A few days later, in the southwestern part of the Kitor Territory...



　The troops from King's Landing were hiding near the forest.

　They were an investigation team secretly ordered by the Ten Sages.
　Their objective is to find the missing supply troops.

　More than a dozen days ago, a supply convoy loaded with provisions and wine departed from the royal capital.
　It disappeared when it approached the territory of the Kitoru Grand Guard.

　The supply troops had been carrying wine and rice prepared by His Majesty the Dragon Emperor to thank the soldiers for their hard work. The troops were even accompanied by a courtesan who reported directly to His Majesty.

"Find the missing courtesans, any way you can.

The Ten Sages told the soldiers of the investigation team.
　That's why the soldiers disguised themselves as bandits and came to the territory of the Kittle Patriarch to avoid being recognized.

We are now on our way to a village at the southern end of the Kittle Territory. If there are any inhabitants outside the village, capture them. Get information from them.
"Yes, sir!
"At all costs, we must find the missing courtesan.
There's a problem, sir. Captain.

　One of the soldiers raised his hand.

We don't know the faces or appearances of the courtesans. We don't even know their ages.
All you have to do is to detain the villagers. I will interrogate the villagers. Stay away from them while I'm interrogating them. Understood?
"...... Yes.
We'll head for the target village now!

　The captain grabbed his horse's bridle and told the soldiers.

　The village we're going to is on the edge of Kittle's territory.
　It is a long way from the castle and fortress of the Patriarch.
　Even if we attacked, it would take some time before the soldiers of the Kittle Patriarchate would notice us.

　The time is almost dusk.
　Even if the enemy army starts to move, we can escape under the cover of darkness.
　There should be plenty of time to extract information from the prisoners.

There are woods around the village. Some may be gathering or hunting. If you see any villagers acting alone, capture them. If not, disguise yourself as bandits and enter the village.

　The survey team proceeded toward the village while hiding in the woods.

　Soon, a village surrounded by a fence will come into view.
　Around the fence is a field. The villagers have finished their work for the day and are heading back to the village.
　The soldiers of the survey team check their surroundings.
　There are no enemy soldiers in sight. The captain chuckles, "It seems that the Kitor Territory is unguarded.

No villagers seem to be hunting or gathering.
It's no use. We'll have to take the villagers. We'll approach hidden in the trees. Once we're through the trees, we'll go straight into the village.

　The captain of the soldiers gives the order.

The target is the village chief. He's the oldest one. You can take women and children as hostages. But don't kill them. We're just trying to get information.
""Yes, sir."

　The soldiers of the survey team nodded.
　Slowly, they move through the trees.
　Eventually, the forest breaks. They are very close to the village.


"What is that?
"What is that? There's a soldier in the woods!
No... Thieves. Everyone, get inside the village!


　The villagers noticed the soldiers.
　The villagers noticed the soldiers and rushed into the village as one, protecting their children.

　But the village was protected only by a low fence. A horse can jump over a fence like that.
　There were no soldiers of the Kittle family around.
　On the other side of the fence is the village square. There's no one with a weapon.

"All of you, follow me!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

　At the captain's signal, the cavalry started to ride toward the village.







"Aim for the village elder!　He's probably the village chief!　Get the information out of him!

　The captain looks for the oldest man in the village... there he is.


　On the other side of the fence, there is an old man with gray hair standing in the square. He is talking to the woman next to him. You can see that the woman is frightened. It's natural. The cavalry is approaching the village.

　The captain's eyes widen when he sees the girl next to him.
　A girl talking to a woman. ...... No, that's a little girl.
　She is talking to the woman and the village chief in a dignified manner while the soldiers are closing in on them.

That calmness is ...... unbelievable!

　No doubt about it.
　That's the 'nobleman' the captain was looking for.

"Take those girls!　Go!

　The troops are moving straight ahead. The only thing in front of them is a fence.
　Then, as the soldiers ran through the fields and reached the village...

"Enemy forces approaching!　My king's men. Come out!

　The little girl waved her arms and shouted.


　Ta-da!


Aah!　Hey!


　A cavalryman appeared on the other side of the fence.







"What the hell?
"What the hell is that?

　That's impossible.
　There were no soldiers or horses here before.

　They're all wearing leather armor. Spears and shields in their hands. A vicious look.
　For all intents and purposes, they're a band of vicious thieves.

