Chapter 399 – Victory March (1)

000

Less so, less so. The sound of wagon wheels rolling.

Unlike other wagons that move without making a sound or even shaking, it is said that it can move without being pulled by a horse because it is enchanted.

The carriage in which Amelia was riding was moving forward with a much more swaying and roaring noise than the nobles’ carriages.

Cleon, while walking along the side of the carriage, is on edge.

The petals and pollen thrown by citizens watching the parade are stepped on by their feet every time they walk.

All these things were sown for the sake of the other nobles and royalty who were walking in front of Amelia, not Amelia.

The remaining pollen that falls to the ground crackles and crumbles whenever you step on it.

It was good that the view was not obstructed, but what the hell did they do in front of them to be praised this much?

Rather, it must be Amelia who should receive the flowers and be thanked.

Without knowing that, Cleon felt frustrated at the citizens who were just polluting her path her with flower petals.

Including that speaking of this fact is unforgivable.

Either that or not, the information from Layla was arriving in his head and ears her.

Fortunately, so far, the march has been proceeding without incident.

No one spat at Amelia, talked badly, or threw stones at her.

However, there were insults directed at Cleon, who was escorting Amelia.

Cleon thought it was unavoidable because he was a member of the dark horse clan, but he ignored it.

And- the support of the adventurers that Rampart had talked about, in the end no one came.

It was expected to some extent, but it must be that the perception of adventurers towards the knights and nobles of the kingdom is not good enough that no adventurers participate in escorting the march despite his popularity.

Suddenly, the conversation he had with Stukhoop in the morning came to mind in Cleon’s mind.

‘This country is not worth defending’

Although Cleon did not have enough knowledge to determine whether it was the wise man’s advice or the old man’s absurd remarks.

After the war, the people and nobles lead a peaceful life.

And adventurers.

At first glance, it was a life full of well-being that flowed without any problems, but if you dig a little deeper, the royal road is being targeted by the devil, and the conflict between the adventurers and the forces is deep.

The nobles are only focused on keeping each other in check, conspiring to get them down.

Enemies do not exist only outside.

Of course, there are monsters, demons, and enemies that threaten all humans that exist.

More terrifying than that is the enemies who do not recognize that they are enemies even though they are nearby.

For the people of the kingdom, who is the true enemy?

Is it Amelia who inherited the traitor’s blood?

If not-

[One… Two… Whoa, counting is annoying. There are more than I thought, guys who don’t know how precious their lives are.]

Then, Lyla’s voice crossed Cleon’s head.

Looking down at the ground from the sky, Lila is checking every single person crossing the crowd or moving from rooftop to rooftop.

As she said in her voice that she was tired of it, she kept sending Cleon information on the location of the assassins she had identified.

[If I had that sense, I wouldn’t have become an assassin in the first place. Besides, the assassination of the princess. The assassination of a member of the royal family is an event that has not happened in several years in history. …You’ll be able to leave your name in history and have a reputation as an assassin right away.]

[Well, that much. There are many barriers to overcome, but.]

The moment Lila finished speaking, among the information sent to Cleon’s head her, the location information of the two assassins disappeared.

[Lyla. Two people just disappeared.]

[Don’t worry. I didn’t miss it, it was processed. It’s the activity of the Battle Maid. 1 point- No, since there are two of us, we earn 2 points.]

[…What’s the point?]

When Cleon tackles her in her head at Layla’s words her, she replies playfully.

[Yeah, of course it’s a contribution to this job. The person who earned the most points at the end has the right to freely play Cleon in order.]

[…It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.]

When Cleon himself responded in bewilderment to Layla’s remark of her, which he had never heard of before, Layla smiled and returned it.

[Do you think Cleon will have the right to veto?]

[… I’m asking for reference, but who has the highest points right now?]

[Yeah, of course, I’m watching over everything as the commander of the sky. 1 point for each enemy you spot. Each time you send information to Cleon, you get 1 point.]

