Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~

Chapter 121.2: The Princess of Cats And Queen Of Lions

「「YOU CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN’T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!」」

Both Totona and my screams overlapped.

「「「Eh?!」」」

Everyone’s line of sight gathered to me.

「What’s the matter, Chiyuki? I understand if Totona-chan wants to stop it, but why do you want to stop it too?」

Reiji asked in worry.

Ishtar, Isdes, and Totona were also looking at me with a surprised look on their faces.

「E~h… I mean… It’s dangerous… Seriously DANGEROUS!!!」

I mean, that WMD would literally get exposed if they took off his clothes.

That’s DANGEROUS!! SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS!!

「Dangerous? Surely, I do feel that this creature is dangerous for some reason. As if… No, it must be my imagination…」

No way, I never expected that Reiji would agree with me. Nevertheless, Reiji did say that it 「Feels like a dangerous creature」.

Well, I never thought that he would have the ability to detect another person that had a p○○○s bigger and longer than him.

Could it be that all men had that kind of ability?

Eh?!! What the hell am I thinking about?!?!

「Stand on Nyeow ground, Isdes! This shady creature is Totonyan’s attendant! Totonyan has already said that the creature is not suspicious!! Why are nyeow still doubting her.」

Nel raised her voice, covering for Medjed. But her statement lacked any persuasive power since she herself said that Medjed was a shady creature.

「But, my princess…」

Isdes was unwilling to step back.

That moment, Ishtar stepped forward.

「Hey, Isdes. There’s no point in continuing this useless argument right? Let’s head to Arnak right away. You should be aware that we’ll be in danger if we keep staying in this place right?」

「B-But, Ishtar-sama… I cannot take the risk of bringing a dangerous creature into Arnak in this kind of situation…」

「That’s why it’s a useless argument. Moreover, we have Reiji on our side too. So that will reduce the risk. Otherwise, you simply lack confidence in your own ability.」

Isdes was at loss for words when Ishtar told him so.

「I understand… I guess I really have no choice.」

Totona heaved a sigh seeing Isdes agreeing reluctantly. Medjed’s waist moved slightly. Could it be that he was also heaving a sigh of relief?

But, his movements were way too suspicious.

「Since that’s the case, let’s go.」

We tied our broken flying ship behind Isdes’ chariot.

Although it was called a chariot, it might be more appropriate to call it a huge carriage, and since it was pulled by seven metal golem horses, it had no problem with pulling our broken flying ship.

「Since that’s the case, Nel and the others will go ahead. Let’s go, Totonyan.」

「Yes, Nel. Well then, see you again in Arnak, Ishtar-sama.」

Totona and Medjed rode on the back of the chimera again. Nel also went back and rode the Ammit. The Ammit seemed to be unable to fly, that’s why she went by land.

The birdman flew to match her pace. It was probably following Isdes’ orders. I mean, it did look quite nervous. That might be just how vigilant they all were.

We departed a while after them.

The flying ship towed on the chariot started moving bit by bit.

A while later, we saw giant structures ahead of us.

「Uwaa! The pyramid is shining in a golden color!!!」

I unintentionally leaked out such a voice.

Since they’re the cornerstone of Gypseal’s defense system, I had seen several pyramids along the way, but this was my first time seeing a shining golden pyramid.

Reiji who stood beside me was equally astonished.

「That’s the golden pyramid that protects Arnak. We will enter Arnak’s territory once we pass it.」

Ishtar explained to us.

「Amazing. There’s even a golden sphinx too.」

Reiji was right, there was a giant sphinx statue right beside the golden pyramid.

「That’s the golem that protects the pyramid. Be careful, it’ll attack any unauthorized people who dare to get close to the pyramid.」

「Uh… What a shame. I want to see it up close.」

I felt dejected hearing Ishtar’s warning.

「Don’t worry, Chiyuki. It just means that we need to get permission to see it up close.」

Reiji comforted me.

「Ah, you’re right Reiji-kun. Ishtar, can you give me permission?」

「Sure. Enjoy the spectacle to your heart’s content.」

Ishtar laughed mischievously.

After we passed the golden pyramid, the sand turned into a golden color too. It was a golden desert made of gold dust. It sparkled brightly, reflecting the morning sunlight.

