CH 66

—Exactly two months after the Demon King was defeated in the kingdom.

It was close to noon that day. Three men and women, deeply hooded, visited the front gate of the Royal Castle. They had pulled a cart, the load of which was covered with a cloth.

“Stop.”

One of the two Royal Castle guards calls out to the three men.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“…I’m a confectioner.”

What came back was the voice of a calm young man.

It was not unusual for confectioners to come to this royal castle. There were no appointments for such things. The sweets were not expensive ones that would fit in the mouths of royalty and nobility, but were mainly bought by the people working in this royal castle to fill their small stomachs.

“Today I have come to {sell new products to the guards}.”

However, in response to the confectioner’s phrasing, the royal castle guard raised one eyebrow.

“…Hm. Where are you from?”

“A town called Haktor in the territory of Euryos.”

“… That’s a long way from here. May I try one of your new products?

“Of course, of course.”

The hooded man unloads a crate from the cart and pulls out a round bread-like item from it, which he presents to the guard.

“It’s 2G, sir.”

“Oh, sorry, I only have silver coins. Can I have the change, please?”

“Yes, thank you. Good day.”

The man takes the silver coins from the guard and hands him the new pastry first. Then he hands him a lower value copper coin. And one of them contained a coin that glittered with gold. It was not a gold coin of the kingdom. Not a gold coin of any country – it was a coin that had a different meaning to its value.

“…”

The royal guard quickly checked it in his palm and shoved it into his pocket before the others guarding the gate could see it. He then took a mouthful of the new pastry he had received and said

“This is quite tasty!”

“Thank you. May I sell it to everyone in the guard dormitories?”

“Yes, I’m sure everyone would want it. In the meantime, let me check your luggage.”

The guard then left his spear with the other guard, and went around to the back of the cart to examine the goods on his own, and turned up the cloth on which it was covered. There he found a wooden box with some pastries. A ceramic pot – and hidden in it, a fine {sword, bow and arrow, and staff}, and armor for a number of people.

“- Mm. I don’t see anything unusual here. I don’t want you moving around the castle on your own, so I’ll go with you. It’s almost shift change time and I’ll be off duty… you’ll have to wait a bit for a replacement guard to arrive.”

“That’s great, thank you very much.”

And when it was time for the changeover, the off-duty guard went through the gates of the royal castle with three {confectioners}. Then, a little past the guards’ dormitory, they entered a building that usually serves as a warehouse, which no one usually goes near.

“─ ─ Thank you very much.”

One of the young men, who took off his hood and identified himself as a confectioner, said. The guard couldn’t believe his eyes for a moment. …Two dark-haired men and one light brown woman, with faces he had never seen before. And they are all younger than he is. They still look like teenagers.

But because they answered the questions correctly and even had the {coins}, there is no doubt that the three confectioners are {companions of the empire}. The guard, who has been spying in the kingdom for the past five years, concludes.

“But you’ve brought something very dangerous with you. With weapons… you don’t mean that the three of you are going to start a war?”

“Yes, we are.”

That face of the spy guard twitched. He had meant it as a complete joke, but since he had received a straight-faced Yes, such a reaction was unavoidable.

“For now, I would like you to guide me to the throne room within the next hour. According to the king’s schedule obtained by other routes, he will be away from the royal castle after that.”

“Wow, okay. But only three people… are you serious…?”

“Well, it’s conditional on {negotiations} not going well. Besides, we won’t lose to anyone.”

The dark-haired young man said confidently with a fearless smile. The other two men also showed no sign of nervousness and silently put on their own equipment. The guards gulped at the sight of them.

“This is the elite, eh?”

These young men showed no hesitation at all in the face of such a huge task. In fact, they were even smiling a little happily. The woman seemed emotionless… but still, the preparations were carried out without hesitation, and none of the three seemed to be thinking that the mission would fail.

This must surely be the most elite of the elite.

The guards gulped down his saliva. The fact that these three men were dispatched showed the uncommon seriousness of the Empire.

“So that means that I, who guided them here, am also leaving this royal castle…”

For five years, the guard had been hiding in the castle as a spy from the Empire. For the past few months, he had been helping the great court magician Agranis to enter the castle, and he had sensed that the situation was about to change dramatically… but his legs were trembling as he thought that the time had finally come.

“Hmph…”

The guard then turned his attention back to the three elites, telling them the route to the throne room, the security obstacles, and the limits of where he could lead them.

“Well, now it’s a race against time. Let’s get this over with before word of the confectioner spreads around the castle and I’ll be off.”

The guard then puts a hooded robe over each of the three again and walks out of the buildingand begins to guide them in front of him as if it were part of his job.