Side: Yuki

"As you can see. I, Yuki, have just successfully infiltrated a city in what appears to be Jilva Empire territory."

『Um, Yuki-san. This is supposed to be a serious infiltration... you're not doing a TV show report.』

『Come on, Tori, it's fine! This is way more fun!』

『Listen, okay, Riel? I'm sure you understand, but since we are in doppelganger bodies and couldn't use human forms, we had to let only Yuki-san and Ria sneak into the enemy city...』

『I get it, I get it. It's totally fine!』

『I wonder about that...』

As you can guess from their conversation, doppelganger bodies have a weakness: if you enter a body that is too different from your original one, it's really hard to move. Apparently, the senses change way too much.

In my case, I only changed my body size and appearance without changing my actual race. I wouldn't even know how it feels to try and move cat ears or rabbit ears. Mauve and the others have only just gotten used to doppelgangers, and since they can't fully control a body with a completely different shape yet, they stayed behind.

Ria usually wears Hero equipment during battle, which looks completely different from the simple, ordinary armor she has on now, so I had her come along. As for me, I made my doppelganger body look like Kiyu for the time being.

"I know I made the call as a joke, but still... man, it's pretty awful here."

"...Yes. The smell is terrible."

This place feels exactly like medieval Europe. Well, I've never actually been to medieval Europe, but I bet the Hundred Years' War era felt something like this.

If you step off the main street and peek into a small alley, the smell of sewage drifts out, and you can even see dead bodies just rolling around. Since the continent is full of warring factions, I guess this is just normal scenery.

This city is called Feil, and it's part of the Jilva Empire. Word is they just captured it from the neighboring Sacred Kingdom of Enaria about three months ago. I managed to gather that much info just by casually asking a few townsfolk.

"Next stop should be a tavern, I guess. That's the classic spot for gathering information."

"Yes. Either a tavern or an inn would probably be best."

"Ah, an inn works too. Actually, shouldn't we pick a place to sleep first and talk to the innkeeper?"

"I think that's the best approach. We don't even know where the taverns are."

Getting dragged into trouble the moment we entered a tavern didn't sound appealing.

As Ria said, an innkeeper was unlikely to mistreat paying customers, so finding lodging first was probably the smart move.

Taverns could wait until later. No point going there in broad daylight anyway.

"But man, I have no clue where the inns are~ For now, let's just ask at that shop over there."

"Okay."

We walk over to the first shop that catches my eye.

"Welcome! Looking for a weapon—hmm, doesn't seem like it, brother."

"Oh? Is it that obvious?"

"Just a feeling. That armor you're wearing is brand new, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"The lady's armor too. High-quality stuff. Made by a skilled craftsman, right?"

"Hah, got that exactly right. I had a skilled acquaintance make them for us."

Calling them "skilled" is a massive understatement—their skills are a literal cheat.

"Anyway, we're looking for an inn. Here, I'll take this knife."

Saying that, I pick up a bundle of knives that look like they were made for throwing.

"You know how business works, don't you? That'll be one silver coin and thirty iron coins."

"Here you go."

I take the exact amount out of my wallet.

On this new continent, there are iron coins, which are worth even less than copper coins. It takes 100 iron coins to make one copper coin, and from there, everything moves up in tens like usual.

Apparently, iron coins used to exist on our continent too, but because of monsters and constant wars, most of the iron ended up being turned into weapons and farming tools. People say it's easier over here since you don't have to do complicated math.

Oh, and as for the money, we took it from the Jilva Empire soldiers we captured. "What's yours is mine." after all. They should just be glad they got to keep their lives.

"So then, what kind of inn are you looking for?"

"Let's see. Not just a place to sleep, but somewhere with really good food."

"In that case, go east down this street and you'll find an inn called 'The Rabbit.' I highly recommend it."

"Thanks. I'll come back if I need anything."

"Much appreciated. And don't go dying in that mercenary work of yours. Throwing your life away at your age isn't worth it."

