CH 23

The speculation of a villainous princess

***---***

Camilla Resenburg, also known as the villainous princess, was in the command room at the Lastock Garrison.

Almost as soon as we arrived at the commander's office, three knights entered the room.

One of them is familiar to me, the knight who was beating Funayama yesterday.

The three lined up in front of Camilla in front of the office desk and reported upright and unmoving.

"I've finished processing the corpse as instructed!"

"OK, good work ..."

The processing of the corpse is about Funayama, isn't it?

"Did you see it done properly?"

"Yes, definitely into the goblins' bellies ..."

"OK, that's fine."

Reinhardt held me down as I tried to jump out of the shadows.

[ Let go! Let go, Reinhardt, that shitty woman, I'll kill her! ]

[ No, Kent-sama, you have to endure it. ]

[ Guuaaaaaa ... ]

I ground my back teeth to the point where they seemed about to break, and glared at Camilla from the shadows.

I won't forgive only this woman, I'll definitely kill her someday.

After reporting the corpse disposal, the three all bowed and apologized.

"Sorry, Camilla-sama."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Yes, I couldn't follow the instructions to hurt him to the extent that he wouldn't die for the show."

"Hmm, you guys seem to be misuderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?"

"Yes, when such a monkey dies, what do you need to mourn? What do you need to feel sorry for? That's a trivial matter."

"Well, is that so ...?"

Camilla, who stood up from her chair calmly, said to the three people who were confused.

"Your priority is in the interests of the Kingdom of Resenburg. If a monkey dies, make hte most of the fact. If you need a show, just use another monkey. Such a trivial matter. I have no intention of disposing of you!"

"Oh, thank you."

"Hmm, don't be so stiff, the important thing is from now on ..."

Camilla even smiles at the three who bowed together.

"Well, that monkey died and the monkeys will be repulsed, but never show any weaknesses. Tell the monkeys who are trying to skip training, that if they don't like training, they'll soon be monster bait. Imagine being eaten by monsters alive when they move on to the actual battle in the forest ..."

"Understood!"

"Well, the repulsive monkeys should be able to experience the actual battle in the Devil's Forest all together. If one of their limbs is eaten, they will wake up."

"Oh, I understand!"

"Okay, go back to your place and think and act on what you should do for Resenburg, I'm looking forward to it."

"Yes, I'm sorry!"

Camilla saw off the three people leaving the room with a satisfied look.

The woman who was the caretaker of the chairman appeared there.

"Excuse me, Camilla-sama, the saint has fallen."

"Well ... if you let her rest, restart the treatment."

"Camilla-sama, the situation is too harsh now."

"Hmm, what a helpless guy, Erna, you're always saying, don't be merciful."

"But ..."

The chairman's caretaker woman seems to be named Erna.

Camilla waved to block Erna's words.

"It's fine, saints and heroes certainly have excellent qualities. They have, but they are only slaves, so to speak, they are easy-to-use tools. Care is required to demonstrate their abilities. But let them understand that if you can't use them, you will just dispose of them."

"But ... Camilla-sama."

"Okay, if the saint rebels tell her, I've decided to send those who oppose like you into the actual battle. If you don't hone your skill in treating sickness, I don't know how many will die. Say it."

"That ..."

"Don't get me wrong .. the priority is the interests of the Kingdom of Resenburg. Don't show affection to slaves."

"Un, understood ..."

Erna didn't look completely convinced, but she thought it was useless to talk anymore, so she bowed and left.

After seeing her off, Camilla moved to the front of the map on the wall.

"I have to hurry ..."

After muttering, Camilla pushed her left fist to the left side of the map, to the west of the Kingdom of Resenburg.

Even if I follow her gaze from the shadow, it seems that she's looking around her fist.

[ Reinhardt, what kind of country is the west side of Resenburg? ]

[ When this me was alive, there was a country called the Balshanian Empire on the other side of the desert. ]

[ Desert? There is a desert? ]

[ Yes, the Davira Desert is a land of thin rocks and sand, where crops barely grow. ]

[ Is it quite large? ]

[ Yes, there is a road where horse-drawn carriages can pass, but even if things go smoothly, it will take more than a week if a sandstorm is encountered, and many people will be in distress. ]

Camilla was staring at the map for a while, but when she returned to her desk, she returned to work as if nothing had happened.

Even though Funayama is dead, the appearance of Camilla, who seems to have really done nothing, makes me angry again.

I want to retaliate somehow, but to do that I need to grasp her weaknesses.

When I looked at the map that Camilla was glaring at again, I noticed something.

