Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
When I went down to the inn’s dining area on the first floor, I found Elna chatting with Cleria and the others at the innermost table. Fortunately, Dalshim and the other party leaders were also present nearby.
The inn staff members were already informed that we were the Shining Star Clan and that they didn’t have to serve us except during meals and cleaning up the tables afterward. Of course, this was done as a precaution to the possibility of a sudden surprise assault.
We’ve already informed the innkeeper of such a possibility, and we were able to easily convince him to let us continue staying at his place after assuring him of a hefty compensation if his establishment suffered any damages. As such, only members of Shining Star were present in the building, and those associated with the inn were all staying in an employee’s quarters separate from the main building.
“Have you already finished drawing our coat of arms, Alan?”
“No, I actually have something to ask Elna.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the group you were working with before you came to Gotania. Are you familiar with the names Heinz and Bruno?”
“……Heinz is the name of our squad’s leader and Bruno is our vice leader. But how did you come to know their names, Alan?”
“As I expected. Everyone, gather around me for a while.”
And so, everyone who was inside the dining area gathered near Cleria’s table while wondering what was up. There should have been about 40 of us all in all.
“I think you’re all already aware that the royal guard team Elna was a part of was detained and taken away by this country’s nobles. Actually, they are probably being held here in the royal capital. More specifically, they should be locked up in the underground prison beneath the royal castle.”
“Eeh!?”
“Is that true, Alan!?”
“Yeah, it’s true.”
“Are they all alive!?”
“Goddess above……”
“Elna, how many of your teammates were captured?”
“There were nine of them.”
“I see. If that’s the case, then it really is possible that the ones imprisoned beneath the castle are your teammates. They should all still be alive.”
Recently, whenever I say something outrageous, everyone tends to simply believe me unconditionally without asking any questions. I guess they’ve all just gotten used to it huh. The adaptability of humans really is amazing.
“It can’t be…… The castle’s dungeon? If so, then what of the men who were captured……? What should we do?”
“Of course, we’re going to rescue them.”
“……Alan-sama, since you are about to be granted a peerage, it’s important to act with prudence. It’s unfortunate, but it would be better for us to endure and wait for the time being.”
“No, I don’t plan on leaving our comrades detained inside an underground prison for long. I’m sorry Adjutant Dalshim, but I’ve already decided to rescue them as soon as possible.”
“……Understood.”
“Fortunately, my conferment ceremony will be held in five days. Let’s mount a rescue operation at that time.”
“But how?”
“I haven’t decided on the exact details yet, but the basic idea is for a rescue team to sneak inside the castle while my conferment ceremony is being held, retrieve our captured comrades from the underground dungeon, and then hide them inside our carriage. Once the event is over, we’ll be able to bring them out with none the wiser.”
“……Who will be part of the rescue team?” Elna asked.
“According to the event program I was given, I can only take three attendants with me. Selena, Sharon, Elna, can you three handle it?”
“Of course.”
“”Roger!””
As long as Elna had Selena and Sharon with her, they should have no problems in terms of combat capabilities. Elna will handle talking to the captives in order to ensure everything goes smoothly.
“It can’t be…… Just the three of them?”
“Even if I insisted on bringing additional attendants, we can only bring one carriage after all. So we can’t really increase our numbers, and we shouldn’t because that would make us stand out. The problem is whether or not they’ll question why I’m only taking women with me.”
“It probably won’t be a problem. It might seem a bit curious to others, but we’re just a newly instated noble house after all, and it’s not like there aren’t any other nobles who only have women as attendants.”
Some of the people from the royal guards were nodding in agreement. Apparently, female attendants weren’t that rare among aristocrats here. I wonder if they’re actually regarded as mistresses or something? Well, I don’t really care even if some people give me weird looks.
“According to the information I obtained, the captured people seem to be subjected to harsh treatment. They’ve probably lost a lot of weight and would just be wearing tattered rags for clothing. If they walk around the castle with such appearances, they’d probably get found out immediately.”
“So what should we do?”
“If possible, I’d like to obtain clothes similar to what the castle guards are wearing. The castle guards and the soldiers patrolling the city are basically dressed the same. I’d like you to find a company that wholesales equipment to the castle guards and the city garrison.”
“Well then, allow me to look into that, Alan-sama.”
“I’ll be counting on you, Katolle. If possible, I’d like you to procure at least eleven sets of clothing. At worst, we can secretly attack the soldiers guarding the capital and strip them of their clothes, but I’d like to avoid that option as much as possible.”
“Understood.”
“In the very worst case that the rescue operation fails, we might find ourselves fighting the castle guards and the city garrison. Please keep that in mind, everyone.”
A hint of tension appeared in everyone’s expressions. That’s to be expected. After all, it’s very possible that we won’t just be going up against the castle guards and the city garrison, but the entire army stationed within the imperial capital.
“What, everyone? It’s fine I tell you. We can always escape to the neighboring Cecilio kingdom you know. If we bring Gloria along, I’m sure they’d appoint me as a baron straight away.”
Everyone laughed at my joke. Well, it’s not really much of a joke. It might really end up being the case after all.
“The details of the plan should be ironed out by the day of the ceremony. Please do what you can to prepare, everyone.”
“”Yes!””
There’s not much I can do until Iris finishes checking the overall security measures of the royal castle after all. I went back up to my room in order to finish drawing our coat of arms.
The next morning, I managed to run into Katolle, who was just about to leave the inn, when I went down to have breakfast. In addition to his usual helpers, he also brought five temporary assistants with him. Apparently, the five of them offered to be Katolle’s assistants themselves.
“We’ll be off then, Alan-sama.”
“Yeah. I’m counting on you, Katolle.”
The drunkards from yesterday were confirmed to have returned to the barracks of the royal castle. I wonder if it was really alright for castle guards to be out drinking in the city security-wise. But if it proves too difficult to perform a rescue operation on the day of my title conferment ceremony, there’s also the option of pretending to be castle guards and sneaking in later.
Cleria and the other girls were already sitting around a table and having their breakfast. The breakfast was served buffet style, so I put some dishes on a plate and joined Cleria and the others around the table.
“Alan, are you sure everyone from my team is still alive?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. But there is no doubt nine people are held together in one cell inside the castle dungeon.”
“……I see.”
After hearing my reply, Elna quieted down in thought. Cleria also appeared pretty pensive.
Apparently, Cleria and Elna were feeling a lot of responsibility for the matter.
For me, I didn’t even know their faces or most of their names, but for Elna and Cleria, they were friends and comrades who’ve shared joys and sorrows with them. Of course, they’d feel apprehensive, and perhaps even guilty.
Elna’s eyes suddenly sharpened. It looks like she’s decided on something.
“Alan, is it alright for me to kill the castle guards during the rescue mission?”
“No, if possible, I don’t want there to be any casualties among the guards. If their comrades were killed instead of just the prisoners escaping, I’m sure they’d conduct an even more serious investigation. At least, that’s what I’d do if I were in their shoes.”
“……I see. Sharon, Selena. Can you instruct me on the hand-to-hand combat style you practice later? I’d probably end up killing them if I used a sword after all, wooden or otherwise.”
“Of course.”
“We have the perfect techniques you can use in such situations.”
Originally, Imperial Arts was created for anti-personnel unarmed combat scenarios after all. In practice, they were particularly effective in covert operations such as the rescue mission we were planning. It really was perfect for this particular situation.
Elna knows Air Bullet, so I don’t think she actually needs to forcibly learn CQC techniques, but magic spells do produce a considerable amount of noise after all. I guess the more cards she can use, the better.
