Chapter 42

After finishing the care for the chairman at the Lastock garrison, I had a quick lunch at the knights' cafeteria and continued the reconnaissance.

Now, I'm peeking into the maids' resting place.

It's not like I'm trying to peek at them changing or anything, my target is Camilla's personal maid, Rosalie.

"Hey, really stop it. It's like you're talking and walking around, you know."

"What, it's not? Everyone thinks the information is from Rosalie."

"There's no way, really stop it!"

"Then, what's the real deal?"

"Such a thing, I can't say it, you know."

"Liar, is it really true? Are you kidding me?"

"That's why, I can't say it..."

Finally, Rosalie, Camilla's personal maid, seemed to realize what she had blurted out.

If I say I can't say it, it means there's something I can't say, right?

"No! No, there's no way! There's no such thing! No way!"

She hastily denied it, but the maids around her had very awkward expressions.

"It's not me! I really didn't say anything! Uu, uu..."

"Alright, alright... It's not Rosalie, then."

The other maids hurriedly tried to calm Rosalie, who had started crying when cornered.

"But if it's not Rosalie, who said it..."

"Ah! Maybe someone saw Rosalie tidying up the bedding..."

"That's right, everyone knows Rosalie is in charge of Camilla."

"That's it, Camilla's bedding is different from the other knights'."

Hmm, I see, so you speculated that the information came from there, huh? It's quite entertaining to watch from above.

It seems that the maids have already recognized that Camilla wet the bed as a fact. Well, well, that's settled.

This operation is almost perfect, so this is good.

Now, all that's left is to wait for the rumors to spread and swim around.

Even when I went to the place where the knights rest, the topic was still about Camilla.

Probably, in a world without TV, radio, or the internet like in Japan, they are somewhat starved for entertainment.

I can see them whispering here and there.

They probably never thought that Camilla, who is strict yet caring and admired by the knights, would wet the bed.

"Is it really true?"

"Was she sick or something?"

"There's no choice, she's been under a lot of stress since the summoning of the otherworldly people."

"This kind of thing won't change my loyalty."

"Of course not, I feel the same way."

"That's right, it might even be a reward..."

There's one guy who seems a bit dangerous, but I'll pretend I didn't see him.

It seems that the fact that Camilla wet the bed is being recognized as a fact here, but I'm not quite satisfied that Camilla's personality remains unchanged.

While peeking into the knights' resting place, my eyes caught a knight.

"Hey, Paul, wake up, hey!"

"Huh... What, is it already time to work?"

"Yeah, you need to be sharp, don't let the kids get the upper hand."

"Hmph, me, Paul, being looked down upon by those brats, no way, that's not happening."

"Alright, don't beat them up too much and break them."

"Hmph, I can't guarantee that... It's all for the benefit of Reisenburg."

At the edge of the resting place, Paul, a knight I recognized, was woken up by a colleague and had a smug smile on his face.

Yes, he's the one who beat up Funayama.

'Kent-sama... this guy...'

'Yeah, I know, we need to do something about him, right?'

It seems that Fred also remembered Paul and occasionally kept an eye on his actions.

'What kind of guy is this Paul?'

'Not very competent... a drinker...'

'Being a drinker, can we use that somehow?'

'Probably... he's failed a few times...'

After the break, Paul didn't head to the training ground for earth mages as I thought, but instead went to the training ground for offensive magic.

According to Fred, the knights take turns supervising and instructing at different locations.

Paul was walking around behind the students who were practicing offensive magic, holding a wooden stick in his right hand.

I recognized this wooden stick.

It seems that among the students, Paul's reputation has spread, and some of the girls stiffen and fail to cast their spells when he passes behind them.

When that happens, Paul, of course, mercilessly swings the stick down.

"What are you doing, failing like that? Do you want to die in a real battle?"

"Ahhh... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Idiot, who said you could rest? Get up and continue!"

"Ahhh... I'm sorry..."

Even when hit in the back by Paul, the girl, with tears streaming down her face, tries to stand up and continue training.

"Hey, that's enough, hitting them like that won't make them better!"

"What, are you defying me?"

"Yes, I am! We grew up in a world without magic, and we're only taught the incantations of an unknown language. It's impossible to use magic properly!"

The one who stood up to Paul was Honmi Aoi, known as the Sword Princess among the girls and the Sword Demon among the boys, who is a member of the kendo club.

