Chapter 63

After that, we moved south along the border, looking for a place where the encirclement seemed thin.

To put it bluntly, Genkou is persistent. He keeps chasing us no matter what.

He seems to be following us along the border, and we almost ran into him, but thanks to Filo's speed, we managed to avoid being caught.

What's strange is that there's no sign of Ren and Itsuki chasing us.

Can we assume that they've come to an understanding, or are they lying in wait somewhere...?

Well, the idea that they brainwashed us was a bit far-fetched.

Another possibility is that they've been so focused on leveling up that they've lost interest in this incident.

I can understand why Ren, who is skeptical, would do this, but what about Itsuki? It's a strange turn of events.

On the other hand, Genkou is being persistent.

In any case, it's fortunate that Ren, who seems to be the strongest among the three heroes, and Itsuki, who can attack from a distance, are not here.

Genkou can be dealt with by Filo, and since he has the second princess with him, he can't seriously go after me.

However, even with that in mind, there are still a lot of problems to deal with.

"What should we do..."

In the midst of days that have become tiresome, I think about where we should go from here.

The border is heavily monitored, and if it's difficult to enter the country illegally, should we go into hiding somewhere?

Endless days of running. No, if the next wave comes, my life will be over.

At this point, attempting to cross the border recklessly might not be a bad idea.

As it is, our suspicions won't be cleared. If that's the case, it might be best to quickly go to Siltvelt, where they don't want me to go.

At night, we discussed our future plans in front of the campfire.

Filo, being an idiot, wasn't listening to me.

The second princess and Raphatalia reacted as if it was inevitable.

"It's quite tough, but I think we have to break through all at once."

It's not that we don't have a plan. I believe that with my defense, we can break through if the other heroes aren't there.

"Yes... rather than continue running like this..."

"Yeah..."

"Mel-chan!"

For some reason, Filo returned to her original form and started playing with the second princess.

Clang!

Huh? I heard a strange sound near my neck.

What? I don't feel any pain, but...

Turning around immediately, I saw a needle-like object spinning and falling from the air.

"Master, enemy!"

"What!?"

So that was a blowdart just now!?

If it was an arrow, it must be Itsuki?

Since it's night, it's hard to tell where an arrow attack from a bow would come from.

"There are a lot of them. I didn't notice until they got close."

"Huh?"

Filo, spreading her wings to cover the second princess, was being hit by blowdarts.

There's no way Itsuki could launch this many attacks, right?

No, more importantly!

The real intent of the blowdarts is that they are likely coated with poison. They didn't hit me or Filo, but there's a high risk they could hit the second princess or Raphatalia. If that happens, we wouldn't know what kind of poison was used.

If it's a simple poison, I can detoxify it with the Fast Antipoison I recently learned, but if it's a more complex one, it won't work.

To begin with, I left the antidotes in the carriage and the cargo cart.

If something like this happens, we won't be able to handle it!

"Ah..."

I turned my gaze towards Raphatalia. A blowdart was flying towards her at that moment.

"Air—"

I shouted, trying to cast an Air Shield, but I wasn't sure if it would be in time.

Just as I was getting anxious, a high-pitched sound rang out, and the blowdart was deflected.

"That was close."

Suddenly, a figure in black clothing appeared, protecting Raphatalia.

His face was hidden by a cloth, so I couldn't see it.

His voice sounded both male and female. What is he? He seems like a ninja.

What's with the "de gozaru"?

"Quick, run de gozaru!"

The sound of a struggle began in the bushes and shadows of the trees.

"Hero of the Shield, leave this to us and run de gozaru. If you escape safely, we would like to talk to you later, so please wait de gozaru."

"What the hell is this!"

"There's no time to explain de gozaru, so please leave quickly de gozaru."

"Damn! Filo, Raphatalia, and the second princess!"

"Okay!"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, I got it!"

We ran through the area where blowdarts were flying, riding on Filo.

"What was that guy?"

"Probably one of Mother's secret bodyguards... I think."

The second princess muttered while we were running.

"You know him?"

"Yeah. The one who saved Raphatalia is someone I know. He's Mother's shadow double."

"Oh, I thought I recognized the way he spoke. It's that guy."

The one who was walking in front of the second princess on the day I broke ties with the scum.

His appearance and behavior were strange, so he left a strong impression on me.

"What is he? We were attacked at night, but we couldn't figure out who the attackers were."

I thought it was Itsuki, but there's no way he would do something like this.

Given his character, he would try to catch me face-to-face.

"Maybe the country's assassination squad..."

"Is there such a thing as an assassination squad?"

That's a dangerous story. Well, with a scum like that as king, there are many nobles who distrust him, so they might secretly deal with people they don't like.

I can understand that.

"Actually, they should be the same as the secret bodyguards..."

"Are the assassination squad and the bodyguards separate?"

"...I don't know."

"Hmm..."

I'll have to ask that "de gozaru" directly.

After making Filo run for a while, we stopped to wait for the enemy to track us.

"Huh?"

Filo reacted suddenly.

"They're here."

After a while, a ninja-like figure suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting de gozaru."

"Yeah, you kept us waiting. What was that about running away all of a sudden?"

"First, let me introduce myself de gozaru... Has Princess Melt told you anything?"

"I heard you're her shadow double. And something about a secret bodyguard squad and an assassination squad."

"Mostly correct de gozaru. To be precise, we are the country's secret special forces, known as 'Shadow' de gozaru."

"Ah, I see."

