Chapter 125
The Chase
“WHAT?! You’re telling me that Countess Mavis von Mireirine, Countess Reina von Reddlightning, and Countess Pauline von Beckett have all absconded?! Wh-what of Countess Mile von Ascham?! Where is the Countess Ascham?!” the prime minister bellowed, his face twisting at his subordinate’s report.
“Countess Ascham has been addressing the people twice a day from the balcony of the temporary shrine, as well as continuing her noble—or rather, queenly—education. In her free time, she lazes about eating sweets that she makes herself… I do worry she’s going to get fat if we don’t do something about that.”
“Hrm… Perhaps we ought to place a limit on her sweets eating… No! Never mind that! She hasn’t made any attempts to abscond, has she?”
“None!”
“Hmm… Well, although it’s true that the other three are indeed great heroes, they are essentially nothing more than regular humans, perhaps as strong as A-rank hunters, who followed in the footsteps of the Messenger. As long as we have Countess Ascham, with her blessings from the divine, I suppose we should have little to worry about… Still, we need the three of them to keep Countess Ascham anchored in this country. Should they relocate elsewhere, there’s a chance Countess Ascham may follow. We must locate them at once! And, just in case, we should establish another such anchor… Dispatch a courier at once to August Academy! I have a letter to send!”
***
“All right then, here we are. Being told to persuade the Marquis Ascham to return home is a bit of a bother, but at least being on an official errand for the king means that we have license to go straight in to see Miss Adele,” said Marcella. Monika and Aureana nodded in agreement.
Presently, the three of them stood before the temporary shrine where Mile resided. It would take time to erect a full stone shrine, so she was currently living in a wooden building that had been set up beside the construction site. Of course, temporary or not, it had been built under the joint influence of all three of the adjacent countries and even some beyond, with oversight from the church. Though it had been constructed in a hurry, the wooden building was quite splendid—a point of pride for all involved.
“Now then, let’s go in!”
“All right!!”
The Wonder Trio had come from the kingdom of Brandel, which directly bordered the Messenger’s holy lands, so they hadn’t had to pass through any other countries to get here. Helpfully, roughly a third of the shrine guards, priests, and shrine maidens were citizens of Brandel as well, and because the girls utilized the entrances their people were in charge of, no one had gotten in their way. It was widely known that the Wonder Trio were close friends of Marquis Ascham. No one dared stop them.
And obviously, being her close friends, they weren’t about to use an official audience chamber. Instead, they went straight through to her personal reception room, where a shrine maiden brought tea and cookies and then exited, leaving the four of them to catch up alone.
“Miss Marcela, Miss Monika, Miss Aureana! It has been quite a while! Thank you so much for coming!” said Mile.
The Trio did not respond.
“Um, hello?”
Still, they kept their mouths shut.
“Wh-whatever is the matter?”
Silence.
“U-um…”
“Who in the world are YOU?!” they all finally cried.
“What?”
The nanomachine-piloted Mile-001 stared, slack-jawed. They had been utterly assured in their powers of mimicry, and so the Wonder Trio’s reaction resulted in an unnaturally long pause.
“Where has Miss Adele gone?!”
“Give Adele back, you fake!”
“Is our Adele in danger?! If there’s some heinous plot going on to manipulate the lands with this impostor, we three will crush every last one of you!”
“Wah! J-just calm down, everyone, please!”
“Still you persist in acting as though you are Miss Adele… Ladies, it’s time to make this intruder wish they were dead!”
“All right!!”
“W-w-w-wait! Please wait! I can explain all of this!”
“Lady Mile,” said a shrine maiden, suddenly entering the room. “You have received a visit from Lady Mariette, the… What in the world are you all doing?!”
It was a well-known fact that Saint Mariette was a favorite of Mile’s, and as she had come in through the entrance governed by the guards and maidens from Tils, clearly none of them thought anything of interrupting Mile’s audience with her guests from Brandel, rivals in the battle for custody of Mile. In fact, interrupting them might even have been their goal. Making Mariette wait was never even on the table. So that the Brandel side would not interfere, Mariette had been led straight in to see Mile, unannounced—whereupon the attendant witnessed the visitors from Brandel ready to attack Lady Mile, the Messenger…
“Scoundrels! All of you, begone! Begone!!!”
“Aaah! Please, stop this! It’s fine, I promise! Nothing’s going on!!!”
Despite Mile-001’s desperate pleas, the situation was deteriorating by the second…
***
“Huff, huff… I guess it’s fine for now…” Mile-001 was out of breath but seemed to have calmed down for the moment. She had managed to defuse the situation, explaining to the guards who came rushing in that she and her old friends had merely gotten a bit rowdy reminiscing about their school days.
