276-248 Aristocratic wedding (1)

Is this a good time?

We had just finished tasting the rice and were talking about how we should take it easy today since we were halfway through the day, when Arlin-san came over to us.

While we are in this town, Eckert and the other territorial soldiers will be guarding us, so we are completely rested.

I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results. I don't have any plans today.

Not wanting to turn him away because we weren't at work, we graciously accepted Arline's offer of a chair.

Thank you, sir. We've gathered some information and thought we'd share it with you.

"By information, you mean the attack?

Yes, sir. That.

I thought that there was nothing else that needed to be shared with us, but there was no need to tell us the background of the attack. ...... It was somewhat disturbing.

However, my feelings aside, Arline began to speak.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

I'm sure you've heard of it, but I've never heard of it.　Is the situation so bad that Ilias-sama is attacked?

I'm not sure what to make of it, but it's a good idea.

As far as I know, the Upiclislea Empire is in the category of a hypothetical enemy nation, and I don't think it's in a situation where they would go out of their way to conduct guerrilla activities against a child of a nobleman who is far from their borders and can't be said to be very influential.

Even if they had kidnapped Master Ilias, it was unlikely that the Kingdom of Rhenium would have agreed to any kind of demand, and even if they had demanded a ransom from Viscount Nenus, it would not have been much, considering that he was only a weak nobleman on a national scale.

If that's the case, it would be better to think that the Order of the Saints hired some skilled person.

If you're looking for the best of the best, you're going to have to go with the best. It seems to me that they were targeted simply because a small group of people could have successfully attacked them.

In fact, in addition to Ilias, there were several other participants in the wedding who were attacked.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

It's difficult for the Juppicrisian Empire to infiltrate a large number of soldiers into the enemy's country. It was probably done as a way to interfere with this wedding.

"I see. But why?　The Barony of Daias doesn't border the Upiclisle Empire, does it?

Yes. But the nobleman I'm marrying is confronting the Iupiklisian Empire.

This time, Baron Diaz's marriage partner is the daughter of Baron Acy, who has occasionally been involved in skirmishes with the Yupiklisian Empire.

Naturally, the Iupiklisian Empire would not welcome the rich Baron Diaz and the Baroness Acy to be related.

In terms of distance, the Barony of Acy and the Barony of Dyas are quite far apart, but the Barony of Acy is located downstream from the river that runs beside the Crevilly.

The other way around, if you are transporting goods from Baron Diaz's territory to Baron Acy's territory, transportation is quite convenient and emergency support is easy.

In light of this, it would certainly be a very unpleasant wedding for the Iupiklisian Empire.

"But how can attacking the attendees be enough to stop the wedding?

"Yes. Isn't that right?　It's not like they're getting married themselves.

In particular, the Viscount of Nenus is merely a neighboring territory, and as you can see from the roads we've taken, we don't have much interaction with him, nor do we know him well.

Even if the Iliad were to be killed, it is unlikely that the wedding would be canceled.

If it was possible, of course, they would have done it, but the Baroness Dias's guards, who have a lot of money, are very strong, not to mention the Baroness Acy's soldiers, who have seen a lot of action. So I guess it was the next best thing. Even if we can't stop the wedding this time, it's worth it just to get rid of it.

In other words, it would be worthwhile if it could be a milestone in future diplomacy and policy.

Well, it's true that the noblemen who were killed in this incident may have some emotional ties to Baron Diaz and Baron Acy.

Even though they know that it was the Iupiklisian Empire that was at fault.

...... Oh, and what happened to the other nobles who were attacked?

"Two of them were killed. Fortunately, it wasn't the head of the family. ....... Some of the others were injured. As for the guards, they've taken a fair amount of damage.

"Wow. ......

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

We would have been just as bad without you. Thank you again.

"No, no, it's my job. In the first place, we couldn't catch them, and they all ran away.

I waved my hand and responded to Mr. Arlin who bowed politely.

At least one of them was seriously injured, but that was it.

It's not a result I'm proud of.

Two of them were to be dealt with by the Territorial Army, and if there had been one or two more enemies, it would have been quite dangerous.

Natsuki and the others nodded at my words, but they also questioned me a little curiously.

But how did you know?　But how did you know? From what you said, it seems you didn't get a confession.

Yes. Yes, based on various information. It seems that some of them killed some bandits, but they didn't have any evidence to prove it. So we can't even protest through diplomatic channels.

Oh, you killed an enemy of that level?

If we allow for the damage, we might be able to kill them, but considering that Toya and I couldn't even attack them, we'll probably have to get Natsuki to join us.

I wonder if that is the kind of skillfulness that comes from having experienced actual war.

That's unfortunate,......, but if that's the case, then the risk of being attacked on the way home is low, right?

Probably so. Of course, we don't know about common thieves and demons.

It's not a problem at all. ...... I don't think there are any bandits of that caliber.

I'd rather you didn't.

I'm afraid.

I'm sure you'll be able to make plenty of money without being a thief at that level.

But that's not the whole story, is it?

What?　Is that so?

In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site.

The person with the most political authority in the group this time is Arlin, who is presumably Ilias-sama's chaperone.

I don't think he's going to come and tell us just because he thinks we're curious.

"We don't need to know what you know right now. Politics is none of our business.

You're very good, Haruka. Yes, what you just said is a premise. That's why I'm asking you. I've managed to keep my face since I've successfully defeated them, but the fact that they targeted me is already a problem.

To put it simply, it means that the empire thought you were a small nobleman, and that will cause you to be underestimated in noble society.

As the Viscountess of Nenus, that's not good.

So, they wanted to somehow turn things around at the actual wedding, but the one who would be attending was Ilias, a girl less than 10 years old.

Originally, it would have been fine as long as the fact that she attended the wedding was all that was needed, but now that the incident had occurred, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Viscountess Nenus, who was involved.

I'm sure you'll find that Ilias lacks dignity. ......

Well, you can't control your age, can you? So, what do you want from us?

Yes. The purpose of this is to assist the Iliad. ...... No, I'm asking you to join us to distract him.　Of course, we'll consider some sort of compensation for that.

That seemed to be the purpose of telling him the details of the situation.

As long as it was not included in the original contract, it was up to us to accept or not.

They thought it would be difficult to ask us to participate without informing us.

I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that.　I'm sure there were others, Eckert and others.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

We're here as maids of honor. We can't participate. We are here as maids of honor.　We can't go anywhere formal.

We can't be in a formal setting." "Well, we can't be in a formal setting, either.

You can just stand there. You won't even be spoken to. There are high ranking adventurers under Viscount Nenus, that's what matters.

We're only rank five, you know.

Don't worry. We'll take care of it.

I'm sure we'll be fine." Natsuki said as if to confirm, and Arin confidently stuck out his chest.

I'm not sure if you'll be able to find the right one for you.

...... Ah, the supply of precious woods.

It's true that the number of jobs has increased.

"A religious group has plunged the town into chaos. I was instrumental in capturing its leader.

Total luck.

I just happened to run into Satomie and I caught her.

I really didn't do anything about the Order of the Satomite Saints.

"I discovered a new dungeon...

We just happened to enter an abandoned mine that turned out to be a dungeon.

It's more of a rediscovery, since the existence of the abandoned mine was already known.

"I'm conquering the dungeon with a single party. Highest-ranked adventurer currently in the deepest part of the dungeon.

We're the only ones in there!

I'm not lying.

It's not a lie, but you're cherry-picking the best parts.

It's a completely misleading expression.

The media.