Chapter 181 The Empire Stirs, Ever So Gently
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Goddammit all!”
”P-Please, calm down! Princess Judiette-sama!” Tianic pleaded.
I was back in my own room, hitting the wall again and again. All of this… every bit of it… was because there were just too many things making me mad.
A so-called ‘Hero’ had appeared in the Emmeld Kingdom¹ that we were currently attacking. To make it worse, the Green Dragon Knights²—one of the continent’s strongest and unbeaten beastman knight orders—had been destroyed.
Excited by this news, I went straight to the military office and told them to order me and the Purple Dragon Knights³ to go and kill that Hero.
But the leaders wouldn’t let me. Instead, they sent the Yellow Dragon Knights⁴…!
If they were going to send a beastman knight order anyway, my Purple Dragons would have been fine. And yet…!
”Why the hell did they give it to the Yellow Dragons…?!”
I threw a full-power right punch into the wall. Since I had broken the walls too many times before, my room was now covered in metal plates.
”Now, now… please calm yourself, Princess. The Captain of the Yellow Dragon Knights has a Second-Grade Secret Treasure Orb⁵ of the ‘Body’ type, just like you. The enemy is a Hero who destroyed the Green Dragons. There would be a risk in sending an Imperial Princess like you, wouldn’t there? The military’s choice is only natural-desuwa,” Clary said.
”Hah?! Hey, Clary, you know what kind of orders they gave me instead, don’t you?!”
That’s right. The military headquarters didn’t just keep me away from the war with the Kingdom; they gave me a different job. I was to go to the edge of the world and help with a search in the Demon Forest⁶.
Apparently, merchants from the Republic lately started trading with someone called ‘the Magic Labyrinth King⁷‘ who lives deep inside that forest. Those merchants started selling a lot of crops that were supposedly grown inside the Demon Forest.
I’ve tried some of the fruit juice myself, and it really was strange how good it tasted. I heard that in the Republic, there are even meals using vegetables from the Demon Forest.
But the Demon Forest is known as one of the most dangerous places on the continent. The Empire decided to first check if this ‘Magic Labyrinth King’ is real… and do an investigation.
”Whaaaat the hell?! Why does the continent’s strongest beastman knight order have to do a fake job like this, huh?!”
”It is not a fake job, but a real investigation-desuwa,” Clary corrected.
”P-Princess Judiette-sama… I heard that Princess Listarte will be going with us too… so… I think it is a job important enough for the beastman knights to move…,” Tianic added.
Right. That was another reason I was not happy.
Listarte is my younger half-sister. Like Clary, she’s a sorceress, which is rare for a beastman.
And one more thing. She is the only person in the Empire who can ride the magic bird, the Skygoon⁸. In other words, even for the Egdia Empire⁹, she is a very important person who cannot be replaced.
What does that mean? The Empire is not playing; they are serious about looking into the Demon Forest. I got that much, but I couldn’t see the real reason.
”Hmph… either way, we aren’t going to a war; we’re going to the Demon Forest to be a babysitter for Lista, right?! What is the military thinking?! This is a waste of power!”
”About that. I have looked into things a bit on my own,” Clary said.
”…Huh? Looking into it?”
Clary put her finger to her nose like it was a secret.
”Actually… it seems a Skygoon rider from the Kingdom went to check the deep parts of the Demon Forest. It looks like the Kingdom also tried to investigate because the Republic’s merchants started trading with ‘the Magic Labyrinth King.’”
Hmph…? The Kingdom too…?
True, I haven’t heard that the Kingdom’s rider is royalty. Unlike here, where our rider is an Imperial Princess, they could probably send them out to check as soon as they wanted to…
”But that rider… it seems they were attacked by a follower of ‘the Magic Labyrinth King’-desuwa.”
”……? What are you saying? They were flying in the sky, right?”
”Yes, that is right-desuwa,” Clary replied.
What—?! I tried to think about what Clary meant.
To begin with, there is no one in this world who can fly freely except for a Skygoon rider. Flying magic does not exist, and the ‘Technique’ type of Secret Treasure Orbs doesn’t have that power either.
And it’s impossible to hit a Skygoon rider from the ground when they are flying so fast. The only way would be a huge magic attack from many people, but that would cost too much just to stop one rider.
Thinking that far, I looked up fast.
”No way… is there someone who can fly…?”
”Only the Kingdom’s rider knows the details… but they say a woman with wings on her back flew at them-desuwa,” Clary explained.
”Ha…?”
”Also, about Princess Liliarette, who was the Third Princess of the Kingdom… she was supposedly taken by a person who uses flying magic. Princess Viorga thinks that person is a follower of ‘the Magic Labyrinth King’ and has started a big investigation-desuwa.”
Tianic’s eyes were wide with shock. There were too many weird things in what Clary said.
