I then concisely relayed the information I had obtained through the art principles to her.
I was fully aware that what I was saying would normally be dismissed as nonsense. After all, I was claiming that a famous figure like the [Hero] would sneak into the royal castle—the most heavily guarded location in the entire kingdom—completely unnoticed and alone.
However, Princess Lucilla did not brush off my words. That was probably because she already knew that long-distance transfer was real.
"—That is the scenario I believe is most likely to occur from here on."
"…Even the idea of the [Hero] launching a solo assault on the royal capital is outrageous, but are you saying such a future will really come to pass?"
Princess Lucilla seemed half in doubt about the future I had described.
Well, that was understandable. She could never have imagined a world overrun with magical beasts flooding the surface.
"I cannot say with absolute certainty that it will happen. But I consider the probability to be extremely high. That is why I intend to make use of this situation."
"Please tell me."
"If things reach this point, chaos will spread across the entire world. In that case, every nation will need to unite as quickly as possible to stabilize the situation."
"Yes, that's true. If countries continue to undermine one another during a war, they will simply collapse together in the face of the magical beasts. On the other hand, if nations can join hands, I believe we would be able to handle even that scenario. However…"
I nodded at her words and continued.
"Exactly. Uniting countries with differing ideologies is no easy task. The longer it takes, the more people will suffer. Therefore, to make them cooperate quickly, I will create a 'common enemy.'"
"A common enemy?"
"Yes. I will make it appear as though I caused this situation. Though in reality, the Order—the Explorers Guild—was planning to do exactly that from the start, so I'll simply ride along with their plan."
"…Huh? What? What are you saying!?"
"Turning the outbreak of magical beasts across the surface from a natural disaster into a man-made disaster caused by me will allow things to progress much faster."
"But if you do that, Orun, you will—"
"—I'm prepared for it. …I was originally supposed to lose many precious things. Thanks to my benefactor, I was given the chance to try again. I don't need a 'better' ending right now. I will desperately struggle to reach the best possible ending. And then I will smile and live on into the future beyond that. That is what my benefactor wished for."
Right before he disappeared, Grandpa had smiled and said, "I pray from the bottom of my heart that you will spend the rest of your life smiling."
Because Grandpa had risked his life, I was here now.
His wish was for me to live a future where I could smile.
In that case, no matter how reckless, impossible, or foolhardy it might be, the only path left for me was to move forward toward that future.
"...Understood. I will respect your will, Orun. You are right. In the original future, the kingdom would have lost to the Empire, correct? If you intend to avoid that future and aim for the best possible outcome, then I have no objections. I will trust you. I am quite confident in my ability to judge people, you know?"
"…Thank you."
"Fufufu. You really are still yourself, Orun. In that case, let us proceed in that direction."
The smiles I had seen from Princess Lucilla until now always seemed to carry some hidden meaning. But the smile she directed at me now looked purely genuine, without any ulterior motive.
◇
After that, Princess Lucilla and I worked out the details of what we would do on the day the [Hero] arrived at the royal capital.
"The general framework seems fine. The biggest uncertain factor is still Philly Carpenter, the ability user with [Recognition Alteration]. If she intervenes, things will clearly become troublesome."
"I have thought of countermeasures for that as well. Princess Lucilla, how many personal protective magic tools do you usually wear?"
"Two, normally."
"If possible, could you lend me one of them? I would like to add a function to that magic tool that nullifies [Recognition Alteration]."
"…You can do something like that?"
My ability, [Shinra Bansho], allows me to use any ability I have come to understand.
And I have experienced [Recognition Alteration] twice.
The first time was when Beria and the others from the Cyclamen Order attacked my hometown, the Dawn Village.
The second time was during the [Hero]'s invasion that occurred after I visited the Legreef territory last summer on Count Edington's request to investigate a labyrinth.
Thanks to those two experiences, I am now able to use [Recognition Alteration] myself.
That said, there are limits to the abilities I gain through [Shinra Bansho], so I cannot use it recklessly.
If I apply that function to one of Princess Lucilla's protective magic tools now, I will be unable to use [Recognition Alteration] for a while.
"Yes. However, I will only give the magic tool with the nullification function to you, Princess Lucilla."
"So that she doesn't realize we are taking countermeasures against [Recognition Alteration] by interfering with others as well."
"Correct. Though honestly, it's still uncertain whether this will completely prevent it."