It seems they were planning on conducting a training session in the inn’s courtyard right away. Cleria, who wasn’t actually going to participate in the rescue mission, still joined them for training.
Now then, I better hand the coat of arms design that I finished drawing last night to the workshop suggested by the royal castle.
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
Following the map I got from the castle, I managed to arrive at the workshop after a thirty-minute walk. It wasn’t as noisy as a blacksmith’s workshop and specialized in delicately made articles.
“Good day. Is the master in?”
“Ah. Master! There’s a guest lookin’ fer ya.”
“A guest lookin’ fer me? Does that mean–”
A rugged-looking large man stepped out from the back of the workshop. This man seems to be the master of this particular workshop.
“Good day. I came here to–”
“It’s about the design of your leader’s coat of arms, right!? Hurry and bring it out!”
“……Ah, here it is.”
“The heck is this!? This is gonna be yer coat of arms? Oi, you didn’t make a mistake, right? Is this really the baron’s coat of arms design?”
“Yes, there’s no mistake.”
“This thing’s amazin’. It’s my first time seein’ such a bizarre design. I already thought the Dragon Slayer should be one unusual fellow, but he’s more unusual than I expected. Your leader’s one heck of a guy huh.”
Ah, it looks like they’ve completely mistaken me for an attendant. Should I correct them? I might need to ask them to do something for me in the future again, so I guess I better do so.
“It’s nice to meet you. By the way, my name is Alan, the Clan leader of Shining Star.”
The workshop master, who was busy checking out my drawing, suddenly froze up.
“……Ya mean you’re–? I mean, is it really you, sir?”
“That’s right.”
“Please excuse my rudeness!”
The four craftsmen, including the workshop master, all kneeled on the spot.
“Ah, there’s no need to do that, gentlemen. I’m still not a noble after all, and I’m not good with things being all formal.”
“……Does that mean you forgive us, sir?”
“Of course. Leave the formal stuff for when I’ve become a noble. Right now, I’m just a mere adventurer.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“I see. Don’t mind if I do then. What the heck? That really scared me. I didn’t think the famed Dragon Slayer would be so young. Why didn’t ya bring any escorts with ya?”
“Like I said, I’m not a noble yet, and it’s not like my comrades aren’t busy.”
“No, ya really need an escort, I tell ya! ……Well, I guess yer the Dragon Slayer after all. Maybe ya really don’t need em? My name’s Cruz by the way. It’s nice to meet ya.”
“Likewise. Sorry about the strange design. It’s a crest that’s been passed down my family for generations.”
“Nah. It certainly is strange fer an emblem design, but it looks well thought out dependin’ on how ya look at it. Sorry fer sayin’ it’s weird.”
“It’s fine. It’s true that it’s peculiar after all. I don’t really mind.”
“Oops. Standin’ around here is no good. Sorry, but I’d like to start workin’ on it straight away. I’d have to deliver it to the castle in four days after all.”
“Um, what about the fee for making the coat of arms?”
“Ya don’t need to worry about that fer now. I already received a deposit from the castle. They’d pay the remainin’ balance after I’ve delivered it to the castle.”
Whoah. So the castle was paying for the cost of producing the coat of arms huh. I’m surprised. I completely thought we’d have to shoulder the fee ourselves.
“Would you mind showing me around your workshop for a bit? I promise I won’t get in the way.”
“Sure ya can. I ain’t gonna be able ta keep ya company later on, but I don’t mind ya lookin’ around.”
I followed the workshop master inside the building as he headed for the studio. There, I saw a wide variety of tools and materials used for craftsmanship lying around.
“This is what we use fer makin’ coats of arms.”
What the master showed me was what appeared to be a mithril board. They probably carved boards like this in order to produce coats of arms for their clients.
“By the way, how do you process mithril boards? I’ve been told they’re very hard and tough.”
“Yeah. But the ones we use here are unbaked mithril. It’s the baked mithril that’s really hard. These are a lot easier ta work with.”
I see. Apparently, mithril hardens exponentially when baked in high temperatures. But carving boards like this should still be pretty tough work.
“Now then, I have ta finish carvin’ this pattern before the day ends.”
The master placed the pattern I drew on top of the mithril board and began transferring it by hitting the lines with a tool that resembled a sharp ice pick, one prick at a time.
I see. So this is how they would copy the pattern huh. It looks like their work requires a considerable amount of effort and skill.
“If it’s alright, shall I draw the pattern for you?”
“Nn? Whaddya mean?”
“If it’s alright with you, I’ll be the one to transfer the pattern onto the board.”
“……Can ya really do somethin’ like that?”
“Please let me try.”
“Well, it’s yer coat of arms anyway. Do what ya want.”
(Nanom, display the imperial insignia pattern I used last night over the board.)
『Roger.』
I took the icepick from the workshop master and started hitting the board with it. It’s harder than drawing stuff with a pen since you had to put a lot more effort into it, but it was still fairly simple to trace the lines that were displayed in red.
“Whoah!?”
It looks like the trick is to make sure your wrist is steady while applying only a certain amount of force to draw the pattern on the board. Hm. It wasn’t so different from drawing on paper after all. I was able to finish copying down the whole pattern in about ten minutes.
“Well, how is it? Did I manage to do an acceptable job?”
The workshop master put the paper with the pattern I drew last night on top of the mithril board again to check if it really was the same as the one I carved on the board directly.
“……There ain’t even a single deviation. Just how’d you do that?”
“I’m really good at drawing stuff.”
“Really good, ya say……? No, I guess this just means the Dragon Slayer really ain’t ordinary huh. Honestly, I thought that bit with slayin’ a dragon was just a big fat lie, but now I’m convinced.”
“Haha, is that so? Thank you then.”
“You’ve got one hell of a knack fer craftsmanship even though yer about ta become a noble. It’s a bit of a waste, really. If ya give up on bein’ an aristocrat, I’d hire ya in a heartbeat. I’ll pay ya however much ya want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I stayed to observe how the workshop master works on the coat of arms for a while, but since it was bad to disturb him for too long, I finally decided to leave the workshop and return to the inn.
After I got back, I went to check up on Elna and the others who were probably still training in the courtyard.
“Ah, Alan, what good timing. I want to practice the technique I learned from Selena, so please accompany me for a spar. I’d like to test my moves out on an able-bodied man after all. You’d be fine even if I used the techniques on you, right, Alan?”
“……Okay, sure. Which techniques did you girls teach her anyway?”
I tried to confirm it with Selena and Sharon, but they quickly turned away when I asked. Afterward, Elna grinned teasingly. Oh boy. I have a really bad feeling about this.
“That’s a secret. It’s fine if you just avoid it, right?”
“No, even I won’t be able to react at once if I don’t know what’s coming……”
“Here I go!”
Elna rushed in without even letting me finish.
Man, I really had a hard time back there. Sharon and Selena taught her all the techniques that were normally forbidden in usual sparring sessions. They all aimed at vulnerable areas of the human body without restraint after all. If I wasn’t her opponent, Elna would have landed all her moves and subjected the one on the receiving end to a world of hurt.
Some of the other Clan members watched our practice match. But after seeing Elna’s unrestrained attacks, they all scattered about like frightened puppies. It looks like they really wanted to avoid getting picked as her next sparring partner.
Elna was really enthusiastic about the upcoming rescue mission, and she continued to train until evening without even having lunch.
Elna’s aptitude for combat arts wasn’t bad at all. She was able to improve her skills to a point that would allow her to employ some of the moves she learned in actual combat already, just after a day of training.
