The next day, Kazuma and his party, who had been living comfortably with plenty of money and taking Guild quests leisurely, started going to the Guild from morning and taking quests diligently.
Because they didn't have a single penny to their na. Their mansion was almost completely destroyed, so it was practically being rebuilt, and it was naturally going to cost a huge amount of money.
From what I heard, the estimate ca out higher than the money Kazuma had. Fortunately, the fact that Kazuma and Aqua had done manual labor when they first arrived here helped, and the contractors, recognizing them, gave them a discount.
"Sigh... Sohow, it feels like I'm starting over from the beginning... And the weather is getting colder. This is insane."
Kazuma said with a sigh.
"Just earn it back. You're stronger than when you started, so you'll recover soon."
"I hope so. Anyway, I'm going to the Guild."
"Yeah."
I also started taking quests with Yunyun at the Royal Capital again. As expected, the Royal Capital was overflowing with quests. That day, we quickly completed about three quests and were about to go ho when Claire, Princess Iris's guard, ca to the Guild.
"There you are. I've been waiting for you, Silver Flash and Crimson Mage."
"Hmm? What can I do for you?"
"Princess Iris has invited you both to dinner. Princess Iris enjoys hearing the adventure stories of remarkable adventurers, so please do not refuse."
"Very well. By what ti should we arrive?"
"Today."
Knowing the original story, I had thought Iris would call us soday, but this sudden summons was flustering.
"Today?? But we need to prepare..."
"Princess Iris requested the invitation. We've been looking for you in the Royal Capital but couldn't find you. Fortunately, we heard that you had co to the Guild today, so I ca in a hurry."
It seed they had been looking for us during the several days we were in Axel Village because of Kazuma's incident.
"I see. Very well."
"We will take care of the preparations. Co."
When Yunyun and I went outside the Guild, a carriage provided by the kingdom was waiting. We took the carriage to the Royal Palace.
"Ugh... Tae-jin, what do we do? She's a princess..."
Yunyun was extrely nervous at the prospect of eting the princess.
"Don't worry too much. It'll be fine."
It would indeed be fine. Because although she admired adventurers, the princess was a good person who cared about her country. Moreover, unlike Kazuma and the others, Yunyun wasn't a troublemaker, so I didn't think any major problems would arise.
We arrived at the Royal Palace, and under the guidance of the maids, we bathed, changed clothes, and then went to the place prepared for dinner with Iris. As we entered, a cute 12-year-old girl with blonde hair was sitting at the end of a long table, with Claire and Rain standing on either side as her guards.
"Nice to et you, Princess Iris. I am the adventurer, Tae-jin."
"Nice to et you, Princess Iris. I am the adventurer, Yunyun."
We greeted her with the utmost courtesy. Then Iris whispered sothing to Claire beside her.
"Princess Iris says thank you for accepting her invitation. She says to enjoy your dinner and then tell her your adventure stories."
"Understood."
Yunyun and I sat down at the prepared seats and told her about our adventures, embellishing them a bit. I did most of the talking, while Yunyun quietly enjoyed her al. Iris listened to my stories with fascination. Then she whispered to Claire again.
"Princess Iris asks that you tell her more about Lalatina."
"Understood."
Lalatina was Darkness's real na. Since Darkness's family was one of the great nobles of the kingdom, she and Iris had known each other since childhood and were quite close. So Iris seed very curious about Darkness's life as an adventurer.
I told her about Darkness's embarrassing monts just as they were. Iris found it extrely amusing and listened intently. Claire and Rain, also from great noble families, seed a bit uncomfortable that Darkness's stories were being told so frankly, but since Iris was enjoying it so much, they didn't say anything.
"Then, Sir Tae-jin, are you married?" Princess Iris asks.
"Yes, I am. While taking quests at the Guild, I beca close with a beautiful Guild staff mber, and it led to marriage."
Iris looked slightly disappointed. Then she whispered to Claire again.
"She says she had a wonderful ti today. She says she particularly enjoyed the stories of Lalatina, which she could hear nowhere else."
"I see. I'm glad."
"She also says that as a reward for telling such amusing stories, she would like to give you sothing. Do you have any request?"
I imdiately looked at Iris's necklace and said,
"Then, I would like the necklace that Her Highness is currently wearing."
