Volume 3: Chapter 013: Thor – Secretly a Fool
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
The port town of Valette was quite large, much bigger than the Port of Karted, where I came from.
In the first place, it was not as cluttered as Karted and was quite well-maintained.
“Look, Sir Thor. What a large ship,” said Princess Lulu excitedly as she stared at the ship from the carriage window. Miradreed also has its own port, so this was not an unusual sight. [1] To think that she would be so excited…
[1] Instead of bringing that up, I said, “Is this Princess Lulu’s first time at Velette?”“Indeed, I heard that this is Mother’s hometown, but I have never been here before. To be fair, I was not allowed out much, but now that I am of age, it is time for me to fulfil the official duties of a princess. Therefore, I must work hard.”
She said all this with a cheerful smile.
She looked happy to be able to fulfil her duties as a princess.
[1] I decided to probe her thoughts a little, “Were you able to meet with the Queen Consort?”“No, it’s been a long time since I’d greeted mother. I heard that it is rare for mothers and daughters to see each other much in Ruskia.”
“I see…”
Is that how things are, or what she had been told?
Come to think of it, the First Prince’s faction did not come to the princess’s homecoming party.
“But, if I perform my duties well, I’m sure I will get to meet with Mother someday. That is why I must do my best.”
“… …”
I could only sigh to myself at that.
Does the princess understand that she has been abandoned by her mother?
Perhaps she does, but what child could accept that? The princess must still be clinging to some hope about being acknowledged by her mother one day. How pitiable. Perhaps not knowing is better…
“Ah, Sir Thor. That store is run by foreigners!!”
“Ah, that’s a stall run by immigrants from the Eastern continent. They are selling goods imported from the East.”
“I want to have a look…”
Princess Lulu stopped the carriage and got out. [2] She stepped forward and studied the stall with great interest.
The knights, myself included, made sure to surround the stall and watch the area carefully. [2] The stall owner looked warily at the princess as she engaged him in a conversation. From my vantage point, Princess Lulu looked like a perfectly normal princess out doing her duty of ‘getting in touch’ with the locals.
She looked both elegant and royal, a perfect epitome of a princess.
“Sir Thor, take a look! What’s this?” Princess Lulu sounded very excited.
I stepped forward to take a look.
“What is… ah, that’s a comb from the Eastern Continent. I believe it is made from amber. It is something people in the East use to comb their hair.”
“What a wonderful amber colour~”
I cast an eye over the goods and note that the stall mostly carries small accessories made from [2] amber, jade and other semi-precious stones. The twin maids were also there, their eyes shining as they looked through the exotic accessories.
Just then, a row of earrings caught my eye. They were small and modest; the stones were probably not particularly valuable since they were placed rather haphazardly [2] close to the edge of the table.
A small pair of teardrop-shaped earrings caught my eye. The brilliant red colour reminded me of Makia, and I suddenly remembered how Makia had lamented the loss of her favourite pair of earrings.
Would these suit her?
Would she even want cheap earrings bought from a roadside stall?
“… …”
I was still mindful of my surroundings even as I studied the earrings.
The Princess was happily studying a mechanical jewellery box that had been carved to look like a flower.
The rest of the knights were also keeping an eye on the situation around us. Their senses are alert for any suspicious people.
[3] “Sir,” I hissed at the proprietor. “How much is this?”Catching my furtive behaviour, the proprietor flicked his eyes around, held out seven fingers and whispered, “This much.”
I quickly handed over the money, and we exchanged goods. To think that I would be buying birthday presents while on the clock. How far I have fallen.
Still, I have to hand it to the proprietor; he really knows how to read the situation. With this kind of tact, your business is sure to prosper, Sir.
I swiftly slipped the earrings into my inner breast pocket and continued to maintain an impassive expression as I strolled over to where the princess was still [2] admiring the goods with her maids.
Melvis, who had seen what I had done, was doing her best to stifle her laughter.
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Princess Lulubeth’s [2] first official duty after arriving at Valette was to greet the Terzier family head and his wife.
At first glance, they were a pair of very genteel and aristocratic-looking gentlemen and a lady. From what I had heard, the current head was the Queen’s elder brother.
In other words, Princess Lulubeth’s uncle.
