The convoy has two carriages.

　The front carriage is me, Currier-san, Mia-san, and Captain Zeth.
　The carriage in the back is said to be carrying mainly cargo.
　I look out the window.
　A convoy on horseback is surrounding the carriage.
　We're leaving, Captain Zeth signals.
　The carriage starts to move.
　About thirty minutes past the gate, Captain Zeth shouts in surprise.

'What?　Were you attacked by bandits before you entered the city earlier!
Yeah, yeah...
'My God....I'm sorry. I still think we should have come up to the border to pick you up...
Well, well, we made it through without any damage and that's not something for the captain to apologize for.

　Hmmm.
　It's just a first impression level impression........
　Captain Zeth, isn't he too good of a person?

Well, you know...

　Captain Zeth opened his mouth hesitantly.

''In fact, Shanatrice-sama told Prince Geas that the bandits would be too afraid to approach him if it was Kurohiko-dono or Currier-dono. So.........

　I heard that the pick up was limited to the provincial city I heard about earlier.
　By the way, it seems that when going from the capital to the border, it was necessary to make a quite unreasonable movement.

　Hmmm.
　I wonder if Shana's advice was a matter of consideration for the convoy?

I'm sorry, Lady Sagara.

　Captain Zeth places his hands on his knees and bows deeply.
　This guy seems like a very nice guy........
　And he's handsome.

''I mean, I can't believe that the captain of Prince Geass's Kingsguard is coming to pick me up in person...''

　That alone would be a generous welcome.
　Rather.

'Is the prince okay without you guys by his side?
'I have half of my vice-captain and his troops left, and the prince himself is very strong. And the King's personal guard is at the castle.
''Well the King's Kingsguard is different from the Divine Punishment Corps, which reports directly to the War God King?''
Yes. In the case of the Kingsguard, only men are allowed to enlist. The God's Punishment Corps, on the other hand, only allows women to enlist.
'Oh, I didn't know there was such a division...'
''Well... actually, this escort was originally supposed to be sent by the Divine Punishment Squad as well...''

　Captain Zeth bristled.

'What's the matter?'
Yeah, a little bit.

　I felt muddled.
　Top secret, I guess?

Oh, but Master Shanatrice is supposed to meet you when you arrive. You can rest assured of that.

　I bowed my head with a peculiar smile.

'Thank you for taking care of this and that.
..........

　Captain Zeth is staring at me.

'....Um...what is it?
'What?　Oh, no........I still have a very different impression of the person I imagined.......

　I chuckle.

''Haha... maybe it's because I defeated the Four Deadly Plagues, but in reality, as you can see, I'm just an ordinary guy like this.

　Then I cowered my shoulders.
　But Captain Zeth still has a difficult look on his face.

''That's true, too, but...''
?

　What is it?
　I suddenly noticed that Captain Zeth had a blush on his cheeks.
　He glanced at the seats opposite him.
　Sitting in the seat are Currier and Mia.
　Captain Zeth shakes his head, as if to say, "Oh no!
　It was as if they were shaking off some distractions.

''Wha, what's going on?''
Well, Master Shanatrice tells me that Lord Kurohiko is a lustful man who is always flirting with women, no matter who is present, and that he is so lustful that it's embarrassing to watch him. I've heard about it....
What?

　Mia reacted with a jolt.
　Her ears and tail stood on pins and needles.
　She then began fumbling and shaking her head and hands from side to side.
　She seems to be denying that I'm not that kind of person.
　Currier smiled in dismay, "Again?
　Shanatrice is still the same, or so I'd say.
　I hung my head in a paragraph and held my head.

There's this awful language that's already in court...

　What the hell is that witch?
　Is she a wielder of the Great Magic [Trial in Absentia]?
　Forced to explain, I explain myself while hoping for a witch trial.

''Haha........Shah, Shana-san always says random things with the purpose of making fun of me.......well, I'm in trouble.......''

　Captain Zeth smiled and scratched his head as if in trouble.

'Yeah, right?　No, I also think it's strange.......Kurohiko-dono has a unique kind of awesomeness, but he doesn't seem to be someone who is excessively fond of color.
Captain Zeth...

　What a very understanding person....
　I was a bit impressed.
　I couldn't help but take Captain Zeth's hand in mine.

'I'm so glad you were the one who came to get me.

　Captain Zeth looks pleased with himself.

