I followed Carol up the steps of the castle, and eventually we reached a large hall. She was about to run through it, but I stopped. I thought I heard a faint scream coming from somewhere.
　I listened closely. I could definitely hear it mixed in with the sounds of explosions in the distance, soldiers shouting and sword fights. It's a woman's...no, a girl's voice.

'Search! Show the girl and the guy who is currently likely to harm her within a 100 meter radius!
"...end of search. Displaying.

　There he is. In the back of the room right in front of you!
　I kicked through the door and the door beyond it did the same.
　When the thick door was blown open, there was a man in military fatigues riding a silver-haired girl, holding the child's neck and trying to thrust a dagger into her chest at any moment.

''Guhoa!''

　Surprised by my intrusion, he didn't hesitate to slam a paralyzing bullet into the man in military uniform who turned around to face me. Look out! If you were a little later, you would have been killed.
　The man who had been deprived of his freedom collapses on top of the girl.

"Hey!

　The girl who had brushed the man off and escaped from underneath it scrambled herself and rattled and shuddered. No wonder. You almost killed me.

'Are you okay?'

　I speak to her in as quiet a voice as possible to calm her down. The girl noticed this and turned her head towards me for the first time.
　Her eyes are like deep jade and her skin is like white porcelain. Her silver hair is messy but smooth, and her dress is white and silky. She's about the same age as Yumina. What kind of people would try to kill such a small child?
　If you look closely, you can see that the dress has been torn all over, and there are cuts on the arms as well. It's going to be a scar if you don't heal it quickly.

'Come light, restful healing, Cure Heel.'

　For a moment, a look of trepidation appeared on his face at my spell, but it turned into a look of surprise as he watched the wounds on his arm heal in the soft, warm light.

''Ah... you are...?''
'My name is Fuyao Mochizuki. I'm an adventurer. I don't have anything to do with the military guys, okay?

　In case you were wondering, let me remind you. I won't be able to stand it if they attack me again like they did with Carol-san.

''Mochizuki, Fuyou-sama.......''
Can you stand?
Yes.....

　I take his hand and make him stand up. Huh? I don't know if this is a new kid, but this is no ordinary kid. And what you're wearing is pretty top notch. Could it be.... Huh?
　My eyes meet the girl's. She stared back at me without blinking.

Jee..........

Ji────.........

J...

Ji──............

　Wait a minute, what is this déjà vu. The girl's cheeks were stained, and this time she opened her mouth a little while glancing at me.

".........Do you not like younger people...?

　Ooh! It's exactly the same as it was with Yumina! What the hell is going on? Just when I was beginning to think it was going to be somewhat troublesome, someone rushed in through the door I had kicked in.

'Princess!'
Carol?

　Ms. Carol runs into the room and runs up to the girl. Ah, I knew it. So it was the princess of the empire.

'Are you alright? ...What about this one?

　Mr. Carroll gives a quizzical look at the man in military uniform lying beside him.

'He was the one who tried to kill me. Fuyu-sama saved me.'
Oh my God...! You didn't mean to kill the princess! This is unacceptable! Let's kill him!
Hey, hey!

　Mr. Carroll drew his sword to put a stop to the fallen man. He hurriedly grabbed the man by the neck and pulled him back. I don't know what it is, he's a very troublesome man, you know!

'You were a princess, I thought you were in a different mood, reasonably.

　I called out to the Princess of the Empire while dragging Carol-san along with me. Somehow I thought it might be so.

''It's the third princess of the Regulus Empire, Lucia Lea Regulus. ........Fuyu-sama isn't too surprised, is she? Most of them change their attitude when they find out I'm the princess.
'I know a couple of other princesses besides you. I'm just used to it to a certain extent.

　One of them is my fiancée and the other is a bad writer.

'To be acquainted with a royal princess so well what are you?

　Carol is looking at me with a surprised look on her face. I don't know what you call yourself. I don't think I've decided where I stand yet. I can't even say that I'm related to Belfast. And even if I marry Yumina, I'm not going to be the king.

'Well, I'll explain about me later. For now, what do you want to do? I can use transition magic to get Princess Lucia alone to escape first, though.
'Well...'

　The female knight ponders. Is she thinking about where to let him go? But the person in charge of letting it go has refused to do so.

'I'll be fine with that later. I'm more concerned about your father and brother. I'll come with you.

　Princess Lucia stoutly said something like that to me. Hmm, it's dangerous, though. Well, I'm sure His Majesty the Emperor and the Crown Prince will be more willing to listen to me if she's there. For the time being, I'll have her evacuate to my home and then I'll take her wherever she wants to go.
　I'll leave it to Carol-san to protect Princess Lucia and I'll take care of the surroundings. I returned to the hall where I had just left Miss Carol and proceeded to the back of the hall.