　They were rushing straight toward the survey team.
　All of them are frantically riding their horses, sending up a cloud of dust.

The man in the lead ...... has a wicked look on his face .......

　He has a beard, teeth bared, and eyes wide open.
　He has an evil expression. Don't trust people like that," the captain murmured.
　He might be one of the bandits. He looks like he's killed at least ten unarmed civilians.

　Just looking at him makes me sick. We've got to take down that evil-looking bastard.

　As the captain shook his head in thought, the enemy cavalryman also shook his head...

Is that me?

　Mirror. The words "I'm the one in the mirror" crossed the captain's mind.
　He tried to stop the horse, but it was too late.
　The horse, running at full gallop, jumps in front of the fence.

　All the soldiers put up their shields in preparation for a collision with the mirror.
　I don't know why there is a mirror here, but if it's a mirror, you can break it.
　All the soldiers are wearing light armor. If they use their shields to protect their faces, they shouldn't do much damage...

　With that in mind, right after the survey team jumped over the wooden fence, they were met with the following

"Aah!


　"!


"What?

　The mirror dodged.
　The mirror that had been reflecting the soldiers turned at an angle and dodged their charge.
　The surface of the mirror no longer reflected them.
　It was the face of the little girl who had been in the village earlier.
　She's got an angry look on her face and she's sticking her tongue out at the soldiers. Next to her is a large sign that reads, "Miss. Caution ahead. All the soldiers were transfixed by her reflection in the mirror.

　So they didn't notice.
　Beyond the mirror, countless stone walls rose up.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

　The cavalry can't stop suddenly.
　It was fortunate that he had slowed down to watch for the mirror. If they hadn't, they would have crashed into the stone wall at full speed.
　The soldiers managed to land in front of the stone wall.
　However, the horse broke its knees in the landing and the soldiers fell to the ground.







　In front of them is a stone fence. Behind them is a moving mirror.
　From the other side, I hear the shouts of soldiers.
　The investigation team from King's Landing was completely surrounded.

...... No way, no way. Is this whole village a trap?

　A stone wall in front of them. There's a stone wall in front of us. The dirt on the wall suggests that we were lying on the ground.


　They're golems in the form of walls. "Hey, hey, hey! They are dancing and threatening the soldiers.
　There is a wall of mirrors behind them, reflecting the wounded soldiers.
　Those who broke their arms when they fell from their horses. Those who have broken their legs. Those who could not move from the impact.
　The soldiers panic at the sight of their own reflection.

"No, no!　We are ......, yes, we just wandered into this village. ......

　The captain of the survey team shouted over the wall.

There seems to be a misunderstanding!　We are soldiers in the fight against demons...
That's enough of that!

　The stone wall moved.
　The stone wall moved. A gap opened enough for a person to pass through, and behind it stood a woman and a young girl.

　The woman looked different from before.
　She was clad in iron armor and held a sword in her hand.

　Surrounding her are fully armed soldiers. The soldier is holding up the flag of the "Kitoru Grand Guard.
　He's carrying it, which means...

"My name is Laineth-Kittle, second daughter of Grand Patriarch Kittle!　You tried to attack the village where my people live, right in front of my eyes!　Your crimes are clear!
Geez. Lanes-Kitoru, huh?

　The captain also knows the names of the three sisters of the Kittle family.
　The fact that their second daughter is here...

"...... Have they seen through our plan ......?

　A cold sweat ran down the back of the survey unit commander.
　With her eyes on his face, Princess Renesmee shouted.

"With the help of my sister's allies, we had a complete grasp of where you were. We have an invisible scouting fence!
"Miss Lanez. You're shouting too much. Have some water.

　The little girl next to Princess Renesmee offers her a bottle of water.
　The little girl shakes her long, wing-like hair and smiles.
　She smiles and smiles and smiles.

"I've been had (・・・・・・).

　It was all in their hands.
　They knew that we would attack this village, the furthest from the fort. Even our movements were known to them.
　Otherwise, Princess Lenneth and her soldiers wouldn't be here.

"I envy the King of the Frontier.

　"I envy the King of the Frontier," murmured Princess Llanes.

