Chapter 51 – An Expression That a Parent Would Show to a Young Man Who Was About to Become a Sacrifice in Place of His Beloved Daughter
By firmly imprinting in our minds the blueprints of the royal castle hidden by the Duke’s family, as well as the secret escape routes and the location of the sewers, we can make educated guesses about the whereabouts of the imprisoned king and princess. We will then estimate the enemy forces and proceed to formulate a rescue plan.
While I was planning my strategy, I heard an unexpected fact.
“Do you know you’ve met the princess many times?”
“Eh, where?”
“—Well, I might not have told you yet. It’s Touko, the president of the Strongest Royal Female Knight Academy. She’s my childhood friend, my best friend and the princess of this country.”
“EHHHH!?”
“I forgot when I was going to reveal the truth, but I didn’t think it would turn out like this…”
I didn’t know .
When did I become acquainted with the princess of this country?
That being said, I’m a commoner, so she probably doesn’t remember much about me, but—
“Then all the more reason to find a solution and take action.”
“Of course. I’m glad you said that.”
“I’ll never leave someone I know to death again.”
“…So long ago, you—No, I’m not asking you here. Forget it.”
Staring at the perfectly state-secret drawings from every angle, I exchanged opinions with Yuzuriha-san and her father, The Duke…
Along the way, Suzuha, who had come straight from the academy, joined us.
As for me, I didn’t want to participate myself, let alone have Suzuha join in. After all, it’s too dangerous. And yet…
“Nii-san… Of course you’re not going to leave me out, are you?”
“…As a brother, I’d like you to stay at home.”
“Why is that? Even though I may not look like it, I can be quite useful, you know? If it’s just regular soldiers, I can single-handedly annihilate an entire division.”
“The objective is to rescue Touko-san, you shouldn’t be so violent—No, whatever.”
Decision made.
I rapidly formulate a plan in my head and propose the strategy to Yuzuriha-san and the others.
As Yuzuriha-san listened to what I was saying, she seemed to understand.
“I see. So your plan is to split into two groups, a rescue group and a diversionary group. But…”
“That’s right. I’m going to swim backwards through the sewers into the castle to rescue Touko-san. And Suzuha and Yuzuriha-san will create a diverting incident at the same time. If possible, it would be helpful if The Duke could help us.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Sir Duke. Then, we’ll do as I planned—”
“Hey, wait a minute!”
As Yuzuriha-san panicked,
“I’m coming with you to the royal castle!”
“No.”
“Why!?”
“I can’t just let the Duke’s legitimate heir swim in the sewer, it’s not an option.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
—To be honest, I’d really like to have Yuzuriha-san in the rescue group.
But in my position, I can never say that.
Of course. What commoner can tell a duchess to “go down the drain”?
However, the hidden escape routes of the royal family must be heavily guarded.
This is the only way to infiltrate the royal castle without being discovered.
The crucial point here is that it won’t be a problem as long as Yuzuriha-san herself volunteers for it.
Of course, I will first deny it for the sake of appearances, but in the end, I will say that I was forced to accept Yuzuriha-san’s enthusiasm.
And I was sure that Yuzuriha-san would bring it up herself.
So if Yuzuriha-san says it again, I’m going to give her a look that says it can’t be helped and allow her to go with me.
At the moment, things are progressing according to the scenario I have drawn up in my head.
I grinned inwardly.
By the way, Suzuha is not suited to my plan because of her personality.
When Suzuha is alone in the dark or alone, I don’t know if she’s lonely or scared, but she has a habit of unconsciously talking to me and rubbing her body against me.
In normal combat, it’s not that big of a problem, but in an infiltration operation where stealth is the number one priority, it’s fatal.
“I don’t care how dirty I get in the sewers! I want to rescue Touko and most of all I want to protect your back! That’s why I’m coming with you!”
“If you insist that—”
“You’re being unseemly, Yuzuriha-san.”
As I was about to say “If you insist, then…”, for some reason my sister Suzuha made an accusation. I wonder what she’s going to say.
“Don’t you understand, Yuzuriha-san? My brother is saying we’re slowing him down.”
“”WHA!””
“Why are you even surprised, Nii-san…? I’m your sister and I know everything you’re thinking.”
Suzuha, who has not seen anything through, talked to Yuzuriha-san with a smug look on her face.
“My brother is saying, ‘Can you keep up with my infiltration speed? Can you protect yourself effectively when surrounded by formidable enemies? Do you possess the appropriate skills to stand by my side as a capable partner?'”
“H-Huu… Now that you mentioned it…”
“No, I didn’t say that—”
“My brother also said this, ‘Don’t make me say it, Suzuha and Yuzuriha-san are only capable of diversionary tactics at best. They should acquire the appropriate skills to be my partners before suggesting going together.'”
“…I understand. It was a foolish statement to say that I wanted to go with Suzuha-kun’s older brother. I take it back.”
“Wait, wait, wait—”
As I hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse, my shoulder was lightly tapped.
When I turned around, there was The Duke staring straight at me with tears streaming down his face.
In other words, it was an expression that a parent would show to a young man who was about to become a sacrifice in place of his beloved daughter.
“I’m sorry—don’t die.”
Deep within The Duke’s words, there was a palpable sense of relief that he had not sent his daughter to her death.
At this moment, it was decided that I was going to sneak into the royal castle alone.