"I know, I know."

With that, we leave the weapon shop behind.

"He seemed like a really nice old man."

"Yeah, he even went out of his way to tell us not to die. It might just be part of his business face, but he probably won't give us fake info. If his reputation drops, it hurts his business. If we ever need to ask about something else, we can always head back there."

"Yes. For now, we're heading to the inn, right?"

"Yeah. I don't actually know which way east is, but we'll figure it out if we just keep walking."

People who live in the city probably know the directions by instinct, but we just got here. Walk a little bit, and it's easy to completely lose track of east and west.

* * *

"Oh, looks like we got lucky."

"Wow, you're right. 'The Rabbit'. That's definitely the inn the old man mentioned."

After walking down a random path, we spot the sign for "The Rabbit." We head straight inside.

"Oh, welcome! Staying the night? Or just here to eat?"

As we step inside, a friendly-looking middle-aged man greets us. Unlike the bearded guy at the weapon shop, this man has a much softer look.

"We'd like a room for two with meals included."

"Alright, that'll be three silver coins a night. You might think that's expensive, but we serve good food here."

"The weapon shop owner praised your food, so I'm looking forward to it."

Saying that, I place nine silver coins on the counter.

If we stay for three days, we should be able to gather a decent amount of information.

"So he recommended us, huh? Guess I can't cut corners. Dinner starts after the bell rings twice. It'll be served until the fourth bell, so make sure you're downstairs before then."

"Got it. Which room?"

"Room 204. Here's the key. Don't lose it, or I'll charge you a silver coin for a replacement. The room is at the top of the stairs to your right."

"Thanks."

I took the key and headed to Room 204 with Ria.

"Hmm, I have to say, this place is kept up pretty well."

"Yes, you wouldn't even find a place like this easily back on our continent."

"I only know Weed."

"That's because Weed is abnormal."

The room has two beds, a table in the middle, and a closet. It feels exactly like a standard business hotel. It's made of wood and the beds don't even compare to what we have at home, but it's thoroughly cleaned.

Just like Ria said, it seems to be a very nice inn.

"Alright, let's take a quick break."

I toss the bag I was carrying onto the bed and sit down. Ria drops her bag on the floor and sits on the opposite bed.

"Come to think of it, Yuki-san. There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Is it okay?"

"What is it?"

"Including this scouting mission... don't you think the people in that village are being a bit too rude to us?"

"Ah, that. Well, if you think about it from their perspective, it makes sense."

"It makes sense?"

The whole reason we're out here scouting in the first place is because the villagers went ahead and released those prisoners on their own, essentially forcing us into a situation where we have no choice but to fight.

To us, it feels completely unfair, but for the villagers, they probably felt it was their only move.

"Look at it this way. If we had executed every single soldier back then, do you think the Empire would just never send troops again?"

"That... seems highly unlikely."

"Right? And conversely, even if they let them go, they know a massive enemy force is going to show up eventually anyway, right?"

"Yes."

"So their only real option was to abandon the village and flee. But this time, with our help, they managed to repel the Jilva Empire without taking any losses. That's why they clung to us."

"Clung to us?"

"Yeah. They wanted to make sure we couldn't just walk away, so they could use this as a chance to claim their independence."

"But isn't it way too reckless to just release the hostages without asking us?"

"Well, they probably underestimated us because we helped them. That's why they went ahead and let the hostages go. They bet on the fact that we wouldn't just turn around and hurt them."

"I see."

"For them, the results of that first battle will be great advertising to gather the other beastmen and elves scattered around. But if they try to gather everyone when the main force behind that victory—us—isn't even there, they're bound to lose horribly, right?"

"That's... true."

"That's why they had no choice but to do that to drag us completely over to their side. They don't know we're high-ranking officials of another country anyway. They just think we're highly convenient mercenaries."

"That makes sense. If you put it that way, I guess they felt they had no other choice."

