episode_0134

A few minutes later, I lifted Freide’s head with both hands.

“Even if you’re tired, you have to get up, Freide. It’s morning.”

Special services end here.

It was clear that she was fully awake from her sleep, but since she didn’t seem to have any intention of detaching her head from my thigh, I had no choice but to help her up myself.

“Ugh….”

Freide seemed to want to lie down a little longer, but that was a request I couldn’t grant.

If you wake up, don’t laze around and start your day energetically. Should we waste time endlessly in this cave?

Lazing around until noon and then leisurely being active after the sun is high in the sky is a privilege of the wealthy or those who have given up on life. It wasn’t a right we could enjoy in our situation.

◆◆

After getting up sluggishly with Freide and having breakfast with fox meat, we sat side by side on the cave wall and discussed our future plans.

When you want to work, you always need to plan first and then act.

Even if things never go as planned due to various variables when you try to execute the plan….

Still, there was a world of difference between making a plan and blindly rushing into things. Isn’t there a saying that the best plan is no plan? Well, the person who said that ended up ruining their life in the end.

Of course, maybe that person’s life was slightly better than mine now, but still, it wasn’t an ending I wanted to emulate.

So, let’s make some plans in advance. Let’s figure out how to move forward from now on.

“Freide, I have some plans for the future…”

“…Plans?”

Freide sent me a lukewarm look.

A look that seemed unsure whether to believe it or not.

Considering her past actions, it was hard to have any faith, but since the exploration of the hidden dungeon went relatively smoothly, I decided to trust her once more.

I had just provided special service from the morning, and yet she had such a face. I felt like pinching her cheek.

“Listen for now. I have about three ideas in mind.”

“Three…?!”

Freide was astonished, trying to cover her mouth. It seemed unlikely that she would be so surprised even if a woman she spent the night with came with three children.

In other words, she was implying that I was joking.

How annoying.

“Freide, let’s not joke around. This is an important matter.”

I impulsively reached out and stretched Freide’s cheek while shaking it.

“Ugh….”

Groaning, Freide shook her head. Her cheek was so soft that it kept stretching as I pulled it, almost making me wonder if she had changed her species to rubber human.

Soft.

Soft.

…Oh, this is more addictive than I thought. Unconsciously, I kept pulling and playing with her cheek for quite some time.

“Stop i-it…”

“Huh? Oh, right. Yeah. That’s right.”

After struggling for a while, Freide finally managed to ask me to let go in a hoarse voice, and only then did I come to my senses, feeling a bit embarrassed, and released her cheek.

Get a hold of yourself. The sensation was so fascinatingly soft that without realizing it, I lost my mind and kept playing with it.

◆◆

After apologizing to Freide for being a bit harsh with her cheek, I returned to the main point and laid out explanations for the three plans I had in mind.

Originally, without hesitation, I would have gone to find another hidden dungeon, but my thoughts changed a bit last night.

The assassination plan of the Heyd revealed to me by Orde’s doppelganger. Ignoring that information felt somewhat regrettable.

The Abyssal Priests plan to assassinate a prince and hero of a country, sparking conflict between two kingdoms. Just hearing about it makes it a top-secret level, isn’t it?

It’s not even classified information, but confidential information with an expiration date. Once they execute their plan, this information will become worthless trash.

If you want to make use of the Canaan information in any way, other matters need to be set aside for now.

However, it was a bit ambiguous to just rely on that information and act swiftly.

Since my plan had been leaked, there was a possibility that they might abandon the assassination operation or change the plan. If that happened, things would get quite messy.

In short, this information could be considered a valuable piece of information that I found uncomfortable to use but reluctant to discard.

Therefore, I devised three plans.

Ignore their information, or utilize it. If utilizing it, consider comprehensively which country to use it in.

“So?”

“Listen, first of all…”

Plan 1: Ignore it cleanly and proceed on our path. It was a safe choice with no benefits but also no risks.

Well, perhaps there is an advantage in being able to quickly grow Freida?

“…That should work. You mentioned as long as we have the helmet, we don’t need to worry about pursuers.”

“That’s right. If you stand out too much, the perception deception will be lifted, so you can’t flaunt it around.”

To summarize the effect of perception deception briefly, it makes me appear as a common resident like ‘Citizen 1.’

While walking around the streets or engaging in simple conversations with others might be possible, doing anything more conspicuous would break the spell.

City residents having meals or wandering through markets are common occurrences, but a city resident wielding a sword is not a sight commonly seen.

“Anyway, so the second plan is…”

Plan 2: Among the key nobles of the Line Kingdom, find someone who won’t immediately try to capture us upon seeing us and sell them information.

If executed well, it was a plan that could potentially help us escape from being wanted individuals.

If we gain significant benefits through the information I provide, we could ask them to support us in return.

Canceling the wanted status itself might be difficult, but if we can obtain the disguise of a knight under such nobility, entering cities or dungeons would become much easier.

After conquering several dungeons and building up enough power and reputation, we could leverage that to aim for even bigger deals.

Instead of being labeled as a scapegoat and a foreign agent from the start, turning the covert mission into an intended task by the kingdom, I would negotiate to be reinstated as a party member of Line Kingdom’s hero team.

For that to happen, we needed to carefully select a high-ranking noble who would listen well and highly value this information…

“Do you remember Lord Grain?”

“Grain…? Hmm… Oh, that, Lord Bilroad – no, the Earl?”

