Chapter 257 – Towards the Royal Capital

We began preparing for departure before the sun had even risen. I fed the Lindwurms Orc meat to fill their stomachs.

Elliot was also preparing for the journey. He seemed to be checking the condition of the Hippogriff’s saddle and reins. Elliot had traveled alone to Marquis Zilbolt’s territory. Since he moved by Hippogriff, his luggage was quite minimal.

After retrieving his belongings from the inn and loading them onto the Dragon Palanquin, he called the Hippogriff to the castle. All that remained was to check the equipment, and his travel preparations would be complete.

When I glanced at Elliot, I noticed he was wearing the mask that covered his eyes again.

“Brother Elliot, you’re wearing the mask to go, then.”

Although the string of Elliot’s mask had been cut… it seemed he had several spare masks. When he went to retrieve his luggage, he apparently also recovered his feathered tricorne hat.

“Yes. I’ve always been like this in Silvatoria. I feel bad about it toward Ashley, though.”

“…I see. If you were to remove the mask at this point, people might mistake you for someone else instead.”

“That’s right. The mask is just an ordinary item I ordered and had made in the royal capital, so there’s no need to worry.”

According to Elliot, it seemed that Zadias was indeed the one who instructed him to wear the mask.

“Perhaps it’s better if I don’t go out too much either.”

Hmm… If someone who knows what to look for sees Ashley’s appearance, they might realize we’re siblings. The fact that Marquis Zilbolt didn’t recognize us probably means most people don’t know.

“In that case, I have a good method.”

Rosemary spoke up.

“What is it?”

“I can make hair dye for disguise. It won’t damage your hair, and you can wash it off immediately if needed. It’s quite an excellent product, I must say.”

Oh ho. Then I might ask for it too. If we’re talking about origins being revealed through hair color… someone might connect my appearance to Mother.

“Then, shall we go shopping after we arrive?”

“Thank you very much, Lady Marie.”

“Yes. I’ve tested it on myself, so you can rest assured.”

I see. So she’s been doing various things, not just the Disguise Ring.

Anyway, if we’re going to hide Ashley’s origins, this should suffice.

“Ah, that’s right. Elliot-san. Please take this.”

Since Elliot’s hands seemed free, I handed him the Amulet of Evil Repulsion I had brought as a spare, along with a ring-shaped Magic Tool.

“A Magic Tool…?”

“The necklace protects against effects from Curse Magic and Magic Potions. The ring is a Magic Tool embedded with a Magic Shield. I thought it would be just right as support.”

“Ah. When I fought Theodore-dono…”

“Yes. This is meant to be attached to your leg, allowing you to use the Shield as a foothold. Since you don’t need to control the Spell Formula yourself, you can move quickly in the air with the help of Levitation.”

In Elliot’s case, there were aspects where he fought while controlling multiple Techniques. Since he also has knowledge of Martial Arts, I judged that it would be practical enough if he combined it with Levitation.

“…I see. I’ll practice a bit during my free time. Did Theodore-dono also use this?”

“Theodore does everything on his own.”

Sheila, who had been checking the luggage, answered, and Elliot’s mouth twitched slightly.

“He does all of that… by himself?”

“Well, yes.”

“Theodore-sama thought of it and spread it.”

“I see… The world is vast… I must work hard not to become complacent.”

At Ashley’s words, Elliot nodded, clenching and unclenching his fist. …If it’s serving as motivation, that might be just right.

Just as we finished the final check for any forgotten items before the journey, the Lindwurms seemed to have finished their meal and let out a cry to inform me.

“Well then, my lord. I pray for your martial fortune.”

“Father. Please be careful.”

“Mm. Don’t cause trouble for yourselves.”

After exchanging words with Marquis Zilbolt, the Marchioness, and Romina, they quietly embraced each other.

The Marchioness and Romina were to be sent to Termwills by Claudia using Teleportation Magic. The preparations for their reception at the stay facilities in the ritual grounds were complete, so all that remained was for Claudia to evacuate them there using Teleportation Magic.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

After taking a moment, the members of the Marquis’s family spoke to Claudia.

“Are you ready now?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’ll send you.”

Claudia’s Teleportation Magic activated, and the Marchioness and Romina were sent to Termwills.

After a short while, a message came through the Communication Device from Mercedes, saying that they had safely taken custody of the two and would protect them with the pride of the Knight Order.

“It seems everything is fine on their end. Shall we depart soon?”

As the eastern sky began to lighten, I looked around at everyone and spoke, and they nodded.

“Hmm. We might be able to take it a bit easier on the way. I was beaten by Marlene on the ship, after all.”

When Tephra said this, Marlene smiled mischievously. They were talking about the card games on the ship.

“Elliot-san, won’t you ride in the Dragon Palanquin?”

“Ah. I need to pay a little attention to Saphir… I’ll join you in there during breaks.”

Elliot answered while stroking the head of Saphir, his Hippogriff. Apparently, if he didn’t, Saphir would get in a bad mood. Perhaps because she had been waiting outside the town for a while, there was a sense of her rubbing her nose against Elliot and acting spoiled.

Hmm… That’s true. If Elliot rode in the Dragon Palanquin in this state, she might indeed get upset.

So, Elliot mounted his Hippogriff, and the rest of us boarded the Dragon Palanquin. Elmer and the others also boarded a separate Dragon Palanquin, and thus we all set off for Silvatoria’s royal capital.

