Chapter 144 - Episode 6: I've Packed Them In
Greetings. I am Violia Nico Fortesia.
I am currently in front of the Royal Castle gates with a hundred Holy Knights (well, slaves and various others dressed as them) gathered as Carol's personal guard.
It must be a shock for the Royal Family. 'We thought we invited Saint Carol to dinner, but a swarm of Holy Knights came along.' That's likely how it feels.
I do not believe this is excessive defense.
The Royal Family's target is undoubtedly Carol herself.
Dactor-sama's persistent invitations and the Royal Family's sudden shift toward the Cathedral can all be explained by this.
'To capture Saint Carol.' That is the Royal Family's aim.
They might try to confine Carol and force her into marriage with Dactor-sama, or they could have Saint Carol 'die in an accident' and then take over the Cathedral.
...Even the Royal Family would have a Plan B if Plan A fails. If they can't win over Carol, they must be thinking of at least taking her head.
While it is true that Carol herself gathers the people's hearts, the Cathedral would still retain considerable power even if she died... and above all, if Carol dies, the Royal Family can avoid the worst-case scenario: 'the neutral Cathedral finally joining the Revolutionary Army.'
Yes. That is why I saw this dinner invitation as a lure to draw Carol into the castle and do as they please.
...The result of that is this Holy Knight army! Dactor-sama, who came to greet us, and the King and other royals who are likely watching this from the balcony! They should all stare in wide-eyed shock!
"...What is the meaning of this?"
"Do not mind us. We are guards."
Dactor-sama didn't exactly have his eyes popping out, but he certainly looked sufficiently surprised. Yes. He should be surprised. Be as surprised as you like!
"Just how many Holy Knights are..."
"The number is as you see."
Carol is excellent, so she won't tell them the exact number of the Holy Knight army. If she did, it would help the opponent prepare to counter them. Yes. They can just do their best to count the Holy Knights themselves!
"Is the dining hall the same room as last time? If so, I believe half of them will fit. I would like the other half to wait outside the room or outside the windows; is that acceptable?"
When Carol immediately made this proposal, even Dactor-sama's expression twitched. He might be suffering from a stomachache just thinking about a dinner where fifty-odd Holy Knights are lined up watching them. Ohohohoho.
"...We are being quite heavily guarded, it seems."
"Is that so? Of course, if guards are not permitted to accompany me, that cannot be helped. Please make your judgment. We are, after all, the ones being invited."
When Carol made that modest proposal, Dactor-sama looked somewhat relieved, but...
"However, if I cannot bring guards, I shall interpret it as 'the Royal Family would be troubled if the Saint brought guards.'"
...At Carol's following words, his face finally looked like his stomach was in knots.
Yes. Carol was implicitly saying, 'If you want to earn our trust, accept our demands.' Since such a brilliant threat came from the elegant and refined Carol, it must be difficult for Dactor-sama to handle.
"...I understand. I wish to accommodate your wishes as much as possible. For the sake of friendship between the Royal Family and the Cathedral."
Dactor-sama said this and... returned inside the castle alone.
"I shall go and confirm, so please wait a moment."
In short, he's just postponing the problem!
...Now then. It's foolish to just keep waiting here. There's no obligation to spend the waiting time created by the Royal Family's convenience just waiting quietly!
So, after confirming with Carol and Doran, who was attending her, I... quietly left the spot.
My goal is one thing.
To pack the castle's soldiers into my bag as I please!
First, I caught one soldier. It's his fault for wandering around aimlessly.
Now, I immediately stripped the captured soldier and obtained his armor. With that armor in hand, I quickly moved into the shadows. There, I swiftly changed into the Royal soldier's armor!
With this, I can move through the castle with some degree of disguise. If I can't maintain the disguise, I'll just pull a dragon out of my bag and escape. Keeping a dragon in the bag is very convenient because I can escape from a window... or rather, if there's a terrace or something, I can escape as much as I want.
Now then.
The first place I, disguised as a Royal soldier, head to is not a place where there are likely many soldiers... but the opposite.
I'm targeting places where there are likely few soldiers.
...Even I don't have the confidence to face multiple soldiers at once and pack them all into the bag without letting a single one escape.
My Spatial Bag is an illegally modified item, and if possible, I'd like to keep it as a hidden trump card. And above all, it's better for things to proceed if the fact that soldiers are being kidnapped isn't discovered!
