That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 3 - Chapter 3.2

When Vandel reentered the castle, the guards within were panicked, rushing around.

“What happened?” the old knight demanded of a guard that he managed to catch.

The man’s first reaction was to give Vandel an annoyed look. When he realized who was talking to him, though, he flinched. “Y-you’re…the Black Knight!” He hurriedly saluted Vandel.

Vandel furrowed his brow in irritation. “What’s all this fuss about?” he asked again.

“R-right! You see, sir, we found some of the guards on duty unconscious. Someone seems to have broken into the castle.”

Vandel’s eyes widened. Now it made sense that the castle had descended into such chaos. “Are the princesses all right?!” he boomed.

The guard shrank back. “I-I don’t know. That’s what we were going to check on next.”

“Enough!” Vandel shoved the guard away and started for the corridor, only to encounter Hertrude, a retinue of guards and maids at her heels. She was still in her nightclothes, a dressing gown secured over them.

This princess’s full name was Hertrude Sera Fanoss, and she was Hertrauda’s elder sister. The commotion had woken her suddenly, and her long, silky black hair looked a bit bedraggled. Vandel saw easily how shaken she was at the news of an intruder; her alabaster skin had turned ashen.

Vandel rushed to Hertrude’s side. Rather than greeting her with the traditional bow to show his reverence for her, his foremost concern was checking her over to ensure she was unharmed. He knew doing so was most discourteous of a retainer, but her safety was of paramount importance to him.

“Are you all right, Your Highness?!”

At a glance, her clothes weren’t disheveled, and she at least had no visible wounds.

“Yes, I’m unharmed,” she told him. “But what’s going on? All I’ve been told is that there’s an intruder. No one seems to know anything more than that.”

The hand hanging limp at Vandel’s side, hidden from Hertrude’s view, clenched into a tight, trembling fist. He was livid at the incompetence the castle’s knights and soldiers had displayed tonight.

They should all be ashamed of causing the princesses this undue anxiety! I knew I shouldn’t have left Gelatt to lead. That was a terrible mistake on my part. 

Despite his simmering anger, Vandel affected complete composure. “I’ll look into the matter personally,” he said to Hertrude, his voice soft and gentle so as to reassure her.

“I would appreciate that.” She paused and scanned the area. “Is Hertrauda all right?”

When Vandel likewise realized that the other princess hadn’t shown up, the blood drained from his face.

A soldier rushed into the room with them. “The intruders attacked Princess Hertrauda!” he shouted, blanching as the words left his lips. “There were two of them! They stole both Magic Flutes and are on the run!”

Vandel shot forward. “Get me an Armor!” he shouted.

These scoundrels have some nerve targeting Princess Hertrauda directly! I’ll cut them down myself!

***

As soon as we’d made it out the castle window, we were confronted by a staggering number of Armors whizzing around in the air. If that wasn’t enough to make my blood run cold, a number of searchlights pierced the darkness as well, hunting for us.

“Looks like they know we were in the castle,” I said. “We need to get out of here quick.”

“Couldn’t agree more!”

We retrieved our airbike from where we’d hidden it in some bushes and hopped on. Marie settled in behind me, wrapping both arms around my waist. Her viselike grip made me smile bitterly to myself. One wouldn’t normally expect a woman to have such a powerful grasp.

“You’d better not fall off,” I teased. There was no way that was possible, given how firmly she’d latched on.

“I’ll resent you forever if you somehow knock me off,” she retorted.

The bike slowly lifted and hovered in the air. I turned the accelerator and felt the engine roar to life beneath me.

“Our ability to interfere with the enemy’s magic-detection capabilities remains stable,” Luxion reported. “Additionally, our optical camouflage will prevent visual detection.”

We sped away from the castle, shooting through the air at top speed with no enemy Armors in pursuit.

“Easy-peasy!” I cried happily. At long last, we could enjoy our school lives without worrying constantly about our entire nation being annihilated.

But my relief was short-lived.

“Hold on a sec. There’s an Armor headed straight for us!” Marie shouted.

“Wha—?” I craned my neck to look behind me.

Marie was right. A single Armor blasted through the darkness, making a beeline for us. It was the same model used by the castle guards, and its right hand carried an enormous sword. In its left hand was a rifle, which it was now aiming at us.

“Engaging emergency evasive maneuvers!” said Luxion. In the next instant, the airbike’s handles moved on their own, yanking us left. A bullet narrowly missed us, piercing straight through the spot where we’d been a second earlier. It took me several seconds to digest the fact that we’d almost died.

“Whoever’s piloting that can see us?!” I screeched.

Our optical camouflage was supposed to prevent exactly that, but it wasn’t doing anything to deflect this enemy’s vision.

Luxion began analyzing the suit. “The Armor is the same model employed by all the castle guards. However, the pilot is the Black Knight himself—the most dangerous person we could possibly encounter. I already had Arroganz on standby in case of an emergency. I will deploy it now.”

The mention of the Black Knight sent a chill down my spine.

“Wait,” Marie said. The tremor in her voice indicated that she was as unsettled by this development as I was. “What’s the Black Knight doing here?!”

“My information indicated that he wouldn’t be posted at the castle during this mission. It seems that assessment was off, however.”

The airbike zigzagged through the air, avoiding the barrage of bullets as the enemy sped closer and closer to us. I continued watching the Armor, brow knit. “We can’t throw him off at all, huh?”

Behind the Black Knight was a large detachment of Armors following him to join the pursuit. If we didn’t pull out of here fast, they’d soon surround us.

“You’re going to have to take over driving,” I told Marie.

“What’re you going do?!”

“Me? I’m going to…do this!” I peeled her hands from my waist and dove off the side of the bike, hurtling through the air. As I fell, I caught a brief glimpse of Marie’s shocked face. Hey, it’s not like this was my first choice, either, you know.

“You better catch me, Arroganz!” I howled.

While I prayed silently and waited, Arroganz swooped in and snatched me out of the air.

“I trusted that you’d make it in time, partner!” I said.

Arroganz’s eyes flashed several times, as if responding to my voice.