Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Imperial Princess

Moonlight shone down from the destroyed ceiling. As this gentle light slightly illuminated the room, Tanaka and a single woman continued to face each other without making the slightest movement.

Meanwhile, the princess of this country, Karin, who was thrusting out her sword, was assailed by a pressure she had never experienced before.

It was because the attack she had just struck with all her might, leveraging the opening of her opponent, had been easily evaded. No, in fact, she couldnt even tell if it really was evaded. It showed that there was such a huge gap in their strength.

In fact, he even had the leeway to express a composed remark of The thrust(moon) sure is beautiful, isnt it?. She was so psychologically cornered that she could not even feel anger at that remark anymore.

As someone who had fought countless fierce battles, as someone who stood at the pinnacle of the Imperial Tournament Festival, this reality where she could do nothing weighed heavily on the Imperial Princess herself.

In the meantime, on the other hand, speaking of Tanaka-san, he was deep in thought as he felt the cold sweat running down his back. At this rate, it would be dangerous.

That was only a matter of course. As it was impossible not to feel danger in a situation where a sword was pointed at you. However, that applied strictly only for an amateur. It was different in Tanakas case.

There was an order of priority in everything. And then, in an emergency, it was even more so. Speaking of what Tanaka thought in such a situation, it was none other than this.

Having his long-awaited invoked Osare skill easily dodged, at this rate, he would end up missing such a rare event with a beautiful woman without even raising up a flag.

What a calm and accurate judgment. To be able to arrive at this thought in this situation where a sword pointed at him, what a fearsome man. Surely only a powerful, amazing, and cool protagonist or a plain idiot would be able to accomplish such a feat. There didnt seem to be any need to tell which one Tanaka-san was, so lets leave this matter at that.

After this and that, this stalemate, which seemed as though it would continue to eternity, was easily broken down by a third party.

Thats as far as you go. Please pull your sword.

They must have promptly concealed themselves the moment this raid took place. The one who had been concealing themselves in the corner of the room showed up and approached the two.

Please stay away. This assailant is no ordinary person.

I know full well that hes no ordinary person. And that you wont be able to restrain him with your power.

As light shone down on the disappearing magic tool, their appearance came to light.

Echigoya-san!

Hi there, its been a long time. First of all, we can talk about various matters later. For now, we have to come up with a way to gloss over this situation.

As he was saying that, commotion was taking place beyond the door. It was only a matter of time before a third party intervened.

In that case, leave it to me. Excuses and deceptions are my field of expertise.

The way he splendidly brushed off Tanaka, who was spouting something that was unknown whether he was boasting or what, was probably a form of kindness of Echigoya. On the other hand, speaking of Tanaka, he was in an overly high spirit as he was in front of a beautiful woman.

O earth spirit born from the flame. Gather around and alter your form.

Holding his hand to the broken ceiling, Tanaka began to chant. He also didnt forget to make an appeal to the beautiful woman by covering his face with one of his hands and sending a sidelong glance to her.

No, come on, how should I put it? Its that, you know? That. Yes! Getting too worried about my best friend who had gone missing, my chivalrous spirit kind of went out of control, or something? How is that, isnt that setup pretty cool?

Tanaka, who had been hiding in the corner of the room, came out while spouting such a random excuse. Seeing that attitude that rubbed the nerve the wrong way as usual, Echigoya could only let out a bitter smile. Karin called out to such Echigoya.

So, Elder Brother. Who in the world is that person? Ive chosen to cover it up for the time being, but depending on your answer, Ill call the guards back.

Even if you did call them back, I dont think youd be able to do anything to him, though. As someone who has personally faced him, that should be something youre well aware of, right?

Admonished as such by Echigoya, Karin couldnt answer anything back. Instead, Tanaka made a reaction with all he could.

Elder Brother you say.

Yes, let me introduce you. This is my little sister, Karin. Shes a first-class knight who even once won the Imperial Tournament Festival. She may be my little sister, but she really is something.

Karin showed a sardonic expression as she was being introduced by Echigoya, and showed no reaction in the slightest.

And this is Tanaka-san. Ever since I got to know him through a job I requested in the guild, Ive been working with him a lot. Hes a very outstanding man.

Without any particular reason, Tanaka stretched out one hand horizontally and flipped his cloak with a swoosh. He then switched into his signature pose as he was in order to get off to a start in a good mark.

Nice to meet you, young lady.

He decided to perform a snappy greeting with two fingers, but as usual, Karin showed no reaction at all. However, Tanaka had seen through everything. At this moment, he had succeeded in stealing her heart.

And then, just as Tanaka thought that his long awaited So cool, embrace me line was about to be said.

I see, a business associate of Elder Brother, huh. Come to think of it, you used to play a merchant make-believe, didnt you?

How rude of you to call it make-believe. Be that as it may, I managed to attain a considerable accomplishment, after all.

At the words of his little sister that at a glance seemed to be considerably on the rude side, without showing any sign of displeasure, Echigoya let out a protest while floating a smile. In response, Karin was the one whose expression turned kind of stern.

At any rate, Ill pretend that I didnt see the incident from earlier. However, the next time you cause a problem, I wont overlook it. This is also true for you, Elder brother. As long as you are in the Imperial Capital, Ill have you refrain yourself from doing any suspicious behavior. You are no longer a member of the imperial family, after all, Elder brother.

Got it, all right?

The imperial family you say.

Nodding at Echigoyas reply, Karin moved toward the exit of the room with a firm step. As far as Tanaka was concerned, not only was his expectation betrayed, even the reaction he had mustered up with his everything ended up being ignored, however, Tanaka-san of this day was not the previous him.

Phew, looks like shes more of a shy baby than I thought, huh.

Im greatly curious as to what kind of train of thought you ride to reach such a conclusion.

Good grief, you sure dont get it, do you, Brother-in-law-san?

Echigoya surely wasnt at fault for getting involuntarily annoyed by this response.