「Look, that’s the golden capital, Arnak.」

The place where Ishtar pointed her finger was a golden palace. The palace was simply gargantuan, human cities felt small in comparison to it.

The chariot army then opened the giant gate for us to pass through. What waited for us behind the gate was a paradise of greenery. Water flowing along the canals, flowers blooming in many places. I was really surprised to see such a splendid garden inside the palace.

We came down from the towed flying ship as the chariot stopped.

「We’ve been waiting for your arrival, Ishtar-sama. Her Majesty has been waiting for the news about you.」

A sphinx girl welcomed us. She was probably an Arnak court lady. Right beside her was an even smaller flying ship than the one we were riding before.

It was for us to ride.

After everyone got on the flying ship, the ship, handled by Arnak’s court lady, drove into the innermost part of Arnak. Soon, we arrived right before a giant gate on the golden border. The place of our audience might be right beyond this gate.

The flying ship stopped.

「Dear guests, you must proceed from this point on by foot.」

After we descended from the flying ship due to the urge from the court lady, the gate finally opened up.

Yup, the place for our audience was located inside after all.

Inside the spacious palace, Harsesh was standing in a slightly higher place. He glared at Reiji. And yet, Reiji was quite nonchalant about it.

After entering even further, I discovered that Totona and Medjed had already been waiting for us. We stood beside them.

When I looked around, I saw that the other audience members were beastmen or sphinxes. Maybe those beastmen were the divine beings of Gypseal. Those beast gods were looking at us with curious looks on their faces.

「How dare you look around without a care in this palace!!」

Harsesh glared at us from his position.

Yup, he was pissed off after all.

The situation might be more dangerous than I had expected.

I looked at Ishtar who stood beside me. As Harsesh’s mother, Ishtar might be able to appease her son’s anger. And yet, Ishtar didn’t even look at Harsesh.

She looked at the one behind Harsesh.

「Be quiet, Harsesh.」

The person behind Harsesh finally spoke. It turned out to be a woman lying on a long coach like Cleopatra.

The moment the woman said so, Harsesh stepped aside.

She was a white haired woman with tanned skin, ears and the tail of a beast, and a pair of wings growing from her back. She bore a resemblance to Nelfriti, who followed by her side. But, if Nelfriti was a cat, then this woman was a lioness. The sense of intimidation radiating from her entire being was no joke and her appearance reminded me of a queen.

Maybe I’ll have to call her the queen of lions.

「But, honored auntie. These people are…」

「Are they your acquaintances, Harsesh? This should be their first time coming to this place? Ah, which reminds me, you seem to have left Gypseal sometime ago, care to tell me the reason for that?」

The queen of lions glared at Harsesh.

「Eh? About that… I just… Wanted to take a stroll. There’s no spe—」

Harsesh replied with a flustered look on his face.

Maybe the queen of lions had no idea that Harsesh went out to fight Reiji.

「I see, you have yet to give up on chasing after that woman’s butt, correct? It seems I misunderstood your obsession. Just think how many concubines you have in your palace. Not to mention that I’m going to appoint Nelfriti as your legal wife in the future. Forget about that woman. That’ll be part of your job.」

「Hahaha, I’ll do my best, Honored Auntie.」

Harsesh replied with a forced smile on his face.

Upon a closer look, Nel who stood slightly behind the queen had this subtle look on her face too. Maybe she wasn’t too pleased with her engagement with Harsesh either.

「It’s good that you understand that. But due to your position in the government, I absolutely won’t forgive you if you dare to sneak out of Gypseal again. It’s reeducation once we’re done with this problem.」

「HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! MERCYYYYYYY! ANYTHING BUT THAT, HONORED AUNTIE!!!」

Harsesh screamed in fear hearing the queen’s last remark and shrunk back again when the queen of lions glared at him.

I guess we really shouldn’t make an enemy of Gypseal.

And then, the queen of lions finally looked at us.

「Well, long time no see, Ishtar. And you two must be the hero of light Reiji and the black haired sage Chiyuki, I presume. I heard about you two from Totona who arrived before you. Welcome to Arnak. My name is Sekhmetra. Remember that.」

The queen of lions, Sekhmetra, greeted us with a fearless smile on her face.