"Shut up! If you have time to talk back, cast more spells. Besides, if you're scared of this, how can you fight monsters? They come to kill and eat you!"

Paul said the same thing when he beat up Funayama, and at that time, it might have made some sense... but now, looking closely, it's just an excuse to justify his violence.

Since Honmi-san is about to be hit, let's try something I just thought of.

"You guys, if you don't want to die in a real battle... hmm... What? Suddenly... damn, continue the training... What? What's going on..."

Paul, swaying, walked to the corner of the training ground, sat down at the base of a tree, and immediately started snoring.

Yeah, three sleeping pills do this.

Now that he's asleep, there's only one thing to do, right? The mug for Eile came in handy again.

Since it won't soak into a futon like with Camilla, it won't be obvious to others, but she can receive the shock alone.

Seeing Paul start to sleep, the students stopped their training and watched.

"Honmi-san, what do we do...?"

"Other knights might come, so let's continue the training. If we don't improve our magic, we might die, after all."

"Yeah, we have no choice..."

"Yeah, but now that the troublemaker is gone, let's focus on practicing."

"Right, got it."

Directly putting sleeping pills into the stomach seems to be a very effective method.

If we don't wake him up by hitting or kicking him, he'll probably sleep for seven or eight hours, and we can rescue the students during that time.

The problem is, since we have sleeping pills, there might be wake-up drugs, so we should check with Mueller when we return to Volzard.

'Kent-sama... this is effective...'

'Yeah, with this method, we can put the knights to sleep one by one and rescue the students without unnecessary bloodshed.'

'I think it's better to steal a carriage and escape...'

'Right, but we've never handled a carriage or a horse, so we might not be able to move it properly...'

I've seen carriages in movies and dramas, but I've never actually moved one, and I don't know how to handle the reins.

'Let Fred and the others move it...'

'That... is probably impossible...'

'Huh? Why? Can't they move a carriage?'

'Horses... are afraid of monsters...'

'Ah, I see...'

In their previous lives, Fred and the others could easily move a carriage, but now that they are skeletons, horses are afraid of them and won't let them get close.

'Kent-sama... train with the five...'

'Right, we can have the rescued students learn how to handle a carriage and help with the rescue operation.'

'With a carriage... we can move faster...'

When they were first summoned, everyone was taken to the garrison in a carriage.

I sang "Donadona" to see them off.

So, there should be enough carriages at the garrison to carry everyone.

This way, we can speed up the rescue.

'While speeding up the rescue is good, my actions seem to be quite impulsive...'

'Kent-sama... situations change, and we should choose the best option at the time...'

'Right, that's true...'

I'm just a kid, so I can't see the future, and I can only struggle with what I can do now.

Besides, this time, I can't do it alone, so I should go back and discuss with the five, and get advice from Reinhardt, Donovan, and Klaus.

Then, let's finish Project Maisa and take care of the chairman in the evening before returning to Volzard.

Camilla Reisenburg is said to frequently inspect the training.

Since the progress of the training is directly linked to her plans, it's natural that she is concerned.

The students are wearing subservient bracelets, so they can't harm her, but Camilla is only wearing the torso part of the golden armor.

'That... is to show her status and to protect against stray magic...'

As Fred said, the golden armor silently exudes presence in the training ground.

At first glance, she seems to continue her inspection with a dignified expression, but today, Camilla occasionally casts her gaze in a different direction.

At such times, a frown of displeasure and unease always appears on her forehead.

It seems that the effects of Project Maisa are starting to show even without my intervention, but let's finish it as a final touch.

Wearing the golden armor, Camilla stands out.

However, as she moves through the wide garrison and the training grounds, there are moments when the knights' gaze doesn't reach her.

That's the time for my final touch.

After inspecting the training of the earth mages, Camilla returned to the building where the office is located.

On the way, she passed between the dormitory and the warehouse, but conveniently, there was no one around.

So, let's whisper to her through the ventilation hole of the warehouse.

"Wetting the bed! Lady Camilla?"

"Idiot, you're too loud..."

"Sorry... but, are you kidding?"

"No, it seems to be true..."

Camilla, who was about to pass by, stopped and turned her head awkwardly toward the ventilation hole.

After looking around, she leaned close to the ventilation hole and strained to listen.

The ventilation hole is made of thin boards stacked like blinds, so it's impossible to see inside from the outside.

