An Unexpected Visit

The next day.

We received a grand send-off and departed from Lord Balimore’s mansion.

Shitoen said, “Because of my selfishness, we ended up staying one night at my family home…” but that was completely wrong.

We were able to check our gear, and most importantly, the horses were able to rest.

The people of the Kingdom of Tania really seemed to love horses, and they were skilled at repairing horse tack and handling horses themselves.

Shitoen had been worried, saying, “I must make sure Father does not challenge Prince Saryu to a joust!” but Raul had cleverly ingratiated himself and gotten permission to let the horses graze, so the horses were stress-free.

We set off toward Tidros with light, cheerful steps, but….

“What the hell is going on?”

My irritation would not settle down at all.

I did not know how many times I had spat out that line just today.

I strode along, trampling the grass underfoot. Raul caught up from behind at a quick pace and explained the situation to me.

Because the route was different between the way there and the way back, the Kingdom of Luminous border guards were confused.

They wanted until tomorrow morning because they would send a horse running to confirm it.

They had been informed that we would cross the border together with Crown Prince Arios. Yet no matter how long they waited, the Tidros party never appeared, and they had just lifted the security, so it would take time to prepare.

“So basically they want to say it’s our fault? I explained it at the start, didn’t I? On the way back, we would pass through a different territory in order to go to the crown prince’s villa by the fastest route.”

I said something to Raul that could not be helped, and my irritation only grew worse.

As I passed by, perhaps because the air moved, a bonfire crackled, and sparks scattered into the darkness of the night.

“In any case, we have no choice but to wait until morning comes. It is a good thing our knightly order is good at camping out. Or rather, they are like fish returned to water now. We might not be a knightly order, but a mountain unit or something instead.”

Raul said that with a sigh mixed in.

When I glanced behind me, he was looking at the camping tents lined up in rows with a face that seemed to have given up on everything.

We passed through the Kingdom of Tania, entered the Kingdom of Luminous in the evening, and tried to head for the mansion scheduled for today, but….

The Kingdom of Luminous side would not approve it because of an issue with the travel permit.

Even when we showed them the national flag, the unit identification badge, and even my own crest and Shitoen’s crest, they only became confused, saying, “The date, time, and place we were informed of are different.”

Seeing confusion so severe that it did not seem like a lie or harassment, we had no choice but to wait until morning.

There was no way we could force our way through a place like this and sow the seeds of conflict.

Since we had continued to stay comfortably indoors until now, I thought the order members might rot, but when I saw them cheerfully start hammering in pegs and raising tents here and there while shouting lively voices, I felt a little relieved.

“There is the matter with Shitoen. Be sure to stay on guard.”

“Understood.”

Raul nodded with a solemn face.

I had told him what Crown Prince Arios had confided to me.

“…But what assassination group is targeting her, exactly?”

Raul lined up beside me and spoke in a low voice.

“If Crown Prince Arios knows about it, could it be connected to the Kingdom of Luminous?”

“I don’t know.”

I shook my head. It was probably so, but I could not say anything careless, and assumptions were dangerous too. But Raul continued.

“If it were the Kingdom of Luminous… then it would make sense for them to hope for a natural death, wouldn’t it? If they want Consort Shitoen to disappear without angering the King of Tania, that is the only way. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise?”

When I turned my face toward him, Raul shrugged.

“Because of the Kingdom of Tidros’s incompetence, she gets attacked by ruffians and killed, or something like that.”

“Don’t say something that dangerous.”

I recoiled, but it did sound plausible. If they had assassins dispose of her and then spread rumors like, “It happened because the security was lax. Consort Shitoen was practically left to die,” then….

That would be unbearable.

I shook my head hard and, while I was at it, ordered an order member who entered my sight to “light a grand number of bonfires.”

“We’ll burn more and more!”

He answered happily. The order member beside him also looked excited.

“It’s fun since this isn’t a winter mountain!”

“Somehow, this country is summer, but it’s cool.”

“We had to behave ourselves the whole time, so now we can finally relax!”

“Later, once we roast marshmallows, we’ll bring some to Consort Shitoen.”

Maybe I should tell them to go ahead and make a campfire too.

Otherwise, lining up so many tents near the border like this….

Were we refugees or what?

I gave a wry smile, said “Thank you,” and passed by.

“Consort Shitoen’s tent is over there.”

Raul jogged ahead and guided me.

What made my cheeks loosen a little was this:

At the entrance of Shitoen’s tent, a colorful and pretty garland had been decorated.

Naturally, our knightly order had never had a woman with us before…. Every order member was being considerate toward Shitoen.

And when we moved, as a precaution, we brought tents like this with us, but…. They had prepared mysterious mobiles and decorative cloth for Shitoen’s tent, so I thought they were good guys. Shitoen also saw them and talked to the order members, saying, “They are cute,” so I felt like things for Shitoen were increasing more and more.

“It is Prince Saryu.”

Raul called out at the entrance.

“My! Please come in.”

Shitoen’s voice could be heard, and Raul lifted the entrance flap for me.

I bent my waist and entered.

At once, I was wrapped in gentle light.

Lanterns were hanging inside the tent, and a thick ground cloth was spread out below. The chairs and bed were simple ones, but there was no choice except for her to get used to them. A mosquito net was hung over the bed, and it seemed that if it got hot, they intended to open some part of the cloth curtain and let the air escape.

…With this.

I could not lay a hand on Shitoen tonight either…. If I tried to make anything happen, the sounds from the bedchamber would be completely audible to the knightly order…. It truly was an ironclad defense….

“Eaton has gone to fetch some water right now…. Thank you for your hard work. What did the Kingdom of Luminous border say?”

She offered me a chair, but I gently declined with a shake of my head.

“It seems we really have to wait until morning. We will be staying in this tent tonight. Will you be all right?”

I felt apologetic, but Shitoen’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.

“Of course. A member of the order told me earlier that they would roast marshmallows. Would you like to go together later, Prince Saryu?”

…Roasted marshmallows…. I had not known they were that appealing.

“Also, I would like to try making a fire, if that is all right. Like this, with flint.”

“That is fine, but…”

It was a wry smile, or something like that.

Was this like an attraction? The order members would be delighted, and it seemed worth teaching her.

“Then shall we have a campfire? With the commander as the fire spirit.”

“Why me?”

When I was glaring at Raul, the tent flap opened, and Eaton entered with a smiling face.

“My lady. You have guests. Ah, the water was heavy. I should have asked some gentleman to carry it.”

“Guests?”

Shitoen tilted her head curiously. Eaton said, “Oh, hello,” and bowed to Raul and me, then placed two large water pitchers on the table. There was a heavy thud. Certainly, someone from the knightly order should have carried them for her instead.

“It is Mone-san and Roze-chan. They said they came for a final greeting. Now, come in.”

“Mone-san and Roze-chan?”

Shitoen was not the only one surprised. Raul and I were too.

Why were those two here…? Well, since they were people of Tania, it was not strange for them to be here, but….

However.

Raul silently questioned me. I also nodded silently.

Why?

Why had none of our order members come to tell Raul or me about this visit?

What route had those two taken to get here?