How to Get a Panty Thief Released
"We'll be arriving shortly."
The attendant's voice reached us. I happened to be sitting in the window seat, so I opened the window and poked my head out a little. Beneath the sunset-streaked sky, the village's defensive wall had come into view — and beyond it, an even taller castle wall.
"Lady Valeri, have you ever been here before?"
"No, I haven't. After setting out on my training journey, I headed straight for Sontar Village to meet you, Hero. I'd been planning to visit eventually, but I never imagined it would happen like this."
"I've been here lots of times!"
Fresia butted into my conversation with Valeri. I'd been doing my best to avoid getting dragged into her endless chatter hell until now... and I'd made a mistake.
"The village is about the same size as Sontar. Well, to be fair, Sontar is unusually big for this territory. Sontar serves as a trade route, so its foot traffic is higher, but this place has the lord's castle too, so it's got its own charm."
"You seem to have visited often."
There was no stopping this chatterbox now, it seemed. I stuck my head back in and joined the conversation.
"Yep. This place and Sontar both are places I've known since I was little."
"Since you were little... don't tell me that's when you started being a panty thief?"
At Valeri's words, Fresia's eyes went wide with shock.
"What do you take me for?"
"A pervert." "A pervert."
"This hobby is something I started recently, okay?!"
"How is stealing other people's underwear a hobby?"
"Reflect on yourself! Saying that to the Lord will only add to your sins!"
For hours we'd scolded her over and over for her bizarre stories, and yet some fresh new offense kept surfacing to scold her for.
By the time we reached the village entrance, the attendant asked us to close the window for safety's sake, so I shut it. The fact that they'd even assigned a few adventurers to escort our carriage meant we were clearly being treated as honored guests — and thus, as people under protection.
The carriage stopped a couple of times before moving again. From the sounds outside, I could tell we were passing through the village gates and then going through an inspection at the lord's castle walls. Before long, our carriage came to a stop almost immediately after.
"We've arrived!"
With that, the attendant opened the door of our carriage. Valeri stepped down first and reached out her hand to me, and I took it as I climbed down after her.
The evening glow was almost entirely gone by now, and our carriage stood in what looked like the castle's courtyard. As I stepped down, my gaze went straight to the people there to welcome us. Most of them wore maid or butler attire, but at the very front stood a handful of people in opulent clothing. The one at the absolute front, welcoming us with literally open arms, had to be the lord.
"Welcome! You must have had a tiring journey!"
Just as expected, the man came toward us with a beaming smile.
"I am Raiking Org, master of this territory. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."
Even bowing his head to me in greeting, he flustered me completely.
Wait, what? Didn't the Guildmaster say I'd need additional proof here? He already seems to fully believe I'm the Hero?
Just then, I heard the sound of Fresia climbing down from the carriage behind us.
"Hel—"
The instant her greeting began, several of the servants practically dragged her away. As Valeri and I stood there dumbfounded, Lord Raiking spoke up.
"You must be exhausted from the journey. Rooms have been prepared for you. Please rest for a while first, and then we shall have our audience."
At the lord's gesture, a maid stepped forward.
"It is an honor to serve you. I will escort you to your rooms."
We followed the maid, still completely bewildered.
Why did they rush Fresia off like that?
The maid led us into a room, said she would be waiting outside if we needed anything, and closed the door. The room was furnished with luxurious pieces that put last night's inn to shame.
Even though we'd been told to call if we needed anything, we immediately sat down in the chairs and started talking about the thing that had been nagging at us.
"The way they took Fresia away... it seemed awfully rushed, didn't it?"
"Yes, that has been weighing on my mind as well."
"Could it be that the reason they told us to wait is because of Fresia?"
"You mean she has committed a crime of that magnitude?"
"No way... But if this territory was one of her victims too...?"
"Guh...! To think she robbed a noble... I can hardly believe it...!"
"She said she already stole an elf princess's underwear too...! The reins came off her ages ago."
"If she stole here as well, then in the worst case... summary execution..."
Both of us had let our imaginations run to such horrifying places that we shuddered with a strangled squeal. For a while, we just sat there in silence.
"I mean, she got me too, but... dying would be too cruel."
"Even I would not wish that upon her..."
At that, we both seemed to have the same thought at the same moment, and our eyes turned to the door. If Valeri was thinking what I was thinking, she was picturing the maid outside.
"Shall we go ask?"
"I am in full agreement, Hero."
So we cautiously approached the door and opened it. The maid standing beside it spoke up.
"Is there something you need?"
"No, not exactly. It's just... what happened to Fresia? The elf who came with us?"
