But really, this place was gorgeous. There wasn’t a single speck of dirt or dust in sight, which had to be a sign of the staff’s proper training. I wished I could have Master Merlin work here since they might actually be able to teach her a thing or two. She had one talent, which was magic, but when it came to everything else, she was absolutely incompetent. That was the thought on my mind as we climbed our way to the second floor and traversed another long hallway.
Finally, Sebas stopped before a door at the end of the hall. “This way,” he said before opening it and urging us inside.
“E-Excuse us, then.” Daggers took the helm as we stepped through the door. As far as I could tell from looking around, every piece of furniture was expensive. Still, the furnishings were all functional, giving me the sense that the only things here were the absolute necessities. Very little had no purpose to serve.
I was last to walk through the door, which slowly closed behind us. Sebas must have had other business to attend to.
“Hey, there. Are you that adventurer party who saved Ishtar?” I turned toward the voice to find a young man.
Oh, so this guy was... He had similar facial features to Rina, so I recognized him immediately. The two of us had spent a long time adventuring in the same party together under the Hero, after all.
Obviously, Yui and the others didn’t have the same frame of reference. “Um, where’s the local lord?” asked Yui as she glanced around the room. Daggers and the rest were looking around too, though not as much as Yui. Still, I could understand them. This local lord seemed to lack presence. Was that just because he looked so young?
The man watched them and chuckled. “What do you mean? That’s me, Abel Lucas, the local lord.”
“Huh?!” Yui and the rest audibly gasped. I was the only one who didn’t follow. What was there to be shocked about?
Silica seemed restless as she raised her hand. “Um...?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“My apologies, but I heard Lord Abel turned forty-five this year.”
“Yup, I did,” answered Abel, grinning from ear to ear. He looked perfectly calm. “But why mention that?”
“Oh, I mean... You just look so young.”
“I’ve been exercising diligently ever since my time at the Knight Academy, after all. I practice my swings, go jogging...”
“D-Do you? I s-still get the sense you appear a little too young...” Given Silica’s response, it was clear she didn’t really take Abel’s words as a real answer.
Suddenly, Yui realized my composure and started staring at me. “How are you so calm, Lloyd?” The look on her face practically screamed, I just can’t believe it!
“Well, I mean...”
Abel was Rina’s father. With a daughter of nineteen, it was easy to guess he was in his forties, if not older. I mean, Yui and the others were right—he was old enough that you’d expect his age to show a bit more. Still, Master Merlin’s friend Lily was about the same age, but she also looked young. Was it really that weird?
“Isn’t how young you look related to how hard you work?” I asked.
“No, you just don’t... There’s gotta be a limit, right? This is...impressive. Maybe there’s beauty magic or something?” wondered Yui.
Beauty magic...
“Isn’t there?” I asked.
“Huh?” They all spoke in unison.
“Huh?” I responded back. They were all looking at me with expressions that seemed to be saying, What the hell is this guy talking about?!
Seriously, what was with their reaction? Even Silica and Cross looked as dumbfounded as Yui.
Abel alone was grinning at me, looking even a bit happier than he had before. “Yup, you’re exactly right, Lloyd. Looks all come down to hard work. For example—”
“Ahem!” A cough from one of the maids interrupted him. “Lord Abel, I do believe it’s about time you...”
“Oh, yes, I guess I chatted a little too much there. Um, then let’s move on to business. You all know of the second imperial pr—I mean, Claire, yes? Especially you, Lloyd,” said Abel, still grinning.
“You know Claire?!” I couldn’t help but ask as soon as I heard her name. The question slipped from my mouth before I even realized it. Now that I was thinking about it, I hadn’t seen her since before the night of the festival—or really, ever since she lost consciousness after the defensive battle. I tried looking for her after the banquet, but Vice Chief Ulgo of the Adventurer’s Guild wouldn’t let me search for her and instead only told me, “She’s somewhere safe, so you need not worry.”
But according to Abel, she was somewhere within this manor.
He was right. Perhaps it was only because I had gotten so familiar with her mana signature, but I could sense it clearer than I could anyone else’s here.
“Don’t worry. Claire’s fine. She’s weak and can’t walk properly quite yet, but that’s only a matter of time. She has no long-lasting injuries.”
“R-Really?” I asked, sighing a breath of relief. Abel didn’t seem to be lying, and nothing he said had sounded suspicious either. I could even tell her condition was stable given how steady her mana signature was. They must have taken some measures to help her.
