svetikya #302 - It is very difficult to control the force of the ant without stepping on it.
#302 - It is very difficult to control the force of the ant without stepping on it.
The banquet ended.
Zun Zun refused Claire's request to stay, citing concerns for Satou and Kazuma's safety, and left the castle under Claire's strange gaze.
Could that guy think I'm eagerly rushing back to do something scandalous?
Although, that's not entirely wrong.
But there's still a slight difference.
In the night-veiled royal capital, Zun Zun and Chris were heading towards the royal palace.
Tonight was the best opportunity to infiltrate the royal palace. Because of the overwhelming victory against the Demon King's army, people's vigilance would be particularly low on such a day.
Besides, there was also the matter of Zun Zun having sent a pre-emptive notice.
"Hey, Zun Zun."
Chris stood beneath the city wall, saying somewhat timidly, "Are we really going to force our way in? I'm a bit uneasy."
"What are you talking about, Chris?" Zun Zun said with his arms crossed, "Didn't we agree that you'd listen to me this time? Besides, I've already been considerate of your feelings by not stealing the necklace at the venue."
"That's not stealing, it's robbing!"
Originally, Zun Zun planned to make a stunning appearance at the climax of the banquet, then elegantly take the necklace worn by Alice amidst the chaos.
But Chris refused at all costs.
"Listen carefully, Zun Zun, we are thieves, not robbers. We would never do such a thing. And if we were to publicly snatch Princess Alice's necklace, we would be wanted by the kingdom!"
"Wouldn't we be wanted anyway if we did this?"
"That's different!"
She was a little too agitated.
Zun Zun didn't think he would really be wanted or anything. After all, this was an internal entertainment activity for the thief group, and with Alice's help, there probably wouldn't be any worries.
But Chris was too timid.
"Fine, I'll just have to compromise and steal it in broad daylight."
"Listen to yourself, are you even making sense?"
Chris rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of which, Zun Zun, why can't I see your face clearly? Are you using some kind of magic?"
"That's right, a little trick of cognitive impairment."
A small trick using dark elemental spirits, capable of shielding others' detection and searches. It's quite effective for concealing identity.
Chris, on the other hand, physically covered her entire face with a black cloth. Combined with the plain black night clothes she was wearing, standing next to Zun Zun in his gorgeous white suit, she actually gave off the feeling of being a henchman.
"Boss..."
"You're the boss this time."
Probably because she lost at rock-paper-scissors, she gave up the initiative. Whether it was because she didn't want to be in the limelight and get targeted, or because she thought Zun Zun was familiar with the royal palace, in any case, Chris indicated that she would follow Zun Zun's lead.
"Okay, in that case, just read my expression when the time comes."
"...I can't see your face."
The two avoided the main gate guarded by soldiers and went around to the city wall of the royal city.
"Then the first obstacle is..."
Chris looked at the city wall, which was as high as three stories, and signaled with her eyes for Zun Zun to take her up. So Zun Zun placed his hand on her slender waist, and then... as if carrying a sack, he walked step by step on the wall.
"Shouldn't this be a princess carry?"
"I must decline that. I have no desire for that sort of thing with a 'boy' who has no undulations."
Zun Zun casually brushed off the somewhat angry Chris, put his hand on his forehead, and looked out at the royal city.
It was probably around 1 or 2 in the morning now. The rooms in the royal city had already been darkened, and there was no sound at all.
"There's nothing unusual in the royal city? That's strange."
"What is it? Isn't it good that there's nothing unusual?"
Meeting Chris's questioning gaze, Zun Zun observed his surroundings while explaining the reason to her.
"I sent a pre-emptive notice first. You know, a letter appearing silently in Princess Alice's room, even if they didn't deploy heavy guards, there should at least be patrolling soldiers. Yet the entire royal city is silent. It might be a trap."
"A trap!? Then let's just forget about tonight. We can get the necklace tomorrow or the day after, can't we?"
Chris chickened out.
As a mere thief, if she were surrounded by a large number of level 30+ soldiers, even the incarnation of a goddess would find it difficult to escape.
"What a joke."
Zun Zun rolled his eyes, "I've already issued a pre-emptive notice. Running away now would damage the reputation of the Heart Thief Group!"
"Then I'll just quit this thief group."
Chris said something even more absurd. She was the founder of the thief group. What was she doing quitting at this time?
In the end, the two still infiltrated the royal palace.
Passing through the courtyard to the royal palace, Chris easily opened the lock, almost too easily.
The two continued to move forward in the dark.
So far, they hadn't seen any soldiers patrolling the city, which could be attributed to luck, but more likely meant that there was a bigger trap waiting for them.
"Boss, I want to go to the treasure vault first."
"Why?"
"Didn't I say before that there were two divine artifacts that ended up in the royal capital? That artifact that can control monsters might also be in this castle."
