kscans

Chapter 55 - Dissatisfaction and the Unexpected

High in the sky above the Saint’s Church.

A small point of light hovered there, and within it was a fairy with a dissatisfied expression. It was Rumby the Fateweaver. She whined.

"Aww, what? You’re not getting involved? I went to all the trouble of setting the stage and everything! This is sooooo booooring."

As she grumbled, she shook her hands as if they were maracas.

Indeed, she was the cause of this whole commotion.

About a month ago, she had found that man and bestowed good fortune upon him, changing his life completely.

He had a winning streak at a casino holding illegal gambling. When the Holy Knights found him and gave chase, his pursuers would trip or run into people, allowing him to escape. Later, frustrated with the knights, he threw a rock he found on the roadside into the forest, and it hit a bear, killing it instantly with a lucky shot. To top it all off, when he took the bear’s carcass to the Disassembly Shop next to the guild to get it cashed, he turned out to be the 10,000th visitor and was presented with a commemorative sword made of Damascus steel and Mithril.

At this point, even he realized it.

His luck was just too good.

And so, he began his speeches in the plaza.

At first, he was alone. Naturally, no one stopped to listen; they just gave him annoyed looks. Then, two knights showed up. Just as they were about to arrest him for being a public nuisance, a horse’s reins snapped, and it bolted, crashing into the two knights. He used this as an excuse to loudly proclaim, "I am beloved by God!"

The residents dismissed it as a coincidence and paid it no mind.

But when he gave another speech the next day, five knights came for him. As they moved to arrest him, a number of barrels suddenly came rolling down from a nearby staircase. They struck the knights, and while they weren't seriously injured, they were unable to move. A subsequent investigation revealed that the rope holding the barrels in front of a shop at the top of the stairs had rotted and snapped on its own, and a sudden gust of wind had sent them rolling.

Those who learned of this began to think that it was too much to be dismissed as mere coincidence.

A month passed. The knights who came for the man were met with one misfortune after another, and the residents became divided. Some avoided the man, while others drew close, hoping to receive a share of his good fortune. And now, his group had grown to a scale that even the upper echelons of the Church could no longer ignore.

She had been delighted.

She was sure that if she caused this much of a stir, the otherworlder would get involved. She had been looking forward to seeing him fight the group, to seeing what kind of struggle he would put up.

But the result was a failure.

The otherworlder showed no intention of getting involved. At this rate, he would just leave the country.

How dull.

How utterly, dreadfully dull.

Ni-shi-shi-shi. "Well then," Rumby thought with a wicked smile, "if that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll just have to force you to get involved."


Let’s turn back the clock three days.

The location changes to the Letil Republic.

It was a vibrant royal capital near the sea, and the people were hard at work. But their faces were filled with smiles. The reason was simple: the bountiful catches of fish enriched them all.

Ships came and went from the port at regular intervals. Among them, one medium-sized vessel arrived at the docks. Its appearance was ordinary, more suited for carrying passengers than cargo. The people disembarking from it were mostly merchants.

It was common for them to come here to stock up on goods. But one particular group had a different air about them.

There were three of them: a burly man in full plate armor, carrying a large shield; a woman in long sleeves and trousers with light leather armor, carrying a spear on her back; and finally, a woman in a long-sleeved shirt with a steel breastplate, a miniskirt, high socks, and greaves, with two daggers at her waist.

At first glance, they looked like adventurers, but while the shield man and spear woman were carrying luggage in one hand, the dagger woman held nothing.

Yet, the other two carried their bags without a word of complaint.

They wanted to avoid letting the dagger woman carry anything at all costs.

The reason for this was...

"So this is the Letil Republic," the dagger woman said as she stepped onto the port. "I always wanted to come, but they would never allow it."

"That can’t be helped," the spear woman replied to her grumbling. "The princess has a duty to protect the country when the king and prince are absent."

"Hey, Sakura. Stop calling me ‘Princess.’ What if someone hears you?" the dagger woman, Princess Olivia, chided her.

"My apologies, Olivia-sama," the spear woman, Sakura, said, bowing her head.

Indeed, this was the Princess’s Party.

They had left a note and slipped out of the castle without permission.

They boarded a passenger ship they had arranged in advance and traveled from the Kingdom to the Republic.

