193. Catacombs

"Wouldn't it be better to bring more escorts after all?"

The day we were set to leave for the Holy Kingdom.

In front of the Red Cherry Palace, with a massive procession behind him, Dad looked at me with a worried expression.

"It's fine. Master is coming five days from now, and if things get urgent, the Flame Emperor agreed to help too. And like I said last time, I'm not at the point where I go around getting beaten up anymore."

That didn't mean we were going without any escorts at all. There was Sara, whom I trusted most, and the servants of unknown identity whom Sara had painstakingly handpicked herself.

In total, five of them would be following behind us.

Since we had to move in secret, they wouldn't be openly tailing us.

They were to follow at a distance from which they could extract us unscathed if we ever fell into danger.

Honestly, not having any escorts at all would have been better for me, but Dad pleaded so earnestly that... I had no choice but to bring along a minimal escort.

I'd handed Dad an enormous, hefty bombshell, so this much... I figured it was best to listen to him.

"Beaten up... you say. Eli, even if you hadn't grown stronger, who in this world could ever treat you carelessly?"

"It's just a figure of speech. So you don't need to worry so much. If anything, I'm the one worried about you, Dad. Going all the way to the Imperial Palace because of me."

"These are rotten branches I failed to cut off because this father of yours was foolish. Now that my daughter's efforts have brought the chance to cut them off, how could I, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as the head of House Eustetia, as your father, sit still? This is simply what must be done."

"That's... because of the 'restriction' you have, right? You said you couldn't do it because of something like that. So don't say things like you were foolish, or stupid."

The restriction Dad had. I didn't know what it was, but I'd heard that it was why things hadn't been wrapped up cleanly.

And that the current collateral lines also couldn't be cut off because of that restriction.

I had no idea what the hell this restriction was, but one thing I knew for certain.

Dad was in a state where his power had been sealed for some reason.

Though... it was closer to a restriction than a seal.

Well, anyway, that was why Dad had been laying out such thorough plans all this time.

Honestly... if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I thought about it just person to person, you could call it foolish. Because he hadn't cut off what could have been cut off long ago.

But he was my family.

Blood is thicker than water.

If a foolish person is family, then it's not foolishness—you can dress it up as there having been some reason, as his convictions being firm.

"In my eyes, Dad, you're amazing."

"Thank you."

With a gentle smile, Dad knelt on one knee and wrapped the perception-dampening cloak around me even more snugly.

Now our eyes were somewhat level.

"The bleeding that comes from cutting off branches is not something for you to worry about, Eli. All our Eli needs to think about is coming back safe and sound."

"Yes. And you don't need to rack your brain too much either, Dad."

Dad was going to have an audience with the Emperor.

If Silina's plan went through as intended, the arrows would inevitably fly at the main line of Eustetia as well.

So he was going to set up defenses to knock them down.

The current Emperor was also part of Eustetia's old past.

Meaning, since he knew about the past when Dad and Uncle had severed the Council of Elders and countless collateral-line bloodlines, Dad assured me the audience wouldn't be too unfavorable.

Of course, I hadn't dumped everything on Dad either.

Depending on what I did in the Holy Kingdom, the outcome of that audience would change drastically.

And probably—no, almost certainly.

The Emperor would have no choice but to side with Dad. Because I would make it so.

"Have a safe trip."

Dad spread his arms wide, and after hesitating for a moment, I smiled softly and hugged him.

"You too, Dad."

Just like last time, I ended up looking like a cicada clinging to a tree, but Dad just laughed happily.

And behind us, Stella and Pina stared at me with horrified faces.

What, why. I'll poke your damn eyes out.

*****

After parting with Dad, we came out onto the streets of the duchy.

Stella, Pina, and I donned high-grade perception-dampening cloaks and boarded a carriage that Sara had arranged in advance.

Well, "arranged in advance" was a figure of speech—the coachman driving this carriage was a servant of the Red Cherry Palace.

A servant Dad trusted had disguised himself as a coachman to deceive the eyes of the world.

As if that weren't enough, we planned to switch carriages a total of four times.

It was a slightly annoying and complicated process, but also absolutely necessary.

I didn't think there were any eyes that even Sara and I had failed to detect.

But rumors in this world were more terrifying than a hundred elite informants.

We had to move without even a rumor spreading.

That was why we'd left the academy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a knight order under the pretense of "the ducal daughter is going home," and why Dad was making a show of "the Duke is going to the Imperial Palace."

As Leona put it, the all-purpose ID.

We could do this because we'd received it.

Actually, it wasn't certain that this ID alone would guarantee secrecy.

However, if the fact of our entry into the Holy Kingdom spread as rumor, they said they'd annihilate three generations of whoever confirmed our entry, so its reliability was high.

Anyway.

Maybe it was because we were moving so secretly.

[My heart is pounding loudly!]

"It's like... we've become something... Is this really okay? It'll be fine, right?"

Inside the moving carriage, Pina and Stella were squirming in their seats, thoroughly excited.

"What are you so excited about?"

"I-I'm not excited. I'm just... nervous, that's all."

[I'm excited! I feel like I've become a cool adult!]

I stuck a lollipop into the mouth of Pina, who was beaming brightly, and tossed off the stuffy cloak.

"Eliarnes. Hey, you know? I thought we were just going to do a club assignment, but things suddenly turned into this, and I'm really flustered. When are you going to tell us why we have to move like this?"

"Now."

I put a lollipop in my own mouth too.

Seeing it, Stella licked her lips, so I popped one into her mouth as well.

Suck suck— roll roll—

"Oh... it's grape? You remembered that I like grape?"

"You've said it at least two hundred times. How could I forget?"

"I-I didn't say it two hundred times..."

