Chapter 38 – The Hero and the Saint Are at Odds

Episode 38: The hero and the saint are at odds

“Thank you for the offer, Princess.
Even if it wasn’t, it was a car that was very anxious about what happened today.
The goodwill of the princess is like the warm protection of the sun god.”

“I’m glad.
Mercy, please prepare a room.”

As the sun was setting in the car, I deliberately looked out the window as if I was anxious and answered.

“But, Princess.
It’s a shameless thing, but…
I have one blue.”

“Tell me.”

“There are store employees who have been waiting for me knowing that I will return today.
Send me a messenger.
May I ask the staff at my store to let me know that I will be staying for a night and returning at the invitation of the princess.”

If you say there are many requests for the subject, I have nothing to say.
Jacques and Ludwig might get anxious and go looking for me if I don’t go back by sunset.

“Sure, of course.
A friend of Marianne and Rebekah is also a friend of mine.”

Princess Anne called a man over to ask where my shop was.

I wrote a short letter announcing the location of the store, Jacques, and Ludwig that I was safe, and asked them to deliver it.

Meanwhile, Princess Anne sipped the milk tea placed in front of her.

“You seem to like milk tea.”

“Yes, I don’t digest milk well, but…
I like it so much that I am enjoying it little by little.”

Apparently Catherine the 1st liked tea.
Let’s remember.

“Come to think of it, did you say that the Princess of the Star was worried about these things, just like Her Majesty the King and Princess Mama?”

Princess Anne’s face darkened noticeably.

“Yes.
If it wasn’t for Stella, she would be advising her father…”

Something like that?
Unfortunately, Princess Anne stops her words as if she was sorry.
She is the one who quietly drinks only milk tea.

After that, Princess Anne diverted her words from matters within the palace, and shared her words with simple personal matters.

“Oh.
It is said that a joint funeral for today’s victims will be held tomorrow.
I’m going to attend, so let’s start early tomorrow morning together.”

“Yes, I understand, Princess.”

“And…”

Jiggle.

Princess Anne held out her heavy pouch.

“I am a princess, but this is the only thing I can help you with.”

It was a gold coin.

“Thank you very much, but I will only take your heart.
I am not a family member…”

“No.
This is in return for the information you’ll be giving me in the future.
You may become more dangerous because of me, so please consider hiring a bodyguard in the future.”

“… All right.
I will live up to your expectations.”

Princess Anne bowed gracefully and withdrew.
The maid called Mercy is the same maid who was hypnotized by me on my last visit.

“You can use this room.
If you need help, please ring the bell at the door.
We will prepare the bath water soon.”

Besides that, her lady-in-waiting took care of details such as whether she had clothes to wear at her funeral tomorrow.
After memorizing the instructions, I entered the room.

I opened the window and looked outside and to the left and right, and looked under the bed and under the small desk and chair.

Then I headed for my wagon for a while.

“Hey, brother, what’s going on?”

“I’m going to take some of my stuff out.”

“The bodies were removed early for the funeral.”

Hmm, I’ve felt this guard for a long time, but he’s not cheap.
I take the hypnotics and candles from the wagon.
… But, did something lessen the load?

“Excuse me… Did you see the food in here?”

“What? Didn’t you see?
… So what?
What you looking at?!”

The guard screamed as if he had been stabbed with a lever.
The liver has gone overboard to touch the guest wagon.
Since the level of the guards at the villa was at this level, it must have been that Princess Catherine noticed Marianne’s visit right away and came running.

“Oh yeah?”

Fuck!

As he snaps his fingers, the guard’s eyes immediately lose focus and go blank.
So who wants to eat food with hypnosis accelerators?

“You greet me politely whenever I come from now on.”

“Greeting… Do… “

“Okay. And report who has come and gone until we meet again.”

“Who… Did you come and go… To report…”

“Especially when Hero Alberic or Princess Catherine comes and goes, be sure to tell them.”

“Alberic… Catherine… To report…”

The guards will now act on the hints planted in their minds.

I asked who had eaten with me, met the guards who ate the hypnotic stimulant with me, and went back to my room with the same hypnosis.

It’s a bonus to get a map from the guards that shows the patrol route, shift hours, and patrol route.

Cleaned up with warm food and bath water, I lie down in the guest room.

“Ha…”

Close your eyes.
A good-natured orange-haired nun with her freckles looms in her eyes.

… Can’t rest yet
There is also an enemy here in the palace.
The guys who killed Rebekah.
Alberic appeared at the right time.
Princess Catherine trying to find out the witnesses and evidence.

There is a strong feeling that he is in collusion with the high priest Philip.
And the fact that he is in contact with High Priest Philip is highly likely to be connected with the infiltrator in the Demon King’s Army, from the special operation to assassinate the demon king to the cathedral terror incident.

I got up from Zara and rang the bell.
And hypnotic perfume was sprayed on my body, and candles with hypnotic scent were lit in the guest room.

Smart.

“Yes, I am leaving.”

“Camyu-nim, what did you call me for?”

“Ah, that…”

Fuck!

