Wait, Why Is an Artifact Coming Out of There...? (2)
Wait, Why Is an Artifact Coming Out of There...? (2)
Ensio, the temporary mercenary leader, frowned as he watched the mercenaries fight desperately.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
Even though he'd pulled off this job with a team of carefully handpicked mercenaries, things were getting tangled up.
Up until they overturned the street stalls and threw a violent tantrum, there hadn't seemed to be any problems.
The hidden knights leaping out had been entirely expected, and the mercenaries he'd prepared were more than capable of holding them off.
It was all thanks to the information sent by the moles they'd planted in advance within the Duchy.
But once they escalated the fight and moved closer to the Grand Archduchess, things started to go awry.
He'd even learned beforehand that the daughter of the King of Carlos would be coming along with her.
Fearing the Princess might have royal escorts, he'd increased the number of mercenaries.
He'd even instructed his insiders to send the knights on the Princess's side elsewhere.
And yet, he couldn't understand why they were stuck over there.
They should have needed only to get close to the Grand Archduchess and threaten her.
Even now, all they had to do was advance a few more steps.
Yet some strange obstacles were blocking their way.
He couldn't fathom why the bratty little Princess had stepped forward and was swinging a sword, nor could he understand why the objects around the flashy-looking girl were flying around in every direction all by themselves.
On top of that, a youthful-looking young man in the Kingdom's Royal Academy uniform was demonstrating skills that made no sense whatsoever.
Crunch!
"Aaargh!"
A mercenary who had barely managed to reach the Grand Archduchess by dodging the objects flying in every direction was struck by the flat of a blade and sent flying far into the distance.
He was a knight-tier mercenary reputed to be an expert swordsman.
Though he couldn't use his full strength because of the order not to kill, he certainly wasn't someone who should be sent flying like that.
Wait, it looked like his opponent hadn't intended to kill him either...
No, that wasn't the only one that boy had wrecked.
The man whose leg had broken earlier and the one before him, who'd crashed into the street stall across the way, were all subordinates the boy had crushed.
He'd clearly heard they were Academy students out on an 'outpost lesson,' but how in the world could a student have that kind of skill?
Maybe the absolute top student from the Empire Academy could just barely match him.
He'd never once heard there was a talent like that in the Kingdom.
At this rate, there was no way in hell they could terrify the Grand Archduchess.
Even now, far from looking terrified, the Grand Archduchess was watching the fight with sparkling eyes.
Still, he couldn't give up here. Whatever happened, he had to see this job through.
He signaled to his comrade watching from afar.
"What kind of bastard comes to this country to cause trouble?! This is the Julian Duchy, not the Carlos Kingdom! I may not be a citizen of the Duchy, but I can't stand by and watch such tyranny!"
As I busied myself beating up the thug-like mercenaries, one of the people who had suddenly appeared bellowed at the top of his lungs.
It was a grand shout, full of righteous vigor, but unfortunately, his monologue was far too long.
Balea, who'd noticed something was off earlier, shook her head from side to side. The Grand Archduchess must have sensed something was strange, too, because she narrowed her eyes and stared at the people who'd suddenly burst onto the scene.
Not only were these newcomers' monologues too long, but they'd also arrived far too late.
No, it wasn't really their fault.
When it looked like one of the mercenaries was sending some kind of signal, I'd taken care of the remaining mercenaries as quickly as possible.
By the time they showed up, all the rampaging mercenaries were already knocked out on the ground.
Since they hadn't killed anyone, I hadn't killed them either, but the mercenaries sprawled on the ground were battered and broken all over.
Frankly, I hadn't taken down that many mercenaries myself.
There were mercenaries the knights had worked hard to knock down, and plenty more Balea had subtly tripped using her ability without attracting notice.
The Princess had been helpful, too.
We'd wrapped up the situation without needing to use the artifact in the Grand Archduchess's hands.
"We shall help..."
The man who'd been shouting passionately finally grasped the situation and fell silent, while his companions—holding swords they'd drawn from god-knows-where—looked utterly lost now that everything had already been dealt with.
In the end, it seemed the matter had been settled before these newcomers could get involved, but I had no intention of letting it end there.
"Are you in cahoots with them too?! How dare you pick a fight in the Duchy—is the name of the Empire truly so worthless?!"
Balea stared at me in utter disbelief, but before I could even finish speaking, I launched myself forward.
Pat!
The face of the man who'd been bellowing drew rapidly closer.
He was handsome and appeared to be in his early thirties, but from his expression, he didn't quite understand how the situation was unfolding.
I'd sensed from the moment he appeared that he was no ordinary warrior, but his brain didn't seem quite as sharp as his skill.
But he certainly loved to fight.
Crack!
The man easily blocked the sword I swung after closing the distance in a single step.
Swish!
He looked at my face and whistled.
"Whoa, you're not just baby-faced, are you? Where on earth did a guy like you come from?"
With a bright grin on his face, he began swinging his sword.
Things were going far better than I'd expected.
My opponent loved fighting even more than I'd thought, and he was far more hotheaded.
Setting everything else aside, he became completely absorbed in fighting me.
Kang! Clang!
Granted, things were going as I'd anticipated, but...
"Ugh!"
"Whoa, are you really as young as you look? I can hardly believe it!"
Crack!
"Seriously impressive! Show me a little more of what you've got!"
Damn it, while he swung his sword with such enthusiasm, I was barely keeping up as I tried to parry his strikes.
I knew he'd be skilled, but I'd never dreamed he'd be this good!
He seemed even stronger than Senior Knight Kusta of the Royal Knights, whom I'd seen at the ruins, and looked as though he wouldn't lose even against the Commander of the Duke's Order of Knights.
Neither of us was properly equipped, making it hard to gauge our true capabilities, but I was definitely being pushed back!
