by Hiro Ainana
“Princess Meetia, Pendragon is the man behind this plunderer attack.”
“And what is thy proof?!”
“This man told us everything.”
Sokell jerked his chin toward his men, and an explorer appeared from behind the soldiers, tossing a man’s corpse at our feet.
Come on—can’t you treat the dead with a little more respect?
“Th-this man is the guide thou sent, is he not?!”
“No, not quite.” Sokell shook his head. “The guide I hired is this man.”
He pointed at the man who’d just tossed the corpse toward us.
“Then who is this dead man?!”
“A subordinate of Pendragon’s.”
All eyes turned to me at Sokell’s words.
“No, I’ve never seen this man in my life.”
According to the posthumous information in the AR display, he was an explorer who’d belonged to a criminal organization.
“Enough feigning ignorance! He confessed to everything before he died.”
Sokell sneered down at me sadistically.
He didn’t kill this man just to frame me, did he?
“Yeah, I dunno about that…”
“What?! Who was that?!”
Sokell whirled around in a rage at the voice that came from behind him.
“If that’s true, then what was Sir Pendragon’s motivation for putting the princess and the other children in danger? And why would he save them himself?”
“It’s obvious! He wanted to make a show of rescuing Master Gerits so that the viceroy and his wife would be indebted to him!” Sokell bellowed.
“I see. So the plunderers were all part of the plan.”
“Of course! There’s no other explanation.”
Sokell nodded in satisfaction.
It was as if he was explaining his own plan.
“Then I can say with confidence that that’s impossible.”
The speaker revealed himself from behind Liza and Nana.
“Sir Pendragon was with us. The fact that he made it there in time was nothing more than a coincidence.”
“You’re just one of his allies!”
“I am Captain Zeorun of the labyrinth army! And I swear on the name of the Ancestral King Yamato and the labyrinth army that we would never work with plunderers!”
“Wh-why would the labyrinth army be with Pendragon…? Is this General Erthal’s doing?!”
Sokell drew back in alarm.
“It is strange, isn’t it…?”
Arisa’s voice rang out through the silence.
“How did you know where this place was anyway, Acting Viceroy Sokell?”
Arisa spoke in the tone of a cat cornering a mouse.
“Hmph, I simply followed the signal from the gold badge, of course!”
Sokell gestured dramatically, as if trying to shake off the doubts being cast on him.
The explorer standing next to him looked at him with evident discomfort.
“Ohhh, is that so?”
Arisa snickered.
“What’s so funny, you little tart?! You dare mock me?!”
“Objection!”
Arisa struck a pose and pointed at Sokell.
“Any explorer worth their salt knows that a signal from a gold badge is only sent out a few times a day. Even if you did pick up that signal, there’s no way you could have gotten here this quickly!” Arisa declared triumphantly.
Now that she mentioned it, the east guild clerk did say something about that when we registered.
I was impressed that Arisa remembered it.
“The only way you could have found this place is if you happened to be passing nearby like we were or if you knew a crime would take place here from the very beginning!”
Sokell growled at Arisa’s words.
“That’s right! The plunderer woman who captured me said as much! ‘Once the viceroy’s guards come, we’ll just curse at them and run,’ she said! Guards rarely enter the labyrinth, yet the plunderers knew they would come here!”
Wow, Sokell was even worse than I thought.
“P-Princess Meetia, did my proposal offend you so that you feel you must now lie to harm my honor?! And yet, my love still lies forever with you!”
There wasn’t a single speck of this so-called love in Sokell’s eyes.
I doubted anybody would fall for an act like this.
“That’s enough.”
The viceroy’s guardian knight, who’d been listening in silence, stepped between Sokell and me.
This man was from a count’s family, just like Sokell.
“Sir Sokell, if you are innocent, swear on the name of the ancestral king and your family. Black-haired noble, I ask the same of you.”
His face was somewhat callous-looking, but he seemed fairly reasonable.
“I swear my innocence on the name of Ancestral King Yamato and the Pendragon family name.”
Sokell was still silent, so I spoke up first.
“And Sir Sokell?”
“I swear that I never intended to harm Master Gerits, on the name of Ancestral King Yamato and the family name of Count Bonam.”
Oh?
So it wasn’t just my imagination—his target wasn’t Princess Meetia.
That seemed strange, since I’d been hearing about his repeated proposals to her.
This made it seem all the more likely that he was the one who’d sent those black-clad thugs after Meetia.
“Very well. Then I declare you both innocent as of now. If anyone has an objection, they may submit it in writing to the viceroy.”
With that, the viceroy’s knight declared the matter settled.
Still, this was the second time Sokell had tried to accuse me of something…
Maybe instead of anonymous letters and such about Sokell’s demonic potion trade, I should take things into my own hands?
I checked the map.
Yep, tomorrow looks like the perfect opportunity.
On our way home, I killed time by writing out a plan to neutralize Sokell in my memo pad.
“Whew, I’m beat…”
“No kidding.”