Having seen the original story, I knew that the necklace Iris was wearing was a dangerous sacred treasure, so I wanted to take this opportunity to deal with it. However, that necklace was a gift to Iris from her brother, Prince Jatis, so it was a very rude request.
"Sir Tae-jin, that is highly discourteous."
Claire was quite flustered by my request and demanded I retract it.
"The necklace Her Highness is wearing is a very dangerous sacred treasure. That is why I wish to dispose of it."
At that, everyone seed extrely surprised.
"What do you an? Sir Tae-jin, can you explain in more detail?"
"Very well. That necklace is a sacred treasure that can forcibly swap bodies. A royal family mber possessing such a sacred treasure ans soone is plotting to swap bodies with a royal. I believe this is a very serious matter. The origin of that necklace must be investigated."
"Is that really true, Sir Tae-jin?"
"Yes. If you don't believe , give the necklace and I will prove it."
Hearing that, Iris handed the necklace to . I put the necklace on Claire and taught Rain the incantation.
"You an just that incantation will swap our bodies?"
"Yes. Go ahead and try."
"Very well. So... Yours is mine, mine is yours. Beco you~!"
When Rain chanted the incantation, the necklace glowed faintly, and it seed Claire and Rain's bodies had swapped.
"Huh?? I swapped bodies with Rain!! Unbelievable!"
"How is that? Has my claim been proven?"
The body-swapped Claire and Rain looked deeply troubled. Iris also seed quite surprised.
"I see. This is indeed a very serious matter. We will investigate imdiately! By the way... when will this wear off?"
I pretended to examine the necklace and said,
"Hmm... judging by the amount of mana, it should last about a day. It should automatically return to normal after a day."
"Phew... that's a relief. Who would dare do such a thing? By the way, Sir Tae-jin, how do you know about this necklace?"
I was wondering when this question would co. I gave an excuse I had prepared in advance.
"That is because I am also a magical tool artisan with a great interest in sacred treasures. As such, I have the ability to analyze sacred treasures and magical tools."
"Oh~ I see."
It was a sowhat flimsy excuse, even to , but as is often the case with Konosuba characters, they seed to accept it without much question.
"At any rate, I will keep this necklace. If the culprit learns they have been exposed, they might try to recite the incantation imdiately."
"But if you do that, won't you, Sir Tae-jin, also be in danger?"
"Don't worry. A sacred treasure of this level is not enough to take over my body."
"Is that so? Then may we test it?"
"Go ahead."
Claire, now in Rain's body, recited the incantation again, but the necklace only glowed briefly. Due to my [Status Ailnt Immunity] ability, my body did not swap.
"It's true. Then, I will entrust the necklace to you. Once we return to our original bodies, we will need to begin the investigation imdiately."
"Understood."
With this, the plot of Aldap, one of Konosuba's villains and a great noble, seed to have been thwarted to so extent. In fact, that necklace was one of the sacred treasures Aldap had obtained.
Even Eris was trying to retrieve it due to its danger. After a day, the bodies would normally return to normal, but if the person you swapped with died, you would remain permanently in that body without returning.
So, Aldap had used that to try to swap bodies with Iris's brother, Prince Jatis of Belzerg, by offering him the necklace and waiting for an opportunity. Fortunately, Jatis gave the necklace to his sister Iris as a gift, and it ended up in her possession.
In the original story, Kazuma steals the necklace and gives it to Eris, thwarting Aldap's plan. But I intended to twist that and make it official, driving Aldap into a corner. I didn't know how powerful Maxwell, the demon Aldap had contracted with, was, but I judged that it wouldn't be easy for him this ti.
Thus, Yunyun and I remained at the Royal Palace as key witnesses. I asked Princess Iris for permission, went to Axel Village to inform Luna and Kazuma of the situation, and then returned to the Royal Castle.
While the investigation was ongoing, Yunyun and I used the Royal Palace as a base and took Guild quests. Claire said it was unacceptable since we were key witnesses, but I sohow managed to persuade her, and we were able to take quests. Honestly, experience points were more important to than Aldap.
We spent several days taking quests like that. Then, many of the palace maids began frantically preparing all sorts of things.
"Hmm? What's going on?"
"Sir Tae-jin, we have received word that Prince Jatis is returning to the palace."
