The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Noble in a World with a Skewed Gender Ratio - 32-33

Chapter 32: On the Way to the Capital

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The day before we departed for the capital… 

In the world, either in manga, anime, movies and everything else, bad people always existed. There was no world without any bad people. And… Now that our territory was bustling with activities, those kinds of individuals were also starting to target our territory as well. 

“Mother… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing, El?”

“Because of me… Bad individuals like thieves and bandits alike are increasing in number…”

Crime rate in our territory was never zero. Carriages had been attacked even in the past, although the number of cases wasn’t alarming enough. However, recently, the frequency of the attack had increased. There was an increase in the number of thefts and burglary in the village as well. Because of that, Mother had to leave home more often than before to protect the people in our domain. This was clearly my fault. Miso and other products that I introduced to this world were being made in this territory and thus, bringing in more profit and people to here. But.. It seemed the main cause of the recent surge of criminality was because of our newly made soy sauce and vinegar. We still hadn’t found a way to mass-produce them, but words about it had reached the wrong people. Those bad people had been coming to our place to steal the recipe for soy sauce and vinegar. 

“Don’t make that kind of face, El. Thanks to El, everyone can enjoy delicious food and the people in our domain have better lives now! Those bad people are the ones at fault, not you! Okay?”

Although what Mother said was true, but I was still feeling guilty. I knew I was partly to blame for causing trouble to Mother and the others… 

“That’s right, El! We’re here and the people sent by the Heartness Kingdom are here too! We’ll definitely catch those bad guys soon, okay-aru?”

Just like what Rinrin said, Queen Heartness had sent her soldiers to us because she liked the prototype for soy sauce I had given to her. The soy sauce wasn’t ready for the public yet, so her help was truly greatly appreciated. I planned on giving some to Tia and Lance tomorrow. I also planned on giving some to the people at the castle while I was at it. If someone were to ask how Queen Heartness got to taste the soy sauce before the royalty of this country… That was because Queen Heartness often came to visit me. 

“Yeah… We won’t let them steal the things that El-sama made… Especially the soy sauce, since we don’t have much of it yet…”

Right. Letty seemed to really love eating sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi. 

“El-sama, just continue doing what you do best as you’ve been. Leave the rest to us adults, okay?”

Miinya… Thank you. You had always been a great help to me… 

“I will protect El-sama too!”

Even though she was still a kid, but Leila seemed to be quite good at fighting. I heard Kaira-san had been training her since she was young. Leila was close to me in age, but her physical prowess was a world difference from me.

“Although I’m still lacking in many things, but I’ll be sure to do my best to support El-sama!”

Kaira-san? You were definitely not lacking in many things! You even could stand on equal ground against Miinya during the mock battle, didn’t you?! Kaira-san said that she was still no match against Miinya though…

“Anyway! El, you don’t need to worry about that. You’ll be leaving for the capital tomorrow, right? Just focus on celebrating Princess Tia’s birthday and don’t forget to be careful. I’m sorry I can’t come with you. I’m not too worried though, since Miinya will be accompanying you.”

Mother would be coming to the capital a bit later after me because she had to clean up after the mess I had caused. If I got the chance to talk with the prime minister in the capital, I would like to bring this issue to her. After all, Tia said the prime minister was the most reliable person in the castle!

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“El… Be careful, okay?”

“Yes, Mother. I’ll be going first then. I will see you in the capital!”

I exchanged hugs with my mother. Thinking about it, this was the first time I ever been away from my Mother. It was just for one day, but still… 

After a hug that lasted longer than usual, I finally set off for the capital. I was leaving first together with Miinya, Erin and 20 Rainrose knights. My mother, Rinrin and Letty would depart one day after us. Laila and Kaira-san would be staying behind to handle things in the village. If anything were to happen, they would handle it together with Wuxian. Laila seemed oddly displeased with this arrangement though. Maybe because we had been sticking together so much lately?

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The journey went swimmingly… Until the carriage broke down midway. Well, sometimes these kinds of things happen no matter how thoroughly we prepared. It seemed it would take quite a bit of time to repair the carriage, so we decided to have a meal while waiting. 

But then… 

“”-?!”

“Don’t swallow it!!”

“If you’ve swallowed it, spit it out!! Puke it out!!”

Miinya and Erin’s panicked voices echoed throughout the area.

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Chapter 33: Their Target Is…

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I didn’t understand what was happening, but by the time I realized it, the women that came with me were kneeling on the ground. They were foaming at the mouth and appeared to be struggling to breathe. 

“I…. Can’t… Breathe…”

“Help…”

“Ugh…”

“Argh…”

“It… Hurt…”

“It burns…”

Soon enough… They stopped moving. I watched as the horrifying and eerie scene unfolding before me.

“Why…”

What… What’s happening…

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Just like usual, I heard the voice saying,”The meal is ready!”

