Chapter 58
Its been several hours since we picked up the second princess. Since there is a village nearby we must be cautious.
It seems what the knight said was true.
"Devil of the shield Iwatani Naofumi slaughtered imperial guard knights and kidnapped the second princess while escaping. Wanted dead or alive. The prize-"
On the notice board within the village, there piece of paper that has quite a large amount of price money declared on it by the soldiers of the castle.
I knew this was a set up since the beginning.
If you strap a bomb on yourself and charge you will go to heaven.
My face was twisted with wickedness and,I am strangling the second princess by her neck, which also appears to be bleeding.
Should I make a habit of avoiding crystal balls at all costs in the future?
By the way, the country of Silt Welt is located south east of Shirudo Furiden which is north east of our current location.
That is considerably further than before.
That's good. I can use poison since they put that in the forgery.
"Noo~!"
As I finished scouting the village, I went to Firo and to let her know.
If it comes down to it Firo could just abandon the carriage and run off with her superior speed.
So, I have to explain the situation.
"We can't help it. Because you stand out."
In the sense that she's an unusual demon.
"How are you-"
Firo's body shines and starts transforming.
Her neck and feet started extending.
"Gueeee!"
Firo has transformed into a normal Philo Rial that resembles an ostrich.
"Gueee!"
She nods.
"Can you only chirp in that form?"
"I see."
I guess we will be fine if she can keep this appearance.
"Firo-chan is amazing!"
The second princess's eyes sparkles as she begins playing with Firo.
"Gueeee"
This high pitched screeching is better than her toxic mouth anyway.
"When you're in that form be quiet."
Naturally since Raphtalia and Firo rarely attack me they forget that it violates the slave mark.
"Firo-chan!?"
"Don't use violence on Firo-chan!"
But like this I don't know what Firo is saying.
Firo returns to her human forms and starts whining like a child.
"It's painful!"
"Ueh......"
The second princess is strangely worried about Firo.
"......"
We pass silently.
"......"
I begin preparing for being found out, we should be able to deal with the people in this village.
"O-okay. What's wrong?"
"N-no. I'm just a merchant.
The soldier puts hand on the door of the carriage.
"Really!?"
The villager nods his head.
What to do...... the deceived soldier will come back soon and that will be disastrous.
"Please go. I'll stall them here."
Raphtalia senses my hesitation and decides for me.
"But-"
The second princess and I get off the carriage when we arrive at the house, I cover her with a mantle as the villager guides us.
"There is nothing."
"No, you reported as ordered and even gave details, he just got away."
"Yeah, an adventurer asked me to transport it. hahaha"
While in disguise Raphtalia answers with a wry smile.
"I see, well sorry I bothered you."
The villager points Raphtalia in the direction of the inn and she responds obediently.
"Hmm......"
We were peeping from the window of the private house.
That was pretty dangerous. If that villager choose not to help us there would have been an uproar.
"Saint-sama are you all right?"
"After saint-sama saved the village we noticed you were actually the Hero of the shield-sama."
"Condemn!? No way. The saint saved the people of this village. There is no way we will repay kindness with enmity."
"We received various things from the Three Heroes church. But, the devil of the shield kindly saved us from the disaster that the god of the sword caused."
The fight here was harsh. I also learned various things from this village.
"Well it's fine if the princess went willingly."
The princess nods at the villager's words.
"Currently there are those within the country aiming for my life. The Hero of the Shield-sama saved me......"
The villager nods in understanding at the princess's answer.
"I get it. Some of us might be ungrateful though.So you should quickly escape."
"There is a cart in the back that is fully loaded with straw. Please hid in it, and several villagers will carry you to your companion who is at the inn."
"Gueee!?"
Transformed Firo informs me of her displeasure.
"We can't help it! Do you want to be found and caught? The second princess, Mel-chan will be killed."
It seems she has become quite an important friend for her to care this much......
"You're great, Firo. You can let go of important things for your friend."
Even if I don't understand what she is saying, she choose correctly.
"After this is over we'll certainly take it back."
"......Sure."
The villager seems to understand the situation and accepts it.
"I will be very grateful."
"I see. alright, second princess,come here. Change your clothes, we'll be discovered instantly with what you're wearing now."
It seems that the apprentice's clothing from villager barely fits.
Compared to the second princess's usual clothing, now she looks like a shabby little villager.
Well I can worry about that as we travel. There is no reason to discard her old clothes.
Anything bulky was given to the villagers.
"Okay"
We leave the village quietly and while the villagers see us off.
After this, our best bet would be to avoid towns and villages as much as possible.
If possible I hope the village won't be punished for helping us.