Chapter 13: Where the Conspiracy Entangles

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In a single room in the royal capital’s slums. In the grimy, windowless room, men with their faces concealed surrounded a table. The atmosphere, like the room itself, was dark and heavy with despair. After a long silence, one man finally spoke.

“The Second Princess and 【Dawn】 have made contact…”

“…No. No, no. Please tell me this is a dream.”

“Give it up. It’s real. …A Gold-Rank adventurer party has joined the Second Princess’s faction.”

“Haha… it’s over. It’s all over. Everything is over.”

Nothing but despair spilled from their mouths. And it was only natural. For them, the assassination of the Second Princess was an objective that had to be accomplished at all costs. They were men connected to noble houses aligned with the Second Prince’s faction.

Their main houses had failed to read the times and had been lured by sweet talk—

『You’ll be treated favorably if you side with us instead of the Crown Prince』and had foolishly joined the Second Prince’s camp. But once every major faction threw its support behind the Crown Prince, it became clear they had no chance of victory.

No. This had been obvious even earlier. From before his enrollment in the academy through long after graduation, the Crown Prince’s reputation had always been stellar. So why had some nobles ignored that reputation and supported the Second Prince?

The answer was simple.

It was a trap set by the Crown Prince himself. He had not wanted to leave behind any lingering threats to his future rule. Greedy schemers who clawed their way upward using underhanded methods were tolerable, but fools who bet their futures on the obviously losing Second Prince were unnecessary. With that in mind, he deliberately left an opening for the Second Prince’s faction to rise.

That window lasted only half a year. During the Crown Prince’s half-year diplomatic tour abroad, the Second Prince’s faction was formed. They believed they had laid solid groundwork in that time and could still win. But the moment the Crown Prince returned, every major faction shifted to his side.

What they thought would be a contest to win over the great houses instead ended with the board itself being overturned. The match had been decided from the start. And then another half year passed, with them unable to move. In just a single year, their futures were sealed shut in darkness.

They could no longer afford to worry about appearances. That was why they decided to force things. Even if they couldn’t move the Crown Prince’s faction, they could shake the kingdom itself. If they couldn’t win within the kingdom’s power structure, then they would tilt the structure itself. The first plan born from that reckless desperation was the assassination of the Second Princess.

Even without strong backing, she was still part of the Crown Prince’s faction. Killing her would at least cause some tremor. She was a royalty. If exposed, it would mean immediate execution, but they believed the death of a princess without backing would not be thoroughly investigated. But all of that had been blocked by a single adventurer.

“And on top of that, a Cardinal has approached Princess Charlotte. They’re trying to secure her.”

“No way… The Church is interfering in the kingdom!?”

“That’s impossible! The Church is pushing into the kingdom now of all times—!”

Their voices were bordering on screams. Not only had the assassination failed, but they had drawn in a monster, one of the very top among Gold-Rank adventurers. And worse still, they had caused the nightmare scenario of a Church Cardinal moving to secure a member of the royal family. Their lamentation was justified.

“Damn it! At this rate, we all go down together! We need to turn this around somehow—”

“But our opponents are a Gold-Rank adventurer party and the Church. We can’t possibly resist.”

“Then what do we do…?”

“—Don’t worry. There is a plan.”

Hope was introduced into their despair. At that single line promising a breakthrough, they all reacted.

“You… You’re from a Count’s house, aren’t you?”

“This happened because you failed in the first place! You said the assassination of the Second Princess was guaranteed!”

“…No. That part shouldn’t be blamed. No one could have predicted a Gold-Rank adventurer getting involved. More importantly… I want to hear this ‘plan.’”

All eyes focused on one man. His expression was hidden by a hood, but his hands were dark-skinned and covered in tattoos. It was an appearance uncommon in this country, but that alone was not a concern for them.

“It’s simple. This time, we will erase the adventurer along with her.”

“…Can you even do that?”

“They’re Gold-Rank. The destruction of the Egret Marquisate overnight isn’t something we can just turn a blind eye to.”

“As long as it’s not traced back to us, it’s good, right? No problem then.”

At the tattooed man’s words, the others exchanged glances. It was suspicious. But he had been recommended personally by a count, and more importantly, the assassination itself had almost succeeded. It had only been overturned by the sudden appearance of a Gold-Rank adventurer, essentially an accident.

And the adventurer had only encountered the Second Princess due to a request. It was hard to believe there were deeper motives involved. Ignorant of the Guild’s inner workings, they could only accept that explanation.

“Is there anything we can help with?”

“I want you to issue a designated request and lure the adventurers and the princess out. I need land.”

“Then the Magivale Viscounty will handle that. It’s nothing but mountains. Barely any eyes.”

“Perfect. There’s a risk of attracting even stronger adventurers, but the assassination of the princess should succeed this time.”

“Oh…! What exactly are you planning to do?”

One of the Viscount Magivale’s retainers asked eagerly. In response, the hooded man smiled. But it was not a smile meant for comrades. It was a smile of contempt, like one directed at fools, like one used when looking at livestock.

Cold… And cruel.

“Nothing special. I just happen to know a convenient monster.”

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“Everyone, thank you for helping me this time. I’m sorry for dragging you around because of my selfishness!”

After returning home following the meeting with Her Highness, I bowed deeply to the three of them. I was the one who had said I didn’t want to get involved then turned around and said, 『she doesn’t seem that bad, let’s help her』 causing confusion. I really needed to apologize properly.