[ Maybe this is ...? ]

[ What happened, Kent-sama. ]

[ Reinhardt has seen a map of Resenburg when he was alive, right? ]

[ Yes, I have, but what is it? ]

[ Looking at that map, did the boarder of the Davira Desert look like that? Where was the line? ]

[ Oh! No, Kent-sama, when we were alive, the border with the desert was farther west. ]

[ Desertification from the west is progressing ... ]

There are many lines on the west side of the map where Camilla was glaring, showing the border with the Davira Desert.

This is probably a new redraw of the widespread desert.

[ Well, this city of Lastock wasn't here when Reindhardt and the others were alive, right? ]

[ Yes, this area was a wasteland and a place where monsters appeared. ]

[ Hey, is the west side of Resenburg a breadbasket? ]

[ Yes, the fields of wheat and potatoes are expanding. ]

[ Because the desertification of the west has progressed, they have cleared the east, and the desertification has progressed again ... ]

[ This time, are they eager to clear the Devil's Forest? ]

[ Maybe ... we were brought in as a labor force for that? ]

If Camilla's purpose is to clear the Devil's Forest, the chances of Volzard being attacked are low.

But it also means that Volzard can't help with the rescue of my classmates.

And even if I know Camilla's purpose, I don't know how to make use of it.

[ Hmm ... I feel like I don't have neough information. Hey, have Reinhardt and the others been to the royal capital of Resenburg? ]

[ Yes, the three of us have gone not only to the royal capital but also to the Davira Desert many times. ]

[ Okay, Basten, I'm sorry, can you check the current situation of Resenburg? I would like to know the progress of desertification, and if possible, the situation of the royalty and aristocrats ... ]

[ Leave it to me, now that I'm hiding in the shadows, I'll take a peek into the depths of the royal castle. ]

[ Fred continue to monitor here, Reinhardt continue to escort me. ]

[ I understand. ]

[ Leave it to me ... I'll let you know if anything happens ... ]

Even if I stay here, there seems to be nothing I can do, so I decided to go back to Volzard.

On the way, when I looked at the training ground, I couldn't feel any difference, but the words of the knight who was rebuking them had changed.

"Look! Stop dawdling, if you don't like training, you can actually fight, you'll definitely become monster bait! Do you want to be eaten alive!"

"Run, run! I'll dispose of those who can't be used! There are plenty of substitutes for you!"

I was worried about the chairman's condition, but since I had already treated her, I decided to have Fred watch over her.

And I decided to get rid of another concern.

The destination is the entrance to the Devil's Forest from the Resenburg side.

After checking the surroundings, Reinhardt and I came out of the shadow world.

"The forest was like this ... it was pitch black when I came ..."

[ Did Kent-sama think it was just a forest? ]

"Yeah, I never thought that a monster would come out."

If you take a closer look, you'll find a carriage rut near the forest, new hoof marks, and a few footprints.

Folling in the footsteps of the road led into the forest.

The footprints are cut off within 50 meters, and there are traces of grass being stepped on at the side of the road.

Following that, about 20 meters further, blood and pieces of meat were left.

[ The goblins are nasty, they'll even eat to the bones. ]

While listening to Reinhardt's words, I knelt down and put my hands together.

Even though he was a disgusting guy, tears overflowed and I couldn't stop.

If I hadn't been blessed with the two attributes of darkness and light, I would have followed the same fate.

And I couldn't get rid of the thought that this would not have happened if I had applied healing magic to Funayama.

"I'll definitely avenge you, I'll definitely rescue everyone, so ... take a rest ..."

After offering a silent prayer to Funayama, I moved to the special training ground in the Devil's Forest.

[ Kent-sama, you should be resting today ... ]

"Yeah, I intended to do that, but I can't afford it anymore ..."

I suddenly came up with the idea of taking out the armor from the shadow storage.

"That's right ... the shield of darkness ..."

Imagine connecting access to the shadow storage, which used to use shadows such as my own shadow and buildings, to the space in front of me.

I imagined that a round hole would open and lead to storage, and when I pushed out my right hand, a black hole appeared.

As I imagined, it led to the space where the armor is placed.

Yeah, I think I can make a shield with this, and I feel like I can do more than that.

However, it's time for practice, it feels like I'll go crazy again if I don't move my body at this time.

I wore the armor and faced Reinhardt.

"Then, Reinhardt, I'm counting you."

[ Kent-sama, you can't be strong if you leave yourself to anger. ]

"Yeah, I know, I don't know how far I can put it into practice, but I understand what Reinhardt wants to say."

