The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

The Struggle for the Throne (4)

—

I hope this captures the essence and atmosphere of the original text!

Realizing that the servant had passed to the First Prince, I immediately began to search for them using my skills.

I also decided to bring Adele along.

Originally, the contract with the Third Princess was a secret that I hadn’t shared with my party members. There was no particular reason to disclose it. However, given the urgency of the situation, I desperately needed Adele’s help this time.

It had already been over half a day since the princess was kidnapped. In fact, it was a situation where it wouldn’t be strange if something happened at any moment.

Thus, the assistance of a Dark Elf, specialized in investigation and tracking, was essential.

Fortunately, I was able to find the missing servant quickly. They were staying at an inn not far from the palace. Given that it was an inn near the palace, I assumed it was quite upscale and expensive. I cautiously speculated that they might have been paid off.

“Welcome! How many people?”

“I just need to find someone for a moment.”

As we entered the inn, the attendant at the counter greeted us.

I immediately ignored them and went upstairs. I could hear the attendant mumbling, “Uh, you shouldn’t just go in like that…” but I disregarded it.

After all, a reckless person doesn’t care about others’ reactions.

Going upstairs, I barged into the room that the bugs had indicated.

Bang!

“Eek?! Y-You, Hero?”

As I opened the door, the servant’s scream echoed briefly. They seemed startled by my sudden entrance.

The two women in front of me looked to be just over thirty.

Having just finished bathing, they were only wearing a single robe, and a glimpse of their white skin peeked through the gaps of the robe.

Of course, that fact wasn’t particularly important at the moment.

I immediately asked the women in the room.

“I heard you’re the servants assisting the Third Princess. Why didn’t you come to work today?”

“W-Well, I suddenly fell ill…”

“We took a sick day for just today!”

“…Right, I didn’t expect anything anyway.”

So, these sick ones were lounging around in a fancy inn. How convenient.

Not wanting to ask any further, I immediately used my skill. Given the urgency, I was prepared to resort to somewhat drastic measures.

[Using ‘Puppet’!]

[Infiltrating the target’s mind!]

This was the first time I was using this skill. Just like with the Puppet Master, there were no particular effects associated with this skill. There were no strange lights or projectiles flying around.

All I felt was a sense of mana leaving my body. It was an extremely quiet and subtle technique, but its effectiveness could not be underestimated.

As I activated the ability, the spark of life began to fade from the servants’ eyes. Reason disappeared, leaving only emptiness in its place.

At the same time, a strange sensation washed over me. It felt as if a thin thread connected me to the other person.

This thread stirred a sense of omnipotence within my mind, as if I could issue any command to them.

I couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. Could this really be a hypnosis app? It was an incredibly terrifying ability.

However, the disappointing part was that I wasn’t the only one who noticed this ability.

“Wait, what is that power…?”

Adel, who had been following me, murmured with wide eyes.

But soon, she glared at me and asked,

“You… that must be the ability of the Puppet Master, right? When did you acquire it?”

“As you know, I’m quite talented. I figured I could use it after observing it.”

“Don’t lie. That ability is a supernatural power. It’s not something that can be achieved just by talent.”

Indeed, this was the problem. Gaining the powers of the Four Heavenly Kings was great. Each of their abilities was incredibly powerful.

But given the source, I couldn’t help but receive suspicious glances from my party members every time I used it.

If I were in their shoes, I would also look at someone using the powers of the Four Heavenly Kings with suspicion.

Reluctantly, I sighed and had to provide further explanation.

“Actually, I received it as a reward for subduing the Puppet Master. Being a hero, I tend to gain a lot.”

“…Hmm.”

Of course, the atmosphere didn’t seem particularly trusting. If it were another ability of the ‘Puppet Master,’ it would mean I could somewhat perceive the other person’s intentions.

It was as if I could detect electrical signals like the Puppet Master. Their evasion ability stemmed from this supernatural power.

Of course, utilizing it properly would be difficult for someone who had been with supernatural powers for hundreds of years… but the mere ability to sense was a significant advantage for me.

In any case, while Adel sent me suspicious glances, she still seemed willing to participate in the rescue of the princess. Although she wasn’t very familiar with human class culture, she understood the gravity of the situation.

Thus, I asked the puppets once more.

“Why didn’t you come to work today?”

“…Yesterday at lunch, someone came to us with a proposal.”

She said that the other party had offered a large sum of money if they went missing for just one day.

Upon hearing that, they accepted without hesitation.

It seemed that once caught in the puppet technique, their mental barriers became quite thin. She even continued with words I hadn’t asked for.

“From our perspective, serving the Third Princess is seen as a demotion. There are no connections we can build by being by her side… As time goes on, we’re aging, but the path to promotion is becoming less visible. So, we accepted it with the mindset of quitting anyway…”

“…Tsk, fools.”

