Chapter 60 – Gatekeepers
Aix, who was unaware that the butler Yesman was holding onto the exit gate, was carefree.
“Oh, this cushion is nice.”
The carriage seat was fluffy and comfortable. It seemed to be a 4-person carriage, and Aix was sitting next to Luca, getting along well. How luxurious.
Luca was enjoying the view of the city.
They stopped in front of the gate for a moment.
“Blururu.”
The horse seemed disgruntled, wanting to move on quickly, but there were procedures to follow. They could hear the coachman’s voice.
“Thank you for your hardwork. The three of us are scheduled to go to Sheep Town, the neighboring town, for three days.”
“Oh, you’re going to the festival. Have a good trip!”
It was nice to hear something pleasant.
Departure, go!
As they passed through the gate, an alarm sounded, triggered by the monitoring network of magical instruments.
Beep!
What’s going on?
Aix and Luca looked at each other, and Luca nervously opened her long eyelashes and looked at Aix, who squeezed her hand tightly. Although she was worried, she couldn’t see any monsters attacking from here.
The carriage continued to move forward.
What happened?
When they looked back at the gate, a gatekeeper riding a dragon rushed over at an incredible speed and approached the front of the carriage.
“Stop that carriage right there!”
Huh?
With the sound of a sharp voice, the horse was stopped abruptly, neighing “Hiiiiin!”
“Uh-oh.”
Aix held Luca tightly, trying to keep her safe.
As he thought of himself as a hero, he lost his balance and hit his head on the front seat. It hurt.
“Are you okay, Luca?”
“Oh, thank you. You’re close, Aix.”
Aix was such a weak hero.
For some reason, people gathered around the carriage we were in, as if surrounding it.
The atmosphere outside was tense.
Did something happen? Were we caught up in something?
They could hear the coachman and the gatekeeper speaking.
“What’s going on? We haven’t done anything wrong.”
“It might be a false alarm, but there’s a possibility that there is an unidentified fourth person hiding in this carriage. For safety reasons, could you please go out and confirm all of your identities?”
The small window of the carriage was opened and the driver apologized as he spoke.
“I’m sorry. We were stopped for a check. Could you help us?”
“Sure, no problem. Shall we get off, Luca?”
“Okay.”
As they opened the door, the guard stood with a stern expression, holding his spear. They were urged to get off quickly.
“Hey, you guys, hurry up and get off!”
“Yes, sir.”
As they got off, the guard pointed his spear at the empty carriage.
“To the fourth person hiding, come out now.”
The guards searched underneath and on top of the carriage, looking for anyone who might be hiding. They were professionals, and even though the young gatekeeper could not find anyone, they were still suspicious.
“It’s no good? We haven’t found the fourth person.”
“We might have let the culprit slip away. Don’t panic. The culprit could be hiding close by.”
The veteran gatekeeper comforted the young gatekeeper and then asked them if they had any information about any unknown people.
“By the way, do you have any idea who the unidentified person might be?”
“Unidentified person?”
“Yes, we’ve been desperately searching for them, but nobody was on that carriage.”
“What a bunch of fools!!”
Wow, Crazy Bear, the way you say it.
Well, Crazy Bear has the eyes of the other dimension, so hide-and-seek doesn’t work for him.
Clang!
We heard the sound of a spear falling to the ground.
The gatekeeper was startled and dropped his spear. Then he took a fighting stance. Was he a martial artist?
“Whoa! What the… a talking stuffed animal?! Ahhh!”
“Oh, no, it’s not good, Captain.”
Ah. I’m sorry, Crazy Bear has caused you so much trouble. You’re looking for a suspicious person, right? But a talking stuffed animal is still too suspicious.
“Hey, hey, is there a problem with me talking? You got some nerve!”
“S-Sorry, gatekeeper. Crazy Bear, let’s stay still. You can’t disturb their work.”
“Let go, partner~”
I hurriedly grabbed Crazy and apologized, and the guard picked up his spear and pointed it at Crazy Bear, trembling with fear. He had become a spear user again.
“Hey boy, what’s going on here?”
“I’m sorry. Crazy is an Abyss resident, a sort of spirit. You don’t need to worry, he won’t harm anyone.”
“This bastadaaard, I’m not a bad guy–muff.”
“Hey, can you keep quiet for a moment, Crazy Bear-chan?”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Yes, Crazy Bear enjoys being petted.”
“Mmm, mmm.”
“This is your punishment, Crazy Bear.”
Crazy Bear struggled and flailed about trying to escape his punishment.
The old gatekeeper’s face changed suddenly in confusion.
“Ah, let’s forget about that.”
“Is that so?”
I felt dejected, while Crazy Bear sighed in relief.
“Headquarters. This is the second exit. Confirmed the situation on site. The unregistered entity from earlier is believed to be a speaking spirit.”
“Understood. Return to normal duties.”
The gatekeeper seemed to report somewhere with a magical tool.
“Thank you for your cooperation. Have a good journey!”
“Yes.”
And so, the Aix who did not have a certificate was detected by the magical tool and managed to escape by using advanced tricks while fooling the butler’s surveillance.
They went on a three-day trip.
“Partner, what you did earlier was terrible.”
“Oh come on. It’s Crazy Bear’s fault for disturbing the gatekeeper.”
“Hey, Aix. Wasn’t there something strange about earlier?”
Crazy Bear taps my thigh repeatedly.
Luca seems to be troubled by something.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, really. As long as I’m with you.”
She stopped thinking and smiled.
While playing with Crazy Bear and engaging in low-level conflicts, the carriage started moving again.
Wow, this is a carriage trip.
We’ll probably arrive much faster than walking.
1. In manga explained that Luca found it strange because Crazy Bear himself should had an ID, so there was no way it could have gone undetected.
After that Aix in his monologue thought that the danger signal came from him who no longer had an ID, because his ID had been crushed by the Guild Master.
