There were a number of tents set up around Museburg’s front gates, all filled with demi-humans. It reminded me of a refugee camp, actually. Fortunately, people weren’t starving or freezing; there were plenty of guards, and the place felt reasonably safe.
“That’s a lot of people,” I said.
“It’ll be tough trying to recruit from this pool,” Ifriita observed.
“Ifriita, we need to greet Viscount Simon Travis, first,” Aqual added softly.
Ifriita, Aqual, and I disembarked the airboard and surveyed the scene while our bodyguards formed a discreet perimeter.
This scouting trip had more muscle than usual. Besides the usual suspects of me, Grande, the ogre girls, and the harpies, we had Ifriita and Aqual along. As an added bonus, twenty royal guards were present—including Riviera and Gerda, who also served as Aqual’s caretakers.
“I mean, I don’t disagree, but how are we supposed to get through that crowd?” I asked, nodding to the long line of carriages ahead of us.
I had no idea whether something was slowing traffic at the gate or if we’d hit the city at the same time as a massive caravan. Either way, the line showed no signs of moving anytime soon.
And it didn’t help that everyone was staring at us. For real.
With Ifriita and Aqual looking every inch like eleven princesses, the bizarre-looking airboard itself, twenty armed royal guards—not dressed like maids this time—and three towering ogre girls, we stood out. If Grande had been awake, we would’ve drawn even more attention. At the moment, she was asleep back on the airboard. She really did like moving at her own pace.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to just drive around to one of the other gates?” I suggested.
“Well, we’re not in a rush,” Ifriita said. “I don’t mind waiting patiently.”
“Then how about checking in on the folks around here while we wait?” I started.
“We’ll be swarmed if you do that. Stay put,” Ifriita answered, sliding an arm around my waist. Aqual mirrored her on the other side. The ogre girls, Riviera, and Gerda all gave me the same “stay put” look. I was trying to make the most of my time, honestly, but that plan was shut down. As I made excuses in my heart of hearts, a group of about ten local guards approached us, spears in hand and swords at their hips. Pretty intimidating…is what someone would normally think.
Our twenty royal guards were armed to the teeth, each one equipped with magic steel armor, swords, and shields. Gerda carried her giant tower shield and long mace, while the ogre girls all had wyvern-hide armor and wielded mithril alloy weapons. Not only did we outnumber the local guards two to one, our equipment was leagues better. If anyone had reason to be scared here, it wasn’t us.
“Ah, um… You appear to be people of status, so may I have your names…?” asked one of the guards, his voice tight with caution.
The poor guy couldn’t hide his confusion and fear. Weird. I was sure we’d already contacted them about our visit.
“Heya, Mr. Guard. I’m Kousuke, and I guess I’m the leader of this little group…yeah?” I explained, glancing at Ifriita and Aqual, who both nodded.
I guess that settled it.
“Sir Kousuke, it is. I am Kirill, third squad captain of the Museburg city guard. It is an honor to meet you.”
“Likewise, Captain Kirill. Officially, I’m the partner of Her Majesty the Queen of Merinard, or in other words, the king consort. I’m here under her orders to establish several pioneer villages in Viscount Travis’s territory. I also have a meeting scheduled with General Zamil. Here is my written appointment from Her Majesty, and this dagger serves as proof of my identity.” From my inventory, I produced a parchment sealed with the royal crest and a dagger bearing the same emblem on its pommel, then handed them both to Captain Kirill.
“H-Her Majesty’s partner?! Th-this is without a doubt the royal crest… So you’re truly…the king consort?!”
“That’s me,” I confirmed. “No need to panic, I’m not some suspicious guy sneaking in, I promise. And by the way, General Zamil is one of my besties.”
“I-I deeply apologize for my rudeness! I shall escort you to her at once! Please wait a moment…! Hey, get word to the gatekeeper immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Two guards sprinted toward the gate as soon as the order left Captain Kirill’s lips. Watching them go, I turned to my own crew.
