Returning Home (Part 3)
My encounter with Vidar had been abrupt, but compared to the usual cascade of crises I dealt with, it hadn't left that bad of a taste in my mouth.
Perhaps it was because I had spent so long dealing exclusively with sociopaths whose consciences had rotted away into oblivion?
Or maybe...
I never knew there was such a story behind this...
Could it be because I had gotten my hands on one of the game's final reward items?
Promotion Tale was a story-driven RPG, but it strongly encouraged multiple playthroughs. Naturally so, given that the final boss changed depending on the scenario route. Levelling a new character and forging fresh equipment from scratch every single time would be an excruciating chore, so the game allowed players to inherit unique Ooparts into subsequent runs.
It sounded grand when put that way, but in truth, they weren't all that game-breaking. They were simply feel-good rewards tuned carefully so as not to shatter game balance. That was about the extent of it.
The Sun God's Necklace, obtained after bringing down the Great Warrior Vidar, came with a faint health regeneration effect. How such a marginal mechanic translated into reality remained to be seen, but I wasn't getting my hopes up.
...Does it just help me shake off fatigue a bit faster?
Subjectively speaking, that seemed to be the case. Normally, I needed a full eight hours of sleep to feel human again, yet with this necklace around my neck, I woke up clearheaded after seven. Truly a minuscule difference... Or perhaps I was simply too deficient to draw out the relic's true power.
Regardless, for someone nursing constant migraines from every direction, it was a welcome gift.
"That's enough testing... Did I get everything packed?"
Tomorrow, I was finally going home. I had never envisioned returning under these bizarre circumstances, but the prospect still set my heart fluttering. Say what you will, but I had genuinely missed the quiet comfort of home.
"Still..."
I unpacked my bags once more to double-check. Emily's magitech devices, research papers, grimoires, and daily necessities—everything was in order. Even so, I glanced around the room, scrutinizing the desk, the wardrobe, and the space beneath the bed just to make sure nothing had slipped through the cracks. The packing was immaculate.
So what was this nagging feeling?
"Feels like I'm forgetting something."
An odd prickle of unease lingered at the back of my neck.
The day of departure arrived.
I stood before the main gates of The Cradle alongside Yuna, waiting for Ariel to arrive. Before long, a carriage bearing the crest of the Ducal House of Ether rolled into view.
And kept rolling.
And rolling...
"Is that a limousine?"
Why on earth couldn't I see the end of it? Selling this single carriage could probably buy Damus County outright.
The seemingly endless vehicle finally ground to a halt. A door near the middle swung open, and Ariel stepped out.
"Yo—!"
The radiant smile on her face instantly froze solid the moment her eyes locked onto me.
"...han. Is that woman coming along as well?" Ariel asked, her voice dropping to a frosty chill as she glared toward Yuna.
Truthfully, I had anticipated this exact reaction. But honestly speaking, it was far safer to keep this lunatic where I could keep an eye on her.
"She is, after all, technically a retainer of our house."
"Well... that may be so, but..."
I had already spun the excuse that Yuna was a member of our household, so I had no choice but to push through with it. Father would surely turn ghostly pale the moment he saw Yuna's face and back up my lie word for word, so it should be fine. Besides, Yuna would drop the appropriate hints herself. Like father, like son—Father would know what to do without me having to coach him.
"Puhihi! Good day, Lady Ariel! Were you fluttering with excitement thinking you'd have him all to yourself, only for me to spoil the fun?"
Yuna wasted no time grinding Ariel's gears from the very first second. Yet Ariel didn't even flinch—though it didn't look like she was calmly brushing it off, either.
"I never expected that in the first place."
Ariel simply stepped aside to answer.
Framed in the dim interior of the carriage was an all-too-familiar face.
"Your Highness?"
"Ah, greetings, Yohan. It is dreadfully sweltering out there, so don't just loiter in the heat—get in. The cooling magic keeps it pleasantly brisk inside."
"Ah. Yes."