Watching them, the shield man, Glad, asked, "Shall we head to an inn, then?"

"Yes, let’s," Olivia replied. "After one night here, we’ll head to the Saint’s Church. If those two are coming from the mountains, the Saint’s Church is the only place they could enter first. But before that, let’s gather some information. The sailors on the ship mentioned a suspicious group in the Church recently. We can ask around while we look for an inn."

Olivia’s face burned with determination.

She had been waiting for this—her first step as a bard.

Glad sighed at the sight of her, while Sakura watched with warm eyes.

Sakura was Olivia’s personal maid.

From a young age, she had been educated to be the princess’s attendant and companion. However, the princess thought of Sakura as a younger sister, and when they were out of the public eye, they acted as such.

Now, she had stepped back into the role of Olivia’s attendant, assistant, and guard, and was a skilled warrior in her own right.

When Olivia had announced her intention to escape, Sakura had been at a loss, but fulfilling Olivia’s wishes was a maid’s duty. And so, she had escaped with her.

As for why Glad was with them, it was because Sakura had suggested it.

"Princess, it’s far too dangerous for two women to travel alone. I think it would be best to have a man accompany us."

Olivia hadn’t been strongly opposed to the idea.

It was true that two women alone would undoubtedly be targeted not just by monsters, but by ruffians as well. It was then that an idea occurred to Olivia.

At the royal castle’s training grounds, the princess approached Knight Glad, who was instructing soldiers.

"Glad, I have a question for you."

He saluted and stood at attention. "Yes, what is it?"

"You were looking for a new shield, weren’t you? Have you found one yet?" the princess asked.

Glad shook his head.

The shield that had been destroyed in the battle with Bardos a month ago was beyond repair.

It couldn’t be helped, but the shield he had used for so many years was gone. With a heavy heart, he had been searching for a new one, but so far, he had found nothing.

Upon hearing his answer, the princess gave a command to Sakura, who stood behind her. Sakura brought out a large shield.

It was silver-black in color. It was unadorned, save for the face of a lion in the center.

"This," the princess explained, "is a top-quality item I received as a thank-you from a merchant I helped in rooting out corruption in his company. I’ve had it on display in my room until now, but a weapon’s true calling is to be used, isn’t it? So, I’m giving it to you."

She handed the shield to Glad.

Glad was troubled.

Even if she said he could have it, he couldn't just accept the princess’s personal property. But then, the princess added, "By the way, it’s a supreme masterpiece made of Mithril and Adamantite."

Glad’s mind went blank.

Adamantite.

A rare mineral harder than Mithril, capable of storing ten times the magical energy. It was mined in small quantities and traded at exorbitant prices. "Why?" he wondered, and the princess explained.

"That merchant company deals in goods for the royal family. Naturally, they have several exclusive blacksmiths who craft weapons and armor using Adamantite. They’re all master craftsmen. You wouldn’t have any reason to dislike a piece of equipment made by such people, would you?"

At her devilish whisper, Glad nodded.

Such a precious item… It was something he might not see again in his lifetime.

Seeing his reaction, the princess said, "There is a condition, however. I want to go sightseeing. Will you accompany me as my escort?"

Glad nodded.

He assumed that "sightseeing" wouldn’t take them too far from the royal castle. In his current state of awe, he was incapable of rational thought.

Both women wore wicked smiles.

The port town.

The princess and her two attendants were strolling through the streets.

At the docks, the princess said, "Hey, Glad. Could you get on this ship and hold up your shield near the stern? I want to see how a knight guarding the rear of a ship looks."

Well, it’s just getting on board, Glad thought, and did as he was told.

He figured he could just get off before it departed. He boarded the ship and stood at the stern, holding his shield. It was a little embarrassing. He looked down at the port and saw that the other two were gone.

Glad panicked, but then he sensed a presence approaching from behind. He turned to find the two of them there.

Confused, Glad asked, "Why are you on board?"

"I wanted to see it up close," the princess replied. "That’s all."

She said it with a dazzling smile.

I suppose that makes sense, Glad thought.

After that conversation, they said they were thirsty and headed to the ship’s dining hall.

"Um, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to the dining hall when we’re not even passengers," Glad said.

"It’s fine. No one will blame us. Who do you think I am?" the princess replied haughtily.

It was true that a princess would likely be forgiven for most things. So he thought.

