Finally, episode 42 has been completed.
It will be delivered in 12 parts, totaling approximately 67,000 characters.
My party, led by myself, Hal Harem Von Raymond, and the members of “Princess Harem,” arrived yesterday in Inman, a city on the border.
On the road to Inman, we discovered a giant, gaping vertical shaft a little off the main road. At the bottom, we found the remains of missing girls who had fallen into undeath, becoming zombies and skeletons.
Furthermore, in the city of Inman, incidents of girls being abducted, which had previously subsided, are once again occurring frequently.
Previously, the abductions were motivated by a desire for a large amount of blood to rejuvenate Alma Bartley Dela Elgerblard, the former Countess. However, it seems there are no leads on the current perpetrators.
Alma is currently being held under heavy confinement in the topmost floor of the “Prison Tower,” built outside the walls of Inman Castle.
After deliberation, we decided to defeat the horde of undead writhing at the bottom of the vertical shaft.
If left unchecked, there was a concern that high-ranking undead would be born.
This city of Inman is expected to fall under the rule of Ly and Liliana, who will soon be enthroned as Empress of the New Wahl Imperial Kingdom and Queen of the New Yangus Kingdom, respectively. We cannot allow it to be destroyed by high-ranking undead.
As we began preparations for extermination, Elise and her companions happened to rescue a beautiful girl who was attempting to commit suicide.
The name of the girl they saved is Eringen Kuktar, the young lover of Count Elgerblard.
Although rumors suggested she had been freed from slavery, she was, in fact, wearing a stigmatized slave band hidden on her right ankle.
Afterward, Eringen was taken back by knights under Count Elgerblard’s command.
And shortly after that commotion, Holy Spirit Serena rushed to me, reporting with a panicked look that Ly and Liliana had been kidnapped by a black carriage.
Ly and Liliana had been kidnapped by the incubus Bakoon just the other day, making this their second abduction.
Today, to streamline the procurement of necessary supplies, the party members had been split into three groups, but this decision backfired.
The third group, which included Ly, comprised Liliana, Tirna, Dietlinde, and Shera.
Lili of the Vampire three sisters was also supposed to be there, and it was unlikely they would fall behind to any ordinary enemy.
“Hey, Serena. Where are the remaining party members?”
“They’re over there, following me. They’re surprisingly close,” she replied.
We followed Holy Spirit Serena once again to rendezvous with the remaining party members.
As we burst out of the park ranger’s hut where Elise and her companions were tending to Eringen, we found Tirna and the others standing dazed near the commemorative plaza within the park.
“Hal-samaaaa! Ly-sama and Liliana-sama have been taken! Please, please help them!”
Upon arriving at the scene, Tirna, her eyes red from crying, clung to me just as before.
“To allow a kidnapping right before my eyes… I am furious,” Dietlinde said, clearly enraged.
She was probably unforgiving of letting the kidnapping happen right in front of them.
“…If only I had transformed into Shera-nee-san or Shiera-onee-sama…” Shera mumbled, dejected, her proud fox ears and tail drooping.
The “Lili” who was supposed to have accompanied them was nowhere to be seen, likely having fled out of fear of repercussions.
“Tell me about the situation when the two were abducted.”
“Yes, Hal-sama. Our third group was with Ly-sama—”
Tirna explained the situation when Ly and Liliana were kidnapped.
The third group was in charge of procuring consumables. After finishing their tasks, they decided to rest in the park.
As they approached the park entrance, the door of a black carriage that had approached from behind them opened, and Ly and Liliana were forcibly pulled inside before the carriage made a swift escape.
There were apparently no crests or other identifying marks on the carriage.
The perpetrators seemed to be very skilled.
At the time, there were ordinary people passing by, so Dietlinde and Shera could not use offensive magic.
By then, the suspicious carriage had vanished without a trace. However, I could vaguely sense where the two of them were.
This was a function based on “Slave Contract Magic,” originally intended to track runaway slaves.
When they were kidnapped by the incubus Bakoon, it was nearby, so there was no need to confirm their location with this function.
The information provided by “Slave Contract Magic” indicated that Ly and Liliana were alive and well, but possibly being kept asleep.
Furthermore, they seemed to still be traveling by carriage, meaning their location was moving at high speed.
Ultimately, their precise location was likely through a side road in the forest beyond the walls of Inman.
Beyond that lay the “Prison Tower.”
It appeared that Ly and Liliana were being taken to the “Prison Tower.”
It seemed necessary to rescue them before they were taken into the “Prison Tower.”
This was an urgent situation, and “beggars can’t be choosers.”
I braced myself and decided to rely on Swan Hilda’s “Sky-soaring.”
“We are bound by contract, so I can sense their approximate location,” I said.
“R-really! Hal-sama! Where are Ly-sama and Liliana-sama then?” Tirna clung to me even more tightly at my words.
“Swan Hilda, this is an emergency! Use ‘Sky-soaring’ to take me to the suspicious black carriage heading towards the ‘Prison Tower.’ Shera will accompany us. And Elise, take the rest of the group back to the inn and head to the ‘Prison Tower’ by carriage. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“O-Okay. Leave it to me!” Chloe replied.