But that was exactly why a certain question was stuck in my mind. I had meant to ask earlier, but now, the mysteries surrounding her had only grown deeper. “Um... Who is Claire, exactly?”
She possessed magic I had never seen before and could manipulate monsters. In order to take her for themselves, the demons had braved entering the Three Great Nations’ territory and imprisoning her.
“Yup, I was just about to explain that. You guys will be watching over her for a while, after all.”
“We’ll be what?”
“I’ll say this simply: Claire...is the second princess of the empire.”
“Huh?!”
“Oh, and while it seems like she told you guys her name was Claire, it’s actually Claira.”
He had to be kidding. I had already gotten the sense that she had given me a fake name, which was why I had assumed she must have some extenuating circumstances. But the second princess? I didn’t know much about royalty and nobility, but if she was a “princess” she had to rank pretty high in the empire. Given her magic and the demons’ obsession with her, I assumed she had to be important. But a member of the imperial line? I definitely got why she had given us a fake name.
“Is this a joke?”
“No, I mean it. She’s the imperial princess shrouded in mystery, Princess Claira,” said Abel, still wearing the same smile as he continued, ignoring our surprise. “She was kidnapped a year prior, but you guys don’t know that, do you?”
I shook my head. Apparently, even the others hadn’t heard that she had been kidnapped.
“The kidnapping of the second princess—Claira Rizelst is her name—is a secret only known to the royal family and a select few nobles.”
Claira Rizelst... To be honest, I had never heard the name before. I hadn’t even known there was a second imperial princess.
“But why didn’t they announce what happened to Claire—I mean, Princess Claira?” asked Yui.
For some reason, Abel turned toward me. “You saw her magic for yourself, didn’t you, Lloyd? What do you think?”
His words prompted me to consider our current situation. “On one hand, her magic was amazing. On the other...it was terrifying,” I said, answering honestly.
“Yes, exactly. Her magic is magnificent, with the potential to crush nations.”
The expressions on Yui and the others’ faces froze. Abel was right—Claira’s magic was that dangerous. Earlier, we had no other choice, and Claira herself understood that, which was why she had helped us.
But if that power made its way into someone else’s hands, then... I shuddered. Based on what I had witnessed, it didn’t seem like Claira alone could manipulate enough monsters to destroy a nation. But with help, it’d be possible. The previous incident was proof of that.
“Her magic is special, which is why she was kept under close watch and guard. But still, she was kidnapped—and by demons, no less. The empire’s defenses were compromised. If their citizens knew that, they’d panic.”
Abel was right. They definitely would.
But no, it wouldn’t just be the subjects of the empire. If Claira’s magic and her kidnapping were made public, discord would consume the whole continent.
“So they wanted to avoid inciting panic in the people of the empire and kingdom.”
“Yup, exactly. The few of us nobles who knew of the situation, including myself, searched for her in secret. But then, one of my friends aiding the effort suddenly brought her back. I couldn’t believe it.”
The imperial princess had been missing for a full year, only to suddenly return. Yeah, I could understand why he was shocked.
“So is Princess Claira...all right?” Yui sounded nervous.
“Yes. As I’ve said, she’s currently recovering. You have nothing to worry about. It’s only a matter of time before she’s fully well again.”
“Thank goodness...” Yui breathed a sigh of relief.
For some reason, this caused Abel to grin. He once again spoke. “Yup, yup! So anyway, I have a direct quest for you guys.”
“A...direct quest?”
“Yup, and it’s a bit of a hard one. I want you to serve as Claira’s guards and escort her to the royal capital.”
“Huuuh?” Everyone but me spoke in unison.
Abel ignored them. “You see, I’ve been asked to take her there, but unfortunately, I’ve got my own work to take care of. Wrapping up this whole incident will be time-consuming, so I’m not in a position to leave the city.”
With that, Abel took a letter out of the drawer in his desk and handed it to us. Yui accepted it, opened it up, and laid it flat on the desk. Then, we all began to read. The language was a bit formal and flowery, but in short, it was a letter from the emperor, and it said, “I’d like you to bring the second princess here to the capital.”
The phrase “I’d like you to” was more of a demand, from what I could gather.
“As I’m sure you now understand, the emperor wants your party to head to the royal capital to take temporary refuge. At the same time, he wants me to bring Princess Claira there. In other words, if you guys take her, I can focus on my work. We’ll be killing two birds with one stone!”
We were silent. During our whole conversation, Abel had maintained a smile. But we were at a loss for words, and the one thought on our minds was, What the hell is this guy on about?