“I finally managed to get a good grasp of the techniques. Alan, please accompany me for training every day until the rescue mission.”
“……Alright, I understand.”
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
After taking a quick bath, I went down to the dining hall on the first floor to have an early dinner and found everyone crowding around and talking to Katolle.
“Alan-sama, please take a look at these.”
Oh, those look like the uniforms worn by the castle guards!
“Katolle! You already managed to get some?”
“Yes. I managed to get fifteen sets of uniforms used by the castle guards. I also got five sets of dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting working at the castle.”
“That’s amazing! You’ve really outdone yourself this time.”
“I merely had no problem locating the company selling them. It was a really famous clothing company here in the capital. But, as expected, I couldn’t get the clothes directly from the company, so I resorted to getting information on subcontractors instead, so I had to put in a bit more work.”
“Alan-sama, Katolle really is an amazing merchant! The methods he used to obtain information one after another are things we probably can’t emulate with our lacking skills.”
The one who said that was one of Katolle’s temporary assistants.
“……I’m really grateful for the compliments, but what I did was just basic for any merchant worth his salt. I secretly obtained these clothes from several subcontractor workshops, so it wasn’t all that hard. So I don’t think I truly deserve all that praise.”
“I see. Even so, that was very well done, Katolle. This will certainly make the rescue mission a lot easier.”
Katolle was then tapped by the rest of the Clan members on the shoulders as they continued to praise him. They all seemed really happy and impressed.
“Alan-sama, you have visitors from the Commerce Guild.”
“The Commerce Guild? I wonder what they’re here for.”
When I went to the entrance of the inn, I found three men who were dressed like your typical merchant waiting there. I also spotted the figures of some armed escorts behind them.
One of the three men then came forward. He was a man who looked to be in his forties and sported a rather dauntless look.
“It’s nice to meet you, Alan-sama. My name is Yan, the guild chief of the royal capital’s Commerce Guild branch. I’m looking forward to working with you in the future.”
“Likewise. It won’t do to stand around here and talk, so please come in, everyone.”
Since the guild chief himself paid us a visit, we must at least show him the minimum amount of hospitality. I lead them to sit around a table in the dining hall and asked for some tea to be served.
“What pressing matter required the guild chief to personally pay us a visit?”
“No, it’s nothing so grand, really. If I must say, our main reason for coming here is to give our greetings to you, a person to whom the Commerce Guild is highly indebted.
Alan-sama, congratulations on your promotion to one of our kingdom’s nobles.”
As expected of a branch chief of the Commerce Guild. It looks like they’ve already found out I would be conferred the title of baron soon.
“Thank you very much.”
“Also, I wanted to personally express my gratitude as well. Thank you for your continued work in cleaning up the bandits plaguing our businesses.”
I see. The Commerce Guild’s request for us to hunt down bandits should still be active. It looks like the bandits we caught a few days ago were also counted as part of our record, so the guild was probably going to give us a reward for capturing them.
“Calling those guys bandits is a bit suspect though.”
“Certainly. Apparently, they directly aimed at Shining Star. I’ve also done an investigation of my own, and it seems some of them were active in the royal capital, and some were even leaders of various underground organizations here.”
“Hou, underground organizations huh. What sort of organizations are they, exactly?”
“Just your usual group of villains. They do things like managing pickpockets, robbery, kidnappings, and even murder. It looks like several of those kinds of organizations came together to perform the attempted ambush on you all.”
“I was wondering if that was really the case…… Were they actually hired by someone?”
“Most likely. After all, people who usually never interact much with each other and avoid each other’s turfs suddenly gathered together for a single objective. It’s only natural to come to such a conclusion. I will immediately inform you once I find out more information.”
“I’ll be very grateful for that. We’ve always been worried they might stage another attack, so as you see, we have quite a lot of people stationed at this inn.”
“I think that’s a wise decision. It certainly is within the bounds of possibility. Let me inform the city garrison so they can keep a tighter watch on the area.”
“Thank you very much.”
It looks like the Commerce Guild branch in the royal capital seems to have the power to move the city garrison. It was definitely worthwhile to have developed a great working relationship with the guild.
“Also, I’ve received a message for Alan-sama through the guild. I brought it here with me.”
“A message for me? Thank you very much.”
The message was put inside something like a sealed envelope.
I wonder who it’s from. It’s possible that it’s a reply from Roberto who’s in the Cecilio kingdom, or maybe it was from Karina-san from Gantz. Anyway, I’ll check it out later.
After chatting with me about the recently conducted auction and the security situation of the royal capital for a while, the people from the guild finally excused themselves. It looks like they really only came here to give their greetings.
Judging from his demeanor while we were chatting, the guild chief, Yan, seems to be a pretty decent guy. I better try to get along with him more in the future.
I immediately opened the letter I received earlier after seeing off the guests.
“Oh, it really is from Roberto. ……What!?”
“What’s written in the letter, Alan?”
Everyone gathered around me and heard me gasp in surprise. I handed the letter to Cleria.
『Congratulations, dragon subjugation. An advance group, heading to the capital. We number a thousand strong. We seek to join you.』
The date of receipt was indicated in the message as well. The date written on it was 25 days ago. Maybe they acted immediately the moment they received the message we sent.
(Iris, please locate the current position of the advance group.)
『Roger that.』
“A thousand of them!? But why……”
After reading the message, Cleria handed it to the others for them to read.
“……This is–!? Just what is Roberto-dono thinking? Why did he arbitrarily decide things without Ria-sama’s consent……?”
“I’m sure they just got excited when they found out we subjugated a dragon. Now then, what should we do?”
“But we haven’t even established a base, right? If a thousand of them were to come, just where would we……”
“No, well, if it’s just a thousand people, our base can already accommodate that much, including us, of course. We can even start living there if we want.”
“Alan! Have you been contacted by your subordinates?”
“Hm? Ah, well, yes they have. They’ve reported the current progress of the base to me.”
“They could have paid us a visit directly……”
“Yeah, sorry about that. But really, what should we do about this? I promised I’d first show you around the base for your approval, right, Cleria?”
“……Alan, is it true that we can already have people live in our new base without problems?”
“Yeah, there’s no problem living there at all. It’s a very comfortable place to live in, just as initially planned.”
“……A comfortable place to live in? But it’s a city built deep within the Great Demon Forest, right?”
“Of course it’s comfortable. Oh, but bear in mind that the buildings have been more or less built, but they still haven’t finished installing the windows. It looks like procuring glass for use in the windows isn’t going so well.”
“Glass windows? Is that really necessary?”
“Huh? Well, of course, it is. We can also use wooden ones, of course, but it’s definitely got to be glass windows after all.”
I checked everyone’s reactions, but it looks like only Sharon and Selena nodded along.
“……Alan. Do you mean your subordinates have already constructed buildings that can house more than a thousand people, and the only things missing from them are glass windows?”
“Yeah. Even if they still don’t have the windows installed, the buildings can already house five thousand to six thousand people.”
“S-Six thousand people!?”
The base construction plan seems to be proceeding far ahead of the originally estimated schedule. Iris initially estimated it would take at least a year to build the base, but the construction time was significantly shortened because it turned out that it was easier to process the raw materials procured on-site than expected.
“Alan-sama. If that many buildings have already been constructed, then you must have also finished building an outer wall, correct?”
“An outer wall? Oh, the walls that surround a city huh. Of course, that’s been finished as well. It’s pretty tough I’ll have you know. It should be okay against any kind of monster out there.”
“How wonderful! If so, then we really will not have any problems living there, right?”
