The mercenaries trusted Damon that much. With the strength they knew him to possess, two hundred Paladins would be nothing for him to make short work of. Damon shook his head and grumbled.
“Those damn bastards. This is the third time already. They’re practically going berserk trying to catch us, aren’t they?”
“You can say that again. If there are two hundred Paladin-class knights, it’s as if the entire Royal Guard has been mobilized…”
“They must have thought they could catch me with just that much force. How ridiculous.”
Damon seemed to be in a thoroughly foul mood.
“I’m so furious I’m half tempted to just fight it out with them.”
Damon’s body trembled with rising anger. The mercenaries watching him nodded as if they agreed. They thought his words made perfect sense.
In truth, four Death Knights who had reached the level of Grand Sword Masters and a 9th Circle master were more than enough force to contend with two hundred Paladins. Even if they themselves did not help, the odds were on their side. Unfortunately, however, they had not the slightest inkling about the Sevenfold Severing Restriction placed upon Damon.
“Tsk, tsk. Better not. Even if they’re trying to catch me, I don’t much feel like killing them.”
“A splendid judgment.”
The mercenaries all applauded at once. It was rare indeed to see one who possessed power show such mercy. Of course, they had no idea whatsoever of Damon’s circumstances, which prevented him from killing. Damon gathered mana and looked at the group.
“Everyone, gather together. I’ll spread a barrier and fool those bastards’ eyes once more…”
“Understood.”
The mercenaries hurriedly gathered around Damon. Since this was already the third time they had gone through it, their movements were fairly coordinated. Once he confirmed that everyone had gathered, Damon made a slight gesture with his hand.
Sssssss.
A magic circle appeared with the group at its center, and a barrier formed. In an instant, the barrier concealed the party’s figures. They vanished without a trace, as if they had slipped into a gap in space. In that state, the group held their breath and waited for the punitive force to be deceived and pass by.
After some time, a band of mounted troops came charging into the area.
Dudududu.
The cavalry that arrived near the place where the party was hiding first reined in their horses there. The knight at the very front reached up and lifted his visor. The face revealed was none other than that of Filberg, commander of Terbia’s Royal Guard. His face was now colored with bewilderment.
‘Not here either. Then did they perhaps go the opposite way? Strange. There were no traces at all in that direction.’
Having discovered traces of their camp through a scout’s report, Filberg had hurriedly pursued them, reaffirming his resolve to win over the black mage without fail, just as the king of Terbia had instructed. Yet the black mage and his party were nowhere to be seen. He had continued asking people and chasing after them, but could not even find a trace of their whereabouts. It was enough to make even a ghost wail, and anxiety settled over Filberg’s face.
‘This is driving me mad. I have to find him no matter what. At least it seems certain they did not come this far.’
The place where he stood was the slope of a low mountain. From there, the highway stretched out below in a single clear view. Nothing was moving along the road. Filberg’s gaze, far keener than an ordinary person’s, swept every inch of the highway, but he found nothing.
Of course, he never dreamed that the black mage’s party was hiding nearby.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Thinking that he would have to search elsewhere, Filberg lowered his visor again.
“We’re turning back. This time, we’ll search the northwest highway. Hyah!”
Neighhh!
Filberg’s horse snorted and began to gallop. Though they showed clear signs of exhaustion, the Royal Guard knights under his command followed him without a word. If two-thirds of the Royal Guard’s total strength had been mobilized, this was truly an enormous mission. For that reason, not one of them voiced a complaint.
Dudududu.
The two hundred mounted soldiers galloped off, kicking up fierce clouds of dust, unaware that the one they sought was right beside them.
Sssssss.
Only after quite some time had passed since they disappeared did the party reveal themselves. Damon gave a brief glance at the receding cloud of dust, then turned around.
“Let’s get going.”
“Understood.”
At Kasim’s instruction, the mercenary corps began to move. Their destination was Leytona, the gateway city of the Crosen Empire, located half a day’s journey away.
After marching for half a day, the party was finally able to come within sight of Leytona. Kasim quickly approached Damon.
“Once we cross that pass, we’ll be at Leytona. A great many princesses from various nations are likely staying there. Well, they’ll have gathered for the same purpose as Princess Juliana, of course. In any case, if we include the escort knights they brought with them, the place should be absolutely packed with people.”
“How many knights escort a princess?”
Kasim drew his brows together slightly.
“It varies, but in the case of powerful nations, I believe it is generally around a hundred. Even smaller kingdoms usually bring twenty to fifty.”
“That isn’t as many as I thought.”
Kasim shook his head as if to say that was not the point.
“What I mentioned was purely the number of escort knights. If you include the knights’ squires, coachmen, and ordinary escort soldiers, the number will increase by at least three to five times.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The princesses of other nations probably used spatial movement to come directly to Leytona in time. This is the official location where spatial movement can be performed, after all. Since it is exactly one week from Leytona to Felzentin, I expect they will depart around tomorrow. If they all gather and set out together, the danger will be reduced that much.”
“Well, if all their escort knights gather, the number will be tremendous…”
After speaking, Damon glanced toward Juliana. She and Mitchell were silently rummaging through the luggage. Since they had nearly reached their destination, they seemed to be taking out things like Carcel’s emblem and flag. Because they would be traveling together in one group, they needed an emblem proving their nation of origin.
“Here it is.”
Mitchell took something out of the luggage. It was a large flag. Though it had been folded neatly, when he took it out and unfurled it, the badly wrinkled portions were visible at a glance. He tried to force them flat, but the creases would not smooth out easily.
