第６６７堀：相変わらず元気 (Part1)
Chapter 667: As Energetic As Ever
Side: Yuki
"Alley-oop!"
"Hey!! Blade, wait! Ronri!!"
"Chase King Blade! After him!!"
We had been feeling a bit gloomy after hearing some troublesome news at Noble’s place, but that mood vanished the moment we arrived in Roday.
Or rather, it was scattered to the winds.
The reason? We had used the Gate to travel directly to the Roday royal palace, only to find King Blade—the middle-aged ruler of the nation—leaping out of a third-story window, landing perfectly, and sprinting toward us.
What on earth is that man doing...?
As we stood there, dumbfounded, he noticed our arrival and began waving his arms.
"Oh! You’ve come! As you can see, I’m currently on the run. Let’s discuss the details in Betan! Gate guards, open the gate to Betan! We’re going through! It’s an emergency, so forget the permit checks! I mean, it’s not like you need to check anyway, right?"
"H-huh? Y-yes, sir!!"
The hired soldier, overwhelmed by the rapid-fire command, couldn't defy the King. He activated the Gate, and Blade bolted through without a moment’s hesitation.
"What the—!? Damn it. The sheer absurdity of this sudden turn of events made my brain lag! We can't just leave that man running loose in Betan! Everyone, back through!"
"Y-yes, sir!!"
"......Fufu. Why is King Blade like this?"
"......Hmm. Don't worry. He's still better than the ones in my territory."
Samantha and Cleena’s mental fortitude seems to be wearing thin lately. I might need to check in on them later.
But for now, the bigger problem is that a wild King has been unleashed upon my territory.
"Samantha, wait here! Explain the situation to the old man and Ronri when they catch up, then follow us. We’ll regroup at the Lord’s Mansion!"
"U-understood!"
Leaving Samantha to handle the Roday dignitaries, we headed back to Betan ahead of them.
"Ah, Yuki-sama..."
Horst, who had seen us off earlier, was standing there looking as if he’d seen a ghost.
"Just a moment ago, I could have sworn I saw someone who looked like the King of Roday jump out of the Gate without any attendants. No, I must be tired. The man looked quite disheveled, after all."
"No, it wasn't a dream! He’s running away from Chancellor Ronri and the others! That disheveled look is his natural state!"
I shook Horst by the shoulders to convince him it wasn't a hallucination, and the light slowly returned to his vacant eyes.
"Is that true!?"
"Yes. Samantha is currently explaining to the Roday chancellors that he fled here. Chancellor Ronri and your father, Duke Huge, will likely arrive soon. We’re going to track down the King, so please meet up with Samantha and the others. Host them at the Lord’s Mansion. It’ll be too much of a commotion if the Roday soldiers start searching for their King in Betan."
"U-understood! B-but, shouldn't we join the search for the King of Roday?"
"It’s fine. This is Weed territory. I can track him openly using the map function."
"Ah, of course. Then I shall leave it to you."
With that settled, we immediately opened the map to search for the runaway King Blade.
Fortunately, Blade doesn't have any status-concealment abilities, and his high level made him easy to pinpoint. We were on his trail in seconds. Since we monitor the movements of VIPs as a matter of course, he was already registered in our system anyway.
I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing we had avoided the worst-case scenario of not knowing where he’d gone. Just as we started to move, a call came through.
『Uh, this is the goblin squad monitoring Betan. We’ve got a report that the King of Roday just appeared in Betan all by himself? What’s going on?』
It seems he’d been caught by the surveillance. Steve’s subordinates are certainly diligent, though it’s a bit of a hassle to get pestered with reports at a time like this.
I signaled for the others to start running while I explained the situation to Steve.
"It’s a long story, but the King of Roday ran away from his subordinates and escaped to Betan. It just happened to coincide with our visit to Roday."
『Huh? Did some kind of rebellion happen in Roday?』
"No, the atmosphere wasn't that grim. Besides, you’ve heard reports of him 'visiting' Betan before, right?"
『Ah. So it’s that kind of situation?』
"Exactly. His subordinates are just doing their jobs by reporting it, so praise them for that. We’ll handle the cleanup, so don't gather extra people. It’ll cause a scene."
『Understood. Well, let me know if it gets out of hand. We’ll stay on standby.』
"Appreciate it. I’ve found the target, so I’ll talk to you later."
I ended the call. With the rear guard secured, we were ready for anything.
Still, is it something to be happy about or sad about that a King can come and go as he pleases? Should I create a system to prevent kings from wandering in and out? No, that would defeat the purpose of installing Gates for easier travel... that feels like putting the cart before the horse.
"There he is."
"A food stall."
"Hmm? This scent... it’s a ramen shop! Wait, the only one who runs that stall in Weed is..."
"Either me or Kiyu. I guess he was doing business here today."
King Blade seemed to have been lured in by the smell of ramen. I could see his back clearly.
The person running the stall was Kiyu, who, aside from his work with Kirika, has been handling intelligence activities to maintain order within the territory.
To be honest, I’d been so busy that I’d essentially pushed the ramen shop management onto him—or rather, asked him to take it over.
He’s been running the shop happily with his wife, Covil.
Ah, Kiyu and Covil got married after the operation to suppress Noble’s base on the If Continent.
There was a shocking truth revealed as a result of that, but that’s a story for another time. Right now, it’s all about King Blade.
We couldn't cause a scene and disturb the other customers, so...
"Blade is on the left and right of me and Jessica. Ria and Cleena, secure the rear. Got it?"
" " "Understood." " "
My wives followed my instructions instantly and headed toward the stall.
"Welcome. Please take a seat... oh?"
As we ducked under the noren curtain, Covil, dressed in a kimono, was hovering in the air. Since the stall was designed for humans, it wasn't built for fairies, so she had to fly to help out.
That was fine, but when she saw us, her eyes went wide.
I put a finger to my lips to signal her to stay quiet...
"Two bowls of ramen. Extra firm noodles."
"Ah, right. Two bowls of ramen. Extra firm!"
"Coming right up!"
Kiyu’s voice echoed from the back.
The stall had been modified to the size of a wagon, with the kitchen area separated from the customer seating.