CH 75

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I still couldn’t accept the fact that Emina was dead…….Back in the imperial capital, I spent many days locked in my room, doing nothing.

“Iron Knights……”

I mention the name of the mercenary group that I heard from the head of the Beast King mercenary group…… I made a report to the army, and there was no information at all, as if they were an unknown mercenary group.

It seems that the army, which believes that they have already avenged Emina by destroying the Beast King mercenary group, will not move, but I will never forget. I had made up my mind that I would definitely hunt down the Iron Knights even if I have to do it alone.

Mr. Eo came to see me one day and said, “Mr. Yuki, His Majesty the Emperor wants to see you.”

I wondered if he would be angry with me for staying in my room forever…….With that worry in mind, I headed for the audience room.

“Dear Ms. Yuki, you asked for information on a friend of yours who was sold to a slave trader……”

Mr. Eo talked to me on the way to the audience room.

“You’ve found Yuta?”

“No……we haven’t found him yet, but we’re starting to get some leads…….”

“Where is he?”

“It seems that your friend, who ran away from the slavers, worked for a while on a slave trading ship, then entered a small country called Ludawan, and had some trouble with the Ludawan army.”

“Trouble with the army…….I hope he’s okay!”

“That’s still unknown…….We’re sending special forces to Ludawan right now to gather information, so please be patient.”

Oh……Yuta……if you were with me right now……this sad feeling would be healed a little. I wish I had you by my side right now…….

“I heard you’ve been in a bit of a slump lately with what happened to Emina, have you calmed down a bit?”

The emperor doesn’t seem to be angry, and he said so gently.

“To be honest, I can’t say I’m back on my feet yet, but I think I’ve regained some composure.”

“It’s not a big task, but I found some interesting information in the old archives…….It says that there is a shrine of the legendary Great Sage deep in the forest of Diable. I’m thinking of sending a survey team to find out the truth behind it.”

“The Legendary Great Sage……”

“Yes, the great sage Rafishal, who, truth be told, was the first person to build a magicraft.”

“I’m sure you’re having bad thoughts when you’re stuck in your room, can you join the survey team?”

“Yes, that would be a good idea.”

“I’ll leave the arrangements to Eo and he’ll tell you the rest.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

With that, I left the audience chamber.

“Thank you for participating in the search for the Great Sage’s shrine, Miss Yuki.”

“No, it’s just a change of pace…….Anyway, have you decided on the members of the survey team yet?”

“Yes, we have three scholars, twelve riders, twenty mechanics, and about fifty guards already in place.”

“It’s bigger than I expected.”

“Diable is a scary place with a lot of scary legends, so a small survey team would be too scared to go there.”

“What scary legends?”

“It is said that in the past, it was a place where giant beasts lived, and they ran rampant in herds of thousands or tens of thousands. Giant beasts are said to be extinct now, so I don’t think there are any that survived.”

I couldn’t imagine what a giant beast would be like, but I figured that with my magicraft, I wouldn’t have to fear any enemy.

The riders of the survey team consisted of ten Highlanders, two double Highlanders and an elite group. Including me, the force was more than thirteen Highlanders, enough to subdue any small country, according to Eo.

“Yuki the Triple Highlander, I’m Mary, my home country is the United States, and you’re from Japan like Yuto.”

“Oh, yes.”

Well, not just the Japanese people transported in this world.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t just get along with other Earthlings, I’m Enrique, nice to meet you, Yuki.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

At the meeting of the survey team, the two double Highlanders spoke to me in a friendly manner, but the ten Highlander riders only greeted me stiffly and did not seem to open up to me. There seems to be a huge difference in status between Highlanders and Double Highlanders in Elysia…….I’ve heard that there are hundreds of Highlanders compared to only a few dozen Double Highlanders, and I wonder if that difference in numbers is what is making them so different…….