"She is currently having an audience with the Lord."
Are we too late?!
Just as Valeri and I were fidgeting in anxiety, a butler approached us.
"The Lord is waiting for you both."
In the end, we never got to ask about Fresia in detail. The castle was small, and by the time our brief hesitation was over, we were already standing before the audience chamber. The doors opened, and we stepped inside.
Pillars stood in rows on both sides, and the ceiling was far higher than anywhere else in the castle. Besides the lord and his family, several other people stood lined up along both walls. They weren't dressed as lavishly as the lord, but their attire still looked quite fine.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting. Please, come forward."
Following the butler's bow and gesture, we walked inside and stopped at the foot of the steps leading up to the ornate chair where the lord sat.
"First of all, I apologize for making you come all this way yourselves."
The lord rose from his seat and bowed his head.
"Oh, no, not at all! We're perfectly fine!"
I waved my hands in denial.
"Thank you for saying so. Through Guildmaster Amaji, I already believe that you are the true Hero. However, aside from the customary formalities... I wished to see with my own eyes the sight of your light shining upon the Magic Crystal Ball."
As the lord finished speaking, several servants brought a table forward. On it they placed a sturdy-looking box.
What came out of it was, naturally, the Magic Crystal Ball. It was larger than the one at the guild, and it sat atop a lavish pedestal.
"Please, show us your light as well, Hero."
At the lord's request, I placed my hand over the crystal ball. Immediately, a servant standing close by reached toward it and murmured something under his breath.
Then a brilliant golden light burst from the crystal ball in every direction. Perhaps because of its size, the light seemed even stronger than it had been at the guild.
"Ooooohhhh!"
Murmurs of awe rippled through the crowd around us.
"Impossible! It's glowing just like the legends say!"
The loudest voice of all belonged to the lord. When I slowly pulled my hand away, the light pouring from the crystal ball faded just as gradually.
"This Magic Crystal Ball was crafted by the court mages appointed by His Majesty. You are the true Hero, recognized by this very kingdom!"
At the lord's declaration, the people around us began to applaud. The attention was so overwhelming that I scratched my head awkwardly and gave a sheepish smile.
"So, does this mean we'll be heading to the Royal Capital now?"
At my question, the lord cleared his throat and composed himself.
"There is still a great deal for you to prepare. It is late today, so there is no need to rush. First... there is something I must explain to you."
The lord, with a slightly hesitant air, gestured to a servant. Then the inner door of the audience chamber opened, and someone emerged.
"Waaah~ Hero! Sir Knight! I got sooo tired of waiting for youuu!"
"Fresia?!"
"Moonlight of the Night?!"
You mean Moonlight of the Night?!
Out of the door came Fresia, released from her restraints. She scampered toward us in quick little steps.
"Ahem...!"
The lord's pointed cough cleared away the attention that had been zeroing in on the chipper little elf.
"First, allow me to explain about the Holy Sword. The Holy Sword is created by taking a blade forged with meticulous care from a special metal and bestowing upon it the blessing of the Goddess. And one of the churches capable of granting that blessing is located in the elven forest to the south of this territory. If you two have no objections, I would like to entrust Lady Fresia here with guiding you there."
While Fresia played around, trying to link arms with Valeri, I listened to the lord's explanation.
"We may be fine with it, but... are you alright with this, my lord? I hear that Fresia is... well... a rather famous thief in this territory."
"Ahem, cough. She has promised not to commit any further such acts, and guiding you there is to be her punishment."
"That's a lighter sentence than I expected."
"Well... with any other criminal, we would deal with them severely, but... pushing things that far with Lady Fresia would become a diplomatic matter, you see..."
The lord's voice grew quieter and quieter, as if troubled.
Come to think of it, everyone's been adding '-sama' to her name this whole time. What exactly does this elf do?
"A diplomatic matter?"
"The Lady Fresia standing before you is—"
"—the Third Princess of the Elf Kingdom."
"WHAAAAAAT?!"
"Is that true?!"
"Yep, it's true!"
Fresia answered our astonishment with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on! You said you stole an elf princess's underwear, didn't you?!"
Valeri peeled Fresia off of her and shouted.
"That's right! That was the very first piece in my collection!"
"Don't tell me... then the owner of that underwear was..."
"Yep! My big sister."
She's a pervert! A freak pervert! This is an insane, dangerous, utterly deranged pervert!
"Anyway, leave the guide through the elven forest to me! Looking forward to working with you♡"
Watching Fresia strike a sparklingly cute pose clearly meant to charm us, Valeri and I froze solid, unable to react at all.