“Well, yeah, that’s right. But just like I promised, I have to show the base to Cleria first before we decide to move, right?”
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
“……Alan. It’s fine already. Don’t concern yourself with that promise anymore. We will not be able to turn back anymore after all, and if Alan thinks it’s alright, then I will just follow your lead. Do you have any other opinions, everyone?”
“If Alan-sama and Ria-sama believe it is fine, then we do not have any objections as well.”
“Alright. Like I said, there is no problem with living in the base. I’d like to leave for the base as soon as our business in the royal capital is over, but we still don’t know what will happen once we conduct the rescue operation. For the time being, let’s concentrate on the rescue operation first. I will give you all a detailed overview of the plan tomorrow.”
“I understand.”
“Got it.”
Right now, everything’s still unpredictable. Will we be able to get through the conferment ceremony successfully, will we be able to perform the rescue operation without a hitch, and what was going on with Roberto and the others anyway? In any case, we have no choice but to tackle each of them one by one.
When I was about to finish eating supper, a call from Iris came.
『I found a group that is likely to be the advance party.』
(Yosh, I’ll receive your report in my room. Can you come to my room as well, Selena, Sharon?)
((Understood.))
After Selena and Sharon entered my room, a projection of Iris appeared as well.
“Please take a look at these footages.”
An entire wall of the room turned into a screen, and dozens of windows popped up within it. They showed footage of the advance party from different angles. It looks like the thousand or so people weren’t moving in a large unified group but were instead split into several smaller units.
“Yeah, these are probably them. Are all of them soldiers?”
“No. Only about 40% of them are wearing armor and weapons. As for the others, judging from their clothes and the equipment they carry, they should be craftsmen of some sort.
“Craftsmen huh. I guess Roberto is thinking of helping us build a base. Well, there’s a limit to what the general-purpose bots can do on their own, so these craftsmen will be quite helpful.”
“Lieutenant, when will these people arrive at the royal capital?”
“According to my estimate, they should be arriving here in forty days.”
“Forty days huh? In any case, there’s nothing we can do about them right now. Assign some drones to escort them.”
“Roger.”
“Now then, let’s discuss the rescue operation next. Tell me everything you’ve learned about the castle security measures.”
“This is most likely the best route for infiltrating the underground dungeon.”
A transparent cross-section of the castle appeared on screen, and a route leading from where the carriages will be parked to the underground dungeon was displayed in red.
“I believe you will not have any problems entering the castle itself if you are dressed as ladies-in-waiting. You would only encounter trouble if you get in contact with castle personnel during the infiltration. There are two guards stationed in front of the hallway leading to the castle dungeon. There are an additional four guards stationed at the entrance to the dungeon itself.”
“So there are six guards huh. There are a lot less of them than I expected.”
“I was only able to confirm six guards stationed today. We cannot be sure if the situation will remain the same on the day of the rescue mission.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We have no choice but to check again in the morning before the ceremony and iron out an infiltration strategy then.”
“I checked out the dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting earlier and I believe it will be difficult to conceal weapons such as swords, laser rifles, or laser guns within them.”
“Yeah, I suppose. I guess they can only bring electromagnetic bladeknives and magic stones with them huh. Will you be okay with just those?”
“”There’s no problem.””
“This really can’t be called a plan, but just be sure to adapt to whatever situation you guys encounter accordingly and respond flexibly. For the time being, both of you should conduct simulations according to the current info we have on hand. I’ll say this now though. If I think it’s impossible to conduct the operation, I will have no qualms aborting it. We’ll think of a different approach if that happens, so please keep that in mind.”
“”Roger.””
After our preliminary strategy meeting was over, the two girls left my room spiritedly. I quickly organized the data and prepared the relevant material so I can explain the plan to everyone tomorrow and slept early.
The next day, I decided to gather everyone in the dining hall first thing in the morning to explain the outline of the plan.
“This is the infiltration route you will take toward the underground dungeon.”
Elna stared at the sketch of the castle I drew on a piece of paper.
“There will be at least six soldiers assigned to guard the area near the dungeon. You three will need to swiftly dispatch them first.”
“Understood. There will be no need to worry as long as I have Selena and Sharon with me.”
“Alan, what about us? Is there anything we can do to help out?”
“In the case that the operation fails, the three of them will need to escape the castle while fighting off the guards along the way.
In preparation for that possibility, I want you guys to wait on stand-by near the castle gate, but make sure not to raise any undue suspicion. We’ll also need to prepare a suitably large carriage and some horses.
If the mission is conducted successfully, we’ll move the ones we rescued to our Clan Home in Gantz straight away. In order not to make them stand out, I’ll only have one Satellite accompany them as escorts.
For now, prepare for a withdrawal battle just in case things go south, and assemble an extraction team in case the rescue mission succeeds.”
“”Roger!””
After the meeting, Adjutant Dalshim and the rest of the party leaders continued to discuss the particulars of the plan among themselves. Everyone else busied themselves preparing as well.
To be clear, the ‘plan’ can’t be called a plan at all due to how much is left to chance. In any case, everything rests on the success or failure of the three main participants. I guess I’ll just think up possible countermeasures just in case the mission fails.
Elna, Selena, and Sharon changed to the long apron dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting working within the palace. I guess they want to practice for the real thing by wearing them.
“Now then, Alan. Please accompany me in training today as well.”
“Okay, sure. Alright then. Let’s try close-quarters combat using knives this time. I’ll play the part of an enemy swordsman.”
We moved to the inn’s courtyard, and I picked up a wooden sword placed in a corner.
“Can a knife wielder really win against a swordsman?”
“Depending on how you fight, you can certainly snatch a win. Sharon.”
I got into a battle stance with the wooden sword while Sharon pulled out her bladeknife, held it in front of one of her forearms, and got into a knife-fighting position favored by the space marines.
Knife-fighting was of a different sort compared to usual Imperial Arts techniques, but judging from her stance, Sharon was probably pretty skilled with it as well.
I probed her with a couple of blows, but Sharon avoided all of them within a hair’s breadth. The moment I swung my next blow, Sharon brandished her knife, deflected my wooden sword while stepping further in at the same time, restrained my wrist, and placed the knife next to my neck in a flash.
Fighting the knife-wielding Sharon with the same pattern of sword attacks will just spell your defeat. The only way to counter her was to constantly change the pattern of your attacks and keep your distance.
“Amazing! ……I see. So you really can win against a swordsman even with just a bladeknife. I like it. Sharon, please. Please teach me your knife-fighting techniques.”
“Of course.”
We continued to prepare for the rescue mission the following days until the day of the conferment ceremony finally arrived.
Elna’s combat skills grew at a surprisingly fast rate, and no one among the Clan members apart from Sharon, Selena, and I could hold a candle to her.
I’ve tried to account for every eventuality I could predict and planned countermeasures accordingly. I did all I could, given the circumstances.
Since Sharon and Selena will both be coming with me, command of the rest of the members was left to Dalshim.
“That outfit really suits you, Alan.”
“Is that so? Well, I admit these clothes really are well-made.”
The custom-made clothes I was wearing were a perfect fit for me, unlike ready-made clothes, and they also included a certain amount of imperial flair, so I also thought they looked pretty cool.
“……Please do be careful, Alan.”
“I know. We’ll definitely save them. Alright then. We’re off. I leave everyone to you, Dalshim.”
“Understood. Please leave it to me, Alan-sama.”
And so, I, Sharon, Selena, and Elna all boarded the carriage we prepared and headed for the royal castle.
