It was the first time they had experienced seeing the morning sun appear yellow, though it was understandable given they would be without men for two months.
The matter of Elizabeth, whom Hal Raymond and Alicia had found and revived outside the Imperial Capital Granza, was resolved with her safe return to the Espana Imperial Family as the Crown Prince. As a reward, I was granted the title of “First-Class Quasi-Noble,” and Alicia was made a “Viscountess.”
As for the culprits, we commoners have no way of knowing if they haven’t made any headway in their investigation or if they were secretly apprehended and disposed of. The only thing we could understand was that the checkpoint at the castle gate had returned to its normal operations the day after Elizabeth was escorted to the White Castle.
Our next objective, as proposed by Elise during a “Bath Meeting,” was to retrieve a magic staff said to be located in the underground ruins of Portland Castle.
Other pending matters included releasing the “Killing Dolls” from the grasp of the “Assassin’s Guild” as proposed by Mai, and ideally, getting closer to the secret of Mai’s birth and improving her seemingly sealed abilities.
Additionally, there was Hal’s travel plan to the Old Kingdom of Waiyar, which he had directly instructed Ly to arrange, and protecting demonkin girls as personally proposed by Swan Hilda, making for a packed schedule.
First, I decided to review the plan submitted by Elise.
Regarding the schedule, I had also made requests, and it was necessary to confirm if they had been taken into consideration.
The schedule outlined three days to reach the formerly adventured inn town of Dorsen, four days from there to Kamiyan, the former capital of the Kamiyar Holy Nation, a two-day stay, seven days to pass through the Old Kingdom of Sazania, and an additional five days to reach the Portland Castle Ruins in the Old Kingdom of Portland.
This brought the total travel time to twenty-one days, with seven days allocated for the retrieval of the magic staff. Accounting for an extra seven days to pass through the Old Kingdom of Vandis, Freya’s homeland, on the return trip, the journey was estimated to take approximately two months. It was indeed a grand adventure that would take considerable time.
Currently, the adventurers planned were six people: myself, Elise, Mai, Kirika, Swan Hilda, and Freya.
This was because we had only been able to secure one carriage, as it was borrowed from the Raymond Trading Company. Given the two-month rental period, there were no complaints to be made.
For the coachman, as this was a long journey, Freya and I were scheduled to take turns. Apparently, Freya had previous experience operating a carriage, albeit on a smaller scale, from her past business endeavors.
Elise, Kirika, and Freya were involved because they would be setting foot in their homelands during this adventure. Mai’s role was as a scout for exploring the underground dungeon at Portland Castle Ruins, and Swan Hilda was the supreme combatant of “Princess Harem.”
The carriage was a two-horse carriage we always rented, capable of carrying up to eight people if packed tightly. However, I intended to sleep inside the carriage at night, and we needed to load provisions, sundries, and other supplies, so I judged this number to be the maximum workable.
Although we had significantly more luggage, any items not immediately needed were stored in Elise’s “Space Magic” Item Box, allowing me to reconfirm her invaluable contribution.
The remaining members were five people: Alicia, Ly, Edele, Tirna, and Dietlinde.
Alicia needed to focus on various tasks at the Raymond Trading Company. Although Alicia strongly advocated for accompanying us and her status as a “Viscountess,” a noble by law, could potentially serve as a trump card in certain situations, I persuaded her to be patient this time. To be honest, I wanted to use the “Mithril Card” I received from my father without reservation.
The two-day stay in Kamiyan was for this very reason.
As for the four remaining members of “Princess Harem,” with Ly skilled in rapier, Edele proficient with dual swords and capable of rearward chakram attacks, and Dietlinde also skilled in rapier and capable of Fire Spirit Magic, they could form a party of considerable strength. With Tirna, who served as backstage support, there was no need for worry.
And while we were busy preparing for our departure, I was intensely loved by Alicia, Ly, Edele, and Dietlinde that night.
It was understandable that they would be without men for two months, but it was the first time they had experienced seeing the morning sun appear yellow.
We purchased preserved foods and consumables in preparation for our adventure, and our departure was set for ten days after Elizabeth’s return to the Espana Imperial Family. Today, with our departure scheduled for tomorrow, I, accompanied by Elise, the Vice Captain of “Princess Harem,” stopped by the “Adventurer Guild” to pay our respects.
“It’s been a while since we’ve stopped by the Adventurer Guild.”
“It may have been a while for you, Hal, but I’ve been here almost every day.”
Elise and I exchanged casual conversation as we entered the Adventurer Guild building. Elise, being familiar with the place, headed directly to the counter where a receptionist she knew was stationed. She was different from the receptionist who had assisted us when we first visited the Adventurer Guild, but she was a seemingly earnest young girl. Her red hair was braided and flowed down her back, and freckles were scattered across her cheeks. Upon recognizing Elise, she offered a nod.
