...... What on earth is His Majesty thinking about?

Franz Ergmann has long served Radric Aulme Zebrudia as the honorable head of the Zero Order, but never before has he been so unsure of his thoughts.
Originally, I knew that His Majesty Ladrick had the temperament of a free man. In the past, I had thought that this was a natural quality of a born champion, and it was only natural that Franz, as a vassal, would obey him, but I was troubled that he would say something that would disrupt the escort plan.

I can understand why you're relying on the Several Transformations . That man's innocence has been proven by the Zebrudia treasure, and level 8 is a ridiculous number.
The mana material that he has absorbed, though hidden from view, would be incomparable to that of Franz, who is constantly training himself.
But aside from that, his character was not something that could be trusted.

Franz had a good eye for people, but he had never seen anyone as foolish as Krei Andrich. His concealment of information, his completely relaxed appearance, and his flirtatious dress were unacceptable for a person guarding the Emperor.
Compared to them, Kecak Chakka, who was dressed in a very suspicious manner, and the Spirit People, who looked down on humans as their innate disposition, were better. In any case, they are still useful as guards, but the only thing the [Thousand Transformations] has done in front of everyone is to turn the Emperor and the Princess into frogs. That's outrageous.

I'll have to make a stern protest to the Explorers Society when this is all over.
Before Franz sent the request to the "Thousand Transformations" on the order of the Emperor, he had obtained information on its performance. At that time, he had received a general comment from the branch chief that he was 'a bit of a troublemaker', but not just a bit. He has the worst chemistry with his guards.

As for my feelings, I would like to destroy him even if I had to use the power of my house, but since His Majesty, who turned him into a frog, has given his permission, I can't do it. Or perhaps he had acted in anticipation of His Majesty's forgiveness.

My indignation continued to grow. Most infuriating of all was the fact that he had let Franz destroy the Emperor. Just thinking about it makes me want to kill him.
I doubt if it's true that there was no other way to bring him back. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just harassment.

I'll never forgive you if you do anything else. If you try to harm His Majesty in any way in the future, you will be thrown in jail.
you should've done something before the trouble started!

But we don't have time to worry about the Thousand Transformations. The hunters are the last line of defense. It's the Knights' job to protect you.
We'll be traveling by air to our destination. No airship has ever fallen before, and it is said to be much safer than the land route, but if fox minions get inside, there is no escape. That is the only thing we must avoid.

In that sense, no matter what the circumstances, spending three days to prepare was probably not a bad idea.
On the other hand, if bandits got in, Franz's head would be on the chopping block.

One of the subordinates of the Order rushed into Franz's room where he was giving orders with little time to rest.

'Commander, I've been informed that there's something from the Thousand Transformations that you want to bring onto the airship.

'What ......? What is it?

'Potions.

'I've given you permission to bring in any personal items necessary for the escort. Don't ask me to confirm every little thing!

'Yes, sir. That's what I told them, but it seems that the quantity is--'

The subordinate man said with a puzzled look on his face as Franz yelled at him emotionally.






For a treasure hunter, a hunt starts from the preliminary preparations.
It's no exaggeration to say that gathering information, supplying supplies, coordinating, and so on will determine the success or failure of the request. A top-notch party may have its own connections.

In the Ghost of Sorrows, it was the alchemy ghost who managed all of this.
It may be her personality, but as an alchemist, she is always well prepared.

As I was nodding contentedly in front of the countless boxes, Franz-san, who had been called by one of his subordinates, came running up to me.

Mr. Franz was stunned for a moment by the array of crates, but then he immediately glared at me.

I feel like I've only seen Franz-san's angry expression lately.

'Hey, hey, what do you think you're doing! Where did you get that from! I've prepared the basic potions here!

'...... You know what they say, the more prepared you are, the better.

'There is a limit! You're trying to run a business in Toaizant!

I asked the alchemy ghost to prepare as many potions as possible, but the number of boxes he prepared far exceeded my expectations.
There must have been more than a hundred boxes in total. A normal treasure hunter would definitely have enough to last a year. This is not my home town, but I wonder where the alchemy ghosts came from. I don't even know how much it cost. I haven't been billed.