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
When I went down to the inn’s dining area on the first floor, I found Elna chatting with Cleria and the others at the innermost table. Fortunately, Dalshim and the other party leaders were also present nearby.
The inn staff members were already informed that we were the Shining Star Clan and that they didn’t have to serve us except during meals and cleaning up the tables afterward. Of course, this was done as a precaution to the possibility of a sudden surprise assault.
We’ve already informed the innkeeper of such a possibility, and we were able to easily convince him to let us continue staying at his place after assuring him of a hefty compensation if his establishment suffered any damages. As such, only members of Shining Star were present in the building, and those associated with the inn were all staying in an employee’s quarters separate from the main building.
“Have you already finished drawing our coat of arms, Alan?”
“No, I actually have something to ask Elna.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the group you were working with before you came to Gotania. Are you familiar with the names Heinz and Bruno?”
“……Heinz is the name of our squad’s leader and Bruno is our vice leader. But how did you come to know their names, Alan?”
“As I expected. Everyone, gather around me for a while.”
And so, everyone who was inside the dining area gathered near Cleria’s table while wondering what was up. There should have been about 40 of us all in all.
“I think you’re all already aware that the royal guard team Elna was a part of was detained and taken away by this country’s nobles. Actually, they are probably being held here in the royal capital. More specifically, they should be locked up in the underground prison beneath the royal castle.”
“Eeh!?”
“Is that true, Alan!?”
“Yeah, it’s true.”
“Are they all alive!?”
“Goddess above……”
“Elna, how many of your teammates were captured?”
“There were nine of them.”
“I see. If that’s the case, then it really is possible that the ones imprisoned beneath the castle are your teammates. They should all still be alive.”
Recently, whenever I say something outrageous, everyone tends to simply believe me unconditionally without asking any questions. I guess they’ve all just gotten used to it huh. The adaptability of humans really is amazing.
“It can’t be…… The castle’s dungeon? If so, then what of the men who were captured……? What should we do?”
“Of course, we’re going to rescue them.”
“……Alan-sama, since you are about to be granted a peerage, it’s important to act with prudence. It’s unfortunate, but it would be better for us to endure and wait for the time being.”
“No, I don’t plan on leaving our comrades detained inside an underground prison for long. I’m sorry Adjutant Dalshim, but I’ve already decided to rescue them as soon as possible.”
“……Understood.”
“Fortunately, my conferment ceremony will be held in five days. Let’s mount a rescue operation at that time.”
“But how?”
“I haven’t decided on the exact details yet, but the basic idea is for a rescue team to sneak inside the castle while my conferment ceremony is being held, retrieve our captured comrades from the underground dungeon, and then hide them inside our carriage. Once the event is over, we’ll be able to bring them out with none the wiser.”
“……Who will be part of the rescue team?” Elna asked.
“According to the event program I was given, I can only take three attendants with me. Selena, Sharon, Elna, can you three handle it?”
“Of course.”
“”Roger!””
As long as Elna had Selena and Sharon with her, they should have no problems in terms of combat capabilities. Elna will handle talking to the captives in order to ensure everything goes smoothly.
“It can’t be…… Just the three of them?”
“Even if I insisted on bringing additional attendants, we can only bring one carriage after all. So we can’t really increase our numbers, and we shouldn’t because that would make us stand out. The problem is whether or not they’ll question why I’m only taking women with me.”
“It probably won’t be a problem. It might seem a bit curious to others, but we’re just a newly instated noble house after all, and it’s not like there aren’t any other nobles who only have women as attendants.”
Some of the people from the royal guards were nodding in agreement. Apparently, female attendants weren’t that rare among aristocrats here. I wonder if they’re actually regarded as mistresses or something? Well, I don’t really care even if some people give me weird looks.
“According to the information I obtained, the captured people seem to be subjected to harsh treatment. They’ve probably lost a lot of weight and would just be wearing tattered rags for clothing. If they walk around the castle with such appearances, they’d probably get found out immediately.”
“So what should we do?”
“If possible, I’d like to obtain clothes similar to what the castle guards are wearing. The castle guards and the soldiers patrolling the city are basically dressed the same. I’d like you to find a company that wholesales equipment to the castle guards and the city garrison.”
“Well then, allow me to look into that, Alan-sama.”
“I’ll be counting on you, Katolle. If possible, I’d like you to procure at least eleven sets of clothing. At worst, we can secretly attack the soldiers guarding the capital and strip them of their clothes, but I’d like to avoid that option as much as possible.”
“Understood.”
“In the very worst case that the rescue operation fails, we might find ourselves fighting the castle guards and the city garrison. Please keep that in mind, everyone.”
A hint of tension appeared in everyone’s expressions. That’s to be expected. After all, it’s very possible that we won’t just be going up against the castle guards and the city garrison, but the entire army stationed within the imperial capital.
“What, everyone? It’s fine I tell you. We can always escape to the neighboring Cecilio kingdom you know. If we bring Gloria along, I’m sure they’d appoint me as a baron straight away.”
Everyone laughed at my joke. Well, it’s not really much of a joke. It might really end up being the case after all.
“The details of the plan should be ironed out by the day of the ceremony. Please do what you can to prepare, everyone.”
“”Yes!””
There’s not much I can do until Iris finishes checking the overall security measures of the royal castle after all. I went back up to my room in order to finish drawing our coat of arms.
The next morning, I managed to run into Katolle, who was just about to leave the inn, when I went down to have breakfast. In addition to his usual helpers, he also brought five temporary assistants with him. Apparently, the five of them offered to be Katolle’s assistants themselves.
“We’ll be off then, Alan-sama.”
“Yeah. I’m counting on you, Katolle.”
The drunkards from yesterday were confirmed to have returned to the barracks of the royal castle. I wonder if it was really alright for castle guards to be out drinking in the city security-wise. But if it proves too difficult to perform a rescue operation on the day of my title conferment ceremony, there’s also the option of pretending to be castle guards and sneaking in later.
Cleria and the other girls were already sitting around a table and having their breakfast. The breakfast was served buffet style, so I put some dishes on a plate and joined Cleria and the others around the table.
“Alan, are you sure everyone from my team is still alive?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. But there is no doubt nine people are held together in one cell inside the castle dungeon.”
“……I see.”
After hearing my reply, Elna quieted down in thought. Cleria also appeared pretty pensive.
Apparently, Cleria and Elna were feeling a lot of responsibility for the matter.
For me, I didn’t even know their faces or most of their names, but for Elna and Cleria, they were friends and comrades who’ve shared joys and sorrows with them. Of course, they’d feel apprehensive, and perhaps even guilty.
Elna’s eyes suddenly sharpened. It looks like she’s decided on something.
“Alan, is it alright for me to kill the castle guards during the rescue mission?”
“No, if possible, I don’t want there to be any casualties among the guards. If their comrades were killed instead of just the prisoners escaping, I’m sure they’d conduct an even more serious investigation. At least, that’s what I’d do if I were in their shoes.”
“……I see. Sharon, Selena. Can you instruct me on the hand-to-hand combat style you practice later? I’d probably end up killing them if I used a sword after all, wooden or otherwise.”
“Of course.”
“We have the perfect techniques you can use in such situations.”
Originally, Imperial Arts was created for anti-personnel unarmed combat scenarios after all. In practice, they were particularly effective in covert operations such as the rescue mission we were planning. It really was perfect for this particular situation.
Elna knows Air Bullet, so I don’t think she actually needs to forcibly learn CQC techniques, but magic spells do produce a considerable amount of noise after all. I guess the more cards she can use, the better.
