Passing Through Underneath
“……Chrono-san. Will I really be able to enter an appearance like this?”
Shertia who looks anxiously at her own outfit while saying. The outfit that she’s wearing, is a town girl-like outfit with a dark grey robe just worn over it. It appears that Shertia is bewildered by the outfit that’s clearly out of place in the castle.
This town girl-like outfit and dark grey robe are things I bought in town. Although they would normally just be ordinary clothes, I’ve of course modified them.
It’s really mild, but there’s the ability to suppress the intensity of physical and magical damage inside the clothes, and just once, she’s able to generate a barrier that blocks all attacks through her own will. It activates for just 30 seconds though.
On the robe that she’s wearing above it, there’s a perception blurring effect. Although they can tell if they get close, they probably can’t tell that we’re here if we’re in the darkness. Shertia seems anxious, but I’ll have her bear with it and wear it.
“It’s fine, it looks good on you”
“……It is not about that though……I am happy though. Leaving that aside, where will we enter from? The Imperial Castle’s perimeter is covered with tall walls. There are several entrances, but soldiers are standing there”
“Aah, if it’s about that, I’ve already made the preparations. Let’s first head over there”
It’s 1 of my orders since coming to this Empire and I’ve been on it the whole time. I can just use that. I still haven’t talked to Shertia about it so she’s following behind me while making a sceptical expression.
At night, although there are fewer people, it’s not completely deprived of them. Especially as we get closer to the castle, the patrolling soldiers also increase. We have to make our way, making sure not to be discovered by them huh. I’m also wearing the same robe that Shertia’s wearing. We have to make our way, making sure to not get close to people as far as possible.
We walked for a while and, there’s the sensation of my robe being pulled. It appears that Shertia was holding onto my robe. Shertia is also surprised by her own action. I guess she’s anxious, it seems she did it unconsciously.
“Sor, sorry”
“I don’t mind. If you like, shall we hold hands?”
When I ask, Shertia blushes and lets off her hand. Too bad. After that, we continue walking in silence. We walk for about 30 minutes. We arrived quick considering we’re hiding along the way.
Where we arrived, was the city wall……not, it’s shed that’s a little away from the Imperial Castle. Inside, cleaning tools and so forth are being left behind there, so it’s a ‘storage’ for those who clean the noble street huh.
Although it’s locked, I can unlock it easily if it’s this extent. I unlock it effortlessly and enter. Shertia timidly follows behind me. Inside, same as how I saw it previously, it’s littered with cleaning tools. Well, it’s convenient to hide things so it’s fine for me though.
When we go deep into that shed, Shertia shrieks, ‘Hiii!’. I sure did something bad huh. For an Opus Killer to be standing at such a dim place, I guess anybody would be surprised.
I retrieve the Opus Killer and slowly stroke the back of Shertia, who shuts her eyes, in order to calm her down. Shertia, who gradually regained her composure, timidly opens her eyes and searches for the Opus Killer. When she realises that it isn’t around and feels relieved, this time around, she hurriedly looks at me and panics again.
“I think it’s nothing to worry about. Besides, that’s my subordinate so there’s no need to be scared either”
“……Uu~, I was not scared or anything, alright, geezz! Leaving that aside, what did we come here for? It looks like it is merely a storeroom though?”
Shertia who looks around and walks around the vicinity. Her curiosity is brimming after knowing that the Opus Killer isn’t around huh. But that wall is……
“Uーn, there’s nothi……kyaaa!?”
Shertia randomly touches the wall and the wall suddenly collapses. Shertia then almost falls to the other side of the wall, but I, who’d known about that, grab her hand and pull her.
“Are you alright?”
“A a a, a hole, a hole in the walll!?”
The panicking Shertia is pointing at the hollowed wall with teary eyes. As she clings to me. Somehow, it reminds me of my little sister who’d gotten scared, saying that she saw a ghost. I end up stroking her head without thinking.
“How, how are you able to remain that calm! Ah, please do not stroke my head! I am not a kid!”
“No, you’re still a kid, right? Besides, I’m able to remain calm because that hole was something I created”
“Eh? ……Well, I was not frightened though. I was not frightened, alrightt!!”
Uh-huh, the putting on a strong front figure is also nostalgic. I end up stroking her head more.
“Geezz! So, so what is this hole? Why did you dig it?”
“This hole is connected to the Imperial Castle’s underground food warehouse. I’d secretly prepared it so that I can enter the Imperial Castle at any time. Now then, let’s go, shall we”
She’s saying,「It is absurd」, behind, but Boss is the absurd one. At this point in time, he’s probably rampaging about. Well, I’m not good at those kinds of things so it’s fine though.
We walked in the dark underground passage for an hour and finally arrived at our destination, the exit. In the meantime, I asked about the respective Imperial Princes and Imperial Princess.
It seems Elise Imperial Princess, who we’re planning to meet from now on, is a multitalented Imperial Princess with an attractive face and figure and is accomplished in both literary and martial arts. She’s 17 years old and her fiance is in the Royal Family’s Imperial Guards.
It seems the Imperial Princess is one who thinks for the common people’s sake, but all the policies the Imperial Princess puts out oppose the nobles entirely, so she has a lot of enemies.
I guess the primary one is the trade resumption with the Beastfolk Country and Demihuman Country. Naturally, there’s no way those two countries will accept it, but as a proposition to have them accept it, she’s advocating the liberation of the Beastfolks and Demihuman slaves that are currently in the Empire.
In the nobles’ perspectives, it’s like they’re being told to return their assets known as ‘slaves’ for free, so I guess it’s something intolerable for them.
It’s impossible for the Second Imperial Prince to be a political opponent of the other two. It’s because he’s still a 6 years old child. There’s no noble who expects anything from a child who still doesn’t know left from right. But even so, although it’s a rumour, it seems the reason the Black Tortoise House is backing him, is that they like cute boys. Furthermore, young boys.
Although it seems the current Black Tortoise House’s Head of the Family is a beautiful lady who’s still in her 20s, it seems she has quite a few past convictions. It’s to the extent that I’d hate to even put it in words. Even with that in mind, it seems she’s quite a powerful person so she’s being left alone. If I have to say how perverted she is, it’s to the extent that she made a vow to the Second Imperial Prince, who was still 2 years old.
And lastly, the First Imperial Prince. It seems this one is amazing. Although the Emperor is around, he’s shouldering almost all of the Empire’s government affairs. Naturally, it seems his martial arts is also first-class. I’d very much like to not meet him.
“Fuu, we were finally able to leave. Chrono-san. What are we going to do from here on?”
“I thought of looking for the First Imperial Princess as planned……but it’s somewhat noisy huh?”
We somehow finally arrived at the underground food warehouse, but the footsteps of people running around reverberate from above even though it’s the night. I suppose what’s for certain is that something has happened.
Well, I have no intention of changing the plan at this point so we’ll carry on moving. I hold the hand of Shertia, who looks up at the ceiling anxiously. Although Shertia glared at me, I didn’t let go. Alright then, let’s go huh.
