A rumble and the carriage shakes. Three fairly spacious, covered, two-horse wagons, said to be of the wagon type, proceeded down the street in a row.
　In the first carriage are Belfast's and in the third carriage are five Mismid guards. And in the second carriage in the middle were us, Oliga-san, the Mismid ambassador, and her sister, Alma.
　Linse and Else sat on the Gosha platform with their sisters, and as for the rest of us, we were engaged in a heated battle inside the carriage.

''Unnu.......this is it, that!

　Yae flipped through the face-down card.
But it was a different number than the one on the other card that was revealed.

''Too bad. The correct answers are this one and this one.''

　When it's her turn, Yumina turns over two cards in a row. A two of spades and a two of hearts; I get the card that hits it from the field.
　With Yumina, Yae, and Alma, who were having a nervous breakdown, one of the games of cards, beside me, Olga and I were playing chess.
　I had too much free time to travel around in a carriage, so I made playing cards by compositing shogi and a thin wooden board with "modeling" on paper printed with "drawing".
　You can't play poker or anything else without learning the roles, so I taught the three of them a nervous breakdown that seemed easy. However, Yae was not very good at the game of memory, and she lost a series of games.

''I lost again, that I lost again...''
Maybe Yae isn't cut out for a nervous breakdown.

　Chuckling, I moved the piece in front of me.

'Yes, Ote.'
Oh...!

　Mr. Olga glares fiercely at the board. It's useless. It's a dead end.

''We're losing too.... There's too much of a gap in strength between us and Fuyu-dono.''

　Olga-san complains with her mouth agape. No, I'm the weak one too. Olga-san has just learned, so of course I'll win. But I'm afraid that after a few times, he might become stronger than me. I'll take the win and run.

Yae, you can play for me. How about going up against Origa-san?
That is true. If I were playing chess, Dolan-dono would have trained me in "Ginsuki," that he did.

　Rather than being planted, though, that thing was more like being forced to be taken advantage of.

''Then let's do something else this time, not a nervous breakdown.

　Yae and I have switched places, and I explain the new game to Yumina and Alma while cutting up a hand-made playing card. The difficult game of 'Baba-Drew', in which tactics hold the key to victory.

''Fuga........''

　Ember was sleeping peacefully in the corner of the carriage.
　They had learned the rules and were soon engrossed in baba-pulling, while Yae and Origa-san seemed to be on a par with each other in terms of ability, glaring at the board. This is how we were going to swing to Mismid.




And so, the cat beastman in boots became a nobleman and lived happily ever after.

　When he finished speaking, everyone around the fire gave him a round of applause. I'm kind of embarrassed. I started out with the intention of telling a little story before I went to bed, but I couldn't help but get knocked up.

'It was funny! Winter Night!

　Alma bleeped her ears on her head and excitedly gave me her impressions. Her big tail was also wagging in a good mood.

'It was a wonderful story, Fuyu-dono. But where did you get this story?''
'Oh, a bard told me about it where I used to live.

　I let Olga-san's tweets flow appropriately. It seemed to be well received by the Mismid soldiers around the fire. A cat beastman in boots who is very active in helping his master. A master swordsman and an excellent wise man.
　In a world where some people still discriminate against beastmen, there are probably not many poignant stories with beastmen playing such an active role. I apologize for the work that I adapted without permission.

''Fuyao-san knows a lot of other stories as well.
'Really? Let's hear it, Mr. Fuyuya!

　At the words of Yumina, who was sitting next to me, Alma leaned forward with a glint in her eye. These two people are getting along well with each other. It's easy to talk to them because they seem to be the same age.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more. I'll see you tomorrow.

　He laughed and softly refused Alma's request. At that moment, one of the small mis-mid soldiers around the campfire stands up and holds a finger in front of his own mouth to silence everyone.
　The ears above that soldier's head twitched. Are those........rabbit ears? Is he a rabbit beastman, he is.

'More than one person is approaching.... Disappearing, little by little... obviously targeting us.

　At the sound of their voices, the soldiers around them quietly draw their swords and begin to move, alerting the area. With Olga-san and Alma at the center, they shift into an escort formation. The Belfast soldiers at the carriage also draw their swords and increase their vigilance.

''Who are they?''
Probably a group of street bandits. It's tricky when there are so many of them.

　My question was answered by the captain of the Mismid escort soldiers. The captain is a wolf beastman and a twin-sword user.

''Lord, there is indeed someone heading this way. It is very unlikely that they are friendly. As they say, they're probably some kind of bandits, nine out of ten.''

　Ember, who was at my side, spoke to me in a voice that only I could hear. The bandits. Let's check it out.
　I pull out my phone and launch the Maps app. A map with us in the center appears on the screen. Well...for now, I searched for "bandit" and pins fell one after another on the map. Oh, there's a lot of them.

There are 8 in the north, 5 in the east, 8 in the south, 7 in the west. That's 28 in total.
You know what?

　The captain looks back at me in surprise. There are quite a few of them. I don't think it's impossible to win, but it may not be possible for us to do so unharmed either.

''Well let's try a little.

