A few days have passed since I was ordered by the Highness to keep an eye on Prince Washekht. Prince Washekht was told by King Selende to cooperate with a man called the Star People of Yugra, and I guess his purpose could be detrimental to that person.

I'm sure there are others who care about Prince Washekht as well. ......

　I can sense the presence of Prince Washekht around him, even though he is disguised as a civilian. In all likelihood, they are interlopers sent by the other heirs to the throne. I'd like to get an accurate count, but I'm afraid that my presence might be noticed if I let my presence be felt. So far, I and the others have been avoiding conspicuous actions as passers-by or ordinary people who were there. Well, I have to say that's the right thing to do.
　Prince Washekht's entourage is low-level, and he can look up as much information as he wants if he wants to. This is because Prince Washekht chooses his flankers based on personality compatibility rather than ability. However, he can't do anything rash now. This is because the people of Yugra with whom Prince Washekht is in contact, his flankers, are extremely dangerous.
　First, the Blade of Annihilation. Anyone who knows anything about adventurers will know about that woman. If her ability to destroy the Geshuva bandits single-handedly is real, she's not someone I can handle.
　And the white subhuman and the Tarzan knight ...... can only be seen as a joke. I'd believe it if you told me that was the Demon Lord.

I'm glad you're only on surveillance duty. I don't want to get into trouble with those people.

　The only saving grace is that the people of the planet Yugra are only ordinary people. Even if they're bound hand and foot, they can still win. In fact, I don't feel their magic so much that I think they will die of weakness even if I leave them alone. At one point, I even wondered if he was hiding his magic power with a great deal of skill, but I quickly determined that there was no sign of it.
　The people of Yugra and Prince Washekht are currently visiting the ruins. It is possible that they are exchanging some kind of information there, but it is not possible to follow them while they are traveling on horseback. It is possible that they are exchanging some information there, but you can't follow someone who is traveling on horseback.
　So I decided to leave Prince Washekht to the others and explore the people of the planet Yugra. I'm currently hiding as a patient in a room next to the treatment facility that the man is using. The setting is that I'm an ordinary person who is undergoing intensive treatment for a sprained back that has become a habit.
　Even though it's for the sake of the mission, it's a complicated feeling to be hospitalized after destroying your own back with magic. I really hope it doesn't become a habit. ....... But with this, it's easy to hear voices through the walls without listening.
　A certain number of days have passed since the man was hospitalized. It won't be long before he's out of the hospital, but we'll take care of that too. I've already got the room next door to the accommodations Mixu is arranging, and I'm in the process of getting my people to work there as well.

Thanks for your help, Shisho!
"No, really. Washekht was all about the ruins the whole way.
He was also bragging about his sister. He must have been very proud of his sister. She must have been very loving.
"Well, I'm in the position of respecting and caring for my brother, but I was a little envious!

　Rumor has it that the people of the planet Yugra have returned. I can hear the conversation just fine. Considering the possibility that the other party can detect my movements even through the wall, I pretend to be at rest in bed and concentrate on the conversation quietly.

By the way, you've been showing a lot of interest in the ruins, have you made any interesting discoveries?
"Hmm, yeah. They are the remains of a civilization untouched by the Juglanariya. There have been many interesting discoveries. Washekht told me a lot about the other ruins, and when we have more free time, we can visit some more of them.

　It seems that they were really just looking around the ruins. If that is the case, did Prince Washect provide you with any information, or did he just show you some documents? I wonder if there was any particular consultation.

"It's fine to reminisce about your excursions, but try to keep your voice down. It's fine with me, but it might disturb the sleep of the patients in the next room.
"Oh. Right.

　Yokus, Knight of Medicine. You're in the hospital with a very serious injury, but you've done us no favors. I've been listening to your heartburn-inducing conversations with your woman all day, but I didn't expect to feel uncomfortable here.
　Well, what you are saying is quite natural. In fact, if you keep your voice down to a certain extent, you can be less cautious about people hearing you. As I am well-trained, I can hear clearly even when I whisper a little.