"I mean, it's not like I don't have any complaints. But since we're the ones who decided to run in and save them instead of abandoning them in the first place, we just have to accept that we're looking after them to some extent."

We plunged right into trouble with our very first move, so we just have to deal with it. It's not like everything is a disadvantage for us anyway.

"For today, let's just look forward to dinner. We can talk to the owner or the staff while we eat to gather some info."

"Are we not going to the tavern today?"

"Hmm, taverns are usually for shady rumor-style information. If we were rushed for time we'd have to go, but we have plenty of time right now, so let's start by gathering public information. Strangely enough, no one seems to be openly talking about the soldiers we defeated."

"Come to think of it, you're right..."

Exactly.

The soldiers we let go should have made it back to this city by now, but the town didn't feel rushed or panicked like it was preparing for war.

Maybe they're still organizing the report, maybe a different problem popped up, or maybe—just like that high-ranking officer said—he moved the troops entirely on his own authority, so explaining the failure is taking a long time.

Besides, even if we heard shady rumors at a tavern right now, we wouldn't be able to tell what's true and what's fake.

"Well, we can just focus on gathering solid info tomorrow and the day after."

"Understood—"

BOOM!

Ria's reply was completely drowned out by a massive crashing sound.

"What was that?"

"I wonder what happened?"

Both of us immediately peeked out the window. Judging by the sound, it was somewhere close by.

"Over there."

"Yeah, definitely over there."

It was incredibly easy to spot the source. After all, a massive cloud of dust was billowing dramatically into the air.

"Want to go take a look?"

"We don't have anything else to do anyway, so I think it'll be a nice way to kill time."

Since we had nothing to do until dinner, I decided that for once, I'd play the part of a curious bystander and go check out the drama.

When we arrived at the scene, a large crowd had already gathered. But since we got there pretty quickly, we managed to squeeze our way right to the front of the spectator line.

"Anyone who can't even block an attack of this level has no place in my unit."

"Guh..."

Right in front of us stood a woman with beautiful, shoulder-length emerald-green hair.

Emerald green... Man, this world seriously has way too many weird hair colors! I mean, when I say emerald green, it literally looked like a shiny gemstone.

And what is up with that overly decorated armor? Does that even count as equipment? Her stomach is completely exposed; it makes absolutely no sense!

And look at the person next to her! The blonde assistant-looking girl right beside the green-haired woman is wearing her hair in a side-ponytail. Are you seriously planning to go to a battlefield looking like that? At least tie it into a normal ponytail. Her armor is shaped to make her chest look strangely huge, but I wonder if the real thing matches the armor?

...Ah, well, my own wife has a single drill-hairtop, but she's a princess, so I'll let it slide.

Wait, snap out of it. I'm getting way too distracted nitpicking these women. The important thing is finding out what caused this commotion...

As I watched the scene unfold, the blonde assistant stepped forward and stood over the fallen man.

"Now, leave at once. Our Princess is about to head off to war. Do not get in her way."

"I'm in the way... you say!?"

The fallen man got to his feet.

A few other men who looked like his buddies stepped out from the crowd and approached the assistant.

"Of course the Princess is strong! That's only because she's holding a magic sword!"

The man pointed straight at the sword held by the green-haired princess.

Ohh... so that's a magic sword.

I don't know how strong that princess actually is, but it looks like that magic item still functions perfectly normal even on this continent.

Based on the info we've gathered so far, standard magic items completely turn into useless junk here due to the magic depletion, unless they are literal cheat-tier items or the type where you can easily swap out the magic stones.

So that magic sword she's holding must be incredibly rare on this new continent.

I wonder if she'd let me have it for research... probably not.

"Sigh, I am telling you that is besides the point. People like you aren't even worth troubling the Princess over. I am more than enough to handle you all."

"What did you say!?"

Ignoring the men entirely, the assistant turned around to lecture the green-haired princess behind her.

"Princess..."