The Trio, aware that they were in danger of being arrested by their friend’s attendants, went along with Mile-001’s explanation. No one would ever question the legendary bonds between Mile and the Wonder Trio, so everyone was quick to believe that they had simply been doing a bit of roughhousing. It would have been more suspicious if they hadn’t all been so insistent, but since everyone present was on the same page, there was no reason to suspect any funny business.
All four apologized for making such a ruckus, and after a while, the guards, priests, and other attendants politely took their leave. Mile, who had been seeming rather down lately, had gotten a bit too worked up upon seeing her friends. This could only be seen as a pleasant change—a welcome one, really.
Once all the extras had made their exit, all that remained in the room was Mile-001, the Wonder Trio, Mariette, and some extra tea and cookies.
“It’s been too long, Mariette!” exclaimed Mile-001. “How have you been?”
Mariette said nothing, staring at Mile suspiciously.
“Um, Mariette…?”
Silence.
“Um…”
“Who are you?! What have you done with Miss Mile?!”
“What?! How did I get found out so easily?! It was so perfect! My act was so perfect!!!” screamed the nanomachines within Mile-001, scarcely able to believe what was happening.
***
“So, you’re saying that you’re not a person using magic to disguise yourself as someone else—you’re not a person at all?”
“Yes. Please think of me as a type of golem that the Goddess crafted in Lady Mile’s image. I am being controlled by what Lady Mile might call ‘magical sprites from a magical land.’ I am neither trying to usurp Lady Mile’s place, nor am I hoping to manipulate anyone. In fact, I was expressly made to lack the ability to even consider such a course of action,” Mile-001 explained, and again was met with silence from the four girls present.
None of it was a lie, really. It was the Creator who had crafted the nanomachines, not Mile, and while they had been directed and expertly instructed by Mile to craft Mile-001, it was the nanomachines, who had been crafted by the Creator, who had done the actual construction. Besides, it was not as though the nanomachines couldn’t lie. To explain things in a way that lesser life-forms could understand, it was occasionally necessary for them to use metaphors, simplify things, or even bend the facts, if need be.
“So then,” asked Marcela, “where is Miss Adele right now?” Therein lay the real issue. “Though I suppose if all of the members of Crimson Vow are currently missing, that would imply that they are together.”
After but a few milliseconds of thought, Mile-001—and the nanomachines—resigned themselves. Those few moments had, of course, been the time that it took for them to confer with nanomachines across the entire world through their central command servers.
“As you have surmised, the members of the Crimson Vow are all together, presently on another continent. In a land where no one knows of Lady Mile and her exploits, they are going to live a leisurely life as normal girls and normal hunt… Pfft!” Suddenly a sputter of laughter passed Mile-001’s lips.
“Pfffft!!!” The rest then burst out laughing as well.
“P-please, g-girls! It’s r-r-rude to laugh at M-Miss Adele… Guh-huh-huh-huh…”
“L-Lady Marcela, you sh-shouldn’t laugh at her like th-that… Wa ha ha ha…”
“Aaah ha ha ha ha!!!”
The whole room, Mile-001 included, dissolved into uproarious laughter.
***
“So anyway, that’s the gist of it,” said Mile-001, wrapping up the explanation.
It left a sour taste in the four girls’ mouths.
“So, you’re telling me that Miss Adele has abandoned the three of us to abscond along with the Crimson Vow?” asked Marcela.
“Oh, no—that’s not what she—”
“Miss Mile fled the continent, completely ignoring my plight?” asked Mariette.
“No, it’s not as though she’s in exile…”
“We’ll never forgive her!!!” The four scowled.
“Gaaaaah!”
Unhappily, the four continued their inquisition, lobbing back and forth such pointed questions as “I wonder what would happen if the various governments and the church and the masses were to find out about this?”
The result was as follows.
“So we keep this whole matter to ourselves?” asked Marcela, who had taken the lead. The other three girls, along with Mile-001, all nodded. “In that case, the agreed-upon measures are to be put into place as swiftly as possible. First off, we, the Wonder Trio, will return to our country, gather Princess Morena, and prepare to enact our plan. 001, the moment we are ready, you will summon the elder dragon known as Kragon and order him to ferry us. Mariette, once you have graduated from school, you will take up work as head priestess. That should stave off any marriage proposals, as well as allow you to assist 001… Does that sound good to everyone?”
“Yes!!!” cried the other three girls enthusiastically.
“Yes…” said Mile-001 reluctantly. The nanomachines were, of course, a bit dejected. While usually unable to act of their own volition, they had been ordered by Mile, who had an authorization level of 7, to act as her double. In other words, they were to act as Mile would in any given situation and do everything possible to avoid being found out. Their present actions were within acceptable parameters. This was what Mile would have done, given the circumstances…
In theory, this was a dream come true. The nanomachines, who could typically do no more than shoulder the magical burdens of humans and other living things, could now fully participate in human society, even inhabiting a human body in the form of Mile-001. The result should have been a joy they had never known before. Even the life of a public figure, which Mile had found so dull and tedious, was usually a refreshing pastime for them.
