Volume 20 - CH 5

「They're an evil man who critized the plays! Seize them!」

The guards of the Gilan Empire gathered in unison and surrounded us.

「Hey, what's wrong with calling something boring, boring?」

Yulia retorted, but that's not the point.

「Eeii, you're messing with the sacred heroic tale! You're going to get punished!」

「I'll have you thrown in jail for this!」

「Wait, we're not complaining about the history of the Gilan Empire. We just thought the actors' performances were too subtle.」

I'll try to cover it up.

「Mumrghh...... No! When you complain about this play, you're guilty. You'll never get out of jail.」

「Ehh? Without a trial?」

「We don't need that! You've seen the signs. This is an "Expression without Freedom" exhibition! No complaints or criticism allowed!」

Then make it a simple "No Criticism Allowed" exhibition, I thought, but even if they did, these guys wouldn't have ears to lend.

"What are you going to do?" Serina looked at me with her hand on the scabbard of her sword.

「Wait, wait, wait, what's all this noise?」

A small, fat man, clearly dressed as a nobleman, came in with his attendant soldiers.

「Ha! I'm sorry, Deason-sama, As a matter of fact, these people have been complaining about the play.」

「Ohhh, that's not good. It's treason against the Gilan Empire to complain about a sacred play that I organized.」

「I have no intention of rebelling against the Gilan Empire, but I think you have zero artistic talent! It's more like a minus!」

Yulia is very bold, but that's called treason, isn't it?

「Wha! Y-you bastard........Insulting the empire's greatest super-artist, Dyson, is u-unforgivable! I'll tell Maman about this!!

A Dyson, whose lips were quivering, looked very hurt, but it must be difficult for the cast of sycophants around him when a talentless aristocrat pretends to be an artist.

「I don't have a choice. Let's get out of here.」

「「「 Understood! 」」」

The members reacted quickly to my instructions.

「You fool! Did you think you could escape in this situation? All of you, seize them!」

「Good grief. ...... 【Tortoise Shell Binding!】」

With our ability, we could kill all the soldiers in this place instantly, but we didn't come here to start a war. We're going to have to go another way. I used my skills to tie up Dyson first.

「Mmuohh!?!」

「D-Dyson-sama!」

「Now, master!」

Meena used the item, a smoke ball, to take away the guards' vision. This one also blocks your vision, but if you are a member of the first army of the "Black Cat of the Wind", this level of blindness is no obstacle. Because our members already had skills skills such as 【Peeping Level 5】, 【Night vision】, and 【Enemy Counter】.

We broke through the siege without difficulty and ran back to the inn.

＊＊＊＊

「Nick, we need to leave now. Our pursuers are coming.」

「I understand. Everyone, we're leaving! Please hurry!」

Nick is a very capable man. He's not afraid to take action even when things don't go as planned.

「What, Alec, did you get reported for touching a loli girl's ass?」

Kaede peeked out from the second floor of the inn, though, dressed in black leather shorts that didn't weigh her down.

「I'm not you, I wouldn't be that dumb in this country, Kaede. For some reason, I got into trouble with the nobles of the Gilan Empire. The one to blame are mainly Serina and Yulia.」

「Ehh? It's my fault? Well, I guess I can't deny it.」

「It's absolutely impossible to be humble after being shown such a boring thing. Anyway, let's hurry up!」

「Where are Jouga and the others? Weren't they with you?」

Hannah came running down the stairs with her sword, but I thought the trio of foodies went their separate ways.

「This is bad, I'm sorry, brother! I have no idea what's going on, but I'll tell you the truth! The soldiers saw us and came running after us.」

「Uwaannnn, I missed the dumplings~!」

「Uwaannnn, I missed eating the delicious looking jar~!」

Just when I thought I was going to go look for them, the three of them came too.

「No problem, Jouga. All right, everyone's here. Let's go! Letty, use some kind of spell to disperse the soldiers.」

「I got it. Is using explosive spell, okay?」

「No. Use something quieter, like an illusion.」

「Then, here I go. ――A poet who has entered the time limit of Yin-killing Shura, Please don't look for me, Listen to the wailing of the soul of Kurihara who cries out, "I want to be a NEET!" I give thee, O paranoid one, the trial of thy fate, the song of cloud covert Oak Riley~!」 (TLN: Sorry this chant is bit hard to translate)

A cloud of white smoke began to emanate from Letty's rod, but it quickly faded and became transparent again. It must be an illusion that is only effective against pursuers.

「All right, this is a perfect way to escape. It's my original spell that I developed to get away from the pushy landlord who keeps trying to collect the rent, so it works perfectly, perfectly!」

「No, Letty, you can't misuse the spell.」

Serina scolded her lightly, but Letty whistled and pretended not to know. Well, you've already paid back your lease, so you don't have to worry about it.

Three carriages went down the street. On the way, armored soldiers hurriedly passed by.

They must have been looking for us right next to them, but they didn't show any reaction and even went to the trouble of avoiding the carriages. I wonder what they thought we looked like, but we can't recognize anything we're not aware of.

「It seems to have worked.」

「But when I see Letty's spell work, it makes me worry about the opposite.」

Luka shrugged, but you're right, Letty is somewhat out of it.

「Hmph, say what you want, mere mortals. In the hands of this A-ranked mage, Letty, this is nothing to worry about.」

After finally passing the A-rank exam that she had always wanted, Letty began to look down on others. Well, I'll let her dignify me as she pleases for a while. She may be an F-ranked vessel, but she is an A-ranked magician, that much is certain. Everyone seems to understand this, and is watching over Letty with a warm smile.

「Evertone, we have another checkpoint.」

After half a day of riding in the carriage, we seemed to have entered the next town.

「I'm sure it's already imperial territory, but it's a pain in the ass every time.」

I got off the carriage and complained.

「I guess they're concerned about security. But the fact that they have to be so strict means that they're either taxing the people too heavily, or they're getting complaints from the people.」

Hannah whispered when she saw how stuffy the guards were, but I'm sure it's true. If the people didn't revolt, there would be no need for fully armed guards in the first place.

「What are you guys? A theater troupe?」

「No, no, no, we're a clan of adventurers.」

Saki explained again and showed them her adventurer's card as we walked through, but even here, some of our belongings were confiscated and stolen.

「Geez, that change of clothes box had my favorite clothes in it!」

Serina expressed her anger, but it couldn't be helped.

She'll just have to buy more clothes.

「I'll buy you something similar later, so you can stop being so angry.」

「Okay. You promise? Alec.」

Clothes are cheap for me now that I'm the king. But I don't feel like going along with her, when she choose the clothes.

「I see it. White Rose, the former royal capital of Valencia.」

Nick said, the streets are wide and paved with cobblestones, and the buildings are wooden, but quaint and complex. I guess this place deserves to be called the ancient capital.