[Part 4/4]
"Yes?"
"It's nothing. On a different note..."
To distract Hisame, who was reacting to my muttered words, I pondered. I finalized the plan.
"We'll finish eating, and in about half an hour, your clothes should be dry. We also need a break, and then we'll set off. ...Does that sound good?"
"I'll follow Senpai's instructions. But what about the Princess?"
Will she get scolded if she's too late? Hisame revealed her anxiety. Come to think of it, did I report her whereabouts to Yun-shoku when she was brought here?...
"...I said it earlier, but the mission probably starts tomorrow anyway. Besides, even if we can't meet up, that princess won't care about the number of servants she have."
I reassured Hisame and offered an excuse. Truth be told, there was a temptation to play along, let loli gorilla-sama reach a bad ending. In some trouble, if we can't meet up, and by the time we do, it's too late due to a conspiracy... temporary separation is part of Gorilla-sama's instructions, so I probably won't be blamed. It was a fleeting hope. A very fleeting one.
(...Though this is ridiculous.)
If Gorilla-sama doesn't return, there's a possibility that I'll be sent in as an advance party for a search team. Even if not, if I'm really the target of the conspiracy, I might be disposed of. Escaping down this path would be a bad move. Honestly, it was a plan that crossed my mind while washing myself, but if I think about it deeply, it's full of holes. It's not worth discussing.
"The question is how to handle this..."
I want to rely as much as possible on the laborers and the Hidden Group to get me out of this. My reach doesn't extend that far. For me mere servants, the burden is too heavy. But...
"..."
I glanced at Hisame for just a moment, trying not to be noticed. Naturally, my life takes top priority, but I want to save my fellow servants if possible. Especially Hisame... she's a young, inexperienced outsider. I don't want her to die in this conspiracy.
...There's a sense of compensation behind it, which I tried to look away from.
"...Senpai?"
"I might have overdone the fat. My stomach feels heavy."
I chuckled as a cover-up while Hisame's eating paused.
The 'Silent Curse Deep Forest (黙呪深林)' stretches through the narrow gaps of the rugged mountains in the Northern region of Fusō-kuni. Its distribution faithfully follows the ley lines that pass through this area.
Since its annexation and entry, the Imperial Court has attempted to burn down this area several times in the past, but all of these attempts ended in failure. As they cut down trees and ventured deeper into the forest, they were overwhelmed by the youkais lurking in the forest like an invisible will guiding them. Hundreds of soldiers were devoured, and subsequent extermination battles were carried out by multiple exorcist families. What was revealed there prompted the Imperial Court to decide to make this area a forbidden area.
Four hundred years have passed since then. The Imperial Court has established several checkpoints to seal off the mountainous region and suppress the expansion of this deep forest by periodically clearing the trees and exterminating youkai on the outer edges of the forest every few years.
The primary checkpoint sealing the forbidden area, known as 'Minami-kan (Southern frontier pass),' was aptly named as it was situated in the Southern Region, relative to the Silent Curse Deep Forest. It was typically staffed with about two hundred troops. Including others involved, it would add another hundred. That's the population of a sizable village. It served as a rest stop for exorcist families going on missions into this forbidden area, and it was well-stocked to welcome and entertain guests.
Indeed, it was prepared for entertaining guests. The guests being nobles, people of high rank. So, naturally, the food, the dishes, the room furnishings were on a different level than an ordinary inn. There were limits, of course, but they were conscious of providing a certain level of consideration.
At least, The Chief of the Department of Forbidden Area Control from the Ministry of Justice, who was responsible for 'Minami-kan (Southern frontier pass),' was sincere in his work. The checkpoint of the forbidden area was the front line that separated the human realm from the realm beyond, and although there was some bias against exorcists, there was at least a certain level of respect.
...However, there are limits to everything.
"Sigh..."
The middle-aged Chief sighed deeply, head in hands, thoroughly troubled.
"What about the feast prepared here?"
"It's terrible, insipid, and reeks of the countryside, she said. To make matters worse, she occupied the kitchen to prepare it herself."
"She occupied it, you say?"
"Yes, with the help of her laborers."