Returning to our house in Labyrinth City, we drank tea that our head maid, Miss Miteruna, made for us.
Transporting the noble kids and the plunderers took more time than expected, so it was late in the night by the hour we returned.
Our capture of the Plunderer King Ludaman caused more of a fuss than I expected, but since we were all so tired, I arranged to return to the explorers’ guild another day for the investigation and such.
Since plunderers were criminals in the labyrinth, they fell under the authority of the explorers’ guild.
“Sleepyyy?”
“Yaaawn, sir.”
Tama and Pochi stretched out in my lap like cats.
The other kids were so exhausted that they were passing out on the sofa.
“Let’s sleep for now. We can take baths and eat in the morning.”
“Mm-hmm…”
Arisa looked beat, too.
She’d worked especially hard today, so I carried her to the bed princess-style, then did the same for each of the other girls.
Finally, once I’d laid Nana down, I threw myself into the last empty space on our extra-large bed.
“Morniiing?”
“Breakfast, sir!”
Tama and Pochi hopped on me the next morning, waking me from a deep, dreamless sleep.
I’d been up for only one night, but the false accusations from Sokell must have left me mentally drained.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Aye!”
“Pochi’s a good girl who sleeps well and eats well, sir!”
The pair struck a pose, and I patted their heads before we held hands and walked to the dining room.
“I tried to make a Japanese-style breakfast today, so there’s soy-boiled monster pumpkin and hopping potatoes, grilled eyeless fish, and cold tofu.”
We�
��d only just returned from our labyrinth exploration, yet Lulu had made us a very involved breakfast.
“…Cold tofu?”
“Yes, I heard that there was a shop in Labyrinth City that made tofu, so I asked Miss Miteruna to stock up for us.”
“There’s even minced ginger and green onions.”
“Mm, yummy.”
Dunking the tofu in soy sauce, Arisa opened her mouth wide and took a big, satisfied bite.
Then she followed that with a big helping of piping hot rice and chewed away happily.
“Sausaaage?”
“Mr. Thick-Cut Bacon is delicious, too, sir.”
“They’re both very good.”
Lulu had even prepared a meat option for the beastfolk girls.
After this peaceful breakfast, I was handed a troublesome letter from Miss Miteruna.
“What is it?”
“A summons from the viceroy.”
Removing the seal with a letter knife, I skimmed the contents.
“He wants to invite me to a luncheon as thanks for rescuing his third son, Gerits.”
Not only that, but it was to take place that very day.
In fact, I barely had two hours.
Considering nobles’ usual etiquette, this was a pretty urgent summons.
I was a bit concerned about this speed, but the viceroy and his wife were said to be doting parents, so I doubted they would treat me poorly after I saved their child’s life.
Curious about Sokell’s current whereabouts, I checked the map and found that he was at the viceroy’s office with the noble in green.
Shoot. Did he beat me to the punch while I was sleeping?
Cursing silently, I checked on the status of the demonic potion stash in Sokell’s basement.
That was still there, but I also saw that some explorers’ guild scouts and labyrinth army intelligence operatives were investigating Sokell’s basement.
There were people dispatched at the underground passage and its exit, too.
They must have let him go free so that they could investigate his home and catch him red-handed.
As long as major players like the noble in green, Baronet Dyukeli, and maybe even the viceroy himself weren’t backing him, as I’d heard at Viscount Siemmen’s party, it was only a matter of time before Sokell fell.
However, I was concerned about why Sokell would be with the noble in green and the viceroy and his wife at a time like this.
I would’ve liked to find out what they were discussing by using Clairvoyance and Clairaudience, but it’d be risky to try to spy on the viceroy’s office that was protected by the City Core, and the intelligence expert Poputema would surely notice any Space Magic.
I didn’t want to poke the hornet’s nest, so I decided not to try to get information that way.
Hmm?
As I scrolled back through the map, I happened to spot a carriage traveling toward Labyrinth City that was surrounded by dozens of thieves and criminal guild members.
“I have to take care of something.”
With that, I sped into the study and used Return to teleport to the Ivy Manor.
“D-don’t startle me, whelp! Erm, sir.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
I apologized to Lelillil as she toppled over in surprise, then ran out into the garden.
Manipulating the map, I fired the maximum amount of Remote Stun shots. Three rounds, just in case.
After a moment, all the criminals’ status conditions changed to Fainted, so I teleported to the secret basement of the mansion with Return.
“What in the world was that about?”
“Oh, I was just rescuing a carriage that was being attacked by thieves.”
“Honestly, you’re so overpowered.” Arisa rolled her eyes but didn’t question any further.
Now, I didn’t want to just show up at the viceroy’s luncheon empty-handed.
I didn’t have much time, but I decided to prepare a little parlor trick for them.
After all, what was a party without some surprises?
“Sir Pendragon, the viceroy and his wife await you. Right this way.”
The letter had definitely said “luncheon,” but the receptionist guided me to a parlor with no windows.
