#179 Demon King’s Castle Escape Operation (1)
Tarak, the great city in the northwestern part of the Ion Continent, greeted the morning as dawn broke.
It was a bustling city that could hardly be called quiet even in the middle of the night, but now that most people had awakened and begun to move, its busyness was on an entirely different level from the night before.
Creeeak.
—“I’ll be going, then!”
“Aye, always mind the carriages!”
And Diana, who had moved to Tarak not long ago, was just as busy.
Like everyone else, she hurried out of the house early in the morning.
Yet even in the midst of her haste, her face was full of smiles—.
It had not been long since she had moved here, so everything around her still felt unfamiliar, but that was because she was more than satisfied with her life now. ‘This house, too! For now, it’s technically an indefinite lease, but still...’ This cozy house, which she still had not gotten used to, was incomparably spacious compared to the living quarters attached to the grocery store where a family of five had once lived, and since it had been built not long ago, its clean facilities had no need for repairs anywhere.
On top of that, it was located in the central district where public safety was good, so what more needed to be said?
It possessed every single factor that influenced housing prices—a literal “expensive-looking house” in itself.
So of course she could not help but be pleased.
“Ah! Good morning, Grandmother!”
As Diana bustled out the door, she spotted a neighbor she had now grown familiar with and greeted her cheerfully.
At the sound of her voice, the old woman next door, who had been sitting in a rocking chair on the terrace and leisurely enjoying the breeze, turned her tattoo-covered face toward Diana and let out a low chuckle.
“Kkeul-kkeul-kkeul... Aye, off to work already? You’re diligent every morning.”
“Ehehe, I’m still in the middle of learning, after all. Hain... Chairman Hubert trusted me and entrusted this to me, so I can’t disappoint him!”
“So young, yet so admirable. Heul-heul...”
At first, she had been worried after learning that a frightening-looking old woman lived next door, but fortunately, unlike her appearance, the old woman was extremely warmhearted toward children.
Not only did she slip them snacks as though she really were their own grandmother, but she also had a bold way with words, telling them all sorts of entertaining stories.
Thanks to that, even the children who had been wary at first had grown quite close to her before long.
Setting aside little Lafi, even her shy younger brother Aaron now went over to the house next door without hesitation. ‘They said that grandmother is being sponsored by the Hubert Trading Company just like us... If she’s someone Mister trusts, then there shouldn’t be any need to worry.’ Of course, for Diana, who had experienced betrayal only recently, it was difficult to place her trust in others carelessly, but that did not mean she could live her entire life doing nothing but doubting people, so it was true that she needed to make some effort as well.
At the very least, she would have to try to open her heart to those who had been verified by someone she could trust.
“Then I’ll be going now!”
“Aye, mind yourself on the way. Well... at least on this street, there’s not much need to worry.”
The Hubert Trading Company was now, in both name and reality, the leading merchant group with the greatest influence in Tarak’s business world.
Starting with its strong connections spanning the Order and the lord’s family, its unique and outstanding goods supplied on an exclusive basis, its immense capital that drew talented merchants under its command in an instant, and even its superiority in shadowy struggles through unknown means...
Bolstered by such various factors, they had begun devouring the market in the blink of an eye, despite it having been only a few years since their founding, and the district where Diana and the others were now was the backyard where the Hubert Trading Company’s power reached the strongest.
Sniff, sniff.
—Diana’s nose twitched continuously as she walked down the street.
A scent that had now come to feel familiar was wafting from every direction.
The city guards, who had come to patrol this street intensively through some sort of backroom arrangement, and the security team belonging to the Hubert Trading Company, stationed in the commercial district to protect important figures and shops.
And in addition to them...
There was even the faint, fishy scent of blood, secretly drifting from the shadows throughout the city. ‘I never thought I’d end up feeling relieved after smelling this scent.’ It had once been a smell she could only avoid while trembling in fear, yet now she had reached the point where she would feel uneasy if it was absent.