Yet all four of the girls had immediately seen through their mimicry of Mile, which they had believed to be flawless. The result was an utter loss of face for the nanomachines who were in charge of piloting Mile-001. They suddenly felt very sorry for Mile, sharing the sense of defeat that came with lowly creatures who were not even level-2—or rather, humans of only level-1—harassing Mile into letting them use her inventory space.
It was no wonder they were so downtrodden.
***
“What?! You’re saying I’m to go to another continent and form a relationship with the royals there?” Princess Morena’s eyes opened wide at Marcela’s proposal. “H-how in the world did this come about?”
“It’s a divine revelation, from the speaker of the gods herself!”
“Tell me more!” she replied immediately. And, once she had heard the details, she said, “Finally. Finally, my shining future has arrived!”
***
Three days later, there sat atop Princess Morena’s desk a single sheet of paper. Upon it was written the following:
I’m going to pay a visit to another country to forge ties. I’ll be back in a few days.
And then, along with various formal dresses and accessories, Princess Morena vanished.
***
“Now then, if you would, Kragon.”
“Leave it to me! We are kin in serving the Messenger—you may call upon me any time, honorable 001!”
Kragon had been summoned, here on the original continent, by Mile—Mile, whom he had just shuttled to the new one. Mile-001 had been forced to offer some explanation for this somewhat confusing series of events. As it turned out, Kragon was absolutely delighted to be asked a favor by a creature crafted by the gods themselves, not to mention one which was the spitting image of Lady Mile. To be considered on equal footing with such a being—to be useful to her, and to know a secret that even his elders did not—was a great honor.
Thus, Kragon was quite thankful toward the Wonder Trio for suggesting to 001 that it could rely on him. In his gratitude, he told them to call on him whenever they were in danger or had to travel long distances.
Of course, all of this was only possible because it was Kragon they were dealing with. Another elder dragon might only verbally acknowledge a human who had been useful to them, perhaps gift them a single scale at best. It was only natural that the lesser life-forms should be of service to an elder dragon—there was no need to go out of one’s way to thank or reward them every single time. That would be on par with expecting a master to reward a slave’s every act of service.
Yet here, they were being treated as friends. This was proof of Kragon’s high regard for the human race. Perhaps this was the result of his interactions with Mile, who had, after all, reattached his tail when Mavis had severed it. Perhaps it was the result of seeing Mile save the world. Or perhaps, this was simply an idiosyncrasy that Kragon already bore. Whatever the reason, Kragon felt about humans the way you might feel at having a kitten or a songbird bring you a diamond ring in its mouth. It would hardly be surprising for someone to look at such a creature and say, “Let’s keep this one.”
“Now then, we’ll be counting on you, Sir Kragon.”
“Very well. I shall protect you to the utmost while we are in transit. The wind shall not strike you, and I shall not let you fall from my back. Be at ease. Lady Mile did warm herself with a type of magic. It is quite chilly in the higher elevations, which seems to be rather unpleasant for fragile humans. She said that the air was ‘thin’ as well.”
“Yes, we heard about all of that from 001, so don’t worry. Now then, if you would…”
“Of course. You may climb atop my back.”
Holding Mile-001 in the same esteem as himself, Kragon referred to the construct with extreme politeness—while Marcela, who ranked it lower than the actual Mile, treated it more casually than she might her real friend.
And with that, Kragon took flight.
***
“The coastline of the new continent will soon be within sight. Shall we proceed as planned after that?”
“Yes. Let us detour around the spot where Miss Ad—er, Lady Mile—landed. But we won’t head straight for the capital, either. Let’s take a route that will prevent us from being seen from below. It will be time to change soon, Your Highness,” Marcela said, producing the princess’s formal wear and accessories from her inventory.
“Of course. It’s time for the greatest contest of my lifetime,” said Morena. “You can count on me! I always aim true!” she declared confidently, as she began changing her clothing.
She would be the main character of the events to come.
***
“Your Majesty, dreadful news! What appears to be an elder dragon has been spotted flying in circles above the capital…and in fact, above this very palace!”
“What?! Fetch the soldier at o—no, wait! Don’t do anything! We have no way to resist! If we anger this creature, it could destroy the capital—nay, the entire kingdom. Our only hope is to keep things peaceful. If something has occurred to cause its displeasure, we may have to try and appease it by having the perpetrators, maybe even the whole royal family, executed.”
“Y-Your Majesty…”
Were a king to anger an elder dragon, the least he could do was offer his own life to appease its wrath, lest the whole country be destroyed, its citizens along with it. There could be no other course of action.
