Chapter 99: The royal capital revelries (2)

Happy New Year! ?????????

PR: Filip/Gecko

As we were sitting on the moving carriage, we saw an incredibly large castle wall.

I think its clearly several times taller and thicker than the one in Aegirine. If this is how it looks from a distance, I wonder how it would be once we get closer.

Its big, isnt it?

Yes. Its the royal capital after all

How are we getting in? Dont tell me I have to get in this barrel

I snickered while saying that as a joke.

Yes. Please get in the barrel

Turns out, it wasnt a joke. Am I an esper today?

Im just kidding. Its the royal capital so theyre really thorough in checking the luggage. Theres a small window on the walls that they use to throw away food sc.r.a.ps. Ugajin-san will come and get us there in the middle of the night

Didnt think Kaneda-san was capable of telling jokes. Weve been together on this carriage this whole time and he hasnt shown that side even once. You really never know with people huh?

Please wear your gear and cover yourself with this hooded robe. The area around the walls are the slums where a lot of displaced people live so lets try not to stand out. The nearby guards would immediately come out if someone screams from seeing a demonkin after all

As I was told, I put on my equipment and covered it with a slightly dirty hooded robe. After that, we went along the route that leads to the outer walls. The coachman stayed behind and entered the capital normally. Seems like they have an easy way to get in contact whenever they need to.

The slums are horrible, arent they? Its like a garbage dump site

Theres no helping it. They had nothing to eat because of heavy taxation so they came to the capital thinking theyd be given some aid

Theres something like that here?

The church gathers them to give out some thin porridge so theyll feel indebted to them. That originally came from the farmers they taxed though

Ironic, isnt it?

Thats right. Ah, over there. Thats where the soldiers dump the food sc.r.a.ps. Since thats the case, there will be a crowd gathered around that area so just ignore them and stay on alert. Please make sure you never speak or show your face to anyone

Understood

Well be waiting among the refugees until night time

Kaneda-san and I huddled inconspicuously underneath a tree amidst the smell of kitchen waste as we waited for the night to arrive.

During that time, fights and small arguments were happening nearby. Seems like the humans state of mind is in pretty bad shape.

Some of them were even captured by the soldiers to be sent to the frontlines. According to Kaneda-san, they would rather get executed than get sent to the frontlines because they at least die a quicker death.

Even if the prisoners survive a battle, they just get sent to another one. Seems like they arent given enough food as well. Knowing that, I cant deny that getting executed would be better. Even the demonkin treat their prisoner soldiers better.

Eventually, evening came and then by the time the date had pa.s.sed, the window where the garbage was dropped from started rattling in a pattern I didnt understand.

Thats the signal. Lets go

With that said, we silently walked closer to the window. Once we were close enough, Kaneda-san threw a pebble then a rope ladder came down.

He climbed the ladder and then gave a signal to me. This means I should follow him right? Ive never climbed up a rope ladder before but I was somehow able to slip through the darkness and get in without making a sound.

When I got to the top, Ugajin-san put his index finger against his lips to signal to me to keep quiet so I just silently followed him.

There were patrolling guards as well as drunkards who were walking unsteadily, but just like a sneaking mission, we were able to enter the royal capital from the walls without being discovered. The soldiers who were supposed to guard the small room were unconscious though This was probably Ugajin-sans handiwork.

While I was thinking that, Ugajin-san spoke to me.

Its been a while, Caam-san

Yeah. Its been a while

We were finally able to exchange our greetings.

Lets talk about further details at Kaneda-sans place

Got it

With that said, the three of us walked quickly along a dimly lit alleyway until we arrived at our destination.

After Ugajin-san knocked in a 3-3-7 beat, the lock opened and then the two of them slipped inside. I also followed suit.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief as they took off their hoods. Taking that as a sign that were safe, I also took mine off. There were around ten people inside who I hadnt seen before.

Hey, its been a while Caam-kun

Aida-san said that in j.a.panese so I also replied in that language.

Its been a while. I was a little worried about what happened to you after that time you know?

Just a bit? How heartless

A short laughter resounded in the room.

Well then, a brief explanation of the current situation. We have gathered more than a hundred heroes. Almost a hundred of them are combat type and there are only ten days left until day of the operation

Can we win with such a small group?

Its not about winning or losing, we just need to abduct the royalty and then have them ensure our safety after the interrogation. What we need is not victory but a guarantee of our safety and confirmation of the existence of a spell that could send us back to j.a.pan

I see So, what should I do?

Youll move with the attack group

Okay stop right there. Youll have to keep me safe as I do nothing right?

Yes. However, please come with us in case we need to show proof that youre a Demon Lord

Id prefer not to though

Oi, full body school swimsuit guy. Its a rare opportunity so just join in

A young man who looked like he was around twenty years old made that remark which turned the atmosphere in the room cold.

Full body school swimsuit? Are you referring to me?

It sure didnt take long for me to get a terrible nickname.

