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The sun shone on the gray city, and the snow melted away from the main streets. It was the first clear winter day in a long while.

Several days had passed since the start of boot camp.

Iris Lune was out in the city with Diana. Today, she was free from that torture device of a corset and was dressed in a comfortable robe.

“How’s your studying going?” “It’s really hard…”

They were heading to the local branch of the Adventurer’s Guild.

Although the Earl had practically given them a direct request, it was still proper etiquette as an adventurer to go through the Guild. Both clients who issued requests ignoring the Guild and adventurers who accepted such requests could be subject to disciplinary action if they overdid it, and in some cases, they could even be blacklisted.

Iris Lune had tagged along under the pretense of getting some fresh air and taking a break because, as Renée, she wanted to see the Adventurer’s Guild with her own eyes.

Adventurers were experts in exploring areas where monsters resided and engaging in combat with them. Although they were sometimes viewed with suspicion by the public, they were also the heroes celebrated in many adventure tales and songs.

Renée’s immediate threat was the Knight-Captain, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility of having to fight strong adventurers in the future. It was essential to understand adventurers as much as possible.

…Or so she reasoned, but about half of the reason she had come to see for herself, rather than just relying on Iris’s salvaged memories, was due to curiosity.

“Knife and fork etiquette. How to sit and stand from a chair. Elegant speech and elegant hand gestures. Walking as if you’re on a single line.

And on top of that… can you believe it? From the middle of the lessons, I had to do it all with a book on my head!”

“Oh my. I thought putting a book on your head was just a joke to make fun of important people, but they really do it, huh?”

“They really do it.”

The topic of conversation during their walk was the training Iris Lune was undergoing.

Catherine, who had been educated as a noble since birth, was no match for Iris Lune, a complex chimera of an adventurer, a girl from a royal bloodline, and an overworked corporate employee. Even so, Iris Lune was being subjected to cramming-level education that would make any Ministry of Education want to scream for a more relaxed curriculum, all to make her somewhat presentable.

“If they say this is necessary education for my job, it’s so hard that I want to be paid for this time too.”

“Ahahahaha! That’s reasonable! But Iris, this will surely be useful in the future.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. Just knowing how to use a knife and fork properly might make important people think, ‘This person may be of noble birth, even though they’ve lowered themselves to become an adventurer.’ Their impression of you might change. That kind of thing can be surprisingly useful somewhere down the line.”

Iris Lune thought that made sense. It might seem exploitative to be trained without pay, but it could be considered a good deal to receive lessons for free that one might otherwise pay for.

In fact, this was a valuable opportunity for Renée as well.

In the future, she might possess and impersonate another noble girl. To avoid confusion in such a situation, it wouldn’t hurt to learn the appropriate behavior.

—Well, that’s… after I’ve settled things in this country, though.

To do that, she first had to send those Night Python guys to hell.

Just living as a noble while being a stand-in for the young lady wasn’t quite enough. She needed to manipulate the situation from behind the scenes and ensure the Night Pythons were annihilated.

—Ultimately, I can take action myself, but… I need to figure out how much to use the Earl and “Dragon’s Throat.” Right now, I don’t even know who or where to target… Hmm, first, I should use the advantage of having a physical body to gather information.

While she was at it, she wanted to gather information about the situation in Ciel-Terra after the coup. There were limits to what she could eavesdrop on as a spirit.

While she was thinking about this, the two arrived at the Guild branch.

“Alright, here’s the request from the lord. I know, I know.”

The familiar branch master, as if he already knew everything, said this as soon as he saw Iris Lune and Diana.

The Adventurer’s Guild branch was located in what was supposed to be the busiest part of the city.

However, the two-story building itself was small and had the atmosphere of a cozy tavern. Although they didn’t serve food there, adventurers could be seen bringing in food and drinks purchased from nearby shops. Around the counter, instead of a menu of drinks, there were postings of request forms.

Since it was a small branch, the branch master himself sometimes dealt with the adventurers. He filled in for the receptionist when she was off. “If there are no strange incidents, the branch master has the most free time,” he claimed. Though in reality, it seemed to be more of a personal hobby.

Broad and short, with rock-like muscles and a bushy beard, the branch master was a dwarf, the second most common race in this country after humans. Since male dwarves were bearded even when young, it was difficult for humans to tell their age, but the branch master seemed to be in his later years. His prized muscles had weakened (though humans couldn’t tell where), but he used to be quite the adventurer in his younger days. Even now, his greatest pleasure was standing at the counter and seeing the faces of active adventurers.

“Seriously, you guys are really favored by the lord.”

“Being favored has its ups and downs. This job is a bit dangerous. You’ve heard the details, right?”

“Yeah. It depends on the situation, I guess… If the enemy comes at us with full force, then it’ll be dangerous, I suppose.”

“Do you have any thoughts?”

“Yeah, um…”

The branch master glanced at the adventurers who were drinking and eating nearby. Given the nature of this request, it was probably better not to discuss it in a place where many people could overhear.

“Let’s talk upstairs. …Hey! Wayne! Mind the counter for a bit!”

The branch master went up the stairs, replacing a young clerk who had come down, and the two followed him.

They were led into the branch master’s office, which resembled a small school principal’s office. This room alone had some facilities for confidential discussions. In addition to being soundproof, it had a basic magical soundproofing and detection jamming. Larger branches might have several rooms with more advanced facilities, but for a branch of this size, one room was the best they could do.

“How much do you two know about this coup?”

With the branch master’s first words, Iris Lune felt like all the blood in her body had rushed backward. The fight with the Night Pythons was just a side quest for leveling up. She hadn’t expected the conversation to connect here.

