Ch.257While That NPC Is Away. (3)

“Uwup…!! Uwoo⎯⎯!!!”

Wow. This is my first time drinking until I’m completely sick like this. I definitely don’t want Jack to see me in this state. But, my purpose, or rather, my goal is being achieved well enough.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“My, my, it’s remarkable that such a slender young lady could drink twelve glasses of that strong liquor without collapsing…”

“Can you walk? Where do you live? No, you said you’re a noble’s daughter, right? Which inn are you staying at? I’ll take you there.”

Outside the tavern, a few middle-aged men with alcohol-flushed faces surround me as I’m vomiting like the undead, hiccupping while expressing their concern. Hmm, I’d say their looks are about 40% lecherous, 30% concerned, and 30% disgusted.

“Ugh… I’m fine. I can walk by myself. And, mister over there, you’re married, and you, young man, you have a girlfriend, don’t you? Go home before someone misunderstands seeing you with me. Uwup…!”

“Well, if you put it that way, I guess we have no choice.”

“…Um, sir next to me? Since she says so…”

“Hmm. I live alone, so I’ll take responsibility. She treated us to drinks after all.”

“Just so you know, even if this lady isn’t actually high nobility, judging by her money, she’s at least the child of a noble or wealthy merchant. You know what happens if you touch her, right?”

With a sharp gesture of drawing a finger across his throat, the man made his point clear, and the one who offered to take responsibility nodded with a smirk. After bidding farewell to their drinking companions, the crowd dispersed in small groups, leaving just three men by my side. These men exchanged names and even made plans to drink together again after escorting me.

“Now, noble miss. Where do we need to take you? If you haven’t booked an inn, we can help you find one. I know a good place.”

“Huu. Don’t need an inn…”

“Ugh, the smell of alcohol. Come on, pull yourself together. You can lean on my shoulder, okay?”

“You said you know an inn, right? Lead the way. We’ll help her get there.”

“Alright. We’ll go slowly, and if you feel like throwing up again, head straight for the alley…”

My head was starting to ache, but the men kept talking to me without pause, and I responded to each question with a slurred tongue. They pretended to be drunk too, leaning on me while staggering… Uwup!!

“Oh, my…!!”

“Over there, over there!!”

“Ugh! I’ll go get something to clean this up!!”

After I threw up a second time, the men led me to an alley, and one of them started patting my back. And then…

-Click.

“What kind of weapon is this?”

“Probably a gun made in Aiti. Take them all.”

“Ugh… y-you guys… what are you…”

The men who took both guns from my waist now looked at me with eyes suddenly clear of intoxication, as if their drunkenness had been a complete lie. Moreover…

“Tch. So it starts already. Shouldn’t have brought it.”

“Doesn’t matter. We might need to dispose of something if she doesn’t cooperate.”

“Ha. Not cooperate? In this state, we could rape her and she wouldn’t even remember it by tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t think unnecessary thoughts. Our objective is to recover the princess.”

“Tch, a little fun wouldn’t hurt.”

The man who had run off to clean up my vomit quickly returned and joined the conversation as if it were the most natural thing. Hmm, so it was these three after all.

“Huh? Wh-what are you saying…”

“Ha, still babbling drunkenly? Hey. You’re being kidnapped right now.”

“Pwincess? I’m not a pwincess…”

“Nonsense. Do you think we didn’t hear you shouting that you were the Imperial Princess after drinking? What’s your name?”

“My name? Lagni~ Lagni Bluemoon~”

“…This is maddening. We were told to recover the Imperial Princess known as the Blue Wisdom of the Empire, but all we got is a drunkard. So, where’s the carriage?”

“It’s at the inn where I was staying. Let’s inform the others that we’ve recovered the princess, and we’ll depart immediately.”

The men began to move in perfect coordination, and one of them hoisted me onto his back without even tying me up, then started heading toward their destination through the alley. Hmm, it seems I’ve been completely caught, haven’t I?

“Huh? Who’s that woman?”

“The princess. For some reason, she left Neiti and was drinking at the tavern in this village.”

“What? Insane. Someone said they saw a woman who looked like the princess at the village entrance, and it was true? Wait, what’s with those clothes? You can see her backside and everything.”

“Ha! She looks exactly like an adventurer. Probably a princess who escaped her cage and enjoyed some freedom until she ended up like this.”

“Anyway, tie her up immediately and prepare to move. You go inform the other members about the princess’s recovery…”

After entering a secluded building in the alley, the men met with another contact and laid me down on a carriage, then began preparing ropes and the carriage. Hmm, I think this is enough for now. That one seems to be their contact for communications.

“Now, Princess, it’s time to return to the Empire. Once you get there and bear children smarter than yourself, everything will be over. Please stay still while we tie you up.”

“…Right. I’m really tired of hearing that same line over and over.”

“Huh?”

-Slash!

“Gah?!! ……”

“Wh-what?!”

-Thud!

I casually drew the knife from the waist of the man who approached me carelessly, swiftly cut off his arm, and immediately sliced his throat as he tried to scream. A cold air began to fill the secluded building. Sigh, why does that damn Emperor keep insisting I bear his children? I really hope he’s not actually planning to wage war just because he wants my child. That would mean his head is truly filled with spaghetti noodles.

“Well, you’re people sent by that man or Minister Salver, right? You, the contact, don’t move. From now on, if you blink even once without my permission, I’ll cut off one finger at a time.”