Who else is there? Youre the only demonkin here

Oi oi, stop it okay?

Im not doing anything I just have something to say school swimsuit

its fine. Let me hear it

I tried to intimidate him a bit.

Why arent you a woman with skin like that!? Why didnt you get reincarnated as a cute girl!? A monster girl would have been so good! Why dont you have bat wings!? Why do you not have horns like a sheeeeeeeep!?

After saying that, the man had both his hands by his head and wailed in despair.

ah

Everyone who was there started shaking their heads. Understandable because they came here after hearing about a Demon Lord collaborator but its now come to this.

Well, he has quite extreme quirks but hes got the skills

Is that so?

I went towards the man, tapped his shoulders, and tried to encourage him.

I know a brothel run by succubi. Ill introduce you to them later. They also have dark blue-skinned girls there as well as ones with sheep horns, bat wings, and so forth

Really? Youre not lying, are you!?

Yeah. My neighbor in the apartment I lived in a few years ago worked there. Ive also visited the place a few times to socialize so Im sure of it. You can find a girl you like there

After I said that, this sad hero stood up, took my hand, then vigorously shook it up and down.

Its true huh!? Youre not lying right!? Take me with you when this is all over!

Its hard to believe hes the same guy who made a fuss earlier with how docile he is now.

Seems like Ill be tired even before the mission starts.

Can we go back on topic now? This is the a.s.sault teams leader and I asked him to gather here today to meet you. A squad will be composed of five members and ten of those squads will be infiltrating the castle. The rest will stay outside of the castle and wait. These ten troops will be named from Alpha to Juliet and each unit will have specific roles. Alpha unit will be composed of five people with high combat ability and theyll be tasked to capture the King and Queen. The rest will provide support and secure the first princess and her husband as well as the third princess. This is the floor plan Ugajin wrote up. Each group leader should memorize this map to ensure that there are no problems. Caam-kun, you will really just be coming along. Ill leave it to your discretion when a Demon Lord should make his appearance in the royal capital but only when a problem occurs

I see How wide is the pathway of the escape route from the destination? Any obstacles? Are there any blind spots? What about the patrol patterns of the soldiers?

I disregarded what he said for now and began asking questions.

Two people can use the escape route at the same time while three people lined up in parallel can fit inside the castle. As for obstacles, there are some here and there, like pots or and pieces of armor lying around. Apart from some of the street corners and behind obstacles, there arent really any blindspots so Ill just say none for the most part. The lamps are placed in regular intervals as well so its well lit. The soldiers dont have any patterns of when the soldiers do their patrols. They just go in pairs and roam around aimlessly. Theyre just doing it randomly

Thats not good, is it? Are there any soldiers stationed in front of the targets rooms?

Two guards take turns guarding every room. There are also around 15 guards in a room nearby on standby so theyll be able to come quickly if something happens. Since there are six rooms, the corridors are quite wide and there are also good sightlines so you need to be prepared for that

Hmm If each room will take one squad to clear out, will the remaining four squads be mobile units and provide support?

Thats right? Theres no magic that resembles a transceiver so we need to give everyone their roles from the start

While there may be wind magic that can unilaterally transmit a voice, its not as convenient and easy to use as a communication device.

Come to think of it, when you gathered people here, you had to explain the situation to them right? Did n.o.body try to report you guys?

There were some of course

Aida-san replied to me like it was just a trivial matter.

then why does this place still exist? The royal capitals soldiers arent that stupid right?

We had Ugajin do some dirty work to deal with that. When one of the heroes tried to snitch on us, Ugajin got rid of them in the audience room using a poisoned needle. After they heard the story from me, if they immediately ask for an audience and say something like, I have a report. The other heroes are, you can guess what theyll say next right? Before that happens, they get injected with a needle covered in hallucinogenic, excitotoxic, and cognitive impairing poison. They would start panicking because of the pain and before they could say any more the poison would take effect then they either get kicked out of the castle or sent to the infirmary

As expected of a ninja.

You can easily tell what the next words would have been. There are only about three options after all

At any rate, I wonder how they got a poison like that.

Looking around, it seems like everyone was nodding in agreement. Seems like everyone is on the same page.

Well then, lets just a.s.sume that they dont know a thing and the leak of information was prevented. Wouldnt there be an uproar when people find out the royals are missing in the morning?

Well send them back after interrogating them and having them sign a contract, you know? Of course, well blindfold them before we let them ride the carriage. Then after a few days, well show them that doc.u.ment to prove that the royalty is under our control and well be able to interfere like some kind of puppet government. Its fine. Theres a lot of holes in the plan and its not that well thought out but well have to make it work. At the very least, we need to make sure to secure the third princess whos the one doing the summoning for the king. If abduction proves difficult then well have to get rid of her right there and then though

Dont say something that terrifying so nonchalantly.