"In that case, it would be better to decide on something like a code word. Ah, but since we might not have time for leisurely conversation, an action would probably be better than a code word."
"I was also thinking we should decide on a sign that only the two of us would understand. An action seems easier to incorporate naturally than words."
"Understood. Let's see… How about 'covering your left eye with your left hand'? It's not something people do every day, but it's not so unnatural that it would stand out."
"That should work."
"Then let's make that our secret signal. Fufufu, sharing a secret like this makes my heart race a little."
Once we had finished discussing everything we needed to, her playful side came out again.
"I'm feeling uneasy in the sense that I'm worried, though."
"It will be fine. You also have Orun's magic tool, and I won't forget the signal. But if I do happen to forget… then please cut me down without hesitation. However, I ask that you please save the citizens."
She bowed deeply to us as she spoke.
"I understand. I like this country too. I will do everything in my power to save as many people of the Nohitant Kingdom as possible."
"I feel relieved hearing those words."
When she lifted her head, Princess Lucilla let out a small sigh of relief along with her shoulders.
◇
"Well then, Orun-san, we will head back to Tsutrail first!"
After finishing my preparations with Princess Lucilla, I went to see off Sophie and the others as they returned to Tsutrail, just like in the previous timeline.
"Sorry I can't go back with you all. With this group I'm sure you'll be fine, but be careful on the way."
"We're more worried about you. It's a secret mission from Lucy, but are you really not in any danger?"
Selma-san asked with a worried expression after hearing my words.
Once again, I was acting separately from them under the pretense of a secret order from Princess Lucilla.
"Yeah. It's not the kind of request that puts my life at risk. I'll finish it quickly and head back to Tsutrail soon, so don't worry."
"I see. If anything happens, contact me or the clan right away. We'll come running immediately."
"We will too! We believe you'll handle it without any trouble, Master, but if anything comes up, please don't hesitate to rely on us!"
"Thank you, Selma-san, Log. That's reassuring. If anything happens, I'll definitely call for help."
"Master, come back soon! We want you to see our rapid progress up close!"
"Yeah. I'll do my best to get back to Tsutrail as quickly as possible so I don't end up being left behind by all of you."
I kept the conversation the same as last time so I wouldn't stray too far from the future I knew.
But the feelings inside me were completely different.
Last time, I had felt anxious about learning my own past.
This time, I was overcome with reluctance at parting from them.
Still, this was the path I had chosen.
Even if regret waited at the end of this road, I had sworn I would not stop moving forward.
After finishing a round of conversation with every member, the [Twilight Moon Rainbow] group boarded the carriage.
Luna placed her foot on the carriage step and turned back toward me.
"—Orun-san."
"Hm?"
"...No, never mind. For some reason, I feel like I need to say something here."
Luna seemed to be searching for the right words.
"…It's okay, Luna. Like I said earlier, I'll be back soon too."
When I said that, Luna's expression softened.
"You're right. Then we'll head back first, Orun-san."
"Yeah. See you later."
The carriage carrying them slowly began moving toward Tsutrail.
I watched as the size of the carriage gradually grew smaller in my field of vision. Then four sets of footsteps approached.
"They're here."
I murmured and turned toward the direction of the footsteps.
There stood Fuuka, Hart-san, and Carol's older siblings—Lueria and Frederick.
"…Orun Dula. …So, that's how it is, I suppose?"
"Yeah, that understanding is fine. I'll be taking custody of all of you. I don't intend to treat you harshly, but I will need your cooperation."
Lueria, who was acting tough despite clearly being unsettled, asked the question.
They had been placed under Fuuka's supervision since yesterday. In the previous timeline I hadn't met up with them, but this time I planned to take them with me to the Hitia Duchy.
Their positions—as subordinates of the [Doctor] and as Carol's siblings—were impossible for me to ignore.
With the [Doctor] having been disposed of, they no longer had a place in the Cyclamen Order and were currently in a rather delicate position. If I became their backer, even members of Amuntsars probably wouldn't bother them.
According to Fuuka, they had been so exhausted yesterday that walking was difficult, but they seemed to have recovered somewhat by now.
They probably still couldn't engage in intense combat, but that wasn't a problem at all.
"We don't have the right to refuse, do we? If you guarantee our rights, we'll hand over the information we have."
"Thank you."
"…It feels weird to be thanked so sincerely by the [King of Ability Users]."
"Yeah~. The Order always talked about the [King of Ability Users] like he was the root of all evil, so the negative image comes first no matter what~."