“Yes…!” Swan Hilda responded with a confident smile at my request, and Shera, chosen as my companion, wagged her fox tail vigorously.
For Shera, this was the second time she had witnessed Ly and Liliana being kidnapped, so she likely wanted to redeem herself.
“Hal-sama, please hurry, but don’t do anything reckless!” Tirna said.
“Hal shouldn’t… push himself too hard,” Chloe added.
“I may be weak, but… Swan Hilda and Shera are here, so I’ll be alright,” I replied.
However, Elise and Alicia warned me not to be reckless.
“Well then, let’s depart.”
“Hal-sama, let’s go then!” Tirna said.
“The sky is a bit… scary… nya!” Swan Hilda remarked nervously.
And so, Swan Hilda, clad in her Valkyrie light armor, took me and Shera under each arm and took to the skies.
The remaining party members, led by Elise, the副長 (sub-leader) of “Princess Harem,” returned to their lodgings at the “Resting Traveler Inn.”
“Hey, Hal-sama. Isn’t it difficult to stop a moving carriage?” Swan Hilda asked a sensible question.
“That’s true… How about we disembark before the carriage and prepare for an attack?” I suggested.
“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Swan Hilda agreed.
“Okay… nya!” Swan Hilda replied.
We decided to descend to a side road before the carriage and wait in ambush.
The vicinity of Inman, the border town, was surrounded by a dense forest, teeming with beasts and magical beasts.
Occasionally, we could hear the distant howls of beasts and the chirping of birds from the forest below.
The main road we had traveled on was equipped with magic tools to ward off magical beasts, and it seemed the side road leading to the “Prison Tower” was similarly protected.
And then, in no time at all, a magnificent black carriage, presumably carrying Ly and Liliana, sped past us.
As described by Tirna and the others, the single-horse carriage was painted black, with no crests or company names indicating ownership.
It was a completely unidentified carriage.
Normally, it should have been stopped at the city gates, but in Inman, the gates were apparently as porous as a sieve, allowing it to pass unhindered.
We descended to the side road, maintaining a safe distance from the carriage, and prepared for combat.
Swan Hilda transformed from her Valkyrie light armor into a more adventurer-like attire, holding a longsword.
Meanwhile, Shera transformed into Shera-nee-san and gripped her trademark Zantou.
I also planned to summon Mimic Mimi No. 2 to assist us.
Soon, Elise and the others would catch up to us by carriage.
If we attacked from both front and rear, we should be able to prevent Ly and Liliana from being lost again.
And then, the carriage in question arrived.
“Leave it to me first! Hmph!!” Shera unleashed her attack.
*Slash*
*FIIIIIIIIIN… Thud*
As if to make up for her previous failure, Shera raised her Zantou high and casually sliced down the horse pulling the carriage.
What incredible strength!
Even though the weapon was called a Zantou, she actually bisected a running horse!
The unfortunate horse died, spilling blood and entrails onto the side road, and the carriage naturally came to a halt.
“Are you bandits? Attacking this carriage is foolish!” A robust middle-aged man driving the carriage, carrying a large sword on his back, said.
“Our companions should be inside that carriage. We demand their return,” I stated our claim directly and faced him squarely.
“To think that my companions would chase this far… my calculations were off,” the driver said.
In response to my voice, the carriage door opened, and a hunched old man appeared, nodding to the driver.
The next moment, the driver pulled out a fist-sized orb from his pocket and smashed it onto the ground.
A dense white smoke billowed from the shattered orb, obscuring our vision.
I focused solely on the presence of Ly and Liliana, who should have been inside the carriage.
After a while, when the smoke cleared, the driver and the hunched old man had vanished.
“Damn, they got away clean,” Swan Hilda lamented.
“I’m not satisfied with just cutting down the horse,” Shera grumbled.
In the end, Ly and Liliana were left inside the carriage, unconscious.
However, no evidence that could link to the perpetrators was found inside the carriage.
Furthermore, the two in a coma did not wake up.
I mobilized all my knowledge from my previous life in an attempt to awaken them, but it was ultimately in vain.
“This is… a special hypnotic drug used in the dark corners of the Wahl Imperial Kingdom,” Tirna said, arriving by carriage later, as she fanned a special antidote under their noses, their consciousness did not return until then.
It was fortunate that Tirna was knowledgeable in this area.
Sharon, who belonged to the “Assassin’s Guild,” watched Tirna’s skilled handling of the antidote with a fearful gaze.
Even as a former professional assassin, Tirna’s skill level was high.
“Ly, Liliana, how do you feel?” I asked.
“How should I put it… it’s the worst possible awakening,” Ly replied, her face bright red with anger.
“I feel the same as Ly-sama,” Liliana added.
We returned to our lodgings at the “Resting Traveler Inn,” took baths to wash away the day’s grime, and then had dinner before resting.
The next morning… when we awoke, Ly and Liliana’s beds were empty.
Thank you for reading.
Episode 42-2, “In Search of Our Captive Princesses,” has been pre-scheduled for release at 0:00 on April 16th.
