“Ugh, this is heavy.”
“Mmm, Kent, you can do it.”
Kent walked through the town, supporting Margaret with his shoulder after leaving the adult entertainment district. Margaret herself was fast asleep, letting out a comfortable snore. An unconscious person is surprisingly heavy, and Kent was barely managing to support her, making slow progress. Hanako was cheering him on from his side.
“I wish you could help me a little,” Kent said.
“Mmm, I’m sorry, but my height isn’t enough to support her,” Hanako replied.
Feeling like he needed all the help he could get, Kent asked Hanako for assistance, but she flatly refused.
“If that’s the case, I think you could bridge the height difference if you returned to your true form,” Kent suggested.
“Mmm, Kent is too rough with fairies. I can’t help it,” Hanako said.
With that, Hanako’s body suddenly glowed, and she returned to her complete form.
“Well then, Kent, I’ll support her other side,” Hanako offered.
“I’ll be counting on you,” Kent replied.
With her complete form, Hanako was able to support Margaret’s other shoulder, bridging the height difference. This finally allowed Kent to walk.
“So, what are you going to do now? Are you taking her home?” Hanako asked.
“That would be problematic, so I intend to escort her back to the castle,” Kent said.
“Understood.”
In the red-light district, it was common to see people completely drunk, so no one found the sight of Kent and his companions suspicious. However, as soon as they left the district and entered the commercial area, passersby started looking at them with curiosity.
“We’re getting quite a lot of attention,” Kent observed uneasily.
“If it bothers you, shall I cast an impediment of recognition spell?” Hanako offered.
“Could you please?”
“Certainly.”
Unable to bear the piercing gazes any longer, Kent asked Hanako to cast a spell of impediment of recognition on them.
“No one is looking at us anymore.”
“That’s because the magic is working,” Hanako replied.
No longer bothered by the stares of passersby, Kent felt a little relieved.
“Finally, we’re out of the town!”
Kent and his companions left the town of Tiol and entered the road leading to the castle.
“Walking normally, it doesn’t feel that far, but moving like this makes it feel incredibly long,” Kent said with a weary expression, looking at the long, unremarkable road to the castle.
“Is that so? I’m very happy to be working together with you, Kent, but do you dislike working with me?” Hanako asked, leaning in to look at him.
“N-no, it’s not like that. I’m also happy to be working with you, Hanako,” Kent stammered.
“I’m glad you say that,” Hanako replied with a smile.
“My shoulder feels cold… Uwah, she’s drooling.”
Margaret, who was in a deep sleep, was drooling from her mouth, and a significant amount of it had gotten onto Kent’s shoulder. Although he found it unpleasant, he couldn’t just set her down there, so he had no choice but to continue towards the castle, still damp. Occasionally, Margaret’s head would turn towards Hanako, but she would subtly push it back with her other hand, nudging it back towards Kent, a detail Kent didn’t notice.
“Are we about halfway there?” Hanako asked.
“Yes, about halfway. Keep up the good work, Kent,” replied Kent.
“I’m sweating buckets, but you seem perfectly fine, Hanako.”
“For me in my complete form, this is nothing,” Hanako said.
Kent and his companions had walked about halfway along the road connecting the town of Tiol and the castle. Kent was visibly tired, with sweat beading on his forehead, but Hanako remained unfazed.
“Huff, we finally made it.”
“Kent, you must be tired,” Hanako said.
Kent and his companions somehow reached the castle gates. Margaret was still sound asleep. The people they passed on the road looked curiously at the man and woman accompanying a drunken woman sleeping on the ground, heading towards the castle.
“Well, I brought her here, but should I hand her over to the guards at the gate?”
Kent had carried Margaret to the castle, but he was unsure what to do next. There might be a gate for royalty, but he didn’t know where it was, and he suspected the guards wouldn’t tell him for security reasons. He decided to try and hand Margaret over directly.
“Um, excuse me,” Kent said.
“What is it?” the young guard at the gate asked.
When Kent spoke to the young guard, the guard eyed him suspiciously, judging them to be a suspicious trio.
“Um, we’ve brought the Queen. Who should we speak to?” Kent asked.
“Huh? The Queen?”
“The person sleeping here,” Kent clarified.
The guard seemed to think Kent was joking and asked suspiciously, “This sleeping woman is the Queen? That’s impossible. You’re disrupting my duties. Be on your way.”
“But…”
“What? You can’t hear me? Then should I treat you as suspicious individuals and take appropriate action?”
Kent, having gone to such lengths to bring her here, knew he would have to return the way he came if he couldn’t hand Margaret over. He persisted, trying to convince the skeptical guard.
“If you intend to draw your sword, you must be prepared for the consequences. Do you have that preparedness?” Hanako’s voice suddenly boomed, laced with intense pressure.
“Kk, what is this intimidation?” the guard stammered, unable to move under the overwhelming aura.
As Kent would not back down, and judging it to be an obstruction of duty, the guard’s hand moved towards the sword at his waist. Hanako issued a stern warning to the guard. The guard was frozen by the immense pressure.
“What’s all the commotion?”
Just then, another guard, drawn by the noise, arrived.
“Sir, this man claims to have brought the Queen. I told him to leave because he was disrupting our duties, but he won’t go.”
“The Queen? That’s impossible… Uwah!”
The senior guard approached Kent and gently lifted Margaret’s face to confirm her identity. The guard then jumped back and immediately prostrated himself on the ground.
“I-I apologize. M-my sincerest apologies. Hey, you, bow down too! This woman is undoubtedly the Queen.”
“Ugh, no way. I-I apologize,” the other guard stammered.
The two guards prostrated themselves before Margaret, but she remained sound asleep and offered no response, leaving an awkward silence.
“We’d appreciate it if someone could take her from here,” Kent said.
“Ah, right. I will call someone who can handle this immediately. Please wait a moment,” the senior guard said, hastily retreating inside.
After a while, a large group of servants arrived, carrying a stretcher. Accompanied by them were several knights in golden armor. Kent handed Margaret over to the servants, and she was carried away into the castle on the stretcher.
“Well, our task is finished, so let’s go home,” Kent said.
“Yes,” Hanako replied.
With Margaret safely handed over, Kent decided it was time to return home.
“Wait,” a voice commanded.
“Huh?” Kent and Hanako turned around to find themselves surrounded by the individuals in golden armor who had accompanied the servants.
“We must hear the circumstances that led to the Queen being in such a state. However, the Queen is currently resting. As there is a possibility of a crime, we will be detaining you until an investigation can be conducted.”
With that, the group in golden armor surrounded Kent and Hanako, drawing their swords.
“You’ve drawn your swords against Kent. I assume you are prepared for the consequences?” Hanako said, stepping forward to shield Kent and confronting the knights.
“Kk, this woman is dangerous. Everyone, be careful!”
“What intimidating presence!”
“I can’t move properly!”
Despite being vastly outnumbered, Hanako exuded an overwhelming killing intent, paralyzing the knights.
“Hanako, if Margaret wakes up, everything will be resolved. Let’s cooperate and go with them,” Kent said, deciding that fighting the knights would yield no positive result.
“Understood,” Hanako replied, ceasing her confrontation.
“Fuu, I can move now. Now’s our chance. Restrain them!”
“Yes, sir!”
Kent and Hanako were bound with ropes by the knights in golden armor.
“Here, this way,” a knight said, roughly pulling Kent.
“Ugh! Don’t treat Kent so harshly!” Hanako protested.
Restrained, Kent and Hanako were surrounded by the knights in golden armor and led away somewhere.