There was the viceroy and his wife, along with their guardian knights. In the Shiga Kingdom, important people normally entered the room after you, so this felt a little unusual.
Sokell and the noble in green weren’t here; my map said they were on standby in another room.
At least they weren’t planning on throwing me into jail, no questions asked.
“Welcome, Sir Pendragon.”
The viceroy’s wife was a plump middle-aged woman who bore a strong resemblance to their third son, Gerits.
She had probably been more cute than beautiful when she was younger.
The viceroy himself was a portly man, too, but his face bore a resemblance to his second son, Rayleigh.
“I’m told you rescued our little Gerits from danger yesterday. We can’t thank you enough.”
Without much in the way of introductions, the viceroy’s wife cut to the chase.
Most nobles tended to beat around the bush, but the viceroy’s wife seemed much more proactive, since she had been quick to invite me and to break the ice.
“And my butler tells me that you sent us plenty of expensive presents, too.”
Huh?
I had sent them presents, but I’d also rescued another son of theirs, Rayleigh, in addition to Gerits.
Were they planning on thanking me separately for that?
“I hope my humble gifts were to your liking, then—”
“So first you present us with all those gifts, and then you save Gerits? What do you intend to butter us up for, I wonder?”
The viceroy’s wife interrupted me in an almost accusatory tone.
Butter up?
Did she think I was trying to bribe them in exchange for a governmental position or something?
I thought I was just keeping up the same practices as the noble tea parties in the old capital, but maybe I should’ve researched local traditions more before I chose my gifts.
But I hadn’t had time to go ask the nobles Viscount Siemmen introduced me to for advice.
Oh, I know!
“Well, if I could make one request…”
“A request?”
The viceroy’s wife smiled at me patiently.
What was scary, though, was that her eyes weren’t smiling.
I had to choose my words carefully here.
“…Might I be able to ask you to reinstate the public orphanage?”
“Orphanage?”
“Yes, if possible. If a public orphanage is too much to ask, I would be more than grateful if you could offer me permission to build a private orphanage and provide food for the homeless and needy.”
At that, the viceroy’s wife’s smile widened.
What’s going on here? For some reason, she looked like a predator licking its chops.
“My, my, my. For such a young fellow, you certainly are compassionate toward the less fortunate.”
The viceroy’s wife rang a bell on the table.
Promptly, a maid led the noble in green and Sokell in from the other room.
Now what?
I had no idea what she intended to accomplish by bringing these two into the room now.
“Listen to this, Sir Poputema. Sir Pendragon wishes to provide an orphanage and food for homeless young children. Brings to mind the stories of the Cannibal Snakes, does it not?”
“Yes, quite wonderful, indeed.”
The Cannibal Snakes seemed like a terribly ill-suited name for a philanthropic organization.
I also felt like I’d heard that name somewhere before.
Where was it again?
“Will you permit it, indeed?”
“Yes, of course. Rayleigh told us all about him in his letter, after all.”
Ah, they finally mentioned
Rayleigh’s name.
I’d been a little worried that the noble in green had forgotten to give it to them, but I guess I worried for nothing.
I didn’t know what exactly Rayleigh had written, but judging by the viceroy’s wife’s tone, he had at least mentioned that I saved his life.
“He said that Sir Pendragon’s wishes are his wishes, so we should fulfill them at any cost.”
Wow, Rayleigh. That’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?
“And that if he wishes to wed our third daughter, Gohna, or our fourth daughter, Shina, we should welcome him into our family.”
Hmm? Would he have written something like that?
When we had a party in a Lalagi bar to celebrate the founding of the Dragonpen Trading Company, I distinctly remembered telling him about all my difficulties turning down marriage proposals in the old capital…
“He also wrote that if he wants power, we should make him the acting viceroy, and if he wants fame, we should recommend him as a son-in-law to a prestigious noble family.”
“Damn you, Pendragon!”
Sokell turned pale and seethed at me, but the viceroy’s wife silenced him with a glare.
He was probably angry because if I was made acting viceroy, Sokell would be demoted.
Still, I thought I remembered telling Rayleigh that I had no such ambitions.
“Did Mr. Rayleigh really write that?”
It didn’t sound like him at all.
Even the viceroy looked surprised as he sat next to his wife, as if he was hearing this for the first time.
“Yes, he certainly did. It’s his handwriting, without a doubt. Such neat, precise, beautiful letters, which truly reflect his personality.”
The viceroy’s wife stroked the letter lovingly.
Seriously, what?
She was acting as if she was talking about someone deceased.
“Listen to this, Sir Pendragon. This is the last thing he wrote.”
The viceroy’s wife read aloud, her eyes trailing across the paper.
“As I write this, I am looking up at the crescent moon in the night sky. Dearest Mother and Father, I hope that you receive the moon’s divine protection…”
When she looked up from the letter, tears were rolling down the viceroy’s wife’s cheeks.
I’m sorry?
“I see. Still playing dumb.”
The smile faded from her face, and she glared at me seriously.
Huh? Why do I get the feeling things aren’t looking good for me?
