I Was in Charge of Scouting for the Hero’s Party

23. Life is Beautiful

“That… Gracie… Is it really okay for me to do this?”

Watching Gracie take the lead and walk confidently, the hero, Lee Yu-jeong, asked again in a worried tone.

“Didn’t you say it was okay? Of course, I didn’t want to go this far… But if I didn’t, I might never see Austin.”

Listening to Gracie’s confident answer, Maya, who was walking beside Isabel and followed Gracie, muttered in a voice so small that they couldn’t hear them in their ears.

“…Looks like I’m f*cked.”

“I feel like I’m f*cked…”

Suddenly, at the faint sigh from the side, Maya turned her head towards Isabelle with a slightly startled look.

Isabel, too, seemed to have heard Maya’s muttering, and was staring at her Maya with her bunny eyes open.

I never thought that there would be someone out of this unanswered party who could understand Austin even a little bit.

“…Isabelle.”

“…Maya. We will talk separately later.”

At least, should I be relieved that not all the party members are crazy?

“Austen is probably a caged canary by now, so we just have to take our time and do our part. Nothing difficult. Although I will have to deal with Argyle without skirmishing…”

Using her position to intimidate her lord, she shackled Austen to keep her in Cologne.

At this level, it’s embarrassing to call it selfish.

Isn’t it a level where intelligence should be questioned?

“Uh… Is that so…? It seems like this would only backfire…”

“Hero, trust me. Perhaps by now, Austin is hitting the ground and feeling our need.”

Looking at Gracie’s still confident demeanor, Maya twisted her hair, hiding her face in the brim of her own peaked hat.

‘…Already f*cked up. It seems…’

But since Gracie had already done it, it was spilled water.

Even if you’re going to apologize, it’d be nice if you could see his face.

‘…In the first place, I didn’t do it either.’

If Maya is to blame, isn’t it because she failed to prevent Gracie’s foolish act?

“…Austin. Miss you…”

Letting out a sigh on the face of the hero who still had a puzzled expression, Maya murmured again.

If you look at those bright blue eyes, all these thoughts and worries will be washed away.

However, that has already become a very distant future.

Because of that cunning young woman walking in front of me with her hips twitching.

As they were about to leave Cologne and head for the castle gate to enter the forest, troops that appeared to be the garrison of Cologne hurriedly passed by.

“…What is it? Is there a fire?”

Adrien opened her eyes thinly and looked at the soldiers who were already getting smaller in the distance.

“To say there was a fire, I can’t see any smoke… Isn’t that the central area…? Hey!”

The hero grabbed one of the other guards as he hurriedly ran away.

Her soldier caught by her turned her head towards her, gasping for air to catch her breath.

“Heeuk… Heouk… Yes…? Hero… What… Are you doing? We’ve been a bit busy…”

“Oh… No. It’s nothing special. Is there something wrong? Earlier, the other guards were running very hurriedly.”

“That… that… hold on, breathe…”

The soldier, who had been breathing heavily with the momentum to vomit her organs, finally, when her breathing stabilized, wiped the sweat from her forehead and opened her mouth to her hero.

“There was an uproar at the post office…! Suddenly, some thugs came in, took the people inside hostage, and then stole a wagon and ran away…”

…Somehow, I wonder if it’s because of my mood that I have a foreboding feeling.

Gracie, who had a triumphant expression on her face until just now, couldn’t hide her trembling voice and asked the guardsmen.

“…Do you have any detailed information about the gangsters?”

“Uh… I heard that the boss was wearing a crossbow and a short sword. He robbed a post office with a big man and three women… Uh… Uh?! Hey!”

Before the soldier’s words were finished, they were running towards the central area of Cologne with all their might.

“Ostyiin!!!!!!!!!!”

Austin. It seemed that this madman was about to leave.

* * *

“Come on. Have your hands flashed. I’ll just take one wagon, so don’t be silly… Hey! You f*cking said I told you to stay still I didn’t! My words are like a joke!!!”

“Hee… Hee hee…!!! Sorry…! I’m in a hurry to go to the bathroom…”

“Nimi… Tsk. Go come! If you don’t come back within three minutes, I’ll search for you, really.”

“N… Heh heh!”

A fat man with a shiny crown hurriedly ran to the bathroom. I looked at him and then looked away.

Wagons of various colors lined up neatly, and the horses and riders that guide them.

Success…! Honestly, even when I thought of this method, I was about to give up because it seemed like a crazy idea, but with the lord’s tacit consent, it’s possible.

Anyway, because of the threat of Gracie, the captain of the royal guard, the mere Marquis could not go against her words and openly let me go.

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to go to a board that weave and play each other?

Having lost my mind to that point, I immediately told Count Albion of my plan.

Earl Albion has his own face and circumstances, so if I say I stole a carriage instead of openly helping him, wouldn’t it be a win-win?