Everyone, regardless of their rank and status, gathered to eat. Me, Miinya and Erin were talking about whether to split our group into two and head to the capital first, or waited until the broken carriage was completely repaired. The carriage broke down in the middle of what could be called a forest path. We were surrounded by woods and halfway there to the nearest village. Thanks to the foliage in the forest, the bright sunlight didn’t pose a problem for us. The forest was the perfect place for resting, but…

Suddenly, one person started to writhe in pain. Before I could think of what to do, another person started to foam in the mouth, followed by another… And another… And another. Miinya and Erin rushed to help them and they were quick to notice something was amiss. 

“”-?!”

(This is… Poison?!)

“Don’t swallow it!!”

“If you’ve swallowed it, spit it out!! Puke it out!!”

Within the next moment, several more of our people fell to the ground.

“E-Enemy incoming!”

One of the knights shouted and I could see arrows protruding from the heads of those who had just fallen to the ground a moment ago. Miinya, Erin and other seven knights who were still able to move quickly formed a defensive circle with me in the middle. They drew their swords and spears out. 

“We’re not going to shoot you all with arrows anymore, you know?”

“It won’t be funny if we were to hit our target after all. Haha~”

Along with that voice, several armed women started appearing from within the woods. I could confirm that there were more than 30 of them. 

“Hear this! We are Rainrose Knight! There is a man among us here! Do you still wish to proceed even after knowing that?!”

Erin shouted. The reason why she shouted this was because any act of violence against men was considered a grave offense due to the scarcity of men. In this world, it was common knowledge that those who harmed men could face horrible torture followed by execution. Coincidentally, there hadn’t been any crime of violence against men in history…

“Go!!”

Prompted by the women who appeared to be their leader, the armed women started surging toward us. 

“Miinya-sama…”

“I understand, Erin. Their target must be….”

“Knights!! Don’t let them get near El-sama!!”

“””YES MA’AM!!”””

These people… Their target is me..?

CLANG!!!

“Ugh…”

SLASH!!

“Argh-!!”

Swish!! Swish!!

“Gyaa….”

“Argh…”

One by one, Miinya and Erin cut down the approaching enemies. The knights also followed suit. I could only stand there. I wasn’t able to do anything. In fact… It was more accurate to say that I couldn’t move due to fear. Soon enough, the number of enemies gradually decreased.

“Heh. As expected from the knights… Oi, you two, come out. It’s your turn now.”

The leader said and then, two figures moved towards Miinya and Erin. 

CLANG!! CLING!!

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed as their swords clashed. 

“…You’re… Strong.”

“You’re strong too…”

Miinya first said and it seemed the tanned women also shared the same sentiment as her.

“Ugh…”

“Mu…”

Erin seemed to be struggling as well. It was clear to see that these two new opponents weren’t on the same level as the others. They were strong. Meanwhile, the rest of the armed woman started killing the knights. One knight fell down, followed by another. Even though the number of our enemies had been decreased to more than half by Erin and Miinya, but at this rate… 

“There’s more where it comes from, you know!”

Upon hearing that voice, reinforcements from the enemy appeared. There must be at least 20 of them. This was the worst-case scenario ever. Miinya and Erin were struggling to fight their opponents and the rest of the five knights were heavily wounded. 

“At least…”

“El-sama needs to…”

“Even if I need to lose my life here…”

No… I don’t want this… I don’t want to see anyone I know to get hurt or die because of me. 

I picked up a sword lying nearby and stepped away from everyone. 

“ALL OF YOU!! STOP MOVING!!”

I shouted with all of my might and to my surprise, my words managed to stop the fight. 

“El-sama…? Wha-What…?”

“El-sama! Come to me!!”

“I said, no one moves!!”

Miinya… Erin… I’m sorry.

“Huh? What are you planning to do with the tip of the sword at your own neck? You’re bleeding, you know?”

The woman who seemed to be the leader said to me. 

“I will go with you, but in exchange for that… I want you to spare their lives. You’re not allowed to touch all five of them anymore.”

“El-sama..!! No!! I-!!”

Miinya, I also feel the same way as you…

“You’re the leader, right? I… I’d rather die than just stand by and watch Miinya and the others sacrifice their lives for me!! So? Will you take the deal?!”

I knew they would be in trouble if I were to die.

“…Fine.”

Alright… Of course she will agree to it. After all, their target is me. 

“Erin… Order the knights to take Miinya and leave immediately!!”

“No!! No!! El-sama!! I will definitely protect you, even if I have to die-“

“Erin!!”

Erin, please… 

Pleading in my heart, I stared at her.

“….Ugh… Knights!! Withdraw from this place! Take Miinya-sama along! Restrain her if necessary!!”

“””….”””

“HURRY UP!!”

“YES MA’AM!!”

“Let me go!! Let me go!!!! El-sama!! El-sama! El-!!”

Miinya… Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to apologize to you when I come back.

After making sure Miinya and the others had escaped, I let myself be caught by this unknown woman. 

Tia… I’m sorry. I don’t think I can keep my promise to you.

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