“Good morning, Elise.”
“Good morning, Ly. We’re here today to give you our regards as we’ll be going on a trip for about two months starting tomorrow.”
“Oh, her name is Ly?”
“Yes… it seems she was named after that Ly, the Princess of the Old Kingdom of Waiyar, who is known as the tragic princess.”
Elise gave a wry smile, like a child caught in a prank. In the Western Nations where we live, when royalty has a child and names them, many parents give their children the same name, hoping to emulate the child. Therefore, there are quite a few girls the same age as the famous Ly who share her name.
After our greetings were successfully concluded and we were about to leave, Miss Ly brought out an envelope from a drawer.
“Ah, yes. Elise, actually, there’s a directed request for ‘Princess Harem.’ What do you think?”
I took the envelope and reviewed its contents. It was a request to escort a Baron’s daughter to the Old Kamiyar Holy Nation. The reward was exceedingly generous for simply escorting someone for a few days: 2 gold coins upfront and 3 gold coins upon success, totaling 5 gold coins (equivalent to 500,000 yen).
When I asked Miss Ly for the reason, she explained that low-level demonkin had recently been appearing in the Great Forest Zone, increasing the danger. Currently, fierce battles were being fought on two fronts between the demonkin and the allied forces of humans and demi-humans: along the border with the Northern Nations, where the demonkin’s strongholds were located, and against detached units of demonkin that had invaded the Southern Nations. The Espana Imperial Army and the allied forces of humans and demi-humans, who controlled parts of the Western and Southern Nations, were confronting the demonkin.
Incidentally, the Hero Party was likely wandering around the border between the Western Nations and the Northern Nations, observing the situation for an invasion into the Northern Nations. The demonkin appearing in the Great Forest Zone were described as low-level, indicating low intelligence, and were likely stray demonkin. The reason “Princess Harem” received this directed request was that they were a currently popular adventurer party composed solely of women. It seemed I was not considered as I hadn’t been active in “Princess Harem” recently. Since the request happened to align with our travel itinerary, I decided to accept it immediately.
The next morning, I arrived at the entrance of “Princess Harem’s” base mansion in the two-horse carriage I had borrowed from the Raymond Trading Company. The five members departing for the adventure—Elise, Mai, Swan Hilda, Kirika, and Freya—were already in the carriage, and the remaining members—Alicia, Ly, Tirna, Edele, and Dietlinde—saw us off.
“Hal, don’t do anything reckless! And please come back safely.”
Alicia saw us off, her eyes welling up with tears.
“Hal, I will quickly finalize the travel plans for Waiyar.”
Ly also appealed for her participation in planning the adventure to the Old Kingdom of Waiyar, expressing her desire to join on the next adventure.
“To those remaining, don’t do anything reckless and try not to get hurt. Well then, let’s depart.”
And so, with me at the reins, the two-horse carriage departed from “Princess Harem’s” base mansion, heading first towards the plaza in front of the Adventurer Guild. Upon arriving at the plaza and waiting for a short while, at the appointed time, a single-horse carriage appeared. The carriage gleamed, bearing a crest that appeared to be a family crest on its door and other luxurious decorations, befitting a noble. As we disembarked and went to greet them, the aforementioned noble carriage pulled up before us, and a man who was serving as the coachman alighted. The coachman had a sturdy build and a handsome face.
“I am Hans Revatta. Are you ‘Princess Harem’? I heard there weren’t any men.”
“I am Hal Raymond. I am the leader of ‘Princess Harem,’ and this is our Vice Captain Elise, and Mai, Swan Hilda, Kirika, and Freya.”
“However, not removing your hooded robes and Valkyrie masks even when greeting someone… it’s quite impolite.”
“It’s better for guys to have a bit of mystery, you know!”
I engaged in a verbal spar with Hans Revatta, the coachman of the noble carriage, as a form of greeting.
“Hans, what are you doing? Stop wasting time and depart quickly!!”
A young woman’s voice could be heard from inside the carriage. She seemed to be the client, but she remained haughtily inside and did not show her face.
“Could you please introduce Hans and the others?”
“There are two ladies in the carriage. The younger lady is our master, Baroness Clarina Misha von Hartia, and the elder is Margaret Star, Clarina’s wet nurse and attendant.”
“…Understood. Then let’s depart immediately.”
We boarded the two-horse carriage and set off from the plaza in front of the Adventurer Guild, leading the single-horse carriage carrying Baroness Clarina, our escort target. As expected, with a noble in tow, we passed through the castle gate checkpoint with almost no inspection. Once the two carriages reached the main road, they left the Imperial Capital Granza and headed for the outskirts. Thus, our grand adventure began.
Thank you for reading.
Episode 15-2, “Etiquette Part Two,” is scheduled for pre-posting at 0:00 on May 8th.