Because I had been hypnotized once, my mental barrier had been weakened to some extent.
Just by standing at the entrance of my room where hypnotic perfume and hypnotic candles are lit
As far as hypnotic facilitation is possible.

“Ah…”

“Come in for a minute.”

The lady-in-waiting called Mercy quietly entered my room.
I check the hallway and make sure no one is there.
After that, he leads me into a room that has been drawn with curtains beforehand and puts me on the bed.

“Come on, take a deep breath… Exhale…”

“Hum… Ha…”

“From now on, your questions will tell you the truth about what you know.”

“Truthfully… Say…”

“Good.
How did Princess Catherine know yesterday that she came to see Princess Anne’s guests right away?”

Lie down on a comfortable bed and hypnotize yourself more deeply.
Then, using the hypnotic scent as a catalyst, it suppresses the release of mana as much as possible and plunges it into deep hypnosis.

Now that the royal magic division has been enlisted in large numbers to investigate terrorism.
Now is your chance to use the hypnotic spell.
Contrary to suggestion, hypnotherapy in which consciousness is accessed in a state of hypopnea without normal activity.
Because the goal is information acquisition.

“Handmaidens…
There are those who tell Princess Catherine…”

“Good. Name the maids you know.”

A maid named Mercy gives the name of Princess Catherine’s sister-in-law.
I sit down by the bed and write down quickly with a pen on a piece of paper.

“Who was with Marianne when she had an audience with the King yesterday?”

“That… I do not know.”

Oops, the lady-in-waiting doesn’t know much.
I asked a lot of questions to confirm Princess Catherine’s movements yesterday, but I didn’t know much.
However, unlike Princess Anne’s Winter Palace, the place where Princess Catherine is staying is the Northern Palace in the north.
Then?
I’ll have to ask you something else.

“Have you seen Hero Alberic yesterday?”

“… No.”

“Have you heard anything about it?”

“… I heard that you stopped by His Highness the King’s palace for a while.”

What?
Alberic to the King’s main palace?
Isn’t that the office?

“Why?”

“I don’t know…”

Write. This is so…

“How are Alberic and Princess Catherine?”

“You two… I’m doing fine…
Alberic lived the palace life… You’re a bit frustrated…
Feeling out of place…”

From what I’ve seen and heard, they say it’s almost as bad as it sounds.
Are they using each other?
Does this lady-in-waiting know anything other than Princess Anne’s eastern palace?

“Oh, where is the star princess?”

“Stella is at the Constellation Tower in the Western Palace… Anybody home…”

Tower? Why is the top suddenly?

“Why are you in the tower and not the palace?”

“For the purpose of practicing magic… You say you are, but…
The truth is that you’re stuck… Rumor has it…”

Look at this
Can’t see the star princess, is she even trapped?

“Why is the star princess locked up?”

“That… I don’t know.
However, interviews are also limited…
Meals are delivered on time… I know that…
So… It’s like being trapped…”

That’s why Princess Anne was sorry when the story of Stella, the princess of the stars, came out.

“Does the Princess of the Stars have a bad relationship with Princess Catherine?”

“You two are half-brothers…
The mother of Princess Catherine… The former queen passed away…
The current Queen Grace, Princess Anne, and Princess Stella are a family connected by blood…
Princess Catherine is doing well on the outside, but…
Princess Stella or… With the current queen… Together… Don’t eat…”

This was also the content of Master’s information.
Princess Catherine is the daughter of the former queen who passed away.
The other two are daughters of the current queen.
The age difference is not long, and the current queen’s family is as powerful as the previous queen’s family, so Princess Catherine is trying to keep it in check.

Anyway, I’m having a headache because of the succession of the Demon King’s army, the human kingdom, and the successor.

“Okay, okay.
In the future, gather all the information about the king, princesses, and hero Alberic.
Next time I come, be sure to tell everyone.”

“Yes… All right.”

I get the lady-in-waiting out of bed, tidy her up, and help her in front of the door again.

Fuck!

“… Oh?”

“Are you okay?
He just said he was dizzy and stumbled…”

“Oh my, I did.
Sorry.”

“No. You’re welcome.
Come in and get some rest.”

“… Oh, I guess so.
Thank you, gentleman.”

The lady-in-waiting blushed, got out of my arms, grabbed the sides of her dress, and greeted me cutely.

A very useful source of information.

* * *

The next morning.
It rained incessantly in the morning.
Together with Princess Anne’s funeral procession, I attended the joint funeral held at the incense burner in the square in front of the cathedral.
I brought a white chrysanthemum flower in front of Sister Rebekah’s nameplate on one side.

“… Are you here?”

“Okay… Did you eat… ?”

Marianne was acting as the resident there.
Marianne, dressed in black, was very slumped.

“No… At all… I have no idea.”

“… Drink this when you are tired.”

He manages to hand over the stamina recovery drug.
Marianne’s eyes, once straight and strong, are now dull and powerless, like the eyes of her fish at the fish market.
In case Marianne didn’t know what to do with it, she volunteered to take care of her incense burner.

“Captain, you worked hard.”

“Say anything.
I wrote down what I found out until yesterday here, so understand it and incinerate it.”

