I flew into the sky of Yir town after hearing the buzzer, a security magical tool I created with «Creation Magic», and followed the magical power of Selene.
"She seems to be there."
I presume she must have been caught up in a situation when she was coming back after meeting her friends.
I had mentioned to her to avoid any less-crowded area, so I was quickly able to find Selene's whereabouts after seeing the onlookers gathering around a place facing the main street.
"Are you all right, Selene?"
"Okaa-san, you came!"
I landed in the center of the crowd where Selene was and looked at the people who collapsed on the ground having been caught by the wires of the protection magical tool.
I added a capture net in the protection magic tool and supplemented it with a sleeping spell so it seems like they fainted at the same time as they were caught in the lariat.
"What happened Selene?"
"I don't know. They were calling me Seleneril, saying that my father is waiting for me and that they have come to take me back while surrounding me. I was scared......"
Explaining the situation, Selene clinched to my robe and took her distance from the men.
But it seems like there was someone among the onlookers who know about these people.
"They introduced themselves as wandering merchants who have wandered off to this town in the winter of this year! However they have been in this unremarkable town for the whole winter and asking around about Chise-chan and Selene-chan, so I thought an aristocrat has sent them to invite you to something......"
"Maybe they have come after Selene-chan after hearing of her title being the ‘little saint’ for her efforts during the dungeon crisis in the other town."
"They must be kidnappers. I just now reported this to the guards and they will be arriving here soon..."
As the situation unfurled with them being labeled as kidnappers and so on, I observed the people who were caught in the net.
They were dressed in merchant attire but it was a bit off compared to their features and vibe.
The onlookers were amazing to have guessed that they might be an aristocrat or someone serving them.
The frontier town didn't care much about aristocrats or their retainers due to its meritocracy system and magnanimous nature but the backbone of beastkin nation was mostly centered around its various beast tribes or clans, so there are very few human servants.
As I was thinking about their origin, a man called out to me after making his way through the crowd.
"I believe you must be Chise-sama, mother of Selene-sama."
"Hnn? And you're?"
"You can say I'm the boss of these guys. However please let me apologize first for their impromptu behavior, they acted rashly because they were waiting for the appearance of you two for a long time."
The man who bowed his head in apology looked more refined compared to the group of people lying on the ground.
I could feel the same vibe as Rollwalker I was conversing with not too long ago from him.
"With all due respect, I would like Selene-sama and Chise-sama to hear the details of who we are and why we did this."
I crossed my arms in front of my chest and pondered his request.
I feel inclined to hear what they have to say about the name of Seleneril, since it was a name engraved behind the unicorn ring given to me when Selene was given to us to look after.
"Are you going to talk with them, Okaa-san?"
I smiled at Selene who asked me anxiously.
"There's no need to be scared anymore. I'm here. You know your Okaa-san is strong, no?"
As I was easing down Selene, Teto finally arrived at the spot and as for the unconscious people, I decided to leave them to the guards and head for the adventure guild.
They would be directly thrown into prison if it turned out to be just a kidnapping case. There's the possibility of learning about the people who had been aiming for Selene's life when she was a child.
They were then led to the guild accompanied by guards and adventurers after undoing the net...... In the guild, Prince Gyunton of the beastkin nation and Rollwalker, with whom I was discussing the contract, were also present.
"You, Your Highness the Prince Gyunton! And even the minister's secretary Rollwalker......"
The boss, who had tried speaking to Selene, was stunned. He must have not expected the presence of royalty.
"So the ruckus was caused by the diplomat of the Iska kingdom. I assume the information should have been transmitted to your side too. Chise-dono here has conquered the dungeon, gotten dungeon core in her hand and we are in the middle of a negotiation."
"Y, Yes. I'm aware of the situation......"
Seeing the situation going nowhere with the boss faltering at the presence of royalty of another country, I slightly pressured him with my mana and turned his attention to us.
"If you have finished talking, can you now tell me about the origin of your group?"
The group who had tried to get closer to Selene were still tied up but the effect of the sleeping spell was cleared from them and now their heads were hanging downward after understanding their current situation.
Among them, the person who had named himself as their superior began to introduce himself.
"We are the people who have been entrusted to search for His Majesty's lost princess, Seleneril-sama, under the order of His Majesty of the Iska kingdom. We had come here this time to check if Selene-sama is the person we have been looking for."
"You're mistaking my identity! I'm Chise Okaa-san's daughter Selene."
Selene raised her voice, almost like a scream.
In fact, I had already told Selene that she had a birth mother different from myself, who's like a caretaking mother of her, who entrusted baby Selene to us when she was at death's door. However, she must not have understood what it truly meant when I explained it to her back then.
