第１５８掘：情報収集と魔剣の姫 (Part2)
"Hahaha! To think you’d silence the earnest Jessica by attacking with common sense. Well, since you’re travelers, it’s only natural you haven't heard the details about me, though I suppose you might have heard rumors on the wind..."
The green-haired princess stood up from her seat and drew the sword known as a Magic Sword.
"I am the Wind Princess Knight of the Zilba Empire, Marly."
"No, I haven't heard of you. And what about your attendant there?"
"As you might have guessed, I serve as the Princess's attendant. My name is Hivia. Please forgive my earlier rudeness."
"Well, I know the princess here was the one acting out, so don't worry about it. And, I suppose I should introduce myself too. As you heard earlier, my name is Yuki. I’m a traveler. I’m still considering whether to become a mercenary."
"I am Yuki-san’s wife, Ria. Like Yuki-san, I am a traveler."
For some reason, the two of them froze at our introduction.
"What’s wrong?"
"Oh, no. I didn't realize you were husband and wife, rather than just lovers."
"It’s rare to see a married couple traveling. Are you planning on settling down somewhere?"
Ah, so that’s what it is.
I suppose if you’re married, you eventually have children, and it’s only natural to settle down somewhere.
Well, we *are* settled, technically. It’s more like commuting from Weed, though.
"Ah, well, you see..."
How should I put this?
It does seem unnatural for a married couple to be wandering around. Did I mess up?
"In that case, leave it to me. If you become my subordinates, your lives will be stable, and you could even have a place to live in the capital of the Zilba Empire!"
Ah, there it is. She said it.
Of course she did. If there’s talent just drifting around, someone in a position of power is going to want to secure it.
"I have no intention of getting involved in a war."
"Yes, and more than that, we’re looking for information on safe places or routes to them."
"Muu... My intuition tells me I shouldn't let your skills go to waste..."
"Princess, I understand your feelings, but as you heard, these two are a married couple. It wouldn't be right to drag them into our conflicts."
Hmm, so she’s not the type to be unreasonable.
Well, with Ria leading the conversation, we should be able to learn about the state of the continent.
"Hmm. It feels like a waste, but I suppose it can't be helped. However, I cannot tell you anything involving classified information."
"No, that’s fine. We just want to know which regions are in the midst of intense conflict, or where a war is likely to break out soon."
"In that case, I shall tell you. The Princess is not very good at distinguishing between classified and general information. Please consider this an apology for my earlier rudeness."
That went well.
I’ll record the audio with my Call and Voice Recorder to let everyone listen to it later.
Information is vital, and since there are nuances in the spoken word, the others might have different takeaways than we do.
For the next hour or so, we were able to hear about the surrounding situation—albeit from the perspective of the Zilba Empire.
Well, despite the minor discrepancies, it’s just as Luna’s preliminary intel suggested: it’s a chaotic era of warring states.
Apparently, the Zilba Empire has been caught up in a struggle for territory for the last ten years.
"By the way, why are two people like you—the Wind Princess Knight, was it?—staying at an inn like this?"
"Ah, I was wondering that too. Marly-san, you are a noble person, so wouldn't you have soldiers with you?"
Exactly. Why are only the person called Princess and her attendant here? Doesn't that look suspicious to anyone?
"Ah, I have soldiers with me, of course. About 2,500 of them."
"Princess!!"
"Ah, you can tell just by watching the soldiers come and go, can't you? It’s not exactly classified. Besides, I’m cleaning up after an idiot, so there’s no point in keeping secrets."
"Well, I suppose that’s true."
"Hm? Are you gathering that many soldiers to go to war?"
"Who knows? You could call it cleaning up after family. As for why we’re at an inn in town, it’s related to that cleanup."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It’s simple. We went to the person who caused the scandal, but they just spent their time passing the buck and trying to curry favor with us. It was annoying, so we left."
"As Hivia says. Well, I won't say there’s no danger, but as you saw yesterday, there aren't many people stronger than us. If we die from something like that, then that’s just how far our luck went."
"Princess, please be more careful with your words. It’s fine since they are travelers, but if the people of the Zilba Empire heard you, they would be anxious. There is no one who can defeat you, Princess. Please stop talking about dying."
Hmm, it’s the same everywhere, isn't it? Nobody wants to take responsibility. And being passed around or having people suck up to you is a pain.
It just ends up wasting time.
"I won't ask for the reason behind the cleanup. But may I ask where you plan to carry out this cleanup with your soldiers? I’d hate to accidentally get close to that area."
"Are you sure you should tell them?"
"It shouldn't matter. If they were to accidentally get caught up in it, we’d have to save them anyway."
With Hivia’s permission, the Princess spoke.
"The location is the border between the forest with the ruins and the plains, where the beastmen and elves are said to live."
Oh boy. Is the next opponent going to be the Zilba Empire’s trump card?
Well then, the next battle will be against the Wind Princess Knight!!
I hope it’s a fair fight.