“I will step out onto the balcony now. I do not wish for death and shall do everything in my power to make it out of this alive. Gather my wife and children. Should I need to order them to flee, or to stand and offer their lives, I must have them all in one place.”
“Y…yes, Your Majesty…”
Unlike his soldier, who looked quite grim, the king was incredibly composed. It was not because he was courageous; it was simply because he knew there was nothing he could do in the face of an elder dragon. Well, nothing except negotiating to determine the smallest possible number of lives that it would take to quell the dragon’s rage.
He had already given up on his own life.
Yes, knowing with certainty that he walked to face death, his heart was as placid as a waveless sea.
A moment later, the king stood on the palace balcony, commanding a soldier to wave the royal banner, at which signal the elder dragon slowly descended, landing in the courtyard before the veranda. It approached with thudding footsteps, its long neck extending nearer.
“Are you the king of this country?” asked the dragon.
“Y-yes, I am! I assume responsibility for all my people’s failures. I beseech you—my life is yours if it shall appease your anger,” the king shouted desperately.
“No. That is not why I have come. I am merely a ferry, serving on behalf of a friend. Until my friends conclude their business here… Yes, I think I shall rest in that square there in the meantime. Be at ease. I am not offended by any little thing that a lower life-form might do. In fact, as my friends might like to become better acquainted with this land, I shall humor any questions you might have of me. I may be all the more inclined to conversation if some delicious food could be provided? Why, if you gather some of those human larvae—er, children—and have them clean my scales, I may even grant you a reward. I require no polishing, simply someone to remove the grit from between them.”
“Wha…?”
The king looked as though his jaw might hit the floor. The soldier holding the banner, and the cabinet ministers who had also been prepared to offer their lives, all froze. The elder dragon’s booming voice, resonating throughout its massive body, had echoed all the way across the capital.
Finally, the people took notice of the four young girls atop the elder dragon’s back.
“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?!?!”
***
“I apologize for the surprise visit. I am Morena, third princess of the kingdom of Tils.”
“………”
The four girls who had been riding atop the elder dragon were shown immediately to one of the palace’s conference rooms. Obviously, there was no way that the king could have a human who’d been introduced as an elder dragon’s “friend” taken to the public audience chamber, where he might gaze down at them from his throne. The dragon had said he wouldn’t be offended by any “little” thing a human might do—which led one to believe he might be quite cross indeed if the offense were not a small one. Having a human he considered a “friend” be treated as lower than any other human was potentially outside of the bounds of what would be acceptable to a prideful elder dragon.
Best to err on the side of caution. Especially when the fate of the kingdom depended on it.
And so, it was determined safer to bring the young women here, to the conference room, where they could conduct their discourse on equal footing, rather than having one looking down upon the other. Of course, in this case, “conference room” did not denote a long table with folding chairs and spartan decor. It was a place where the king might confer with influential foreign entities, and the table, chairs, and furnishings were all of the highest of quality. It was a place where great minds met, and thus all positions were equal—the optimal setting for such a meeting. Really, there was no other choice. Even if these were visitors who were to be treated with the highest respect, there was still no way that four young ladies whom they had never seen before would be seated in a higher position than the king.
“I have come here,” Morena continued, “as a member of the royal family, to discuss the potential of establishing relations with your family.” As no one else was speaking up, Morena was forced to take the lead, but here, the king finally raised his voice with a question.
“Establishing relations with the royal family?”
Yes, typically, one would speak of “an exchange between nations,” and so on and so forth. Yet here they were visited not by a diplomat but by a princess herself—with only three other girls as her guard.
Of course, what need would she have for a guard when she came here on the back of an elder dragon? thought the king. An elder dragon would never let a mere soldier ride atop it. This one perhaps only allows cute young girls to do so…
The king had not broached the topic so far, but it seemed possible to him. It wasn’t surprising that his thoughts had turned in that direction—after all, even Earth had tales of mythical beasts that allowed no one but pure young maidens to ride them. This would also explain why the only guards might be other young girls, as it was a third princess and not some mere diplomat who had come to them. Young girls didn’t usually serve as diplomats, but if there were, only a member of the royal family would be suitable to represent the kingdom. That said…
“Do you not mean an exchange between nations? Establishing a link between royal families seems a bit specific…”
Perhaps she was merely being circuitous. Or did she have some other intention?
“Ah, yes. The thing is, I am not here as a representative of my country. I traveled here as an individual, thinking I might like to make friends with any other girls of my age who may exist in the royal family… That’s why I didn’t tell my parents that I was coming here.”
“WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!?!?!” everyone screamed.
***
“So, that’s what’s going on,” Morena concluded, having finished her rather roundabout explanation.