There was indeed one suitable individual.

Lord Bilroad Grain, the head of the Elven family that settled in the Line Kingdom hundreds of years ago.

◆◆

The Grain family was originally a wild Elf family living outside the capital of Elfenrant.

Rather than begging for entry into the capital by licking the High Elves’ boots, they decided it was better to live with dignity and moved to the Line Kingdom.

At that time, humans had little knowledge about the situation of wild Elves, so they warmly welcomed them and offered great favors.

It was natural.

To humans at that time, Elves were simply creatures of fantasy, elegant and beautiful, with little known about them.

For such beings to swear allegiance to a human king and bow their heads, there could be no greater joy for the king. It became a story that would be passed down for generations.

It is said that within the royal palace, there are numerous paintings and sculptures depicting the situation at that time, showing how pleased the king was with the events.

Anyway, thereafter, it is said that the Grain family was able to grow into a high-ranking noble family in the Rain Kingdom despite being a mixed-race due to the favor and affection of the king.

The current head, Lord Bilroad Grain, was said to be responsible for advising the royal administration to some extent.

Although his title was only that of a viscount, it was said that he surpassed those with higher titles in actual power.

…Of course, this is all just a story from the past.

As far as I know, the current situation of the Grain family was not so good. Hasn’t their trust with the king and their position within the kingdom greatly diminished?

They might not completely lose their title and fall from grace, but it was said that their influence had significantly decreased to the point where even their advisory role was precarious. In the original work.

The reason was simple.

They made a grave mistake in guaranteeing someone.

“A guarantee…?”

“Yes, Freide, haven’t you heard about it before?”

It was a very fatal mistake.

“That woman, Irina, did something like that. She claimed her father was acquainted with Viscount Grain. Thanks to that connection, she could get identity verification and recommendations to join the hero party.”

“Oh…! That’s right, I forgot. It’s been so long ago.”

That’s right. The Viscount Grain lost the king’s trust all because of Irina Winter’s betrayal.

Viscount Grain probably never expected it.

He trusted her like a true friend since she was the daughter of an old friend and had considerable skills. He recommended her to the king based on that friendship, only for that friend’s daughter to severely backstab the kingdom.

The material loss was insignificant, just the activity support funds given to the hero party went to waste, but because of that incident, Viscount Grain lost the king’s trust.

Once you lose the king’s trust in a monarchy, there’s no choice but to lean towards ruin naturally. And because of that, perhaps Irina Winter is secretly rejoicing over it?

With Bourgund, a stronger nation than Rain, and its hero Gunter competing against Irina, they probably can’t even muster the courage to protest or attack, just simmering in resentment.

In such a situation, a noble like that would likely readily accept our information and demands in exchange for a price.

If we can thwart the Abyss priests’ plan to sow discord between the Rain Kingdom army and the Heid, we could easily regain the king’s trust.

Even if the assassination plan doesn’t materialize, at least we could be recognized for bringing back the missing hero.

So, negotiating with him to find the hero didn’t seem like a bad option.

However, if there is one concern, it’s…

“The problem is, whether that human – no, elf – will really take my side.”

Whether he won’t believe me at all, pretend to believe me and then betray me by incapacitating Freide and handing over my well-packaged neck to the king. Well, that possibility wasn’t zero.

Moreover, in the worst case scenario, there was even a possibility of Irina and I being in cahoots from the beginning.

Although my standing within the Rain Kingdom suffered due to Irina, if I could enter Alfeim, I could easily abandon my viscountcy in the kingdom.

We came to the Rain Kingdom not to flatter the High Elves, but that was all done by the former head of the family. The current head, Bilroad, might have a different opinion.

In summary, attaching oneself to the Grain family could bring many benefits, but it also came with significant risks when things went awry.

And the final plan is…

“It’s similar to the second plan, but this time, we’ll negotiate with someone higher than Viscount Grain.”

“Someone higher… Could it be His Majesty the King?”

“No, not His Majesty. I’ll figure out how to meet that person in my current position.”

I shook my head, denying Freide’s speculation, and continued with a detailed explanation.

Relying on this helmet, we’re going back up. The country where we stayed until we were caught, Herbore.

There is one human who shows a lot of interest in that information.

A person so high that they cannot be compared to a viscount.

Someone who doesn’t even care about the bounty on my head but gets worked up about something related to Heid.

“Who is that?”

Freide showed interest. I chuckled and revealed his name.

“Argantir. Argantir Gardarik Herbore.”

The name of the Crown Prince who received the succession rights originally belonging to Herbore’s second prince.

◆◆

Surprised by the unexpected name for a moment, Freide showed a skeptical reaction, questioning if it was possible.

While unable to muster the courage to meet the King of Lain Kingdom, how could he possibly meet a prince from another country?

“Well, it’s natural to think that way. But….”

But it is possible.

It may be impossible through ‘official’ channels, but through unofficial means, it is possible.

I explained in detail to Freide about the background of Argantir without arousing suspicion about how I knew.

Freide hesitated with a hint of suspicion, but ultimately nodded in agreement to believe my words.

Thus, after finally finishing the explanations about the three plans, I handed over the choice to Freide. Choose the plan you think is best.

“Me?”

“Yes, in a way, all three plans are for me, so at least I want to give you the choice.”

Not because I don’t trust my luck. Really.

And Freide’s choice…