The pursuit of us, who had safely escaped from the Kingdom’s army and entered Holy Suroun State, lost its intensity at once.
However, this did not mean that they did not do anything to us. Instead of resorting to direct violence, the ratio of bribes and honey traps increased dramatically.
However, once in the country, it would take two weeks to get to Ekrill, and most of that time would be spent traveling. When we stayed in a town along the way, the beautiful men and women and the merchants who came to the town at the right moment crushed each other to keep them in check, and as a result, we made it to the town without much trouble.
“We’ll leave here.”
We got off the coach and were only a short distance from the town gate. Then suddenly, Palm spoke up, and we all looked at the prized young lady.
“What, you’re not going in?”
“Yes. I don’t think I’ll have a chance to rob Toby-sama now that we have come this far. We will just have to take it from the temple.”
“Hahaha, you won’t give up robbing it, will you?”
“Of course! I have no doubt in my mind that I am the one who deserves the treasure. But are you sure about this? Even if it is a great temple in a country that claims to be neutral, there are certainly those who are blinded by power, are there not?”
“That’s… true but there’s no other suitable place.”
At Palm’s words, Toby smiled weakly.
“If it’s just to keep it out of people’s hands, I could probably just dump it in the ocean, but that’s likely to leak power before you know it. … But then again, if I destroy it, you don’t know what might happen. In that case, His Majesty’s decision was that it would be most reliable to seal and monitor the area with human hands, even if some uneasiness remained.”
‘Well, it’s not wrong, … but wouldn’t it be the same if I kept it in my possession and manage it?’
“No, there’s a difference between a permanent neutral independent state and a bounty hunter’s hideout.”
“Well, Ed-sama is inelegant.”
“Saying the truth is inelegant.”
I shrugged my shoulders and Palm’s lips twitched in dissatisfaction.
“I think gentlemen should be more open-minded, don’t you? Well then, Good day, everyone.”
“Excuse us.”
After saying this and bowing, Palm and the others left more easily than I had expected. Toby’s face as he looked away looked somewhat sad.
“What, are you lonely by any chance?”
“… honestly, just a little bit.”
“Even though they were bounty hunters, they were together the whole time. I don’t know how I feel…” He added,
“You have to change your mind here. Come on, let’s go.”
“Yes, That’s right”
Toby, who had regained his smile, replied to my and Tia’s words. We entered the town of Ekrill again and immediately went to the temple, but were told that it was not possible for them to respond immediately, so we just made a reservation and stayed at an inn that day.
“This is a letter from His Majesty. Please confirm.”
Toby handed the letter made of fine paper to the female priestess who came out to respond. The priestess who received the letter opened it without hesitation, looked at its contents, and spoke to Toby again.
“I have certainly confirmed it. Then, could you hand over the box containing the ‘Heart of the Demon Lord’ to me?”
“Eh!? No, I’d like to give it directly to the high priest…”
“Even if you say so, we cannot give it to the High Priest until we have examined the actual object. It would be a great inconvenience if the High Priest were to be put in direct danger.”
“Ah, That is certainly true, but I showed you the letter from His Majesty the King, didn’t I? Doesn’t that give you any assurance?”
“The letter was written more than six months ago, wasn’t it? How can you deny the possibility that the seal on the box has deteriorated in such a short period of time? Only after we examine it ourselves can we deliver it to the High Priest.”
“I understand, I understand, okay? Then how about at least having the High Priest come over here and then we can check it out?”
“Hah …… So irritating.”
The discussion between the hooded priestess and Toby was endlessly deadlocked. The priestess sighed at the lack of progress and unexpectedly approached Toby and quickly put her mouth over his.
“Mugg!?”
“Wha-What!?”
Toby stiffened in surprise, and a startled Tia covered her face with her hands while looking through the gaps between her fingers. A smile of satisfaction appeared on the priestess puckered little lips, and in her hand she held the metal box that Toby had been holding.
“… Huh!? Wha-what!?”
