Chapter 58:　To the Castle

When we finally reached the exit, one guard that is free seems to have noticed us. When he called for another guard beside him, the two begin to move the barricade which blocked the doorway between those two. I’m starting to get irritated that they’re moving so slow, but finally we managed to pass.

When the news that we have come out of the dungeon spread, one knight rushed up towards us in a panic. It seems that he’s one of Chronoire’s two knights. As for his name… I think it was either Lucius or Marcus, but I don’t remember which one. It seems that my brain can’t really handle a man’s name.

“Did you get the ring!?” (Lucius/Marcus)

…Cant you at least give some word of appreciation to us who worked hard and come back? Well, he’s that kind of guy. If I ever decided to serve a master in the future, I guess I’ll get impatient too?

“We got the ring. Here it is.” (Est)

I take out the ring from my pocket and show it to the knight. Although the knight looked at the ring like he’s going to devour it, before long he started to nod.

“Certainly, it is the same shape as the one His Majesty wore before. The magic power is enormous that even the me who can’t use magic could still sense it. It would certainly be the real thing. You did well. Now then, I will immediately send the ring to the princess. Please hand over the ring.” (Lucius/Marcus)

So he says as he held out his hand like it was natural…. What the heck is this guy saying? There’s no reason for me to pass this when I haven’t received the reward yet. If I passed the ring to this guy, the defeat of the princess’s faction is fixed.

“This ring is an exchange for the reward. Not to mention, you might die on the way if I pass this to you, you know?” (Est)

“…What are you trying to say?” (This is getting annoying, so from now on he’s Lucius)

The knight shows a stern expression. Still, for him to not get enraged immediately means that he had grown up. The knight doesn’t seem to be convinced, so I explained the reason.

“It’s a simple situation. The prince’s faction would have mixed in with the guards here. Although they’ll do nothing to the adventurers on their side, as for the adventurers on the princess’s faction… long story short, if we came out with the ring, they will attack us on the way to the castle for sure. If I’m on the prince’s faction and saw that the other side had obtained the ring, I’ll desperately attacked them.” (Est)

There’s also no guarantee that this guy will not betray us too. Having explained to there, he should have understood that he might get attacked. The knight’s complexion changed. Geez, this bodyguard really didn’t use his head huh?

“We’ll deliver the ring. Do you want to come together? You could go back alone or do whatever you like.” (Est)

We start to walk towards the castle quickly when I said that. There’s no need for a guide since we’ve already passed the road once. Although the knight who watch us moving away seems to be hesitating on what to do, it seems that he had chosen to accompany us after all. We’re going to be a bit delayed. Although we’ve been walking in silence for a while, I felt like we’re bullying the knight if we left him unattended as it is, so to break the ice, I’ll ask him about something I’ve been wondering about.

“Come to think of it,” (Est)

I guess he didn’t really think that I would speak to him. Although the knight shows a shocked expression for a bit, I ignore him and continue asking.

“What happened to the criminals that ambushed the princess that we arrested before?” (Est)

“Ah, that lot? Although we’ve arrested them and put them in the jail at the castle, we have discovered that they all become corpses the next day.” (Lucius)

“For real…” (Est)

…That should be the act of the prince’s faction, they sure didn’t hold back. They will be killed if they failed to attack, what a dangerous life. Since they knew that there’s no living for them if they failed, it is likely that I will faced against enemies that are ready for death. However, since it is not necessary for us to keep them alive and arrest them, I’m grateful that we will be able to fight without holding back.

They should be many in numbers too. In fact, several red dots indicating the enemies had already appeared on the Map. Since the other party is hostile from the beginning, the Map already regarded them as the enemies. Although there’s still some considerable distance between us, lets warn the group ahead of the time.

“Get ready. There’s going to be an ambush on the highway ahead. Since their fighting force is spread on the left and right, they might have the intention to surround us.” (Est)

Although the knight seems to be puzzled as he didn’t sense any signs of the enemies, he drew out his sword in a panic as he saw us already preparing our weapons.

“Everyone, don’t mind how many humans our opponents are. Annihilate the opponents, as our companions might die if we cut corners. Don’t hold back at all and kill them without hesitation as if they were monsters.” (Est)

Claire and the others nod at my words. However there’s one problem here. It is Shallie. I want to avoid making a small child like her became a murderer. I might need to exclude her from this fight.

“Shallie should go and hide. We’re going to fight with the humans now. I don’t want to make Shallie into a murderer.” (Est)

I wonder if Shallie understood the meaning, she became speechless. She might have thought that she would obviously also fight. I guess she feels that she’s the only one excluded, she starts clinging to my foot to protest.

“No! Shallie wants to fight together!” (Shallie)

“Shallie, please be a good girl…” (Est)

“NO~~!” (Shallie)

She starts bursting into tears when I tried to peel her off, I really don’t want use the rough method. This is getting annoying… now is really not a time to be doing this. When I’m worried about what to do, Claire and Diabell decided to help.

“Master, I’ll let Shallie to be between the two of us. Since we won’t be getting close to the enemies, it should be safe.” (Claire)

“My Lord, since the purpose of the enemies is the ring, I think they would ignore everyone else if you take it elsewhere. If My Lord shows to them that you have the ring, they would surely focus on you. The chance that the enemy will notice Shallie will decrease the more you stand out.” (Diabell)

In other words, I would be the decoy. I guess this could prevent the enemy from approaching Shallie? Although I thought that it’s not a good strategy, that’s the best one we have.

“But still, this would be a terrible role. For master, that is.” (Claire)

“I’m convinced that My Lord would be able to pull it off without a problem. I wouldn’t have proposed that if I didn’t trust him.” (Diabell)

Diabell said that with a fearless smile, I got slightly amazed by that. Can’t be helped. To answer the trust of my companions, shall I be the guy that stands out the most?