The first place I went was a deserted corridor. The back of the castle... rooms like storage, warehouses, and old archives. Well, naturally, almost no one uses them. However, a sentry soldier was standing there, just in case.
So I immediately tucked that soldier into my bag!
That's the first one! It was surprisingly easy to catch him, so we're off to a good start! I'll keep gathering soldiers at this rate!
Next, I went out into the obstacle-filled courtyard and gathered many soldiers there.
Since soldiers were naturally standing at key points, I jumped out from behind hedges to attack and stuffed them into the bag.
In the center of the courtyard, there were two women who looked like noble ladies enjoying tea at a table set they had brought out, along with their guards. I made a noise to lure the guards away and then stuffed them in, and then stuffed the two noble ladies in as well.
In an inconspicuous corner of the courtyard, I cut in between two soldiers who seemed to be training voluntarily so as not to bother others, and stuffed them in.
...I was able to capture several soldiers in the courtyard alone.
I also went around to the back of the castle.
There, I found serious soldiers diligently training, just like in the courtyard, and stuffed them in.
I also stuffed in the soldiers guarding the back gate used by servants and castle suppliers. I also stuffed in the soldiers who came to relieve those soldiers just then.
I found soldiers who seemed to be returning from playing in town on their day off and were suspicious of the unguarded back gate, and stuffed them in too.
Furthermore, I stuffed in a soldier who was getting intimate with a castle maid, even though he was likely on duty, along with the maid.
...I've gathered quite a lot. I didn't spend much time, thinking it was only for the waiting period, but even so, I've gathered nearly twenty soldiers.
Is kidnapping really this easy! When they gather so smoothly, I start to wonder what a human even is! Well, I'll basically turn them all into slaves anyway! Ohohohohoho!
After that, I staked out a corner of the corridor near the soldiers' barracks, and stuffed in the soldiers who came out of the barracks and turned the corner, one after another.
...In the meantime, the front of the castle became noisy. Yes. Specifically, it's noisy with the heavy sound of a hundred Holy Knight armors clashing.
That means Carol and her guards' entry has been permitted.
I imagine they reduced the number to twenty or so... no matter how much they compromised, they probably decided on an entry with forty Holy Knights or so. Even the Royal Family wouldn't unresistingly accept a hundred soldiers who aren't their own.
But that's enough. The Holy Knights who weren't allowed into the castle will stand imposingly at the entrance, or perhaps they'll just stroll around outside the castle. That alone lowers the Royal Family's reputation, so it's a great deal.
...Now then.
Listening to Carol and the others entering the dining hall, I decided to nonchalantly enter the Royal soldiers' barracks.
If Dactor-sama intended to harm Carol with the castle's soldiers, they should be waiting here in formation. If not...
...I nonchalantly entered the barracks and saw the soldiers waiting there looking flustered. While moving through the barracks with a bold and busy air, pretending to check the schedule posted on the bulletin board at the back... I also listened to the words whispered among the soldiers, and then I walked back through the barracks just as boldly... and nonchalantly left!
The information I obtained is sufficient.
First, judging by the soldiers' behavior, they likely had orders like 'Once Saint Carol's dinner begins, seize the dining hall and capture Saint Carol.'
However, at the last minute, orders like 'Never mind' must have come out. Likely, those new orders were issued between the time Dactor-sama said 'I shall go and confirm' and entered the castle, and the time Carol was invited in.
The soldiers are in total confusion due to the last-minute change in orders. I'm sure orders like 'It's canceled for now, but stay on standby so you can respond to anything' have also been issued. On the schedule posted on the bulletin board in the barracks, words like 'Emergency! All soldiers except for patrols and guards are on standby!' had been added.
Thanks to that, the fact that several soldiers were missing hadn't become a major issue. It seems they recognized it as 'He's not here, but he's probably been mobilized somewhere for an emergency.' Because the castle is in such a mess, the missing persons won't be discovered immediately! It was worth bringing a hundred Holy Knights!
...Now then.
That's fine.
It's fine that the soldiers can't move.
However, I don't think the Royal Family will give up on Carol just because they hesitated to move the soldiers.
I'm sure they immediately switched to another method.
For example, poisoning.
Well, it should be fine. I've properly assigned a poison tester to Carol. Ohohohoho.
...Yes! That's what Chris is for!