　I decided to try out the use of magic that I came up with the other day. It's probably going to be okay....

'Enchantment: Multiple'

　The map app is given "Multiple", a non-attribute magic that omits continuous chanting and allows simultaneous activation. Touch the bandits on the screen with your finger to lock them one after another. It's a pain in the ass to lock them all up! Okay, we're done!

Paralyze!

　The last magic is activated on the target on the map. In the next moment, a grunt could be heard overlapping from the surrounding forest.

''Uggh!''
Nuh-uh!
"Yikes!
"Ha!
Aang!

　Various voices were heard, followed by the sound of flapping and falling. Apparently, they had succeeded.

'Hey, what did you do?'
'I used a paralysis spell. I think you've probably fallen and can't move.
All of them?
All 28 of them.

　The only people targeted are those I consider to be "bandits" in this situation. On the other hand, if there are any ordinary, bandit-like people, there's a possibility that they might have gotten involved. I don't think that's really possible under the circumstances, though. That's why I made it a "paralise" for a change.
　The soldiers in the escort went into the forest and dragged the fallen guys in. Twenty-eight in all. All of them had lizard tattoos on the backs of their hands, as if it was a sign of a bandit group. There was no doubt that they were all friends.

''That's amazing...! So many of them in an instant....
'It's a good thing none of us had any magic defense protection or anything like that. 'Paralyze' can play even the smallest magic defense.

　Olga-san blurts out with a stunned expression. It's a good thing the bandits don't have a protective charm. But there are many problems with this method. It's a good thing that they weren't moving too hard this time, but if they are moving too fast, the target's lock may shift. Also, it's a pain in the ass to lock every single time.

"No, thank you for the help. I'm totally surprised.
'No, it's because she noticed me in the first place. Do you understand well?
Oh, it's Rain. He's a rabbit-beastman. He has hell ears.

　The captain laughs at the rabbit-eared boy who is dragging the bandits along. He's a small, silky redhead, about my age. Is his name Rain? By the way, I heard that the wolf's captain is called Garun.

''If it were a human, I think the paralysis would last for about half a day, what do you think we should do with these guys?''
''Well, if this is a mismid, it would be easiest to kill it without getting into trouble, but isn't that the way it should be?

　Mr. Garun calls for the captain of the Belfast side of the guard. A young man with blond hair came in with his full body armor clattering. He is quite a handsome man.
　Rion Blitz. He belongs to the First Order of the Kingdom, and is 21 years old. His father's name is Leon Blitz...I still can't believe this man is the son of that General Leon. He seems to be the second son, but I didn't realize that the general with his bravado is wearing clothes and this Leon, who seems to be a serious, single-minded spear, are father and son.
　When Garun told him about the situation, Leon was a little pondering, but eventually he spoke up.

He said, "Let's just tie him up and send a messenger to the town down the road to send the guards to take him back. Since we should be able to return with the guards in the morning, how about we hand over the bandits before we leave?

　Mr. Garun didn't seem to have any objections and it was decided in that direction. We gagged them and tied them all up behind their backs. In the event that you're not sure about this, I dug a hole with earth magic and buried the head in the ground. I'm not sure if that's why the limp heads appear to be lined up in a row, as the paralysis still seems to be working. It's quite a surreal scene........

''We'll keep watch over these guys, and the Miss Mid side will be responsible for guarding the foreign enemies. Fuyu-dono, please take care of the princess.

　Secretly, in a whisper, Rion-san tells me so.
　In case you're wondering, the only people besides us who know that Yumina is the princess of Belfast are Origa-san and this Rion-san. The other members have never met the princess, so there is no need to worry about them being found out. In addition, the only person who knows about my position as Yumina's fiancée (provisional) is Rion. It's not that I'm not told, but it may be that I'm under orders to be Yumina's bodyguard.

''Rion-dono, I'm sorry to trouble you,''

　Olga-san came up to me and smiled and thanked me. And Rion-san suddenly became fuming and impatient.

''Oh, no, this, this is my mission! Please, don't let it bother you!

　The blonde youth's calmness from earlier was nowhere to be found, as he turned red in the face and laid out his words to Olga-san. The fox beauty was also giggling and laughing funny as she watched him.
　Hahaha. Is that what you mean?
　Gently I leave the place, trying not to let them notice me. From the shadow of the carriage, I stealthily observe the two of them laughing and talking in front of the fire.

'Youthful, huh?'
Adolescence, that it is.
...youth, sir.
Adolescence.

　When did you guys come to the side........ The same twin sisters, a samurai girl, and a princess holding an amber were watching over them.

''Origa-dono is aware of Rion-dono's feelings, that he is aware of them?
'I'm sure you've noticed! You don't look like a nibbler like some guy.

　What? Why is everyone looking at me? I don't understand.


Oh, that's what I was thinking, too.
I don't think you're being sarcastic, sir.
'You know what? Sit right there!
Why?

　I don't understand. How did that happen?
　But there was no way I was going to go against them in this state, and I was forced to sit on my knees and receive an unreasonable super lecture time. Why?
　Their sermon, in which I couldn't understand more than half of what they were saying, continued until nearly midnight.