After a while in the dining hall, Glad noticed a slight swaying. "Is this ship moving?"

"Of course it is. It’s time for departure," the princess said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The maid acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Glad shot to his feet. "This is bad! Even for royalty, it’s illegal to board without paying!"

As Glad moved about frantically, the princess said, "It’s fine. All arrangements for our passage have been made."

It was then that Glad realized he’d been had.

The princess had given him the shield for this very purpose, asking him to be her escort under the guise of sightseeing.

"Let’s get off immediately," Glad said. "We can still make it."

"Perhaps," the princess replied. "But the ship is on a strict schedule, so it won’t turn back. If you want to get off, you’ll have to take a small boat. But Sakura and I are not getting off. We’ve left a note, and we have no intention of scurrying back. If you’re leaving, you’ll have to go alone."

"But if you leave now, what will happen to us? Two young maidens, bound at the hands of strange men, a time of shame and humiliation to follow… Sakura, our purity will end here."

Sob, sob, the two of them feigned crying and hugged each other.

Seeing this, Glad sat down without a word.

The two of them thanked him and started chatting.

And that was how the three of them came to be in the Republic.

That night, at an inn in the Church.

Tina and I discussed our plans for the future in our room.

First, we would leave this country and head for the Republic.

It had a lot of interaction with other nations, making it a good place to gather information. In order to get stronger, we needed to find tough monsters or difficult-to-clear dungeons, and we were trying to get information on that. We had initially planned to gather it here, but with that group from daytime around…

…any strange behavior would attract the attention of the Holy Knights.

We wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Therefore, we decided it was best to leave this country tomorrow.

I wrote down the contents of our discussion on a piece of paper and tied it to the leg of a messenger bird.

To explain, messenger birds have a peculiar habit of flying back and forth between their nest and a birdcage they have taken a liking to. The type of birdcage differs for each bird, so anyone who keeps messenger birds must first make or buy several different kinds. It takes time and effort to find one they like, but once they do, they will always find it, no matter where the cage is moved. This habit allows for the swift delivery of urgent messages.

I released the bird from the window.

Its destination was the Guild Master’s room. I had sent our regular report.

"Honestly, this is such a pain," I sighed.

"I agree," Tina said. "But this is also part of the job. We must continue to do it."

Even as she said it, Tina wore a look of distaste.

It seemed she found it troublesome too.

With our duties done, I decided to go to bed. There was no reason to stay up any longer. I turned off the light and went to sleep.

I didn’t indulge in my nightly hobby. There were other guests in the surrounding rooms.

In a certain inn.

This place was being used as the base for "The Man Beloved by God."

In the most expensive room, a man was sleeping. It was the leader of the group.

A single ray of light descended into the room, which was ruled by darkness.

Seeing the man’s sleepy eyes, the light spoke. "O, mortal. I bring you a divine revelation."

A divine revelation? Hearing this, the man’s eyes flew open, and he sat up.

The light continued. "There is a man and a woman in this town. Find them and offer them unto me."

"Who are this man and woman?" the man asked.

"They are the ones who have stolen my power. They are rebels against me. If you succeed in capturing them, I shall descend upon this very spot. When you have accomplished this, I shall grant you a portion of my power."

At this declaration, the man was overjoyed.

The power of a god will be mine.

"I understand!" the man thought. "I will find them without fail! But may I ask, what are the characteristics of this man and woman?"

Without any leads, it would be impossible to search.

It was a natural question.

"I will not say," the light replied.

Hearing these unbelievable words, the man hurriedly asked, "Why?"

The light grew brighter. "This is also a trial. It is a unique opportunity to test whether you are truly my follower. Or do you have some complaint?"

At its slightly angry tone, the man replied, "N-no! Not at all! I understand. I humbly accept your trial!"

He shouted as he bowed his head.

The light returned to its former brightness. "A fine answer. In respect for your devotion, I shall give you one hint. They are not among your followers. I am counting on you."

With those parting words, it left through the window.

The man went to the window, but the light was already gone.

He stood there in a daze for a moment before offering up a prayer.

High above.

Rumby the Fateweaver, who had deliberately extinguished her light, lit it up again.

"Alrighty then. Now for tomorrow’s fun~♪"

She flew on with a cheerful look on her face.