“…It’s a blast…”

Cleon opened his mouth involuntarily and expressed his feelings about Layla.

Layla might not be able to hear it if she said it with her mouth like this rather than thinking it out in her head.

[Cleon!]

[─ Did you hear it, Lila?]

Cleon answers her call with amazement at the fact that Lyla’s ears her are more powerful than he thought.

[I don’t know what you’re talking about, but there’s a guy coming through the gap created while the Battle Maids are fighting elsewhere.]

Cleon immediately stiffened his face at those words and put his hand on the sword hanging from his waist.

[Looks like an assassin?]

[Yes. How is it It was walking in a straight line towards Amelia. Even if you’re not her assassin her, something about her seems to have a purpose for her. I think she’d better be vigilant.]

[Gray.]

[I have also confirmed this. Elderly woman. Her seemingly bare body her. She is not wearing a robe or anything, and she is not holding what appears to be a weapon. -Ah, no. She is holding a slightly worn handbag in her hand. She is wary of any memorization that might be inside.]

As Cleon nods at Gray’s words, she sees an old man walking towards Amelia through the crowd watching her march with his eyes her.

On her body she was a slightly classy black jean coat. A fancy bowler hat topped her head, though her face her was wrinkled enough to feel the waves of the years.

In her youth she must have been a beauty.

Of course, she stopped in front of the curfew line, which was drooping so that the marchers could not come closer than a certain distance, and she looked at Amelia with her face raised in the shadow of her bowler hat.

“Amelia.”

“Yes?”

When Cleon calls Amelia quietly, Amelia turns her head in response to the voice of her.

Cleon turned her head slightly, pointed the tip of her chin at the old man, and her Amelia’s gaze turned to her.

“I think I came to see you. It’s strange to ask you this question, but do you know me?”

To Cleon’s question, Amelia shook her head gently in response.

“No… I’m new to you. I’ve never met you on the night patrol… But if you’re that old, maybe… You might be familiar with my mother.”

Amelia’s mother, Sariel.

She was her former queen of this country, and she later ended her life in exile, as did Amelia, responsible for her brother’s treason.

Before her rebellion of her, she had heard from Aurelia that Queen Sariel had the same people’s support as Lucius now.

However, the war between the kingdom and the empire planted a strong antipathy to the war and fear in the hearts of the people of the kingdom.

Sariel’s younger brother, who tried to stir up the worst fight that might have to be fought on the same side, called treason, and his blood relative to her, Sariel, were quickly abandoned by the people of the kingdom.

That’s why, even if anyone could easily put Sariel’s name her in her mouth her now, just bringing up a good story about her her could get her a bad eye from the people around her.

As an extension of that, Amelia was also an opponent whose name it was impossible to mix with her cheers her.

Just coming to see Amelia must have been an act that required quite a bit of courage.

Of course, it is a story limited to the fact that the purpose is good.

The next moment, Cleon missed her putting her hand her in her own handbag her.

Quickly, she brought it to her waist her, put strength into the grip of her sword, drew it out, and lifted it, the next thing she would do—

Throw memorization, explode smoke bombs, or use magic to target Amelia.

If you are on your nerves to respond without missing any action-

What she took out of her handbag with her hand was a beautiful bouquet, tinged with green.

She placed it carefully on the ground, leaving it beyond the line that the marchers could not cross.

It was as if the flower was never trodden on by anyone, but dedicated only to Amelia.

As if Cleon was a little shocked by her behavior, he pulled away the power he was trying to get into her hands her.

Amelia, too, shuts her mouth at her unexpected behavior her, which she was watching with a nervous expression.

And, after a while, it wasn’t until she passed in front of her that Amelia spoke to Cleon, opening her mouth once more.

“… I heard that the flower was her mother’s favorite flower…”

Sitting in her chair her, holding her hand her.

Carefully, and as if bringing up old memories.