The Trio remained behind her in a defensive stance, being here as her personal guard. Of course, there was an elder dragon in the square before the palace, so their presence was somewhat superfluous. No one would dare lay a finger on this girl.
“I see. You are not visiting our kingdom in an official capacity as a representative of your country but simply as the ‘third princess’?”
“Correct. As a plain old human and friend of the elder dragon Kragon, I wish to make friends with others my age of similar standing… I’ve become a little too well known already in my own kingdom and those surrounding, so I can no longer make friends who I might consider equals, people my age who I can talk with naturally.”
HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE NORMAL WHEN YOU’RE FRIENDS WITH AN ELDER DRAGON?!?!?!?! the king and all his cabinet screamed internally. Then—A little? Are you really only a “little” too well known where you come from?
“W-well,” the king stammered, “I suppose that is reasonable. So then, you have come to our kingdom…”
“Yes! To make friends with this kingdom’s princesses… Er, are there any? Princesses around my age, that is. If there are no princesses here who would care to be my friend, I suppose we could move on to the next country…”
“There are! There most certainly are! Four of them!!!” the king desperately shouted. It absolutely would not do to have this foreign princess with the power of an elder dragon on her side making friends with the princesses of neighboring nations, or worse yet, enemy nations. Shameful as his actions might be as a father, he had to put such feelings aside. His duty to his kingdom came first. Such was what it meant to be a member of the royal family—to be the king. There was duty and sacrifice that came along with that status. It was not such an easy life, being nobility or royalty.
Mind you, setting aside the issue of whether or not this king had any daughters, Morena’s party still didn’t even know this nation’s name… But kings often kept a number of concubines in addition to their wives to avoid issues with the line of succession. In a civilization of this level, with the childhood mortality rate as high as it was, it was not unusual for royal parents to rack up at least three or four sons—more, if possible. This made it likely there would be a roughly equivalent number of princesses, and so Morena had decided the chances were quite good that she might find the girls she sought.
That said, there was also the chance that they might be too far off from Morena in age, or even already married. In that case, she would have been perfectly happy with a daughter of a duke or marquis… She would, of course, be avoiding any princes for fear of anyone getting ideas in their head.
“Well then, I simply must have tea with them later…” she said.
“Of course! We’ll prepare it right away!” the king shouted, his eyes bloodshot.
After a short discussion, Morena’s party was shown to a tearoom that had clearly been made ready with great haste. In attendance were Morena and her bodyguards (aka, the Wonder Trio) along with the king’s four daughters. The only others present were the maids who were there to wait upon them.
Obviously, the palace could not have any guards of their own present—though Morena was accompanied by her entourage, they were all young girls, clearly there more for decoration and moral support than for defending the princess with their blades. Perhaps she had deemed it uncouth to travel around with grizzled men as her guards, or perhaps she thought it rude to bring such men into a palace, as though it were a sign that she did not have trust in the king.
Either way, Morena was accompanied only by the Wonder Trio, and the princesses only by their maids. (Though there was a chance that the maids might have some kind of combat ability. Could they be maids-slash-guards?)
It was determined that the Wonder Trio would also be served tea, so that the two parties might have matching numbers. With that, the eight girls’ afternoon tea began.
***
The tea party concluded without incident, about an hour and a half later. The four girls were guided to a room at the palace, where they would be staying the night.
“The third one, perhaps?”
“I think so…”
“The first one was a little too old, and she seems a bit overambitious…”
“The second one was a little unnerving.”
“The fourth one was sweet and friendly, but a bit too juvenile.”
“By process of elimination, that leaves number three.”
The four were unanimous in their decision.
***
After a bit of resting in their room, it was time for dinner.
For some reason, though they were posing as her bodyguards, the Wonder Trio had been given places beside Morena, rather than standing a few paces behind ready to draw their swords at any moment, as a bodyguard should. Between this and the tea party, it was clear that no one really thought of them as bodyguards, assuming they were merely other noblewomen serving as the princess’s entourage. Perhaps the palace thought they would be cross if they were separated from her.
The local royals’ retinue totaled seventeen, between the king, his main wife, five princes, four princesses, and six others who appeared to be ministers. The only ones who spoke to the Trio and Morena directly were the king, queen, and princesses. The ministers chimed in when others addressed them, and the princes mostly talked among themselves. This was unsurprising, as the princes would wish only to speak to Morena, the guest of honor. Marcela and the others were separated from them by a wide gulf in their standing.
The dinner conversation was safe and inoffensive. The king and others seemed uncertain how best to handle Morena, but the princesses had no trouble chitchatting. Either they felt they had grown close to her during their tea party, or they were simply lively conversationalists to begin with. The princes, who had probably been directed to try and charm her, were spinning their wheels in vain. Morena had no time for anyone who would look down upon her companions, after all.