Traveling by Dragon Palanquin in Silvatoria’s mainland was basically no different from that in the Kingdom of Verdugal. We flew through the sky along the highway. What was different from before was probably that Elmer’s Dragon Palanquin had the Zilbolt family’s Emblem attached to it.

The Dragon Palanquin we rode in had an Emblem attached to it indicating we were envoys of the Kingdom of Verdugal. This allowed us to pass through regional cities without much hassle.

“This is—Marquis Zilbolt. And Sir Benedict as well.”

“Mm. Well met.”

Marquis Zilbolt leaned his face out the window of the Dragon Palanquin and informed the soldiers stationed at the watchtower on the city’s outer wall of our destination and purpose. When the watchtower soldier raised a blue flag, another watchtower also raised a blue flag.

The blue flag meant “The Dragon Palanquin will not enter the city interior and will pass through directly.” By performing these procedures and using flag signals, smooth passage was ensured. Well, it’s like air traffic control.

Since Dragon Palanquins pulled by multiple Wyverns aren’t very maneuverable, if they were targeted by ballistae, they would normally be shot down.

While Dragon Palanquins aren’t something that ordinary bandits can easily prepare, there’s still a chance of the unexpected. So, by going through these procedures, both the city side and those traveling by Dragon Palanquin could feel at ease.

“Please, proceed.”

We were seen off by the saluting soldiers and advanced along the outer wall.

“Shall we land the Dragon Palanquin for a break a little further on?”

“That sounds good. There’s a place with a nice view along the highway from here.”

When I spoke to Elliot through the window, that was the reply I received.

“Then, let’s rest there.”

“Understood.”

The place Elliot guided us to was a sunny embankment beside the highway. A small stream flowed nearby, and beyond it, flowers were blooming… it was quite a peaceful spot. Seraphina, who had gotten out of the Dragon Palanquin, flew around happily, and Lavigne trotted after her.

Caduceus in cat form on top of Ignis’s head. Then Ambrum in servant form. These guys were really marching to their own beat. They sat together on the embankment.

“It’s a beautiful place.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Elliot and Marquis Zilbolt smiled.

“I borrowed the castle’s kitchen and prepared some light snacks.”

Grace brought out a basket from inside the Dragon Palanquin. It was a bit early for lunch, but having a snack while resting wasn’t a bad idea.

“I’ll prepare drinks now.”

Ashley used Water Magic to prepare tea for us.

The contents of the basket were what you’d call sandwiches. White bread with lettuce, tomato, cheese, ham, eggs, etc., sandwiched in between, making them quite colorful and enjoyable to look at. They were perfect for eating in a place like this.

“Marie and I helped too.”

Claudia said.

“Is that so?”

“Well… it’s not something that took much effort. Just cutting the ingredients and sandwiching them.”

“But Marie helped with smoking the ham, didn’t she?”

When Claudia smiled at her, Rosemary opened her feather fan and looked away. That’s right. It seemed the ingredients themselves were brought from Termwills. Smoking should be quite labor-intensive.

“Yeah. It’s delicious.”

When I said that after taking a bite, Claudia and Grace exchanged smiles. Rosemary remained hiding her face behind her feather fan.

We had prepared blood sausage for Irmhild, but that didn’t mean ordinary food was meaningless to her. She was also eating the sandwich with apparent enjoyment.

“—What kind of person is Zadias normally?”

The post-meal conversation inevitably turned to matters after arriving at the royal capital. For the sake of planning tendencies and countermeasures, it would be good to grasp Zadias’s external stance.

“A confident person… you could say. One might even call him arrogant.”

Marquis Zilbolt answered. Ah. That might be a common character type among nobles and royalty.

“Zadias used to say that having us manage the magical technology held by the Sages’ Academy would lead to the people’s happiness. I thought that was correct too… but looking back now, there were several times when I found him suspicious and was controlled by the Caex Gem.”

Elliot touched the area around his forehead on the mask.

“I believe… there was talk of an engagement between my elder sister and Zadias, wasn’t there?”

“…Ah. That matter.”

At Rosemary’s words, Princess Stephania made a subtle expression as if enduring a headache. It might have been a topic she didn’t want to touch on.

“Indeed… when I was young, there was talk of a marriage alliance with Silvatoria’s royal family or high-ranking nobles. When I went on a goodwill visit, Zadias showed an unusual interest upon hearing I was a Magician… That’s precisely why it ended up in limbo.”

According to Princess Stephania’s words, that discussion took place before Zadias’s bad reputation spread. It seemed that with the incident of the political upheaval as a turning point, the topic died out, or rather, both sides stopped bringing it up.

From Silvatoria’s side, they probably found it hard to bring up because Zadias had caused problems. On the other hand, the Verdugal side didn’t actively want to pursue an engagement with a problematic Crown Prince either, and then with the matter of the King of Deathly Slumber, they were busy dealing with domestic issues… and so it went.

“However, it seems Zadias hasn’t given up.”

“That’s right…”

Zadias himself seemed fixated on the fact that Princess Stephania possessed considerable magical skill, and he apparently exerted pressure on other blood relatives with rights to the throne and domestic nobles.

Because of that, not only in Silvatoria but also in surrounding countries, they were hesitant about marriage talks with Princess Stephania.

“You understand why I dislike him, don’t you? I want to give him his final dismissal properly in this matter.”

Saying that, Princess Stephania shook her head.