After parting with Ayano-san, I informed the others of my impending journey.
Yuzuriha-san and Suzuhaa’s reactions were… predictable.
“So, you’re setting out on a journey! Then as your comrade, I must stand by your side and protect you—!”
“And I’m coming too, Big Brother!”
For some reason, the two of them seemed unusually delighted. I wonder if female knights like them need to regularly hunt bandits or goblins to relieve stress… I mused to myself.
Just then, a maid tugged insistently at the hem of my clothes.
Needless to say, it was Kanade—the one and only maid in this castle.
Perched atop her head, as usual, was Unyu-ko, the mysterious little girl who had appeared after the Wandering Silver Haired Vampire vanished.
It seemed Unyu-ko had officially become a maid-in-training.
“…Master. I wish to accompany you on this journey.”
“Unyu.”
“Kanade and Unyu-ko too? Hmm…”
Normally, a maid who wasn’t a personal attendant wouldn’t join a journey.
And Kanade, being the only maid here, definitely wasn’t my attendant.
Logically, she and Unyu-ko should stay behind at the castle—
“Kanade is a capable maid. I can take care of Master and handle intelligence gathering—no problem!”
“Unyu~!”
That’s right.
Our Kanade was once a maid who collected intelligence from every ceiling crawlspace in noble estates.
According to her, intelligence gathering is a fundamental skill for maids.
“Alright, Kanade. You’re coming with us?”
“…Yes!”
“Unyu~!”
The moment I agreed, Kanade leaped for joy with genuine excitement. She wobbled a lot.
Unyu-ko cheered along for some reason, but as a trainee maid, she’d probably learn a lot on the road. Maybe.
＊
With the journey decided, the next question was: where to go?
Opinions split sharply.
Spread across the conference table was a map of the continent, and each person passionately argued their case.
“—Listen, Big Brother. If we follow the order of destinations on Queen Toko’s list, we’d take a slight detour along the coastline—”
“But looking at that list, it’s just countries with no diplomatic ties to ours, isn’t it? We should focus on places where we can actually gather intel—like this region—”
“Wait, isn’t that right next to the Duke Sakuragi’s territory? Are you just homesick, Yuzuriha-san…?”
“If we’re pointing fingers, isn’t your route just an excuse for beach trips and seafood tasting, Suzuhaa-kun…?”
“N-no, not at all!”
Watching Suzuhaa and Yuzuriha’s heated debate reminded me of a knightly war council. Not that I, a non-military man, would know.
What caught my attention more was Kanade’s demeanor.
She stood back, observing the discussion—but something about her radiated quiet confidence, as if she had a trump card.
Plus, she always boasted about her maid-exclusive intelligence network.
“Kanade, do you have a better idea?”
My question drew Suzuhaa and Yuzuriha’s attention.
“Leave it to me.”
Kanade puffed out her chest proudly and pointed decisively at the map.
“Uh… is that a valley?”
“It is. But Big Brother, there don’t seem to be any settlements nearby—”
“Of course. This is a secret place—the Valley of Maids.”
[Valley of Maids?]
Neither I, Suzuhaa, nor Yuzuriha had ever heard of it.
Kanade’s smug expression deepened.
“Yes. A hidden training ground for elite maids.”
“Such a place exists…?”
“I graduated from there. It’s super secret—don’t tell anyone.”
“You just told us…”
“Master is Kanade’s master. So you’re special.”
What about Suzuhaa and Yuzuriha, then? I thought, but decided not to press the issue.
“Maids are intelligence experts. So the Valley of Maids gathers secrets from all over the world.”
“Hmm… Kanade might have a point,”
“Yuzuriha-san?”
“She’s right. Maids sometimes possess intelligence networks that even surpass noble spies. We might learn more there than from Toko’s list of minor nations.”
“…………”
“W-what, Suzuhaa-kun? Do you disagree—?”
“This location… beyond two mountains lies Duke Sakuragi’s territory, doesn’t it?”
“W-wha—?! That’s just a coincidence!!”
Yuzuriha broke into a flustered sweat, but I ignored that.
“Well, our first destination is settled.”
Maids are intel professionals—at least, ours is.
So for now, Kanade’s proposal won.
Thus, we set off for the Valley of Maids.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
3 (Toko’s Perspective)
Late Night at the Sakuragi Ducal House
That night, in the study of the family head, Queen Tōko and the Duke of Sakuragi were once again holding a secret meeting.
“—Hmm. So, you deliberately had that man leave his territory?”
“Exactly. After all, if Suzuha-nii stayed there indefinitely, that land would never see war, wouldn’t even flinch at attacks from monsters or dragons, would be governed fairly with low taxes favoring the commoners—and on top of all that, he even found an orichalcum vein. Almost no one realizes it yet, but Suzuha-nii is just a little too much of a charismatic figure.”