”Wait, wait, wait, wait. Did you say flying magic?”
”Yes. The Intelligence Department thinks that news is true. In other words, there is a chance that the Magic Labyrinth King has already finished making flying magic-desuwa…”
”Hah…?”
I don’t understand it at all. First, what is a woman with wings on her back?
”And one more thing. The Kingdom’s rider found land that was being farmed deep in the Demon Forest. It was very large, and they even found a plantation-desuwa.”
”………”
”Maybe there is good land deep in the Demon Forest. Also, if the crops the Republic is selling are grown there, the Empire wants to see if we can take that land. That seems to be what the people in charge are thinking-desuwa.”
This was starting to sound like trouble…
If there is good land on this continent, it belongs to the Empire. That is the truth. The strong take everything.
But believing that flying magic exists or that someone can stop a Skygoon rider is a different story.
”Anyway, how did you get that news?”
”Well, there are people in the Kingdom who talk to the Empire’s nobles-desuwa.”
Hmph… so the Empire is not happy that the Republic’s merchants are making money by trading with the Magic Labyrinth King.
And I haven’t eaten it, but I heard a ‘melon’ is very tasty. I can see why they want to keep a rare fruit for themselves.
I thought about my mission again. Helping the Intelligence Department check the Demon Forest. But the military probably doesn’t really want us to go to the center of the forest.
Most likely, the Purple Dragon Knights will just guard Princess Listarte-sama to the nearest town. In the Imperial family, she is very precious, maybe second only to His Majesty the Emperor-sama.
Then, the Intelligence Department and Lista will use that town as a home base to check the Demon Forest from the sky.
To get news on the Magic Labyrinth King, the fastest way would be to make the Republic’s merchants talk. But the distance from the Imperial Capital to the Republic’s capital is too far.
Besides, the Empire’s government and the Republic are not friends. The Kingdom is in the middle, so it’s hard to use force.
(Either way, the Purple Dragons’ only job is to guard the spooks and Lista… we won’t even step into the forest, and we won’t fight anyone. Dammit… it’s a boring mission after all.)
Tch… I’m still jealous of the Yellow Dragons.
* * *
Two days later. Guarding the Intelligence Department and Princess Listarte-sama, we left the Imperial Capital to head for a town near the Demon Forest.
—
Summary:
Princess Judiette is angry because she was given an investigation mission instead of a combat mission. She must escort her sister Listarte to the frontier to investigate the ‘Magic Labyrinth King.’ Rumors suggest this king has perfected flight magic and owns fertile land deep in the Demon Forest. The Empire aims to investigate the area for potential seizure and to control the flow of valuable new crops.
—
Character Insight:
Judiette’s aggression hides a deep-seated pride in her unit’s strength, making the ‘babysitting’ mission a personal insult to her. Clary serves as the actual ‘brain’ of the group, gathering intelligence that Judiette would otherwise ignore. The chapter highlights the strategic importance of Listarte, showing that even in a warrior culture, rare magical utility is highly protected.
—
Behind the Scene:
The introduction of flight magic and the winged woman (likely a harpy or evolved subordinate) serves as a power-scaling shock to the established world. This sets up the Empire as a future antagonist seeking to industrialize/colonize the protagonist’s sanctuary.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Judiette – An Imperial Princess of the Egdia Empire and leader of the Purple Dragon Knights. A beastman with orange hair styled in an outward-pointing short cut. She has a brave, fierce face, visible abdominal muscles, and a powerful build. Usually wears a midriff-baring tank top and hot pants in private. She is extremely confident in her physical abilities and her second-grade Secret Treasure Orb.
• Tianic – A promising new recruit and follower of Judiette. Despite a timid and stuttering demeanor, she has a sharp, dignified face. She has silky grey short-cut hair and wears modest, military-style clothing.
• Clary – A rare beastman sorceress and follower of Judiette. Older than Judiette, she speaks bluntly despite the princess’s status. She has light purple hair split in the middle and reaching down to her waist. She is described as having a large bust and wears dresses with loose necklines.
• Listarte – Judiette’s younger half-sister. A beastman sorceress and the only Imperial citizen capable of riding the Skygoon.
• Liliarette – The other Princess, who sacrificed her ability to walk and her sorcery talent to save her sister, Cleonora. She is imprisoned in the East Tower and is being used as a political and monetary pawn by Viorga. C-cup, true golden hair, waist-length hair, the fringe was a slightly blunt, hair on her left side was braided to the chest.
• Viorga – The First Princess of the Emmeld Kingdom. She is a beautiful, young woman with long golden hair and sharp blue eyes, always dressed in an elaborate crimson and gold royal gown. She is utterly ruthless, viewing all people—including the summoned Heroes and her own family—as disposable assets in her political games. Looks like Aileen Lauren from certain series.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply