Sightseeing in the royal capital on the second day.
Today, everyone was wearing normal civilian clothes.
Yesterday, I had chosen clothes that looked like "Children from a somewhat wealthy family from another country," but today, I felt like "A daughter of an ordinary commoner who came from a local city in this country."
I thought it would be easier to talk to the people here.
As I had planned, I was able to ask various questions to the man at the food stall where I bought food, and the elderly people who seemed to be bored in the park.
...Sabine-chan, why are you so good at extracting information from people you've just met...?
Is it because she's cute? Because she's cute!!
...Ah, does the princess education include things like conversation skills and how to control people's hearts? Is that so?
But I think Sabine-chan's work goes beyond that...
Well, that's why we spent the entire day yesterday sightseeing for our own enjoyment, but today's purpose was to gather information...to investigate the raw state of this country...so it felt like half of it was work.
Sabine-chan as "The third princess of Kingdom of Zegreius" and I was also as "A noble from Kingdom of Zegreius, Viscount Yamano"...
But even though it's half work, I was thoroughly enjoying it.
So, I was thinking about pulling it up today...
"…h-hey, you’re the archpriestess!!"
I was called out to by two soldiers.
The only people who know that I had come to this country were those connected to the royal palace.
...Does that mean he's a member of the royal palace?
No, I went to visit him from here, but he didn't meet me and left me alone, in other words, he turned me away, so what am I doing now...
"No, it's the wrong person." (Mitsuha)
Yeah, I didn't have to answer honestly if I was suddenly accosted by a stranger with a weapon who wouldn't reveal his identity.
There were people in this world with black hair and black eyes...although their eyes were actually brown.
So, no one should be able to decide that it's me based on my appearance alone. Now I was dressed like a commoner.
"You have exotic features, and three girls who don't seem to have any guardians, and we were looking around so people would probably think we weren't a local...Oh, is that so? I don’t think that's the case…" (Sabine)
Sabine-chan said this quietly in Japanese.
Of course, even though it was a whisper, the soldiers could hear it.
However, since the conversation was in a foreign language that they couldn't understand, there was a slight chance that people would think that we were not from Kingdom of Zegreius but from a faraway foreign land...
"I will guide you to the royal castle!" (One of the soldiers)
...There wasn't, yeah.
I had no choice but to admit that I was the archpriestess...
Even if I denied it, it's a waste of time because they would never believe me anyway.
That's why…….
"No, I visited the royal castle the day before yesterday. As a result, I was not allowed to meet His Majesty and was turned away. However, persistently visiting him over and over again would be extremely disrespectful to His Majesty. Are you trying to get me to pick a fight with His Majesty and start a war with our country? If a war breaks out, will both of you who caused it to take all the responsibility? ...May I ask your name?" (Mitsuha)
"Eh……" (Both soldiers)
A pair of soldiers froze with their mouths open after being told something outrageous.
...Well, they're just trying to follow orders and take us to the royal castle, but if they're told that they would be made to take full responsibility for the war, wouldn't it be strange for him to freeze?
No, it's only natural that he freezes.
People in this kind of public servant position believed that they would not be held responsible if something happened, so they could be aggressive and act bossy.
So, as soon as I told them that I would check their names and hold them accountable as individuals, rather than as a nameless mob of "soldiers carrying out orders," they immediately became quiet.
"Ah... no, no, I would never do something like that..." (One of the soldiers)
Hmmm, I wondered how things would turn out from now on.
No way, I wouldn't be able to do it by forcing myself with all my strength...
As I thought about this, the other person who had been silent until now...
"Please! If we find the Archpriestess but are unable to bring her to the royal castle, our heads will be gone... Not figuratively, like dismissal, but physically... I just got married, and my wife is pregnant with a child..." (One of the soldiers)
Gyaa!
So cowardly!!
This guy is so cowardly!
Sabine-chan and Colette-chan's faces were also tense.
With this, I can't just take advantage of the gap and use teleportation!
I can't run away...
Kontiki show!!
...And so, I was brought to the royal castle...
When I told them that I needed to reserve accommodation first, they refused, saying, "A guest room will be prepared for you..."
Yeah, once they took us away, it's no longer our responsibility.
So, I guessed it was assumed that we would just disappear from the inn...
Well, it's possible to disappear from the royal castle's guest room, so if you said it's not a problem, was there no problem?
I was taken to the same waiting room as before.
There's nothing there except chairs and tables.
Well, I don't need anything else in a room that's just for waiting.
I understood that I had to wait here.
No matter what, there's no way the king would be able to come see me right away since I was brought here without prior notice.
Well, let's wait for an hour.
...What if he doesn't come even after an hour?
Yeah, well, I'll go home.
This time there was a guard in the room...a maid...but there was no problem.
Because I was "the Lightning Archpriestess, beloved child of the Goddess"...
Maybe if I showed him at least one miracle, he wouldn't act so bossy from now on.
Also, if we disappeared in this room, it didn't mean that we escaped while they were leading us to the bathroom, and it didn't mean that we escaped through the doorway, so I didn't think the maid or the soldiers guarding us were to blame, probably...
Sabine-chan said that I didn't have to worry about it that much, but I didn't want innocent people to suffer because of me.
Ah, even though it's not their fault because they were just ordered by their boss, it would be a different story if they turned against us or attacked us.
In that case, I would fight back without hesitation, and I didn't care what happens to the other person.
The world wasn't so easy.