The assistant, one of his subordinates, answered, thoroughly exhausted.
They know the hospitality was not a pleasant one. But they had done their best to welcome the guest, even though the reception was meager, the rooms were dirty, and the food, which they had been preparing since late last night, seemed to be in this state. And because of that, the princess was using the laborers to seize control of the checkpoint's kitchen and starting to cook with their own ingredients loaded onto the ox carts...
"She's such an impudent Princess, with no sense of restraint."
The tone carried clear dissatisfaction and disdain.
Indeed, the princess of the Onitsuki family was haughty and arrogant, downright rude.
Despite being a prestigious old family, the Onitsuki family were merely retainers of the Imperial Court. On the other hand, the army and officials in charge of the checkpoint held positions directly serving the Imperial Court, not inferior in status. There was no need for her to be so disdainful. There was no reason to tarnish their dignity. After all, they had sincerely prepared a reception for her, and it wouldn't have hurt to show some consideration.
"Up to this point, such a problem child is unheard of. The Onitsuki family must have had a reason for assigning her this mission..."
It was blatant disrespect. Certainly, they had encountered some odd, difficult people among the exorcists they had dealt with, but this... The suspicion and bewilderment swirled around the reasons behind sending such an unreasonable young lady. This mission had been scheduled for many years, not just a regular culling. It was a special, off-season mission requested by the Imperial Court. With so much at stake, failure couldn't be tolerated. So why...?
"Why? It's obvious, isn't it? Because I am far more talented than those nobodies in the Onitsuki lot."
"...!!?"
The Chief and his assistant were shocked and turned their heads to the side. Seated on the shelf as if she had been there all along was a pink-haired beauty... no, a beautiful young girl. She had an arrogant, condescending expression, as if she had been looking down on them from there all along. She was eating sweets.
"Don't get me wrong. The reason the Onitsuki family was assigned this mission isn't arbitrary. It's because I was the most promising family in a house that could serve the Imperial Court. And after seriously considering who could reliably fulfill the mission in our house, they chose me. This is the best and most suitable choice, do you understand?"
The young princess boasted. Her selection was an obvious result.
"Princess, that's..."
"Prepare for departure immediately. Right now."
Interrupting the Chief's attempts to explain, the princess issued an order. She made the request with a closed fan pointed toward them.
"Departure? If so, we should be able to complete it by sunrise..."
"Don't you understand? I said right now."
"What a foolish..."
The assistant was dumbfounded by the princess's whim. Nighttime was the realm of supernatural beings. The princess intended to step into the forest, the forbidden area, in the middle of the night. It was reckless.
"Princess, please reconsider. We've heard that this mission doesn't allow for failure. Shouldn't we avoid danger as much as possible?"
"But at the same time, we shouldn't dawdle. This isn't about today or tomorrow... Isn't it better to fulfill our purpose as soon as possible, aligning with the Emperor's will?"
"But still..."
The Chief, pushed back against the princess's selfishness and half-worried, felt something brush against his ear almost simultaneously. Immediately afterward, a thunderous explosion-like sound sounded from behind.
"..."
With beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the Chief glanced behind him. There was a clean, gaping hole in the wall, as if cut out with scissors. At the end of the hole, an enchanting moon floated in the darkness. He almost found the sight beautiful.
It was, to a large extent, an escape from reality.
"Chief? Is everything alright?"
Turning his gaze back, the princess, fan in hand, spoke casually. Only now did the Chief understand that the fan was more than just an accessory.
In other words, there were no options left.
"...Contact the Military Commander. I'm sorry, but they need to wake up the sleeping soldiers. After all, as soon as the gate is opened, those monsters might leap in."
The checkpoint's head gave instructions to his assistant. He realized that further words to the princess in front of him would be meaningless.
At the very least, he sincerely wished for everything to end peacefully and without incident.
...
...
...
On this night, the Onitsuki group had stepped into the Forbidden Area, Silent Curse Deep Forest...
AI Art:
Title: Maiden-Style Aoi
URL: [Link]
Title: Occupation and Costume Cosplay Aoi
URL: [Link] and [Link]
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