"Is there anyone in the next room?
"It appears that someone was admitted while you were out with Prince Washekht. Lilisa confirmed that it was for a sprained back.

　You're a little more clever than I thought. Did you find out the reason for my admission in such a short time? But since they're actually treating me, I should just stay in this bed without any hurry.

It seems that old man Kara has a habit of hurting his back. It's not like he can just be cured by magic, is it?
It depends on the skill of the healer. Most healing magic uses the person's own magical power to enhance their self-healing ability. However, the person being healed may not know much about the mechanics of their own body, right? You can make it as close to its original form as you want, but it's hard to make it ideal.
So that's why there are scars.
Yes, it is. Even the most skilled magician needs a certain amount of time to heal another person's body to the ideal state. Most of it is in building their own magic and adjusting the patient's healing response.

　Exactly. That's why it's not so hard to fool a doctor. If you actually show them your broken hip and demand to be healed properly, you can be admitted without any problem. As for the room assignment, it's enough to appeal for the view from the window while keeping the money in your hand.

"In that case, Yokus, it looks like you'll be leaving the hospital quite late.


Not really. Lilisa's good with healing magic. She knows my body well enough to know how it responds to healing magic. As soon as I get my strength back, I'll be able to recover much faster than normal.
"Does this count as flirting?

　It's in love. I never thought I'd get heartburn even without a girlfriend. Maybe I should bang on the wall next time to protest. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Yes, my friend. Why don't you share some of this fruit with your neighbor?
"Oh, that's nice. If you're in the hospital with a bad back, you won't have any food restrictions, and there won't be many people coming to visit you. Wolfe, get me a basket of some good-looking ones.
Yes, sir.

　You're not coming to me, are you? No, there's no need to rush. There's a lot of fruit sent to you and you can't handle it, so you're just going to share it with me. Play the good-natured civilian, be moderately surprised, and be moderately grateful. If you don't try to be friendly and keep a moderate distance from him, he won't be aware of you.

Can you get in that far?
"No, a little more. I think I can get in a little more. I've already shared it with the nearby hospital patients. This is our last chance.
"No, that doesn't mean I can't give you that much ......

　Wait a minute, how much are you going to give me? I'm not that much of a fruit lover.
　After a while, the Yugra Star People left their room and came to the door on our side. And knocked several times.

"Come in.

　In response to my answer, the door slowly opened. A young face, dark hair and eyes ......, a genuinely curious expression, and then a questioning one.

I'm sorry to disturb you at this late hour. I'm in the next room.
Um, how can I help you?
I was just out for a while, but I heard you talking and thought I'd say hello.

　He had a mild expression on his face, which relaxed me without my having to think about it. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing.
　But the female knight next to him, she's always keeping an eye on her surroundings. It's best not to stare too closely.

It would have been nice if you hadn't rushed to come tomorrow.
"As much as I would have liked to, it's just that...

　The people of Yuggra showed me a basket full of fruit. That's not a lot to give up to just one person. How much are they sending you?

"Well, what is it?
Actually, there are a lot of people coming to visit me, and I have an overabundance of fruit. I thought I'd share them with you before they get damaged.
Oh, really? I appreciate it, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to eat ...... all of it.
You can eat as much as you want. There's a lot more in this room, so ...... the ratio of meals is about to be reversed. hahaha ......
"Well, in that case, I'll take the .......

　Perhaps pleased with my reply, the Yugra Star People placed a basket of fruit on a nearby table with a happy expression. I guess they were really having trouble dealing with it.

"By the way, who sent you to hide here?

　The response was black.

　The response was black. The old man was no doubt someone who had infiltrated to get information from me. Before the old man could react, Ilias stepped in with his sword drawn.

