Chapter 158 (2/2)

Lawrence smiled.「Not at all. The Margrave, me, and everyone here followed you because of your views.」

Her close aides nodded, and Kudyastoria looked relieved.

「So our problem is the Rising Falls… If only there was some way we could steal their weapon.」the Princess muttered.

The smell of alcohol filled the room in one of Leather Elka's mansions.

「Ahahahaha! My sides! Did you see their faces?! Polar Tiger, Polar Cat, I don't care. We've accomplished more than them. They don't even know about Sweet Pleasure? A bunch of muscle-heads! What a riot!」

Igloo of the Rising Falls party gulped down the wine from his mug. Several empty bottles were already scattered about. Only the members of the party were in the elegant guest room.

「You're drinking too much, Big Brother. It stinks of alcohol here. Also you might get us in trouble…」

「Oh, you worry too much. Ryver said there's no one else here. Right?」

Igloo shot a glance at the man standing in the corner of the room. Slit-eyed, he had long, red hair tied to the back. He was wearing thick breeches and a s.h.i.+rt. It was hard to tell what he was thinking behind his blank expression.

「Yeah. There's no one else around a hundred meters from here.」

「See? You know Ryver's Detection has never been wrong. He'll use his Detection and you, Caddie, will fire your weapon away. Just like that, the enemy's dead. It's too easy, I can't stop myself from laughing.」

「Igloo. I will… fight… Lawrence. Leave him… alone.」

「I know. We won't s.n.a.t.c.h your opponent.」

A different man—over two meters tall with a huge, red face like a watermelon—joined in the conversation. His name was Batros. He donned a bulky, full-body, metal plate mail and carried a s.h.i.+eld as big as his body. Though he didn't use them outside of battle. They were lying around in a corner.

「Okay. Good.」the man answered.

It seemed Batros didn't care about anything else but fighting Lawrence. Likewise, Igloo only cared about one thing.

「If we won against Ponsonia, I want to sleep with those pretty ladies from, uhh, what was it? Four Stars of the East? Wait, can I do it now? We're guaranteed to win anyway and we'll take the enemy as prisoners. All right! A fivesome!」

「You h.o.r.n.y idiot… The Four Stars of the East went out of the kingdom…」

「There's a princess too, right?! Oh, d.a.m.n! There's not a lot of men who get to have s.e.x with a princess, and I'll be one of them! Ah, I want to pound her hard from behind as I pin her down and her face twists in disgrace! s.h.i.+t, I'm getting fired up!」

Igloo didn't seem to hear his sister's muttering, as he hugged the sofa cus.h.i.+on and buried his face in it.

Word of the Four Stars' return hadn't reached here yet. It was only natural that Caddie Fullblood didn't know.

Ryver opened his eyes slightly, and gazed at Igloo. The emotion in his eyes was anything but friendly.

Later that night, Ryver was in his room, taking up his pen. He wrote down Igloo's actions and behavior. The recipient was His Holiness, the Pope.

Ryver used his Detection to survey the surroundings. He could feel the other three in their rooms—Igloo, Caddie, and Batros.

No one occupied the upper and lower floors. He had asked Austrin to clear people out so he wouldn't make an error in his Detection.

Ryver opened the window and held the letter to the night sky. He then raised his ring fitted with a purple crystal.

「To His Holiness, from his loyal servant.」

The magic item activated. The letter turned into a small bird and flew into the night sky. It was different from the magic item that the Adventurer's Guild and governments used. Linga's Quill Pen required a special catalyst to use, which if found in one's possession was like admitting you were getting in touch with someone behind closed doors.

That's where the ring came in. Much rarer than the quill pen, barely anyone knew about the magic item.

Ryver let out a sigh. Just as he thought his job for the day was done, he felt something.

「Who's there?!」He turned around.

Moonlight s.h.i.+ning in from the window and the magic lamp on the table were the only source of light in the room.

「I must be imagining things.」

Ryver's Detection didn't catch anything. Maybe he was being too cautious, which was not a bad thing. He switched gears and closed the window. After putting away the pen and inkwell, he lay down on his bed. Silence fell.

The darkness moved unnoticed by anyone.

So there's a magic item like that, huh. Caught me by surprise.

In the darkness of the night, Hikaru made his move.

463'>

<script>