“All right, everyone, get back on the airboard and prep to move out. But what about you two?”
“I’ll ride on your airboard. You don’t mind, right Aqual?”
“It is fine, If.”
“All right. Tozume, keep watch outside. Bela, you’re driving.”
“Aye.”
“Got it.”
The plan was simple: Everyone who needed protection would ride with me on the airboard, while the royal guard airboards formed a convoy around us. The guards who weren’t piloting surrounded our vehicle, strengthening our defenses.
“Things sure escalated quickly, huh?” I muttered.
“Honestly, this isn’t enough protection considering your status,” Ifriita said.
“You are the king consort, after all,” Aqual added. “Normally, a full platoon of royal guards would be the bare minimum.”
“For real?”
I scratched my head. Depending on how you viewed things, and in terms of raw strength, I was the strongest military asset we had. I was practically a one-man army, and that was before you even counted Grande, still snoring in the backseat. Between the two of us, we could handle just about anything. But when it came to formalities, or because of my nobleman status, I guess a few personal bodyguards didn’t cut it. Man, I really wasn’t big on this sort of thing.
“We are ready to proceed, Your Majesty! I shall lead the way!” Captain Kirill announced, snapping to attention.
“Thanks, Captain. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! Even if it costs me my life!” he shouted before taking the lead.
With him guiding us, we passed through the front gates and onto Museburg’s main street. We’d left Merinesburg early that morning, and thanks to really putting pedal to the metal along the way, we made it here before noon.
It was just about lunchtime, so the streets of Museburg were busy. Unfortunately, because our convoy was inching along the main street, that busy traffic came to a standstill. We were basically a moving spectacle, like an old daimyo’s procession parading through town. Maybe not even “basically.” We just were.
“Where exactly are we headed?” I asked.
“Most likely to Lord Travis’s manor,” Ifriita said.
“I’d rather meet with Madame Zamil first and ask her about the guy before dealing with him directly.”
“That won’t cut it,” Aqual said, crossing her arms. “It would be tremendously rude to meet General Zamil before meeting with the man in charge of this city.”
“Please use your common sense.”
“Fine, fine,” I replied with a sigh.
While we were talking, Bela, at the helm of the airboard, carefully guided us through the crowd. As we got closer to our destination, Captain Kirill shouted from the outside.
“We will be arriving at Lord Travis’s manor shortly!”
“Got it. Bela, you heard the man. Be careful.”
“Understood, Boss.”
The trickiest part of piloting an airboard was stopping smoothly. The last thing I wanted was for our vehicle to nudge one of the guards or clip a bystander.
“Hee hee. Perfect landing,” Bela said, grinning from ear to ear as she brought us to a flawless stop in front of Viscount Travis’s manor.
Yep. That true-blue, shit-eating grin said it all.
“Yes, yes. Good girl,” I told her, smiling back.
“Grande, we’re here!”
“Hmm…?”
With Bela’s smug smile in the corner of my eye, I dug Grande out from her mountain of cushions and gently squeezed her cheeks to wake her up. She blinked groggily, still half-asleep. Typical dragon. If she wasn’t protecting me, she was either eating or sleeping. Honestly, dragons were hopeless. They were basically only professional at acting like a NEET.
Her tail was a little heavier than it looked, but she wasn’t particularly heavy, so I lifted her into my arms easily and got off the airboard. Grande was used to this treatment, so she just wrapped her arms around my neck, rested her chin on my shoulder, and curled her tail lazily around my body.
The red and blue princesses silently stared at us, their expressions sharp enough to cut glass.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“Not at all,” they replied in perfect unison.
They were definitely lying. Were they jealous or something? Ifriita I could understand, she was straightforward and emotional. But Aqual? I wasn’t sure whether her look was jealousy or just outrage at what she probably saw as bad manners.
Look, Grande’s gonna Grande. Expecting manners from her is a lost cause.