It seems they were planning on conducting a training session in the inn’s courtyard right away. Cleria, who wasn’t actually going to participate in the rescue mission, still joined them for training.
Now then, I better hand the coat of arms design that I finished drawing last night to the workshop suggested by the royal castle.
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
Following the map I got from the castle, I managed to arrive at the workshop after a thirty-minute walk. It wasn’t as noisy as a blacksmith’s workshop and specialized in delicately made articles.
“Good day. Is the master in?”
“Ah. Master! There’s a guest lookin’ fer ya.”
“A guest lookin’ fer me? Does that mean–”
A rugged-looking large man stepped out from the back of the workshop. This man seems to be the master of this particular workshop.
“Good day. I came here to–”
“It’s about the design of your leader’s coat of arms, right!? Hurry and bring it out!”
“……Ah, here it is.”
“The heck is this!? This is gonna be yer coat of arms? Oi, you didn’t make a mistake, right? Is this really the baron’s coat of arms design?”
“Yes, there’s no mistake.”
“This thing’s amazin’. It’s my first time seein’ such a bizarre design. I already thought the Dragon Slayer should be one unusual fellow, but he’s more unusual than I expected. Your leader’s one heck of a guy huh.”
Ah, it looks like they’ve completely mistaken me for an attendant. Should I correct them? I might need to ask them to do something for me in the future again, so I guess I better do so.
“It’s nice to meet you. By the way, my name is Alan, the Clan leader of Shining Star.”
The workshop master, who was busy checking out my drawing, suddenly froze up.
“……Ya mean you’re–? I mean, is it really you, sir?”
“That’s right.”
“Please excuse my rudeness!”
The four craftsmen, including the workshop master, all kneeled on the spot.
“Ah, there’s no need to do that, gentlemen. I’m still not a noble after all, and I’m not good with things being all formal.”
“……Does that mean you forgive us, sir?”
“Of course. Leave the formal stuff for when I’ve become a noble. Right now, I’m just a mere adventurer.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“I see. Don’t mind if I do then. What the heck? That really scared me. I didn’t think the famed Dragon Slayer would be so young. Why didn’t ya bring any escorts with ya?”
“Like I said, I’m not a noble yet, and it’s not like my comrades aren’t busy.”
“No, ya really need an escort, I tell ya! ……Well, I guess yer the Dragon Slayer after all. Maybe ya really don’t need em? My name’s Cruz by the way. It’s nice to meet ya.”
“Likewise. Sorry about the strange design. It’s a crest that’s been passed down my family for generations.”
“Nah. It certainly is strange fer an emblem design, but it looks well thought out dependin’ on how ya look at it. Sorry fer sayin’ it’s weird.”
“It’s fine. It’s true that it’s peculiar after all. I don’t really mind.”
“Oops. Standin’ around here is no good. Sorry, but I’d like to start workin’ on it straight away. I’d have to deliver it to the castle in four days after all.”
“Um, what about the fee for making the coat of arms?”
“Ya don’t need to worry about that fer now. I already received a deposit from the castle. They’d pay the remainin’ balance after I’ve delivered it to the castle.”
Whoah. So the castle was paying for the cost of producing the coat of arms huh. I’m surprised. I completely thought we’d have to shoulder the fee ourselves.
“Would you mind showing me around your workshop for a bit? I promise I won’t get in the way.”
“Sure ya can. I ain’t gonna be able ta keep ya company later on, but I don’t mind ya lookin’ around.”
I followed the workshop master inside the building as he headed for the studio. There, I saw a wide variety of tools and materials used for craftsmanship lying around.
“This is what we use fer makin’ coats of arms.”
What the master showed me was what appeared to be a mithril board. They probably carved boards like this in order to produce coats of arms for their clients.
“By the way, how do you process mithril boards? I’ve been told they’re very hard and tough.”
“Yeah. But the ones we use here are unbaked mithril. It’s the baked mithril that’s really hard. These are a lot easier ta work with.”
I see. Apparently, mithril hardens exponentially when baked in high temperatures. But carving boards like this should still be pretty tough work.
“Now then, I have ta finish carvin’ this pattern before the day ends.”
The master placed the pattern I drew on top of the mithril board and began transferring it by hitting the lines with a tool that resembled a sharp ice pick, one prick at a time.
I see. So this is how they would copy the pattern huh. It looks like their work requires a considerable amount of effort and skill.
“If it’s alright, shall I draw the pattern for you?”
“Nn? Whaddya mean?”
“If it’s alright with you, I’ll be the one to transfer the pattern onto the board.”
“……Can ya really do somethin’ like that?”
“Please let me try.”
“Well, it’s yer coat of arms anyway. Do what ya want.”
(Nanom, display the imperial insignia pattern I used last night over the board.)
『Roger.』
I took the icepick from the workshop master and started hitting the board with it. It’s harder than drawing stuff with a pen since you had to put a lot more effort into it, but it was still fairly simple to trace the lines that were displayed in red.
“Whoah!?”
It looks like the trick is to make sure your wrist is steady while applying only a certain amount of force to draw the pattern on the board. Hm. It wasn’t so different from drawing on paper after all. I was able to finish copying down the whole pattern in about ten minutes.
“Well, how is it? Did I manage to do an acceptable job?”
The workshop master put the paper with the pattern I drew last night on top of the mithril board again to check if it really was the same as the one I carved on the board directly.
“……There ain’t even a single deviation. Just how’d you do that?”
“I’m really good at drawing stuff.”
“Really good, ya say……? No, I guess this just means the Dragon Slayer really ain’t ordinary huh. Honestly, I thought that bit with slayin’ a dragon was just a big fat lie, but now I’m convinced.”
“Haha, is that so? Thank you then.”
“You’ve got one hell of a knack fer craftsmanship even though yer about ta become a noble. It’s a bit of a waste, really. If ya give up on bein’ an aristocrat, I’d hire ya in a heartbeat. I’ll pay ya however much ya want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I stayed to observe how the workshop master works on the coat of arms for a while, but since it was bad to disturb him for too long, I finally decided to leave the workshop and return to the inn.
After I got back, I went to check up on Elna and the others who were probably still training in the courtyard.
“Ah, Alan, what good timing. I want to practice the technique I learned from Selena, so please accompany me for a spar. I’d like to test my moves out on an able-bodied man after all. You’d be fine even if I used the techniques on you, right, Alan?”
“……Okay, sure. Which techniques did you girls teach her anyway?”
I tried to confirm it with Selena and Sharon, but they quickly turned away when I asked. Afterward, Elna grinned teasingly. Oh boy. I have a really bad feeling about this.
“That’s a secret. It’s fine if you just avoid it, right?”
“No, even I won’t be able to react at once if I don’t know what’s coming……”
“Here I go!”
Elna rushed in without even letting me finish.
Man, I really had a hard time back there. Sharon and Selena taught her all the techniques that were normally forbidden in usual sparring sessions. They all aimed at vulnerable areas of the human body without restraint after all. If I wasn’t her opponent, Elna would have landed all her moves and subjected the one on the receiving end to a world of hurt.
Some of the other Clan members watched our practice match. But after seeing Elna’s unrestrained attacks, they all scattered about like frightened puppies. It looks like they really wanted to avoid getting picked as her next sparring partner.
Elna was really enthusiastic about the upcoming rescue mission, and she continued to train until evening without even having lunch.
Elna’s aptitude for combat arts wasn’t bad at all. She was able to improve her skills to a point that would allow her to employ some of the moves she learned in actual combat already, just after a day of training.
