As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 132 – The Second Princess

“Hoh, I see. I can be motivated if there’s a proper reward.” (Bouchi)
“That’s splendid. But if possible, I would like you to meet with a certain person if you are willing.” (Rajie)
“You mean the person who informed you about the inner workings of the Empire?” (Bouchi)
“Yes. Are there any problems with that? (Rajie)
“No, it’s fine. I’ve already cast my lot with you. I don’t have any intentions to mess around.” (Bouchi)
If it really got dangerous, I could just get out of there as fast as possible. I had to be ready for at least that much.

The carriage, which had been heading towards the entrance of the city, took a turn into a narrow alley.

I donned the robe that Rajie prepared for me, which covered my entire body. It seemed that there was a chance of unwelcome, prying eyes observing from somewhere.

Rajie also covered himself in a similar robe as we stopped in front of a building with a carriage in front of it.

We ended up in a dark alley, devoid of any signs of human activity. There were several buildings lined up in a row, but the destination seemed to be the private residence in front of us.

I hopped off the carriage with Rajie, and the carriage drove away, leaving Rajie and I standing there. We approached the private residence, and Rajie knocked on the door five times in a deliberate, uniform rhythm.

Five knocks with the same rhythm could be heard from the other side in return.

Rajie similarly knocked five times once more, and—

“―May our azure souls?”
From the other side of the door, words of unknown meaning were spoken.

“―Receive the blessing of Ortena.” (Rajie)
After Rajie recited this, the clanking of the door being unlocked could be heard. Then, the door swung open slowly.

This whole sequence appeared to be a password that only they knew. It seemed to be careful and deliberate.

Rajie and I stepped through the opened door. Immediately upon entering, I noticed a woman in a maid outfit standing near the door. She looked surprised to see us, but she quickly straightened her posture and turned to face the door. She seemed to be some kind of gatekeeper, or rather, a doorkeeper.

The interior design was commonplace, as if the same furnishings could be found anywhere. It gave off no impressions of being a place where a person whom Rajie held in high regard would live.

Nonetheless, I kept silent and followed after Rajie as we proceeded deeper into the residence. We followed a corridor and reached the end, stopping in front of a door. There was yet another maid in front of this door.

When the maid saw me, she made the same surprised look as the previous maid before turning her gaze to Rajie.

“Rajie-sama, we cannot bring in an outsider without a prior report.” (Maid)
“Hohoho, relax. This person is a powerful ally of ours.” (Rajie)
“But…” (Maid)
“In any case, please inform her that I wish for an audience.” (Rajie)
“…….I understand.” (Maid)
The maid reluctantly bowed, then opened the door and went inside.

After waiting for a while, the door opened and the maid reappeared.

“Your request for an audience has been granted. Please enter.” (Maid)
“Mm, I appreciate it.” (Rajie)
Rajie led the way in, and I entered after him.

As soon as we stepped into the room—

“—So you’ve returned, Rajie-sama.”
Very much out of theme with the interior of the residence, there was a girl in an immaculate white dress sitting there, looking very much the part of a closeted maiden.

Suddenly, Rajie knelt down and uttered a shocking revelation.

“My sincerest apologies for the delay—Noalia-sama.” (Rajie)
Noalia…sama? Why the ‘sama’ honorific? No, wasn’t Noalia…?

When I heard that name, everything suddenly fell into place. If I wasn’t mistaken, that person was…

“So that person will be a reliable ally, yes?” (Noalia)
The girl posed a question to Rajie after taking one glance at me. There was a single maid standing deferentially at her side, who for some reason had two swords on her back. I felt an intense sense of discomfort from that maid, but the girl was of more importance right now.

“Yes. As you can see, he is not a garbel. Moreover… he is a resident of this world.” (Rajie)
“This….world?” (Noalia)
Rajie then informed her that this was a different world. Naturally, the girl and the maid exchanged a glance in disbelief, but perhaps because of their trust in Rajie, they quickly accepted it as a fact.

“But not much time has passed at all since we were transported to this world, then. How were you able to establish a connection with such a person?” (Noalia)
Hearing her question, Rajie proceeded to explain about me.

“―I see. So that’s what happened.” (Noalia)
Then the girl stood up from her chair and turned her whole body to face me.

“Please forgive me for my delayed introduction. I am Noalia Ohr White Finiarte Elrond—the second princess of the Elrond Empire.” (Noalia)
I knew it… I thought to myself, unconsciously swallowing my saliva.

I had heard that name from Rajie. But there was something else that bothered me.

“…I’m Hiro. Bouchi Hiro.”
“Hiro-sama, then. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” (Noalia)
I found her quite agreeable, seeing her willing to give a polite bow even to someone of unknown origin like me.

“…Old man, didn’t you tell me that the second princess had left the Empire and gone on an expedition?” (Bouchi)
That was indeed what he told me at the time.

“Sorry, I lied. But I did confess to you that everything I told you was true, except for one thing.” (Rajie)
Huh? That’s… no, he did say that, actually.

‘But unfortunately, everything I told you so far was true. Except for one thing.’

It bothered me that he had confessed to lying about one thing, but I let it slide at the time because he said it wasn’t directly relevant at the moment.

“I see. In other words, the second princess was in the Empire from the very beginning, huh?” (Bouchi)
“Precisely. In truth, the plan was to take advantage of the ongoing war to take back Nike-sama. I had Noalia-sama hide here shortly before the war broke out. If the allied forces found her, they would obviously capture her.” (Rajie)
Apparently, right when the allied forces marched into the Empire, she and Rajie had gone to the place where Nike was being held captive.

“We ended up catching wind of the appearance of the Curseweaver, so we couldn’t afford to make any rash moves for the moment. But while we were still confirming the fact, the war quickly came to an end. Our thoughts were that Chancellor Vodara would continue his vain struggle, which would prolong the war, but he ended up disappearing along with the Curseweaver. The allied forces won almost immediately after that.” (Rajie)
Rajie’s intentions seemed to be to rescue Nike while Vodara was making his last stand, when all the allied forces’ gazes would be focused on him. But because Vodara abandoned the Empire and fled, the battle had ended earlier than they expected, and there wasn’t enough time to rescue Nike.

“I see. I understand why you tried to move in the middle of the war. But what I’m curious about… is the second princess.” (Bouchi)
“Me, you say?” (Noalia)
Noalia tilted her head and looked at me with a puzzled expression. However, someone else cut into the conversation.

“You… I’ve been listening to you for a while now, but Her Majesty is the princess of this nation, you know? How dare you be so rude?” the maid who was standing by Noalia’s side said as she glared at me sharply.

“Sorry, but her being a princess has nothing to do with me.” (Bouchi)
“What did you just say?” (Maid)
The maid moved her hand to the handle of one of the swords she was carrying on her back.

“It’s alright, D’esta.” (Noalia)
“But princess!” (D’esta)
“To this person, we are the outsiders. It would be foolish for us to wield our authority in a world that isn’t ours, no?” (Noalia)
“That’s… My apologies. I was impertinent.” (D’esta)
She quietly stepped aside and made herself scarce. However, her wariness towards me didn’t fade one bit.

Well, it wasn’t strange for her to act the way she was. After all, they were suddenly transported to an unfamiliar, foreign world, and then an otherworlder like me suddenly appeared right in the depths of their hiding place.

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