TL/ED – Miso
By the ti I reappeared before Linl, the persuasion was already over.
“J-Jern? Where did you go?”
“I just had a little chat. Right?”
Linl stared at in shock after I’d suddenly vanished into the Deep Sea. I gave the fake Lumia a light tap on the shoulder, and she nodded frantically, her face drained of all color.
“Y-yes, yes. I’m sorry. I, I’m a fake princess who infiltrated under an infiltration mission.”
“Wow, so it’s true?”
Of course, this one must have been prepared to die too, but no matter how one was prepared, it wasn’t as if the manner of death didn’t matter.
Watching a shark’s tentacles slowly coil around her feet, a mouth splitting open in four directions to reveal rows of yellowed teeth packed tightly inside- she had admitted defeat and agreed to confess everything.
She seed like she never wanted to enter the Deep Sea again, no matter what. Head bowed low, she began making excuses.
“B-but. I really don’t know much about the client.”
“…What?”
“The ones who commissioned us this ti, it wasn’t just so noble or organization… it had a national seal on it.”
“…”
Linl wore an expression that said she didn’t understand what any of this ant, but I felt my heart slowly turning cold.
An order stamped with a national seal. There was only one thing that could an.
“You’re saying this was a state-level commission?”
“Our superiors also conveyed that the likelihood is high.”
“Which country?”
“Br-Branhelm.”
Branhelm. Not an enemy of the Empire. It was, in fact, a city-state located near the capital.
…It would have been better if it were an enemy nation.
As I clenched my jaw, Linl asked with a bewildered expression.
“Um… Jern, what’s going on?”
“A vassal state has raised its banner in revolt.”
“I don’t understand what that ans!”
“A tributary state, aning one of the nations that belongs to the Empire, is trying to start a rebellion.”
“Why?”
“The reasons would have been brewing for a long ti. They’re doing it now because this is the perfect opportunity.”
After Sharmia had effectively inherited the position of Emperor, the Empire had grown so powerful that no one could challenge it.
Naturally, the discontented tributary states had no choice but to keep their heads down. The most terrifying fact for them was that Sharmia was still very young.
If she truly beca Emperor, there would be no chance of defying the Empire for decades to co, so no matter what feelings they harbored, they would have had to stay put.
Until the Crimson Circle appeared.
‘They’re exploiting a mont of weakness…’
It was only recently that Decay had wreaked havoc across the entire territory of the Empire.
If not now, there would be no chance. Now is the ti! It would be nice if it were that kind of reckless action, but since this was the work of a nation, they wouldn’t have acted so carelessly. Especially when it involved touching the Empire’s princess.
They were preparing sothing. I sprang to my feet, pulled out a gag, and bound the fake Lumia’s mouth.
“Linl, thank you for the help. I need to go now.”
“You’re going to rescue Lumia?”
“Yeah.”
It must have been a plan they had built and deliberated over for a long ti. I may have caught on early, but even that was likely within their expectations.
No, in fact, their plan had already succeeded. All we’d managed to do was arrive at the murder scene and examine the victim’s body.
“I need to go right now. If this is a nation-level operation, it won’t end with simply kidnapping Lumia and demanding certain conditions.”
“What about Princess Sharmia? Aren’t you going to tell her?”
“Right now, it would only be a burden.”
Sharmia hadn’t foreseen the future where Lumia would be kidnapped.
That ant she was using every ounce of her attention on the Crimson Circle’s movents. Throwing a massive, unsolvable problem at her would be wrong; it was better to put it off until after doing everything I could first.
As I was gathering my things, Linl stood before with a resolute expression.
“Jern, take with you!”
“…”
Of course I’d known Linl would say this.
The reason “no” didn’t co easily was twofold.
First, if I had no intention of explaining the situation and needed to move right now, there was no one I could bring along besides Linl.
Second, Linl’s skills were far higher than I had initially thought.
‘Taking her along wouldn’t be a disadvantage…’
With only slight exaggeration, she already possessed the skill level of a Heaven’s Judgent Knight.
As if sensing my hesitation, she pleaded even more earnestly.
“I know Lumia. She’s a princess, but before that, she’s just an ordinary girl who likes to show off, hates her sister while spending lavishly, and she’s my friend. If there’s even one place where I can be of help, I really want to.”
Her words were sincere. And so I answered with equal sincerity.
“Alright. Promise you’ll never say those words again, to anyone, and I’ll take you.”
“I promise!”
At this level, that kind of irreverence could warrant execution. Once this was over, I’d need to give her a lesson on what it ans to be a princess.
I hid the fake Lumia safely inside the Workshop, stepped outside, borrowed a horse from nearby, and relayed the necessary details to Linl.
“By the ti the carriage reaches the capital, word that Lumia is missing will spread through the Imperial Palace. Of course, the rumors won’t spread instantly. Our goal is to find Lumia as quickly as possible and bring her back, then wrap it up as nothing more than a simple escapade. If we don’t, it’ll cause far too much chaos for the Empire.”
“Find Lumia! Got it!”
“Branhelm isn’t far from the capital. By horse, we should get there in a day.”
“Hm? We could get there faster, though?”
“How?”
Instead of answering, Linl grabbed my shoulders and lifted up.
Before I could even resist, I found myself sitting on her shoulders in a piggyback position.
“…What are you doing?”
“I’m going to run, so hold on tight!”
“?”
Linl was not speaking figuratively.
-BOOM! The ground where her feet struck cratered as though it would burst, and Linl sprinted at breakneck speed.
