Chapter 146 - Episode 8: "I've Ended Up Taking Him Home With Me..."
Because I announced my name and, furthermore, said something as shocking as "Poison has been scattered in this room, flee!", the inside of the dining hall fell into an uproar.
...Of course, no one except Dactor-sama and his guards was particularly surprised by my existence itself.
"Hurry and escape! You shall die!"
As I urged them on, the Holy Knights fled outside the room with well-trained movements. Although the entrances and exits were limited, the ones stationed outside were also Holy Knights, so as soon as they heard my angry shout, they efficiently cleared the way to let the other Holy Knights through. Ohohohoho.
"Everyone! Evacuate immediately! Please clear the way! So that everyone can get outside!"
Carol also immediately took command and began guiding the Holy Knights. Carol's figure, taking command and prioritizing the evacuation of the Holy Knights over her own, was so dignified it was enchanting; I am truly proud of her!
...On the other hand, there was a fool who remained dazed and unmoving.
Yes. It was Dactor-sama.
Dactor-sama, along with both of his guards, watched the surging escape of the Holy Knights while looking dazed. Even after the Holy Knights had fled and Carol had left the room while glancing back at Dactor-sama...
...Yes. He remained seated. He was so carefree he looked as if he might resume his meal at any moment!
As expected of the prince of the opportunistic nation, Orchesta! That carefreeness is almost admirable!
Of course, it would be a problem if Dactor-sama died in a place like this! My plans would go up in smoke!
Dactor-sama must burn properly! If he dies such a pathetic death in a place that isn't even part of my plan, my grudge will never be settled!
"If you do not wish to die either, get out of this room at once!"
For the time being, I was irritated by his appearance, so I kicked away the table in front of Dactor-sama.
"Eh, ah..."
Dactor-sama's... how should I put it... confusion seemed to have exceeded all bounds... He remained frozen and didn't move at all. The guards seemed to be able to move somewhat, and while they tried to get Dactor-sama to move, they were flustered and unable to do anything.
"N-No way... why..."
"The fool is you! Do you want to die!? Do you not want to die!? Which is it!?"
Even when I questioned him, Dactor-sama did not move! What is the meaning of this!? Surely it's not some cliché reason like being in shock after realizing he was abandoned by the King and the other members of the royal family!
"Ah... i-oi, ah..."
...Oh? His speech is slurred?
Could this be... perhaps...
Ah, I understand now! This is just the poison taking effect, making him unable to move on his own! Ohohohohoho!
Since it couldn't be helped, I picked up Dactor-sama, kicked through the window, and went outside. Since the two guards had already fled among the Holy Knights, there were zero people left behind.
Even so, for Dactor-sama to get high on the poison so quickly was a blind spot...
I believe the poison that was generated was something that dissolved in the air but was heavier than air. That is likely why Dactor-sama, who remained seated, was affected by the poison before the guards and Holy Knights who were standing. Honestly, even if he was flustered, if he had at least stood up, he could have escaped on his own feet!
"You've certainly made me go through a lot of trouble."
For now, I rolled Dactor-sama under a large tree in the garden surrounding the outer perimeter of the castle, a corner far from the source of the poison. He probably won't die on his own now. Even if his body won't move right now because he inhaled the poison, it's likely the kind of thing that will get better on its own if he breathes fresh air and rests.
...Well, I think it would have been an easier life for Dactor-sama to die here. From now on, I will make sure he and the rest of the royal family see a proper hell.
"If you've learned your lesson from this, you'd better move quickly. Well then, good day to you."
"Wa... it..."
Dactor-sama was still saying something with slurred speech, but I ignored him and left quickly!
...Now then.
The commotion in the dining hall had spread throughout the royal castle.
Because the Holy Knights moved all at once, the royal soldiers also came rushing to see what was happening, and even the King himself came rushing over!
Even for the King, this must have been unexpected. In the King's plan, the Holy Knights, Carol, and Dactor-sama should have all died quietly.
For it to become this noisy, and furthermore, for not a single person who was supposed to be killed to have been killed! He must be quite surprised and feeling quite regretful!
...At that point, I spotted a Holy Knight among the crowd who was nonchalantly heading this way, and I quickly moved toward them!