So I openly came to rob the post office in Cologne, and Count Albion secretly tipped off the captain of the garrison to pretend to arrest me.

If the garrison is a scarecrow, there is nothing to be afraid of.

“You guys raise your hands!!! If you don’t want to listen to me, why don’t you jump at me! But, it won’t be much fun if you attack me!”

I left the hostages inside the post office with Royman, Luna, and Robin, and Princess Alexis and I searched the lockers behind the counter to find the keys to the wagon.

“Kyaa…! It’s just a heap of flashy keys. Princess Alexis, do you have a favorite carriage?”

“Oh… Austin… Is it really okay to do this…? If this goes wrong…”

“Uh huh. Write. You said Count Albion would close his eyes. Since he said that there would be no warrants, we just need to pull out one wagon and have fun.”

“Umm… But…”

Anyway, Princess Alexis seemed to be bothered by the fact that we were doing such bad things.

No… It’s a great opportunity to do something bad with no punishment. It’s not that we commit murder. Of course, I feel a little sorry for the owner of the carriage… But since Count Albion said he would compensate the victims, there was nothing wrong with that.

“…Well, we don’t have to worry about anything. Don’t worry too much.”

“Then… I get it.”

After confirming that Princess Alexis’s expression had softened a little, I started walking around among the carriages while holding her key box, choosing a stable and comfortable carriage.

“…Oh. Is this okay?”

Then what caught my eye was a wagon decorated with wood and platinum, which gave an antique feel to the well-lacquered finish.

It’s not very flashy, but the harmony of clean, well-processed wood and sparsely sparkling platinum creates a truly luxurious atmosphere.

The inside is wide enough for everyone in the party to sit comfortably, and the seats are soft and fluffy.

Of course, it’s too small for five people here, so we’ll have to camp out for the night…

After seeing the carriage I had chosen, Princess Alexis also looked at her carriage for a while, then nodded her head, and she was done.

A carriage that satisfied the duke’s daughter. Not to mention the quality. Because this is the guarantee of quality.

After bringing the horse that matches the number on the wagon, insert the key and turn it.

As for the horses, they are led by two muscular black horses, so they will probably go well without a problem.

After preparing the wagon like that, I returned to the lobby, but the top of the man who went to the bathroom earlier was still nowhere to be seen.

“Hey. The guy who just went to the bathroom, where did he go? What are you in the poop?”

When I asked Royman, Royman hid himself in the bathroom, clutching the flail he was holding.

A minute or so has passed. Roy Man, who came out of the bathroom again, came closer to me, rolling his whip around.

“There was no one inside the bathroom. From what others have said, it seems that they fled to contact the garrison while we were looking away.”

“…That bastard will have to be beaten to dust if I see him. Okay, I chose a wagon. Come and ride.”

I didn’t aim my crossbow at the hostages until the moment they boarded the wagon.

As I approached the large door to let the wagon outside, I felt a little commotion outside.

It seems the garrison has come running. That fat bastard from earlier, I’m just letting you get tired of your pants.

I gestured to Royman, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, to run out as soon as the door opened, and counted with his fingers.

“…Three! Run!!!”

I pushed the bar and opened it, and at the same time the wagon led by Royman quickly ran toward the open door, raising dust.

The moment the wagon passed me, I grabbed the handle of the wagon, jumped up, and got into the empty seat next to Royman’s driver’s seat.

“I… Is out!”

“Everyone, prepare your gin!! Hey! Drop your weapons right now and stop the wagon… Ugh!”

Clumsyly swinging their spears and overtaking the hesitant guards, the wagon rattled off in the direction of the eastern gate.

“Heh… Heh heh… hahahahaha!!! Really shaved!!! I’m freaking out!!!”

“Brother! Dangerous! Please have a seat!”

“Kyahahahaha!!! Run run! f*ck no one can stop it!!!”

As I ran along the road, rattling as if my wheels would break, I suddenly saw several people blocking the road ahead.

Wait a minute. But that…

“Austin!!!! You madman! Stop right now!!!”

Seeing the warriors and thugs yelling at me as hard as they could and blocking the wagon, I found it very funny.

“f*ck me! I’m going to live on my own now! You guys should hit and run to catch the Demon King!”

“Austin!!!”

I immediately took the reins from Royman and steered as hard as I could.

The wind passed to the right of the girls who were standing blocking the middle of the street, and I was more excited, so I hit the reins as hard as I could and increased my speed.

“Ah! Sweet and sweet!!! The life is beautiful! Get out of the f*cking way!!!”

Leaving behind the warriors and idiots staring blankly at us, our carriage was finally able to quickly pass through the empty gates thanks to Count Albion.

“Finally liberated!!!”

Let’s go, to Mettelheim!