The Princess looked nervous about meeting her uncle and aunt for the first time. Despite my expectations, the air was quite genial, thanks to Sir Raymond’s aide, Urban, who kept a lively conversation running.
Still, the entire meeting was quite the ordeal since no one was showing their real feelings or intentions. No one aside from the Princess, that is. She was the only one who looked nervous and happy to be part of her mother’s side of the family.
Nothing of importance was brought up. The conversation revolved around small talk only.
The Terzier couple invited the Princess to stay at their mansion, but Urban smiled and refused them politely, [4] “A kind offer, a very kind offer indeed. Oh, oh dear me, but His Excellency Sir Raymond insisted that Princess Lulubeth must stay at this certain hotel. His Excellency absolutely insisted that Princess Lulubeth must sample the shrimp dishes at that hotel.”
The aide [4] hemmed, hawed, wrung his hands and was generally acting like a pitiful employee with an unreasonable boss.
However, I caught the way light glinted off his round glasses and gulped a little. Even though he looked like a total pushover, he was His Excellency’s personal aide. So there was no way he could be an ordinary servant.
The hotel in question was a state-run hotel called The Royal Hotel outside of the Terzier family’s influence.
Looks like Lord Raymond does not intend to show them any weaknesses.
Speaking of which, the Princess went to rest in her room at The Royal Hotel quite early. I suppose she must be tired from her
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”So, did someone just secretly buy something just now? Was it a present for Lady Makia?”
Melvis said, startling me out of my quiet contemplation on the sofa.
“So, you did see that… what makes you think it’s for Makia?” I said warily. [3]
“For one thing, her birthday’s coming up soon. How many times have I escorted Lady Smirda to one of Lady Makia’s birthday party by now, hmm?” [5]
“Ah, there’s that…”
Melvis was out of her armour and dressed in casual clothes as she fussed with the coffee she was making. [2] The amount of milk going into that cup is kind of ridiculous, which is how I knew that it was for Captain Dante. He was currently standing guard, so Melvis, being the caring older sister type, had decided to bring him some coffee.
[6] Catching my scandalised look, Melvis said, “That fellow can’t drink coffee without loads of milk.”I was about to say something when [6] the sound of glass shattering cut through, followed by a high-pitched scream.
[6] We immediately raced for the Princess’s room. The door was wide open. Captain Dante had his sword out and was actively battling one of the three masked strangers in the room. [6] The other two were cornering the Princess. The only barrier between them and her were the twin maids.“Princess!” I had already drawn my sword. “Melvis! To the Princess!”
“Got it!!”
[6] Somehow, Melvis managed to get hold of the Princess and ran out of the room with her. One of the two masked men immediately set upon their heels, while the other turned to face me.“Ah, damned,” I muttered as I [6] slashed my sword with enough force to make my opponent stumble. Then, with a flex of my right hand, I trapped them in a semi-transparent barrier. [3] “Stick around. I’ll get to you later.”
[6] Just then, a sword flew past us. Captain Dante had knocked his opponent’s sword so hard that it whizzed past my face and stabbed through the wall. What’s with that superhuman strength… [6] Just then, the masked man reached into his pocket and drew out a gun.I automatically noted the foreign make, [6] even as Captain Dante dove forward and grabbed the barrel, forcing it away from him.
“Oi, Thor! Go help the Princess!” [6] He roared even as he wrenched the gun away and started a physical fight with the masked man.
I guess it made sense for a guy who had spent all his magic building up physical enhancements to start a fistfight in a world where most people rely on guns and swords to boost their fighting power.
Since the Captain had already neutralised the enemy’s weapons, there’s no need to worry about him.
Instead, I ran out of the room after the Princess.
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“Melvis!! Are you alright!?”
[6] I cut down the third masked man from the back, automatically locking him up inside a barrier. Since we have to find out who the mastermind behind the attack is, I captured him alive.“Thor… I believe they’re using foreign weapons,” Melvis gasped, her right arm bleeding. She had been shot.
Beside her, the Princess was shaking and clinging to one of her maids.
“You need treatment,” [3] I said. “That’s a magic gun. Even a graze could cause a result in a wound.”
“It’s fine. I can fight neutralise it with my own magic,” said Melvis confidently.
I scanned the wound again, it looked like Melvis had cast a magic on her arm. Unlike Captain Dante, Melvis has a finer grasp of spells and spellcraft.