But I don't think you should be upset that I went to the trouble of restocking. It's not like I'm going to bill you for it.

Can I send it to ......?

'Calm down, Mr. Frantz. It's just in case your potion runs out. And look, I didn't just prepare potions. I've prepared food as well.

To be precise, the alchemy ghosts prepared the food. .......

Franz said with a devilish look. He completely hated me.

'...... This! I've got plenty of food on hand!

'That's in case we run out. The desert is a big place, and if the airship crashes, the food you have there won't be enough, will it? I've also prepared water.

The desert is a disaster. It's okay that I'm wearing my treasure shirt, but even the warding fingers that His Majesty has equipped won't protect me from the sun.

'..................'

There was no reply to his confident explanation. I looked up and gasped when I saw Franz's face.

He had been red-faced until a moment ago, but now his face was devoid of emotion. He was staring at me with an expressionless face like a Noh mask.

Did I say something strange? As I stiffened, Franz asked me in a voice that sounded like it came from the depths of hell.

'...... What's going to happen?

'What ......?

I wondered what he was talking about.
I roll my eyes, and Franz-san closes in on me. Franz's subordinates, who were with me, didn't stop me either.

You're asking what's going to happen! What do you think is going to happen? You've got to be kidding me. If you know what's going to happen, then prevent it before it happens! Report it!

'?

I was grabbed by the collar and shaken violently, making me dizzy. Grabbing attacks are one of the few attacks that the warding fingers can't penetrate.



'I don't know, I don't know! I don't know!'

'You're lying! Don't you dare! I'll kill you!

I retorted pathetically, but Franz-san didn't believe me at all. That's a terrible expression.
I'm not a god and I can't possibly know the future. What I'm doing is a perfectly natural thing for a hunter to do.

'Calm down, calm down--it's just preparation, preparation!

'Where? It's just preparation! Enough to open a store! Bring in supplies! Who would bring supplies? There is! You'll never get permission! Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I'm stupid?

I'm here! I'm here!

He was shaken for a while, but finally calmed down a bit and was violently released.
It's true that the aristocracy is arrogant and troublesome. It is true that there is a little bit of volume,......, but I am not saying that I want you to load it all up. I'm just asking you to take as much as you can. I guess you could say it's part of the job of an escort.

Breathing on his shoulder, Franz says.

'Airships don't fall off ....... They've never fallen before.

'Well, yes, yes, they have. Mr. Franz has a point. I'm ninety percent sure we're not going to crash. So this is really just a precaution. Hahaha ...... I'm a coward.

You'll have to forgive me for laughing.
I smile blankly as I lift Mr. Franz up, and he says with a strained expression.

'In other words, you're saying this. You're saying that Zebuldia's most advanced airship, which has never fallen in any weather, even when attacked by demons, has a ...... 10% chance of crashing?

'............'

There seems to be a misunderstanding. I don't know why everyone is trying to catch me at my words.
Just for the record, what I'm saying is pretty random. I don't think about what I'm saying. Sometimes I even have Citri make up notes for me.
Franz-san seems to be nervous about the fact that he's escorting the Emperor, but I don't think this escort will fail. But I don't think this escort will fail. We have Telm, so we can handle it.

I say this to reassure the uptight Franz.

'...... Don't worry, Mr. Frantz. If the ship falls, I'll pick up the emperor.

'............ Hey, check the airship again to make sure it's not malfunctioning! And the identity of the people on board! Find out everything that could possibly go wrong! Do it in two days! I can't let you down! I won't let you down. I won't let you do it. d*mn it!

Mr. Franz was trembling, but he immediately ordered his men to shout at me, and glared at me.

No, it's not like I'm going to drop him. .......

I'm sure I've shown you a useful "thousand changes", but why am I being yelled at?
...... Well, that's okay. I'm used to being yelled at. I'm used to being yelled at. Once the escort is over, I'll be able to make peace with Franz.

I've given the orders I needed to give. What I really need to do is some last minute preparation-- carpet practice. I've been killed a lot, but I've come up with a good way to get along.

It's a fishing expedition. I don't know if it'll work, but I'll give it a shot.

Now, I wonder if there are any ...... cute carpets for sale in this town that the ruffian carpets would like.