It was only natural, since all the vampires around here were people who obeyed Mister’s orders. ‘Come to think of it, it’s strange. I think it’s only been about two years since Mister became a vampire, so just where and what has he been doing all this time to be able to do this much?’ Considering the subordinates spread throughout Tarak right now, and the immigration procedures that had gone smoothly from the beginning, it seemed that his position was not merely high, but exceptionally high.
If one took into account even the rumors about the situation in the Kingdom of Thalia... he would not be out of place at all even as a high-ranking noble. ‘Well, there’s no need for me to know all that, is there? As long as I can repay my debt, that’s enough.’ However, Diana soon shook off her stray thoughts and headed toward the trading company’s headquarters with quick, pattering steps.
Unlike her uncle, who had ended up doing ordinary work related to the delivery of foodstuffs, the duties assigned to her through Hubert’s influence were quite significant.
She was in a position akin to an inspector, overseeing whether there were any abnormalities in the goods handled by the trading company and maintaining a consistent level of quality.
Naturally, there were more than a few who objected to that parachute appointment...
But Hubert’s authority within the trading company was absolute at present, so everyone was merely watching her with the thought that they would wait and see. ‘...To be honest, I’m anxious, but I have no choice but to do whatever I can to live up to his trust.’ Just as Diana, filled with firm resolve, arrived at the main branch of the trading company—
Murmur, murmur.
—She sensed an unusual level of commotion nearby.
Along with a scent that was extremely welcome.
“Ah, Chairman. Good morning!”
“Good morning, Diana. You’ve come early again today. You really are diligent.”
As it happened, she had run into Hubert on his way toward the trading company building, just like her.
However, unlike his relaxed attitude as he responded to her, the reactions of the direct bodyguards surrounding him were somewhat different from usual...
Unlike before, when most of them had escorted him from a distance except for a small number, every one of them now thoroughly surrounded him on all sides, and some even showed sensitive reactions, displaying wariness toward Diana as she approached. ‘Huh? And this smell is...’ On top of that, perhaps some of them had even fought, because faint traces of blood were emanating from wounds here and there on their bodies and from their weapons.
There was no doubt that something had happened before they arrived here.
“Um, but... did something happen?”
“Mm? Ah— It’s nothing much. It’s just something that happens periodically. Every so often, you get people who charge in with baseless confidence.”
Hubert answered her question calmly.
Having already made thorough preparations, he took Diana, who tilted her head, and moved toward the trading company headquarters.
Even on Earth, where civilization and rule of law had developed to a certain degree, all sorts of dirty tricks clung to anything involving interests; so there was no way operating a trading company in this world, which could be said to be far more barbaric, would not come with threats.
Naturally, preparing for them was common sense here, and the ones who instigated this probably had not attempted it expecting to succeed in one try.
They had likely made a routine attempt to threaten him and scare him, while also testing the waters just in case. ‘Against me, no less.’ Naturally, the Hubert Trading Company had not grown this large by smooth sailing alone.
Because of that, he had no choice but to reinvest a considerable portion of his earnings into preparing against such threats.
Perhaps if not for Harley and his friends’ help in the early days of the business, and later the assistance of the Brokoslak Clan, it would have been impossible to grow this much.
After the attack by the Yufersh Clan, he had felt uneasy even with his existing preparations, so he had been wrapping his entire body in all manner of expensive magical tools.
But as the current reality showed, despite countless such shadowy conflicts, the result had always been his victory.
It could not be helped.
Those bastards had likely pulled their tricks while assuming they were dealing with a fairly large merchant company, but the scale of the organization moving to respond to them was absolutely not at that level. ‘Now then... shall we investigate who instigated this matter this time?’ Naturally, the end awaiting those bastards had already been decided.
***
The Duchy of Rohan had collapsed so far that it was now awkward even to use the word nation for it.
With the help of the Empire and the Order, they had barely managed to endure by establishing a final defensive line near the capital.
It was ironic that the fact they could do even this was thanks to the Immortal King...
For the reason the number of monsters invading the duchy had begun to drop sharply was that he had taken up position in the mountain range to the north, where the largest number of monsters had been pouring down, and become a breakwater.
Of course, since they believed the Immortal King himself had caused the current situation, not a single person was grateful for it.
They merely thought he was mocking them again on some whim.