Typical of a white mage.
I tore off the mask of the man I had trapped inside the barrier. Time for some answers.
The mad had a beard and sunken cheeks. He looked like one of the refugees from the Eastern Continent.
“Oi, who sent you?” [3]
“… …”
“Well, the silence is not unexpected. It looks like you have a spell that will kill you instantly the moment you reveal something you shouldn’t. Do you know how to remove that spell?”
“No… I just did as I was told. There was a huge reward…”
“… …”
From the look of it, the man was quite prepared to die.
I sighed and formed several small cubes, [6] ready to send them out. Surely there must be a leader somewhere watching over the situation.
Just how many people have they sent?
Ki-in~~
Just then, a high-pitched sound rang out. [6] The sound reverberated like a wave with the hotel in the centre.
No magic user could completely erase all traces of themselves.
“There are two people 200 meters from the hotel. Several more beyond them.”
“Hey, brother, you’re a mage too? You might think of us as criminals or disposable pawns, but we don’t snitch on our own,” said the downed man.
“There’s no need for you to snitch. I can dig it out just fine,” I said, placing my hand on his chest.
“Hii!!” the man shrieked, thinking he was about to be killed.
What I was really doing was analysing the magic formulas inside his body. I studied the images scrolling across the translucent screen next to me. The spells and formulas used by lower-ranked mages are nothing impressive.
I just had to pay a little more attention when unravelling the spells one by one…
“Magical binding… and… a curse?”
“Curse?” Melvis looked interestedly at the translucent screen.
“Indeed, there are traces of curse magic here… [3] Black Magic in fact. What are the chances that it’s a Ruskian mage? No, there’s a higher likelihood that the mage is an outsider.”
It would appear that outside mages are interfering with Ruskia more than ever now. I narrowed my eyes in concentration as I carefully remove all the curse spells from the man before grabbing hold of him by the front of his shirt.
“Well, now, you’re no longer under a curse. So spill.”
“Hihi… you… Did you remove the magic from inside me?”
“That’s right. I have also discovered the person who cast their magic on you. [3] It is, but a simple matter to match the magical signature of the spells. You’re an Eastern Continent refugee, are you not? As a discarded pawn, surely you have no tie or loyalty to the ones who cursed you. It will be to your advantage to reveal what you know. Otherwise, you may personally experience Medite’s Brain Breaking Poison for yourself.”
I dramatically took out a vial of poison to frighten the man into talking.
However, just as the man paled and opened his mouth to speak, his entire body was suddenly engulfed in flames.
“… …”
Since the man was behind a barrier, the flames did not reach the rest of us. However, it was still shocking to think that someone could reach through my barrier to set someone on fire. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead at the thought that someone had the skill and power to breach my barrier.
Moreover, I am sure that I had properly scanned through that mage and nullified all the curses on him.
Had I really missed something?
Impossible.
The Princess was screaming and crying from shock.
This was a natural reaction to the gruesome sight of seeing someone being burned alive.
I gritted my teeth and held out my hand, clenching it into a fist.
The barrier compressed around the half-burnt corpse until the entire thing disappeared. As though he had never been there.
[Gumihou: Did my best to maintain the story’s momentum]
[1] Added details for clarification. Typical Japanese ‘unspoken truths’ moment that may not be captured by inexperienced readers. [2] Added details because… There just wasn’t enough [3] More Thor-like dialogue that is not too excitable. Reduce the amount of !! and !!! [4] Match the dialogue with the simpering characteristic [5] Matching dialogue styles with their characteristics [6] Adjusted the text to reflect a more dramatic presentation.
“That person can’t drink coffee without adding a lot of milk,” she says. Melvis is really a good-natured or considerate older sister.
She is currently taking it to Captain Dante, who is guarding the princess’s room.
It was then. A sudden sound of breaking glass and the princess’s high-pitched scream could be heard from the room next door.
Together with Melvis, I rushed over there, and the princess’s room had already been opened and Captain Dante was swinging his sword inside. Three masked men were present, and one of them was sword-fighting with the captain. The princess was sheltered by the twin maids and had retreated to the corner of the wall, but one of the masked men was already approaching.
Gumihou: Are you trying to make this boring? Seriously?
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