Fled Without Realizing I Had Prevented the Apocalypse

After Princess Arlea’s shocking declaration, we all returned to the inn operated by Beatrice’s merchant guild.
Upon our return, as if waiting for us, the branch manager guided us to the best room in the inn.
This was because Beatrice had instructed the guild master to take care of my treatment.
Moreover, the moment the branch manager realized through the guild’s information network that First Princess Arlea was with our group, his waist bent almost 90 degrees.
Although information would have spread now that Princess Arlea had revealed herself, the fact that she was staying at an inn operated by the guild meant that the guild would have exclusive information about the princess, even if only for a short while.
The position of branch manager for one of the Empire’s 5 Great Merchant Guilds isn’t given lightly, so he would surely ensure Princess Arlea’s current location and personal protection.
“So, let’s discuss our future plans.”
After giving Princess Arlea a separate room, Sergeant Lucas and I entered another room.
There was the obvious reason that men and women couldn’t share a room, but the main purpose was to discuss future plans.
“Um, is it okay to have this conversation in the room right next door…”
After roughly tossing the still unconscious Lieutenant Melen onto the bed, Lucas looked at the wall connecting to the next room with a worried expression.
“Isn’t it standard for the Intelligence Department to install eavesdropping prevention devices?”
“That’s true, but… We’ve been educated that sometimes high-ranking superhumans can ignore even these.”
“Ah…”
I think I know who taught them that.
Certainly, that education isn’t wrong.

Eavesdropping prevention devices basically spread a barrier of magic power around the outside of the room where the device is installed, through magic formulas built into the device.
Usually, no matter how excellent one’s senses are, they can’t penetrate a barrier made of magic power, but in the case of superhumans who transcend humanity, their sensory precision becomes incredibly high, so occasionally there are cases where they break through the barrier and hear sounds from inside the room.
We don’t need to look far; even Scarlet can penetrate such barriers and eavesdrop on our voices.
In that sense, Lucas’s concern isn’t wrong, but…

“If such a thing were possible for all superhumans, the Empire’s Intelligence Department wouldn’t have existed in the first place.”
If eavesdropping were that easy, a single superhuman would have stolen all the information in the Intelligence Department from the start.
However, the Empire isn’t that careless.
One might think that it’s simply a matter of breaking through a barrier made of magic power and eavesdropping, but there’s one condition attached to this.
It must be done purely with physical abilities, without enhancing hearing with magic power.
If one tries to break through the barrier while enhancing hearing with magic power, the device detecting this would immediately sound an alarm.
On the other hand, if one tries to break through with just the given physical body, it requires at least 6th rank, and even then, only physically-oriented superhumans who have trained their bodies to the extreme can do this.
However, although Princess Arlea may have trained her body, she’s not 6th rank, and her ears are just a bit sharper, so we don’t need to worry about being eavesdropped on.
“So, what does the Intelligence Department intend to do?”
“When you ask what we intend to do…”
“Do you plan to report to the higher-ups as per her request?”
She wants to cooperate in capturing Kyle Amillan.
She’s willing to cooperate with the Empire with all the information she knows about Kyle Amillan to capture him.
Princess Arlea said that after saying this, she wanted her request to be sent up to the higher-ups through the Intelligence Department or Special Forces.
Since they can’t not relay the princess’s words to the higher-ups anyway, she was probably just adding her request alongside…
“The talk of killing is a bit concerning.”
Lucas made an uneasy expression and glanced slightly to the side.
“Cooperating to capture Kyle Amillan would certainly be helpful for the Empire, but saying she’ll kill him…”
“Do you think Kyle Amillan shouldn’t be killed?”
“…Honestly, yes.”

Seeing Lucas’s unexpected response to my probing question, I barely managed to hide my expression.
I’m the one who committed an act close to treason in the Empire and ran away.
Just defending such a person could potentially be punished as a crime bordering on treason.
However, the man before me didn’t do that and stuck to his own opinion.
Of course, we’ll gradually discuss the rashness of uttering such words in front of the Special Forces, but for now, it’s certainly pleasing to hear from the person involved.
As a reward, should I make a judgment on his behalf?
“I don’t know why you think that way, but if that’s what you think, report it to the higher-ups. Everything the First Princess said, without changing a single letter.”
“But I hope Kyle Amillan doesn’t die, so why report everything…?”
“You’ll understand when you do it.”
Then it’s a way to save me, which I know best.
Lucas looked at me with a slightly disgruntled expression before nodding, and that night he immediately sent a report about Princess Arlea to the higher-ups.
And the next morning.
“Kyle, a reply has come from the higher-ups.”
“What did they say?”
“Escort the VIP to the capital. The approval or denial of the proposal will be decided in the capital.”
A short and concise sentence.