I envy the King of the Frontier," murmured Princess Renesmee, "to have a man as wise as you as a military strategist. It's not easy to come up with such a plan.
"But you see... I think my king was thinking the same thing as I was.
Is that so?
Thanks to my king, I'm losing confidence. ...... Are you an unwanted child? Is Prim an unwanted child?
I've been traumatized by the King of the Frontier.

　Princess Renesmee sighs in front of the little girl, who drops her shoulders.
　Then she looked at the captains.

I've ...... been working hard.

　I did my best," she declared, anger evident on her face.

When I was told about this mission, I was terrified. I was scared during the operation. I'm scared now. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to lead Hay into battle!
"...... Is that princess ...... frightened?

　I'm sure you're not the only one.

"...... I see. I'm sure you're not the only one.

　Princess Renesmee must have been terrified of this strategy of using herself as bait.
　As evidence of this, she is still trembling (・・・・) while looking (・・・・・・・) at the soldiers.
　Then there must be an opportunity to take advantage of him.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

　The captain of the survey team raised his voice.

As you may have guessed, we are an investigation unit secretly sent from the royal capital!
"What, captain?
"You can't say that!

　The soldiers under his command started to make a fuss.
　But the captain kept his tone calm.

"...... Take a good look. The princess is looking at us and trembling with a blue face, isn't she?　Even though she is leading soldiers, she is still a young girl. She's terrified of us. We'll take advantage of that.
What do you mean, "take advantage of?　Captain.


...... Well, we'll see.

　After speaking in a whisper, the captain turned to Princess Llanes.

Our mission is an important one, and we cannot talk about it, no matter what happens. Interrogation would be a waste of time. We would rather die than talk.
What are you trying to say?
I'd rather fight Princess Renesmee in single combat. If I am defeated, I will tell you of my secret orders, my purpose, and the situation in King's Landing!

　Princess Llanes didn't kill the survey team. That's because she wants information.

　And the princess is surrounded by the soldiers of House Kittle. She couldn't be so foolish in front of the soldiers.
　If she ran away from the battle when she had a chance to get information, she would lose the trust of the soldiers. It would cause some damage.

　If it came down to single combat, I would have a chance to win.
　I mean, I can't lose to a scared little girl like that.

"If I win, you'll let me and my men go. What will you do? Renesmee...
Oh, yes. Okay.
...... What?
One on one. Hmm. That doesn't sound so scary. Okay, come here. Where Hay isn't.

　With a surprisingly easy decision, Princess Llanes accepted the challenge.
　She beckoned to the captain of the survey team and moved to the square.

"Enemy soldiers! Use the sword we've prepared for you. We don't want to be unfair.
"No need. Princess.

　The captain shook his head and raised his own sword.

A warrior puts his life in the hands of a familiar sword. I hope you don't mind.
"I see. Well then, I'll be d*mned!

　Princess Llanes stepped forward with her sword in her hand, rolling her shoulders in a circle.
　Seeing her confident expression, the soldier captain's face turned pale.

　Something was wrong.
　Princess Renesmee must have been trembling a moment ago.
　And now she's calm and collected.

"I've been under a lot of stress lately!　I'm going to let it out here!

　Princess Llanes starts to run.
　The captain reflexively swings his sword.
　The captain's sword clashes with Princess Llanes' sword...

"What?

　Pop!


　The captain's sword snapped.
　It's half its length.


"...... What?　What?
"Hmm. "Hmm. Hmm. It's your fault that I had to take this kind of strategy!


　It's your fault!


　The captain's sword was further cut in half.
　It's not broken. It was cut.
　The captain's sword was cut in half by an unusually (・・・・・・) hard sword.

"...... Wait!
"Hmmmmmmmm... "Hmmm... I'm not afraid of one on one combat.　I'm not afraid of single combat. I'm not afraid!　I'm going to get information out of you and make the King of the Frontier pay for it!
Oh, wait. Princess Llanes. You've been frightened...
If I can't see the walls, I'm not afraid!
Oh, my God, ────!
You will know the wrath of the second daughter of the House of Kittle, Renesmee Kittle!

　And so...
　The captain of the special forces team was beaten to a pulp by the furious Princess Renesmee's swordplay.
　After that, although he resisted for a while...

I'll talk to you at ....... I'll tell you. After the Ten Wise Men searched for His Majesty ......, they announced their plan to invade the Kittle Territory .............



　He began to tell the Princesses what he knew, little by little.