Chapter 630: Encounter・No Encounter

Threatened by an evil kin hinting at self-destruction, I had no choice but to come to Thirdrema... and now, in a city far more crowded than usual, I was pondering how to get to the Grand Duke's Mansion (which seriously just looks like a castle) without drawing attention.

"Emul, got any good ideas?"

"Why don't you just cover yourself with a white cloth again desu wa?"

"Nah, there's already rumors of massive PvP... ah, a war spreading around, so I get the feeling there are some pretty strong players hanging out. In the worst-case scenario, I could get caught."

Just because I got the Speed Holder title doesn't mean I can constantly move at max speed, and right now I don't have Critical Speed. The chances of getting caught aren't zero, and if I stand out too much and reach the Grand Duke's place, who knows what Pencilgon will say to me.

As expected, it's safer to just play it cool and sneak around in girl mode... Just as I was thinking that, "something" caught my eye and pulled at my consciousness.

"Hm?"

"What is it desu wa?"

"No, I feel like I just saw a name that's snagging in my memory..."

Damn it, it's hard to tell in this crowd... For now, I'll throw on my disguise gear, intentionally leave my face visible with an open headpiece, and camouflage my actual presence behind the general image of "Sunraku wearing weird headgear."

Alright, let's go... Based on the direction he vanished from my sight, he should have gone that way.

"Emul, don't mess up and blow my cover."

"Nfufu, it's no exaggeration to say my mimicry skills are the best among my siblings desu wa!"

Is that really something to be proud of...? Well, whatever. Clad in armor with extra fluffy fur attachments, I waded through the crowd, digging through a mountain of ShanFro memories to match that earlier sense of déjà vu and locate that Person X-san.

Pemupon... No.

Denty... No.

Gum Syrup ☆ Takaya... No.

Leatherette... Hmm? Is it this guy? Nah, doesn't seem like it.

Zanryu Engetsu... No.

Orcelott... No, wait, this guy's name was definitely... uhh, Orcelott, Orcelott... Ah, I remember.

"That's her little brother."

Pencilgon's younger brother, the guy who picked a fight with us after we beat Wethermon and got his ass handed to him by Rei-shi. I think it was called Friend Rescue, a teleportation spell meant for anti-PK countermeasures... I'm pretty sure the conditions for that got relaxed so much over multiple updates that high-level players can now teleport in as backup even if you aren't actually friends.

I remember because Kyogoku was practically cheering, saying, "If you target the small fry, a strong guy gets automatically delivered right to you, and since they can go all-out without any hard feelings, it's super fun." It's definitely become a harsh world for other PKers who actually just want to target weaklings, though.

So why is he here? I've only met him once, but he looked to be right around the age where he'd want to antagonize his older sister... Hmm? What the hell, this is getting more and more suspicious.

Just having business at a facility in Thirdrema is weird enough on its own... but more than anything, the fact that Orcelott-kun is here in a three-man cell with two other players who appear to be his party members is insanely suspicious, entirely because of the current situation on the Old Continent.

Even I catch snippets of the human world's current events. According to the public, I'm a hermit, or some kind of savage surviving on a deserted island, or maybe even someone who sustains himself by eating mist... I mean, seriously, who's a mountain ascetic here?

No, never mind that. The conflict currently throwing the Old Continent into chaos is between the Grand Duke of Thirdrema and the "Current" King... And the Kingdom faction opposing Thirdrema, where Pencilgon is gradually taking over the core, was definitely baiting players with rewards. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was something like an amnesty wiping out all fines or something—

"Oho?"

Is this perhaps exactly what I think it is? I have experience in this field, and since I was technically in his exact position once upon a time, I totally get it, I get it, you know?

Pencilgon is a master of evil schemes, and to be more specific, she's a fiend who absolutely loves schemes that "drag a massive amount of people down." But on the flip side, her actual physical specs aren't that high, so if you pinpoint her with a targeted strike, she can be taken out relatively easily. In other words, her weakness is a small, elite strike force. Honestly, she really didn't need to emulate a video game Demon Lord right down to the fundamental weaknesses...

"...What's wrong desu wa?"

"See that knight in the red cape? That's Pencilgon's little brother. And on top of that, he's a certified, notorious criminal."