Wait, wait, wait. You can't be rampaging in a hospital room, Ilias.
No, but ......
What are you talking about? What are you talking about?

　You're a good actor. You've decided that I'm playing you, and you've decided to be a harmless civilian. But that's not going to get you any points.

"You should be more upset about having a sword pointed at you before you turn your back on it. People are supposed to be a little more afraid of knives.
So, what are you talking about?
"I know you thought you were having a natural conversation, but normally you wouldn't think it was for one person if you were shown a basket with this much fruit in it. It's more natural to think that you'll be visiting other rooms after this. And yet you reacted as if you understood that all the fruit in the basket was brought to you. So you were eavesdropping on our conversation in the next room, weren't you?
What?

　Note that I didn't speak that loudly and the walls of the room are not that thin. The volume of the voice was so loud that you could not hear it unless you put your ear against the wall or have very good hearing. If she was just a normal person with good hearing, she should have looked like she knew what was going on.

But that's not all. There are strangers coming in the middle of the night, and one of them is a knight from another country wearing a sword belt. If you're reacting as a civilian, you'd better not look at them and make a curious expression, but rather glance at them and give them a look of danger. Because there's no way someone who was in the hospital during the day today would know what the Iliad looks like.


Well, I'll have to talk to the people at this facility.
Why don't you at least tell them that you saw the Iliad on the street before you were admitted? I can get all the people in this facility together right now and make sure you've been briefed on what the Iliad looks like.
"That ...... is!

　I think I said something unnecessary on the spur of the moment when I was pointed out for reflection. I have talked to the doctors and their employees several times while I was in the hospital, but I did not see any suspicious signs. The hospitalization itself was an unforeseen event in the first place.

"Is this man really trying to find out about us?
"You don't have to wonder about that. We've already established that he's more gray than black. It's easy to find out. For example, if the injury you're referring to is self-inflicted or not.

　There was a guy with a bad back, so I ordered him to infiltrate. Rather than that possibility, it would be more natural to think that this man, who was ordered to infiltrate, had injured himself and was posing as a patient.
　It might have been natural if he had a painful back and got a backache from carrying a heavy object, but I wonder if such a person would go undercover like a criminal.
　The doctor would be suspicious if he had any external injuries, so he might have injured his back by magic or something similar.

Do you want me to restrain him and have DuVreoli check his memory?
There's no need to go that far. It's a fact that the old man is in the hospital with a back injury. I'm sure he doesn't have that much information, he's just been ordered to do a background check on us anyway.

　The only thing I can think of is that King Selende told him to help me, as an extension of his surveillance of Washect. Then the only people who know about it are King Selende and anyone else who was there. And the people who were watching Washekht.

But don't you think we should at least be clear about whose orders we're following?
That won't be necessary. Old man, give my regards to Princess Umies.
I...

　This was a lure, but I guess I was right. From what I've seen from Washekht, the one person who seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with being exposed was Princess Yumyess. Sending a spy next to someone's hospital room, that's really aggressive.

"Well, we can just ask her to move to a different room tomorrow. Now that you've been exposed, you're at risk of being watched. The old man won't be able to continue his surveillance mission.
If that's what you want, ...... then so be it.

　Ilias sheathes his sword. He didn't feel the old man was capable of doing anything about it. When you break your own back and come to the hospital, it is unlikely that you will run away or attack the moment you are discovered.
　In other words, this old man is not that afraid of the risk of being caught. Then he doesn't have much information. Just the information that Princess Yumyess has been looking into us is good enough.

You're not going to ...... anything?
"I might at least keep an eye on it. So, old man, take care of that fruit. You take care of yourself, okay?
Oh, yeah. ......

　It was expected that the other heirs to the throne would take some kind of action after making contact with Washect. I'm not sure if Princess Yumyess is a collaborator of Nektohar, but it's a perfect excuse to talk. Well, that's the extent of it. Honestly, the best part is we didn't waste the fruit. Yeah.