"Haha, I see. So Lord Kurohiko-dono was favored by Shanatrice, wasn't he?
...Yes?
Master Shanatrice is a very sober, stern man...
'Is that about your twin sister or something?'

　Captain Zeth chuckled and continued.

'On the other hand, you treat people you like in a terribly crushing way.
'That's ... a truly amazing piece of information that I can only assume is in the interest of not being liked, but ...'
For that reason, I often make accommodations for people I like without gaining anything. I'm sure you have some idea of that, too.
..........

　If you ask me, that's for sure.

'I mean, is Shana-san still an amazing person when it comes to Rouvel Argan?

　Captain Zeth smiles with a huff.

The fact is that he is good enough to ask my king to be his advisor. And the majority of the various surgical machines currently in use in the Shubelpos were created through Master Shanatrice's research.

　She also made a potion that made Makina-san's body more mature and so on.
　If you think about it, that's a pretty amazing medicine too.
　She must be an excellent researcher, after all.

''Hmm, even so.''

　Earnest and stern.

..........

　Isn't raw earnestness a misnomer?
　Yes, but the battle against Beshgam showed a lot of seriousness.

　After that, I enjoyed chatting with Captain Zeth for a while.
　He told me many things about the Ruvel Argon.
　The captain is very personable.
　I think he is well-liked by his subordinates.
　The attitude of the people in the convoy towards the captain was also telling.
　As we were moving along like that, the city came into view.
　They said it was a provincial city to stop at on the way.
　They said it would still take a few days to get to the royal capital.

''Huh?　Is there a skirmish going on between the lords nearby?

　After the carriage passed through the gates of the city, such information came from one of the convoy.
　Will it be all right?
　But Captain Zeth replied peacefully.

'If the prince's kinsmen know that they are staying, there will be no fire coming down to this city. Of course, if anything should happen, we will take care of it.

　As he said, nothing happened during his stay.
　And the next day passed without incident.
　The banner of Prince Gears' kinsmen.
　A carriage painted in deep red.
　Wherever I went, there was a look of awe in my eyes.
　In the cities we stopped in, I overheard glimpses of civilian conversations.
　From what I'd heard, kings, princes, and their kinsmen seemed to have a good reputation.
　If anything, it seems that it is the God's Punishment Squad that is feared.

　On the way to the next city, Captain Zeth told me a bit about the God's Punishment Corps.

''Although the God Punishment Corps is under the direct control of my king, it is a very independent unit. It has various privileges compared to the Kingsguard. Because of that, though, we are still smoked by some of the Kingsguard.

　A male only Kingsguard unit.
　An all-female God's Punishment Corps.

　Are there any disagreements in that aspect of the game?

　Incidentally, Currier-san and Mia-san were mostly silent during the move.

　This morning, when it was just the two of them, they secretly said, "We don't talk much on the move, but is there something that's bothering you? I asked.

　Currier-san answered awkwardly.

''I'm shy by nature........I can easily say the words to someone who has bad intentions, and I can easily decide on the attitude I want to take....

　They feel more shy when the other person is a good person.
　Cecily and the other Renowthreads with whom he has developed a close friendship have no problem with.
　However, he's not good with sycophants with whom he doesn't have deep friendships.
　Or perhaps it's not so good with them - a feeling of blandness?
　Maybe she was like she is now when she was a wanderer.
　And I asked Mia this morning as well, why she was talking so little on the move.
　She replied, "I am a samurai.

I'm a maid of honor. ....

..........

　I don't know if he looked that happy...?


　　　　　*


　It took us three and a half days to finally arrive at our destination, stopping at local towns along the way.

Kurohiko-dono is in sight.

　A huge city set against a backdrop of rocky mountains.
　A black castle sits dignified against the mountains.
　If you step down from the castle, there seems to be a castle town.
　The castle town seems to be surrounded by high walls.
　From my current position, I still can't see the full extent of the castle town.
　My first impression of the city was a huge fortress.
　The most noticeable part that can be seen from here is still those two towers.
　It seems to be part of the castle from the looks of it.
　They are towering like a pair of antlers.
　Could that be the "Prison Tower" that I've heard about...?
　I leaned out of the window a bit and looked at the huge twin towers, forming a shelter with my hands.

'That's...'

　Captain Zeth nodded.

''Yes, sir. The royal capital of the military goddom of Ruvel Argan--''

　It's here at last, it seems.

'It's the Schwerpos,'