I genuinely had not seen this coming. No matter how close of a friend she was, gatecrashing a formal meeting between prospective in-laws? Even if Ariel didn't mind, wasn't it basic courtesy to read the room and bow out? I knew the imperial royal family was notoriously arrogant, but I didn't think she lacked manners to this extent...
"Yohan. I told you to enter. And wipe that insolent expression off your face before I personally smooth it out for you."
"Ahem! Your Highness! I trust you have been in splendid health?!"
"We saw each other yesterday. You make it sound as if you were earnestly wishing for some tragedy to befall me within twenty-four hours."
"Perish the thought! Haha!"
So much for a peaceful carriage journey. I hadn't harbored high expectations knowing I'd be squished between Ariel and Yuna, but this...
"Hmm..."
Before stepping into the carriage, I clutched the Sun God's Necklace beneath my collar. The Ooparts bestowed upon me by the Great Warrior Vidar as a token of our pact.
"Fucking useless."
What about my mental fatigue right now? Shouldn't a true legendary relic soothe my frayed sanity as well? Handing me such garbage.
"Hup! Yohan, hurry up and get inside! It's super cool in here!"
"..."
I stared at Yuna, who had already hopped into the carriage ahead of me. Look at that demonic grin. If there was ever an unmistakable omen that this journey was doomed, that was it.
And so, I climbed aboard the carriage that seemed destined to carry me straight from The Cradle to the grave.
"I presume you are curious as to why I am accompanying Ariel?"
"Not at all. Wherever Your Highness walks becomes the road itself; how could a humble subject dare question your grace?"
"Cease the hollow flattery and let us cut straight to the chase." Lobelia pulled down the carriage blinds and surveyed the terrain outside. "Do you know how Ariel and I usually spend our breaks?"
"None of my busi—cough! I have no idea, Your Highness."
"We typically travel about obliterating terrorist strongholds. It is a remarkably exhilarating pastime."
"As expected of Your Highness's boundless righteousness."
Why was she bragging so proudly about throwing seasonal slaughter parties?
"Naturally, many anticipate we will pursue similar endeavors during this break as well. Both from within our borders and from outside."
"From outside... Are you anticipating an ambush?"
"Indeed."
Wait, didn't that mean my family's territory was in mortal peril? Come to think of it, parading all the way to Damus County in an ostentatious carriage like this was practically begging for an attack.
"There is no need for excessive dread. I have dispatched thirty identical carriages in disparate directions to sow confusion."
"Even so..."
"We cannot guarantee this convoy will remain unmolested, of course."
Precisely. Sowing confusion with thirty carriages? A standard and effective misdirection. But that tactic only works when one operates from a baseline of relative security. The terrorist syndicates running rampant across the Empire are far from few; thirty was a small enough number that they could easily deploy strikes against every single one.
"Which is why I am accompanying you. To utterly crush whatever strike force they tailored specifically to counter Ariel."
"Ah... So getting ambushed is the foundational premise?"
"Precisely that."
What do you mean, precisely that? If an ambush is guaranteed, what was the point of scattering decoys in the first place?
"With thirty carriages departing simultaneously, the force allocated to each will be correspondingly smaller, will it not?"
"..."
"Once we weather the initial ambush early on, the remainder of the journey will be relatively leisurely. The other carriages are manned by elites no less capable than those here. If we exterminate every last attacker, who will be left to testify which carriage Ariel was truly in?"
"Is that so? Still, that hardly seems justification enough for Your Highness to personally tag along."
Couldn't you have just packed those elites into this carriage? Or was the Empire suffering a sudden manpower shortage? An imperial princess playing escort for such a flimsy excuse? Give me a break.
"Naturally, there is a second reason. A paramount one." Lobelia offered a slight smirk. "I was dreadfully bored being left on my own."
"Aha."
And there it was. Exactly as I expected: an arrogant royal entirely bereft of shame.
"Yohan appears to be offering his usual outrageously insolent reply through that scowl of his... What are your thoughts, Yuna? I should like to hear them."
"There are thirty carriages of this size?"
"There are."