[ Well, then I have nothing more to say ... let's get started. ]

"Yaaaa!"

I swung up the wooden sword and stepped in.

The special training continued until the evening, with a break during the day.

I finished up when my energy, strength, and magical power for self-healing were about to run out.

After all, even today, I have never been able to effectively hit Reinhardt.

While lying spread-eagled on the ground at the special training ground I asked Reinhardt while looking up at the sky dyed by the sunset.

"Hmm ... Hmm ... Hey, Reinhardt, how long will it take to train and beat the knights of Resenburg?"

[ That's a difficult question ... Kent-sama's ability right now is just like a fledgling adventurer child. It's been less than two weeks since we started the special training, so it's a considerable progress, but if you continue the special training, your ability will not necessarily improve steadily. ]

"Is that slowing down or a limit?"

[ Yes, sometimes you will grow all at once, and sometimes you will reach a plateau even with repeated efforts. ]

"Then, what if my qualities were normal?"

[ As I said before, it would take about three years before you could be used as a normal soldier.

No matter how hard you try, it will take two years, and even if you make full use of self-healing like Kent-sama, it will take at least one year. ]

"That's until you would become a normal soldier, right? If so, do you feel that you would need at least three years of training to be able to beat a strong knight?"

[ Yes, at least that much is necessary. ]

I feel that I was able to regain my composure by moving my body to the fullest against Reinhardt.

Camilla disgustingly reminded me that she didn't think of us as humans, but as monkeys or tools.

And if I was angry and lost my composure, I knew that I couldn't win.

"What is the weakness of Camilla Resenburg ..."

[ Looking at her words and deeds, the disadvantage of the kingdom seems to be her weakness. ]

"Yeah, that's definitely ... but I'm reluctant to involve citizens who don't know anything."

[ From our point of view, Kent-sama and his friends look like citizens who don't know anything. ]

"Yeah, that's the case, but since the other party did it, I feel like it would be an endless cycle of killing if I tried to do it at the same level."

[ Well, the easiest thing to do is to defeat her, but in the current situation where Kent-sama and his friends have no way to return to the original world, that's not the case. ]

"That's how it is, but ... if everyone who came with me decided that they didn't have to go home, I wouldn't hesitate to kill Camilla ..."

What she did, what she did to FUnayama, the situation where my classmates are still hostages, it's all Camilla's responsibility, and I'm sure I'll be rewarded.

[ Have you ever killed a person, Kent-sama? ]

"Eh? No, no, there is no reason, because the country we lived in is so peaceful that there is a term 'peace idiot'."

[ Then, leave the role of killing that princess to me. ]

"Thank you, Reinhardt, but no, I'm going to have the goblins do that role."

[ Is that right ... well, I'll ask you again at that time. ]

I think Reinhardt is careful not to fall into the so-called dark side, but when it comes to Camilla, even if you cool your head, it's not at a level that you can forgive.

After finishing up the special training and taking a bath, I changed my clothes and returned to the boarding house.

After dinner, I told Amanda-san I was going to take a rest early and shut myself in my room.

I asked Reinhardt to call me if someone came and joined Fred at Lastock's garrison by shadow movement.

I will head to the clinic to see what the chairman was doing.

The chairman was treating classmates who were injured in the training.

"Are you okay? Is there anything else that hurts or feels sick?"

"Thank you, it's just a bruise, so it's okay, Asakawa-san shouldn't overdo it."

"Yeah, thank you, we'll definitely go home alive."

"Yes Yes ..."

The chairman, who looked like she wore a Noh mask during the day, hugged a female classmate and shed tears.

After that, she continued to treat each and every one of them carefully.

As far as I can see, her complexion looks good and she seems to be mentally stable, but it also feels somewhat dangerous.

As soon as the last one's treatment was over, the expression fell off the chairman's face.

"Thank you for your hard work, Saint-sama."

When the caretaker Erna called out, the chairman didn't respond and didn't even look at her.

Erna's expression became cloudy looking at the chairman who silently cleaned up.

It looks like you're stuck between Camilla and the chairman and wondering what to do.

"Saint ... Yuika, please listen, I ..."

The chairman left the medical office with a horrifyingly cold glance at Erna who tried to appeal for something.

The remaining Erna covered her face with both hands and began to cry.

Erna seems to be a decent person among those in this garrison, but she may not be able to go against Camilla's orders.

When I came to do reconnaissance last week, it seemed that she had a good relationship with the chairman, but Funayama's death probably created a decisive crack in the relationship between the two.

