"No sign of the enemy!"
"Okay, looks like we managed to shake it off. I'll be heading home now."
"Oohh" (x4)
The five Servants of the Goddess finally took a breather and looked relieved.
It's not like they were being chased by monsters or anything. …It’s true, they were being pursued. By people who were pressuring them into an engagement.
That's right. During the battle against the monsters that invaded from another world, the "Servant of the Goddess" whose extraordinary fighting abilities were projected across the sky of the continent, was inundated with nobles and merchants trying to recruit them as their personal hunter, fellow hunters inviting them to join their parties or clans, and people trying to pressure them into relationships or engagements, making it difficult for them to walk on the street.
Messengers from nobles and merchants would only come when they were in town, but hunters would approach and follow them on the pretense of chance even when they were out in the forest on business. They would get in the way of hunting and gathering and were extremely annoying.
"It would be one thing if two hunter parties were to combine into one party, but that would increase the numbers too much, so you decided to disband the Servants of the Goddess and split us into multiple parties? Isn't that stupid!? Unlike the guys in Crimson Vow, we don't all have exceptional abilities. We all have very ordinary abilities. Our strength lies in the fact that we are able to amplify everyone's power many times over through teamwork, based on a thorough understanding of each other's capabilities. But why split up the party and reassign them? If you do that, we'll all become nothing more than ordinary C-rank, low-tier Hunters! Those guys don't get it at all! They don't get it at all!!"
Telyusia complained as she said this, but...
"Well, still, it's better than Litria, right...?"
"……" (x4)
Everyone was silent, with expressions of confusion on their faces, after hearing Philly's words.
That's right. In that live broadcasted by the Nanomachines, the one who stood out the most among the Servants of the Goddess, was Litria. A pretty and adorable noble girl who swung around a giant iron club and fired off attack magic while scattering monsters. ...Her strength and beauty had led to a furious attack (engagement proposals) from nobles and royalty who wanted to incorporate her blood into their clans, and as a result she had no time to focus on her hunting activities, so she was currently temporarily leaving the party. This was quite a blow to the Servants of the Goddess, whose fighting power had improved dramatically with the addition of Litria. They had become completely accustomed to the convenience of having offensive magicians around.
"...I wonder if Litria will be able to make a comeback... Don't tell me she'll just get engaged and married and then retire..."
"Just in case, should we recruit a magician who is good at attacking?"
"No!"
Telyusia denied what Willine and Tasha have said.
"If we were to recruit members now, people with some kind of connection... like a royal magician, a magician employed by a noble or a large merchant, or a member of a high-ranking hunter party, they would try to undermine and poach us from the inside."
"Ah~……" (x4)
"There's no other way. We'll just have to pray that Litria will safely decline the marriage proposal and return, and lower the difficulty of the quests we receive for a while, and endure."
"……" (x4)
"Servant of the Goddess" had hard days...
"…That’s all I have to say. Then, I’ll be off now." (Messenger)
"Y-Yes, thank you very much..." (Pauline's mother)
The messenger from the royal palace leaves, leaving the mother and child with blank looks on their faces.
...Pauline's mother and her younger brother, Alan.
It was reported that Countess Pauline von Beckett, along with Countess Myreline and Countess Red Lightning, had gone abroad on an important national mission, and that she had left instructions stating that her younger brother would be her successor in the event of an emergency.
"...If my sister dies or doesn't return, I will become the successor to the count family... I am a Count. I am the nobleman. Kuh. Kuhuhuhuhu..." (Alan)
"Oh no, Alan is falling to the dark side! Come on, Alan, come back to your senses!!" (Pauline's mother)
Thump!
"...Ha! What was I doing now...? No no, I have to protect this store that my father left behind and my sister took back, and make it bigger..." (Alan)
Somehow, it seems, he managed to stay afloat and not fall.
"Stop!" (Thug)
"Eh?" (Morena)
As she was walking alone through a backstreet in the royal capital, Princess Morena was suddenly blocked in front and behind by suspicious men. There were six of them in total. They all had evil-looking faces.
Currently, Princess Morena was incognito and dressed as a commoner. From her well-groomed hair and elegant appearance, it was obvious that she was of upper class, but at best she could be assumed to be the daughter of a wealthy merchant or the mistress of a lower-ranking aristocrat. The lower classes rarely had the opportunity to see Her Highness the Princess's face up close...
Therefore, it seemed that they were not targeting the princess, but simply trying to kidnap her as a foolish rich girl wandering around a place like this without an escort. It was unclear whether this was for ransom or human trafficking. Anyway, six people were involved with one girl. It was clear that they were not after some pocket money, but a large amount of money.
"Hehehe, it's not your fault for wandering around a place like this by yourself, young lady. I think it was just bad luck..." (Thug)
"Charge!" (Morena)
"Wooooo~h!!" (Soldiers, x6)
"……eh?" (Kidnappers, x6)
The kidnappers stood there, stunned. That's not surprising. There was no one there... except for one girl. And yet, suddenly, where there had been nothing before, soldiers appeared with swords raised and charged towards them at the girl's command.
(Fighting sfx)
The kidnappers wisely did not draw their weapons. Thanks to that, the soldiers were able to attack without cutting down their opponents... with flat strikes using the flat side of their swords... attacked with "Flat strike" and kicks, so they were able to avoid killing them.
This was because there was enough margin for them. If the kidnappers had been armed, they would have cut them down without hesitation.
...Of course, it was precisely because the kidnappers knew this that they did not draw their weapons or resist...
And after tying up the six kidnappers...
"Thank you for your hard work. You can look forward to a special bonus -desuwa." (Morena)
"Haha~!!" (x6)
…Of course, this was the item box's doing. Princess Morena always carried a squad of nine guards. ...She put them in the item box. With the sword raised and ready, she stored it in her item box. In times of crisis, she took it out.
It was only taken out when it was time for a change or when attacked by the enemy. So, if they were sent out somewhere other than the Royal Guard's barracks, all they had to do was charge at the enemy with their sword still raised!!
In fact, this role, which was rotated every three days, was very popular among the Imperial Guard. After all, it felt like zero time had passed. Three days' worth of work was completed in less than a few seconds. During that time, they wouldn't age or get hungry. It's like getting three days' worth of pay without doing anything. And, although it was very rare, when they were called upon, they received the honor of having "Protected Her Highness the Princess from thieves," a special bonus, and words of appreciation from Her Highness the Princess and His Majesty the King.
Such an exciting mission didn't come along very often. There was an overwhelming number of applicants, so the shifts were carefully organised to avoid any unfairness.
...Once, when Estrina the Third Princess of the New Continent accidentally took it out and nine soldiers appeared in front of her with their swords raised, she was so shocked that she was left speechless. The Royal Knights from the other side came rushing in after hearing her screams, and it almost led to a major incident...
Author's Note
The "Roukin" anime has finished airing...
There are still some areas where online distribution isn't complete.
And, we are now accepting pre-orders for the Blu-ray box set! (^^)/
...
Thank you very much! (^^)/