“Fufufu, is that the price you want? Toby-sama?”
“What, that voice, don’t tell me it’s….!?”
“Hohohohoh!”
She quickly removed her robe and there appeared Palm, whom we had just parted with yesterday. I quickly ran up to the triumphant figure, and in its path stood an elderly man dressed in a butler’s uniform.
“Hold it, I won’t let you go!”
“Tch, you did come! Tia!
“Sorry, it’s impossible here”
I confronted Claude, but Tia frowned at my words and said. Inside the temple, the walls and floors were all made of beautifully polished stone, and I guess it was impossible to activate the binding magic here like in the forest.
“Everything is just as I calculated! So, good-bye this time!”
“Farewell!
“Ah, oi! Talk more nonsense!”
Without uttering a word about how they had impersonated priests or how they had changed their voices, which a typical scoundrel would have been proud to talk about, they, having achieved their goal, were running away from the place at a breakneck pace. As I watched them go, Toby, who had been looking on in amazement, belatedly made a commotion.
“Hey, hey, hey!? What are we going to do, Ed-san!? The Demon Lord’s heart has been stolen…!?”
“First of all, calm down, Toby. It’s fine.”
“What do you mean, “It’s fine”? I’ve come this far and it’s been stolen!”
“Certainly, it was stolen. So, here.”
I pulled out the metal box from the bag at my waist and handed it to Toby. Toby was so confused by this impossible scene that he looked at me and the box alternately and repeatedly at great speed.
“!?!?! Huh? Huh?! What is this!?”
“What is it, it’s a box containing the ‘Demon Lord’s Heart’. You know it, right?”
“I know that! Eh, did you take it back in that instant!?”
“No, not that. I switched it out with a fake from the beginning, just in case something like this ever happened.”
“Whaaaaa!?!?!?”
On the day we were attacked by the imperial soldiers, I pretended to put the real one I borrowed from Toby in my bag and put it away in my [Stranger Box]and then I returned the fake one I made by [Copy and Fake]. In short, it was a secret even to Toby himself, and I kept the real thing in a place where it would never be stolen.
If you want to fool your enemies, start with your allies. It seems that the poison, which was kept hidden until the very end, worked at the best time. Well, I told Tia about it last night.
“I knew that at some point the Palm and him would try something, so I prepared for it. Oh, and I also prepared this so we can finish sealing it before they come back and realize they’ve been duped, shall we?”
“Even the letter!?”
As for the letter, it was duplicated while Toby and the others were talking. This one was a fake, of course, but the fact that it looked the same was enough for a letter, and more importantly, the content of the letter itself was definitely from the king, so there was no problem.
“Hey Toby, isn’t this your last job? Get another priest and have him handle it properly this time”
“Well, yeah… Ah, what is this, my head is a mess…”
Perhaps because too many things happened at once, Toby, dizzy, stopped the priest walking in the distance again to talk to him. A little further away from Toby, Tia spoke softly to me.
“You’ve done something evil.”
“I can’t help it. I couldn’t even tell the truth.”
Regardless of the exchange we just had, Toby will definitely have to give up the box at some point. And if the threat of Palm was not eliminated at that time, there was still a possibility that it could be taken from us out of our sight.
In order to prevent that from happening, we needed to get Palm to take the fake at this stage and finish the whole process before it was discovered to be a fake. That is why I couldn’t just tell Toby the truth in order to eliminate even the slightest doubt.
(Still, it remains to be seen how much time we can buy. … Well, we’ll figure out the rest.)
Even if they had prepared the means to infiltrate here in advance, it was hard to believe that they would be able to use it twice in a row in such a short period of time. Even while knowing the importance of the “Heart of the Demon Lord” and the information about the bandits who were after it,…, I’ll applaud them if they manage to take it from us.
“Ed-san, Tia-san! The High Priest will be here soon!”
“Oh, okay! Come on, Tia.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Tia and I looked at each other and slowly walked over to Toby’s side. The end of our work and our eternal separation was almost upon us.