Chapter 28
A welcome party on the day of their arrival.
Roa would have dismissed it with a single phrase—"a delightful exchange"—but an ordinary person like Sazaby could only describe it as a banquet where Sazaby had to remain on guard.
Queen Sapia and the twins were getting along like they had been friends for ten years, so no major problems arose. Even so, after everything that had happened, all Sazaby could do was pray that the utterly exhausted diplomat accompanying them would at least get a good night's sleep.
And that night, after the welcome party.
"Since we're here, I think I'll pay a visit to one of the taverns in town."
After informing the others, Sazaby left the lodging that had been prepared for them.
Perhaps because food was in short supply, the main street was somewhat lonely at night. But this was the capital, after all, and a few lights were glowing here and there to draw in customers who had been drinking.
"Well then."
After breathing in the night air and stretching once, Sazaby began idly wandering the nighttime streets alone. After walking a short distance, Sazaby sensed a faint gaze.
It was Tsanadefor's intelligence bureau, without a doubt. Its agents had followed Sazaby, wary of Sazaby's actions.
―― Good, good. Keep a close watch on me. ――
Feeling eyes on his back, Sazaby continued his nighttime stroll before slipping into a random establishment.
He ordered a few snacks that caught his eye and some drinks, then looked around the establishment. It was reasonably busy, and the food looked promising, which was a good sign.
Sazaby's role today was to drink lazily at this establishment and return to the lodging when the time seemed right. While Sazaby kept the opposing intelligence agents' eyes on him, the actual operative would contact the comrades hiding in the area. In other words, Sazaby was the decoy.
He had nothing against this country in particular, but there were matters the intelligence bureau did not want overheard in public. An opportunity like this was perfect for exchanging bits of information.
For better or worse, Sazaby was somewhat famous now. He regularly came and went at the Tenth Knight Order and was often in contact with Roa. On top of that, Sazaby had made a major contribution to the victory at Femas alongside the twins.
Naturally, the surrounding countries had investigated Sazaby as well, increasing the odds that Sazaby was one of their own "colleagues." As a way to outmaneuver other countries, Nelfia had suggested, "Why not take a page from Endarland-sama's book?" That was how Sazaby became the decoy.
Observing Endarland-sama, who was staying in Rudek, for some time had revealed that the old man made it easier for the Empire's other intelligence agents to operate by drawing attention to himself.
Even knowing that, the old man was impossible to ignore, so everyone ended up being thoroughly led around by the nose. As expected of the formidable man known as the Empire's Long Ear.
This time, Sazaby was imitating the old man's role. So far, Nelfia's plan seemed to be working.
In fact, ever since Sazaby entered the shop, three customers who gave off the same scent as Sazaby had come in separately. As an intelligence operative, Sazaby thought becoming this famous was hardly ideal, but there was nothing to be done about it, and Sazaby wryly smiled to himself while knocking back his drink.
Sazaby found it a little amusing to wonder whether Endarland-sama drank with the same feelings.
Still, he was bored.
He had no desire to spend the night with any of the local beauties, but it was an unfamiliar city, and there was not much else to do. The bar snacks were decent, but he had only just eaten dinner.
What was Nelfia up to right now, Sazaby wondered.
As Sazaby idly pondered that, the night wore on.
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The next morning, when Sazaby went to the dining hall for breakfast, the twins were already dressed and eating.
"Oh, Sazaby. You're late."
"We're busy from first thing today!"
The twins sounded oddly cheerful as they said this.
"Good morning. This is about yesterday's promise, right? We still have some time before our appointment."
The promise the twins had made was to test their strength, after the Tsanadefor general invited them to do so near the end of the banquet. In short, it was a "let's talk with our fists a little" kind of thing.
The person who had called out to them was the one who had frowned at the twins' attitude toward the queen. Judging by the person's appearance, they were confident in their own strength and seemed intent on teaching the twins a small lesson in manners.
It was an ominous invitation, but Queen Sapia had also said, "Sounds interesting. I shall attend as well," so it probably would not turn into anything too serious. ...Or so Sazaby wanted to think.
Unlike the other delegations, Sazaby and the others had no particular business of their own. They planned to wander around town and kill time until the talks were over. The twins were delighted that a new event had come up.
Just in case, Sazaby and Nizuhock would accompany them.
If the twins went on a real rampage, even Sazaby would have trouble stopping them. But with Nizuhock-sama and Sazaby together, Sazaby wanted to believe the two of them could at least handle one of them.
And so, when Sazaby, the twins, and Nizuhock made their way to the training grounds, Queen Sapia was already waiting at the designated spot.
Putting that aside, the queen's unusually mobile attire—or, more specifically, the fact that she was wearing light armor—really caught Sazaby's attention.
"Queen! What's that?"
"That's a skinny sword. It'll snap right away."
At the twins' words, the queen smoothly thrust the weapon in her hand straight out in front of her.
The queen was as tall as the twins, and the sight of her thrusting a slender sword straight out made a striking picture—so much so that even Sazaby was captivated.
But then, almost immediately—
"This is a weapon called a rapier. Don't worry; I use one with a protected point."
To understand what the queen meant and figure out how to respond, Sazaby had to put his brain into overdrive first thing that morning.