"Root of all evil…? Well, from their perspective that might be how it looks… But Orun and August-san are different people, you know…"
Hearing once again how the Order viewed me, I couldn't help but smile wryly.
Well, I didn't particularly care what they thought of me, but this perception of theirs might be useful. I'd keep it in mind.
As I was thinking that, Lueria made an awkward face.
"…It's wrong to judge someone solely by their ability. Sorry for saying something weird."
I was surprised to see her apologize so honestly.
I had assumed that having been raised in the Cyclamen Order since childhood would have twisted her to some degree.
But the girl in front of me seemed to have quite normal sensibilities.
"Don't worry about it. I understand why you'd think that way. All I have to do is make an effort so people don't lump me together with him."
Once the conversation with the two of them had settled, Hart-san spoke up.
"So, what do we do now?"
"First we'll head to the main branch of the Downing Company in the Hitia Duchy and meet up with Shion. After that, I want to share our future plans with Christopher-san as well."
Our first destination was the same as last time: the main branch of the Downing Company in Celest, the capital of the Hitia Duchy.
"…? Isn't Shion still asleep and hasn't woken up?"
Fuuka tilted her head slightly as she asked.
"There's a chance she's still sleeping, but I think she's already awake."
In the previous timeline, Shion had remained asleep on this day as well.
Since things were mostly progressing the same way this time, it would be natural to assume she was still asleep.
However, Shion, who possessed the time-interfering ability [Time Regression], was an exception.
The reason she had continued sleeping was to organize the massive amount of information.
Right before falling asleep, she had come into contact with both the "outside magical power" and the "core of the art principles" almost simultaneously.
Even one of those was an overwhelming mass of data that was difficult to process in her mind.
Having touched both at once, her body had unconsciously shut out everything else in order to organize the information, resulting in her prolonged sleep. That was what I believed.
But in the netherworld, Shion had been forcibly awakened and had met August-san there. She had been taught about both the "outside magical power" and the "core of the art principles" by him and had come to understand them.
That meant there was no longer any need for her to remain asleep in order to organize the information.
"I see. So she's awake. I'm looking forward to reuniting with her."
The corners of Fuuka's mouth lifted ever so slightly. It was a rare change in her usually minimal expressions.
"If our destination is the Hitia Duchy, transfer would be the fastest way. The closest transfer array from here would be in the capital of the Tsaharib Kingdom."
Hart-san mentioned the route to the Hitia Duchy.
"No, that won't make it in time…"
"Won't make it? What do you mean?"
Hart-san looked puzzled.
Since this morning, I had already accessed the art principles through Fuuka and Hart-san just like I had with Princess Lucilla.
In the previous timeline, the two of them had moved in a way that synchronized the Order's attack on Tsutrail with our arrival in the Hitia Duchy.
But this time, it seemed they didn't know about the upcoming assault.
Well, that made sense since Grandpa had been the one who planned the whole thing.
"It means exactly what it sounds like. If we do that, by the time we reach the Hitia Duchy, we'll already have lost."
"Even so, there's no faster way to get to the Hitia Duchy than that, right?"
"There is. We'll transfer directly from here… to the Hitia Duchy."
"…Huh? No, no, no! Long-distance transfer is supposed to be instantaneous movement from one transfer array to another, right?"
"Exactly. The Order does the same thing. They can move from array to array, but I've never heard of anyone doing long-distance transfer without any array at all…"
As Hart-san looked shocked, Lueria chimed in as well.
"The principle behind long-distance transfer is basically just using the art principles and ley lines. With my current abilities, I can create an impromptu transfer array."
While answering Hart-san's question, I created an impromptu transfer array through the art principles.
"You can make a transfer array that easily~…"
Frederick muttered in a stunned voice.
The reason I could create one so casually now was because August-san had taught me about the art principles.
That said, there were still risks involved.
Normally, creating a transfer array required years of time.
The arrays used by Amuntsars had various modifications, but this one did not.
Therefore, this transfer would be detected by the Cyclamen Order.
Sooner or later, Beria would learn that I had used long-distance transfer to head to the Hitia Duchy.
Even so, right now it was a race against time. I needed to finish what I had to do before Beria caught on.
"With this, you can see one of the reasons why the Order views me as a threat, right? All right, everyone, step into the transfer array."
After calling out to the four of them and confirming they had all stepped onto the array, I activated it.
The scenery before my eyes began to distort.