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Chapter 167

As one of the guards for His Highness’s mourning team, leaving Galois would be a good opportunity to witness with my own eyes the true state of affairs of the Romal Empire, which will soon be struck by the ravages of war.

But for the Romal Empire, who has a deep rooted and strong ideology in the supremacy of the pure human species, bringing Selina, who is treated as a monster and a demihuman, and Dramina, a vampire which people are unused to here, will be a matter of great concern.

As for Lynette, her appearance looks completely human, and she is treated as a golem so it’s unlikely she will be a target of discrimination, but for the other two, they will have to avoid being exposed to the public eye.

In addition, if the fact that I had brought a vampire into another country’s territory were discovered, then there was a level of risk that it wouldn’t be just a small problem.

There’s no need to worry about Selina and Dramina being able to protect themselves, but words and attitudes with ill intent toward them could easily hurt them, so I can’t be too careful regarding that.

「Your Highness, if I will be accompanying your mourning team, I understand that it would be a great honor, but bringing Selina, Dramina, and Lynette to the Romal Empire will not be just a small problem. What do you think of it?」

My concern seemed to be conveyed properly, and His Highness looked at Selina and the others with a sincere expression on his face as he gave me his answer.

Since the Schoolmaster here is also a High Elf, which distinguishes her as different from demihumans, I wonder just how much interest she would have in His Highness’s answer.

「I didn’t think you would be bringing along your beloved women. No matter which way we put it, the people on that side will only think badly of it.

Of course the Grand Duke will be that way, but it is said the princess is more liberal toward demihumans than him, but I’m not sure how much we can believe such rumors.

She might just be making claims that oppose the Grand Duke in order to raise forces that can fight against him, but her true intentions may be different. When the time comes for her to take the throne of emperor, no one can guarantee that her claims and stance won’t change.」

Fumu, so it’s possible that both of the two leaders of the next generation have rotten and conniving personalities. It seems the neighboring empire is full of characters that will be hard for me to work together with.

In that case, it is likely that when the next emperor comes into power, the empire will be split in two by civil war, and in addition with the society of demihumans who will revolt after being suppressed all this time, there is a high possibility that the empire will be split into three ways.

And if our Arkrest Kingdom is mixed in, then it would become a four-way free for all.

Depending on what the countries further to the west of the empire do, things could become even worse, so it could become a tough time for the people, but…

「Lynette has the appearance of a human and she is a golem, so I think it will be fine to bring her with you. On the other hand, although Selina and Dramina are your familiars, you won’t be able to bring them in public.

In that case, they’ll have to wait inside a guarded escort carriage.

The only time the two of them will have to come into play is if the Grand Duke and the imperial princess do something absurd, such as fighting with their subordinate forces in the capital city, and each of their respective Twelve Winged Generals would start all-out fighting.」

「It’s also a possibility that the crown prince will be restrained as a pretense for protecting him, and will be used to keep the kingdom in check.

In that case, it is possible that will become the princess’s husband, or even the husband to a woman under the Grand Duke’s control. He will be unable to return to the kingdom, and furthermore, may even be used to take over and annex the kingdom of Arkrest」

「That is one possibility which is most believable and is of the greatest concern. If that happens, then we will have three options: as a nation, we don’t take any action, or two, we send in Merle, who is authorized to fight at full strength, or lastly, we challenge the entire nation to war.

Well, even if I don’t return, Frau is still here, and if worse comes to worst, you can just abandon me or slay me」

「At any rate, we want to avoid prolonging the war and dragging it on for too long. This is just my personal opinion, but I believe the burden on the people will not end until the head of the empire is replaced.

That is, if the people of the empire stay resigned to their fates as the weak, always at the mercy of others」

There is a type of strength that comes from always being at the mercy of others, and everyone at Bern Village has that strength, but I wonder if the people of the empire do too.

In order to survive, in the past, and even today, it is not uncommon for the family members of the current lord to be killed, to show allegiance to the new lord.

I wonder how far is our country willing to extend a hand of support to the anti-imperialist forces within the empire, just as it did for Korato. I couldn’t tell, based on the looks of His Highness before me.

「We got somewhat off topic.

Since the empire is in that kind of state right now, even if you want to bring Selina the lamia and Dramina the vampire along with you, first of all, I think they wouldn’t want to leave your side anyway.

Also, well, since I am entrusting Dran with escorting, that means I’m also asking you to leave Galois for a long time. I thought it would be cruel to keep you all apart during that time as well」

Maybe it was because the topic was about the relations between men and women, but His Highness spoke with a bit of embarrassment in his face, and I could see a hint of boyish innocence in him. Fumu, it seems he’s being very considerate to us.

「Thank you for your concern. So am I correct in understanding that Selina and Dramina will be included in the mourning team as unofficial personnel, and they will not be recorded in official records?」

「Yeah. I’m sorry it will be quite cramped, but I hope you can bear with it.

Also, as for what to do after you join the mourning team, Dran, I’d like you to disguise yourself as a member of the Imperial Knights, and join the Imperial Guard.