Once they had returned to their room, Morena handed a note to one of the maids, asking her to deliver it to the third princess…
***
A short time later, the third princess arrived at Morena’s room, having received a note that read, Please come to my room.
The note had, of course, been shown to the king before it made it to the third princess, but he had found nothing to object to.
The four visitors then explained the reason that they had summoned the third princess here.
“W-wait, you’re saying that if I pray to the Goddess, I can get storage magic?!”
“Shhhh!!!”
Naturally, on either side of the room there were spies with their ears pressed to the walls and doors, their full attention focused on what was happening inside. They would most certainly have heard the princess’s exclamation. In truth, it didn’t really matter if this conversation was overheard; even though they were keeping up the pretense of discretion, Morena and the Wonder Trio knew that everything they discussed was certain to be pried out of the third princess later. The reason they had called only the third princess here was out of consideration, as they could not later declare in front of everyone else, “We have selected only the third princess. No others need apply.”
“Yes,” said Marcela. “The space may be up to two meters on each side and two meters high. It can only be used for special purposes, however; it isn’t for everyday use. Its primary purpose is…”
She went on to explain the details.
This storage space was to be used as a gate that would let the three of them travel between this country and their own. Morena would be in charge of the gate on the other side. The contents of the storage had to be checked once a day, without fail, to see if anything new had been placed inside. If they wanted to go from one place to another, they would leave a piece of paper with a message, instructing her to check the box again at the appointed time in order to pull the three of them out…in a place where no one else could see her, of course. After reading the message, she could place her own note inside stating whether or not the requested time would be an issue. If the timing was inconvenient, they would change it.
The storage space could also, Marcela explained, be used as an emergency shelter. If she were ever to be attacked, or abducted, or drowning, or falling from a cliff, she could take refuge inside in an instant, after which point she would be rescued in what would feel like no time at all to her. Afterward, an elder dragon would carry her back home, at the Wonder Trio or Mile-001’s request.
It was a lot to take in.
It was unlikely that any assassins would be making attempts on a third princess’s life in the first place, as she was not very high up in the line of succession. Even if she were a target, abduction was more likely, in which case she could escape without issue. But still, this was big. Actually, this was huge. As long as she was not killed instantly, the princess could be extracted from any situation, along with anyone else who was with her at the time.
“Should the palace ever be attacked in a war or a coup, you can help the king and queen and other high-ranking nobles escape as well. A tremendous safety measure, wouldn’t you say? In exchange for just a little bit of a chore every so often, we can offer you safety and the chance at national acclaim.”
“Th-that’s true…”
“So, do you accept?”
“I accept!” the princess replied at once.
There was no question of denying them. The princess had likely been told by the king to accept whatever they offered, unless it was truly perilous. And perhaps even then…
The immense honor that was receiving storage magic from the Goddess. The powerful bonds she could forge with a princess who had connections with not only elder dragons but the Goddess as well. And a means of assuring the safety of herself and all those around her?
There was no royal—nay, no living human—who would refuse such a thing.
The inventory style of storage magic utilized an extradimensional space, so in fact its capacity was limitless. Granting that as a boon to the princess of any one country could cause a lot of problems. Depending on how she used it, there could even be military applications. As such, the nanomachines had applied software-level limitations to restrict the third princess’s storage to a two-meter cube. This was enough to hold no more than one or two wagons. Though there were very few around who wielded even that much storage space, it was not entirely unheard of.
Also, while these two linked inventories could be used to let others travel back and forth, the user themself could not make use of it. Or rather, they could, but would then require Kragon to ferry them back home. This was no issue for the Trio, but out of the question for either princess. However, so long as they traveled with a member of the Wonder Trio, they could return via the Trio’s shared inventory, so it did not entirely preclude occasional intercontinental travel.
…Not that either of the princesses knew about that secret yet.
“Now then, let us begin the ritual,” said Marcela. “Princess Morena, please stand beside Princess Estorina.” Morena did as directed. “In the name of the Goddess, I, Marcela, beseech you. Great Nanoma, please grant these two princesses the power of inventory!”
She had worked out the particulars with Mile-001 ahead of time, so this ceremony was only for show. In fact, the measures to bestow the two of them with inventory magic (limited version) were already in place. In reality, the two were actually only being granted dedicated nanomachines, who were to specialize in enacting the inventory magic.
What Mile had done for the Trio, Mile-001 could do for the two princesses. With a remote command, from far, far away…
Again, the rite that Marcela was now performing was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. But Morena and Estorina trembled with genuine emotion nevertheless…
***
The next morning, just after breakfast, Morena and company took their leave before the king or any others could stop them. For now, the Wonder Trio would return home. They could not leave Morena to travel on Kragon all alone, and they had some loose ends to tie up back in Brandel before they could set out on another extended journey.
