kscans

Chapter 77 - The Prince's Idea

The next morning.

After a light breakfast at the inn, we decided to head out.

We had gathered a fair amount of information on the Empire, and we decided to act according to the plan we’d made yesterday. We gathered our belongings, retrieved the items we’d hidden in an alley, and headed for the gate, pulling our cart. However, a crowd had gathered there, and the gate was closed.

I asked a person nearby what had happened.

"Hm? …Apparently, a thief broke into the castle, so the capital has been on lockdown since last night."

He answered curtly.

A thief in the castle? …Well, the castle is about the only place with a mountain of treasure, so it’s a natural target. But infiltrating the castle takes some serious guts, or foolishness. …Well, I probably won’t have to get involved this time.

After all, it’s a scandal that happened in the castle. They’d probably think it a disgrace to rely on outsiders. However, I want to go to the Church and draw a teleportation circle, but even if I wanted to return to the Kingdom, I can’t because the ships are barred from leaving. …In other words, we’re stuck here. This is a huge pain.

…It’s not like we’re in a hurry, but just sitting around doing nothing will make my body go soft.

I asked Tina what we should do.

"…There’s nothing I can do. I don’t know anyone in this country. …Besides, I’m a C-rank now, not an A-rank, so I can’t make any suggestions to the higher-ups. …We’ll just have to wait until the thief is caught."

She explained calmly.

…I had no choice but to accept it. …Oh well. We decided to wait while sightseeing around the city.

In the royal castle.

In the throne room.

There were no lavish decorations around the blue carpet that stretched in a straight line from the door, but the throne at the far end was magnificent, exuding an aura befitting a person of great authority. Sitting on that throne was the king of the Republic, King Rukarl.

And around the king were Prince Lustolfo, Knight Captain Bradamante, the chancellor, and several nobles.

…They had gathered to discuss the matter of the thief who had broken into the royal treasury the previous night.

The chancellor spoke. "…I have gathered you all here for one reason and one reason only. …Last night, a thief infiltrated the castle, and the door to the treasury was destroyed. …In the process, five soldiers were killed. …Two more were injured. …Now, Knight Captain, your detailed report."

At his words, Bradamante began. "…Yes. …The incident occurred at one in the morning. A soldier on patrol heard a suspicious noise from a window on the sea-facing side. When he rushed over, someone had already entered. The moment the thief saw the soldier, they stabbed him with something like a blade, seriously injuring him. The next piece of information comes from the testimony of one of the six soldiers guarding the treasury."

"…This soldier was taking a nap in the break room when he heard the voices of several soldiers. When he left the room, five of his comrades were on the ground. As he rushed to check on them, he was struck from behind and suffered a fractured bone, a serious injury. The voice of the thief he heard at that time said, ‘You are the witness,’ before he lost consciousness."

"…Then, a patrolling soldier went to the treasury and discovered the six men down and the treasury door destroyed. He reported it to his commanding officer. …That is all."

At this report, one of the nobles said, "…How pathetic. …To think that the soldiers of the Republic could be injured without even seeing the thief’s face."

He said it with a sneer.

Several other nobles agreed with him, but the King retorted, "Hoh? Pathetic, you say? …Then how about you gentlemen stand guard tonight? …It seems the thief will be coming again."

At his words, the nobles looked shocked.

The chancellor added to the King’s words. "King Rukarl speaks the truth. …When we inspected the treasury, nothing was stolen. Instead, a letter had been left behind. …It read, ‘Next, I will take the king’s head.’"

At those words, a noble sputtered, "What?! …W-wait a moment. The Knight Captain’s report said nothing of the sort…"

To the flustered noble’s remark, the chancellor replied, "It is only natural that the Knight Captain would not know. …I conducted the investigation of the treasury myself. It was then that I discovered the letter and reported it directly to the King. …The captain’s report was on the sequence of events and the damages. …Do you have anything else to say?"

He said it with a sharp gaze and barely concealed anger.

The noble, perhaps succumbing to the silent pressure, said nothing more.

The King continued. "…So? …If the thief is coming tonight, you will guard me, will you not? …Of course, you may use your own proud soldiers."

He questioned the nobles, his aura dominating the room.

The King’s expression was blank, but inwardly he was furious. …The soldiers who work in the castle are men who have sworn their loyalty to the country, and they are prepared to lay down their lives. He would not tolerate any insult to them. However, since they were nobles, speaking harshly would only create resentment, which would be a nuisance. Therefore, he phrased it in a way that meant, ‘If you’re going to talk like that, then you and your soldiers can catch the thief yourselves.’

Hearing this, a noble said, "…Ah, no, well, that is… I appreciate the offer, but my soldiers are back in my domain, and it would be impossible for them to reach the capital today. …It is regrettable, but it cannot be helped."

He stammered out his response.

The other nobles made similar excuses. The King let out a small sigh. He wanted to say that since the nobles were here, they must have their own guards with them, but he expected nothing from them. …Because they were all talk.

The Republic’s strength was its navy; its land soldiers were inferior in skill. And the nobles’ soldiers were so used to peace that they didn’t train at all.