Still, from a spot hidden by the shadows of the goods, I continued my one-man show.

"How can I believe such a story..."

"But if it's true..."

"How old do you think Lady Camilla is? No way, no way..."

"But if it's true..."

"No way!"

After saying it firmly in my one-man show, Camilla heaved a sigh of relief.

"But if it's true, it's disappointing..."

"Yeah..."

Camilla's face turned pale, and she moved awkwardly away from the ventilation hole, starting to walk unsteadily.

Her appearance was like that of a royal who had lost a battle.

'Kukuku, with no pursuers, just walk back to the office, even if you have to drink muddy water.'

'Kent-sama... you're turning into Black Kent...'

Even after entering the building where the office is located, I used the shadows of the stairs to continue my one-man show.

When she reached the office, Camilla looked as if she had used up all her HP, and the guards at the door were startled.

After taking off her armor and sitting at the desk, Camilla held her head in both hands and let out a deep sigh.

"Haaa... What am I doing... It's pathetic..."

In just one day, I managed to wear Camilla down considerably.

If it takes time to rescue the students, I might try again another day.

When I went to the examination room in the evening, the chairman was not taking a nap but was enthusiastically treating the students.

It seems that the mock battle with the knight-type students had ended, and a large number of injured students had come in.

A girl with a bruise on her face and unfocused eyes, a boy holding his left shoulder and groaning, it felt like I had wandered into a field hospital.

"Prioritize those with severe bleeding and head injuries!"

"Yui, don't overdo it."

"Right, Chairman, we can still hold on..."

"Sorry... everyone, I'm sorry..."

Probably, if this happened in Japan, someone would start complaining, but seeing the chairman desperately treating the students, no one could complain.

Besides, the chairman might collapse if this continues.

I searched my pocket and took out a blue case I had brought just in case, and put a pill to help recover magic power into the chairman's stomach.

I don't know how effective it will be, but it's better than doing nothing.

After a while, the chairman, who had been focused on treatment, stopped and started looking around.

"What's wrong, Chairman?"

"Huh? Ah... I felt the presence of a prince..."

"Huh? A prince...?"

The boy being treated for a large tear in his arm had a look of incomprehension.

It seems to have worked as a temporary measure.

Besides, why aren't they given something to help recover magic power, like a potion?

It didn't result in a dramatic recovery, but the chairman seemed to have finished treating the students with urgent injuries.

"I'll eat later..."

The chairman, avoiding eye contact with Eile, said and sank into the sofa.

I immediately placed my hand on the chairman's back and channeled healing magic.

"Ah... Prince..."

The chairman, with the blanket pulled up to her mouth, was repeatedly clenching and unclenching her left hand.

Is this a sign to grip?

While continuing to heal with my right hand, I extended my left hand and overlapped it, and the chairman intertwined her fingers and firmly gripped it.

"Thank you..."

The chairman started to snore, but... I can't leave like this.

I finished channeling the healing magic, but I can't leave... What should I do?

Well, it won't be long until Eile comes back.

I took a break and thought about what to do after returning to Volzard.

I need to talk to the five about the rescue operation using sleeping pills, and I need to ask the guards for carriage training and check the drugs with Mueller.

But most importantly, Manon's misunderstanding hasn't been resolved.

While holding the chairman's hand and thinking about Manon, I might be called a trashy playboy, but I can't help it.

Besides, if I don't know what Beatrice is thinking, it might happen again...

Besides, I know I shouldn't be swaying, but I can't abandon the chairman, Beatrice will come to me, and Manon is cute...

Ah, what should I do, this is too difficult for someone with a love quotient of 30 or less.

'Easy... make them all Kent-sama's...'

'Huh? Did my thoughts leak? Ugh, embarrassing...'

'Kent-sama... the chairman, the tsundere, the lord's daughter... and Camilla, all of them...'

'No, no, no, Fred, that's impossible...'

'But, Kent-sama... you are thinking about it...'

'Guh, well, you know, I do dream about a harem...'

'If it happens, it's fine... in Reisenburg, polygamy is allowed...'

'Ugh... really? Right, this isn't Japan...'

Fred's words make my heart waver.

After all, it's a different world, and I've become a bit of a cheat, so I can dream.

If I return to Japan, I'll just be a failure, but in this world, I can earn money and live, even as