Chapter 175 Departure
Part 1
Escort Requests. They are requests that are normally only requested to trusted Hunters or high-level Hunters.
The world outside is dangerous. There are Monsters, there are also bandits, and sometimes Treasure Shrines may pop up. ãStrange Grief (Nageki no Borei)ã wasnât a party with a good reputation, but the average level of the Members was high, and because Luke was once addicted to testing out bandits and was feared by them, there were several times when such requests came in, so I had some experience as I was accompanying them.
However, when the target of the escort was the Emperor, it seemed to be of a different scale.
The place where I was led with the Hunter team was a large carriage with the Zebrudia crest on it.
It seemed that the Emperor hadnât arrived yet. The leader of the Imperial Guard knights, who was in charge of this escortââFranz-san, says in a solemn tone.
âIt is made of Mithril and Adamantite.? Bullets, swords, and magics wonât go through.â (Franz)
Those were high-grade materials used for weapons and armor. Mithril was resistant to magic, while Adamantine was impervious to physical impact.
Adamantite in particular, while powerful, was very heavy and can only be used by close-quarters combat Hunters. I didnât expect anyone to make a carriage out of it.
It would have been too heavy for a simple horse to pull it, but the horses tied to the front of the carriage were of the same race as the platinum horses Eva had prepared for us on our previous vacation. Moreover, there were four of them.
With the mighty and ferocious Platinum Horse at the helm, no Monsters would dare to attack.
âBut if there was an eruption right below where they were walking, the Emperor would die, right?â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦â (Franz)
âIf lightning strikes, he would die, right?â (Cry)
âDonât say something so ominous! His Majesty Radrick is equipped with that âSafe Ring (Barrier Ring)â just in case.â (Franz)
As expected of the Emperor of a great country, his escort seems to be well-prepared. I nodded in agreement and looked at the Platinum Horses, who were trained and relatively quiet.
âThat is a relief. By the way, how many of them is he equipped with?â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦â¦â¦â (Franz)
âBut, if he runs out of air, he will die, right?â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦ Kuhâ¦â¦â (Franz)
âIf he was submerged underwater, he would die, right?â (Cry)
âShut up, donât lump our travel with the Treasure Shrines you are going to! The safety of this escort route has already been guaranteed to some extent!â (Franz)
No, I am not going to such dangerous Treasure Shrines though.
The carpet *pechipechi* hit my body. When I looked over it, it looked over me and shrugged its shoulders in disdain. It seemed that my carpet was also dismayed. If you move so much, you will run out of your magic power, you knowâ¦â¦
Franz-sanâs face turned red and he pointed at me as if to denounce me.
âIn the first place, what the hell is this appearance! We are not going out to play!â (Franz)
âWell, this is my fighting styleâ¦â¦â (Cry)
âDonât lie! Like there is a fighting style like this!â (Franz)
The ãPerfect Vacation (Comfortable Vacation)ã was a shirt-shaped Relic, just as its name implied, it creates the perfect vacation.
There are many armor-type Relics out there, but I have never seen one as useful as this one.
Its ability allow the wearer to adapt to any kind of environment.
Although it provides no protection, the wearer of this shirt will be comfortable in all situations, whether in the sky, the sea, the mountains, or the seabed.
Except for its flashy pattern and the fact that it loses its effect if you wear something over it, it was truly comfortable. And when combined with the Barrier Ring, it was literally perfect.
I am very curious to know how harsh the times were when the origin of this shirt existed.
Rumor has it that there were flip-flops and sunglasses in the series, but unfortunately, I donât have any. I would have loved to wear it on my vacation, but unfortunately, it ran out of magic at that time.
âWell, whatever. I didnât expect dignity from Hunters. You are just insurance for emergencies. In the unlikely event anything happens to his Majesty at the conference, the repercussions wonât be limited to Zebrudia. Do you understand?â (Franz)
âOf course, I understand. I understand, but if I were the Emperor, I donât think I would want to have me as my bodyguard. I have too many enemies.â (Cry)
I am unlucky, and I am probably more resented by the criminal underworld than the Emperor himself, as I am the leader of ãStrange Grief (Nageki no Borei)ã, a group that once rampaged with a ferocity that would make criminals blush. And since I am not protected, it is easy to attack me.
However, being the Emperorâs escort is not all bad, if you think about it.
I now have my carpet. Now, I am in the mood to fly on my brand-new carpet.
Participating in the Emperorâs escort meant that attacking me would be a rebellion against the Emperor. The mighty Knights of Zebrudia and the number two of the ãMagic Wand (Ma Tsue)ã would stand in their way.
This is revolutionary. In a way, this is very convenient.
âBefore I go any further, I would like to say that I deeply trust Franz-san and your troops. If we get involved in battles, your troops will surely be confused. So we are going to stand back.â (Cry)
Franz frowned and said in a pompous manner when he heard my high-level excuse that took into account the prestige of the other side.
âThat is fine. We will secure the Emperorâs perimeter. On our side, we have knights, Magi, and Healers. You guys should stay out of the Emperorâs sight. Tell this to your suspicious companions too.â (Franz)
That was a terrible thing to say. But if I were in Franzâs shoes, I would say the same thing. Kechakchakka is too dangerous in many ways.
âOK. I am leaving it to you.â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦ I have prepared horses for you. You are to guard the carriage from around us. Remember, I said to stay out of sight, not to skip work.â (Franks)
At the place Franz pointed to, although not platinum horses, five strong and feisty black horses were leashed.
They were Iron Horses. An excellent military horse. It was very generous of them to give this level of horses to Hunters who were guarding them.
However, Iron Horses are horses that require a lot of training to ride. In addition, they are peculiar horses that have a terrible habit of not letting weaklings ride them. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
I mean, I canât ride a horse by myself.
The carpet was *furafura* wobbling around as if to say âDonât worry Iâll take care of youâ. What a reliable carpet.
âI donât need the horse you prepared for me. I have my carpet.â (Cry)
ââ¦â¦ Do whatever you want. Just donât cause any trouble for us.â (Franks)
Franks said in a throwaway tone and broke off the conversation.
§ã§ã§
TL notes:
Thanks for reading!
All those possible death that Cry enumerated, Iâm sure he personally experienced them XD
And that legendary fighting style! Too bad he didnât have sunglasses and flip flop!
Tchao à plus!