CH 285

After suffering a major defeat in the battle against the Eastern Alliance, the special magicraft unit [Dark Wings] was made to take responsibility for the defeat and was disbanded. I had been assigned to a new unit. The new assignment was to the Valkyrie Empire Crown Prince’s bodyguard, one of the elite units.

“I heard that today’s work is a top-secret escort mission. Who exactly is the Crown Prince meeting with?”

“It’s a top secret mission, so there’s no way I could possibly know.”

The two senior members of the convoy were having a conversation. It seems that secret meetings are rare for the crown prince, who has mostly official duties, and cases like this one are rare.

“All hands in formation! Salute His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince!”

Crown Prince Macrobane of the Valkyria Empire boards the imperial family’s private ride carrier. He is accompanied by a strong entourage of five men and a warrior who talks friendly with the Crown Prince. I’ve never seen the crown prince before, but I know that warrior. He is High King Curelles, one of the two wings of the Valkyria Empire and one of the Twelve Heavenly Masters.

“Curelles, are you sure you don’t want me to take your magicraft, Chernobog?”

The Crown Prince’s words were met with a smile from Curelles.

“What would they think if I showed up at the meeting with Chernobog?”

“Just because you’re one of the Twelve Heavenly Masters and you’re riding your own magicraft, the other party will be afraid of you.”

“This meeting is an important one that will determine the future of the empire, and we must make it a success. In order to do so, we should prioritize winning the other party’s trust, even if it means taking some risks.”

“Hmm. You are the best rider in the Empire, and the sharpest.”

“No, the best rider in the Empire is Lord Dahles.”

“Well, let’s not argue about who is the best for now. I just think you’re the best.”

The debate over whether the strongest rider in the empire was the Cureless or the other wing Dahles was an agenda that was talked about as much in the country as the bad words of the rival Kingdom of Lubel. The Crown Prince seemed to know this and used it ironically.

But who is the person that the crown prince of the Valkyria Empire wants so badly to have a successful meeting with?……There was a lot of talk among the members of the escort squad about predicting this secretly.

“My guess is one of the executives at the Radle Company.”

“It’s possible. It is said that they have developed a powerful Ride-carrier cannon, and the Valkyria Empire will need some powerful weapons to counter Lubel’s beast magicrafts.”

“It’s true, I heard that the northern army was recently beaten to a pulp by beast magicrafts.”

“How about the Elysian Empire? The emperor has changed recently, and there’s a lot of activity there too.”

“Elysia and Valkyria are not enemies, but they have always had a mutual awareness of not interfering with each other, so it’s unlikely that the Crown Prince would bother to meet with them.”

“What do you think, Ren?”

He asked me out of the blue, but I’m a transferee and I haven’t been in this world for a long time. There was no way I had a complete grasp of the situation or common sense, so I just answered randomly.

“Aren’t we supposed to be meeting someone from the Kingdom of Lubel?”

Hearing this, my companions began to laugh more than ever.

“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s not possible. Lubel is an enemy nation with whom we have a long history. There have been talks of prisoner exchanges and temporary truce agreements, but no such thing as secret talks.”

No, I was just imagining someone who would be surprised…….I was a little miffed that they laughed so much.

The ride carrier dedicated to the Imperial Family is a large ride carrier that can carry 30 magicrafts. Curelles’ magicraft was not brought, but the Crown Prince’s guards were not overlooked, and they were fully equipped with more than Highlander magicrafts.

When we arrived at the meeting place, all of the magicrafts were launched to guard the surroundings. After a while, a large ride carrier approached, probably the other party to the meeting.

“Bullshit……that ride carrier is…….”

One of my companions muttered over the convoy’s private comms.

“Looks like you’ve got one over on me, Ren. I’ll buy you an expensive drink when the job’s done.”

It was the captain of the convoy who said that. I don’t know whose ride carrier it was, but I remember learning about that coat of arms in the military. I’m pretty sure it’s the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Lubel.