Master’s Smile

Volume 5 – Kingdom Arc

C100 – Impossible Assault

“Fufun, today is a good day. I was angry with my esteemed brother at first, but I got Ritter’s mentor on my side as a result.”

Princess Neena said so happily in the carriage.

Well, she certainly didn’t seem to get along with the prince.

It sounds bad, but the reality was already worse, though.

I don’t think it’s quite right to say that she caught me, but I will actually be protecting her from now on according to the request so I won’t correct her.

“Nevertheless, Ritter really likes Master, huh? She’s always sticking to you.”

“Yes. Like.”

Princess Neena seemed fed up looking at Ritter, who was glued on me.

Even now, Ritter was holding me in her arms and rubbing her face against mine.

We had our arms clinging together when I was taken to the mansion to meet the princess, and from that on, I was in close contact with Ritter most of the time.

She might be the longest one I had been in close contact with among the members of Yelquchira, who I have known for a long time.

But to me, there was no such dislike from being adored this much by Ritter, who was like a daughter to me.

Rather, I was very happy.

“…How did Master make the hard-to-please Ritter become this attached to you? It took me a very long time for her to remember my name, you know?”

Princess Neena asked me if I had any tricks.

Weeell, I’ve never thought of Ritter as hard-to-please.

I don’t think she is good at expressing her feelings either, though.

Besides, when I first met Ritter, she was more reclusive than she is now.

She was like an emotionless magic puppet… but, of course, Ritter was in that state for a reason.

…It gets dark from here, so I’ll stop reminiscing.

All I can say is that you just have to be patient with her.

In fact, Princess Neena has already made Ritter remember your name.

This was something that very few people outside of Yelquchira could get.

“Fumu, I see…. I’d also like to get to know her better.”

Princess Neena had a difficult face while she was in deep thought.

I was happy to hear that, as I considered Ritter like my daughter.

Thus, a peaceful time elapsed inside the carriage, but then….

“…….”

Ritter, who had been hugging and rubbing me, lifted her face in a haste.

The sudden movement startled not only me but also Princess Neena, who was sitting facing me.

W-What’s wrong?

“…Something, came.”

Ritter reported briefly.

Something…?

Princess Neena and I were tilting our heads, when….

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

“!?”

An agonizing shriek came from outside.

There should be the coachman and the escort knights outside our carriage.

Was it their scream?

Before Ritter and I could move, Princess Neena already dashed off.

In a situation like this, I think it would be better if I or Ritter, who were (more or less) her entourage, went out first to see if there was any danger….

She was a princess who cared deeply about her people in which she had declared that she would create a nation for them.

She must have been worried about her retainers.

When Ritter and I followed after her outside the carriage….

“E-Everyone….”

Princess Neena was standing stunned, just steps away from the carriage.

Before I could turn my eyes to see what on earth was going on, a thick smell of iron reached my nose.

I somewhat could predict what was the cause and turned my head looking dismayed….

There, I saw a single knight lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.

“H-Hiii…!!!”

The coachman was terribly frightened but managed to restrain his horse from going berserk.

“Hey! What in the world happened!?”

“I-I don’t know. A monster attacked out of nowhere, and the knights were instantly…!!!”

When the princess approached the unharmed coachman, he replied with a trembling voice.

A monster…?

I could hardly believe it, even though he said so.

“Y-You jest…! This is the royal capital of Evans Kingdom. There is no such thing as a monster being here…!!!”

Princess Neena said so while dripping with sweat.

Yes, in Evans Kingdom, there were rarely any monsters appearing inside the city.

(TLN: the raw actually said ‘Mamono’ (Monster) and ‘Bakemono’ (“True” Monster) so I just combined them into one)

This was because there were knights who were stationed in the city and they would not allow such things to enter.

If it was in a rural town, some still might appear even if the guards were cautious, but this was the royal capital where many people, who were necessary for managing the kingdom, reside.

Thus, it was obvious that the knights would be more vigilant than in other cities, and I doubt that any monsters had ever appeared in the royal capital.

In fact, we took the same road when we departed, but I didn’t sense any sign of danger at that time….

“Ugh, guh….”

At that moment, the knight on the ground groaned.

He apparently wasn’t dead, although he was bleeding heavily.

“Hey! Get a hold of yourself! What the hell happened!?”

Princess Neena rushed to him, leaving the coachman who was still trembling and unable to speak.

His body was covered in blood, but she held him in her arms, seemingly unconcerned about smearing his blood on her own body.

…She really is a kind princess, isn’t she?

“Ugh…! N-Neena-sama… please run away…!”

‘What happened!? Who did this to you!?”

“I-It’s a monster…! It suddenly attacked us from the sky and… the other guy was…!”

The knight, looking distressed, frantically reported to Princess Neena.

As I recall, the escorting knights were the knight now being held by her and one other.

Normally, there would have been more escorts, but since the destination was the royal castle, which was still inside the royal capital, it was probably enough with only this few.

The presence of Ritter, an outstanding knight, might also have something to do with it, though.

“T-That’s right! What about the other knight!?”

“H-He’s….”

Princess Neena also remembered the not-yet-seen escort knight, and asked him.

As the knight was about to answer, Ritter suddenly muttered,

“…Came.”

She was not good at explaining things with words as well as expressing emotions.

But this time, there seemed to be no need to ask for her explanation.

I, too, could sense the presence of an approaching monster.

“GURURURURU…!”

Such a beastly roar echoed from the nearby trees.

Then, with a lumbering, heavy footstep, the monster revealed itself.

…to think, it’s a very unusual monster.

I unconsciously thought so.　

“Wha-!? T-This guy is…!!!”

Apparently, the tomboyish princess also seemed to know about this monster.

She gulped and said the monster’s name.

“C-Chimera…!!!”