Jacques and Ludwig, who met at the funeral, said they had read the note from Princess Anne’s servant yesterday.
And she told me that the old maid, Eva, had gone to work and was tidying her up in her shop.
… Eva, she said she didn’t have to come out.
It’s too sincere, so it’s a ride.

Jacques and Ludwig were told to disperse for several days to collect trends and movements of people.
In particular, how people perceive the terrorist incident yesterday.
What is your attitude toward the temple?
If a large number of people attend the holy war, they will be on the absolute defensive from the position of the Demon King’s army, which is being pushed out of the quantity.

After two days of guarding the incense burner and the funeral hall, some time in the morning before the funeral.
While the rain was still pouring down, a familiar face appeared at the incense burner.
A handsome man with a lot of dandy hair and a cool look.
It was Alberic.

“Hey, I was thinking of going to look for you.
Were you here?”

“… Yes.
… A friend is lying here.”

“Oops… Too bad.
If I had been better protected, there would have been fewer innocent victims.
I’m very sorry too.”

“…”

Kwak.

I clenched my fists hidden behind my back.

“No, you worked hard.”

“Yes. Whoa, since I increased the power, it was difficult to use the technique delicately, so I won.
It’s a shame I found it sooner than that. If I hadn’t stopped it, more would have died.”

You listened to your own rationalization, chew.
I shouldn’t kill him now, but I feel like my head will explode.

“… Having reached the limit level, there were no skill points for delicate skills.”

“… ?”

What did this guy just mumble?
Limit level?
Skill points?

Leaving my questions behind, Alberic passed me and approached Marianne.

“Ah, saintess! You are here.
Haha, you work hard even as a resident.”

“…”

“Thanks to the saintess, I was able to drive out the demons well.
If it wasn’t for the saintess’ shield, who would I trust to use the ‘Sword of Judgment’?”

“… You believed me?”

“Sure. Jeon…”

“Then why didn’t you even give a signal before using the special move?”

At Alberic’s smirk, Marianne raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, it is effective against the enemy when used in a surprise attack.”

“When you appear, you use a cool-looking tone. Is that a surprise?”

“Heroes need to appear in the first place.”

“If you had told us when it was time to appear, I would have spread the shield upwards as well.”

“Ah, why would the person who worked with me on the operation do this?
You know, between us.
I thought the saintess would block the stomach if I just appeared.”

I could really buy it today.
If it weren’t for the gathering of knights around Marianne and Alberic, it would have been a long time ago.

Chuck.

Marianne extends her arm in front of Alberic, pointing her way out.

“Please leave.”

“… Yes?”

“My friend was hit by your technique and died of excessive blood loss.
It’s rude for you to say that in front of the dead.
Please leave.”

“… Why are you blaming me?
The delay in defense is the saintess’ fault.”

“Do you know how many soldiers other than my friend have been affected by your technique?”

“I don’t know.
All I know is that I defeated the demons.
And if I didn’t step out, more would have died!”

Alberic thumps his chest in frustration.
Marianne’s expression looking at him is cold.

“There were priests around, and there were enough reinforcements outside the chapel.
If you knew the raid, if you thought to reduce the sacrifice!
You should have brought them and fought while protecting the people!
You are… Do you only think of the accolades and fame you will receive?!
Is that why you came in alone and ran amok!”

As Marianne vents her resentment by shedding her tears, Alberic smiles with only one side of her face in her staggeringly sweet expression.

“Are the warriors omnipotent?
No, you’re just saying why can’t you do better?
If your friend died, isn’t it your fault for not keeping it?”

Such a fucking bastard!
The moment I step forward and start punching,

Tup.

Ludvik came to my side before I knew it and grabbed his shoulder.
He didn’t even use an umbrella because he was in a hurry to come, with rainwater streaming down his face.
Then, quietly and resolutely, she shook her head.

‘It’s not possible.’

Even if you don’t speak, those eyes seem to be talking to me.

Meanwhile, Alberic raised his voice and spoke.

“To prevent harm!
That’s your job!
If you can’t do your job properly, why blame others… !”

Aww!

Marianne ended up punching Alberic in the face.

“Both of you, calm down!”

“Get off!”

“Let it go, you bastard!”

The knights intervened between Marianne in black mourning clothes and the excited Alberic, barely stopping them.

Marianne quietly took a step back and glared at Alberic with her fiercely cold burning eyes.

“Get out.
You don’t deserve to be here.”

“…”

Alberic also glared at him with all his might.

Widely!

Alberic roughly shook the hand of the knight who had grabbed him and headed out of the incense burner.
And he spoke softly to me who was behind him.

“I have something to say. Follow me.”

“…”

I tapped Ludvik’s shoulder, who was looking at him with concern, and I followed Alberic.
… Ludwig this guy.
I can’t even follow you

Alberic went to an alley in one corner of the plaza and held out his pocket to me.

“Now, this is the item I requested last time.
When the items are ready, find Harry at the guard post at the South Gate of the Royal Palace.”

After that, Alberic disappeared through his rain without looking back.

There was hair in the pocket.
… But it’s not Princess Catherine’s platinum hair.

What came out of that…
It was dark chestnut brown hair.