"No, that artifact isn't here."
Under Chris's strange expression, Zun Zun shook his head and said, "I went there today."
Then he told Chris about how he was rewarded with the opportunity to choose something from the treasure vault for repelling the Demon King's army.
She seemed very interested in this matter.
"So, what did you take?"
"The Little Shaky Book."
"Huh?"
"Didn't I make it clear? It's the Little Shaky Book."
No, no, no.
It wasn't that he didn't speak clearly, but that she found it incredibly unbelievable that he chose the Little Shaky Book.
"You really don't understand, Chris. Divine artifacts are powerful, but they're practically a dime a dozen in this world. Besides, a divine artifact that doesn't belong to you can't exert even a tenth of its original power. Speaking of rarity, the Little Shaky Book is obviously rarer, right?"
Eh, eh?
Chris's mind was a little muddled.
Although she knew something was wrong, she couldn't find a reason to refute it and could only assume it was sophistry.
They arrived on the second floor.
The deep, dark corridor, without any light, faintly exuded a dangerous aura.
This was a long and wide corridor.
Each floor of the royal city had such a main corridor, connecting the various rooms on the floor and leading to the upper and lower floors... At the same time, it was also the only way to Alice's room.
"Boss."
"Ah, I know."
Signaling that it was okay, Zun Zun's lips curled up as he slowly walked through the dark corridor, and when he walked halfway—
Whoosh!
The light emitted by the magic stone lamp instantly illuminated the entire corridor, and the noisy sound of footsteps came from all directions. In the blink of an eye, Zun Zun and Chris were surrounded by a group of people in the middle.
"Tch."
Chris clicked her tongue. It was a trap after all.
"Surrender, intruders! If you don't resist, I might spare your lives!"
Claire walked out from the crowd, her face with a look of smugness and arrogance, like a high noble towards the lowest criminal, making a dignified sentence.
No, now Zun Zun and the others were criminals.
"I'm really being underestimated. You sent this pre-emptive notice, right?"
Claire took out a letter from her bosom.
"'After the Sword of Damocles falls, when the celebration ends and the blue-white moon hangs high'; it speaks of the time, which is now.
I will descend on the most romantic castle spire to visit the noblest smile'; it speaks of the location, which is Princess Alice's bedroom.
And the last sentence... 'This is a rendezvous of bodies. Please allow me to steal your heart'... You dare to express your love to Lady Alice! Unforgivable!"
"That's not it!"
She thought she had solved the riddle. Zun Zun was quite happy, but in the end, it was a misunderstanding?
However, Zun Zun was being a little too vague.
The last was the item.
The necklace that could exchange bodies.
Time, location, item, this pre-emptive notice was clearly Zun Zun's masterpiece, but in the end, it was explained with such a distorted fact.
Zun Zun casually glanced around. Other than Rein, there were no mages present.
"You guessed our purpose, so you laid an ambush in advance, planning to use a human wave tactic... But it's strange, you knew we were coming, but there aren't any powerful adventurers guarding this place?"
"We don't need powerful adventurers to deal with you!"
"I see, it's arrogance."
"Arrogant is your side! Breaking into the royal palace at night and sending a pre-emptive notice in advance... You will definitely receive the punishment you deserve!"
Under Claire's command, the knights who had already drawn their swords were approaching step by step. They all had a confident expression on their faces.
With so many people surrounding them, even the most powerful person couldn't possibly escape. The outcome was clearly decided.
Zun Zun sighed.
"Please make way."
"Ah!? Do you think we'll obediently make way just because you said so? You two intruders! If you want to surrender, do it now, or you might have a chance to save your lives! Okay, surrender obediently..."
The leading knight said this, but was quickly frightened by the two terrifying red lights that appeared on Zun Zun's blurred face.
"You've got one thing wrong."
"...Wh-what?"
"Remember, this isn't a request, but—"
Zun Zun slowly took a step forward.
"An order."
In an instant, countless guards and knights fell to the ground like harvested wheat, groaning in pain at the same time.
"I-impossible..."
"How could this be?"
"I-I feel so bad!"
They covered their chests and heads, as if they were in an abnormal state. No matter how much they struggled, they could only roll and crawl on the ground.
Claire and Rein clearly wanted to do something, but like the others, they fell to the ground in pain and could not get up.
The characteristic of spirits.
When connected to spirits, various negative states will occur, and even those with extremely high affinity for spirits cannot escape.
It was the same ability that caused Natsuki Subaru to fall into the spirit disorder symptoms when Julius was careless.
Looking at Claire, who was struggling and trying to get up with a grimace, Zun Zun said softly, "Please lie down obediently. After all... It's hard to control the force when passing over ants without stepping on them."
Then he walked past her leisurely.