.
“But it’s hurting her!”
“You reap what you sow.”
“Uh…”
The princess had taken a weird interest in Filo. Was it really just because they could talk as friends?
“Anyway, stay in that form at least for a little while. At least until we can be sure we are safe.”
I’d been able to keep her hidden up until now, pretending to be a saint and all that. I’m sure it would work itself out.
“Raphtalia, as for you, maybe you could mess up your clothes and, I don’t know… rip your hat or something?”
And so we all hid in the carriage that Filo pulled. Raphtalia changed her clothes, Filo changed her body, and Mel and I stayed hidden.
The carriage rattled down the road, and our straw-laden carriage began its journey to the northeast.
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