We will prepare clothing and a mourning ribbon for you.」

「Imperial Guard? That is a very esteemed position for a knight. Will the current knights in the Guard and the people of the Royal Family not have a problem with me becoming a knight, even if it’s only temporarily?」

How could someone who used to be a peasant farmer until just recently become a knight, and even be allowed to join the Imperial Guard, albeit temporarily? I thought I would be disguised as a servant or something instead.

Could it be because His Highness thinks more highly of me than I thought, or is it influenced by Merle’s high opinion of me? Although, a knight of the Imperial Guard can stay more closely by His Highness’s side compared to a servant, so it does make sense.

「It’s not that there isn’t anyone who would speak out about your status, but since the founding king of the Kingdom of Arkrest was originally a commoner and an adventurer, but he was also already a knight, it won’t be hard to convince them, in your case」

「It seems I’ve become well known among the people in the royal palace without me knowing, and normally I would be happy about my name being known, but I honestly can’t seem to be happy about it」

「Being able to say so honestly is one of your virtues. They may seem convinced on the surface, but there may still be some who are not yet fully convinced. Especially the younger members of the Imperial Guard.

Some people might make one or two snide remarks, but I hope you can bear with it. I’m sorry I’m just full of requests, but I’m counting on you. When the time comes for you to work under Christina in Bern Village, I’ll help take care of various things for you 」

「It’s not fair if you reward me like that, Your Highness. It will just motivate me to work harder too.」

He’s really brought up an unfair topic, this prince. Fumu, I’ve had a slight feeling for a while now, but whether he’s aware of it or not, he’s a little black-hearted, this prince of ours.

「Even if you can do it better, you can’t make it any worse, so don’t worry about that. No, I’m sorry. Normally I wouldn’t talk about these kinds of things, but my tongue always ends up slipping when I’m talking with you.

For some reason, I end up lowering my guard around you. It’s not like I lack friends of my own age, but someone who says things as openly and honestly as you is rare to find」

「It is a great honor to be treated on the same level as His Highness’s friends. So I will disguise myself as a member of the Imperial Guard, but what about Selina and Dramina?

If you would allow it, I would like to take the carriage and horses that Dramina owns with me.

The horses are all Sleipnir, so they will need to be disguised to look like normal horses, but they can also be kept in the sky if necessary.

I thought it would be useful in case I need to take His Highness back to the kingdom quickly」

Dramina’s carriage has been stripped of its decorations, so it has a simple appearance now, but since the materials used to make the carriage itself were all rare and enchanted with many layers of magic, it would have to be disguised as well, just like the Sleipnir.

But the problem is that if our carriage is of higher quality than the one that His Highness is riding in, then it will be difficult to serve as his guard.

「Sleipnir, huh? I have heard stories about you, but I’m not sure if you were originally the type of person who is suited to be a familiar」

His Highness sent a glance toward Dramina, whose face was hidden underneath her veil. In response to his gaze, Dramina only made a small bow and didn’t say anything.

Understanding that Dramina had no intention of talking about it, His Highness wanted to avoid pursuing the matter any further, in case poking around in the bushes would cause an angry snake to rear its head. So he gave his approval on the matter of the carriage and horses. Fumu, a wise decision.

「Anyway, I approve the use of the carriage and horses. I’ll send an additional notice to the mourning team myself.」

After that, there were things that I wanted to ask about, such as hiding the dispatch of the mourning team, or arriving too early, in order to catch the Romal Empire off guard, but the goal is not to “try to catch them off guard,” it’s to actually “catch them off guard.”

The Grand Duke and the princess wanted to buy time by hiding the news of the emperor’s death from those who would start taking action upon hearing such news, but we aimed to harass the two of them by hiding the dispatched mourning team until the very last moment.

When I internally breathed out a sigh while thinking that this must be what it means to create conspiracy theories, the Headmaster, who had been silent until now, suddenly opened her mouth to speak.

When I think about it, this person is also in a very complicated position. She was the ally of the founding king, and at the same time, she is one of the most important people in Ente Forest, so even His Highness had to be careful when interacting with her.

「Your Highness, excuse me for interrupting. Dran, if you will be leaving Galois to be part of the guard for the mourning team, then will you please take Diadora with you?」

「Diadora? If it’s just taking her along, then I also want to bring her with me, but isn’t she working as a teacher now?」

「For that, we already have a replacement ready, and she won’t be in charge of any more classes.

Even though Selina and Dramina are with you, if you all end up getting separated from each other, then Diadora will get very upset.

Besides, this is a good opportunity for her to broaden her horizons, just like all of you. It may not be a very positive experience, but it is still experience」

「If that’s the case, then I have no problem with it, but, Your Highness, would you mind if we added one more person?」

「Diadora is that woman of the Black Rose Spirit, yes? I understand. Certainly, if she is the only one who is left out, that would be unfair. One more person shouldn’t be a problem」

His Highness graciously gave his approval, so Diadora would be joining the guard for the mourning team. And then after that, he asked about the plans of the mourning team and the etiquette and circumstances of the empire, and after receiving the information he needed to know in advance, His Highness left Galois.

It looks like our travels will be pleasant, but the final obstacle is that there should still be a certain girl who will be very upset about me leaving Galois.