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TENKEN 690 Side: A Certain Group of Three 3
「Sibylla-sama... Didn't I ask you not to cause any trouble?」
「Well, sorry」
「I heard from Biscot that you get into some quarrels in the dungeon, and to top it off, you even had an argument with the Black Thunder Princess!」
「But Sis and I didn't lay our hands on them, you know?」
「That was of course! If you had done that we'd be hunted down by now!」
「Y-yeah」
「Uhh...」
「Sibylla-sama? What's the matter? Are you even sorry for what you've done?」
「What do you even think of me!... W-well, nothing in particular. I'm just thinking about our country's reputation」
「Oh, Biscot said that there's a kid that says bad things about our country?」
「The kid says our country was ruthless, heartless, and――」
「The worst of the worst」
「Yeah, that one. The one who keeps messing with the Kingdom of Kranzel is just the Southern and Eastern Duke, isn't it? But thanks to them, they think our country is just like them」
「Because of the way our country was established, each of the five regions, east, west, north, south and center, has its own uniqueness... We may tend to think that what each region is doing is the responsibility of the people of that region and has nothing to do with the other region. We were not that interested in what the other dukes were doing abroad too」
「But it doesn't seem to matter to the people of Kranzel. They will think that what the Southern and Eastern Dukes are doing is the will of the entire Kingdom of Raidos」
「And the result is the reputation of being the worst country in the world」
「Yeah」
「But is the girl's story for real? I knew that the Southern and Eastern Dukes were hostile to Kranzel, but...」
「Well... I'm quite sure they really did that though」
「A conspiracy, huh...? The Southern and Eastern Dukes does smell fishy. They certainly had hard feelings towards Kranzel, so it wouldn't be surprising if they were doing something to Kranzel」
「What about the Western Duke, Clicker? Your parents' house is over there, have you heard anything about the Eastern Duke?」
「Well... I don't know. It's not without possibility, but he won't do anything that is not in his interest. Besides, it would be difficult for him to conspire against Kranzel while dealing with the Kingdom of Phillias and the Sea Kingdom of Sydran at the same time」
「I guess so. We're talking about that greedy Duke after all...」
「What about the North? To be honest, I don't know much about that region」
「It's the place with the strongest sense of independence in our country after all. The Northern Knights could take care most of the problems in its territory, so the Red Knights will hardly be needed. But the north is out of this I think」
「Well, yeah. The Northern Duke has a warrior's temperament, he doesn't like to do things the complicated way. If there is a hostile party, he will raise an army and fight them head-on」
「I see」
「What about the capital? Is it even possible that we're not hearing anything about it?」
「Yeah... What's happening, Clicker?」
「If he's really up to something, wouldn't the Prime Minister have brought some information to us as well?」
「I see. And I don't think the current royal palace has that much power」
「Therefore, I guess it's the pigs in the south and the lunatics in the east who are doing all these things」
「I agree. Well, let's discuss how to deal with the dukes when we get back to our country. However, I asked you to keep quiet today, didn't I? Why did you go to the dungeon?」
「W-well, how to put it, Sis said we should go check the dungeon...」
「Sibylla-sama?」
「I just thought it would be a good idea to see what an adventurer is capable of. I heard there's a dungeon that you can enter even if you're not an adventurer」
「There was nothing to be gained by going there, was there?　I heard that it was just a dungeon full of beginners」
「It's not like that. I just thought that if we didn't know more about adventurers, our country might get hurt at some point in the future」
「Well, thanks for your concern. However, I think we should end our investigation in this town. I will make arrangements to leave the city as soon as possible. Is that all right with you?」
「No, not yet」
「Why is it? There's a good chance that Sibylla-sama and Biscot had already been eyed by the adventurers of this town, you know?」
「You think they are watching us?」
「I haven't confirmed it, but there's a hint that they're watching us. It seems they're using a magic beast to keep an eye on us... I didn't know what kind of magic beat it is, but the only thing I know is that it's most likely using dark attribute magic to conceal itself」
「Oi oi, for the captain of the scout unit, Clicker, to cannot detect it... Is there someone who can employ such a magic beast in this town?」
「They should be an adventurer. I hadn't gathered much information about the dungeon, but I had experienced their diversity and uniqueness. I also learned that to truly understand them, you can't just look at them from their surfaces」
「B-but until now―」
「This is the order from the leader of the Red Sword Knights. We will remain in this town and continue our investigation on the adventurers. Our true identity hasn't been completely exposed yet. I'm sure we can work something out」
「Work something out? This is too dangerous. What will we do if our true identities are exposed?」
「We'll force our way through when it comes to that point」
「Haah-, as I thought... Then, let's prepare for the worst」
「Sorry about that」
「So, when you say investigation, what exactly are you planning to do? You must have come up with something, right?」
「Of course, the best way to understand someone is to fight them」
「We'll be on the wanted list if you do that, you know?」
「We won't. There'll be a place where you can legally fight adventurers soon, right?」
「A-are you planning to participate in a martial arts tournament by any chance? I've already told you that it's dangerous though」
「It's not every day you get the chance to go up against a high-ranking adventurer. It's decided. Biscot will enter the tournament with me, and Clicker will support us」
「Huh?」
「Understood」
「Are you sure? This is a mission where the future of the Kingdom of Raidos is at stake, remember?」
「Is an adventurer really that much of a thing?」
「I don't know. That's why we have to know them」
「...What about the red seal?」
「We're not going to use it in the tournament. If we show it to them, they'll know who we are. I've used it before to stop Kranzel's counter-invasion. But we might have to use it to escape, so just be prepared」
「I understand」
「Sis. Are you serious that I'm going to participate too?」
「Yeah. Neither of us knew what they really are. The Kingdom of Raidos has distorted our view on them too much after all」
「D-distorted...」
「Patriotism is not the same as blindly looking down on an enemy country. Well, I was just saying it out loud, but I wasn't really practicing it either...」
「Sis...」
「This is not about winning or losing. We're going to fight like hell to understand what adventurers are. Okay?」
「Got it」
「What about the one who has been keeping its eyes on us?」
「Can you get rid of it?」
「If only getting rid of it, but... It might be difficult to even catch it」
「Let's leave it then. They'll send someone else to watch us anyway. They won't know that we're aware of the surveillance by doing so」
「I understand」
「Well, it looks like we're still on track to fulfill our original mission from the Prime Minister」
「Confirming the whereabouts and abilities of the S-Ranked adventurer, was it?」
「Yeah. A while ago, I was informed that someone from the Southern Duke's men had confirmed it... They should be here to watch the martial arts tournament」
「It seems that the adventurer is not the same as the one reported by the Southern Duke's men, but there's no doubt that an S-Ranked adventurer is coming」
「All right then. We'll see what they're capable of, and if we can, we'll measure their loyalty to Kranzel. It would be nice if we could go at them, but just being able to observe them up close will be enough for now」