Stella blushed for a moment, then straightened her posture and looked at me.

Pina, who had been grinning innocently, also straightened up.

Sparkle must have said something in her head.

Ahem— I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.

"Right now, we're going to dig up the corruption of the First Prince's faction, the Cartel, and the Holy Kingdom."

"...Huh?"

"Eep...?"

The two girls who had been chewing lollipops with faces full of excitement just five seconds ago went pale.

"It looks like those bastards have joined hands with Demons, so we're going to find out."

Plop— the lollipop fell from Pina's mouth.

"Wh-what... what do you mean? Huh? Joined hands with... Demons? The First Prince, the Cartel... and the Holy Kingdom?!"

"It's not certain, but you should consider it almost certain."

"Th-th-th-that... we have to... find that out?"

"Yeah."

I put a new lollipop in Pina's mouth and slowly continued my explanation.

Starting with the branch family preparing a rebellion, the Arant Museum labyrinth appearance incident, the underground labyrinth where the two of them had been trapped, the harpy skewers all the club members ate together, and the awakening of the Apostle of Gluttony during the final exam.

Along with that, even their goal—the Resurrection of Gluttony.

The relationship between the Puppet Emperor and Ophelia, I hid for now.

The fact that a senior we'd spent quite a long time with might die soon was too cruel a story for these faint-hearted kids.

And I also hid the matter of the Revelation and the fact that they were aiming for Luna's resurrection.

There was nothing good to come from them knowing, and regarding that, I only needed to relay it to Sparkle, not these two.

I told them everything else.

It would be headache-inducing, scary, and frightening, but they needed to know. Only then could they handle even the worst-case scenario.

Stella was smart. Pina was also a kid who could use her head when she needed to. Sparkle would help with understanding from inside too.

So there was no need to make them understand in exhaustive detail.

By the time we switched to the next carriage, the two girls had completely grasped the situation.

"...Can I just... run away?"

"Huh? Hey, how much debt do you owe me? I told you. You can't run away from me. Let's do some work this time with the mindset of clearing that debt."

[Is a useless squirrel Beastkin like me of any use in Eliarnes's great and magnificent plan?]

"Of course. Pina, you're my friend."

Tears welled up in Pina's big eyes.

I stroked Pina's head and looked at Stella, whose hands were trembling.

"You two won't have to fight there. I'll be the one giving testimony about the information we find, as a main-line Eustetia. So there's no need to worry unnecessarily."

I had no intention of overturning the Holy Kingdom right this moment.

Since I'd chosen to live as Eliarnes Eustetia, I needed to adapt to this changed era to some extent.

And if I overturned it right away, wouldn't I look like a son of a bitch moving according to Luna's orders?

The only one who can move me is me.

"B-but... what if we go and get caught, and something goes wrong?"

"We're going like this precisely so we don't get caught. Even if we do get caught, Sara is right behind us, and Master is coming a week later. The Flame Emperor is also at the Catacombs. That white paper I gave you—if you tear it, she'll probably come flying in less than ten minutes."

We were departing a full ten days ahead of schedule.

Of course, I had sent a letter to Leona, but Leona had currently left for Ge Vihenum to meet Shadowless and Mom.

So no matter how fast, it would take at least five days.

It wouldn't be a big problem. As I said, the Flame Emperor was at the Catacombs near the Holy Kingdom, and there were five high-level Wizards behind us.

Even if the worst-case scenario erupted, there were two opportunities to make the second-best choice.

And, just in case.

In preparation for something happening to me, I'd given Stella the means to communicate with the Flame Emperor, and Pina the means to communicate with Leona.

Additionally, I'd distributed five Blink Scrolls each—each worth the price of a house on the Empire's border.

Even if Gluttony resurrected, these two would not die.

Of course, I'd also set aside one for Eurasia.

But I wouldn't hand it over.

Because Eurasia would chase after me even if it killed her. I intended to use it on Eurasia myself when necessary.

Lastly, I had no intention of doing anything reckless until Leona arrived.

If it had been me in my Past Life, I would have charged straight in, but now there were many people who worried about me. I had too much to lose, and there were things I didn't want to lose.

So I would move as safely as possible.

"Anyway, nothing will go wrong for you two. Stay alert, but don't be scared."

"Then what about you...? Have you decided where to meet Eurasia?"

"Yeah. The lodging where we're staying is already booked, so she'll come there. From now... hmm, she'll probably come about ten days later."

I turned my head and looked out the window.

I could see the landscape as dusk fell.

"So let's finish things quickly and wait."

Ten days later, August 12th.

Luna's birthday.

To coincide with it, a festival would be held in the Holy Kingdom.

A festival lasting ten days in total.

Until now, I'd never thought I wanted to go.

But this time, I had a feeling it might be pretty decent.

"Once Eurasia arrives like that, we can all eat delicious food together, go sightseeing, and enjoy the festival."

Of course, the festival might not even be held.

I couldn't know how the Demon King's Seal had been formed, nor whether I could break that seal or not.

Perhaps instead of a festival, it could become the opening of war.

At that crossroads of choice, what should I do?

"Heh."

It was a pointless worry.

Chuckling, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I hugged Pina's tail.

"Eep?"

"Ahh, that tail smell."

Why did Pina's tail smell so savory, and why was it so addictive?

That was a much more worthwhile thing to ponder.

"What in the world do you do to make your fur this soft?"

As I was busily rubbing my cheek against Pina's tail, Stella, who had been chewing her candy, muttered.

"...My hair is soft too."

"You don't wash your hair properly, so no thanks."

"I-I do wash it! I washed it this morning too!"

"Why are you bragging about something that's only natural?"

"Gah!"