Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 7 - Chapter 3.2

2

“Hey, Alice, are those baby dragons? This country’s people sure keep some dangerous pets.”

“They don't have any wings, so they’re more like lizards than dragons. I hear dragon worship is all the rage in Grunade, so I guess they worship dragon-like creatures as well.”

Having been teleported into Grunade, Alice and I tossed Rose and Russell into a room of the inn we’ll be using as our base of operations before heading out to the city to do some scouting.

There’s a lot of lizards that resemble Komodo dragons wandering around the city. The owner of a fruit shop tosses some of the fruit he sells to a lizard that approaches his store.

Being located at the foot of a mountain range, they seem to have a great deal more water than the wastelands around the Grace Kingdom, and the city seems a lot more prosperous as a result.

The Midgard Mountains that we can see from the city are devoid of any trees. I wonder if that’s because they've already cleared them for lumber.

The architecture and fashion styles don’t seem all that different from Grace or Torace.

As we observe the people coming and going along the streets, Alice speaks to me in Japanese.

“<There’s more people here than in Grace. Plus, there’s a decent number of men since they haven't been fighting a war. The city’s protected by a giant wall, so it looks like this country would be a pain to invade.>”

“<I guess that’s why the Demon Lord Army went after Grace instead. That, and they were closer.>”

Based on the fact that none of the city’s residents seem bothered by us chatting in Japanese, they probably have pretty extensive trade relations with other countries as well.

After peering at the wares offered at various shops, Alice tilts her head quizzically.

“For a country so close to the mountains, there aren't a lot of stores that deal in metal and stone. Usually, mountain ranges are rich in mineral resources, but maybe they already exhausted all of the veins? Otherwise, I doubt they'd build a city in a place like this.”

“Maybe it’s built around an artifact as well? The city of Grace in the Grace Kingdom was built where it is now because they couldn’t move the rainmaking artifact.”

Cities and countries on this planet tend to be built near ancient ruins or artifacts.

So it wouldn’t be surprising if the same was true of Grunade.

“I'd be interested in looking into whether there’s an artifact or not. I’ve also been researching sorcery stones, but there’s way too much about them that makes no sense. Once we get our business finished. it’d be good to take some time to do a survey.”

“Not to jinx us, but this job would be super easy. There’s still the matter of the missing Lady Belial to deal with, so let’s get this cakewalk over with!”

After hearing the assignment from the employer, I have to ask them to repeat themselves.

“Excuse me, can you say that again?”

We're in a receiving room in Grunade castle.

Having finished our scouting disguised as tourists, we’ve come to the castle to get our easy little job out of the way.

“The assignment is to retrieve the national treasure from the feline monster lurking in the forest. We do not care if the feline monster is alive or dead, but we can offer you an additional reward if you kill it.”

The middle-aged butler-like man begins explaining the assignment again.

The woman in her early twenties standing next to him and looking over at us appraisingly is evidently this kingdom’s first princess, Christopher Lydia Grunade.

She has long blond hair, strong blue eyes, and the air of a ruler.

So far there’s no problem with the assignment.

The fact that they don’t care about the feline monster’s state is fine for us since we have no intention of fighting Tiger Man.

The problem is...

“The feline monster who stole our national treasure also kidnapped the young second princess of the kingdom and retreated into the woods, and he continues to attack anyone who enters them. Our knights aren't used to fighting in forested terrain, which is why we have been forced to swallow our pride and ask for help from you, the Kisaragi Corporation.”

That’s the moment when Tiger Man blew past the line that should never be crossed.

He’s finally done it.

Ordinarily, I'd suspect he didn’t actually do it, but I can't possibly defend him after learning that the second princess is a young girl.

Even as I’m struggling to contain my unease, Alice responds with a perfect professional smile.

“I understand. We will accept this assignment. We'll do whatever is necessary to eliminate the feline monster.”

“Huh? No, eliminating the feline monster is secondary but... V-very well.”

Yes. The hard rule in Kisaragi is that going after children gets you the death penalty.

Alice is completely committed to dealing with Tiger Man, and her determination seems to cow the butler, who simply nods, prompting the princess to speak.

“You seem to have your doubts about the situation.”

“......? ...Huh? You mean me?”

I’m taken aback as she directs her comment at me, and the princess responds with a faint smile and a cold gaze.

“You don’t need to tiy to hide it. I’m sure you’re wondering why we haven't brought up the rescue of the kidnapped second princess, yes?”

Actually, I’m just shocked because one of my comrades has become a serious sex offender.

...As I’m trying to find the words to express this, the princess smiles self-deprecatingly.

“You are aware of what is going on in this country, yes? That the faction backing me, the first princess, and the faction backing my younger brother, the first prince, are fighting over the crown due to my father’s sudden passing.”

Sorry, I didn't know that.

The princess seems to take my silence as acknowledgment and continues with a wintry smile.

“I'm the one who was given the responsibility of managing the national treasure. This country doesn't function without that sorcery stone. If the elder daughter who has the strongest claim to the throne loses the national treasure and her rival, the prince recovers it, and it’s clear who will have the strongest claim to the throne, isn't it? Meaning...the one behind all of this is my brother.”

Sorry, I'm pretty sure that’s not it at all.

“Considering how sentimental he can be, he’s thought this one through pretty well. If he ruins my reputation and proclaims he recovered the national treasure, then the throne is as good as his. The reason he kidnapped our younger sister was to make sure there weren’t any loose ends, since she has a claim to the throne as well. I thought he wouldn’t risk hurting her, but...”

I’m pretty sure not a single hair on your sister’s head has been harmed.

“Simply put, there’s no reason why a monster would come and steal something they can’t eat like a sorcery stone, especially when it’s heavily guarded. Then there’s the fact that there were plenty of more appetizing people around, but the monster chose to abduct my young sister instead. Why? All of this only makes sense if my brother is the one who sent that beast.”

I’m sorry, we can actually provide an alternative explanation that makes perfect sense.

“Still, I wasn't able to ascertain how my brother was able to control the monster. That makes it impossible to accuse him of the crime... But then we received this letter.”

The princess glances over to the butler, who takes a letter out of his fob and spreads it on the table.

“This is a note from the Grace Kingdom. It speaks of how an organization calling itself the Hiiragi Agency of Order, which has conquered the Torace Kingdom, sent a feline monster to attack the Grace Kingdom.”

“Indeed, that was quite the incident. They came out of nowhere and started causing massive problems in the city.”

“Yeah, and one of our officers, a woman named Viper, was seriously injured in the process.”

The princess’s expression sours further as Alice and I follow up on the letter’s contents.

“You see, there’s actually a representative who claims to be from the Hiiragi Agency of Order here in this country as we speak—”