''The Emperor and the Crown Prince, are you sure you want to let them go alone?''
For the time being. If the Prime Minister and the Minister are there, I'd like to let them go while I'm gone.

　Carol replies as she runs down the corridor. Huh? Well, you said earlier that Princess Lucia is the third princess, but are the two older sisters good?
　I heard that the first princess has already married into the royal family of another country, and the second princess is studying in a distant country. It seems that both of them are friendly to the Empire, so I guess that's a relief for now. But I don't know, depending on the future of the empire. The people who staged the coup might ask you to hand them over, too.
　After running through the corridor and turning the corner at the end of the corridor, five or six soldiers were waiting in front of a large door with unplugged sabers.

''It's Princess Lucia! Get him! No, I don't care if I kill you!

　As soon as they noticed us, the soldiers came towards us all at once, brandishing their sabers.

''Things are so disturbing.

　He pulls out Brunhild and shoots a paralyzing bullet into everyone. Thud thud thud! And then the sound of gunfire rang out and the soldiers fell one by one. ''Yes, good night.

''Killing six people in the blink of an eye.......
'I don't listen to people. I'm just paralyzing you. But what's ahead of you, Your Majesty?

　He returns that to a stunned Carol and asks for Princess Lucia.

'Yes, the room down the hall is your father's bedroom. Although I have rarely been in there since he became ill.'
Is it a contagious disease?
'No I don't think he wants me to see him lose weight and decline. From what I've heard, you've become emaciated without a trace...

　I see. But what to do........ If the enemy has invaded to this extent, there are probably enemies inside as well. To be honest, it's highly likely that His Majesty the Emperor is already in the hands of bandits. It's not nice to show his father's corpse to such a small boy.......

　As if she saw through my hesitation, Princess Lucia squeezed my sleeve.

''I'm prepared for this. Even so........if I don't check on your father, I am sure I will regret it.... Therefore......

　If you're that determined, there's nothing I can say. I made up my mind and opened the door.
　At the back of the fairly large, opulent room, there is a king-sized bed. Several men were standing in the room, and they were paying attention to us as we jumped in.
　Judging by their military uniforms, there were three military soldiers, two of the officer class, and one person who looked like a general. And a few corpses in the room. They are wearing armor, so they are probably the knights of the guard.
　In the midst of it all, I could see the old man rolling under the bed. Too late.........

''Who are you? You're not from the Order, are you?

　Who or what is a man who looks like a general. His eyes were sharp like a hawk and his eagle nose reminded me of a bird of prey. He's about 40 years old.

"General Bazur! Have you touched the Emperor in your fancy to put your hands on him!
...Father...!

　Behind me, I heard the voices of an agitated Carol and a gasping Princess Lucia. It's the general. Is this the one who incited the military to stage a coup?

Hm, this is Princess Lucia and the idiot daughter of the Riette family. Strange, I had ordered them both to be killed as soon as I found them.

　The imperial general sneered annoyingly. I mean, are you still an idiot? He glances at Ms. Carroll.

"You're the mastermind behind this whole mess. Why are you doing this, just for the record?

　I'll confront this bloke out front, General Bazur. I'm an outsider after all. I don't know what's going on, and I can't decide which side to take.

"The Emperor is ill, and his mind is failing him. To break the non-aggression pacts with Belfast and Rhodomea, and not have the present to invade them all at once, but to hesitate to do so....... His Majesty in the past would have made the decision without hesitation. Old age, or sickness, is a terrible thing.
"...You think I killed him for that?
An emperor must always be strong. Whoever disqualifies himself will be removed from the stage. We will install a new emperor and build a new empire.

　What a mess. Usurpation. It's a takeover of the country. But at least in the army, this general is probably more charismatic than the emperor. Otherwise, he would never have been able to start such a rebellion.
　The Emperor is sick and has no future and the Crown Prince is unreliable. On the other hand, a strong and spirited general. I don't need to tell you which one I'm hoping for.
　But still, breaking the non-aggression pact? Are these guys trying to go to war with Belfast or something?

'Belfast is allied with its neighbours, Mismid and Leafs. Do you think we can win a war with these three nations?
You can win. Did you think we just sat on our hands for 20 years after the non-aggression pact?

　General Bazur held up his right hand towards the window and began to focus his magic power. This guy also uses magic? And what's this magic power...?
　It's huge. It's gathering more magic power than any wizard I've ever met. And what's more? The body is very tired...?

"Come to me in the dark, I seek the demon lord, the demon lord.

　The moment General Bazur chanted the spell, a wall of windows blew out and the area was enveloped in a flash of light. When the light disappeared, the wall where the windows were located vanished cleanly, and what could be seen from there was a huge demon figure that could reach here, the third floor.