“It’s a story I heard from Aurelia-sama. …Originally, green flowers are very rare…But in my mother’s hometown, thanks to the magic of green crystals, there are not a few flowers that glow green… So, rather, they came out to the royal road. He said he was fascinated by the other flowers he saw at the time.”

“…Certainly, flowers with green petals are rare.”

When Cleon agrees with Amelia, Amelia nods her head.

“So, usually then, she finds out about other flowers that she likes … My mother says that she rather came to like the green flowers of her hometown her … Because they are rare, she likes them even more. . .”

“…”

Even if the values ​​of the things she liked were limited to her own her and her narrow worldview her.

There was no lie in what she felt and what she learned there, and in her heart she was a person without lies or embellishments.

“—In that case. Surely those are flowers for you and your mother.”

“…Okay.”

Amelia had something, a slightly happy but lonely face.

“Now, it’s not too late. Shall I tell you something? It’ll be difficult for you to go by yourself, but…”

At Cleon’s suggestion her, Amelia shook her head from side to side.

“…No, it’s okay. If I or Cleon talk to you, it might draw the attention of others around you.”

“…Is it.”

And, again, silence fell between the two.

Meanwhile, after Cleon reports to Lyla and Gray-

[Anyway, that’s amazing, the battle maids’ impenetrable defense. Are you good at work? I’ve already beaten a few people. I managed to just let her grandmother pass by.]

To Layla’s words, Cleon calmly thinks about something and replies.

[Maybe they knew about the old man, because he escorted Amelia every year.]

Indeed. The answer comes from Lila.

The old man’s movement of taking out the flower and putting it down was so swift and precise.

Knowing that others around him might have something to say, he put down her flowers and looked at Amelia for a bit before disappearing into the crowd as the carriage she rode passed in front of him.

I can’t imagine doing it for the first time–and, her speed is enough to make me feel a little young to see it as an old man’s movement.

It is said that every time she marched, Amelia was indifferent, so there was a good chance that she would not remember her face even if she saw it by chance.

Well, it was also a proof that the Battle Maids’ work was accurate no matter what.

[Thanks to this, no accidents have happened yet. This will add extra points to Rubera and Eustes.]

To Cleon’s words her, Layla responds, seems to think about something about her for a while, then continues.

[That person just now seemed to be an acquaintance of Amelia’s mother, to be precise. Some of the assassins who knew they could come close this way will surely come close to you.]

[I know. However, she was able to know that Amelia definitely had supporters, so that’s a relief.]

Perhaps, as Cassius said, there may be people who can resist the laws Adam set.

What kind of criterion is that – maybe lineage, maybe resistance to magic – maybe… Just luck.

A sample might be gathered so that such an uncertain criterion could be defined.

Cleon sighed. She looked back at her place where she had disappeared.

Looking down at her floor her-her bouquet, which she had put down, had been crushed, as if someone had stepped on it with her foot her.

Holding her complicated feelings her in her heart her, she looked back in front of her.

It’s good that Amelia is sitting in her chair.

Even if she looked behind her, she would not have seen her bouquet of her.

It was then.

Layla’s voice flew into Cleon’s ears once again.

[What is this guy…? Are you an assassin…? When this close- Watch out, Cleon! It jumps out of the crowd!]

Almost at the same time as her warning her ended, there was a figure jumping over the forbidden line set by the castle guards and approaching as if flying in the sky.

That is, with a mask on his face and a decent suit.

As it was, he swung his weapon at Cleon.

As fast as lightning, he appeared splendidly with flying petals wrapped around him. He pulled out a long sword protruding from his wrist his and swung it straight at Cleon’s neck hers.

‘List Blade… Are they those guys again!’

Cleon was able to kill himself before Lyla’s words were finished, so he reflexively drew his sword and blocked the opponent’s attack with Galatea.

“What, what!? An assassin!?”

“Kyaaaaagh!”

People watching the procession are terrified and scream and run away.

The shock and fear that spread among the crowd in an instant made the citizens out of control.

“Cleon!”