And at the center of that situation—
There were those who, after a lengthy period of confinement in the Demon King’s Castle... no, the Immortal Castle, which no one had yet seen in person but whose existence was widely known, dreamed of escape.
“Heron, so how about today? Do you think you can do it?”
“Mm, hold on... This is tricky.”
They were none other than the Fifth Princess of the Azerion Empire, Riley Carte Azerion, and Hesperon, a rookie Awakened from Earth who had not even been transferred here for two full months.
As usual, they were in the middle of magic training with a barrier cast around them.
At Riley’s cautious question, as though mindful of the gazes around them, he frowned and put on a pondering expression.
In truth, he could start the work at any time, so this was closer to a process of dragging things out for a more dramatic effect, but after several days had passed like that, it seemed her patience was gradually reaching its limit.
“Phew— I’ve been so nervous these days that I can’t even sleep, but you seem awfully relaxed, don’t you? That... really is possible, right?”
Perhaps displeased by the situation, as though she were the only one in a hurry.
She, who had quietly waited well until now, finally sighed and pouted as if complaining.
“Ahem, this isn’t as easy as it sounds, you know? I was captured and brought here immediately after being transferred to this world, so I don’t know anything about the circumstances here. Naturally, I don’t know where this place is, nor where we should go.”
For a spatial ability, accurately determining location was not optional but essential.
As dangerous as it was useful, one wrong move could cause a catastrophe that would make it better not to have used it at all.
“That’s true, but... still, this place should be at the northern end of the continent, so if we just somehow set our direction south no matter what...”
“Where do you think south is from here?”
“...Ugh.”
There was no way they, who were not particularly advanced as magicians, could know the direction of the outside from within this Immortal Castle, which was no different from a separate space.
In the end, a shadow fell over Riley’s face as she faced the reality she had been trying hard to ignore.
“Then is there truly no way?”
“Of course there is. The truth is, I’ve gotten a rough sense of it to some extent. I was only being careful to make it more certain.”
At the hope thrown to her once more, her expression brightened again.
Perhaps because they were in an extreme situation, her expressions changed in a wide variety of ways, unlike what one would expect from her moniker, the Iron-Blooded Princess.
“...By the way, haven’t you been speaking too casually since earlier?”
“Come on, what does it matter? We’re now comrades bound by fate! Let’s be comfortable with each other, comfortable! Hahaha!”
At least when he was learning magic, he had briefly pretended to listen to her.
Now, however, as though he believed he held the definite upper hand, Hesperon’s brazen reply made an incredulous look appear on her face.
But it was true that he held the key to breaking through the current situation...
“Haa— Please be careful in front of other people. Unlike the place you came from, this world is full of people sensitive to status. You really could get into serious trouble, you know?”
In the end, Riley had no choice but to sigh and compromise with him to a reasonable degree.
In truth, the reason she had reacted sensitively to being addressed as an equal all this time was because she had heard about Earth from Lee Se-Ah, not because she had particularly wanted to assert her own authority.
If he grew used to treating an imperial princess casually when he had not even been in this world for long, would that not only increase the chances of him making a needless mistake outside later?
If that happened, he would ultimately be the one to suffer, so she had intended to make him watch his mouth in advance from now on... ‘Now I don’t know anymore. He isn’t a stupid person, so he’ll be careful on his own outside. ...Though, seeing how he acts, I’m a little doubtful.’ Riley looked at him, wearing a sly expression that did not match his intellectual appearance, then sighed again.
She wondered once more whether it was really all right to trust and leave things to him.
But as expected, there was only one conclusion. ‘I’m still anxious even now, after two months have passed. I can’t stay inside here for years! By then, there won’t be any chance left to turn the tables.’ For now, she would try everything she could. Since she had already experienced just how amazing a “Unique Skill” could be through Lee Se-Ah’s case, she had judged that it was worth trusting sufficiently.
The fact that Hesperon’s talent surpassed even hers also played a firm role in that. ‘...Please, I hope this works out.’ Only a few days before an incident occurred that no one on the continent could have anticipated.
At long last, the curtain was rising on the great escape.