"Sorry, sorry. I'll leave the rest to you, Jessica, so please forgive me."

"Haa..."

Ah, wow. Looking at that woman named Jessica constantly being dragged around by her princess... I can vividly see reflections of myself and Steve dealing with Seraria!

Seemingly pushed past their breaking point by the casual conversation, the men drew their weapons and lunged straight at the Princess and Jessica.

"""DIEEEE!!"""

Hey. Don't yell right before you try to pull off a surprise attack.

True to her word, the green princess didn't lift a finger. She casually leapt backward, leaving everything to Jessica. Jessica, as if to prove her own words were absolute fact, drew her sword in the blink of an eye and completely took down all five men while clearly holding back her strength.

In the end, all five men were instantly flattened face-first onto the ground.

"""Ooooohhhhhh!"""

The crowd of onlookers erupted into cheers.

"Hmm, see? Watching this sort of thing isn't so bad, is it, Jessica?"

"Doing this sort of thing just makes life incredibly difficult for the city guards, you know."

The two of them were casually chatting away, which caused everyone's reactions to lag for a second.

"DON'T MOCK MEEEE!!"

One of the fallen men must have been a mage. He gathered magic into his staff and, for some completely bizarre reason, unleashed a decent-sized fireball straight toward the innocent crowd of onlookers.

"What!?"

Jessica let out a shocked cry, and the green princess reached for her magic sword to deal with it, but...

"That's dangerous, don't go shooting into the crowd."

I completely cancelled it out, so no harm done.

By applying our knowledge of the magic depletion crisis, I cleared out all the ambient magic in the space directly ahead of the fireball, essentially deleting the spell entirely.

Well, honestly, just countering it with another spell would have been way simpler, since controlling space to reduce ambient magic to absolute zero is incredibly inconvenient. I only chose that method this time to make sure none of the nearby crowd got caught in an explosion.

—Well, that, and the fact that the fireball was flying straight toward me was the main reason.

If it had been flying in any other direction, I would have just ignored it.

"Looks like the commotion's over. Let's head back."

"Yes."

We watched the guards drag the men away and started to turn around to leave the scene, but...

"Wait right there. You, the man over there."

"Hm?"

Jessica, who had been talking to the guards a moment ago, suddenly called out to me.

"The Princess wishes to—"

"—You there! Won't you become mine!?"

The green princess shoved her way forward and boldly made that declaration right to my face.

What is this, some kind of anime flag?

"No thanks, dinner's waiting for us so we're heading back. Come on, Ria, let's go."

"Uh, ah... yes. Please excuse us."

Ria quickly bowed to the Princess and Jessica before hurrying right after me.

Nice, a completely natural exit.

"...Are you alright, Princess?"

"...Huh!? He rejected me so normally that I was just completely stunned!"

"Yes, I am rather surprised myself. Are they travelers? It is strange for someone to not know who you are, Princess."

"Jessica, after them! The woman with him is probably your equal—or stronger! We absolutely must recruit them!"

"Eh!? That strong!?"

The two of them immediately started running after us, but I had already stepped into a side alley and completely vanished from their sight. I was still listening to their conversation using wind magic, though.

"So you didn't notice either. It wasn't me who erased the magic that fool shot. It was that man."

"!?"

"What's more, he completely blew away the spell along with the passive resonance of my magic sword. Even if the fireball didn't pack a massive amount of power, anyone who can pull off a feat like that instantly is a talent we cannot afford to lose!"

"I see, you are entirely right. I believe they turned down this path."

"Alright, let's go! They shouldn't have gotten very far yet!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Hoh. The fact that she actually noticed what I did means she has a decent amount of skill herself, I guess?

Well, whatever. The moment the two of them dashed into the side alley, we casually stepped right back out onto the main street and walked slowly back to our inn.

"Is this really okay?"

"Let's just enjoy a peaceful dinner for today."

Saying that, I deeply regretted letting my curiosity get the better of me...

Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

"Haa..."