Amelia’s worried voice was directed at Cleon.

As she gets up from her seat and tries to run close to her bars her, her her Cleon her holds up her other hand her to stop her.

“Amelia! Sit in a chair!”

Kagagagak! While hearing a light metallic sound, the assassin’s wrist blade entangled with Cleon’s sword.

[Gyaaaaagh! It hurts, it hurts!]

Thinking that Galatea’s screaming voice had been heard, what caught her own sword was her ‘sword breaker’-like blade of hers.

“Nice to meet you. Magic Swordsman Cleon. I am the leader of the assassination group ‘Four Fingers’. My subordinates have caused you a lot of trouble… Thanks to you, I am here to repay you.”

An assassin who leaves the fleeing citizens behind, sticks close, and throws his mask at Cleon.

The inside of the black hair was dyed pink, and the hair that was different from the outside was characteristic, and the voice heard close by was that of a ‘woman’.

Seeing that there are almost no curves even in the formal clothes that fit the body, it must be that the specialized body was polished to focus only on assassination.

When Cleon looks at her ring finger her, there is clearly a ring finger that others do not have.

However, the fact that all of his other fingers her had been severed and the cross sections were sewn together as if burned, Cleon felt a tingling sensation in his fingers her without realizing it.

“I thought the index finger was the leader… What are your fingers? Aren’t they just normal five fingers…!”

“Because my existence is top secret. You caught four people and caught your guard. But I commend you for blocking my attack.”

“I didn’t fall enough to be happy with the compliments of an assassin… I’m sorry, but I’ll slash them here… !”

While Cleon said so, when he released his mana loudly and tried to open Galatea’s power, some of the helpless people standing around were frightened by the mana pressure and tried to sit on the ground.

“Demon sword… It resembles that of the Demon Sword Emperor…!”

“…Kuh…!”

When Cleon heard the voices of the other citizens directed at her, she unknowingly weakened the magic sword’s output.

Thanks to that, the mana she had accumulated enough to blow away the assassin in front of her – the “Assassin of the ring finger” – Was not able to exert itself, and was only released to the extent that she distanced herself a little.

“…Aha. Do you care about people’s eyes?”

“It’s noisy. It’s better than being ignorant like you.”

At Cleon’s words, she smiles.

“Three million, I’ll take it.”

“──If you can try.”

001

“There’s a commotion in the back…Could it be an accident?”

When Aurelia says that, Percy nods her head too.

“Aruru.”

“Yes. I-“

When Aruru tries to move like that- then.

“It’s okay Aruru-san. As for the work in the back, the people in the back are handling it appropriately.”

“…Regent-sama.”

The carriage of the Regent family that followed right behind the carriage of the Tromeia family. The head of the Regent family, who was riding on it, called Aruru to stop him.

“Above all, isn’t there an adventurer appointed by Cassius himself as an escort? With his skills, Princess Amelia will be safe.”

‘This snarky raccoon old man…!’

Aruru thought so to herself, but she confirmed that the surrounding citizens’ murmurs and nobles’ eyes were directed at her at once.

It’s a big deal. Now, if Shang Bully moves, she rather reduces Cleon’s position to her.

“… Okay. Then I’ll leave the rest to him. Considering his success at the academy, a mediocre assassin is no match for him.”

“——That’s right.”

Regent’s answer, Aruru calmed down and tried to think of a way to get to Cleon’s side of her by somehow avoiding their gaze of her and giving a legitimate reason.

If, in the future, while these assassins continue to appear, she herself will not go to his side of her.

Because he becomes a liar who breaks the promise he made right before.

‘Cleon… Wait for me.’

While calling his name in my mind, I rubbed the arondite nervously.

And-there was another look in her eyes looking at her like that-

“…”

It was the dragon knight – Sir Drake, who was walking in front of her.

Just, she was silent and didn’t say anything, just watching her with her red eyes.

Although she hasn’t noticed anyone yet -.

What the heck that means, soon everyone will know.