Their guards were reasonably strong, but at best, they could barely defeat a bear with several men. This thief, on the other hand, had killed and seriously injured soldiers in a single blow without even being seen.

He was clearly a master.

Of course, the nobles knew this as well. Being told to fight such a formidable enemy—they didn’t have enough lives to spare.

…Amidst this, Prince Lustolfo spoke up. "…Father, I have a proposal."

The King nodded at his words.

The prince continued. "…Regarding this matter, how about we hire adventurers?"

To this proposal, the King said, "…That is not possible. …This is a problem for the royal castle. No matter how strong adventurers may be, hiring them is the same as saying our soldiers and knights are not. …I cannot do something so demeaning."

The King was firmly against it.

No matter if it was to protect the king from a thief, hiring adventurers was an act that advertised the incompetence of those who belonged to the country. …It was a national disgrace.

The prince said, "…No, not as guards. …They will simply be keeping me company for my hobby."

At his words, the others were perplexed.

Seeing their natural reaction, the prince explained. "…First, we will send a direct request to the guild for an adventurer. The content will be: to be the prince’s playmate. Of course, they will have to accompany me all day, and at that time, they will ‘happen’ to encounter the thief. …Normally, they wouldn’t have to do anything outside of the request, but if they were to let a thief who had infiltrated the castle escape, not only the adventurer who took the request, but the guild’s reputation would suffer. …They would have no choice but to fight. …Of course, since this is a charitable act outside the scope of the request, there is no need to pay an additional reward. …What do you think?"

The ones who heard this proposal felt a slight sense of terror.

Because, although the request was to be the prince’s playmate, a simple job in a sense, they would be forced into contact with the thief by the prince’s scheme and made to subjugate him against their will.

…It was cruel, to say the least.

To this proposal, the chancellor said, "…However, Your Highness. Who would you send such a request to? …Adventurers have their pride. Even if it is a direct request from royalty, I do not think they will take it well."

To the chancellor’s reasonable concern, the prince replied, "…That will not be a problem. All we need is someone who doesn’t possess adventurer pride, correct? …And if they are not adventurers of the Republic, would that not be all the more convenient?"

At his words, the others were once again confused.

Not adventurers of the Republic. …They thought he meant he would request adventurers from another country. But even if he sent a request now, it would take at least five days for them to arrive. It was not realistic.

As everyone was thinking this, the prince said, "…I understand what you are all thinking. …However, right now, there are two adventurers from another country in this nation."

The prince began his explanation.

Shinsuke’s Side

Tina and I were discussing what to do next. Since we couldn’t leave the Republic, we had to figure out what we should do.

Tina said, "…Honestly, there’s nothing to do. …We can only relax. …However, I think there might be some requests at the guild. …It might be a good way to kill time."

She proposed.

Indeed, lazing around like this isn’t good for the body. …With that decided, we headed for the guild. We arrived and went inside. There weren’t many people around. Some were just standing by the request board, others were sitting in chairs talking. It looked like everyone was just killing time.

Just then, a receptionist called out, "Excuse me! Is there a party called `Red Lightning` here?"

She shouted to everyone.

…`Red Lightning`? That’s our party name, but there might be a similar party, so I decided to watch silently. However, no one went up.

The receptionist continued, "Umm. There are two of them, C-rank, and their names are Shinsuke and Tina."

That confirmed it. Tina, with a suspicious look on her face, asked, "Why are we being singled out?"

It was only natural to be confused.

We had reported our party name and individual names in the Undead hunt report. It was natural for the Republic’s guild to know our names. But we didn’t know why we were being called. There were other people who had reported on the Undead, so why us? was the natural question. But since she had given our specific details, we had no choice but to identify ourselves.

We went to the reception desk. "I’m Shinsuke. This is Tina. …What can we do for you?"

To my question, the receptionist said, "I don’t know the details myself. The Guild Master is calling for you. Please go to the back."

She said, guiding us.

…After knocking on the door, we entered the Guild Master’s room. It was sparsely furnished, with what appeared to be a well-used assault spear displayed on the wall. A muscular man was sitting in a chair at the back, drinking tea.

…This bodybuilder would look more at home with a beer than tea, I thought to myself.

Seeing us, he said, "Welcome, members of `Red Lightning`. Please, have a seat. …You, bring us some tea."

He gave the order with a kind and courteous tone.

The receptionist nodded and left the room. …I looked at the assault spear displayed in the room and used `Analysis` on it.

…The material was sixty percent iron, thirty percent Mithril, ten percent Orichalcum. It was quite a masterpiece.

The Guild Master said, "Ah, that spear. That’s the one I used back in my active days. Back then, I used that spear to pierce through monsters and bandits, earning the nickname ‘Wild Bull.’ …That was thirty years ago, though."

He spoke with nostalgia.

…Thirty years ago? That means the Guild Master is at least fifty years old, but he looks like he’s in his thirties or forties. …I seriously considered whether building muscle could preserve one’s youth.

…But I shouldn't. I can’t let the conversation get sidetracked.

I switched gears and asked, "…That’s amazing. …By the way, Guild Master, what did you need us for?"

To my question, the Guild Master said, "…Actually, a direct request came from the prince. …I need you two to go to the castle."

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.