Even the gathered adventurers and guards had complicated expressions.
They also must have a hard time accepting that the little girl they have been familiar with since she was a child was actually the dear princess of the neighboring kingdom.
Among everyone present, Prince Gyunton and his partner Rollwalker especially had clouded expressions as if they were deliberating on something.
"Your Highness. The word of these men are......"
"It shouldn't be a lie from the odor. But, that's a bit surprising for the name of Seleneril to come out here......"
"So you know the inside story?"
When I asked Prince Gyunton, he explained with a complicated expression, his eyebrows hunched downward.
"Well, we're royalties after all. Given our status, the circumstances of the royal family of the neighboring country did enter our ears. Apparently, a concubine of the Iska kingdom's king, who was called Saint, was targeted by the Evil Cult members and assassinated, and the whereabouts of her baby Seleneril had since been unknown 一一 or so I have heard."
Certainly, the hair color and etc resemble Selene when I asked more about what were the traits of the woman called Saint.
Besides, the hair of Selene's mother I had gotten who entrusted Selene to us also had the same color.
Another thing, their King who couldn't find the whereabouts of Selene inside the whole kingdom even after extensive searches at that time seemed to have strived to purge all the Evil Cult members who had assassinated his concubine.
"I don't know! I'm not a princess or anything!"
"No, I’m sure of it! The mithril and unicorn rings that Selene-sama is wearing are indisputable evidence!"
According to them, these rings were the magical tool with purification and healing magic conferred to her when Princess Seleneril had just been born.
They did verify that the effects of these magic tools were restricted to anyone who wasn't Selene-sama or her mother and saint, Elise and that Selene's true name was engraved on the other side of the ring.
"Certainly, only I can use these rings and Okaa-san Chise isn't my true mother but......"
I hugged Selene, who seemed to be overwhelmed by all the revelation, to calm her down.
It was then that an acquaintance adventurer raised his voice.
"H, How come you have been searching for so long but only found out about them now?"
"That's... We had searched throughout the Kingdom in the starting years and the last traces of Chise-sama and Teto-sama were them escaping towards the north from the frontier town Darryl but that was where their whereabouts became unknown after that. However, we found their names appearing as the conquerors of last year's dungeon outbreak, and also come to know about her daughter Selene."
As everyone expressed their understanding of the man's words, only Prince Gyunton narrowed his eyes and asked the leader of the Iska kingdom's princess Selene's search party.
"...... The Darryl town you speak of, is it in Margrave Reebell's territory?"
"Yes, the town is indeed part of the margrave's territory. There were no traces of them passing through checkpoints, entering towns, or using the guild at all after that. When we searched for their history again, they seemed to have appeared out of nowhere seven years ago in this town."
"There should have been quite a distance from that town to this town. Nevertheless, a gap of three years, huh? Are you telling me you guys passed these three years in the monsters-infested forest north of Darryl town while escaping from the pursuit of the Evil Cult and taking care of a child?"
He was looking at us with astonishment-filled eyes. His eyes widened further after confirming the answer with his senses.
"It’s something else, huh? Wait, don't tell me, you guys......"
He didn't finish his words ‘til the end but Selene's shoulder trembled a bit from his words.
This seemed to become the final proof for Prince Gyunton's theory as he exhaled a deep sigh.
He didn't mention where we sheltered but he has apparently confirmed we can go in and out of the «Empty Wilderness».
"I understand. That's why you requested a contract of that sort...... I understand."
Twice, he mentioned ‘I understand’. I guess that's how much of a shocking revelation it might be to him.
Then I was told that we have to talk about the contract later by Prince Gyunton after he had calmed himself down.
"Anyway, we have confirmed you're indeed Seleneril-sama! By all means, we implore you to return to your father, His Majesty Albert, with us!"
"...... Okaa-san"
"It's all right. I will protect you no matter what kind of choice you make."
"Teto, too, will protect Selene."
When we said that while giving a tight squeeze to her hands, Selene took a deep breath and made up her mind.
"I, I want to meet my actual father. I also want to go to the grave of my actual mother. I will think about the rest after that."
"I understand. Then we will prepare to receive Seleneril-sama and your foster mother Chise-sama and Teto-sama."
For the time being, both parties came to an agreement and so the members of Princess Seleneril's search party were thus released as they returned to their inn in the town.
After taking my schedule into account, we fixed our appointment time for two weeks later.
Well, this settled the case about the shady group approaching Selene but the discussion about my contract with regards to the dungeon core with the beastkin was apparently far from over.
