Vol 2 Chapter 29 – Pursuers【Exile to the Empire Arc】

After dinner, Yukino saw Roy heading for the inn’s roof with Sophia following him, and she decided to trail them.

And so, Yukino learned that Roy had given up his revenge for the sake of her smile. She sank to the floor in the shadow of the doorway.

Her cheeks grew hot, her mind went blank, and she felt as if she were about to be crushed by a torrent of emotions.

Suddenly, the idea of sleeping beside him, which hadn’t bothered her before, became intensely embarrassing, and Yukino clutched her head.

“Ugh… what should I do? It’s like… my head is overflowing with all these different versions of Roy-san~”

Yukino was simply bewildered, unable to identify the emotion she was feeling, one that far surpassed what she’d felt when Haruto confessed to her.

“Well, guess we should be heading back.”

Roy’s words snapped Yukino back to her senses, and she hurriedly left.

　☆☆☆

Having seen Yukino go shopping during the day, Roy decided to talk to her about their sleeping arrangements.

“You went out today without your cloak, right?”

“Yes, I did. Did I do something wrong?”

“No, it just made me think you’ve finally gotten over Haruto.”

“I suppose so. I’ve found that I’m not as concerned with what people think anymore.”

“I see. In that case, we can have separate rooms starting tonight, right?”

…Huh?

Yukino was stunned by his words, and her lips trembled.

“—No.”

“…Even if you say that.”

“B-Besides, if it hasn’t been a problem so far, it’s fine to just keep things as they are, isn’t it?”

She grabbed Roy’s sleeve, her eyes welling up with tears as she pleaded. He caved, and so Roy’s restless nights were fated to continue.

　☆☆☆

Eiden Ignia… an Imperial noble who advocated for the abolition of the aristocracy. He also served as the leader of the organization Stark and had aided Roy in his defection.

The carriage Roy’s party was currently riding in was also part of the support they had received from Eiden.

As they rode along and the royal capital Regzeria grew smaller in the distance, each member of the party was lost in their own thoughts.

“Sarina.”

“Don’t say my name so casually.”

“Sarina, how much money do you have on you?”

“…Hah. I bought new armor yesterday, so I’ve only got about 100 G left.”

Sophia and Manabu gestured in a “what can you do” sort of way at the exchange.

Sarina’s previous equipment had been a blend of fashion and function, likely a result of catering to Haruto’s tastes.

Now, she was decked out in leather armor that didn’t restrict her movement, wearing a cloth long-sleeved shirt and leather pants.

Manabu wore a robe befitting a mage, Sophia maintained her usual white, noble-lady style, and Yukino had made Roy’s cloak her standard issue, worn over clerical robes with slight goth-loli style decorations.

This brought Roy’s party to one of their problems: a shortage of funds. By his calculations, they had about 5000 G total… an inn with meals included cost 1600 G. They saved on weapon maintenance since they used the maintenance-free Holy Sword and Meteorite series, but for armor, everyone except Sophia was using C or D-rank gear that required fairly frequent repairs.

“Hey, this Eiden guy, he couldn’t help us out with money?”

“Listen, it’s not like the Stark organization is swimming in cash, you know? Don’t just assume that noble equals rich. Although… Eiden spending a fortune on his hobbies is part of the problem…”

Just as Roy was thinking what a strange nobleman he was, the carriage came to a sudden stop. Manabu, who had been on watch next to the driver, pointed ahead and asked Roy for instructions.

“Boss, there’s a broken carriage in our path. What do you want to do?”

The carriage was tilted, one of its wheels apparently broken, and a man who looked like the driver and another who appeared to be an adventurer were standing by with their arms crossed, completely stuck. On the principle that people in trouble should help each other, Roy and Sophia got out to see what was going on.

“You guys have a problem?”

“Yeah, take a look at this. This part here broke on us.”

The moment Roy stepped closer to inspect the damage, Sophia thrust her spear into the driver’s chest.

“Roy, get back! It’s a trap!”

He looked over to see the adventurer, his face twisted into a vicious expression, swinging his sword down, certain of his victory as he aimed to take the head of the crouching Roy.

Yukino screamed from inside the carriage, Manabu began to form a magic circle for an earth spell, Sarina was in the middle of reading a book, and Sophia—was giving Roy a deadpan stare.

“Shadow Prison.”

The man was frozen, his sword still raised, bound by countless black bands that had erupted from the ground. Thanks to his improved enhancement values, Roy could now use techniques at his age that would normally require years of training.

“Roy, did you know?”

“No, he was just incredibly slow. To be precise, the moment he put his hand on his sword, his killing intent flared up, so I figured he was going to try something.”

“Mmph! Mmmph-gmmph!”

The man’s mouth was bound as well, so he couldn’t speak properly.

“Roy, look at his sword. It’s the ‘Black Helmet Crest.'”

The Black Helmet Crest. It was the mark of the Black Knight Kairo’s personal unit—unlike the Ombra clan, they weren’t assassins, but a clean-up crew meant to display their authority by confronting the nation’s enemies head-on.

“You don’t have to speak. Nod if I’m right, shake your head if I’m wrong.”

“Mmph!! Mmmph!”

Thwack!

Roy delivered a powerful blow to the man’s solar plexus. With his mouth covered, it was already hard to breathe; the strike was a brutally effective interrogation technique. The man settled down after about five hits, and Roy extracted the information from him.

Kairo had suspected Roy might still be in the royal capital and had set this trap just in case. The fact that it was a trap that preyed on people’s goodwill spoke volumes about his personality.