Out of the frying pan and into the fire...
Just when I'd gained confidence in my skills, where had a powerhouse like this come from?
Talk about a frog in a well.
Surely the Empire wasn't crawling with combatants of this caliber, right?
Clang!
Thud!
As I gritted my teeth and fought back, the sword in my hand chipped away little by little.
It was a well-forged sword, but facing a true master with such an ordinary blade was tough.
Even so, I couldn't draw the dagger or greatsword tucked away in my pocket, nor could I reveal my other hidden abilities.
As I desperately parried his strikes, the standard Academy sword I'd brought along finally shattered.
Clatter!
I grimaced at the grating crunch as my sword snapped. The man who'd broken it looked even more disappointed than I was.
"Damn it, I was just getting into it! Go fetch another sword, quick. You haven't even warmed up yet!"
No, this guy was even crazier about fighting than I'd thought.
But I had no intention of fighting any further.
"Everyone, drop your weapons! You're all under arrest for causing a disturbance!"
The soldiers had arrived just in time.
The Empire folks who'd shown up late, along with the man fighting me, all lowered their swords as the soldiers swarmed in.
"Ugh! Easy, please! My leg, my leg!"
The mercenaries rolling on the ground were dragged away one by one, and...
"No, wait, we came to help..."
"What nonsense! I saw you fighting with my own eyes!"
The Empire folks who'd shown up late ended up being dragged off as well, thanks to the man who'd fought me.
"Huh? This wasn't how things were supposed to go?!"
"This is all because of you, Vid! Why did you get so worked up over there?!"
"Hey, how could I just stand still when I met a fighter of that caliber?! Look, he's younger than me. Where else would I get the chance to fight someone like that?!"
The man pointed at me even as he was dragged away with his companions.
"What on earth is all this?"
The Princess looked around the wrecked street in total bewilderment, while the Grand Archduchess stood lost in thought, her expression serious.
"Hmm, do you happen to know something more? I doubt you stepped in for no reason."
Balea whispered to me with an amused look on her face.
To be completely honest, this time I hadn't acted on prior knowledge.
I'd simply acted on impulse after watching how the situation unfolded.
Still, although this incident had been somewhat clumsy, it was by no means ordinary.
Those mercenaries had disguised themselves as Kingdom mercenaries, but they were definitely trying to pin the blame on the Kingdom. Meanwhile, the Empire folks who arrived late were supposed to play the hero knights who subdued the mercenaries.
And the person those righteous heroes were supposed to rescue was clearly the Grand Archduchess, whom the mercenaries had been trying so desperately to reach.
The artifact in the Grand Archduchess's hands had quieted down once again.
It seemed no one else had noticed it emitting electric shocks.
Things had gotten complicated in various ways, but right now, I actually felt grateful to the rampaging mercenaries.
Because I'd found the 'inherited ability User capable of repairing artifacts' I'd come all the way here to search for.
After the mercenaries and the Empire folks were dragged away, the mess in the shopping district was quickly cleaned up.
The street vendors whose goods had been broken and stalls destroyed were deeply aggrieved, but...
Regrettably, neither the Duchy nor this world offered compensation to people like them.
They could only return home, hoping for a better tomorrow.
We decided to head back as well.
After a disturbance of this scale, it was difficult to continue our outing.
Fortunately, despite all the chaos, no one realized who we were.
Although we were wearing Royal Academy uniforms, no one in the Duchy recognized the Kingdom's Princess, nor did anyone recognize the Grand Archduchess, who'd been sick for so long.
We promised to go on another outing next time and returned to our respective lodgings.
That afternoon.
The disturbance that had broken out in the street was reported to the Grand Prince in his office.
The matter hadn't reached the Grand Prince merely because the commotion was large.
"Mercenaries from the Kingdom went on a rampage in the street, my daughter was about to get caught up in it, and then Empire people suddenly appeared and saved her, is that it?"
The Grand Prince read the report aloud with an intrigued expression.
"Yes. Taking all the circumstances into account, it seems the plan was originally meant to unfold that way."
A middle-aged noble stood before the Grand Prince, explaining the contents of the report to the sovereign.
"And yet, everything went sideways, so both sides ended up in prison, huh? Are they still there?"
"They paid a fine and were released immediately."
"My daughter was endangered, and they were let go with nothing more than a fine?"
The Grand Prince's eyes lifted slightly.
Though the sovereign's expression shifted, the noble calmly continued.
"It seems being locked up was also part of their plan. The official in charge handled things swiftly before his superiors could notice."
"There is no place the Empire's reach does not extend."
"We've been trading with the Empire for hundreds of years. Many imperial citizens reside here, and there are quite a few who advocate becoming a vassal state of the Empire."
"I'm well aware. That's precisely why I keep quiet, even when those Empire bastards pull stunts in front of my daughter."
"So, why did things go sideways?"
"It appears the skills of the Princess's friends were quite formidable."
"Is that so? And my daughter just stayed still?"
"Yes. We haven't heard any other rumors about her."
"Still, they're ultimately just kids attending the Academy. As expected, something must be going on in the Empire. They're not the sort of bastards to botch a job so badly."
"I heard the negotiation terms were also more coercive than before."
"Rather than coercive, it seems they're in a hurry on their side as well."
"In that case, do you intend to step back a little and observe the situation...?"
"No. That would only snap the tether. If the party across from us is desperate, we can get even more gifts out of them. Keep going."
"Understood. When do you plan to inform your daughter...?"
"I'll handle that myself. You may leave."
"Understood."
As the middle-aged noble stepped out of the office, the Grand Prince glanced briefly at the painting hanging on the wall before turning his gaze to the documents piled on his desk.
A portrait of a happy-looking family hung on the wall, watching over him as he worked.