38 04"Mission"




"You're going to pay for what you did last time.

 When I heard Chris' words.
 I realized that my bad premonition had come true.

 I now owed Chris, and by extension, the Defense Intelligence Agency.
 I owe them for finding out the information about Elysia. As for the assassination of Roberto, the bureau also had the objective of "obtaining the back books," so there was no debt.

 Just one debt.
 And now Chris is telling me to pay it back as soon as possible.
 Perhaps it's an extraordinary circumstance.

"The school's lunch break ends in thirty minutes. Can you explain by then?

"Yes. Yes. Ten minutes should be enough.

 Chris says.

"Twenty-eight. ...... No, two-eight. The Monarchy's Defense Intelligence Agency is giving you an official assignment.

 They call me 28, which means it's a mission only the old me can accomplish.

 I'll keep my head up.
 This mission could be even more difficult than the previous assassination of Roberto.

The job is to secretly escort the second princess of the Holy Arcadia Kingdom, who is currently hiding in the high school of the Builders Academy.

 When I heard what was said, it took me nearly ten seconds to understand .......

...... I have a lot of questions, so I'll ask them in order.

 Chris said, "Yes," in a quiet voice.
 Chris said, "Yes," in a quiet voice. He seemed to be aware that there was a lot to get into in this mission.

The princess is in the mix? A princess from another country, in a royal ...... school in the capital?

Yes. She's been attending the school as a regular student under a false identity.

 She's faking her identity.
 That means the teachers at the school don't know either.
 If they knew, it would become an international problem and they would be held accountable. I would like to think that no teacher would tolerate that.

"Why would they do that?

"...... ran away from home, apparently.

"What about ......?

 A princess runs away from ...... her country?
 That's ridiculous. The idea itself is trivial, but even if you try to make it happen, the nobles and knights around you won't be able to keep quiet.

I'm sorry, but we've only heard about this as a runaway.

 Apparently, Chris didn't know the details either.
 For the time being, I forcefully convinced myself. It seems that the second princess of the Holy Arcadia Kingdom tried to run away from home, and succeeded. And until now, she has been attending the Builders Academy, a school in another country, without anyone knowing about it.
 My head is starting to hurt.

"Next question. ...... I'm sure the Kingdom of Holy Arcadia has an organization that protects the royal family. Why don't they travel there?

 In the case of the Kingdom of Terraria, the Knights of the Kingsguard would fall under that category.
 I'm sure the Kingdom of Holy Arcadia had a similar order of knights with a similar role.

It's the client's wish. He doesn't want this case to be too important. So the request was passed on to us through the Kingdom of Terraria.

I see. ...... So it's a secret(er) escort. Well, if it's true that you ran away from home, you certainly don't want to make a big deal out of it. ......

I'd like to believe it's just a pretext.

 I'd like to believe that it's just a pretext. I've heard a lot of people say they don't want to make a big deal out of it if they work in the dark side of the country.
 The job smells fishy, as usual. Apparently, it's business as usual at the Monarchy's Defense Intelligence Agency.

 Currently, relations between the Kingdom of Holy Arcadia and the Kingdom of Tellaria are good.
 The client may have decided that it would be more reliable to send the request to the Kingdom of Terraria than to hire his own guards and send them there. In that case, he would owe the Kingdom of Terraria a debt of gratitude, but considering the safety of the Second Princess, he could not turn his back on it.

"Can I ask you something about your client?

"That's unnecessary information for the mission. But I'm sure you can guess.

Yeah.

 Not many people can ask a favor of another country.
 The client is a nobleman at the very least. A duke or a royal.
 The usual answer is royalty. Someone who was worried about the second princess's safety must have sent this request.

You're talking about a covert escort, but who would be compromised if they found out?

Everything. The fact that you're escorting me must not be known to my enemies or to myself.

The fact that you're guarding them must not be known to them or to ...... them. I'm not particularly good at guarding myself in the first place.

I believe you can do it.

 I don't know what you're basing that on.
 I can see Chris's clear face in my mind. I was tempted to slap him in the face.

 To be honest, guarding is not my forte. I'm sure the Bureau knows that.


 And yet, the Bureau sent me because I'm a student at the Academy.

 Normally, this kind of request starts with sending an agent to the school. But in this case, they don't have to because I'm a student at the school from the start. This will be a great advantage for covert operations. Sending an agent to the academy after a request has been made would risk the outside world finding out about the operation.

"Who's after Her Highness?

A group of criminals looking for ransom. But they're probably good enough to target the big boys, so be careful.

Oh.

 It's not as if some random bandit is suddenly going to target the daughter of a royal family.
 We should assume that the enemy is a bandit of a certain size and skill level.

 There are some suspicious points, but the mission is simple.
 The mission is simple: escort them without anyone knowing. ...... is easier said than done.

 But while the information is unclear, it's not lacking.
 I'm guessing the Agency decided that this mission was feasible, so they took it on.

One last question.

 Now for the real question.
 I double-checked to make sure there was no one else around, and then asked the question.

"What is your name, Princess?

 Chris answered in a cautious voice.

"Her Royal Highness' name is Meesheriase-Arquedia. She goes by the name of Mise-Hoens at the school.