"By the way, I don't have a personal name de gozaru. If you must, please call me Shadow de gozaru."

Shadow... What a pretentious name.

Is there a subtle difference in thinking between the residents of this world and me, a person from another world?

The ninja-like atmosphere is so 1980s.

"So, who were you fighting?"

"The shadows of the country and the church de gozaru."

"They're the same organization, right?"

"The organization isn't monolithic de gozaru. There are factions within it, and they are currently in conflict de gozaru."

There are a lot of things I want to point out, but I'll let it go.

"Why did you help us?"

This is what I really want to know.

I can guess a few things, but none of them are definitive.

"I can't answer that de gozaru."

"Hmm. You're a secret-keeper, huh?"

"If I must say, protecting Princess Melt is my job de gozaru."

"You're not doing a good job."

If not, the second princess would have been attacked, and this guy would have shown up.

"I knew the Hero of the Shield could protect her, so I didn't show up de gozaru."

"You bastard..."

So you knew and just watched.

Quite capable, aren't you?

"I came to tell the Hero of the Shield, who is wandering aimlessly, about the country where the queen is staying de gozaru."

Shadow showed me a map and pointed to a neighboring country in the southwest, the opposite direction of Siltvelt.

"The queen is currently in this country de gozaru. Incidentally, it's in the opposite direction of the country where the Hero of the Shield is trying to seek asylum, so the security is lax de gozaru."

"Hmm..."

I had a vague feeling that my plan to seek asylum in the country of the sub-humans was their standard assumption.

The reason I can think of is that the country of the sub-humans might worship the Shield like the Three Heroes Church.

If I manage to seek asylum and convey the truth, it would be a bad outcome for the scum.

I would like to see them suffer, but breaking through that security is almost impossible.

It's a two and a half week journey on Filo, and if the other heroes get there first, it would be tough.

But I want to go, even if I have to take a detour.

"This matter goes deep de gozaru. If possible, I would like the Hero of the Shield to cooperate de gozaru."

"What do you mean?"

"Right now, the Three Heroes Church is on its last legs thanks to the Hero of the Shield's efforts de gozaru. That's why they went to such lengths to stage this incident de gozaru."

"Hmm... So, the reason they're trying to push the ridiculous theory that I brainwashed everyone is because of this."

My recent efforts—selling medicine and helping villagers—have had a significant impact.

In a way, I solved problems that were caused by the other heroes.

Indeed, for those who worship the other legendary heroes, this is a动摇人心的事件。

如果能在这里证明我实际上是罪犯，洗脑是事实，信仰就会恢复。

但是，如果我证明了自己的清白，三英雄教会就会遭受毁灭性的打击。

“你打算怎么做？就这样逃到西尔特维尔特寻求庇护吗？”

“这……”

怎么说呢，把功劳交给别人，自己却安逸地生活，这不是我的风格。

在战争期间，如果波浪再次来临，我仍然会被召唤到敌人的中心。这非常不方便。

仔细想想，把我逼到这种地步，让我痛苦的那些人，可能是这个教会的人，比如那个贱人和那个烂国王。

如果这样的话，与其盲目地寻求庇护，用武力让他们吃苦头，不如让他们背叛他们一直以来信仰的人，这样效果更好。

如果顺利的话，可以节省时间，而且更稳妥。

但是……

“你和女王见面有什么好处？三英雄教会可能会被摧毁。”

“我不能回答。”

看来，这个“影”只是给我提供女王的信息，至于我怎么行动，他不会回答。

他是女王的下属，这是毫无疑问的。

既然他和第二公主有接触，是女王的亲信，那么女王不会处于不利地位。

也就是说，我见女王，女王会从中得到某种好处。

老实说，我看不到女王的目的。

从第二公主的言行中可以看出，她尽量避免与其他国家的战争。

在这个盾之恶魔传说根深蒂固的国家，她还关心我，可以看出她对波浪的来临非常重视。

“影”说“希望你合作”。

女王的方针和三英雄教会的想法不一致。

这是最合理的解释……

嗯……可以说，他可能不是敌人。

虽然不能确定他是盟友，但为了打破现状，赌一把也不是坏事。

“既然救了拉芙塔莉雅，我就听你一次。见了女王就好了？”

如果能结束这场荒谬的闹剧，我不会不参加。

“虽然不太情愿，但这是最好的选择。如果被骗了……”

“我明白。那么，我先告辞了。不知道教会那边的影什么时候会来。”

说完，他瞬间消失了。

虽然说话方式很奇怪，但工作似乎很准确。

“他可信吗？”

老实说，有点可疑。

“没问题……母亲信任他。”

“这个母亲我始终不太理解。”

虽然他的想法和那个贱人、烂国王不同，但我不明白他在想什么。

从第二公主和“影”提供的信息来看，他似乎是我们的人，但目的不明。

不能排除他参与第二公主的暗杀和三英雄教会的可能性。

如果一切都是女王的阴谋，只是为了杀我，那就无计可施了。

我们已经朝与西尔特维尔特相反的方向前进，如果被一网打尽，那就完了。

虽然不想相信，但第二公主可能已经被抛弃了。

但是，了解女王的意图是必要的。

如果能分清是非，我应该做的事情就会明朗。

“总之，目的地已经确定了。”

“是的，出发吧。”

“嗯，出发吧，菲洛。”

“菲洛会努力的！”

从毫无头绪地寻找国外脱身的方法，到确定了前进的方向，这是一大步。

我们朝着西南方向前进。