"Desu wa—mmgff!?"

Alrighty, quiet please, fur doesn't talk.

Even so, sneaking into Thirdrema with a small elite force is odd... Pencilgon is a player; you can kill her a hundred times and she'll just respawn a hundred and one times. Hell, in the case of her and Orcelott-kun, there's even the risk that she'll exercise her older sister privileges in real life.

So does that mean they're here to assassinate the Grand Duke of Thirdrema? NPCs don't respawn... If they eliminate the Grand Duke, the new King will be overjoyed, their records will be wiped completely clean with a nice warm bath of amnesty, and they'll get a fat reward to boot. It's nothing but upsides... But there's absolutely no way Pencilgon doesn't have countermeasures prepared against a method that thirty out of a hundred people would instantly think of.

There's even the possibility that a body double might self-destruct; the Post-Apocalyptic Round Table's suicide-bombing body-double princess corps is incredibly famous. The sight of a massive swarm of identical faces pouring out of a carriage, shrieking like maniacs, and blowing themselves up... I bet if you searched, you could probably still find videos of it. It's insanely funny as long as you're watching from a third-party perspective.

"Change of plans, Emul. Let's trail those guys."

"...Are we gonna kill them desu wa?"

"Hey, hey, I'm the literal embodiment of integrity, innocence, and fair play, remember? Just repelling them should be fine."

Hey shopkeeper, give me that bread and a bottle of milk. You can't start a stakeout without these two... Alright then, my sneaking skills were honed in Saba-Gan, you hear? I'll show them one of the forty-eight horrifying monster movements from horror games: "The guy standing right behind you when you finally notice."

...

............

Because they were muttering in low voices, I could hardly catch any of the context, but dipping into the back alleys made it easier to trail them, and I managed to pick up fragments of their conversation. Well, Emul was the one actually catching the words.

"...'Wandering,' 'Route,' 'Secure,' huh?"

Are they here looking for a rare enemy or something? Going out of their way into the dead center of enemy territory? My verdict is already tipping from gray to pitch black.

Still, what's their goal? Ever since entering the back alleys, they've been excessively peeking down side streets and looking back, leading to a bunch of close calls. I got tired of it and started tracking them from the rooftops, but they occasionally look up too... What are they searching for? Something you can't find unless you constantly scan in every direction? It's definitely not the Grand Duke, that's for sure.

"Thirdrema... a wandering mob... I feel like there was something like that."

Not me personally. I didn't encounter it directly; I feel like I heard about it through the grapevine from someone. It'd be great if I could just ask the person who probably knows the most about Thirdrema right now, but unfortunately, you can't send mail unless you go to a specific facility. Which means my only option is to rely on my own memory... I don't have many memories regarding Thirdrema to begin with, so I should be able to get a hit.

"...Mumu, I picked up another word desu wa!"

"Keep your voice down... So, what did you hear?"

"Scream... No, wait, I think it was 'Princess' desu wa."

Princess? In the Old Continent, 'Princess' usually refers to that one... No, no, no, she should still be on the New Continent. There's no way they don't know that... So, what kind of Princess?

"Could it be the princess of this city desu wa?"

"Does a Grand Duke's daughter count as the Princess class? Wait... that's it, you're sharp today, Emul."

"Fuhuhu~."

Yes, yes, there there.

I see, that makes perfect sense, and I finally remembered. I used it as bait to taunt Katzo when he spent an entire day failing to trigger it: Thirdrema's famous Unique Scenario, "Escorting the Tomboyish Princess"! The objective is to find the Grand Duke of Thirdrema's daughter after she sneaks out of the castle into the city, and either bring her back to the castle or raise her affection by keeping her satisfied!!

Orcelott-kun, you bastard... are you actually plotting a kidnapping?

Man, what should I do? I kinda want to try playing the kidnapper side myself now.

---

Author's Afterword

By the way, the Unique Scenario Orcelott-kun and his group accepted is "Operation: Princess Guidance."

It's an irregular Unique Scenario where the clear condition is bringing the Princess to a designated location while the Unique Scenario "Escorting the Tomboyish Princess" is actively triggered.

The rewards are an upgrade to the Royal Knight class and a bounty of Mani, which they can actually receive since their fines have been temporarily frozen.