Hearing that, I clicked my tongue. To me, it was a foolish act. From the moment they got involved in this, they would face numerous questions from the inspector and the consequences of their negligence.

Moreover, there could be pressure from the First Prince to silence them. If things went wrong, they might end up being blackmailed, putting their lives at stake.

Of course, it was their choice, so it was none of my concern.

“So, who was the opponent? Do you remember?”

The brainwashed servant answered my question.

He didn’t know the name, but he remembered the appearance. It was a middle-aged knight he had never seen before.

A human clad in seemingly light chainmail, with gray hair.

There was insufficient evidence to conclude he was a knight, but the atmosphere he exuded was undoubtedly that of a seasoned warrior.

To be honest, I had no idea who it could be. There were just too many characters in this game.

So, I left this one to Adele.

“He seems like someone from the Assassination Squad.”

“The Assassination Squad, you say?”

“Yeah, a middle-aged knight who looked capable, yet I’ve never even heard his name. And if he’s involved in this line of work, it’s pretty obvious.”

That much was certainly true.

“Can you track him down?”

“Wait a moment, I’ll give it a try.”

With that, Adele began to extract clues from the servant. She pulled out several vials and artifacts, then started scraping skin and saliva samples from him.

Watching her was reminiscent of a scientific investigation scene from a movie, and it felt oddly cool. Here we were, in the medieval era, with a scientific investigation team.

“This item has the ability to trace the opponent’s past relationships. It’s quite an old artifact, but… its performance is reliable, so don’t worry.”

After a while of tinkering, Adele soon discovered a trace. As she sprinkled the reagent on the floor, it began to move and draw a picture.

In an instant, a man’s face appeared on the ground.

“Found it.”

I immediately activated my intuition.

*

I still didn’t know the opponent’s name.

However, judging by his age, I could infer that he was likely one of the higher-ups in the Assassination Squad.

Thanks to Adele’s help, I quickly found out where he was.

He was leisurely sleeping after having a round with a prostitute in a nearby brothel.

Indeed, it was just like the Assassination Squad—free in every way, yet without honor.

With no reason to hesitate, I charged straight into the room where he was.

Bang!

“Ahhh!”

“Who the hell are you!”

At the sudden intrusion, the woman beside him from the entertainment district fled, and the man raised his sword.

The sight of him wielding a sword while clad only in his underwear was quite ridiculous. Still, at least he was wearing underwear.

In reality, his level was quite high.

A whopping 69. By the standards of this world, he was certainly among the strong.

If there was any misfortune for him, it was that his opponent was unfavorable.

“Sorry, I don’t have time.”

[‘Pain Imprint’ activated!]

I immediately thrust the black sword into his body.

A sword that makes the opponent feel phantom pain, composed solely of agony.

The pain I inflicted this time was none other than searing pain (灼熱痛). It is said that among all types of pain, humans feel the sensation of burning the most intensely.

“Gaaah!”

As I inflicted the pain, he began to roll around on the floor.

Having been burned multiple times by the puppet master’s lightning magic, I had thoroughly solidified my mental image. He must be feeling quite a bit of pain.

Thanks to that, it was easy to incapacitate him.

I took out a rope and tied him up tightly as he rolled around.

The bound man shouted defiantly.

“Ugh, you b*stard. No matter what torture you inflict, I will never open my mouth!”

But he opened his mouth to the puppet technique.

After brainwashing him, I asked where the princess was.

As expected of the instigator of the incident, he had quite a bit of knowledge.

“The third princess… will die in the sea…”

Even if the third princess was under all kinds of scrutiny, her disappearance was a serious matter.

No matter how much the first prince tries to hide it, a search will be conducted. Even if the first prince does not step in, the emperor will take action.

A large-scale search will be carried out, so there must be no traces left.

Therefore, they planned to take the princess far out to sea and drown her. In other words, to concrete her.

No matter how much of a search party they were, if she sank beneath the sea, there would be no way to find her.

“…This is serious.”

After hearing everything, Adele spoke.

“However, I don’t understand. After all, aren’t these assassins also those who follow the royal family’s orders? How could those who serve the royalty kill their own?”

“His Majesty… has now reached the end of his life…”

Surprisingly, it was the brainwashed one who responded.

“Now, when the First Prince’s sun rises…”

As he said, the assassination squad had already turned to the side of the First Prince quite some time ago.

In other words, they were aligning themselves. The moment the First Prince ascends to the throne, the assassination squad, which had provided the most assistance, would receive a commensurate reward.

In short, it was a dirty political game.

Anyway, I had found out where the princess had been kidnapped. Although it was quite far, it was actually good news for me. Even the nearest sea would take more than 12 hours to reach.

Even if there was a difference of about half a day, I could catch up.

“Then I will set off.”

Thus, I began my journey toward the location of the princess.