In order to open the "gate" to the Kingdom of Linier, I get Prince Cloud's memories in "Recall". Honestly, I don't want to use this magic against a man. What's so sad about having to hold hands and foreheads with a man?
　The members to rescue Prince Cloud's mother, Queen Elia, are Prince Cloud, me, Else, Yae, and Amber. I made it a combat unit, or rather, a maneuverable member. The rest of the members are staying behind. In an infiltration operation like this, a small number of people are better.
　At a stroke, we jumped to Nimue, the royal capital of Linie at the "Gate". Prince Cloud was scurrying around at the first transition.

''Amazing..... Truly, in an instant, I'm in Leinie.......''

　I went out into the back alley of the city so that no one would see me, but apparently I didn't see anyone.
　Once from here, we went to the castle and asked Prince Cloud to report the results of the marriage proposal.
　We haven't even seen the first prince or vizier yet. We have to find out with our own eyes what kind of guy he is. Other than Prince Cloud, I, Else, Yae, and Ember, I cast the Invisible spell on them and disappear.

''It's an amazing magic I have no idea where they are.
'We're just invisible, though, and if we're touched, they'll notice us. We can't see each other either, so please show me around.

　Prince Cloud nodded quietly and began to walk towards the castle, taking a slower than usual gait.
　He walked at the end of the street where there were few people and entered the royal castle. The gatekeeper only glanced at Prince Cloud and didn't say anything. It's kind of like being ignored. Even if it's a prince of this country. I hear it's true that he's being treated coldly.
　Seeing the person who came from the other side as we entered the castle hall, Prince Cloud froze for a moment. And then he bows his head deeply as it is.

''I'm back, brother.
The Cloud. That was quick. That's very unusual for a guy like you. Maybe it will rain tomorrow.

　He's a little shorter than Prince Cloud. A skinny, mushroom-cut man, with a mouth hanging up in the air, smiles. So this is the first prince, Zabun. He's wearing lamé clothes all over, an expensive looking scarf, and golden boots.

''Bad taste~........

　Else's small voice could be heard, but fortunately it didn't seem to reach Prince Zaven. He can hear her voice, so don't talk!
　Behind him was a woman with a downcast face and two men with the same grin and disgusting smile looking at Prince Cloud. Are the men Prince Zaven's cronies? As for the women ... they are slaves. There is a "collar of enslavement" around her neck. I'm sure there was no slavery in this country.

'So what did you hear back from the other side? Of course you've gotten a good response, haven't you?
''No I'm sorry to say, but I'm afraid that the Duchess of Ortlinde has already been refused, as she already has a wife to marry.
"...what? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What?
That's why I didn't want to discuss the marriage proposal.

　Pow! And without letting Cloud finish speaking, Zaven's slap flew.

'You're useless, you! Then you'd better think twice before you go kidnap a duchess or something! If you bring them in and put the 'collar of enslavement' on them, they'll be my slaves, you know!

　What are you talking about, you idiot? You're going to make Sue a slave? Did you ever think of that?

"The kid laughed at me at Leafy's party. It was only the Duke's daughter. I was going to teach her to disobey me for the rest of her life!

　That's what I'm talking about.... If that party had been dressed like this too, I would have laughed, even if I wasn't Sue. No, the other adults might not have laughed. But Suu is a child. Can't you forgive him that much?

'Tch, you can't even run this much of an errand, it's a constant struggle to have a useless brother. So? Who's the duchess's wife-to-be?
His Majesty Fuyao Mochizuki, the Duke of Brunhild.
'Brunhild...? Ah, that recently established upstart country, huh? I don't see any benefit in marrying her off to such a small and insignificant country.

　I'm sorry for being a tiny country. It's fine for you to say it yourself, but when others say it, it makes me angry.
　Prince Zabun stared at Prince Cloud with his tongue in a way that didn't seem amused. Then he gave a disgusting smile, wondering what he had in mind.

'Hey, Cloud. You should go to Belfast again and start spreading rumors.
"Rumor?
I heard that Duke Brunhild is a womanizer and has made many women cry. It is rumored that if you marry a duchess to him, she will be unhappy. Then it might be a good idea to end the engagement. Isn't this a good idea?

　It's okay if I hit him. Is it okay if I do this? d*mn it, you'll see later.

Will you let me meet your mother if I spread the rumor?
'Oh? What am I saying? Your mother is sick. You don't want to be contagious. I'm sure it's a grateful consideration from my brother. Well, we don't know when he's going to die, so I know how much you want to see him.

　Cloud clenches his fist and glares back at Zabun, who is smiling thinly with a smirk. Zabun's expression changes drastically when he realizes this.

'What's with those eyes, huh!

　Suddenly enraged, Zabun's kicks stabbed into Cloud's stomach. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the bottom of the mountain.

I'm not going to be the only one who has been born a lowly scum and knows his place! All you have to do is follow my orders and keep your mouth shut! You should be grateful I'm keeping you alive! Do you understand, ah!

　Just as he was about to stop the stupid prince's attack as expected, another person appeared.

''Zabun? What are you doing?
Oh, mother. No, I was just trying to educate my little brother who can't hear.

　A barrel ... no, a woman wearing a fancy red dress and a barrel of thick facial makeup with a thorny, thickly-painted face descended from the red-carpeted stairs accompanied by several handmaidens. So this is this a**h*le's mother, Queen Dacia. There is no resemblance in body shape, but the cloudy eyes and disgusting mouth are the same.