“I finally managed to get a good grasp of the techniques. Alan, please accompany me for training every day until the rescue mission.”
“……Alright, I understand.”
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
After taking a quick bath, I went down to the dining hall on the first floor to have an early dinner and found everyone crowding around and talking to Katolle.
“Alan-sama, please take a look at these.”
Oh, those look like the uniforms worn by the castle guards!
“Katolle! You already managed to get some?”
“Yes. I managed to get fifteen sets of uniforms used by the castle guards. I also got five sets of dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting working at the castle.”
“That’s amazing! You’ve really outdone yourself this time.”
“I merely had no problem locating the company selling them. It was a really famous clothing company here in the capital. But, as expected, I couldn’t get the clothes directly from the company, so I resorted to getting information on subcontractors instead, so I had to put in a bit more work.”
“Alan-sama, Katolle really is an amazing merchant! The methods he used to obtain information one after another are things we probably can’t emulate with our lacking skills.”
The one who said that was one of Katolle’s temporary assistants.
“……I’m really grateful for the compliments, but what I did was just basic for any merchant worth his salt. I secretly obtained these clothes from several subcontractor workshops, so it wasn’t all that hard. So I don’t think I truly deserve all that praise.”
“I see. Even so, that was very well done, Katolle. This will certainly make the rescue mission a lot easier.”
Katolle was then tapped by the rest of the Clan members on the shoulders as they continued to praise him. They all seemed really happy and impressed.
“Alan-sama, you have visitors from the Commerce Guild.”
“The Commerce Guild? I wonder what they’re here for.”
When I went to the entrance of the inn, I found three men who were dressed like your typical merchant waiting there. I also spotted the figures of some armed escorts behind them.
One of the three men then came forward. He was a man who looked to be in his forties and sported a rather dauntless look.
“It’s nice to meet you, Alan-sama. My name is Yan, the guild chief of the royal capital’s Commerce Guild branch. I’m looking forward to working with you in the future.”
“Likewise. It won’t do to stand around here and talk, so please come in, everyone.”
Since the guild chief himself paid us a visit, we must at least show him the minimum amount of hospitality. I lead them to sit around a table in the dining hall and asked for some tea to be served.
“What pressing matter required the guild chief to personally pay us a visit?”
“No, it’s nothing so grand, really. If I must say, our main reason for coming here is to give our greetings to you, a person to whom the Commerce Guild is highly indebted.
Alan-sama, congratulations on your promotion to one of our kingdom’s nobles.”
As expected of a branch chief of the Commerce Guild. It looks like they’ve already found out I would be conferred the title of baron soon.
“Thank you very much.”
“Also, I wanted to personally express my gratitude as well. Thank you for your continued work in cleaning up the bandits plaguing our businesses.”
I see. The Commerce Guild’s request for us to hunt down bandits should still be active. It looks like the bandits we caught a few days ago were also counted as part of our record, so the guild was probably going to give us a reward for capturing them.
“Calling those guys bandits is a bit suspect though.”
“Certainly. Apparently, they directly aimed at Shining Star. I’ve also done an investigation of my own, and it seems some of them were active in the royal capital, and some were even leaders of various underground organizations here.”
“Hou, underground organizations huh. What sort of organizations are they, exactly?”
“Just your usual group of villains. They do things like managing pickpockets, robbery, kidnappings, and even murder. It looks like several of those kinds of organizations came together to perform the attempted ambush on you all.”
“I was wondering if that was really the case…… Were they actually hired by someone?”
“Most likely. After all, people who usually never interact much with each other and avoid each other’s turfs suddenly gathered together for a single objective. It’s only natural to come to such a conclusion. I will immediately inform you once I find out more information.”
“I’ll be very grateful for that. We’ve always been worried they might stage another attack, so as you see, we have quite a lot of people stationed at this inn.”
“I think that’s a wise decision. It certainly is within the bounds of possibility. Let me inform the city garrison so they can keep a tighter watch on the area.”
“Thank you very much.”
It looks like the Commerce Guild branch in the royal capital seems to have the power to move the city garrison. It was definitely worthwhile to have developed a great working relationship with the guild.
“Also, I’ve received a message for Alan-sama through the guild. I brought it here with me.”
“A message for me? Thank you very much.”
The message was put inside something like a sealed envelope.
I wonder who it’s from. It’s possible that it’s a reply from Roberto who’s in the Cecilio kingdom, or maybe it was from Karina-san from Gantz. Anyway, I’ll check it out later.
After chatting with me about the recently conducted auction and the security situation of the royal capital for a while, the people from the guild finally excused themselves. It looks like they really only came here to give their greetings.
Judging from his demeanor while we were chatting, the guild chief, Yan, seems to be a pretty decent guy. I better try to get along with him more in the future.
I immediately opened the letter I received earlier after seeing off the guests.
“Oh, it really is from Roberto. ……What!?”
“What’s written in the letter, Alan?”
Everyone gathered around me and heard me gasp in surprise. I handed the letter to Cleria.
『Congratulations, dragon subjugation. An advance group, heading to the capital. We number a thousand strong. We seek to join you.』
The date of receipt was indicated in the message as well. The date written on it was 25 days ago. Maybe they acted immediately the moment they received the message we sent.
(Iris, please locate the current position of the advance group.)
『Roger that.』
“A thousand of them!? But why……”
After reading the message, Cleria handed it to the others for them to read.
“……This is–!? Just what is Roberto-dono thinking? Why did he arbitrarily decide things without Ria-sama’s consent……?”
“I’m sure they just got excited when they found out we subjugated a dragon. Now then, what should we do?”
“But we haven’t even established a base, right? If a thousand of them were to come, just where would we……”
“No, well, if it’s just a thousand people, our base can already accommodate that much, including us, of course. We can even start living there if we want.”
“Alan! Have you been contacted by your subordinates?”
“Hm? Ah, well, yes they have. They’ve reported the current progress of the base to me.”
“They could have paid us a visit directly……”
“Yeah, sorry about that. But really, what should we do about this? I promised I’d first show you around the base for your approval, right, Cleria?”
“……Alan, is it true that we can already have people live in our new base without problems?”
“Yeah, there’s no problem living there at all. It’s a very comfortable place to live in, just as initially planned.”
“……A comfortable place to live in? But it’s a city built deep within the Great Demon Forest, right?”
“Of course it’s comfortable. Oh, but bear in mind that the buildings have been more or less built, but they still haven’t finished installing the windows. It looks like procuring glass for use in the windows isn’t going so well.”
“Glass windows? Is that really necessary?”
“Huh? Well, of course, it is. We can also use wooden ones, of course, but it’s definitely got to be glass windows after all.”
I checked everyone’s reactions, but it looks like only Sharon and Selena nodded along.
“……Alan. Do you mean your subordinates have already constructed buildings that can house more than a thousand people, and the only things missing from them are glass windows?”
“Yeah. Even if they still don’t have the windows installed, the buildings can already house five thousand to six thousand people.”
“S-Six thousand people!?”
The base construction plan seems to be proceeding far ahead of the originally estimated schedule. Iris initially estimated it would take at least a year to build the base, but the construction time was significantly shortened because it turned out that it was easier to process the raw materials procured on-site than expected.
“Alan-sama. If that many buildings have already been constructed, then you must have also finished building an outer wall, correct?”
“An outer wall? Oh, the walls that surround a city huh. Of course, that’s been finished as well. It’s pretty tough I’ll have you know. It should be okay against any kind of monster out there.”
“How wonderful! If so, then we really will not have any problems living there, right?”
