episode_0023

Episode 23.

“Whooo…”

Warm water seeps into every corner of your body. The muscles and nerves of my entire body seem to relax from fatigue. It is a pleasant hot spring.

However, even though I had such a nice hot spring bath all to myself, I didn’t feel very good. The reason, of course, is Carmel.

Carmel’s provocation just before leaving the royal capital. It felt like it was still ringing in my ears.

If you wanted to provoke me, I can say you hit the mark with precision. This may not be the direction Carmel intended.

“Fuuu…”

I dipped my nose into the water and made bubbles with my mouth. I feel dispirited to think that Carmel might be being held by an old man like Fehat right now.

No, it’s natural since they’re a couple. They probably did it on the day of the wedding.

However, judging from what Carmel said, she may be planning to seduce the king more actively this time.

When I imagine Carmel wearing clothes that stimulate men’s desires and saying words of temptation to Fehat, something in my heart continues to swell.

In situations like this, we need to be more proactive.

Now that this has happened, Rika must be captured alive.

Even in order to thoroughly punish Carmel’s provocation.

When will Rika attack?

It is not yet known by what means the communication was made between Carmel and Rika. It is quite possible that information will not be delivered today. Or, it may take time to reach this village because it is located in another area.

I wish you would show up quickly and not delay.

Ha, I soaked in the hot spring and sighed.

* * *

Two days have passed.

The raiders still haven’t shown up.

Even though I know I shouldn’t be impatient, I feel impatient.

It seemed like my feelings were being conveyed to Pilgret.

“Could you talk to me for a moment?”

“What is it, Sir Pilgret?”

“Dear Princess, I can tell that you did not come here simply to rest. And even though you don’t know what the real purpose is, you’re frustrated because it doesn’t work out as you thought.”

“Did it appear that way to the drivers? I still have a long way to go.”

“So, can you tell me the princess’s true purpose? If you do that, we may be able to move things to better suit the princess’s purpose.”

“Hmm…”

Of course, the real purpose of this vacation was not revealed to the escort drivers. In the first place, they don’t know the existence of Rika’s unit. I couldn’t say that the goal was to catch them.

However, it might be good to give Pilgret a little hint. Because he is a person who can be trusted to some extent.

“Okay, Pilgret. The purpose of my coming here… is to lead out and capture the Cacas troops who have invaded Lustier.”

“Kakas tribe…”

Pilgret did not ask the obvious question, ‘How did they get down through the Third Fortress?’ Instead, he skipped a few steps and caught what I didn’t say.

“Then this must be about Queen Carmel.”

Only Fehat and Carmel know that I am here. If Fehat wants to get rid of me, mobilizing the Carcass would be an overly cumbersome method. So, is it an accident that all that remains is Carmel?

I might have to reveal it to Philgret someday. That my enemy and purpose is Carmel. But I felt like it wasn’t the time yet.

I spoke in a solemn voice.

“I will neither confirm nor deny. From now on, please don’t make hasty assumptions beyond what I said.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Let’s go back to the story of the Carcass who will attack me. There is a high possibility that they may not have arrived in this village. For me, I want to capture them alive as quickly as possible. Is there some way, Philgret?”

“There is no sharp way, but it seems that the Carcass have already entered this village.”

“…How do you know that?”

“A little while ago, when I was taking a walk around the village, I caught a faint smell from a man who passed by the horse. A rich scent, like that of a bloodless animal. It’s a smell you can commonly smell among the Kakas people.”

Is it that superhuman sense of smell again?

However, judging from the distance traveled, it must have been at least two weeks for the Rika unit to enter the country. Will their unique smell still linger on their bodies?

“Are you sure it smells like the Carcass? That guy could be a hunter, right? If it’s just the smell of an animal.”

“No, I’m sure. If you process it in the Lustier way, there won’t be that characteristic smell.”

“Hmm…”

It might be a good idea to take this opportunity to verify it. Does Pilgret really have a sense of smell like that of a hunting dog?

If they are indeed already in the village as Pilgret said, they are probably just looking for an opportunity to attack.

Then all you have to do is set the stage for them.

A perfect stage that you can’t miss without attacking it.

* * *

Tap, tap, tap…

Four horses, each carrying their owner, walk slowly. The unhurried, leisurely pace makes it seem like a picnic.

A woman dressed as an aristocrat and three men serving her. The identity of the picnic party was me, Philgret, and two knights.