The black, cold flame of resentment burned in her chest. Iris Lune desperately calmed her heart to prevent her killing intent from flaring up. If she accidentally emitted a strange (i.e., evil) aura, Diana, who was a priestess, might notice Renée’s presence.

Fortunately, Diana didn’t seem to notice anything.

“Just the rumors going around town.”

“I see. Then you should hear my take on it.”

The branch master said, pouring tea for them himself.

Incidentally, he poured a generous amount of some kind of liquor into his own cup. Apparently, dwarves couldn’t stand their tea without alcohol. It felt more like alcohol with a splash of tea, though.

“First, it’s believed that the Night Pythons’ base is in Duke Gerard’s territory. It’s said that the Duke in question might be connected to the Night Pythons. Well, there’s no proof, though.

And that Duke is the central figure of the Royal Faction. I don’t know what our lord is thinking, but he might have thought that area was suspicious and decided to get rid of the Night Pythons in his territory while he still could…”

“Excuse me. What was Count Kealy’s position in this coup?”

“He was a bystander… well, that’s not quite fair to the lord. I’m sure he was emotionally against the coup. The battle was already decided when the King’s brother gained the support of the Four Great Nations and got all the major lords on his side. Fighting for the King at that point would only result in his territory being burned to the ground. So he had no choice but to sit back and watch. Even so, since he didn’t actively cooperate with the coup, he’ll probably be treated as an outsider from now on. I don’t think his territory will be confiscated so easily, though…”

As she listened, Iris Lune began to understand why the coup had succeeded so easily.

Hilbert had won over the major lords by securing the support of the Four Great Nations.

By winning over the major lords, he made the other lords think it was pointless to fight.

The King… in other words, Renée’s father, had found himself with his limbs cut off before he knew it.

The combined knights and peasant soldiers of each lord made up the military strength of the Kingdom of Ciel-Terra. A lord’s military strength was naturally proportional to the size of his territory. If a major lord rebelled, the impact would be immeasurable.

And the King’s direct vassals, the supposedly reliable Knight’s Order… well, their leader was Lawrence.

For now, Duke Gerard had joined the Usurper Hilbert and Knight-Captain Lawrence on Iris Lune’s hit list. Count Kealy was mentally filed away in the “don’t kill unless necessary” folder.

In any case, it was troubling that a Duke considered to be a central figure among the Royal Faction lords might be in league with the Night Pythons.

“So, the Royal Faction might use the Night Pythons to attack the Count?”

“I doubt they’d be so blatant about it. But I understand what the lord is worried about. …The Night Pythons were just a criminal organization, existing in the shadows. But now, they might lose their restraints.”

The branch master made a grim face.

Iris Lune knew firsthand what kind of madness was swirling in this country right now. Those who opposed the new King might be subject to vigilante justice just for that reason.

It wouldn’t be strange for the Night Pythons to think that they could do whatever they wanted to Count Kealy, who seemed to have been against the coup, without being pursued by the authorities. Or, if they were truly in league with a bigwig of the Royal Faction, they might be able to silence the authorities through Duke Gerard and do as they pleased.

“Hugh’s concerns might have been right. I don’t want to get involved in a family feud, you know?”

Diana, who had been smoking a cigarette, let out a sigh of purple smoke. Hugh had said that it might be dangerous just to be in this country. What’s more, “Dragon’s Throat” might end up sticking their necks into this coup on the losing side.

The branch master, still with a troubled expression, hesitantly nodded.

“However, I still want ‘Dragon’s Throat’ to take this request. I want to protect the lord, after all.”

“Branch Master. Isn’t the Guild supposed to be neutral in politics?”

“I know that. That’s why this is just my personal opinion.”

The Adventurer’s Guild, a supranational organization, kept its distance from politics. By maintaining the principle of not taking sides with any particular country or political force, it was recognized by many nations.

It would be fine to “escort the Count’s daughter who is being targeted by a criminal organization,” but it becomes a gray area when a major incident that divides the nation is involved.

Normally, it would be the branch master’s job to reject such suspicious requests or to negotiate conditions with the client to ensure that it doesn’t become political, but it seems that such ideological aspects tend to be laxer at smaller, peripheral branches.

“Besides, I think I know a fair bit about the Night Pythons. Sure, they have thugs who handle the rough stuff, and some of their subordinates are ace-level adventurers. But they’re not so free that they can just throw them around without any discretion. I don’t think the Night Pythons will pour enough manpower into this matter to deal with the four of you. It’s not the kind of thing they’d go all out for.”

“…Even if it means being driven out of the entire Earldom?”

“It’s the mines that are valuable to them. Besides, the Night Pythons aren’t the type to wage war on the authorities head-on. Their usual method is to grease the palms of officials and nobles. Even if they’re driven out of a small territory ruled by an uncooperative hard-ass, it’s questionable whether they’d have any lingering attachment to such a troublesome and unprofitable place.”

If there were a country at war, would it deploy all its forces to a single battlefield?

Leaving aside a homeland defense battle that determines the fate of the nation, the answer is usually no.

That’s essentially what the branch master was saying.

“Still, they have their pride, so if you’re too defenseless, they might retaliate just because they can. I want you to stop that from happening.”

“We’ll do it. For the Count and Catherine.”

Iris Lune said, pre-empting Diana before she could say anything. She couldn’t afford to have the request rejected here. She had thought the fight with the Night Pythons was just a side quest, but it might actually lead her to her hated enemies. Her wicked fighting spirit was burning.

“…I see.”

The branch master, who couldn’t possibly know Iris Lune’s circumstances, smiled a little apologetically. Diana had a bitter look on her face… but she didn’t say anything more.

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