“Muu…”
“And here’s the thing. Even if we accept that Suzuha-nii’s charisma is just another one of his unconscious cheat-like traits, having someone like him firmly entrenched in that backwater frontier is a problem. If left unchecked, worst-case scenario, the country could split in two.”
“I doubt that man has even a shred of such intentions…?”
“Suzuha-nii wouldn’t even consider it, not even a speck of dust’s worth. But also, in the future, there’s even a plan to relocate the capital to the Lohengrin Margraviate. With Suzuha-nii remaining as its lord, of course.”
Tōko sighed. “I mean, I was the one who made Suzuha-nii the Margrave of Lohengrin in the first place.”
At the time, it had been unavoidable due to the war with the Uentas Principality.
Besides, Suzuha-nii was an excellent ruler—and the discovery of not just a mithril mine but an entire orichalcum vein had been completely beyond anyone’s expectations.
“Of course, when I say ‘relocate the capital,’ that’s still far off in the future.”
“Indeed. An orichalcum vein and the absolute security of having that man governing—those alone might be worth moving the capital for, even if we ignore all other disadvantages.”
“Still, there’s a lot of preparation needed. It’s not something we can rush. Until then, Suzuha-nii can’t just be the charismatic figure of the Lohengrin Margraviate—he has to be the face of our entire nation.”
And so, the conversation looped back to the beginning.
Of course, there was no doubt about the information Suzuha-nii had been asked to gather—orichalcum and intel on the wandering Silver Haired vampire. Since their own kingdom and allied nations were still investigating, they needed alternative sources. But more than that—
“The people you sent him to negotiate with… are all the ones who’ve refused dealings with our country, aren’t they?”
“Exactly. If I went, I’d just get turned away at the door. But Suzuha-nii? No problem, right?”
“The legend of him single-handedly defeating a million enemy soldiers has spread across the entire continent by now. Even the most isolated of fools couldn’t possibly claim ignorance of him. And if they so much as think angering him would lead to instant annihilation, they wouldn’t dare treat him rudely.”
“Well, it’s true that anyone who pisses Suzuha-nii off would vanish without a trace in an instant—but come on, that gentle Suzuha-nii would never get angry over something so trivial!”
“Hmph. Those who’ve cut themselves off from information wouldn’t understand that.”
“Exactly. So, Duke, what do you think of my plan this time?”
In Tōko’s self-assessment, she was quite proud of it.
After all, it was a rational way to showcase Suzuha-nii as the face of the nation—meaning, under Tōko’s rule.
There was an unspoken sentiment behind it. Namely—
“While Yuzuriha may be the one by his side, I too am firmly connected to Suzuha-nii!” That was the message she wanted the world to know.
It certainly wasn’t about avoiding a royal financial crisis by ensuring sushi deliveries didn’t stop while Suzuha-nii was away—nothing so petty.
At any rate, in Tōko’s mind, this operation scored very highly.
But the Duke’s expression betrayed her expectations.
“Well…”
“—What’s with that look? Duke, is there something wrong with my plan?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Then why do you look so… vaguely unconvinced?”
“Because I am.”
“…?”
As Tōko tilted her head in confusion, the Duke cleared his throat.
“Let me ask you this—if everything goes exactly as you’ve envisioned, what happens next?”
“Huh? Well… gathering info on orichalcum and the Silver Haired vampire is probably impossible to begin with—I doubt anyone even has that kind of intel. So in the end, the scaredy-cats who pissed themselves over Suzuha-nii will either rush to establish diplomatic ties with us or start sending tribute, right?”
“I agree. That’s precisely what bothers me.”
“How so?”
“Do you really think that man would settle for such lukewarm results?”
“Eh…?”
Even as she heard this, Tōko remained skeptical.
Since her days as a princess, dealing with hostile nations that refused diplomacy had been a key issue—and she had spies analyzing their internal affairs.
No matter how capable Suzuha-nii was, she couldn’t imagine him achieving more than expected.
“So, Duke, what do you think Suzuha-nii will actually do?”
“Well… something far more valuable than dealing with those insignificant nations. For instance—and this is purely hypothetical—he might find something like… the Valley of the Underworld.”
“The Valley of the Underworld?!”
Tōko scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous!”
The Valley of the Underworld was a whispered legend—a training ground for the continent’s most elite assassins,
It is said to hold all manner of assassination techniques and the most classified intelligence in the world.
Once you entered, you could never leave until you became one of the best.
And the survival rate? Less than one in a thousand.
Frankly, the royal intelligence division had concluded it was nothing more than a myth—no such place could possibly exist.
“C’mon, Duke, even Suzuha-nii couldn’t pull off something that impossible! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”
The Duke, chastened by the remark, flushed slightly.
“Ugh… Indeed. Even I got carried away with such fanciful talk.”
“Exactly! No matter how amazing Suzuha-nii is, some things are just impossible!”
──Unaware of where Suzuha’s brother was headed at that moment,
the two of them burst into laughter.
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