It’s not like I’m genuinely terrified that the three of them were getting cozy with Her Highness while leaving me behind at the end or anything…. I’m sorry. I’m really scared. The thought of being abandoned gives me shivers of the bad kind of excitement.

“Especially you, Marianne. You did everything, and then I changed my stance at the last moment. I’m really sorry.”

“P-please raise your head! I did it because I wanted to. More importantly… Was I useful?”

“Of course. I’m glad you were there.”

“～～… Y-yes. I feel the same, Finn-san…”

When I took her hand and thanked her, her eyes grew moist with emotion.

She’s not tearing up because she hates this, right…?

“Hey. What’s with the flirting?”

“Well then, perhaps we should join in as well.”

“Ah—wait—”

For some reason, the other two joined in on us holding hands.

Nngh! This rough texture is Carla’s sword calluses! This smoothness is Astrea’s High Elf hand! And Marianne’s hand…! So soft and moist despite being a Saint… Overlapping fingers with them… Isn’t this… This is definitely indecent…!

“But it was surprising. The Second Princess was far more reasonable than I imagined.”

“At least she’s not a fool. If she can’t use her birth, seeking power another way is sensible and she has no intention of relying on others forever. That’s why you approached her proactively, right, Marianne?”

“Yes. …Well, there were various reasons.”

For some reason, Marianne, who had been smiling just moments ago, now looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“Finn-san. We need to talk.”

“Say anything. I’ll even lick your shoes, Saint Marianne.”

“E-eh!? A-anything—”

“…Hey. Saint.”

“Ah—g-good grief! Finn-san, that’s enough!”

Snapped back to reality by Carla’s exasperated voice, Marianne puffed out her cheeks and scolded me. Why was I getting yelled at? I was confused by the completely unearned scolding, but since unjust anger was kind of my thing, so I decided it was fine.

If it were from a stranger, I’d respond with “What are you even saying?” but this was Marianne we were talking about.  Being told “That’s enough!” in such a cute way was simply irresistible. 

“Ahem. Listen carefully, Finn-san. It worked out this time because the other party was Princess Charlotte, but you mustn’t casually agree to what nobles say. Even Her Highness added her own meaning to the word ‘friend’ you used with good intentions.”

Ah… Yeah. She was right.  I just said we’d be friends, and it turned into friends for life.

“Is that a noble-specific expression kind of thing?”

“No. She genuinely wants to be lifelong friends.”

“…Oh.”

So that’s how it is…

Wait. Did she phrase it that way because she knew I was from a rural farming family? Like, deliberately keeping it simple? That was definitely possible. 

Her Highness was kind.

When someone so important says they want to be equals, it’s a one-hit KO. To be blunt, I’m kind of disliked. I’m in an adventurer party, but all three of my teammates are good-looking and highly capable. A tank who doesn’t visit brothels, openly showing off how close he is to them…. Of course people hate me.

Being a commoner only made it worse. Nobles insulted me as a vulgar savage. Commoners resented me, asking why I got all those privileges… It was honestly pretty suffocating. Veteran Guild staff, the receptionist who had handled me for years, and Copper- or Silver-Rank adventurers treated me decently, but aside from them, I really wasn’t liked.

Well, sometimes that feels good too. I even think of it as the price of my fulfilling masochistic life. A life surrounded by beautiful, busty, kind companions while indulging in masochism… Or a life of crude banter with rough men and paying good women to beat me up. Which would you choose!?

B-both are hard to give up…!!

Anyway! From the perspective of someone hated by his peers, the fact that things might settle peacefully and that I might have a friendship with Her Highness, was genuinely something to be happy about.

“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“From now on, if a noble is rude to you, please ignore them. But be sure to memorize their name.”

“Hm…? Ah. Yeah, I’ll do that.”

How reliable, Marianne. With the Church’s power, you can even stand up to nobles! Marianne-san! That noble did something bad! Let’s deal with them! The title of Saint isn’t that cheap…!

She could use her power however she wanted, but she chose to use it for salvation. That was why she was a Saint. She was someone worthy of praise. The reason she helped me with my selfish requests was only because we were acquainted before she gained that power. I shouldn’t overstep. Her salvation should be for those who couldn’t be saved. Her anger should be directed at true evil.

Because she was a Saint.

“Hmm. Marianne, may I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“You said a count was involved in the assassination attempt on the Second Princess. What will you do?”

“The Church will act. There are things only we can do.”

Ah, I see.

I assumed we’d handle it directly, but of course that made sense. This time I acted because I was personally involved, but Gold-Rank adventurers weren’t exactly idle. I was able to save Her Highness only because I was a Gold-Rank adventurer and the Guild’s dog. I didn’t like leaving fights for my own survival to others, but if Marianne judged that this was the right course, I’d follow it.

Politics to those who can handle politics. Violence to those who excel at violence. I’m an adventurer and an adventurer with no backing at that. I’m just a puppet of the Guild. My essence lies in violence.

“Oh, right. About the next quest.”

As if just remembering, Marianne produced a scroll from somewhere. She spread it across the table, and I widened my eyes at the contents.

“The next quest will be a joint operation. We’ll be departing together with the Emerald-Rank adventurer party 【Lily Garden】. Our destination is the Magivale Viscounty, the Rubble Mountain Range.”

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