"Ah~ I see."
As I thought, things seed to have gotten very big. Regardless, Yunyun and I did our quests diligently that day as well. Over the past several days, I had gone up 3 more levels, reaching level 41, and Yunyun had gone up 7 more levels, reaching level 39. We had been working very hard.
Additionally, I was lucky enough to defeat an Archwizard who had beco a Lich, obtaining [(A) Konosuba Advanced Magic], [(B) Explosion Magic], and [(A) Detonation Magic]. [(D) Konosuba Low-Level Magic] and [(C) Konosuba Interdiate Magic] each rose in rank to C and B respectively.
Unfortunately, [Explosion Magic] did not increase, probably because the Lich hadn't learned it.
The next day, Prince Jatis, who had arrived at the palace, and Princess Iris called for us. Yunyun and I imdiately went to them and greeted the Prince and Princess respectfully.
"So you are the Silver Flash. I heard you discerned the danger of the necklace. Can you show a demonstration?"
The Prince was a quite handso young man of about 18 with blonde hair. I did as he asked and perford the demonstration as before. This ti, to verify the truth, the Prince secretly set a password with Claire and told her, and Iris secretly set a password with Rain and told her. This was to confirm the body swap.
"Then, I will begin. Yours is mine, mine is yours. Beco you~!"
This ti as well, the necklace flashed, their bodies swapped, and they each spoke their passwords to Iris and the Prince using their swapped bodies.
"Oh my, it's true."
"Your Highness, I believe the culprit intended to swap bodies with you and usurp the throne."
Claire stated her opinion gravely. The Prince, also looking serious, slamd his chair, stood up, and shouted,
"Capture Aldap imdiately!!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Knight Commander, who had been watching everything, led the knights outside. The Prince, holding his head as if it ached, sat back down in his chair and said to Yunyun and ,
"You have saved the kingdom. Do you have any request?"
"What I want is the kingdom's cooperation."
The Prince, puzzled, asked again,
"Hmm? Why is that?"
"When I fought the Demon King's army at the Royal Capital before, I was refused because I was under level 30. I wish for that not to happen again."
"I see."
I asked the Prince for a free pass to the kingdom. The Prince then took a dal symbolizing royalty from his pocket and handed it to .
"With this, you can go anywhere in our kingdom, participate in any battle, and if you ask the knights or nobles for cooperation, they will always comply. Actually, this requires my father's permission, but for a ritorious subject such as yourself, I'm sure he will understand."
"Thank you."
"And I heard that you are strong enough to capture a Demon King's general. Would you be interested in working under ?"
The Prince tried to recruit . But I refused imdiately. There was no benefit.
"I still want to travel to many places."
"I see. That can't be helped. But if you ever change your mind, let know."
"Understood."
In addition to the free pass dal, the Prince also gave us 100 million eris as a reward. Yunyun and I split it equally. Yunyun didn't want to accept it, but I forced her to take it.
The next day, I heard that despite the kingdom's knights storming in, Aldap had packed up his belongings and fled in a carriage. The Prince held the Knight Commander responsible, but the Knight Commander only repeated, 'Aldap is innocent'.
Fortunately, the Prince, perhaps hardened by long experience on the battlefield, suspected demonic influence imdiately. He summoned priests of Eris to treat the knights and placed a large bounty on Aldap.
Impressive. The power to manipulate mories...
Maxwell, the demon Aldap had contracted with, had the grandiose title of 'the power to twist truth', but simply put, he was a demon with the 'power to manipulate mories'.
I would have liked to obtain it, but according to Konosuba's setting, demons have their main bodies in Hell. So while it might be possible to destroy the demons that manifest in the world, you couldn't completely kill them, making it pointless.
After the bounty was placed on Aldap, we were finally able to leave the Royal Palace and return to Axel Village. When we arrived ho, I didn't see Darkness, so I asked Kazuma.
"Kazuma, where's Darkness?"
"Ah, Darkness went ho. The noble who ruled over Axel was charged with treason and fled, so Darkness's father has been appointed as the new lord of Axel Village. She went to help him out for a while."
"I see."
"So, I was wondering, could you take so quests with us? Sohow, without Darkness, we end up only hunting Giant Toads."
"Yeah, sure. Let's do that."
Reviews
All reviews (0)