Volume 1 Chapter 48 Infiltration of the Royal Castle
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”What! My uncle went back to his country!”
Aaron, the new king, is shouting loudly in the castle, his voice echoing even more than usual today.
”Yes. Princess Asuka has entered Ilman, and the Duke is rushing back to gather troops before returning…”
Naskinpos from the military is explaining the situation.
”Don’t mess with me! We should have acted sooner! How long will it take to get back to the country now?”
”Well… probably by autumn, I guess…”
”Are you kidding me! Do you think Asuka and Rainsheyn will just sit around in Ilman waiting for that long?”
”That’s why… please calm down and listen, new king. They won’t move until the harvest around the Royal Capital is done. They don’t want to upset the citizens.”
He paused, gauging the king’s reaction before continuing.
”At the earliest, their forces might mobilize in about two months—likely after the height of summer. Until then, our focus must be on preparing. The Royal Capital’s military will fortify for a siege. If we can endure until the Duke’s forces arrive in autumn, Asuka and Rainsheyn will begin to run low on supplies”
”…Are you sure this will work?”
”Of course. But since the Duke took 5 thousand troops back to his territory, our security in the Royal Capital is a bit weak. However, we will quickly reorganize the existing Royal Capital military, so don’t worry.”
”Damn it. At least leave some soldiers behind…”
Even though he should have almost equal numbers with the loyal lords, Aaron, the new king, feels like things are moving slowly around him, and he can’t hide his frustration.
But, well, they probably won’t attack during the busy farming season.
There’s still time. He needs to make more moves…
Even though he thinks that, it feels like he’s been spending too much time drinking in his room.
* * *
”So, this is the chance! Duke Asunabal has taken his troops back to the country, and the defense of the Royal Capital is in chaos. Now, Sistemador say we can somehow get into the Royal Capital.”
Ms. Claudel told us about the situation in the Royal Capital.
So, we got help from the merchant guild’s regular delivery, and everyone headed to the Royal Capital. Sure enough, the guards at the Royal Capital’s gate were short-staffed and pretty chaotic.
There were long lines to get in and out, and the guards looked really tired. Ms. Claudel and Sistemador, who were hiding under a double bottom, managed to sneak into the Royal Capital without anyone noticing.
”Eh? Is that you, big sister?”
Melon was really surprised by Puruun’s unexpected return.
”But wow, it’s a different group again. Is it going to be a shelter for the Nobility again?”
Ellulu said while looking at Ms. Claudel and Sistemador’s faces.
Puruun explained.
”This lady is my guard’s superior, Lady Claudel. And this one here is Mr. Sistemador, who is helping Yuuta return to his world. And… this kid is Tomori. Um… she’s the girl Ms. Akari left behind over there.”
”Eh?”
Melon and Ellulu were speechless.
Then I explained everything that had happened so far to the two of them and asked for their help until we reached the castle gate.
”Alright, so I can finally go to Yuuta’s world!”
Ellulu was excited.
”Yeah. But seriously, don’t tell your friends. If they find out about the plan beforehand, it’s over.”
”I know, I’m not that dumb. But… I’ll suddenly disappear in front of my friends… that’s a bit sad.”
”Then, Yuuta, Mama Akari, and Karin will be gone too… I knew that, but it’s still lonely.”
Melon said, half in tears. Puruun stayed quiet.
”Well, everyone has their own feelings about this, but we can’t wait any longer.”
Ms. Claudel turned to Ms. Puruun, a hint of urgency in their voice.
”Ms. Puruun and I need to quickly fix the channel with our supporters and plan how to sneak into the castle, so the others should take their time and enjoy the moment. It’s okay. We’ll make sure to come back here every night.”
She said that and stood up, taking Puruun with her as they left the room.
Then, Ms. Akari and Karin decided to stay in Melon and Ellulu’s room, while me, Tomori, and Sistemador moved to my old room downstairs.
”Mama Akari. Did you talk to Tomori properly?”
Melon asked with a worried look.
”Yeah. I told her everything. I even mentioned that Karin is Yuuta’s child… She seems to understand it in her head, but in her heart, it looks like she can’t forgive it yet…”
”I see… So, Yuuta is down there… But, Mama Akari, it’s good that you can go home together, right?”
”Yeah, it really is…”
Melon gently hugged Ms. Akari, who had tears in her eyes.
* * *
”Ha, I never thought I’d see you again like this.”
Sistemador said through thought communication to Tomori, but Tomori chose to ignore him.
He asked if she wanted to go to Ms. Akari’s room if she didn’t want to be with that guy, but Tomori said she was fine here. Sistemador continued to talk without caring.
”Well, you probably can’t fully hate me, but honestly, I’ve never thought that what I did to you was wrong. You’re just a human after all. But it seems Yuuta is a bit different from what I thought humans were.”
He paused, his gaze sharpening slightly as if reflecting on a newfound realization.
”But you were sent here all alone, and even though you had some luck, you made it this far in about 5 years. I can’t help but admire that. If I had known earlier that there were such strong humans, I might have done research on the gate under the banner of ‘friendship’ instead of ‘invasion.’”
