Riser
patreon
26-17
🕑 Added 2025-04-27 01:26:37 +0000 UTCEP.17 The Captain of the Guard Appears!
"Groooan..."
A sound like a monster's scream escapes my mouth.
From lack of sleep, it really felt like my head was screaming.
"Where have you been wandering around to come back now?"
Nelson looks at me as if he can't believe it.
This was usually his role.
But it couldn't be helped.
I hadn't gotten proper sleep for two days straight.
"I'm going to sleep... leave me alone..."
"Even sneaking back into the barracks in that state takes some skill. Skill."
"I'm really about to die, so talk to me later..."
"I'd like to, but you've been summoned."
Just as I was about to lie down,
Nelson yanked away my blanket.
"...Give me back the blanket."
"If you don't go, I'll get punished."
"What kind of summons is this? I'll just be a little late and take the punishment. Otherwise, I really will die..."
"If it were just one of our superiors, maybe. But the one who called you is none other than the famous Captain of the Guard."
"What...?"
A sudden sense of dread washed over me.
There was certainly a reason for the captain to come looking.
The princess had said she'd assign me to an investigation with her.
"I gave a reasonable excuse for your absence, so you'd better go quickly."
"Damn it..."
I seriously considered my options.
Maybe she'd understand?
Since I was given the mission directly by the princess, maybe she'd let it slide if I was a bit late.
But reason quickly reached a cold conclusion.
"Ah... there's no way she'll let it slide..."
"Of course not. You think that cold captain would go easy on a soldier like you?"
The captain surely didn't know.
She had no idea what kind of night I spent with the princess.
She probably didn't even know what kind of relationship we had.
'Thinking about what the princess said, she'll probably just see me as an unusual soldier. No matter how much of a captain she is, the princess wouldn't tell her everything...'
In the end, there was only one answer.
If I just fell asleep now, there would be serious trouble.
"Nelson... let me sleep for 30 minutes, no matter what happens wake me up..."
Just as I tried to get a little sleep,
Nelson wasn't even looking at me.
Instead, he was staring at the door I'd come through.
Creak
"Ah..."
A beautiful woman with black hair entered through the door.
Even with my mind barely working, it was obvious who she was.
"Captain of the Guard..."
"I definitely summoned you, so why are you lying on your bed?"
The captain's brow furrowed.
But even that didn't diminish her beauty.
No wonder she was so famous for her looks.
"T-that... I just told him, so he was just about to get up!"
Nelson desperately made excuses for me.
I also had no choice but to force my tired body to stand up quickly.
"You look quite tired. You didn't have duty last night were you out playing?"
"No, ma'am..."
Bella's eyes grew even colder.
To her, I must have looked like a completely undisciplined soldier.
"It seems some punishment is in order."
"Excuse me...?"
"I heard the trouble last night was because you neglected your guard duty."
I instinctively glanced at Nelson.
But he looked just as clueless.
"You'll have to undergo an investigation for a few days to resolve this. And you, over there!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
At Bella's gesture, Nelson answered, completely intimidated.
"You've often been on duty together, haven't you? Prepare to be punished for neglecting your duties as well."
"T-that's..."
"Do you have any excuses?"
With pressure like that, no one could say anything.
The hierarchy was clear.
And, in truth, we had been neglectful on duty before.
"N-no, ma'am..."
"For now, both of you will be punished for neglecting your duties. But Private Eldric, your punishment will be harsher."
"...Understood."
"And the investigation isn't over yet. If any word of this leaks, you'd better be ready for the consequences."
At her chilling warning, Nelson shut his mouth.
Meanwhile, my spinning head finally started to think calmly.
'This... this is just a way to secretly summon me.'
It would probably be recorded as a punishment for neglect of duty.
No one cared about the punishment of a soldier like me.
The problem was, the timing couldn't have been worse.
"Ugh..."
"Don't just stand there, follow me!"
There was no way I could say I wanted to get some sleep first.