I decided to leave the examination room and take a peek at the dormitories of my classmates.

There is a gloomy air in the dormitory.

I think it's usually more lively if there are people of the same age, such as during school trips and self-study time, but maybe because of Funayama, I can only hear the voices talking loosely.

Even if I listen to the content of the story, I can only hear resignation and no hint of rebellion.

"Can we survive if we fight goblins now?"

"I don't know about that, but I have to do it, right?"

"I wonder if I can escape somehow ..."

"Idiot, what would you do if you ran away?"

"What? An adventurer ...?"

"Idiot, you were told that you can't register as an adventurer as long as you wear this bracelet."

"Ah ... can't I remove this?"

"It can't be removed just by trying to break it, how do I remove it? Cut off my arm?"

"Don't joke, I'm left handed, can I just cut off my dominant hand?"

"Well ... can we really go home?"

"I feel like it's an impossible game ..."

"Damn ... I wish I had a rare ability like Shuichi."

"Are you talking about Celia-chan? Is it really all-you-can-eat?"

"Damn ..."

"Hey, where are you going?"

"The toilet, the toilet!"

"Oh, me too ..."

It's a bit of a relief for me, who has acquired cheat abilities but isn't very fortunate, but I feel that the slave bracelet is likely to be an obstacle for rescue operations.

[ Hey, Fred, I think there's a spare slave bracelet that everyone is wearing, can you find one and steal it? ]

[ Leave it to me ... ]

[ Oh, wait a minute ... speaking of stealing ... ]

[ Kent-sama ...? ]

[ Fred, while looking for a slave bracelet, can you make a sketch of this garrison and list what items are and where they are located? ]

[ OK ... I'll find out ... ]

[ Also, check out the role of the knights, including the three in the daytime, and the characteristics of their personalities. ]

[ Kent-sama ... counterattack ... ]

[ Yeah, if possible. ]

After leaving the men's dormitory, I also take a look at the girls' dormitory.

I was curious about Ayako-sensei, but it seems all the girls are comforting her.

"Ueeee ... I'm sorry, I'm sorry ..."

"It's not Aya-chan's fault, Aya-chan isn't bad."

"Yes, they're the bad ones, Aya-chan, you were doing your best."

"Because, because, Funayama-kun ..."

"Aya-chan, you did your best."

"Yes, you did your best, don't cry ..."

"I'm sorry ... Uuu ..."

Ayako-sensei is probably five years older than us, but because of her petite body and baby face, the comforting girls look older.

Ayako-sensei, who was in the same training ground as Funayama, feels responsible.

Even though she's a trainee, she's still on the teaching side.

I was planning on asking Ayako-sensei to be my liaison, but it seems to be a little difficult in the current state.

[ What do you think? Fred. ]

[ You should stand back for now ... ]

[ Right ... ]

I was a little worried about the appearance of the hero, but I would be angry if he was flirting, so I passed today.

I don't want to see Camilla's face tonight either, so I passed on it and returned to Volzard.

[ I'm back, Reinhardt. ]

[ Welcome back, Amanda-dono and the others seem to have gone to bed. ]

[ Amanda-san gets up early in the morning. ]

[ Will Kent-sama take a rest? ]

[ Hmm ... I'll practice magic a little. ]

[ Then, are you going to the special training ground? ]

[ No, no, here, the shield of darkness ... ]

In the daytime I tried it, and it seems that I can open the entrance to the shadow space anywhere.

It will function as a shield because it opens the entrance to a different space from the one used for storage and doesn't allow attack magic of different attributes to enter there.

[ I see, as expected, Kent-sama. ]

[ No, I only know how to do it, and I think I can't use it without practicing the speed, range, and location of activation. ]

[ I see, but Kent-sama is quick to learn the skills as a mage, so he will be able to use it immediately. ]

[ Yeah, that's fine, but in fact, I have something to think about a little more. ]

[ Huh, what is it? ]

[ Yeah, it's a way to use the opponent's attack, but first I think I should get used to the shield of darkness. ]

[ Are you using the opponent's attack? An interesting idea again, please let me know when it's done. ]

That night, I continued practicing the shield of darkness until the date changed.

At first, I felt that I couldn't make it well unless I specified the location and size.

If I just make a certain size in a certain place, I can make it much more smoothly.

It still takes about 5 seconds to activate, but it's faster than chanting.

I will practice this over and over until I can put it in the position I want to and in the size I want.

It seems that it will take time to grow as a knight, so in preparation for the rescue operation, the mage part will raise the cheat level further.