It would be troublesome if the King or anyone else saw me wandering around here, so I will evacuate calmly!
The Holy Knights skillfully created an evacuation route for me! By acting as a wall and obscuring the view, I was able to move without being found by the King, the royal soldiers, or any other onlookers... and I evacuated perfectly!
Yes! Into Chesta's Spatial Bag!
...And so, the next time I stepped outside, I was at the hideout in Elsemarin.
"Yo. Good work."
"You as well. You did a fine job. How did you know I would come from there?"
"Hehe, well, you know."
For now, I thanked Chesta for bringing me back safely, and then I also confirmed Doran's safety.
"You are safe as well."
"Yeah. As you can see."
Well, I didn't think Doran would fail, but it's a relief to be able to confirm his safe return like this...
"Could you tell me what happened after that?"
Now then. Since I've mostly confirmed everyone's safety, I decided to receive the report.
"First, the banquet was canceled after that."
"I should think so."
On the contrary, I would have been shocked if it had continued after that.
"Since there was a possibility that the entire first floor of the castle was contaminated by poison, it became an object of evacuation, so it became quite a big deal. Because of that, the commotion spread not only throughout the castle but even to the castle town."
"That is delightful. It means the royal family has lost the path to handling it secretly and peacefully, so they must be in quite a difficult position."
"Probably. Moreover, this time they have to mention the culprit. Since it's an incident inside the castle, the royal family has to solve it themselves."
Oh my. The royal family has ended up strangling themselves by trying to get rid of Carol. It must be quite difficult to have to solve an incident they set up themselves. Ohohohoho.
If they solve the incident perfectly, it will be 'We tried to kill the Saint-sama, who is a messenger of God and an ally of the people,' and if they don't solve it at all, they will be treated as incompetent for 'not even being able to solve an incident that happened inside their own castle.' On the other hand, if they perform a half-baked investigation, flaws will definitely appear! There is no doubt about it!
...Besides, at the point they abandoned Dactor-sama, the current royal family is split into at least two parts: Dactor-sama and the other royals. It will be a sight to see what the royal family, who are no longer in step with each other, will do from now on.
"Since the castle is in that state, there's no meaning in the Saint staying there. Although they tried to hold her back, Carol returned, asserting that 'I cannot stay in a castle where there is someone trying to kill me.'"
"That is the correct answer."
I think it would have been wonderful for the royal family if they could have pinned the crime on Carol here, but that would likely be a difficult claim to make... There's no merit for Carol to scatter poison in the dining hall where she was present, other than 'to kill Dactor-sama' or 'to claim that they were about to be killed.' Both would be strange actions for the Cathedral, which claims to be 'neutral.'
Moreover, this poison was a large-scale one that spread throughout the entire room. I think it would be very difficult to claim that Carol, who was the invited guest, set the poison.
...Now then, that's the end of the report.
After this, let's watch the royal family's response. There is nothing more for us to do regarding this matter.
However... although the purpose of entering the castle this time was to pressure the soldiers and search for the location of the treasury, unfortunately, we only had the result of pressuring the soldiers a little before returning... It's all because of that idiotic royal family who thought of poisoning Carol!
...Well, it can't be helped. Regretting what has passed serves no purpose.
First, let's confirm the results of this time. Although they aren't many, we did bring back some soldiers, and if things go well, we might be able to find out the location of the treasury from them...
...Thinking that, I began to take out and organize the soldiers and such that I had stuffed into the bag. Of course, inside Saki-sama's shop.
Taking them out one by one and turning them into slaves to neutralize them. This work is truly exhausting...
"Ojo-san, just how many did you stuff in there by yourself?"
"As many as I could fit, you see."
I'm still in the middle of the work, but at this point, the number of soldiers has already reached thirty. It was a decent result. Yes.
...Yes. It was a very satisfying result. Yes.
While I was satisfied with my results and mass-producing illegal slaves... but, it didn't end there.
I... I... ended up taking something outrageous out of the bag!
"...Ah."
After taking them out of the bag, seeing their reaction, and looking closely at their appearance... I finally realized.
Oh, what have I done!
This is bad. What should I do? This is something I hadn't expected!
...Accidentally! Just accidentally! I've ended up bringing back the 5th and 8th princesses, whom I had absolutely no intention of bringing back!