If those who are already right in front of you are hesitating to attack, there is only one reason. Maybe it’s because it’s in a village. If even one of the villagers sent a witness alive, it would be discovered that they had infiltrated Lustier.

If it were me, I would have prioritized tackling my goals, even if it meant doing so. Well, Carmel had no choice but to make that decision because she couldn’t abandon Rika.

Now the village looks small in the distance. I sat down under a big tree. One of the drivers unloaded the folding table from his horse and started making tea.

Now then, when and where are you coming?

Suddenly Philgret jumped up from his seat. With an extremely serious face.

“…Where is it?”

“What’s wrong, Philgret?”

These are “ guys. The smell is terrible, but where?”

I looked around after hearing his words, but there was nothing around. It’s just a peaceful meadow spreading out.

But no matter how you look at Pilgret’s attitude, it was sincere. He was so nervous that he even placed his hand on the sword sheath.

“You too, prepare for battle. Come on!”

The two knights looked at each other with puzzled faces, then, as ordered, placed their hands on the handles of their swords and looked around. But there was still nothing around.

“What’s going on, boss? There is nothing around…”

The moment the young knight said that, something popped out of the ground.

The Cacas tribe wielded various weapons such as spears, axes, swords, and bows. The enemy forces that came out at once exceeded my expectations.

It was estimated that the maximum number of people who could avoid surveillance up to this point was about twenty at most. However, the number of Cacas people that appeared before my eyes was far more than twice that number.

Perhaps the secret to this size of troops being able to arrive without being detected is… perhaps that.

“…In the ground…?”

Of course, no matter how barbarian they are, they cannot pop out of the ground like that. They were even clean, without a single drop of dirt on them.

“Nice to meet you, Princess Sera.”

Among them, a red-haired Caucasian woman stepped forward. Her clearly exposed stomach and legs had well-developed muscles.

“Are you Rika?”

“Do you even know my name? That’s amazing. I think perhaps that clarity is what is pulling the strings.”

On her right hand, she wore a gauntlet studded with yellow gems. It didn’t seem like an ordinary item. Perhaps what appeared from under the ground was the effect of that item.

Philgret urgently shouted at his astonished subordinate.

“What are you doing! Call support, quickly!”

Philgret urgently shouted to his subordinate knight. The young knight hurriedly brought his hand to the horn on his belt. However, he was hit in the right hand by an arrow flying from among the men and missed it.

Without missing the opportunity, Rika stretched out her gauntleted fist in the air and shouted.

“Hit!”

The Carcass began to rush in quietly but with a frightening force.

“Jack, Luther, protect the princess’s left and right sides! I will stand in the center!”

With their backs to the trees, the three knights became a barrier to protect me. They fought desperately, cutting, pushing, and kicking the charging Carcass.

But only three. The difference in numbers is obvious. It’s probably not something you can endure forever.

I took out another horn I had prepared just in case and blew it as hard as I could.

A long-wavelength sound, resembling the sound of a whale, spreads out.

A sound that summons the remaining nine knights waiting in the village.

Rika saw the knights running from the village, raising dust, with a frown on her face, and shouted to her subordinates.

“What are you doing, you guys! There are only three opponents! Kill me quickly!”

There is no way that the skills of your subordinates will suddenly improve just because you improve them.

It will not be easy to overcome the desperate fight of knights who have practiced martial arts throughout their lives, especially royal guard knights with the best skills and mental strength.

“Princess!”

Knights on horseback arrived. They were swinging their maces and literally crushing the rearguard of the Carcass tribe.

As we were attacked, the momentum of our attack was weakening. Meanwhile, Philgret broke through the center and rushed towards Rika.

“Kkkk…!”

The jewel in Rika’s right hand, the gauntlet, shines. Are you planning to run away into the ground again?

“Pilgret!”

As if responding to my voice, Pilgret’s sword draws a fast and sharp trajectory. The place where the trajectory was heading was Rika’s gauntlet. With the sound of paching, the jewel lost its light and shattered.

Pilgret grabbed Rika, who had lost her weapon, and pointed the sword at her neck and shouted.

“Your leader has been captured! Surrender!”

“Lee, Captain Rika…!”

The Cacas tribe disintegrated at a rapid rate. Most surrendered, and some fled, but they could not avoid the pursuit of knights on horseback.

Once the situation was settled, I felt drenched in sweat from head to toe. The knights are probably worse than me.

But it was worth taking that risk.

Because I captured Rika, Carmel’s most precious subordinate.

Seeing Rika bound and gagged, I felt unbearable joy.