A huge hole was formed in the garden. Sediments scattered around, and black smoke was rising from the hole. It seems that âQueen of the Nightâ was loaded with a fairly powerful shell.
As for the arrow lodged in my shoulder, I castăFlower Magicăon the vines of a nearby tree and entwined it around the arrow firmly. The arrow was pulled out as I leaned away from the tree (tears came out because of the pain), and I applied first aid withăHealing Magicăand Mimino-sanâs salve.
Thank you⌠Mimino-san. Since she loves herbs more than the three meals a day, I should present her some fascinating herbs.
The servants and soldiers of the mansion came out and were in a commotion, so I ran in the shadows of the garden while silencing my footsteps withăSprinting Techniqueă. Right thenâ
ăAs I expected⌠you are Reiji-san.ă
ă!!ă
A voice came down from above. It was Polina-san.
She was perched on the high wall of the mansion, her bow ready to lose an arrow.
ăWhat is your reason for attacking Her Highness Anastasia?ă
ăI wasnât attacking her⌠Iâm just dressed like this so that my identity wouldnât be found out.ă
ăâŚâŚâŚâŚă
The tensed string of her bow was at its limit. âŚSheâs super suspicious of me, ainât she.
ăI captured the Labyrinth of Fear at the behest of Her Highness, you know? I donât really have any reason to hurt herâŚă
ăWhy are you sneaking like this then?ă
ăBefore I talk about that, are you on Her Highnessâ side? Or are you an enemy? You are the one who is sneaking in the shadows.ă
I can hear sirens. And even the commotion from the buildings over the wall.
People will come around here as well before long. If that happensâwell, I wouldnât be able to escape, right?\n
ăReiji-san, Iâll let you go if you didnât hurt Her Highness. But I wonât go easy on you if you approach her again.ă
Polina-san turned around and jumped off the wall.
âŚMan, I couldnât even talk to her properly. She couldâve at least apologized. âSorry for attacking without confirming first,â or something like that. Though, Iâm not sure I would have accepted such a light-toned apology.
ăFeels like Polina-san is living a secret life. She even infiltrated the Golden Brigade party to enter the country, after all⌠hmm.ă
Well, whatever. I guess it doesnât concern me anymore.
Her Highness Anastasia will surely be able to live without problems if she practices using mana from now on. Thatâs good enough. I wonât have to get involved anymore.
âŚThough, she was trying to say something a while ago.
I wonder what it was. Gratitude? No, it felt like something else, but⌠I donât know.
ăThereâs no point thinking about something I donât know.ă
I pulled myself together and started running. By the time I escaped from the site and into the city, I had changed from the thief-style to the adventurer-style clothes. There were traces of blood on my right shoulder, but itâs dark so itâs manageable.
ăNow, then. Letâs go back to Muge-sanâs company.ă
In the city, people were talking in an elated tone about the sudden appearance of the âQueen of the Nightâ and the airships pursuing it.
ăGood luck, Empire!ă
ăThatâs the âQueen of the Nightâ, huh⌠Itâs amazing.ă
ăI wonder if theyâll be able to catch up to it?ă
I walked while listening to such clamouring. A lot of things happened today, so I just wanna go home and sleep peacefully⌠Iâll sleep until noon tomorrowâŚ
Then, I just suddenly looked up for no reason. âQueen of the Nightâ was passing right overhead.\nA human figure could be seen from a window on one of the rooms in the shipâit felt like the figure was looking down at me.
ăâŚâŚâŚâŚ?ă
Even with enhanced eyesight, the room was too dark and I couldnât really make out what I was looking at.
However, I couldnât take my eyes off of it.
Is that aâŚ
A white palm touched the window.
That hand⌠I have seen it somewhere.
Why? Why canât I remember?
My memory was unclear as if it was blocked by haze. Almost like, Orihime and Hikoboshi across the Milky Way know that the other is there but cannot meet each other because of the rain clouds.[TL Note: According to legend, the lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi, are separated by the Milky Way, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. However, they cannot meet if it rains on that day, and have to wait for the next year.]
ăH-Hey, whatâs thatâŚ?ă
After the âQueen of the Nightâ passed by, I heard the voice of a confused citizen.
As I glanced in his directionâ
I was greatly startledâŚ
ăSeriously? Right at this time?ă
A single ray of light beamed into the night sky.
One of the labyrinth capture teams that went to capture the âLabyrinths of 9 Emotionâ had successfully captured a labyrinth, as a pillar of light rose from a labyrinth.
** Lev Magic Empire Emperor **\n\nAs the ministers were exchanging as such back and forwardâ
ăTransmit that, when we succeed in recapturing âQueen of the Nightâ, the most active company will be granted an airship. Ignore the companies that donât move.ă
ăYes, sir!ă
When the Emperor decided so, the Commander-in-Chief rewrote it into an order, and it was handed down throughout the Empire.
Large companies that have an airship have a magic tool for communication, so as soon as they saw the order with the Emperorâs name signed on it, a number of airships belonging to various companies appeared in the sky.
The sky of the Empire was jumbled with wide-reach searchlights and flying vessels.
ăOOOH! That light!!ă
At that time, one person shouted, pointing out the window.
The light signifying the capture of the Labyrinth of Hatred rose like a pillar. As everyone stood up and was fixed at itâ
ăYour Majesty.ă
A messenger rushed in, out of breath. Despite the excitement of the ministers, the messenger approached the Emperor, and whispered the report.
ăIt seems that a shell has fallen into the mansion of Her Highness Anastasia.ă
ăWhat?ă
ăHer Highness is safe, but together with that, there are reports that thieves had sneaked in⌠perhaps the servants of the mansion were just confused.ă
The Emperor stroked his beard, with a âhmmâ.
ăBring Anastasia here. Now that two auspicious ceremonies have occured, the recapture of âQueen of the Nightâ and the successful capture of the Labyrinth of Hatred, it would make sense to have it stand by my side.ă
In the Emperorâs mind, the successful recapture of the âQueen of the Nightâ is already certain.
Nodding deeply, the messenger left the conference room.