Chapter 73

Chapter 73 \nWhen I asked Duke Barga about his request to escort Lapitricia-sama, and what I was looking out for, the knight spoke. The answer was to protect her from the nobles who used sorcery… All of them? Were all the nobles with magical powers in Kurtmerga Kingdom that dangerous?\n

“Steed, you’re exaggerating it. Shaft-kun, the people most likely to harm Lari are the nobles with magical powers. Still, not all of them are hostile, so they’re not entirely our enemies.”

“To begin with, why are the magical nobles here likely to harm Lapitricia-sama, your daughter?”

Duke Barga’s eyes narrowed in response. He then shifted his glance to Malta-san, who sat beside me.

“Because the Third Prince, Ark Kurtmerga, has the right to succeed the throne, isn’t it?”

Malta-san said in response to the stare.

“This year, Prince Ark will turn 15 years old, becoming an adult. Over the course of the year, he will elect one an aristocrat’s daughter of this country to be his consort. If I’m not mistaken, Lapitrica-sama should be the youngest of all of them. She has also succeeded in subjugating a labyrinth. She is also apart of the Barga Family, a high peerage, so she is one of the best candidates to become a consort. ”

“That’s right, of course, they wouldn’t attack her openly. Even so, I’m quite worried.”

“I understand, but since I’m only an escort for a month – wouldn’t that be meaningless if something happens after?”

“Haha, you need not worry about that. When January comes, I’ve decided that I’ll talk to all the nobles with magical powers.”

I could say for sure that these nobles were going to be taken care of, politically, in January. Afterward, Malta-san and I left the office. We confirmed the details in a separate room with Steed. Namely, scheduling and rewards. The escort mission would start soon. Tomorrow morning. Malta-san and I sat facing each other in the carriage on the way back.

“Shaft-sama, is it alright for you to accept? I was very surprised when you took off your mask back there. That face was…”\n

“Fufu. Since they’ve seen that face, they won’t be able to associate me with Schwartz anymore, right?  Besides, I also thought of using different weapons during the mission.”

Since Shaft-sama has decided to accept, I’ll do my best to help as much as I can.”

“That would help me a lot. But I may not have enough time to buy non-attribute stones for a month. So, I’ll buy up the magic stones available in the company.”

“We’ll provide it for you, so you don’t have to pay for it.”

“No, I’ll pay you accordingly. Since we’ve always been helping each other, please accept my money as thanks.”

“If that’s so, we’ll humbly accept.”

As the carriage rolled along, he bowed his head.

At the Marida Company’s Barga branch employee’s lodging, a private room had been rented for Shaft’s personal use. There, I checked the equipment needed for the mission tomorrow. If Lapitricia-sama saw weapons similar to the ones Schwartz usually used, she could think there was a connection between the two. In order to avoid that, I chose a different loadout. I took out a large number of weapons from the supply box summoned via the TSS.

The first was the Smith & Wesson E&E Tomahawk. This was a throw-able melee weapon, sold by the American S&W company. Its overall length was about 40cm, and the blade was about 20cm, including the projection of the ax’s head. I took out four of these.

The next one would be the Welrod ver VMB, a suppressed pistol developed in Britain. It would go on to become the main armament of this time. The Welrod was developed especially for military use in WWII. It resembled a Tonfa, because of its shape. It used the 9×19 Parabellum cartridge. It’d designed after the real-life version. With a capacity of 5-8 rounds, it’d been turned into a semi-automatic weapon rather than a bolt action.

It could also be used as a Tonfa because of its shape.\nFor this request, I’ll be using the Welrod, tomahawk, and the Special Electromagnetic baton as my basic loadout. I’ve also prepared the FMG-9 to carry beneath my clothes. I chose the melee weapons so I could avoid firing guns in the mansion and ballroom. It was also to deceive Lapitricia-sama by using fighting techniques; which was different from Schwartz’s and guard her as I fight in close quarters.

However, a problem arose when I tried it this way. That was my CQB ability. However, when I was mapping the Wolves’ Labyrinth, and collecting the magic water, I had the chance to test it out. With this in mind, what would happen if I used the powered-suit to enhance my physical ability to the max? Would it increase my attack?

To confirm this, using the baton, I thought of the melee attack from VMB. Sensing my intention, I felt power running through my body. Leaving everything to my power, I could use the move just like when I was in-game. From the side, I swung at a Skeleton I was fighting and crushed its knee. I moved to the side and swung the baton down on its neck while turning around it.

If it were VMB, the enemy player’s neck would have broken, but the current opponent would not die unless his magic stone left its body. So I hit the magic stone from its body.

I, who lived in the previous world, hadn’t learned any combat techniques, of course. However, most of VMB’s players were the same. And in order to fight in the game, support systems were required for melee combat. The system was also here as well. Since I knew about it, I had been using melee combat. I had taken out all the melee weapons in my inventory and repeated the CQC attacks I used in-game.

The amount of practice was not enough, but that was for the future. And in the future, I planned to integrate my CQC.

 

◆◆◇◆◆◇◆◆

The next morning, I was in the Marida Company’s carriage and about to head towards Bardage Castle.

“Malta-san, could you hold these for me?”

“Haa, what is it?”\n\nI got off the carriage. Then I informed the guards out front of my appointment and went inside with the guards’ guidance.

“Weapons are prohibited inside the castle. The weapons sorting and tool bags are here.”

Yesterday, with Malta-san, I had the weapons I brought checked. But since I’ve asked Malta-san beforehand, I attended without any. Yet, today was different. It seems that from now on, I’ll be escorting her despite not having any. As prompted by the guards, I took out and placed the baton and four tomahawks on the table. The moment they saw me taking out the tomahawks, the guards’ eyebrows twitched.

“Isn’t that the Black Mask’s weapons?”

I heard some murmurs from the guards around me. After I’d been finished, the guards checked my body. When it was over, it was time to see Lapitrica-sama, who was waiting for me.

“Excuse me, Lapitricia-sama, I’ve brought Shaft.”

“Please, come in.”

It didn’t seem like I was being taken into a private room. It was a salon… A parlor, I think? The guards urged me through the door, but I didn’t want too. The parlor was painted with a cream color. A large window had been installed to allow light to enter. Two women were basking in the sunlight, sitting at the table.

One had short, blonde hair; a girl around ten who wore a light blue dress. Her soft demeanor, which was inherited from her parents, embodied in her smile as she chatted with the woman. Her smiling pink lips were like small sakura petals – she was Lapitrica-sama.

The other one sitting across from her was…

Ashley…