For the interrogation, the plan is to conduct it in the bas.e.m.e.nt of a rundown apartment building that well get to using a hidden pathway. Obviously, the caretaker of that apartment will be the first to go after the operation

I saw him smile a bit after saying that. Dont act like you just did some kind of famous speech.

Does everyone agree with the plan?

Looking around, it seems like everyone agrees.

Wait, wouldnt it be better if I just stayed in that bas.e.m.e.nt?

Im sorry but Ive heard from Iwamoto-kun about your fighting capabilities. Its fine if nothing happens and youll still get protected when you get attacked but if a battle happens, Id like to ask you to join in on protecting yourself

I dont like where this is going

Hmm, why dont we decide on code names? I recommend school swimsuit

Huh!? What are you talking about? Are you running a fever?

No, I think thats good

I couldnt have picked a better codename

Well, most of us here dont know each others names and just say hey when calling each other

It comes at the cost of me losing my name though

Its fine. Ugajin and I are on the same boat after all

Aida-san smiled at me as he said that. Will this strategy really be alright?

Well then, youll be monster girl lover

Thats the codename the guy who named me school swimsuit got. Judging from how he reacted, it doesnt seem like he disliked it. What the hecks wrong with this guy?

How are the heroes we have in terms of fighting strength?

If its around the level of this countrys knight captains then we can beat them with just one hand. If its the kings personal guards then we can beat even ten of them barehanded without a scratch. Dont know how well fare if faced against a battalion though

All of that alone?

Yeah

I was underestimating the heroes. Thank G.o.d Takeru-kun was the one who came to my place. I definitely would have died if any of you came instead

Even Takeru-kun couldnt have handled your predecessor alone so youll definitely be able to handle ten imperial guards

Huh? Am I really that strong?

Are you an idiot? You were already strong the moment it was decided that you were going to be a demon lord! Is the inside of your head a school swimsuit as well!?

I guess Im not taking you to that brothel

Im sorry. Please forgive me. I wont mess with you anymore

Your codenames still school swimsuit though

I despaired hearing Aida-san snicker while saying that.

Since I couldnt go out until the day of the mission, I pa.s.sed the time talking about all sorts of things with the other heroes in a rundown house they led me to.

Its interesting how different human magic is from the demonkin. I wonder if I would also need to chant if I couldnt use my imagination. There are a lot of things I want to try

It certainly is convenient. Id love to have the flexibility of using magic with everything

But its really finicky you know? If you try to imagine a metal, the ore of that metal would come out instead so its not really user-friendly. You can make a sword but itll disappear when your mana runs out so its risky and you cant use it in prolonged fights

Despite that, school swimsuit-sans obsidian throwing weapons seem to be top-notch

Hed definitely be able to make a gun or something like that if thats the case

Thats true. Hes just being stingy Even I would have preferred to be able to use the demonkins magic myself

Right

Id appreciate it if you dont have this pa.s.sive-aggressive conversation in my face. You keep glancing my way after all.

Do they want me to teach them some kind of trump card? Although it might be best to up our fighting capabilities while were still discussing strategies, Id rather not go through such trouble.

As I was thinking that, I remembered something so I spoke and brought it up.

Ah, based on the castles blueprints, using long weapons wont really work so I want a s.h.i.+eld. Could anyone buy one for me? I cant go out after all. Something like a small round s.h.i.+eld made entirely of iron with a belt that goes on your forearm for stopping attacks would be good

Ah, like this?

One of the heroes showed me his s.h.i.+eld.

Thats right. Like that. I dont know the price but even a cheap one would be good so could you buy me one?

Its pretty cheap as long as its not made from mythril. How about this? Ill just give this one to you. There are a few dents so I was planning to buy a new one

Is it really okay? Thank you. Ill probably be able to protect myself now even if its an indoor battle

With that, I managed to get myself a s.h.i.+eld.

To be honest, I would have preferred a tower s.h.i.+eld but youll have a visibility problem on narrow corridors so this one is more appropriate

Would you have liked a riot s.h.i.+eld if there was one?

Thats right. Like those bulletproof ones. I was a tank when I played games you know?

Ah. Has this become like an fps where the tanks oddly respect each other?

Thats right

As we had that conversation, someone from behind us spoke up.

Im going on the attack!

Got it!Got it!

Leave the defense to me!

RoRoger!

Enemy submarine spotted!

I tried saying that to see how theyd react.

Negative!

Thats what they replied, then one of them started jumping while spinning around in that small room so I stood up and also started doing it. The other s.h.i.+eld guy started crawling on the ground as we continued to do these dumb things.

While we were doing that, another hero who was carrying the food provisions opened the door, was stunned at the scene that was happening then immediately closed it.

Wait a minute! This is just some kind of moral-boosting activity!

After saying that, he held the doork.n.o.b while the person on the other side resisted. Everyone else in the room, including me, joined in to persuade him.

We would look nothing but weird if a stranger saw this situation. Im not sure how far the gaming industry has progressed since I died but it seems like they still do similar things from my time.