The trendous acceleration nearly folded in half at the waist. Gritting my teeth and slowly lifting my upper body, I saw a carriage running at full speed beside us gradually falling behind.
“How’s that? I’m faster than a horse, right?”
I moved my lips with every ounce of strength I had to answer her proud shout.
“You… this… you’ll have to run for at least eight hours…”
“Yeah! I can do it!”
“…”
Looking at her as she declared it with supre confidence, I forced down the thought that surfaced in my mind.
…The thought that maybe Karos hadn’t created a knight, but a horse.
***
Astonishingly, Linl really did run for eight straight hours without rest and arrived at Branhelm.
“Ehhh? What is this?”
And even then, without a single sign of fatigue, she gazed up at the walls.
I answered the wonder in her eyes.
“Branhelm is a country the Empire destroyed. But the king and his vassals surrendered quickly and made sure no unnecessary blood was shed, so they were allowed to continue their…”
“No, not that. That.”
The walls- had no gate.
Instead, a massive river flowed ceaselessly into the walls, and everyone entering or exiting, even the guards, conducted all their business by boat.
The boats ca in all different sizes.
rchant vessels were so large they barely squeezed through the opening, while so people entered using equipnt like kayaks.
“Eighty percent of Branhelm is a great lake. The buildings where people live are built in a ring around the lake. It’s supposedly the final destination where nearly every river converges, so they say every freshwater fish in the world lives here.”
“…Wow, wooow…”
“What is it?”
“It looks like so much fun…”
Linl murmured as if entranced, watching the kayaks, but soon slapped her cheeks lightly and shook her head.
“No, this isn’t the ti for that. We need to save Lumia. This is enemy territory!”
“Enemy territory, well, not yet.”
I nodded, glaring at Branhelm.
Obviously, a city-state like this couldn’t have single-handedly defied the Empire and kidnapped a princess.
There had to be so other backing behind it.
And the absolute worst-case scenario among those possibilities was…
‘A scenario where they’ve already finished negotiations with the other tributary states… perhaps.’
If all the tributary states drew their swords at once, it would be like a bomb with its fuse already lit. A threat on par with the Crimson Circle.
My resolve hardened further. I led Linl forward with long, determined strides.
“Let’s go for now, looks like they’re renting kayaks over there.”
“Okay!”
Together with Linl, I took a kayak and entered Branhelm.
“Purpose of visit?”
“Sightseeing, and our identification is…”
“What, it’s just kids? Let them through.”
“Yay.”
Fortunately, the guards saw that it was only children and decided we posed no threat, letting us pass without issue.
Linl had changed out of her armor into ordinary children’s clothing, and my robe looked a bit too shabby to pass for a mage’s, which only made us look more harmless.
The mont we entered, I activated Current Sense and scanned the surroundings.
[Damn it… damn it!]
[What the hell!]
[Absolutely dreadful.]
“?”
I frowned imdiately.
The citizens’ language was extrely coarse, and they all looked furious.
No matter where I listened, there was nothing but cursing, sighs of despair, and groans.
‘It’s not a plague, though?’
[Hey, you catch anything over there?]
[Another bust today. It’s been almost a week now, hasn’t it?]
They just seed very, very angry. Most of it started with complaints about the fish not biting, then spiraled into having no money, rchants leaving, and the city going to ruin.
As I slowly took stock of their anger, I began to piece together the reason.
[Can’t help it. After that cursed snow fell, all the fish died…]
Extre Ice.
The climate upheaval that thing had unleashed had struck Branhelm far more devastatingly than anywhere else.
The vast majority of the population had been living comfortably off the golden fishing grounds where new fish constantly flowed in, and then it all froze over. It had effectively reached the point where maintaining daily life was difficult.
So they’d planned to declare war on the Empire to divert attention from that. I was following the thread of reasoning when I realized this wasn’t the ti for it and examined the surroundings more carefully.
“Jern, let search for Lumia in secret. If it’s buildings of this scale, I think I can search them all within three days.”
Linl surveyed the buildings around the lake with confidence. She probably wasn’t just saying it for show, and considering her speed, it was entirely feasible.
But this ti, there was no need.
“-No, I just found her.”
“…Huh? With magic?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow! That’s Jern for you! Where is she?”
“There.”
I pointed to a structure in the center of the lake.
A massive lighthouse, built to guide the boats that ca in through the open waters even at night.
Lumia was confined at its very top.
Though there was sothing a bit odd about the situation…
[Hmm, bring more strawberries.]
[Ah, yes.]
Lumia looked extrely comfortable.
She was just sprawled out on a bed, eating fruit and reading so bizarre novel.
‘…Why is she like that?’
Her deanor was so carefree that I genuinely wondered whether she even realized she’d been kidnapped.
But the mont I tried steering the kayak closer to the lighthouse, a sharp whistle pierced the air.
“You there! Stop!”
Soldiers on speedboats cut swiftly through the water, closing in on us. They glared and began tapping their oars threateningly.
“Do not approach the lighthouse. It is a restricted area.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Well, that was to be expected.
There was no way they’d let anyone freely approach the place where they were keeping Lumia.
Looking at the speedboats packed tightly around the lighthouse, Linl asked worriedly.
“Jern, what do we do now?”
After a mont of deliberation, I- recalled a scene from a movie and let the corner of my mouth curl up slightly.
“Linl, can you hold your breath?”
“Hm? Yeah.”
“-Then let’s swim there underwater.”
“…”
Hm.
That was the first ti I’d ever seen Linl make a face of absolute disgust.
*****
Join my Patreon to read more chapters: /misoinapocalypse
User Comments
0 comments from readers