The king and his ministers had, by now, heard everything that had been discussed the night before. As such, it was not unreasonable that they should want to strengthen their ties with these girls, who not only were recognized as friends by an elder dragon but who were able to bestow the blessings of the Goddess on others. However, now that their objective was complete, the four had no reason to remain in the area.
“Sir Kragon, we are finished here. If you would…” said Marcela. The dragon nodded magnanimously, ordering away the scholarly sort he was chatting with, along with the children who had been cleaning his scales and other such bystanders.
“That was an arduous task, young larvae,” he said to the children. “Take these as your reward.”
He withdrew two scales from storage and tossed them at the children. As an elder dragon, with level-2 authorization, he could, naturally, use storage magic. Apparently, he kept some of his own shed scales expressly for the purpose of rewarding humans. He did not go so far as to peel off a fresh scale on the spot; that would probably hurt and might be tender after. The gaze with which Kragon regarded the children was akin to the gentle look a large Earth animal might give the little birds that pluck the parasites from its skin.
“Sc-scales! Elder dragon scales! Just like new! Two of them!!!” screamed the surrounding onlookers. There were probably some merchants amongst the bunch.
“Do not dare keep them for yourselves. Sell them for a ransom and distribute the coin amongst the children… I am entrusting you with this responsibility. Understood?”
“Y-yessir! I pledge it on my life!!” the scholarly fellow whom Kragon had just been chatting with declared earnestly, as though he was honored to receive such an assignment. In fact, he almost certainly was honored. He had been entrusted by an elder dragon to handle quite a large sum of money.
Most of the dozens of children who had been cleaning Kragon’s scales were orphans from orphanages or urchins who squatted in rundown shacks and on riverbanks. How many tens of gold pieces were they about to get their hands on?
The adults who had foisted this task off on the orphans, thinking it too dangerous and degrading for their own children, were suddenly filled with a deep sense of regret, but they had only themselves to blame for their shortsightedness.
With Morena and the Wonder Trio on his back, Kragon rose slowly into the air, relying on his magic so as not to blow away all the bystanders with the beating of his wings. Once at a sufficient altitude, he took off at high velocity.
Later, the people extolled the praises of the four girls, who had been instrumental in persuading an elder dragon—a being akin to a god—to come to their country, share his wisdom, and save their orphans. The palace made a public proclamation of the new close bonds that had been formed with a beautiful princess who was a friend to the elder dragon, and naturally, they purchased the two scales at an exorbitant price. It was a price so high, in fact, that one might doubt the purchaser’s sanity, but they had no choice but to be overgenerous, in case the dragon himself should later inquire whether they had done as he had asked. This was in addition to the fact that the scales were an important proof of their friendship with the elder dragon. They could not risk a merchant buying such important artifacts and selling them to another nation.
When they later heard the passengers of a foreign vessel tell about how they had been rescued by four Dragon Priestess Sisters who rode on the back of an elder dragon, Princess Morena’s popularity skyrocketed even further…
***
Princess Estorina began checking the storage space about fifty times a day to see whether there was any contact from Princess Morena. Finally, she found a letter—or rather, a small card with a single-line message. She extracted the card with great haste and read:
The snacks I was keeping here in storage are gone! Est, how could you?!
“O-oh no! I’d better respond!”
I took them out when I was checking to see if there was anything new inside, and they just looked so delicious that I… I’m sorry! To make it up to you, I’ll put some of my snacks inside tomorrow. Please enjoy them. Tomorrow’s snacks will be made from pineapple, our local specialty. I’m sure they must be a rare find in your own country.
“Okay, that should take care of things,” Princess Estorina told herself. “Wait. There’s another letter? But I apologized! How obstinate of you, Lady Morena! Let’s see…”
I just had a thought. What if I were to use my personal funds to purchase something that you could sell at a premium in your country, and then you were to sell it and use that money to purchase something that would sell for a lot here?’
“…! Th-that’s…wait. Does that mean that if we were to exchange mercantile goods, rather than foreign coins that would be worth nothing more than the metal they were minted from, we could both make a killing without losing any money from the exchange? …No. No, no, no, no. No! U-unless…
“As I recall, Lady Morena said that spices are quite expensive in her country but that honey is rather cheap… No, no, that’s thinking too small. If we look at gold and jewels and high-value luxury goods for which the prices differ between our two countries… Doing this on a national level would risk causing a scandal or a mass hemorrhaging of certain gemstones or such, but if we’re just doing some small trades… She did say she’d use her own personal funds. That Morena had a good head on her shoulders. I believe we are very much of the same mind…”
Let’s do it! she wrote back.
