Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Other People's Stories (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#1 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of the One Who Defeated the Sword Saint.
“The opponent defeated the Sword Saint!”
“Argh, th-this thing!”
“Damn it, tighten the encirclement! We can’t let them escape no matter what!”
“Ah, damn. Why am I the one running away?”
“To avoid getting hit.”
“That’s it!”
Magic that reshapes the terrain rains down, and arrows coated with paralyzing poison that can fell someone with a mere graze whistle past overhead.
Ah, I’m gonna die. I’m dying of exhaustion here. By all rights, according to plan, I should’ve been caught already.
“Over there! You’re surrounded. It’s too late to run now!”
The knight chasing me from behind is the problem!
What should I hide? That person right there is the ducal lady I’ve mentioned so often!
Come to think of it, this means Her Imperial Highness the Princess is behind it all!
So it’s no surprise that the Princess’s knight order mobilized, and there was a chance of running into the lady, but to bump right into her like this!
If she sees me right in front of her, how would the lady react?
Would she try to kill me for mocking her? Or burst into tears?
I’d pass on either. Especially the latter.
“Hey, shouldn’t we be getting caught around now?”
“You defeated the Sword Saint, and now genuinely dangerous stuff is flying at us!”
“No. 17, duck.”
“Eek! Qu-quick!”
No. 17 of the Nermia House, barely dodging an arrow aimed at her head, yelled at me.
At this rate, even getting help from the Nermia House will be tough.
Yeah. Right. Just…
“Should we die?”
“What nonsense!”
“Save the sleep-talking for bedtime!”
“I really feel like we’re gonna die.”
A massive spell crashed right in front of us, carving out a crater.
Looks like the magic engineers’ unit has taken to the skies too.
Even if they think I’m an instructor, I wondered if they’d land a solid hit, but.
“That one’s dropping right here?”
“Crazy, it’s a bombardment! A direct hit!”
“Dodge!”
According to the instructor, even No. 1000—who lightly evaded imperial magic bombardments during training—is terrified by the attacks coming our way.
Ah, thinking about it, they might figure, “That guy’s an instructor, he won’t die from this much,” and unleash everything.
Worse, it’s dangerous to keep going. But stopping means the lady’s waiting. There’s gotta be… a way… a way…
‘I’ve got it!’
Yes, there was a way.
It pricks at my conscience, but it’s better than meeting the lady face-to-face.
“Doppelganger, if you pull off this pact, you’re free.”
“Whatever it takes, I’m ready.”
I nodded to the doppelganger, removed the hood it was wearing, and sent it off in a direction away from us.
And the bait worked perfectly.
“L-Lein?!”
My heart ached at the lady’s wide-eyed stare at the doppelganger, but no helping it!
-Run, as far as you can!
-Got it.
I’d told it the contract ends if it gets caught.
But no deliberately getting caught. Go as far and fast as possible to draw their attention.
“Kasen! You lead the unit and keep pursuing. I’ll chase the escapee.”
“Y-Yes? Vice Captain, what—?!”
Luckily, the lady took five with her and went after the doppelganger. Even at best, our separated decoy won’t last ten minutes before capture.
People can move faster than horses by channeling mana, but there are limits.
That’s why we’ve used the instructor’s various tools so far to block their paths and pull away, but the tools are running low now, and I don’t want to watch the lady nearly fall off her horse again.
So, with the lady gone for the moment…
“Surrender now?”
“Are we really done for?”
“Done?”
We stopped, and like magic, the bombardment ceased as the kids let out sighs of relief.
“Don’t move!”
“Eep?!”
“W-wait?!”
But only for a moment. I drew a dagger and held it to No. 1’s throat.
Still, direct heir of a grand ducal house—plenty of value as a hostage!
“Need to buy more time.”
“But why am I the hostage?”
“Your family’s the richest.”
“Is that so?”
Our pursuers watched us with baffled looks.
Yeah, makes sense it’d be weird—evil organization members fleeing together, then suddenly taking each other hostage!
“Aaah~ I’m Raina Rel Swin of the Raina Ducal House! I was infiltrating as a spy for the evil organization, but I’ve been caught! Please spare me.”
“Hey, that’s super awkward. Can’t you do better?”
“This much should be fine, right?”
At those words, the knights murmured among themselves, then one sent the others back and stepped forward.
“I am Kasen, Captain of Squad 1 in Her Imperial Highness’s 3rd Knight Order! If you have demands, let’s negotiate!”
Whoa, the knight order’s really called the 3rd Knight Order. Unlike ones named after families, flowers, or animals, the Princess apparently just numbered them sequentially out of laziness!
But before that.
What deal should I strike with this squad captain to avoid showing the lady I’ve been caught?
They’ll notice the doppelganger’s fake soon enough and come right back. Getting caught now changes nothing.
Should I ask them to cover my face? Or maybe get escorted by the magic engineers instead of knights?
“Speak your demands. This area is now sealed by magic engineers—only you and I can hear! So name everything you want!”
“No warning at all?!”
“It’s real… So this is the power of the empire’s strongest magic engineer unit?”
My shock and No. 17’s lament. A mana barrier had already enveloped the area.