Befitting a small nation of fewer than ten thousand people, Carcel’s flag was quite plain. The image of a soaring eagle was engraved upon it, and beneath it the nation’s name, Carcel, was embroidered in an ordinary script. Seeing the occasional glimpse of gold thread, it was the sort of plain flag that might be used as the emblem of some rural fief’s lord. Looking at the flag, Mitchell turned to Juliana with a troubled expression.
“But what should we do about the ceremonial dress?”
Juliana frowned.
“Well, we lost it in the mountains, so what can we do? I suppose we have no choice but to go as we are. We’ll have to procure a set when we enter the imperial court. That’s all.”
“Should we?”
Seeing her nod with a dissatisfied expression, it seemed Juliana was troubled as well. After all, she had to go meet the other princesses dressed in worn everyday clothes. At that sight, Damon felt a sense of pity. The reason she had lost her ceremonial dress was none other than because of him.
‘She has no ceremonial dress, and on top of that, only one escort knight while the rest are all mercenaries… It’s obvious the other princesses will look down on her.’
Even at a brief thought, that much was easy to know. Since they were sending their princesses to the mighty Crosen Empire, there was no way the various kingdoms would make light preparations. Only by doing so could they stand out even a little. Since the pride of the entire nation was at stake, they would have poured effort into everything from escort knights to clothing, soldiers, and even the carriages they rode in. In a word, they were certain to arrive dressed to dazzle.
Juliana’s circumstances, however, were far from that. If the other princesses learned that she was wearing shabby, dirt-stained everyday clothes, had no carriage, and was even being escorted by mercenaries rather than proper escort knights, she was highly likely to become a laughingstock. Thinking of that, Damon smiled.
‘It’ll be quite a sight. With that temper of hers, there’s no way she’ll just endure being laughed at…’
Unaware of Damon’s thoughts, Juliana and Mitchell were busy brushing the dust from their clothes. After roughly tidying her hair and attire, Mitchell took up the flag and straightened.
“Shall we set out?”
Juliana looked at Mitchell and frowned.
“Why aren’t you wearing your armor? You obtained fine armor from the black mage, didn’t you?”
“How pathetic… If the princess is dressed plainly, do you think it would be proper for her escort knight to look magnificent? I didn’t wear it because I thought about that in my own way…”
“Well, that’s true…”
Nodding as if there was sense in his words, Juliana silently turned around.
“Shall we depart?”
Kasim, who had been watching, quietly gave the order to move out. The party began walking along the road. Once they crossed the mountain ridge, Leytona would come into view.
“Welcome to Leytona. May I ask what brings you here?”
Looking at the soldier who addressed them politely, Kasim stepped forward. Befitting a gate guard of the superpower Crosen, the soldier had a very imposing build, and discipline was ingrained in his movements.
“We have come to attend the Crown Princess Consort selection ceremony being held in Felzentin. We are mercenaries entrusted with escorting Her Highness the princess.”
“Is… is that so?”
The soldier’s face was filled with bewilderment. Countless princesses and their parties had entered until now, but this was the first time he had seen such a shabby procession. The princesses participating in the ceremony had all adorned themselves with the finest clothes and carriages, and even the attire of their guards was exceedingly splendid. They had come dressed to impress in every sense. Even the smallest procession that had passed through so far had numbered close to a hundred people in total.
And yet this group seemed about to break that record.
Since this was absolutely the first case of a princess entrusting her escort to mercenaries without even a carriage, the soldier looked at Juliana with an unconvinced gaze. She was the only woman in the party, so she was surely the princess. Leaving aside her appearance, her attire was far too shabby for a princess. Even the clothes worn by the maids in the group that had passed through just before had been more splendid than hers. However, he was not in a position to comment on a princess’s attire in the first place.
“Understood. Please enter.”
The soldier let them pass without much suspicion. Since an inspection had not been the purpose anyway, the procedure was very simple.
Thud, thud.
The mercenaries slowly moved through the gate. Inside the gate, a considerable number of soldiers were standing guard. Their startled gazes focused on them, but Juliana held her head high with determination. Inwardly, her face was burning so hot she felt like she might go mad.
After walking a little, the streets of Leytona stretched out refreshingly before the party.
Befitting a gateway city leading into the Crosen Empire, Leytona was a beautiful city with well-organized streets. Since there was not the slightest impression of filth, it seemed to be under strict management.
Countless restaurants and inns were clustered along the main road. Seeing many buildings that looked newly constructed, they were probably inns newly opened to target the princesses participating in the Crown Princess Consort selection ceremony. Each and every one had been decorated prettily and prepared to receive guests.
‘Commerce isn’t much different here than in the Central Plains.’
Thinking this and that, Damon took a step forward. But Kasim, who had been walking at the front, abruptly stopped.
“Something is strange.”
“What is?”
Kasim extended a finger and pointed toward the row of inns.
“Isn’t the street too quiet? By now, many princesses from dozens of kingdoms should have arrived and be staying here… Even if they parked their carriages out back, the horses the knights rode in on would almost certainly be tied in front of the inns. There’s a limit to how many can be kept in the stables. But the fronts of the inns are far too empty.”
Indeed, that was the case. Only a very few inns had horses tied up in front. Most of the inns looked so quiet as to seem deserted. Kasim continued speaking with an expression of incomprehension.
“By now, every inn should normally be packed with people. To be honest, I thought we wouldn’t be able to find rooms. In the worst case, I even expected we might have to sleep in a stable. But look at that. Aren’t the employees out in droves trying to catch customers?”
Damon nodded as if there was sense in his words.
“That’s true. If they were full of guests, the employees wouldn’t even think of soliciting customers. They’d be too busy serving those already inside.”
“It’s strange. They shouldn’t have left already. There would be no need to hurry…”
Kasim kept tilting his head in puzzlement.