”That’s right! Yuuta is my proud boyfriend! I don’t care what you say now, but… Yuuta protects my mom while figuring out how to get back… and he has so many friends and allies in this world…”
”Tomori, calm down. You don’t have to force yourself to talk to him.”
I said this while sitting Sistemador on a kitchen chair, and I made Tomori sit on the bed in the back to keep some distance.
”Well, you might be bored, but just hang in there a little longer. If you go outside and get caught by the military, it’s all over for you… Let’s try to get along a bit more.”
”Ha, sorry. I’ll try not to get too involved with Tomori. But I really do respect you.”
I felt a bit embarrassed hearing that from an enemy, but for now, it seems we can only hope for Ms. Claudel and the others to succeed.
After that, Ms. Claudel and Puruun came back every night to report their progress. They told me that the main supporter was the chairman of the Senate, Wackbeiger. As a senator, he could move freely inside the royal castle and wouldn’t be cursed for betrayal. He was truly the perfect ally.
With just over 2 months until the day the princess declared for the castle invasion, the plan to break into the castle was finalized.
Ms. Claudel spread out the blueprints of the castle and began to explain.
”We will use the third candidate route for entry that the princess taught us. From there, one of the chairman’s people will guide us to the main corridor on the first floor. This main corridor is the trickiest part, but if we can sneak through this 50 meters, we can get to the basement. After that, we should be able to reach the gate room without much trouble from the guards.”
Sistemador asked a question.
”Right. If we can get to the first-floor corridor, I can figure out the rest of the route. But what should I do after sending Yuuta and the others off? I think leaving me behind is terrible…”
”Don’t worry. Puruun and I will go with you. If we dress as guards, it should ease some of the suspicion from those around us… and this is the way back.”
Ms. Claudel points to the map of the royal castle and explains.
”One of the rooms by the gate has Passage Nine, which the princess told us about. This is for escape only, but I think it’s perfect for our getaway. As of yesterday, we confirmed that both Passage Three and Nine can be used… So, the plan is to go the night after tomorrow. Everyone, please be ready!”
”Okay!”
Everyone cheers.
* * *
With 2 days left, we decided to spend as much time together as possible. The next day, I went to Central Park for a mini picnic with Ms. Akari, Karin, Puruun, Melon, and Ellulu. Ms. Claudel and Sistemador couldn’t come because it was too dangerous to walk outside during the day, and it was a bit sad that Tomori couldn’t join us.
It was the height of summer and pretty hot, but there was a nice breeze, and the shade from the trees was cool.
”Wow… so much has happened…”
I said, and everyone nodded thoughtfully.
”So, Puruun, Melon. If you’re okay with it… why don’t you join us?”
I said, and Ms. Akari nodded too.
”Yeah. I talked about it with Melon last night… But we’ve decided to stay here. Of course, Melon and I love you, and we want to be with Mama Akari and Karin forever…”
She hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly.
”At first, I was really surprised, but then Melon said she’s okay being with you. But I really want to stay close to the princess a bit longer.”
Her gaze turned thoughtful as she continued.
”When the princess becomes queen, it won’t be the end… it’ll be the start of a lot of troubles, I think. So, if I can, I want to help the princess a bit more.”
She glanced down, her voice softening.
”If I don’t go, Melon will stay too… She’s almost ready to take the mage apprentice exam. If that happens, we might be able to help the princess together in the future…”
”I see. That makes sense… then I won’t say anything more. You both do your best!”
Ellulu speaks to Melon, who is crying a bit, in a soft voice.
”Sure, it’s lonely, but breaking up means we each go our own way, right? So, I have to tell my friend, who’s going to follow their path, to do their best!”
She paused, looking up with a wry grin.
”Haha… but it seems like it’s tough to go from here to there, but coming back from there is easy, right? So, if I happen to fail and come back, I’ll be counting on you then!”
”Hahaha, Ellulu. You sometimes say good things.”
Puruun said that, and Ellulu replied.
”Not sometimes… always, right?”
Everyone there laughed loudly.
After that, we all went to the merchant guild Euler. I thought Mr. Agohige and Ms. Sharlin would be back from Tokura Village by now, but Ms. Humari said Ilman had turned the military into a fortress, and it was taking longer than usual to get through, so they were arriving late.
I really wanted to say hello, but since I couldn’t, I asked Ms. Humari to take my letter for everyone in Tokura Village.
Then, that night. Ms. Claudel, who was left behind, was sulking a lot, so we had a third date at Date Cafe.
* * *
The next day. Tonight, the plan to sneak into the castle through the gate is finally happening.
While I was organizing my things… oh, right, this…
I thought of that and called Puruun.
”What?”
Puruun came over.
”Well, this! Barua’s sword. Since I quit the military, I haven’t had a chance to use it since entering the Royal Capital. I can’t take it over there, so could you take it?”
I offered a faint smile.
”With your skills now, you can handle it easily. I’ll take this Gregory knife, so if there’s a fight in the castle, I’ll manage somehow.”
Puruun took Barua’s sword and swung it lightly.
”Yeah. It feels really good. I can almost think that Imenji ordered this for me… thank you. I’ll take good care of it.”
So we were all set and waited for the night.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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