Cloud. You must have some sense of entitlement, you know. I'm sure you're not the only one who will be carrying the burden of this country on your shoulders. Don't bother me with trivialities. I wonder if it's all the same to you because of your mother's vile blood.

　He takes one look at Cloud with cold, condescending eyes, as if he were looking at a stray dog, and turns his smile toward Zaven. It's an uncomfortable change in expression.

'So how did the matchmaking process go? Zabun.
I got turned down because of the crowd. What a load of crap.
'Well, poor thing. Belfast is a country of idiots, and I can't blame them. I wish it had been destroyed.

　The conversation was so dumb that I was more dismayed than angry. I didn't know this was possible.

I'll give you a hard time when I'm king. That's enough, mother. You don't have to be engaged to succeed to the throne.
Yes. Want me to talk to Waldak?
That's the way it should be!

　The two of them and their cronies slithered away as if they weren't interested in Cloud anymore.
　No, it's an irredeemable mother and son in many ways. It's so distorted. I don't know what the king here had in mind when he married that barrel woman. Was it a political marriage or did he have some kind of weakness in his hands?

"Come light, healing, cure-heal.

　He slowly stood up and exhaled heavily as he cast a recovery spell on Prince Cloud.

'Are you okay?'
'Yes thank you very much. It doesn't hurt anywhere.

　The pain in my body may have gone away, but I'm not sure it's gone to the pain in my heart. My clenched fists are still trembling. I wonder if he has been treated like that since he was a man of leisure. It's almost a miracle that this second prince's spirit wasn't warped.

''You are a stupid, stupid prince.''
I almost cut you in half a few times, sir.

　Only Else and Yae's voices could be heard. They both sounded like they were angry. In fact, I wanted to hit them too, so I know how they felt.

''But that 'enslavement collar'........''
'My brother bought them from a merchant in the Kingdom of Sandra. Even though slavery is forbidden in our country.

　One wrong move and Sue could have been made a slave? That bastard doesn't care if I beat him up easily. But first.
　We moved behind the pillar and untied the Invisible. Then we target-lock the slave girl from before and activate the Gate.

Uh...what?

　I ignore her, who is panicking and unsure of what's going on because she's suddenly transitioned, and I go straight for the collar with "apports".
　Looking at the collar that appeared in my hand, she runs her hand over her own neck, and when she realizes that it's not there, she begins to cry polo tears.

'I got it off..... I got the collar off.........

　I revealed my identity to her now that she was free and used the "gate" to send her back to Brunhild for now. I briefly explained the situation to Yumina and asked her to take care of me.
　After a while, the idiot princes came back in a hurry and disappeared again with 'Invisible'.

''Oi! Didn't my slave come over here?!
No, no, I don't know.

　He clicked his tongue in response to Prince Cloud's reply, and just like that, Zaven and his two cronies ran up the castle steps. As they were thinking about dropping him from the top step with a slip, the idiot prince stopped in his tracks.

''What's the matter, Prince Zaven?''
'Waldak! My slave is gone! It just disappeared out of nowhere!

　At the top of the stairs, Zaven was appealing to a man in his fifties or so, dressed in a long black coat. Waldak?

That's Prime Minister Waldak.

　Prince Cloud murmurs softly so that only we can hear him. Waldak, or rather, his face looks like a bulldog. Well, he has a face that looks like he's going to be devious.

'Did you try to order him to come back?
I did! But he's not coming back!
Then kill him. You don't need that kind of slave, do you? When the body is found, we'll take care of it here.

　As if it were nothing, the vizier urges the prince on. What a guy. Is this really the Prime Minister who supports the country?

Shit! We weren't even playing in earnest yet! You should have broken your leg or something!

　As soon as Zabun said this, the collar in my hand shrank a little. If the collar was still attached to a person's neck, I would have choked to death for sure.
　These guys don't care about other people's lives, and I was angry at their actions. I guess these guys never imagined that what they did would be done to someone else, or anything like that. That lack of imagination is what makes their cruelty to others so apparent on the surface.

'Oh, Prince Cloud,' he said, 'when will you return from Belfast? When did you return from Belfast? Has the marriage been settled?

　Prime Minister Waldak notices us from the top of the stairs and calls out to us. Even if it was hypothetical, he didn't even thank his own lord's son. It was clearly a disrespectful attitude towards Prince Cloud.

''No, I'm afraid...''
Hmm, well, that's good. Just as well. I'm afraid I'll have to send you to the northern kingdom of Paloof sooner or later.
To Paloof? What on earth was the point of...

　Instead of answering Prince Cloud's voice, Vizier Waldak grinned and walked away from us with Prince Zabun in a good mood.
　I summoned a house mouse from the summoning team and had it follow the Vizier with Invisible. That was a laugh that was up to something. His intuition told him that he had better look for it.
　Soon, through the rats that had caught up with them, they heard the voices of Zabun and Waldak.

'Waldak, are you going to send Cloud out on an errand to the Paloof Kingdom this time? Is there a princess or a nobleman's daughter in that country that I like?
No, I'm not on a matchmaking mission.
No?
'You must go to Prince Cloud and declare war on him. To the kingdom of Paloof.

　You know. The guy was thinking like a dick.