Especially not with Nelson right there.
'So my first meeting will be me showing up half-asleep...'
My reputation was already dropping in real time.
Clatter clatter
Inside the rattling carriage.
Eldric and Bella were riding together.
Anyone who recognized them would be surprised.
A soldier and the captain of the guard were not the type to ride together.
"Even disguised, I didn't expect someone so lacking in tension..."
Eldric was openly sleeping.
He completely ignored Bella's sharp gaze.
"What did the princess see in a man like this?"
It couldn't be helped.
He hadn't slept properly for two days.
But Bella couldn't have known that.
"Snore..."
"Hah...! Incredible..."
She couldn't watch any longer.
It had already been hours since they boarded the carriage.
"...Wake up."
Bella clenched her teeth and shook Eldric awake.
It was more like a forceful shove than a gentle nudge, but it did the job.
"Hmm... Where is this..."
"Get a hold of yourself, soldier. We're on a mission right now."
The murderous atmosphere was like a bucket of cold water.
Eldric quickly got his head together.
'Looks like I fell asleep... I remember putting on a disguise and sneaking onto the carriage, right?'
Not a good situation.
He'd made a terrible first impression on his mission partner
and one with much higher rank.
"I'm sorry."
"Since you were sleeping so soundly, I can't help but ask why."
Bella drew her sword from her belt.
A direct sign that her patience was at its limit.
"Seems you didn't sleep last night. Is there something more important than the princess's orders?"
The blade hovered at my neck.
It was clear this wasn't just a warning.
My instincts screamed at me.
'If I answer wrong, I'm in real trouble... and I still have to do what the princess asked...'
I needed to turn this around somehow.
At least, I needed to establish some equality.
It was a tough ask.
"Do you think I was just out partying?"
Eldric spoke in a serious tone, his voice still low from sleep.
"...Are you saying something important happened?"
"It was the princess's orders."
"..."
A silent exchange of looks.
Even in the tense atmosphere, Eldric didn't look away.
"...I see. I thought something was off. But managing yourself is important, too. If you show such a lack again, I won't forgive it."
It was a hastily made-up lie.
But with the princess's name involved, she couldn't doubt it.
At a subconscious level, even doubting it would feel disrespectful.
"I'm sorry I didn't explain. I was just so tired..."
The tense mood finally eased a little.
Of course, that didn't mean her opinion of me went up.
Bella still looked dissatisfied.
"We don't have time, so let's get to the point. Do you know where we're going?"
"No, not at all."
"We're going to the city of the Kabache noble. It's a place where illegal deals happen underground."
"Are we going to stop it?"
At Eldric's question, Bella shook her head and spoke with a displeased look.
"Such things can't all be cracked down on. There are parts even the lord can't control."
"So that means..."
"They say fallen nobles are being sold off, and even royal secrets are being leaked."
"So the Kabache noble is likely the culprit."
Bella didn't deny it.
Since it was his territory, suspicion was unavoidable.
But she couldn't be certain.
"I think it's likely. But we need more solid evidence. There could be other nobles involved besides Kabache."
"That's tough. It's not even an official investigation."
"That's why the princess told me to seek your advice. I... don't really understand why."
"Understood. But in exchange, you have to follow my advice completely."
It wasn't easy to say.
It was quite a rude request for the captain of the guard.
Even if it was the princess's order.
She barely suppressed her displeasure out of loyalty, and finally agreed.
"...Fine. Maybe you know more about these things than I do."
"We might have to infiltrate illegal places. Things like this don't happen in respectable venues."
"So you already have a plan?"
Eldric smiled, his gaze drifting to Bella's voluptuous body.
"Not a concrete plan yet."
He had another mission, too corrupting the captain of the guard.
The challenge only made his desire stronger.
"By the way, the princess told me to give you something."
"So the princess sent a gift, too."
Bella felt uneasy about Eldric's smile,
though she couldn't say why.