Very well. Let us investigate immediately what goods can be sold for high prices that will not take up too much space. Also, please procure the services of a reliable, tight-lipped merchant, someone with a moderate business, not too big or too small, as an intermediary. Choose carefully, don’t rush… Our glorious future awaits!!!
Truly, this pair of princesses were up to no good…
***
“Stop in at the guild.”
“Done!”
“Close out the bill for our lodging.”
“Done!”
“Express our thanks to all those who have been aiding us.”
“Done!”
“Prepare the necessary clothing, food, and other supplies for travel.”
“Done!”
“Stock up on things we can sell for a good price on the other side.”
“Done!”
“Great job, girls. As things stand, we’ve been the targets of royals, nobles, wealthy merchants, and their heirs the kingdom over. They want us as betrothed or adopted daughters or concubines…but it’s not even us they’re really after. They just want us to be bait for Miss Adele. As something they can show off to get the attention of the common folk. And as mothers, to introduce our magical talent into their bloodlines. Is that what the two of you wish for?”
“No! No! A thousand times no!”
“Besides, it’s not as though we have any magical talent. We simply seem to—thanks to Miss Adele teaching us the secrets of magic that were passed down through her family and are never, ever to be shared, as well as the blessings we have received from the spirits from the realm of magic. It is but a boon…along with the results of us working ourselves to the bone, if I may be so bold.”
Marcela continued her speech. “Who knows what might happen to us the moment someone gets their mitts on us with ill intent in mind and finds out that we cannot do as they desire? What say you of heading to this so-called ‘new continent,’ where no one but the Crimson Vow knows us, and it is almost impossible for any information about us to spread there within our lifetimes?”
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Go, go, go!!!”
“Well then, I suppose we are all in agreement. It’s not as though we’ll never be returning to this place. In fact, we’ll probably have to make quite a few trips back here, perhaps frequently enough for no one to even notice we’ve gone. As long as our families hear from us regularly, there shouldn’t be an issue. As for her Highness, Princess Morena…well, she considers herself indispensable to our transit. She is not yet aware of the fact that we can simply have Mr. Kragon carry us or that if we transport only one or two of us via the Morena-Est connection, we can transfer the rest of the party by ourselves.”
“Our plans are in place, and our destiny awaits. Wonder Trio, roll out!”
“All right!!!”
And so, the Wonder Trio headed to the palace to test out the Morena-Est Connection, a revolutionary new form of intercontinental travel, the first of its kind in the world. Even Mile was not yet aware of this innovation.
These days, the girls only traveled to the palace when forcibly summoned there—but not this time. Their hearts were soaring, their faces full of hopes and dreams.
They were off to a new land, where old friends and new adventures awaited them…
***
“We thank you mostly humbly for your services.”
The Wonder Trio thanked the third princess Est—Estorina, rather—before heading for the castle gates. This country was currently at peace, so while there was an inspection upon entering the castle, the way out was free and clear. And so, no guard so much as raised an eyebrow at the Wonder Trio as they exited the castle, their staves and swords and armor stored in their inventories so that they would appear like normal citizens of the capital.
How would they travel back through the gates when it was time to return? They were but three little girls, so if they simply hid away anything that would mark them as hunters, as they did now, they could certainly manage something. Of course, while the three of them were choosing to be optimistic, as cohorts of the Dragon Princess, they could probably be shown straight to Princess Estorina’s room without the slightest pretense. They had not realized this yet, but before long, they would understand the benefits they had reaped in simply being associated with the now quite popular Morena…
The Trio had only made such a show of getting involved with royalty for one reason: On this brand-new continent, where there was no one that they knew for certain they could trust in, they certainly could not rely on just anyone to be in charge of operating their gate. What if they were betrayed and led straight into a cell? They could all escape into their inventory, but there would be no one to pull them out on the other side. It would be game over.
It was vital that the person in charge of their gate think that betraying the Wonder Trio would lead to the ruin of their own country. And it had to be someone who could never choose to sacrifice said country to apprehend the Wonder Trio. In other words: a royal. Aristocrats, wealthy merchants, and other such people could turn the force of the entire country against the royal family, if they chose to. Whether by assassination squad or other illegal means, royals would do everything in their power to crush Morena’s enemies and prevent the elder dragons’ wrath from falling on their land. And, under their command, anyone who angered Princess Morena’s associates would be setting themselves against the whole nation as well.
As safety measures went, it was a very powerful one.
“Well, let us not delay. I’m sure that Miss Adele and the others will have headed straight for the capital from the port city they landed in, so let’s go straight there ourselves and intercept her along the way. We must make certain to collect as much information as possible in each town we pass, though fortunately, the Crimson Vow tends to stand out. It doesn’t seem likely we’d pass them by without realizing it. Now then, Wonder Trio! Roll out!”
“All right!!!”
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