We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Carnivorous beasts will chase you if you show your back to them.
Having escaped a desperate crisis, we returned to the center of the royal capital. Apparently, the Styler Family, who had already descended Dragon Peak, had spread rumors about me. As we retraced our steps, I listened to the conversations of people heading towards the West Fortress Ruins. It seemed that for the past two days, the number of people waiting to ambush me, as I was supposed to be descending the mountain, had been increasing.
“Are you waiting for Older Brother?”
“No, it’s just your imagination.”
“It would surely be cool if you waved your hand and made a triumphant return to the kingdom.”
“I don’t want to stand out. I’d rather leave that role to the Hero. Speaking of which, has Listea returned yet?”
If Listea were to return, she should be able to shift the focus from me to the Hero. It’s true that I’ve become famous, but I believe my name recognition and popularity are lower than that of the Hero, Listea. After all, she’s a hero through and through. The fact that no one notices me, blending in with the surrounding people as I walk normally, is the best proof of this. My name and achievements may have spread, but my appearance is not recognized nearly as much as Listea’s.
“Uwah. Sorry, Laira. You don’t need to remember the past. You shouldn’t make such a gloomy face.”
“Older Brother made Laira cry. I have to report this to Mist.”
“Meow.”
“No, no, I’m not crying. You mustn’t report this.”
Laira, you mustn’t pretend to be sad and hug me either. My right forearm is buried in your chest, and it’s quite something.
“Meow.”
Nimia meowed spitefully from on top of my head. Is it revenge for not getting any skewer meat? It can’t be helped. You’re pretending to be a kitten right now. Besides, if you ate it on top of my head, my hair would get sticky.
“Thinking about all this, living on Dragon Peak or in the Dragon Forest seems more realistic. It’s best for Fio and Rim, and Nimia would probably have an easier time there too.”
It seems that even after my year-long journey, I still have a mountain of problems ahead of me. I need to find an answer quickly regarding our living situation. Because if I can’t answer when I meet Ruiseine’s strict parents, or the Twin Princesses’ parents, the King and Queen, I’m sure they won’t approve of me.
“Elnea. Your future is important, but what about what you’re going to do now?”
“Ah, that’s right. I guess I have to decide where we’re going next.”
We’d rushed west out of curiosity, but now we need to decide where to go next. We need to report our return first. At the Royal Castle Ruins or the Great Shrine. If we report our return there, we can confirm our parents’ whereabouts, right?
“Yes. A kind gentleman told me so.”
From here… is the Royal Castle closer? Shall we go straight there and head to the Royal Castle Ruins?
“We’ll go to meet His Majesty and the Queen right away, then?”
“Haha. That would be too sudden, wouldn’t it? First, we need to get permission, and we need to prepare ourselves properly…”
That’s right. They are royalty among royalty, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen. Even if I’m close to the Twin Princesses, I’m still a commoner, and there’s a difference in status. If I don’t follow the proper procedures, it would be disrespectful.
Yes. My thinking is definitely not wrong.
That’s why I can’t tell the splendidly armored cavalry approaching from the front my whereabouts yet!
“Everyone, let’s turn the corner up ahead.”
I led everyone around the corner of the stalls. There were no buildings, but a maintained path led away from the main street. Laira held Ares-chan, and I held Priscilla-chan, as we moved out of the path of the approaching cavalry.
What is it? I have a bad feeling. Laira also seemed to sense that I had suddenly changed course and followed with a tense expression.
“Hey, we found them.”
“Wait!”
My heart skipped a beat. The shouts from behind made us break into a run.
“They’re running away!”
“Chase them, chase them!”
“Aah! Why are the angry shouts of men chasing after us!”
“Whoa, the horses are chasing us!”
“Run, run!”
“Meow.”
I shouldn’t look back. But Priscilla-chan and Ares-chan, who were being held in my arms, informed me of the situation behind us. I don’t need such commentary!
We ran at full speed down a side street without buildings. We turned at an intersection and rounded a corner. But the sound of horseshoes gradually grew closer from behind.
“Is this tag?”
“N-no… is it? But we’re not allowed to do spatial jumps.”
“Why?”
“Because if we teleported, it would cause a huge commotion.”
I shouldn’t point out that being chased by the cavalry is already a commotion. We’re probably not being chased; it’s just a coincidence that the cavalry’s direction of travel is the same as ours.
“You there, stop!”
“Running is useless!”
Damn it. As expected, the speed of horses is different from ours! Moreover, for them to catch up to my legs, which can escape even magic beasts, they must be highly skilled. They are definitely not ordinary cavalry. In that case, I can’t just stick to the road anymore. I’ll have to enter the designated plots and cross them. But the cavalry didn’t stick to the road either; they intruded into the plots without question and chased us.
The people passing by started to make a commotion at the sudden manhunt. Since there were no buildings, we were conspicuous even from a distance. The people on the main street were looking at us.
“Elnea, what should we do…”
“In this case, we have no choice but to go all out…”
However, before we could go all out, the cavalry caught up to us. What now? We were instantly surrounded! In this case…
“E-Elnea-kun, please don’t run away.”
One man emerged from the surrounding cavalry. Why would a skilled knight know my face and name?
“It’s me. Don’t you remember? I gave you a ride in a carriage to the sub-capital before.”
“…Ah, it was you!”
I dredged up the face of a man I vaguely remembered and snapped my fingers. It was the coachman who took charge of us after the fake hero incident, when we went on our first errand with Ruiseine and the others. I also feel like I saw him at the North Fortress when we were fighting demons.
“W-why are you running…”
“Haven’t we caused unnecessary commotion?”
Looking closely, the other cavalrymen also seemed familiar.
“Are you perhaps Lord Rudoriado’s subordinates?”
“That’s right. We are the Prince’s Royal Knights.”
“Honestly. We thought it would be better if you didn’t get suspicious since we’re acquaintances.”
“Why did you run!”
“Well, just because? I felt my life was in danger.”
As I laughed, the cavalrymen who had surrounded us looked dejected. And the surrounding area became a scene of chaos.
“What is it? The Royal Knights are surrounding some boys and girls.”
“Bandits!?”
“What’s all the commotion about?”
Onlookers began to gather and make noise.
“See? It’s become even more of a disturbance.”
“It wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t run…”
“Well… we were taught to run if we saw cavalry.”
“No, that’s a lesson only for villains!”
Damn it. What misfortune. I ran based on intuition, and it turned into a bigger commotion than I expected. I should have run at full speed without holding back. Wait, I can still…
“Hey, stop that. Don’t run away. If you run any further, the entire Royal Knights will come to catch you.”
“Ugh.”
The cavalrymen anticipated my actions and warned me. As expected of Lord Rudoriado’s subordinates, who have a tendency to be lazy. They are good at sensing unsettling atmospheres.
“Just follow our instructions obediently.”
With a sigh, a splendid six-horse carriage appeared from behind the cavalrymen.
“As you know, the Twin Princesses are waiting. We will guide you to the Royal Castle.”
“Hah! Was this Yufi and Nina’s ploy!”
Upon realizing the mastermind, I couldn’t help but shout.