“Well, yeah, that’s right. But just like I promised, I have to show the base to Cleria first before we decide to move, right?”
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
“……Alan. It’s fine already. Don’t concern yourself with that promise anymore. We will not be able to turn back anymore after all, and if Alan thinks it’s alright, then I will just follow your lead. Do you have any other opinions, everyone?”
“If Alan-sama and Ria-sama believe it is fine, then we do not have any objections as well.”
“Alright. Like I said, there is no problem with living in the base. I’d like to leave for the base as soon as our business in the royal capital is over, but we still don’t know what will happen once we conduct the rescue operation. For the time being, let’s concentrate on the rescue operation first. I will give you all a detailed overview of the plan tomorrow.”
“I understand.”
“Got it.”
Right now, everything’s still unpredictable. Will we be able to get through the conferment ceremony successfully, will we be able to perform the rescue operation without a hitch, and what was going on with Roberto and the others anyway? In any case, we have no choice but to tackle each of them one by one.
When I was about to finish eating supper, a call from Iris came.
『I found a group that is likely to be the advance party.』
(Yosh, I’ll receive your report in my room. Can you come to my room as well, Selena, Sharon?)
((Understood.))
After Selena and Sharon entered my room, a projection of Iris appeared as well.
“Please take a look at these footages.”
An entire wall of the room turned into a screen, and dozens of windows popped up within it. They showed footage of the advance party from different angles. It looks like the thousand or so people weren’t moving in a large unified group but were instead split into several smaller units.
“Yeah, these are probably them. Are all of them soldiers?”
“No. Only about 40% of them are wearing armor and weapons. As for the others, judging from their clothes and the equipment they carry, they should be craftsmen of some sort.
“Craftsmen huh. I guess Roberto is thinking of helping us build a base. Well, there’s a limit to what the general-purpose bots can do on their own, so these craftsmen will be quite helpful.”
“Lieutenant, when will these people arrive at the royal capital?”
“According to my estimate, they should be arriving here in forty days.”
“Forty days huh? In any case, there’s nothing we can do about them right now. Assign some drones to escort them.”
“Roger.”
“Now then, let’s discuss the rescue operation next. Tell me everything you’ve learned about the castle security measures.”
“This is most likely the best route for infiltrating the underground dungeon.”
A transparent cross-section of the castle appeared on screen, and a route leading from where the carriages will be parked to the underground dungeon was displayed in red.
“I believe you will not have any problems entering the castle itself if you are dressed as ladies-in-waiting. You would only encounter trouble if you get in contact with castle personnel during the infiltration. There are two guards stationed in front of the hallway leading to the castle dungeon. There are an additional four guards stationed at the entrance to the dungeon itself.”
“So there are six guards huh. There are a lot less of them than I expected.”
“I was only able to confirm six guards stationed today. We cannot be sure if the situation will remain the same on the day of the rescue mission.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We have no choice but to check again in the morning before the ceremony and iron out an infiltration strategy then.”
“I checked out the dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting earlier and I believe it will be difficult to conceal weapons such as swords, laser rifles, or laser guns within them.”
“Yeah, I suppose. I guess they can only bring electromagnetic bladeknives and magic stones with them huh. Will you be okay with just those?”
“”There’s no problem.””
“This really can’t be called a plan, but just be sure to adapt to whatever situation you guys encounter accordingly and respond flexibly. For the time being, both of you should conduct simulations according to the current info we have on hand. I’ll say this now though. If I think it’s impossible to conduct the operation, I will have no qualms aborting it. We’ll think of a different approach if that happens, so please keep that in mind.”
“”Roger.””
After our preliminary strategy meeting was over, the two girls left my room spiritedly. I quickly organized the data and prepared the relevant material so I can explain the plan to everyone tomorrow and slept early.
The next day, I decided to gather everyone in the dining hall first thing in the morning to explain the outline of the plan.
“This is the infiltration route you will take toward the underground dungeon.”
Elna stared at the sketch of the castle I drew on a piece of paper.
“There will be at least six soldiers assigned to guard the area near the dungeon. You three will need to swiftly dispatch them first.”
“Understood. There will be no need to worry as long as I have Selena and Sharon with me.”
“Alan, what about us? Is there anything we can do to help out?”
“In the case that the operation fails, the three of them will need to escape the castle while fighting off the guards along the way.
In preparation for that possibility, I want you guys to wait on stand-by near the castle gate, but make sure not to raise any undue suspicion. We’ll also need to prepare a suitably large carriage and some horses.
If the mission is conducted successfully, we’ll move the ones we rescued to our Clan Home in Gantz straight away. In order not to make them stand out, I’ll only have one Satellite accompany them as escorts.
For now, prepare for a withdrawal battle just in case things go south, and assemble an extraction team in case the rescue mission succeeds.”
“”Roger!””
After the meeting, Adjutant Dalshim and the rest of the party leaders continued to discuss the particulars of the plan among themselves. Everyone else busied themselves preparing as well.
To be clear, the ‘plan’ can’t be called a plan at all due to how much is left to chance. In any case, everything rests on the success or failure of the three main participants. I guess I’ll just think up possible countermeasures just in case the mission fails.
Elna, Selena, and Sharon changed to the long apron dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting working within the palace. I guess they want to practice for the real thing by wearing them.
“Now then, Alan. Please accompany me in training today as well.”
“Okay, sure. Alright then. Let’s try close-quarters combat using knives this time. I’ll play the part of an enemy swordsman.”
We moved to the inn’s courtyard, and I picked up a wooden sword placed in a corner.
“Can a knife wielder really win against a swordsman?”
“Depending on how you fight, you can certainly snatch a win. Sharon.”
I got into a battle stance with the wooden sword while Sharon pulled out her bladeknife, held it in front of one of her forearms, and got into a knife-fighting position favored by the space marines.
Knife-fighting was of a different sort compared to usual Imperial Arts techniques, but judging from her stance, Sharon was probably pretty skilled with it as well.
I probed her with a couple of blows, but Sharon avoided all of them within a hair’s breadth. The moment I swung my next blow, Sharon brandished her knife, deflected my wooden sword while stepping further in at the same time, restrained my wrist, and placed the knife next to my neck in a flash.
Fighting the knife-wielding Sharon with the same pattern of sword attacks will just spell your defeat. The only way to counter her was to constantly change the pattern of your attacks and keep your distance.
“Amazing! ……I see. So you really can win against a swordsman even with just a bladeknife. I like it. Sharon, please. Please teach me your knife-fighting techniques.”
“Of course.”
We continued to prepare for the rescue mission the following days until the day of the conferment ceremony finally arrived.
Elna’s combat skills grew at a surprisingly fast rate, and no one among the Clan members apart from Sharon, Selena, and I could hold a candle to her.
I’ve tried to account for every eventuality I could predict and planned countermeasures accordingly. I did all I could, given the circumstances.
Since Sharon and Selena will both be coming with me, command of the rest of the members was left to Dalshim.
“That outfit really suits you, Alan.”
“Is that so? Well, I admit these clothes really are well-made.”
The custom-made clothes I was wearing were a perfect fit for me, unlike ready-made clothes, and they also included a certain amount of imperial flair, so I also thought they looked pretty cool.
“……Please do be careful, Alan.”
“I know. We’ll definitely save them. Alright then. We’re off. I leave everyone to you, Dalshim.”
“Understood. Please leave it to me, Alan-sama.”
And so, I, Sharon, Selena, and Elna all boarded the carriage we prepared and headed for the royal castle.