However, from the timing of the reply from the higher-ups and the tone evident in the sentence, I could sense how eagerly those above wanted to handle the princess’s matter quickly.
The Empire’s work processing is usually slow unless it’s extremely urgent.
It’s not that the Empire’s personnel work lazily, but rather an issue with the analog work system.
Unless it’s a considerably important matter, it’s processed after sufficient consensus from below.
The fact that work is being processed quickly means that someone with enough power to bypass consensus has directly intervened.
And there are only a few people in the Empire with such power.
If it’s power enough to make a decision in less than a day, probably…
“This is the first time I’ve seen a case processed this quickly.”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Sergeant Lucas read the document with surprised eyes beside me.
“I guess that shows how much importance they place on this matter.”
Well, in fact, the First Princess has somewhat provoked the Empire’s side.
Although saying she’ll kill someone who was originally the Empire’s First Star isn’t a big deal at this point when an arrest warrant has already been issued, the problem is what she said before that.
‘Citizen of the Kingdom of Raziel.’
This phrase, which she clearly mentioned deliberately, reveals that Kyle Amillan, that is, I, was a citizen of the Kingdom of Raziel.
Although the Kingdom of Raziel has perished, since I was a citizen of the Kingdom of Raziel, the achievements I’ve made also originated from the Kingdom of Raziel.
To be honest, it’s just wordplay, but considering that even such small wordplay can change the interests between countries, it’s not something to be taken lightly.
And the Empire is a neighborhood of people who light up their eyes and rush in the moment someone tries to take what’s theirs.
Naturally, whether the First Princess intended it or not, this opinion of hers would have felt like a kind of provocation to the Empire.
“They’re not the type to just let this slide.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
After vaguely answering Lucas’s question, I left the room and briefly recalled the person with enough power to make such a decision in one breath, then quickly turned my head.
Although I’ve been spreading my perception to monitor what Princess Arlea has been doing, her presence, which was clearly detectable while she was moving around inside the room, has become completely undetectable since the moment she lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

It’s not like seeing with the eyes, but rather like a hazy smoke blocking the view.
If I couldn’t see from the beginning, it might be understandable, but for the perception to be blocked when she falls asleep is bizarre.
‘Come to think of it, it was the same when she approached me.’
Although I wasn’t surprised because I could clearly see her coming visually, unlike her concealed aura, her energy was definitely strange.
From the moment she first appeared until she opened her mouth, she couldn’t be detected by perception at all, as if surrounded by something, and then the moment she opened her mouth, her energy could be fully felt. Such an unpleasant sensation.
At first, it seemed like some artifact might be hidden on her body, but I couldn’t sense any hint of such a thing.
Moreover, the moment I tried to probe deeper, her energy bounced back with a sharp sense of rejection.
I frowned deeply, glanced at the room where Princess Arlea was sleeping, and then left the spot.
It seemed there would be a lot to prepare for tomorrow.

“Kill Kyle Amillan.”
“Kyle Amillan destroyed the kingdom.”
“Avenge us.”
Voices echoing in her head incessantly.
When she opens her eyes, she sees the ghosts of the King and Queen.
They always stand before her, thrusting their monstrous muzzles forward, urging the death of Kyle Amillan.
The voices she had heard every day without fail since suddenly falling into the southern part of the Empire from the perished Kingdom of Raziel.
Despite endlessly hearing the resentful wails of souls, the princess’s mind remains calm.
Rather, she seemed to have become even more composed.
Creeak.
The survivor bearing the ghosts of the vanished kingdom groped in the darkness and slowly pulled her beloved silver longbow.
Twang-!
As she released her grip, the bowstring vibrated with a clear sound.
The princess gazed down at the bow in her hand.
The bow named Moondeceiver for deceiving even the moon, emitting a light like the moon.
A divine weapon known to possess divinity itself, the final masterpiece created by the greatest master craftsman in the Kingdom of Raziel at the cost of his life.
Since hearing the master craftsman’s last words to persevere in her desires like an endless arrow, she had never used this bow carelessly.

And that remained unchanged even now, after the kingdom’s fall.
Because what she wanted was ultimately one thing.
She would persevere in her desire, as per the master craftsman’s last words.
“…I will kill Kyle Amillan.”
Even if it means piercing the heart of the mentor who once taught her.