“Wh-what…?”

“Ha~! The princess gives an order and you’ve already blinked six times? Perhaps you don’t need one of your hands?”

“Damn it, you were pretending to be drunk?!!”

“Shit…!!”

The men were shocked to hear my perfectly sober voice and immediately gripped their swords, but it was obvious. Even if there were 300 of them instead of just 3, they would be no match for me.

“Really. The Empire’s standards are just…”

I lightly jumped off the carriage and cut off the arm of the man standing in front.

*

The Imperial Princess Lagni Bluemoon Ottoman, known as the Blue Wisdom of the Empire, has allied with Neiti, which has made a pact with demons. Kidnap her and return her to the Empire. Those were our orders.

The princess’s personal information that even nobles couldn’t properly recall, a portrait of her at 18 when she had only appeared once in high society at the age of 10—this operation had been dragging on for months without results due to Neiti’s barrier and the identity verification magic created by someone called the Headmaster. But I thought that would end today.

“Drink! Drink~! It’s on me~ Drink up~!!”

“Woohoo~! This is great~!!”

“Sister!! One shot!! One more!!”

“I love it~!! Master~! Give it here! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!! Ahh~!!!”

“Wow~!! She’s a total drinker, a real drinker!!”

“Yo~!! It’s the queen of the tavern~!!”

“Ahahahaha!! Who’s a queen, you idiot!! I’m an Imperial Princess~!!”

“Bwahaha!! She says she’s a princess!!”

“Oh my, so you’re a princess~!!”

“Princess~ Hit me too~!!”

Blue hair with red eyes. An attractive figure and distinct features. Moreover, she spent large sums of money without a care, but judging by the foreign weapons and sword at her waist, the money she spent here was probably pocket change to her. A woman who, drunk, shouted that she wasn’t just a noble lady but an imperial princess—I didn’t even need to recall her name. Ha, she’s never even been acknowledged by the Emperor or called a princess.

‘…Tsk, the Blue Wisdom of the Empire. I heard she participated in state affairs from the age of five and served as the Emperor’s advisor, but I guess those were just rumors.’

The world is always like this. Nobles deceive the people with sweet lies, and royalty deceives even the nobles. If this is the wisdom of the Empire, and if she really participated in state affairs, then we don’t need royalty. We would have lived well without ‘things like her.’

“Uwup!!!”

Watching her guzzle alcohol and then vomit in front of the tavern in a drunken stupor, I felt genuinely disgusted. War is approaching, and I’ve been stuck here for months, away from my hometown and family, just to recover this? The thought made it hard to hold back a sigh.

“Probably a gun made in Aiti. Take them all.”

Her profile said she had no combat ability. But at her waist was a weapon threatening enough even without physical strength. This was a cutting-edge ranged weapon made in the science city of Aiti, said to be worth the annual operating budget of an entire unit of regular soldiers.

‘…So royalty is royalty after all? Even after leaving home, she had enough money to buy such expensive weapons.’

I really want to kill her. While some people are worried about their families being caught in the war because of her, this woman was carrying expensive weapons, pretending to be an adventurer without taking any risks. Surely, the companions who traveled with her were just her meat shields. And she probably spent all the money they earned at that tavern.

Thinking about that, I almost wanted to let the guy talking about rape have his way with her. But then…

-Clang!!!

“Oh. You blocked it?”

“Ugh?!! H-how?! You’re… you’re not supposed to be able to fight…?!!”

“No, how old is that information? Is this really the Empire’s standard now? Father… the Emperor is truly reaching the heights of incompetence, isn’t he?”

After killing the man who tried to tie her up, cutting off both arms of the man in front and stabbing his heart, and even cutting off the contact’s wrist as she had threatened, she casually blocked my incredibly fast sword strike, tilting her head slightly as if amused by a child accidentally blocking a sword. And her swordsmanship was like…

-Clang! King!! Kang!!!

“Hmm, you’re somewhat useful. Different from those three idiots?”

“Ugh!! D-don’t be ridiculous!! I didn’t hone my swordsmanship to die in a place like this, at your hands…!!!”

“Ahaha!! Isn’t that absurd? If you planned to kidnap someone, shouldn’t you be prepared to lose your manhood and head? Well, certainly…”

This was the weighty sword of a “swordsman” who had devoted years, no, decades to mastering the blade. How could this woman have no combat ability?! What kind of information was that?! This is even…!!!

“Good. Since you’re somewhat useful, I won’t cut off your arms. Instead…”

-Screech!! King!!!

“Ugh?!!”

The princess glided smoothly along my blade, lightly pressing down my sword as she brought her distinct features close to my face. Insane!! She’s genuinely skilled in combat itself!!!

-Thwack!!

“Huurp?!!”

“I’ll let you off with this since you tried to stop the guy who wanted to rape me, okay?♡”

Gone was the bold personality she showed at the tavern. From a distance where her straight nose almost touched mine, she looked at me with a seductive voice and expression that could bewitch just by hearing it. With swordsmanship that seemed to predict the future and skilled martial arts, she incapacitated me with a kick to the groin.

‘…Is this… the Blue… Wisdom… of the Empire?’

The fact that the man clutching his groin as he collapsed was actually a knight of the guard for the game world’s queen, [Lagni Bluemoon Ottoman], was something only one person in this world knew.