"The Ducal House of Ether must be drowning in obscene mountains of gold."
"Quite so."
"...Why did this conversation suddenly turn into an assault on my family?" Ariel, who had been listening in silence, pouted with a disgruntled huff.
Honestly, though, I was on Yuna's side here. Thirty carriages of this scale? They truly had money to burn.
"Yohan, you understand my position, don't you?"
"Of course, Ariel."
"Puhihi! Yohan, if you're going to tell a bold-faced lie, at least wet your lips first! Or would you like me to wet them for you?" Yuna clung to my side, her tongue darting out teasingly.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Ariel's staff plummeted between Yuna and me, embedding itself with chilling precision.
"Would you kindly remember your station? Know your boundaries, Lady Yuna."
"Oh, come now, Lady Ariel. Isn't your possessiveness a little extreme? Or what? Are you scared? Afraid you'll lose him to me?"
"Excuse me...?"
Good grief, here we go again.
The atmosphere curdled into venomous tension. Having foreseen this exact trainwreck, I smoothly fished an academic paper from my satchel and buried my nose in it. Mediate? Don't make me laugh. How on earth was I supposed to arbitrate between those two monsters? When whales clash, the shrimp's back snaps. Total disengagement was the only path to survival.
"Fine weather we're having..." Lobelia murmured, already turning to gaze peacefully out the window.
Was that why she claimed the window seat from the start? A remarkably wise decision.
"Hm?"
Perhaps some benevolent outsider took pity on our predicament, because a far more definitive method of reconciliation arrived unbidden.
"We should prepare ourselves. It seems our welcoming party has already arrived." Lobelia looked distinctly cheerful. Apparently, an enemy ambush was vastly preferable to the suffocating crossfire of a teenage catfight.
"Empire security truly is impeccable."
I lowered the paper I had been skimming. After Lobelia's explanation, the ambush wasn't particularly startling. It was merely the inevitable arriving right on schedule.
Though it was undeniably absurd.
I hadn't expected them to strike the very second we cleared the capital's perimeter.
This quickly?
"Up, up, let us disembark. We haven't time to dither. The carriage's defensive wards won't endure indefinitely."
"Must I step out as well?"
"Wouldn't it be grand to display a dash of gallantry for once, Yohan? You are in the presence of your fiancée. Try to make an effort."
"I shall simply make up the numbers."
Badgered relentlessly by Lobelia, I was practically shoved out the carriage door.
Surprisingly, no attack materialized until all four of us had stepped onto solid ground.
The ambushers numbered merely seven.
Judging by their unhinged postures and deranged grimaces, it wasn't hard to deduce which faction they hailed from.
"Lemegeton. And by the looks of it, they have a Librarian among them."
Lemegeton originally denoted the ancient grimoire of devils, but in this world, it had manifested as an active terrorist organization.
As a faction, Lemegeton was broadly structured into three tiers.
At the apex was the Head Librarian, the Arbiter Ostilis Liberatio. Yes, that selfsame psychotic woman worshipped across the Empire as the Saintess Tillis.
Second were the Librarians, administrators granted delegated authority over demons directly from Tillis. While not comparable to pure demon contractors, channeling demonic authorities made them devastatingly lethal. Considering Tillis's true endgame, these fools were essentially walking box lunches waiting to be devoured.
And third were the Demonkin—foot soldiers who offered themselves as thralls to the Librarians in exchange for raw power. While incapable of wielding demonic authorities, their augmented physical strength was terrifyingly pure.
"Puhihihi! Lord Librarian, which one should we butcher first?"
One of the Demonkin, dangling a grotesquely elongated tongue, let out a grating, flippant cackle.
"Hey, Yuna. Look over there. Someone's laughing just like you."
Thwack!
A black throwing dagger punched clean through the flippant Demonkin's temple.
Instant death.
"Not anymore."
Yuna beamed a sunny, radiant smile.
Her lips were curled upward, but the gaze she pinned on me radiated unspeakable murder. It seemed her mood had plummeted straight through the floorboards.
I really, truly need to watch my mouth...