Meaning we’re trapped. That barrier doesn’t just absorb sound—it can become a prison seal anytime, or a means to kill us.
Without a trace. Completed so quietly even rats and birds wouldn’t notice, trapping us.
This is the prowess of the Princess’s vaunted top imperial magic engineer unit!
“Then… I’ll surrender on the condition you don’t reveal my identity!”
“What kind of condition is that?”
“Grown-ups have their reasons. If my face gets out now, I’m in deep trouble…”
“Wait. Wasn’t this to buy time for the instructor?”
“And we fled with you out of old ties, since the Princess chased after? Just for your personal issue?!”
Whoa, the kids’ eyes are icing over. Drag it out more, and they’ll backstab me first…
“The reason… is it because of other women you’ve met? Or…”
Someone beat them to it.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it, Lein?”
“Lady?!”
“Lein, did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
It’s a trap!
Th-this is definitely a trap! I’m under illusion magic from some competent imperial magic engineer. Th-that can’t be the real her!
“Hmm, that expression screams ‘this has to be a magic-induced illusion.’”
“H-how?!”
“Because, Lein, everything shows on your face.”
Those blue eyes curve into gentle crescent moons as they meet mine.
Is that really an illusion?
The tension grew unbearably anxious, and our hostage No. 1 muttered.
“Hey, keep that blade away from my throat? I’m shaking like crazy here? The edge keeps grazing my neck—feels like I’ll actually bleed! Wait, no! It’s shaking more! D-dangerous!”
“Come, Lein. Ignore that and come to me. Her Imperial Highness has given permission.”
“Ignore that? Am I ‘that’ now?!”
“No. 1, this doesn’t seem like our place to butt in.”
“Yeah.”
“No, if it were you, you’d say the same?!”
No. 1 shouted something, but I ignored him, more focused on the lady before me.
“How long have you known?”
“Not from the start—that’d be a lie. Just curious, so I asked Her Imperial Highness, and she told me.”
“But why…”
“Because I like you.”
It should’ve been touching, but right now, I kinda get the instructor’s feelings.
Be it the Princess or whatever—why’s he always running from beauties?
“I know everything. Working for the organization on missions. Passing info you got through us to them. But you never leaked what was truly secret to anyone, never lied to me once. And… you’re so kind, Lein, you can’t abandon anyone.”
The sword at her waist slowly rises. But it points the exact opposite of what I expected.
“See, a hostage, Lein. If you don’t come, this blade pierces this Iris guy.”
“Taking herself hostage? Are you insane?!”
“Who knows. It could be an illusion, like you imagine. But Lein. I told you before. I…”
-Lein, for you, I’d even die.
“Lein, for you, I’d even die.”
The lady in her splendid dress overlapped with the armored one now, and red blood began trickling from her throat.
“Lady!”
“Hehe, got you.”
If it’s an illusion, no choice but to fall for it…
“Wow, ignoring us to shoot a romance scene…”
“Ugh, goosebumps. I hate that stuff.”
“I only ate one meal today.”
The kids can’t grasp this heavy love, but I can’t abandon her.
Touching her throat, the warm blood flowing convinced me this was real.
“Really, such recklessness… Huh?”
Click.
“Got you for real.”
But as I wiped the red blood from the lady’s throat, something clamped around my own.
In that instant, a story from my advanced trainee days flashed through my mind like lightning—the instructor’s old tale.
-Ah, back then, I nearly died for real. Working in the imperial palace madhouse, under that Princess no less. And the. Prin.cess. Al.ways. Picks. peo.ple. simi.lar. to. her.self. as. her. sub.ordinates. So all her underlings were mini-versions of her.
And our parting words with the instructor earlier.
-What image do you have of the Princess to act like this…
-A grand-scale Shia?
“Can’t deny it.”
And our prior talk with the lady about the black rose.
-I saw Her Imperial Highness recently; she grows black roses as a hobby. Said it’s for someone special. The Princess has a surprisingly girlish side. Oh, Lein. Know what black roses symbolize?
And finally, what the instructor said when I told him I’d joined the intel bureau as a club host.
-I’ll prophesy: You’ll either get domesticated by some woman you meet there or stabbed to death. I’d bet a gold on it.
Ah, instructor. Your casual predictions always come true, but this wasn’t a joke?!
Couldn’t you have bet more to make me cautious!
Or rather, before worrying about you, I should’ve looked after myself!
“No. 17. Hold on. Something’s off.”
“Idiot, we didn’t see nothing. Didn’t the organization teach you that?”
“Where’d you learn it?”
“From the intel bureau deputy director.”
“Got it.”
I wanted to turn and beg them to save me right then, but the lady—who’d fastened something around me—grabbed my face, stopping even that.
“A special shackle Her Imperial Highness gave me to put on Ast-types when caught. No keyhole; once locked, it only opens using the mana flow the first user input. Dwarven custom-made collar. Tracks location, and can paralyze, knock out, or inflict any status ailment on the wearer anytime. So, Lein.”
Her red lips drew close, kissed my cheek, then whispered softly in my ear.
“Now… you can’t run away.”